Also, ouch.
Okay, so I told you I threw out my back on Friday evening. True. Saturday morning hurt, but not so bad I couldn’t function with care and I figured by today I’d be fine. Then Saturday afternoon it clouded up…
Which meant I needed to close the windows. And that raised a problem. See, I bought these three recycled windows for the Lair, right? And they’re great windows: Double-paned, not a crack on them. Perfect. Except one needed to go in the “kitchen,” and they’re too big. So that one went in sideways. That wouldn’t have been a problem except they’ve got a mechanism to help you get the sash up, some modern analogue of the old-fashioned counterweights. I noticed this right away, of course, and it wasn’t a big problem either until I put in the kitchen counter. Because that means I’ve got to close that window sideways against whatever mechanism was so helpful in getting it open, while the window is a good arm’s length away. It can’t be done. Chuck Norris could frighten it closed with a disapproving scowl, but the only way wimpy ol’ Uncle Joel can get it closed is to climb ONTO the counter and push with all his might.
A rather unbalanced push, which in this case caused my back to spasm and my whole body to go into “crawl to the gun cabinet and shoot myself in the head” mode.
Okay. NOW my back hurts.
I didn’t have so much as an aspirin in the whole frickin’ Lair. I’ve got antiseptics. I’ve got antibiotics. I’ve got enough bandages and tape to treat a town full of sucking chest wounds but do I have a single pain-killer? I do not.
I shuffled and moaned and whimpered my way to D&L’s place (through the epically bumpy wash, which has changed its whole topography since the flood and wasn’t THAT fun) and they loaded me up with a baggy of almost-expired aspirin and Tylenol, which was cool of them. (“No, take’em! Look at the dates on the bottles, we need to replace these anyway.” Heh.) Spent the afternoon and evening popping aspirin and trying to sit or lie VERY STILL – and squirming around for any position that didn’t hurt. Couldn’t get to sleep Saturday night for what felt like hours.
To my shock, I woke up Sunday morning almost pain-free. Oh, I could tell there was still something wrong with my back but it DIDN’T HURT. So I dedicated yesterday to going about as if my spine were composed of a single very thin glass rod and lifting nothing heavier than a coffee cup. No new bad thing happened all yesterday. But then I woke up last night, sometime right after moonrise, with the pain back again. Don’t know what I did to deserve that, but I do regret it. Not as bad as the worst, but I think I’ll foreswear shit-shoveling today. Which in turn will only make things worse tomorrow.
This complicated the whole “integrate the kitten with the rest of the pack” thing. Friday night after I picked up the kitten, upon retiring I brought her up into the loft with me and Saturday I just left her up there with her own food, water and litter box. I went up to visit a few times, but hey. She’s a cat. If she was distressed by the lack of company she’d have said so. As it was she’s a tiny kitten who’d had a series of big days. I figured she’d probably be just as happy to sit one day out in the new place and so it seemed. She alternated between playing happily by herself and sleeping, and seemed no worse off for it.
Yesterday, though, I brought her downstairs. LB was the only one in the Lair, and he was very gentle but she didn’t seem to know how to handle it. It’s like the only way she knows how to interact with any other creature is to play with it, which involves claws and teeth. She uses them gently, but she uses them and they’re sharp. She wanted nothing to do with LB’s pointy end, but kept mischievously sneaking up on his other end which he didn’t appreciate. She couldn’t possibly have been hurting him but he was taking no chances: He’s too satchel-heavy to be able to see very well what’s going on back there. Nevertheless, let it be known that HE was a doll.
Click, on the other hand – she’s behaving as if this were the most traumatic thing that ever happened in her life. I didn’t know she could fluff up that big, and on one occasion – the food bowl was involved – she really did seem to be offering to dispense ultimate suffering for the price of one wrong move. And the kitten surely knew it. I’m not convinced they’re going to be friends.
So we’re still working on the integration thing.
Personally I have found that the years since I turned fifty five to be the hardest. I’m always being asked to do things, fix this, carry that etc. and yet, like you, I’m not decrepit enough to turn them down so I have to soldier on.
I do hope you are not taking any aspirin on an empty stomach. You don’t need a bleeding ulcer complicating things, I’m pretty sure. Even the tylenol should be taken with some form of actual food and plenty of water.
My back hurts just reading about yours. I spent a year in traction once… agggggg. Get well soon!
The cats will work it out between them eventually.
The cats will work it out eventually- was there any hissing?
As for your kitchen window-
If you look at the “top” you will probably see a thing containing a spring on each “side”.
If you can get the springs undone, you should be able to close the window easier.
KurtP: Yes, hissing was heard in the land. As for the windows, yeah, the springs are enclosed in aluminum tubes which also serve as guides for the sash. I gave up trying to find a way to take them out.
Joel, If the window sashes tilt (and my guess would be they do if they have a tube balance.) Tilt the bottom sash in until it’s perpendicular to the frame. Then lift up on one side of the sash (in the case of the one on it’s side push the top of the sash towards the side that was the top) this should let you pull out the sash. Do the same with the top sash. You should have access to the balances now (the tube /spring thing.) On most vinyl windows theres a screw through the balance into the jamb of the window. Pull it out and pull the tube part out. Leave the little plastic “box” that holds the pins on the sides of the sash in place (it’s called a shoe), that will keep the window from rattling in the track. Put the sashes back into the frame. Make sure the pins seat in the shoes because most shoes have a lock to keep the balance from moving while the sash is out and if you don’t seat them properly the sash won’t move. Here’s a link to a page with PDF instructions you can download
http://www.miwd.com/miscPages/prodCare.aspx
Click the sash and panel removal link.
Hope that helps and have fun with EBC they’re only that much fun for a short time.
I sort of feel your pain, I’m nearing 50 and yesterday, had to switch out my wife’s car battery twice (O’Reilly’s made a mistake in giving me wrong battery 1st time). That was so special – battery’s are pretty heavy and fitting it in the itty bity tray waaaay back there against vehicle firewall – well, back isn’t feeling too good right now (Remember when the battery was in the front and far more room to put in ? Dang!).
Four 200 mg Ibuprofen for professional results – getting old sux!