Coffee Talk: The Latest

Good morning! The mornings are still cool, even if the afternoons are heating up, so I'm sitting here at my desk with my cup of coffee and a light, cool breeze. Have you got a cup of coffee, too? Well, let's have a chat.

Back in May, when I was moving out of my old house, I woke up one Monday morning after a particularly hard weekend with a sore knee. I didn't think much of it because muscle strain happens, so I figured it would get better after a couple of weeks. A couple of weeks turned into a month and my knee only seemed to get a bit more swollen and a bit stiffer daily. In late June, I woke up one morning and my knee was so swollen and so painful, that I could barely walk on it.  I took the day off from work and employed the RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) method and it was a bit better the next day so I went back to work. About a week later, it was feeling pretty good, so I took a long hike followed by a long walk the next day. 

That was a mistake. That evening my pain and swelling, which never fully went away, were back with a vengeance. I knew that I had to go to the doctor, so I made an appointment for that coming Monday. She sent me to the orthopedic doctor on Wednesday and they confirmed what she had suspected: I had torn the meniscus around my knee. They gave me a cortisone shot and said to gradually build up my exercise level. 

It's nearly 90% now (which they told me would be the best I can hope for after an injury like this) but I spent a good three weeks in total being completely laid up in my house. Guys, I was so bored that I was beside myself. Fortunately, I remembered a tv show my dad had recommended called Alone and I started watching that. I've now binge-watched three seasons and it's my new favorite thing! If you've never seen it, it's where they take 10 contestants, let them choose 10 items besides their clothes, and drop them in the wilderness with a bunch of camera gear. Whoever survives out there the longest wins $500,000. It's fascinating to see just how hard it is to make it in harsh conditions. If the physical part doesn't get you, the mental will.

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I started getting back into reading in earnest. I walk by a little library every day on my way to work, so I stopped by to see what was in it on my way home one day recently. I found a few cool books that I want to read. One is about the Crusades and the other is a fictional piece about the Viking Era. These are both topics I'm quite interested in, so I'm looking forward to reading them. I have a couple of books I could cull from my collection, so I'll be dropping a few off at the same little library soon in exchange.

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I do have some big news: I bought a NEW car! Odin knows it was about time! My old 2008 Kia Sportage has seen better days. The shocks are shot making it bounce everywhere, the a/c compressor died a few years ago so no a/c, the bearings in the front driver's side tire needed to be replaced so it made a loud, dull sound when driving, the driver door handle broke a few months ago on the outside so you can only open it from the inside, my visors no longer stayed up, and my hood latch broke so it's chained down. HAHAHA You know what, though, the motor was still solid so it got me around (town). 

Why on earth did I not repair those things? Simply put, it would have cost me a small fortune. I've known for a few years now that I wanted to get a new one and since it was paid off, I knew my money was better spent saving it aside for a down payment on a new car. So, that's exactly what I did. Now I have a car that only has 16 miles on it, comes with a nice long warranty, and will be road-worthy for years to come.

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I'm looking forward to getting out and doing many of the things I enjoy again now that my knee has healed and I have a reliable vehicle. And, with Fall coming, that's a great thing.

Have a great rest of your week!