post-Paradise recovery
Went to Paradise Unbound last week with Cern. Glad we're still doing that every year, even if I don't really wind up doing much/any play there, and it's incredibly draining, physically, even while that space also always incredibly healing.
Always good to see people, and many of them we really only see there every year.
Was good to see K. Hope we will manage to get together before another year goes by, this time! I miss her. Her car isn't in great shape, she says, so she doesn't make it far from that space (where she lives) very often, and of course I don't drive. But hopefully, we will find a way. I think she's still a little afraid, a little cautious, about letting herself get close again.
Added a few people to our list for inviting to games days. Glad for that.
My newer chair was AWESOME for surviving the week this year. It's MUCH better at getting around outside -- bigger wheels, bigger/wider base for stability, stronger motor, and longer-lasting battery. So never a problem with the battery lasting the day. Last year, I got stuck in loose gravel many times, and had many places I just couldn't navigate to/through. This year, only twice that I recall did I get stuck and have to get out to un-stick the chair. (Both times were in the little ditch-stream that runs between kitchen and dining area, which is covered with boards for walking over. The chair went over the boards just fine 9 times out of 10, but occasionally wound up pushing a board out of the way, and twice pushed a board far enough that a wheel got stuck in the ditch before I could stop.) Also, this chair has tilt, which let me be MUCH more comfortable for much longer periods.
Possible TMI (but not rated above PG): I know I'm weird, but one of the most fun things I did at camp, and one of the things I'm most impressed with, was peeing into a bottle without spilling a drop. Hah! :) In explanation: I have sometimes had a hard time getting to the toilet in the mornings, at camp, in time for my bladder. It's hard to get myself out of bed mornings to begin with, I'm stiff and sore then, plus it's chilly outside the bed at that time, which makes it even harder. Then I also have to get my sandals or shoes on, get something to wear if I don't want to be out in the morning chill nakey, get my chair unplugged, un-tarped, and gather anything I need to bring with me, and then get all the way up the path to the bathroom, or down the path to the porta-potty. Any other time of day, I'm fine, but first thing in the mornings, I've had problems.
So this year, I had wanted to try to get a foldable commode thing of some sort, but didn't actually manage to get one in time. So I brought the little toilet insert thingie I had used a while back to do a 24-hour urine collection test for my kidney doc, figuring I could squat over that (difficult when stiff, but possible) and then pour it into a bottle for disposal. I also brought my camping "piss assister" -- a funnel thing shaped like a children's medicine spoon, except that the spoon part is tipped back and there's a hole in the other end -- which I usually bring camping, but haven't actually wound up *using* in years. Anyway, after a few mornings' experimentation, it turned out that the squatting thing resulted in some splatter (plus the anticipated pain and physical discomfort), but with the funnel slipped into a bottle, I could just stand with my legs slightly apart, position it, and pee right into the bottle, with no mess at all (even on the very first try)!!
I was so tickled with myself for being able to do this that I admit, I did it even on the mornings when I *might* actually have been able to get to the bathroom in time. That let me slip right back into bed and go back to sleep for a while longer, without having to get so awake that I would have a hard time going back to sleep, or miss more sleep than necessary on those mornings when the week's wear was really beginning to get to me and I really needed to lie in longer. Cern brought me breakfast on those mornings, too, which also helped a lot.
Anyway, we got home Sunday evening, and I'm now in recovery mode. Sore and achey and burny, so BURNY hot, everywhere, and so worn out and sleeeepy. But not as bad as I expected, actually. Not as bad as some recoveries from events have been. Still, taking it easy and not trying to do much at all this week, as I know by now that that's what I need after any event.
Sad that Aine couldn't make it this year at all. Next year, for sure.
Always good to see people, and many of them we really only see there every year.
Was good to see K. Hope we will manage to get together before another year goes by, this time! I miss her. Her car isn't in great shape, she says, so she doesn't make it far from that space (where she lives) very often, and of course I don't drive. But hopefully, we will find a way. I think she's still a little afraid, a little cautious, about letting herself get close again.
Added a few people to our list for inviting to games days. Glad for that.
My newer chair was AWESOME for surviving the week this year. It's MUCH better at getting around outside -- bigger wheels, bigger/wider base for stability, stronger motor, and longer-lasting battery. So never a problem with the battery lasting the day. Last year, I got stuck in loose gravel many times, and had many places I just couldn't navigate to/through. This year, only twice that I recall did I get stuck and have to get out to un-stick the chair. (Both times were in the little ditch-stream that runs between kitchen and dining area, which is covered with boards for walking over. The chair went over the boards just fine 9 times out of 10, but occasionally wound up pushing a board out of the way, and twice pushed a board far enough that a wheel got stuck in the ditch before I could stop.) Also, this chair has tilt, which let me be MUCH more comfortable for much longer periods.
Possible TMI (but not rated above PG): I know I'm weird, but one of the most fun things I did at camp, and one of the things I'm most impressed with, was peeing into a bottle without spilling a drop. Hah! :) In explanation: I have sometimes had a hard time getting to the toilet in the mornings, at camp, in time for my bladder. It's hard to get myself out of bed mornings to begin with, I'm stiff and sore then, plus it's chilly outside the bed at that time, which makes it even harder. Then I also have to get my sandals or shoes on, get something to wear if I don't want to be out in the morning chill nakey, get my chair unplugged, un-tarped, and gather anything I need to bring with me, and then get all the way up the path to the bathroom, or down the path to the porta-potty. Any other time of day, I'm fine, but first thing in the mornings, I've had problems.
So this year, I had wanted to try to get a foldable commode thing of some sort, but didn't actually manage to get one in time. So I brought the little toilet insert thingie I had used a while back to do a 24-hour urine collection test for my kidney doc, figuring I could squat over that (difficult when stiff, but possible) and then pour it into a bottle for disposal. I also brought my camping "piss assister" -- a funnel thing shaped like a children's medicine spoon, except that the spoon part is tipped back and there's a hole in the other end -- which I usually bring camping, but haven't actually wound up *using* in years. Anyway, after a few mornings' experimentation, it turned out that the squatting thing resulted in some splatter (plus the anticipated pain and physical discomfort), but with the funnel slipped into a bottle, I could just stand with my legs slightly apart, position it, and pee right into the bottle, with no mess at all (even on the very first try)!!
I was so tickled with myself for being able to do this that I admit, I did it even on the mornings when I *might* actually have been able to get to the bathroom in time. That let me slip right back into bed and go back to sleep for a while longer, without having to get so awake that I would have a hard time going back to sleep, or miss more sleep than necessary on those mornings when the week's wear was really beginning to get to me and I really needed to lie in longer. Cern brought me breakfast on those mornings, too, which also helped a lot.
Anyway, we got home Sunday evening, and I'm now in recovery mode. Sore and achey and burny, so BURNY hot, everywhere, and so worn out and sleeeepy. But not as bad as I expected, actually. Not as bad as some recoveries from events have been. Still, taking it easy and not trying to do much at all this week, as I know by now that that's what I need after any event.
Sad that Aine couldn't make it this year at all. Next year, for sure.