Daddy bear

[greatbearmd]

A bunch of pictures have been taken lately, everything from "before" pics of Jeff as he begins gym workouts with a trainer, to weather photos, holiday decorations and whatnot. I had Jeff snap a photo of me as I was able to stand up almost straight. This is what the cashier from Saturday thinks is the father of a 51 year old man:

Comments

[maxauburn]

It was about as snowy & icy here until the rain melted most of it, with more to come tomorrow.

I agree - you're still a damn good looking man!

Your beard looks great, too!

[greatbearmd]

Thank you for the compliments (and the nice card!).

My beard seriously needs trimming, not to much the length as it is ragged and wiry and in need of care. It takes me some time in front of the bathroom mirror, I can't yet stand without steadying myself with one hand, I need both arms free to do the work, and that's hopefully not too far off. Besides, big white beards are favorable this time of year for some reason. ;)

[maxauburn]

I like your beard the way it is. :)

[ciddyguy]

Lookin' pretty good there despite your health issues of late.

Even though it was icy, it still looks purdy out there.

So far, the weak front that would have come in today apparently didn't amount to much, though Bellevue still has a winter warning for some accumulations still, with more near the Cascade foothills, but maybe an inch or so at best before it all turns to rain tomorrow. However, it'll be mostly cloudy with scattered showers/snow or rain/snow mixed if anything.

Enjoy it and don't over do things now.

[greatbearmd]

Thanks for the kind words.

The ice here was not an issue, no power problems, no broken branches this time. There's something nasty coming down the pike closer to the weekend, I hope it's not a big problem.

[mort_83]

Old man, my ass.

I wish you had access to my coach at my gym. He specializes in post injury/surgery rehab. Hope you can find someone there to do the same thing.

The ice storm is pretty. I know that sounds lame, but we've had a fair share of them. One, back in the 90's was one for the record books. Weeks without power. But freaking gorgeous outside.

Odd thing, our weather has been mild this year, and last year, too.....(knock on wood).

[greatbearmd]

Judging by the results, your coach does fantastic work. ;)

A few years ago we had an epic ice storm. It was gorgeous, but the destruction and days without power weren't fun. Standing outside at night was filled with the sound of crashing branches near and far, and the sounds of power lines shorting and falling in the distance. The power was going so bonkers I turned off all the main breakers to save us from electrical damage.

The winters here have been mild in recent years, we are due for a big slam.

[mort_83]

;-) I have never made such gains before in my life. Having that coach to work with has made all the difference.

Our ice storm was in my early years of grad school. Power was out to my 'hood for two weeks. I spent a couple of days with friends who had power, then moved back to my place-even though the grid was still down, I lived in University housing which also had the purchasing dept in the basement. To keep purchasing going, they hooked the building up to big diesel generators. The side effect was that our whole building was up and running even though the surrounding neighborhood wasn't

And firewood was really cheap the next winter.

[furr_a_bruin]

To be perfectly honest - compared to some of your more recent user icons, I can see what you meant about your ordeal wearing on you. However - you look much better than I was expecting from your descriptions. As others have said - the posture and walking stick were probably a lot of what created that cashier's impression. Here's to you feeling better and looking better as you bounce back from this.

[Careful hugs!]

[greatbearmd]

I should don a robe and wizard hat to complete the look. Add magic to the mayhem here. ;)

Thanks for the good vibes.

[furrbear]

As I was scrolling down and first saw the beginnings of the top images, I thought it was today's BearoftheDay offering. You look better than you've made it sound.

The combination of grey and length in your beard is what along with the sallowness from the health issues that gives you the aged appearance. (I should talk with so much white coming down from my ears.)

I can relate to the outside pics. We haven't stepped outside since Thursday evening because of the 1 1/2" of ice. Some of it looks melted, but the concrete is slanted to drain, so I've learned the painful way not to trust just the look that it's clear.

Fr Rodney in Baltimore has a pretty good rehab phys therapist. Too far to drive?

[greatbearmd]

I know my (seemingly permanent) dour expression isn't helping matters, and perhaps I might be a tad hard on myself, I've always been my own worst critic. I'm not always handling all the various health problems coming down the pike with increasing regularity, I am used to be healthy as a horse in my younger days and not having to worry, and anything that did hit me was only a short healing time away from good times. Just getting out of bed is an ordeal these days, and I don't like having to always turn to painkillers to have any semblance of comfort.

I'm opening a dialog with Fr. Rodney and hope to see what else can be done with my rickety old body. Thanks for helping out there!