Daddy bear

[greatbear]

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:



Not too far off, I guess. lol

We had a frozen land of icy mayhem here today, freezing rain coated everything in a glassy sheath. Luckily it wasn''t like some years where the ice builds up more and more and it starts taking down branches, whole trees and power lines. This time was rather benign, Jeff had no issues getting to work using main roads and highways. He usually takes a back way that shaves of several miles as well as a few dollars in tolls both ways. He came home that way without issues. Tomorrow might prove a hassle again, as the weather radio warning sounded for bad icing and snow conditions throughout the day. Yippie. The snow blower is ready. Not sure how ready I am for it though.

Some more photos:





This is the snow from the Sunday prior, you can see the big Blue Atlas cedar bent over the walkway from the weight of the ice, along with some of the shrubbery burdened with the frozen delight in the picture before, this is "normal."



Let's see what Ma Nature has in store tomorrow.

Comments

[jkusters]

I think you'll look just fine when your strength returns and you're able to walk more upright. Posture has a lot to do with perception of age. Regardless, you're still a good looking guy.

[maxauburn.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

I like your beard the way it is. :)

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Right now I feel I should be surrounded by Hobbits and dwarfs. lol

[ciddyguy.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

;-) 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.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

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

Thanks for the good vibes.

[furrbear.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

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!

[huxbear.livejournal.com]

GREAT to see that you've got even THAT much mobility, man -- SO great! :-) I think you look pretty damn great, to be honest...but I'm biased, cuz I've hugged you several times, IN REAL LIFE! Mwahahahahaha! ;-)

Thinking good thoughts for you and your amazing hubby, my friend! [[fuzzy cyber-cuddles & high-bitrate tummyrubs]] ;-)

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Thanx, Hux! Hopefully we can add to the accumulating total of r/t hugs soon. :)

[champdaddy.livejournal.com]

Looks like you are making great improvements, Phil.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Champ. Miss ya 'round these here parts.

[dewittar.livejournal.com]

John is correct. I think I found the golden ring of rehab PT specialists here in B'more. My surgeon didn't want me to do any rehab for at least three months post surgery. They wanted to see me on Day 4. When my surgeon saw me at 3 months he could not figure out how I was nearly fully recovered. Let me know if you want info on the place and the two PTs there (who are also strength coaches) who could address your issues.

Good luck, btw.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I'm currently set to see a local PT outfit which I've had experience with in the past, beginning with ROM and other light work then moving on to strengthening. They've been decent in the past, bit somewhat limited as far as pure strength rehab goes. The sessions are supposed to go on for 4 weeks. Depending on how far the folks you work with are, I might give them a shot, it sounds like they know their stuff, and judging by what I've been reading on your blog, they produce incredible results. ;)

Thanks for the vote of confidence, and welcome to my little world!!

[tbrough.livejournal.com]

Two snowfalls in 3 days. I'm already over winter!

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

So far, at least for us, the snow has been fairly benign. The season's young, though, and we might have to pay for the past mild winters.

[kspsibear.livejournal.com]

Hope your day is going well. It's colder than normal here and they keep talking about snow/ice, but we've been pretty lucky without the ice. Only dustings of snow. Keep us updated!

[badgerpdx.livejournal.com]

XOXOX, Big Ol' Bear!

[fingertrouble.livejournal.com]

Long beards rock! For some reason, maybe it's the stance or the stick but I picture you skiing en piste ;-) Sounds like you soon might have enough snow to do that...

Hope you get well soon.