Baby, It's Cold Outside

 The warm spell is over! We knew the temperature was going to drop significantly. No worries, I thought as I sat here yesterday. It was warm inside and all was well. I take that back. My right leg is still grabbing my attention with sharp pains behind my knee. I am okay once I am up standing and walking. The issue is getting up and back down.

Nonetheless, I have had enough of a dusty house, so I dragged out the vacuum and mop bucket and got to work while the master slept. As small as our house is, you would think it would wake him. But with no aids to hear in his ear, he remained unaware. I moved everything and found the equivalent of a small dog in fur trapped under the chairs and sofa.

I moved on to the kitchen and cleaned everything in there. While putting away the clean dishes, I dropped a plate. No, it didn't break but fell behind the counter that backs up to the set of storage shelves behind that peninsula. Retrieving it was going to take some effort, but I was done for the day.

I took a shower and was in considerable discomfort when I eased myself into my recliner and put cushions under the offending leg. The errand man left to get water bottles filled. Dinner was in the crockpot, and I was wondering when the leg would ease off. We were out of Ibuprofen, and I was hoping I would not find it necessary to get up before the errand man was back. 

He was back too soon and came in with some ibuprofen he picked up at the Dollar store just so I wouldn't have to ache the entire time he was gone. He is racking up brownie points big time! The recliner has heated seats, and I had a throw blanket covering my legs on my legs. But I was getting cold and could not think why this was happening. I had been sweating while cleaning, hence the shower, but now my nose was cold and my fingers.

We were both cold as the evening wore on and went to bed early. I was cold all night. The dogs must have been cold because they stayed under the covers. Bo was keeping my toes warm and Eddie was at the small of my back. This usually makes me too warm, and I have to rearrange myself and the canines.

Now, the storage unit is open backed. Has to be to be able to access the thermostat. Accessing the thermostat is no small feat. It requires one to move the dog dishes and water bowl and then squat down to be able to see the thermostat with a flashlight in hand. Squatting is near impossible with my leg throbbing, so I employed a different method. I bent over and was looking at the stupid thing upside down. Did I see that temperature correctly? It was 49 degrees in here! No wonder I was cold!

I found the plate that had dropped behind the counter on the shelf under the thermostat. The falling plate had hit the thermostat and turned the heat off! I turned it back on and it is beginning to warm up in here. I remembered an electric heater was in the RV and I went out to get it. It was 21 degrees this morning, so the fact that we were still 49 degrees inside was good, I suppose.

Our cat population has diminished. Marco, the fluffy adorable kitten has been gone for quite some time. I had hoped he merely wandered down the embankment and headed east to our neighbor's house. The young girl has tamed some of the feral population and was smitten with Marco. I checked and he was not there. Now the mama cat has also disappeared. She had not left the property since the day she showed up with her round belly. She was accustomed to us taking the kittens inside daily to interact with them. Both were very docile and unconcerned about the canines sniffing them. She was always waiting right outside the door when we put them back out.

I don't think she would have left her only kitten behind. Scar was back down at Abby's house and might linger there for a bit, since Abby feeds the cats, too. Garfield is always coming and going and showed up at dinnertime the other day. Marble is still here. Lucy, the grown-up kitten from Mousy Tongue, who also disappeared some time ago. Now just the three of them stay here all the time. Lucy has cozied up to Polo and Marble still stays well out of my reach but is always out in my yard in the morning. So, I am down to three. 

Polo still comes inside. I usually bring him in when I want the errand man to awaken, and I put him in bed with the sleeping man. Polo likes to walk the foot and sides of the bed looking down on Eddie who can't jump up into the bed. He carries on a whiny conversation with himself as the cat torments him by being where he thinks he should be. 

Now I am sort of glad that I was unable to catch all the cats to be fixed. There is no agency here that will do the job for free, and we would have put out more money than the stupid cat dominium cost. It remains empty except for the padding I provided.

I went online to determine what might be wrong with my leg. I have ruled out blood clots. No redness, swelling and tender to the touch. I have had them before and this might ache the same way, but it seems unlikely. A Baker's cyst behind the knee was a possibility until I read that it would be squishy like an overripe orange. The other possibilities would be a tear in the meniscus or a stretched ligament. Even a hamstring injury. Either way the treatment is the same. Ice and elevation, and maybe a knee brace. I wrapped it with an ace bandage, leaving the kneecap exposed to mimic a brace. It made it worse, so I took that off and now I am sitting here again today. 

The good thing is that I have enough leftovers for two days of meals. I am under no delusion that leftovers will appeal to my husband. I can guarantee take-out food tonight. I know he will suggest that we go out, but getting in and out of the truck, then walking will hurt too much. He thinks going out will save him from cleaning up the kitchen. How hard is it to toss the containers and wipe the counter? Oh, wait, he doesn't wipe the counters ..... ever! Like it is a foreign concept.