Yesterday's picture through the screen door was a pixilated version, of a squirrel sitting thoughtfully for a while, near the foot of the Japanese maple.
I really like it when trees you plant start to be part of the habitat, birds and bees and squirrels leaping about in them. When my ficus is out in summer, the birds perch in her and I think it's good for her mental health. Likewise rain and wind and sun.
Indoors the cactus is proving to be a Thanksgiving timer, really coming along now.
And the coleus seems happy among the various transplants and cuttings growing in water.
Yesterday I was involved elsewhere in a discussion about falling, well, about the various YouTube variations on what to do about it. The main advice seems to be don't fall, but if you really have to, then be sure to fall where there are pillows to back onto at various heights near a sturdy chair. Or crawl on hands and knees (!) to a support to haul yourself up by. Or, my favorite, fall in a circle! Followed by a maybe fortyish physical therapy lady demonstrating a graceful downward spiral.
Mostly these unlikely ideas are demonstrated by young therapists, prompting shouts from viewers of "I could do that at your age, too!" And realistic comments about just be sure you have your phone or alert on, and call for help, never mind struggling like this.
The good therapists, like Will, the one I've referred to before, are much better than this, with actual step by step programs to maintain strength and realistic skills about getting up. But the others are largely comic relief.
So when you're lying on the floor, be sure to watch their helpful videos about why you should have fallen near pillows. And how you should never walk in the park, because you'll never make it home again. Noted.
No food pictures recently, because it's been dull food, chocolate pudding, mac and tom -- macaroni in spicy tomato sauce -- potato spinach soup. Good stuff, just not exciting cooking. Also tuna melt, an old favorite.
The final note about the honest freecycler, she emailed to say she'll be happy to use the beads in her jewelry, yay.
And a little thank you to Rosalynn Carter, for a long life well lived, and her lifelong push for attention to mental health. And her work throughout, with everything Jimmy did, from the presidency to Habitat for Humanity.
Happy day, everyone, and if you fall down, just shout for help!
Falling is a hazard alright. But if you have a bunch of pillows on the floor, then they turn into tripping hazards!
ReplyDeleteThat's another video! Get rid of tripping hazards..
DeleteA woman I know told me a long story about how she got herself in a position in which she could not get up that I won't fully go into but it did involve an emergency squat to pee in her yard when she got home one day. She had to call a neighbor for help and after he helped her up she said, "We will never mention this again."
ReplyDeleteDignity is something we sometimes have to give up at times and that's all there is to it.
Roselyn Carter was a force and Jimmy would never have gotten where he did if she had not helped him. What a woman! And I love the story of how Jimmy's mother delivered Roselyn and took him to see the new baby a few days after she was born. He was three years old and that is when they met for the first time.
They had an incredibly long relationship, and seemingly a happy one.
DeleteI imagine most people who are in mid-fall wouldn't have the presence of mind to think, "I need to fall in a circle!"
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, the first thing is the ground suddenly hitting your face! Too late to plan.
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ReplyDeleteGood information to wathc.
Falling. I scrunch and try to roll when I can. I once tore the muscle below my clavicale when I fell on ice, up in the air back down for a slide on an incline. The pain was unreal. Doctor back then gave me zero pain medication and no xray. To this day, I can't stand the sound of a cup moving across a kitchen counter because it reminds me of tearing muscles.
That was an awful experience. Not very good medical care either, from the sound of it.
DeleteThe falls I’ve had left zero time for thought of anything. The idea of falling in a circle sounds ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI think it was an idea looking for a video! Not a good one, though.
DeleteThanks for the laugh! Yes. The times when my face has met the pavement, it
ReplyDeletewas way too late to plan! The shock of how fast it happens really stays with us, doesn't it?
Too true! One minute walking, next spreadeagled! Maybe that's why I don't like spatchcocking birds.
DeleteYour cactus is long great. Some of mine are flowering I’m sure the others will again when they’re ready
ReplyDeleteAs for falling. At home I just crawl to where I can get up again. In Edinburg I did it in front of a group of people who helped me up. Embarrassing. YES, but if they weren’t there. I’d still be laying on the path in the middle of a puddle
At home I have my Apple Watch so hopefully I can ring hubby or son to run over from the workshop. Iv done that before today too
Yes, getting up from a sidewalk is one these videos don't address.
DeleteI am just about 70. But I used to be a gymnast which may have helped in a large dog vs. my shins on a gravel driveway. No time to think but I did a roll on the gravel and stood up wondering what happened. I also work two hours a week with a group at the gym for mobility and balance.
ReplyDeleteWe loose leg muscle as we age along with balance.
I was sad to hear that Rosalynn passed. She was a gem.
It's good to keep up strength exercises. After 80 you see why you're glad you did!
DeleteI reckon you and Will are right about falling down - have a plan and practice it. Stay strong. Love your Christmas cactus by the way.
ReplyDeleteI continue with walking, full body resistance exercises, balance, all that. I'm doing pretty well. But you do have to keep moving.
DeleteI am hoping that Sue won't be doing a faceplant on the driveway again this winter.
ReplyDeleteYou either! There was a period last winter when your boots were out to get you!
DeleteI've fallen way too many times. The last several I have got up. Not stood up, but got up. Thank you, physical therapy.
ReplyDeleteYes, keeping up strength is so important.
DeleteOn the occasions I have managed to trip and fall the process, location and landing and subsequent return to vertical have not been uppermost in my mind. Not breaking my face or wrists were. Actually, the first thought probably isn't repeatable here.
ReplyDeleteYes, performing a graceful turn was not in the script!
DeleteA wise old (!) physical therapist once told me that the best exercise is to get down on the floor every day, then get back up - any way you can. I started doing that when I was a young 50, and 20 years later continue the practice. It won't prevent falls (yay strength and balance training for that), but it gives me confidence that (if I haven't smashed any critical bones) once I regain my wits I can get back up.
ReplyDeleteYou and Steve are tempting me to add a Thanksgiving/Christmas cactus to the menagerie. And Rosalyn Carter was a wonder.
Chris from Boise
I find that a lot of advice works fine until after you turn 80! Then time, even for the fittest, takes a toll. But I'm still glad of what I can do.
DeleteYour falling notes hit home today. Over the weekend I wiped out on the playground and am totally torked out. I went down on the knee that I've fallen on too many times and boy, getting up without a support nearby isn't easy. People try to help you up -- that doesn't always help. So far, I can do it but it's harder every single time. I keep walking, balancing and all that but boy, it's an effort sometimes! And yes, she was an amazing woman. I love the Carters, both of them.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're soon recovered from your fall. And yes, it doesn't get easier.
DeleteI fell a couple of days ago, through stupidity. I had a chair and a piano to help me up. I think Jimmy Carter was the last president who didn't use the presidency for personal gain. I have great respect for them both.
ReplyDeleteI guess you need to take a piano with you out walking. Noted! I hope you're okay, though, pianos aside?
DeleteI think Carter is a man of great integrity, and Rosalynn was the political brain of the couple. He's a great former President, really making a whole new mark in the world through election observation and hands on building. Great role model.
if you find yourself on the floor, fallen or not, I have a good way to get up. from whatever position get on hands and knees, straighten your legs (which will be the yoga 'down dog' position and then walk your hands to your feet so now you are basically standing in a forward fold and then lift your body to standing. you can use your hands to support and push yourself up by walking your hands up your legs.
ReplyDeleteBack in my seventies I could do that.
DeleteI must admit I have a real fear of ice and knowing that, if I fall, I most likely will have to lay there until someone comes to help me get up. If I happen to forget myself and end up with my knees higher than my hips I can't get up - so the days of doing anything on the floor are mostly curtailed. If I do end up down there for any reason, I make sure I can crawl to a piece of furniture to pull myself up. Not good for my knees but it is what it is. Best investment I've made is a stool with handles that I can either sit on or kneel on.
ReplyDeleteIce is a deadly situation. I have those things you put on your shoes like studded tires in effect, but have yet to try them. I practice avoidance!
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