The guys go look for arches
Spring has sprung. We’ve been having many perfect days since the beginning of the month. The cherry and apple blossoms are gone and those trees have leafed out now. The magpies are swooping big-time. I have at least 6 different kinds of flowers blooming in my front garden. Many other trees have started to blossom or leaf out, also. I haven’t had to turn on my room heater in two weeks. I’ve taken the doona off the bed. And the local volunteer fire brigade has already had its first two bushfire call-outs of the year.
It all passes by in a blur, though. I get out for short walks, but I haven’t been on the bike in three weeks. I’m putting in long, long, stressful hours at work and pushing my health ever backward such that I have absolutely no energy to ride. I’ve gone from 70 percent pre-illness capacity back to 40 percent again in the past two months. And the intense work is going to last until at least the end of September. In a sign that my immune system is incredibly screwed, I got spiked in my pinkie finger by a tiny hair off of a plant in my garden a couple weeks ago. That blew up into a major infection that required a week of antibiotics. I can’t even fight off a simple staph infection in my finger!
So as I work myself closer to death, I sent the guys out to find arches. Kermit took his bike. Verne took the camera. No sense them being stuck in my 3.5 x 3.5 square metre work-from-home prison cell, too! We don’t have all that many buildings around ‘town’, but here is what they came up with.
The feature photo is a common sight in older areas around here – a half tire arching over the water meter to protect it from the elements. I can’t remember if this is something that is seen in America or not. It is not common here in ‘nice’ neighbourhoods, but is common in all the places I’ve ever lived in!
The Navigator
Nerdy chick in Australia who loves to ride and is accompanied by the crew: 'The Commander' Verne and the 'Mental Health Specialist' Kermit.
10 response to "The guys go look for arches"
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Congrats to you and the crew for finding arches, even though I’m sure just getting out zapped your strength. I understand how difficult it can be when your immune system keeps attacking your body. I’m doing OK, but have dealt with AI problems for over twenty years. Stress is your enemy, so they tell me. Hope work can slow down a bit for your sake. You will get over this and you will be riding again. So sorry you are not feeling up to it at this time.
Thank you for the empathy and concern. The bartonella infection mimics Sjogrens and Lupus in many ways – but all the extensive tests last year didn’t show any auto-immunity markers. My GP was pretty convinced that my symptoms clinically looked like Sjogrens. So that is a good thing, but Bartonella is notoriously hard to get rid of – harder than chronic Lyme – so that’s not so good. Still, I just need to take 6-12 months off and just let my body heal. I have not done that since I first got WNV 3.5 years ago, but I’m just going to have to do it. Stress is definitely one of the worst things for the immune system, I agree.
Kermit and Verne had some good finds on their search. I especially like Kermit on the window sill with the curtains pulled back behind him. Nicely done you guys.
So sorry that your health has taken a dip. I know you will do better and be back on the saddle exploring more of you surroundings. I will give positive thoughts that that time is soon ;’-).
I think the guys exhausted all of the man-made arches nearby except the post office roof, graves at the cemetery and the playground (thanks to your idea!). Not sure if they’ll go back out to get those – there’s a pond down the road with lily pads that looks a lot more fun to them. Yes, I’ll get back on the bike – just not looking forward to rebuilding all the mileage fitness yet AGAIN!
Good work, Verne and Kermit. Nice arches and good action shots. It’s just too bad your friend, Emily, couldn’t be there with you. Stress absolutely sucks, even for a physically healthy person. It’s the main reason I took an early retirement seven years ago. I’m very lucky I was able to do so, because if I HAD to continue working I would have become a basket case. So you guys be good to her and behave yourselves when you go on these outings.
The guys thank you for your response to them. I will have to take 6-12 months off soon. I can’t do this ‘feel like some degree of crap all the time’ much longer. It’s been 3.5 years. I can’t afford to retire in my 40s, but I can afford 12-18 months off. It is the only way I’m ever going to get well, and people who have been in the same situation have been telling me so the whole time!
I hope the air quality dips below hazardous long enough to keep up your riding streak. Though we had 5 weeks straight where it was rated hazardous at some point every day here last summer, I am certain Sydney and Canberra had more days in total last summer that were of that rating. They had a lot of smoke in Nov and Dec that we didn’t get. Ours was all in Jan/Feb.
No tyres over watermains here, we’re far too classy, we surround them with rocks.
Aussie hamburgers are the best I reckon, especially with an egg and beetroot.
Australia has much better scones and savoury bakery items than America. Better chicken parmigiana and much better dairy products (flavoured milks, ice cream and definitely cheese). Much better access to fresh fruit and veg at good prices and quality. You are also much, much more likely to find a good Thai or Indian restaurant in a rural area of Oz than a rural area of America. You can also find fish n chip shops with fresh fish that is hand-battered/crumbed many hours away from the ocean in Oz (never found that in America). But it is very hard to find a good, rather than just average, burger in Oz. It’s all about the hamburger – if that’s not good, then the toppings don’t matter (I like beetroot, no egg though – too greasy). It is much, much easier to find good burgers in America. America also does better doughnuts, margaritas and anything that involves peanut butter. So, yeah, Oz does a lot of things well, and better than America, but hamburgers are not one of them 🙂 I feel qualified to say that since I’ve spent half my life in Oz and half in America.
Kermit and Verne are a great photographer and model team! Kermit framed in the window is perfect. Glad they could help you out. Your work load sounds terrible, hope you see your way clear to taking a work break asap. Work stress can poison your life, I know from experience.
Thanks, Suzanne. I have a great boss and love my work team – I just don’t like the work and there is waaaaaaay too much of it. If it doesn’t back off a bit soon, I’ll have to finish before my contract ends. My boss is understanding and trying to help the best she can – the workload is not totally under her control. My work is appreciated, so at least I’ve got that!