The Thumb Saga - a continuing story !!

Over the past week, I've found that 3 or 4 pounds of hard cast makes your upper arm muscles very sore. I tend to push the envelope a bit when it comes to pain. I try to ignore twinges and sore muscles as I feel they are signs of aging. Yeah, I know, typical male ;)

This past week, I was doing some website work for a customer and, as a touch typist, tried to use the four fingers of my left hand that are not being held in stasis as usual. Of course, I kept my arm in its usual position, the one I learned when I first learned how to type. Elbows off the desk, just as if I were sitting at a typewriter.

That resulted in a sleepless night due to a very sore upper set of muscles that were not used to having an additional weight at the end of an appendage that usually works quite nicely. My wife's suggesting of the heating pad helped the next morning (as the Tylinol was not working) to alleviate the pain. I spent most of the day with the pad on the arm, and dozing off in my La-z-boy. Scratch that day's activities off the list.

Well, come this past Monday. I volunteer a Monday every other week at SPC, filling in for one of our part-time secretaries who is recouping from a surgery. I get to do the bulletin, and I've been bringing the church red books up to date. Turns out the Session minute book was three years out of date, more on this in another post. In any case, I was doing some major typing for about 3 or 4 hours.

This is also the time I get to check the entries in our church database system. I update the attendance for the past Sunday, then check the entries made by the other part-time secretary who keeps reminding me that she's on the B Team. That is: she B here when I arrived, and she'll B here when I leave. Which also means that the nice guides I put together with screenshots from the program, annotating exactly how to avoid creating duplicate database records for families, just gather dust in the bottom of a drawer. This was a light week, only took me a half hour to correct the database.

So what does this have to do with the continuing story? Remember what I said about the arm previously?? OWWWWIE !!

.... and so it goes !!

A Sore Thumb - Redux

So far, so good. The thumb is currently encased in gauze, cotton batting, thumb brace and ace bandage. Its braced at an angle so it doesn't move, this is to keep the bones and the spacer aligned until everything heals.

The next step happens Monday, when they take this soft cast off, and replace it with something much harder, and heavier.

And so it goes .....

A Sore Thumb!!

I've not talked about this previously, as I've always been able to work around it, however, now I have no choice.

I had arthritis in my left thumb, I say had as last Tuesday I had surgery to correct my lack of cartilage there. I am now walking around with 5 pounds of gauze,ace bandage and splints to keep the thumb and wrist from moving and tearing up the repair.

The liberal use of Percodan helps with pain, but it does not help when I try to type one handed. So, until I install some voice recognition software, I won't be commenting much, here or anywhere. I'm too impatient and dislike it taking 4 or 5 times as long to get things done.

I'm also praying more for those who have lost their use of their hands while serving on Active Duty.

I'll be back!!

.... and so it goes !!

Answer to Previous Puzzle

In my last blog post, I listed a blurb that was put in our monthly newsletter by our Stewardship Commission. I asked if anyone could figure out exactly what my wife saw as a problem.

Quotidian Grace saw one issue, no one was asked to bring their pledge cards to worship. That was part of it, but the other was more subtle.

Notice that the members are being asked to demonstrate our support to Stodgy Presbyterian Church . Not to the works and mission of SPC, but to SPC.

Some would say but that's implicit in the request but is it ?? How many people or congregations (and by inference: denominations) are more interested in the physical plant of the church, than the works and mission of the church.

It all goes back to the fact that in many churches we're not creating disciples, just country club members.

... and so it goes !!

Stewardship Education

SPC's stewardship education leaves a lot to be desired. Frankly, its practically non-existant. Here is a sample, this was printed in our monthly newsletter:

October 18th is designated Stewardship Sunday. It is important that we all demonstrate our support to Stodgy Presbyterian Church through our annual pledges. Please return your pledge card to the Church as soon as possible. They are needed for planning purposes for next year.

OK ... can anyone see what SWMBO noticed immediately when reading that ?? A virtual cigar to the first person to comment correctly.

... and so it goes!

A Hole With Four Wheels !!

Back when SWMBO and I had money, about ten years ago or so, we were living in the Land of Lincoln, and taking off every other weekend to go camping.

At that time we were avid tent campers, with a very large dome tent, and all the accessories. Occasionally it would rain, but we were very good at setting up the tent on the high ground, and trenching around the tent. Then came one night, it must have come down about 3 inches in a half-hour. While the floor of the tent held up, it seems that the waterproof fly wasn't all that waterproof, and then tent seams weren't all that sealed.

We packed up the sodden mess that night, and headed to the nearest motel. A month or so later, we decided to head out to a location we had not visited before. It was July, and the weather was decidedly dryer ... and warmer. That first day we setup around 2pm, and then went to take a nice cool shower. Temp was in the high 80's, as was the humidity.

We got back to the tent, just as hot and sweaty as we were before the shower. Luckily the tent was in a shady spot, but there wasn't much of a breeze that day. That evening, we tried to get to sleep, but it was too warm. Went out to a nearby Wall of Mart (blissfully air conditioned), and picked up a fan along with a 200 foot extension cord. Plugged in the cord to the RV electric box there, and ran the fan all night. Next day, we lasted until 12 and then packed it in. On the way home we made a resolution to buy a small RV.

We found a used one, found out afterwards it needed a lot of reconstruction, and traded it in on a new one (something like the picture). It was (and is) still great. Air Conditioning, stove, fridge, mini-shower and commode, and a generator so we can dry camp. Trouble is, these things take a lot of maintenance.

Unfortunately, there was a period of about two years I didn't do any preventive maintenance, not a good thing. Now I spend my time sealing leaks, and trying to keep the whole thing from falling apart. I have no one to blame but myself, but they could have made it easier to work on. I'm hoping that I can find a place that can do reconstructive work on the overhang. The manufacturer figured out that the overhang was a long-term accident waiting to happen, and started using a one-piece fiberglass shell with less seams and fewer problems. Its too late for me, unless I can find someone who can do a retrofit, which would involve additional investment.

And they call boats a hole in the water a man pours his money into; they should own an RV !!

... and so it goes !!

Multi-generational

Was reading Presbyweb (or as its now known Church and World - PCUSA Edition) today, and saw a blurb about an article John Ortberg wrote for the Leadership Journal.

Clicked on the link to the article, and started reading. A very good article by the way, but what struck me was this thought:

I was looking at church websites not long ago and noticed a fascinating dynamic. Many new churches have been formed with "multi-cultural" as part of their DNA and a stated value. But I have not yet seen a new church plant with "multi-generational" in its vision statement. In all the cases I read (in an admittedly non-scientific sample), "multi-generational" in a church's self-description was a euphemism for "we are an aging church that wants to have more young people attending so that we don't die, but we don't want to change enough to actually attract any of them to come."

My emphasis above. FWIW ... Stodgy Presbyterian has multi-generational on its Welcome page. As the webmaster for SPC, I've been racking my brain to remember where I got that blurb. Turns out I found it on the monthly newsletter's main page.

And, as with many things, John Ortberg has that down pat !!

Update: When I mentioned this to SWMBO, she gave a corollary to the definition given above. She felt that John Ortberg would approve it whole-heartedly: "In addition to the definition given, you can add The young families we currently have are limited to the children of the members who grew up in the church.

... and so it goes