A couple of things.

Kids were home for Thanksgiving with their significant others, always a gift. The weather was right to light off the "burn pile":

Before:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1701627848.jpg

During:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1701627934.jpg

Then, Jack and I figured out the issues with our 6x6 Ranger, which we use every day multiple times. Starting problems:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1701628177.jpg

We decided that we'd start with the key cylinder, order it and then work our way down the chain.

Ordered the parts, came in yesterday.

Perfect.

Happiness is a running Polaris Ranger.

This thread. Thanks Billy.

The Money Pit. What $45K of a built side by side looks like. It provides Perpetual Grins

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1701635084.jpg

At the moment Dilaudid is keeping me happy.

Hang in there.

You have a reasonably straight head on? With morphine during my bypass surgery in early 2021 I was out there. Not hallucinogenic but there was some fictional stuff going on.

Cleaned the rain gutters to prepare for what they are saying will be a "wet winter". Hung the Christmas lights while I had the ladder out.

Picked up our tree, a Nordmann Spruce, put it in the stand and strung the lights (my job). Now laying on the couch as I watch my Wife decorate the tree, my Choc Lab Nalu laying beside me with his head resting on my thigh while I watch "The Art Of Racing In The Rain".

The occasional tear running down my cheek (I know it's just actors reciting words, I do this at work all day).

But I can't help realizing that between the loss of our Granddaughter, a strike that affected my employment for more than 6 months and the holidays screaming up on us at breakneck speed, I'm still one of the luckiest guys on the face of this earth. In spite of it all. I'm a very rich man.

My baby turned 40!!
:eek:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1701644112.jpg

I’ll let you guys be the judge of that. ;)

The dilaudid wasn’t helping much. I made note of when the pain was the strongest. Turned out to be when I used the muscles in my lower body. Still puzzled why lifting my left leg causes excruciating pain in the lower center of my abdomen. Doc is backing off the pain meds and loading me up with muscle relaxers in a few minutes. We’ll see.

I'm very VERY lucky in many ways, after 8 years of retirement I smile about things on a daily basis.

Still plenty to do, healthy and able to pick and choose what projects to work on versus going out to play.
In a great spot financially, everything is paid for and multiple streams of income keep traveling and home/Porsche upgrades paid for.

Most recently I'd say having our son come home for Thanksgiving and spending 4 days.
Loved catching up and getting outside for walks, very proud of this guy- he's working towards an electricians cert while working long weeks installing solar panels.

Mt. Baker behind them- he climbed it last year
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1701644115.JPG

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1701644115.JPG

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1701644115.JPG

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1701644115.JPG

This has got to be in the running for a Best Picture Emmy!

Haha, y'all look like trouble!!! The good kind!!! [emoji3]

Right now I am just happy the Crimson Tide beat Georgia and are in the playoffs!!!

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

I know you won't see this because you're back at the hospital but the nerve block they gave me in my shoulder before anesthesia and the surgery wore off overnight as expected. I too was a 11 on day 2 and started chanting some made up monotone mantra. I wasn't real quiet and peaceful you understand, just getting my mind out of there which I don't really have the power to do.

They sent the scope, 2 techs and the needle into my room the next morning a little late for my liking. The nerve block took 100% of the pain away. The next day I had little pain from the shoulder area sorta isolated at the joint. I hurt so bad that 2nd day that I couldn't say anything other then upper right side. So the 3rd day they sent me home with Norcos.

After that shoulder failed with infection, it was removed (every last screw) and they put some kind of spacer in there from where they cut off the humerus bone to the shoulder blade area and I lived with a limpy arm for 8 months. That's called a revision.

Then I found a new surgeon from Mayo that did the arthroscopy a second time. Different hospital and I can't remember if I had the nerve block. But the surgeon was in my room bright and early the next morning and gently helped me use my left arm to remove the arm from the sling and then with his hand on my hand we lifted my arm over my head! He just said that's part of some exercises to do and don't use the surgery side muscles, get someone or use only the other arm. I did all of it 3 times a day starting on day 3.

Night and day between the 1st 2nd and 3rd surgery with the 3rd being almost as painless as the revision. The was July of '21 I think and I didn't even half to finish the whole PT schedule.

So a little off track, but to show that sometimes there is a mystery pain and a nerve block might be better than muscle relaxers until a scan and/or an MRI can see what's going on. I know when I went through the prostate deal I had a spinal nerve block and they could have removed my legs with a chainsaw. But that's not where they were working, so you know that it works if they can work in there. :D

And I walked out after 2 hours of monitoring. I was never out during any of the prostate. Dead out for the shoulder all 3 times. Only once time the last time did I remember being rolled in and transferred to the table. Sitting up. looking around and I said, "Man there are a lot of carts covered with tools. YOU gonna use all this stuff?"

Goodnight.

"What’s making you happy right now?"

Two things, my family and music however my go to daily therapy is cycling.

- I'm really lucky because I can manage my moods with activities.

We're in late autumn here and I need to switch to indoor spinning. :( It sux.

Yes it can but I listen to music or I watch YouTube videos when indoor spinning.

What's also really good: You're not worried about motorists checking their smart phones.

I stopped in to have a quick visit with my dad yesterday afternoon. I took him out to show him my new truck before lunch… he asked if I’d take him for lunch, so I did. That filled my bucket.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1702576429.jpg

And I’m happy Tabs is still kicking.

Back to regular exercise almost a year now, still a fatty but feel 100times better

Family is healthy, food on the table, roof doesn't leak......thurolghly unqualified to ***** about anything at all

Thinking about how lucky I was this past Tuesday. The weekend was filled with a visit from our daughter and one of her kids from Virginia. Picking them up at LAX on Friday at noon. Going to a family Xmas party on Saturday. My daughter borrowing my wife's car to go visit a cousin on Sunday. Another trip to LAX on Monday late morning. My brother coming to visit on Tuesday. Dinking in the garage with him, and buying LED bulbs for my fluorescent fixtures that didn't work. Then, we go to take the bulbs back to the store and my wife's car won't start.
Battery takes a dump on us at 3 in the afternoon. I start to get mad at it but my brother says 'Dude, look at this sticker. This battery is SEVEN yrs old!'
We spend the rest of the afternoon getting a new battery and installing it. Then we returned the tubes and got Panda Express for dinner.
How many times have you had a battery quit on you IN YOUR OWN GARAGE?
Yeah, when I think about all the possible times it could have gone belly up on us this past weekend, I'm pretty happy.