Of Moose And Men
The Best Laid Plans Of Both Often Go Astray

Got all my workouts in this week. Got the silly thing done for and sent back to the lord high muckety-mucks in the Mad King’s administration (redrafting part of a draft rule that they got a shit ton of negative comments on because, surprise surprise, they wrote it badly, and ended up farming out edits to a bunch of us in the agencies, which I got stuck with at my agency). Got half a day off from the career guy in charge of the agency for the holiday on Monday, and checked out at lunch time. Done and done.

The husband was not so lucky, though he was also working from home today. Did knock off a little early, so I ran him to the post office to mail a package off (he’s been selling collectibles we’ve gotten over the years and no longer need or want), then to the local Whole Foods for some staples. I especially wanted to get some gluten free bread from their frozen section because I have a recipe to try and the dough for it starts with commercial gluten free bread that you grind up, rather than trying to fiddle up your own ratios of obscure flours to make a home made dough. The cookbook is about ten years old, written before commercial gluten free flour mixes became as easy to find as they are now. I’m fascinated by the concept, so I can’t wait to try it.

Still plugging away at comics, still. Made a sizable dent this afternoon, hoping to continue that through the weekend.

Thankful that Congress passed a continuing funding resolution so early and the Mad King actually signed it, so we know we have funding through early December. it’s anyone’s guess how they’ll react after the election this fall, so all bets are off for a lapse in funding after this runs out, but at least we’re good until then.

Got another run done this past weekend. One mile this time, still doing repeats of run up the block, walk back. But still no knee pain during or after. Huzzah. Plenty of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) this week, though, between the run and my regular workouts M/Tu. Whee.

I am working from home this week and next as my office building is reinstalling network cable all throughout our floor. The floor that was the first one occupied back in May. So while the last cohort of everyone else doing the whole Return To Office thing came in on Monday, half of the first folks back are once again at home because they didn’t have the cable done before we moved in. *snert* Whatever. I will say that I am terribly out of practice for working from home, and it definitely doesn’t give me enough other movement (aka steps) versus going into the office. I don’t miss the time for the commute (I do appreciate the uninterrupted reading time on the train), and the cats have enjoyed being able to bug me 24/7 again, but I think I’d rather have a mix of in-office and at-home.

Had my first crown done a couple of weeks ago. Aside from the gums feeling a little roughed up for a couple of days it’s gone smoothly. It helps that the doc has the printer for the things right in the office, so no more having to wait weeks with a temporary one – they fit it 20-odd minutes after he got done drilling. And while I’m not thrilled with the location of the office (Foggy Bottom), he’s a whiz at the anesthesia shots, so it’s worth it.

Starting to catch up on comics finally. I think I’m two months behind at this point? But I’m dedicating more time to get caught up, which isn’t easy when there’s a new batch every week. Plus trying to keep up with other reading.

The husband has some sort of bug. Here’s hoping it’s not contagious. Or that I just fight it off without actually coming down with symptoms. Poor guy.

But, in happier news, I ran this morning. Wasn’t long (11 minutes, 8 repeats of run the block of townhomes and walk back, 0.7 miles), but no knee pain while running and as of this evening, still no knee pain. I almost cried at the end. Fourteen months after the knee surgery, and eight months into an overall strength and conditioning program, and I was able to run without pain. Don’t get me wrong, I anticipate being hella muscle-sore tomorrow, maybe, but as of tonight I’m absolutely golden.

The tiny town we go to for our anniversary each year (Cape Charles, Virginia) has been putting out Xmas ornaments as a fundraiser for the last 9 or so years. We managed to pick up most of them from our innkeepers, but she didn’t have this years. She texted me last night that the new one was out, so it’s been ordered. This year is the local theatre, which ironically is the one place in town we’ve never been. Most years it’s closed, or we just miss whatever is showing, or it’s showing something we have no interest in (this year was a Dave Matthews cover band – no thanks). Once we got past the first 4-5 of them I put a note in my phone with an inventory to make sure we don’t buy extras.

The husband is flying back from Chicago this morning. Has been nice having the place to myself and setting an earlier schedule, but I look forward to hearing about the trip, and the big Spider-man exhibit that was there.

Picked up the latest Ravenloft book from DnD. I remember the original Curse of Strahd coming out in the early 1980s and loved that one, so even though I have little to no time to play DnD these days I still enjoy reading the source books.

I think it’s finally time to try running again, a year out from the knee surgery (June 12, 2025). The exercise/mobility program I’ve been doing has been fantastic for my body overall, not just the knee, but definitely has helped there. Who knew that lots of squats and lifting weights was good for you? Everyone, of course. So I’ve hauled out some of my favorite books on the subject to develop a return-to-running plan. I also discovered that there’s a local running group that meets on Sundays a short walk from the house, so I can get some social interaction with it as well, once I’m sure I’ll be back to it. I’m medically cleared, and have been for months, this is more the mental hurdle of “am I going to injure myself again”.

Making more use of the local library this summer, but as a result I have a backlog of books now. While I get a lot of reading time on the Metro sometimes you don’t want to haul the giant hardback with you along with everything else (lunch, etc.). I no longer mind the weight (thank you exercise program), it’s more the bulk of it. Add to that my usual cyclical backlog of comics. I’d gotten them all read the last time the husband went out of town, but when you add to the collection weekly they can overwhelm.

I head back to the office on Monday, part of the first wave of folks moving into our new office building. Hopefully the internet will work; supposedly we’re going to be on hotspots, which does not sound like a sustainable model. And based on the calls with the few leadership folks who’ve been in the office, the connection will be … less than optimal. Whatever. Y’all set the conditions and I’ll do my best to work under them.

Tomorrow I’ll have to go through the stuff I hauled home from the old office building and see what needs to go back immediately and what can wait until I decided to drive down.

Hardest part is going to be figuring out the new morning routine so I can get my exercise in, and still make it to the office at a reasonable hour. I know myself well enough to know I have to do it before work or it won’t get done, and I’ve made too much progress this year not to make this happen. Heck, the other day I was able to squat down and play with one of the cats and stay in that position for a while. Not bad for ten months out from knee surgery!

For the good deed, that is. The young friend apparently had a cold at the end and the husband and I have it now. LOL I’m fighting it, he’s got it full blown. I’d tease the friend about it, but he’d take it way too seriously and go into a spiral right now, so I’m just teasing the husband instead.

That said, I still got in a workout this morning. Trying a one-week program from my favorite mobility site. So far so good, though getting in the steps while teleworking is a challenge. Speaking of, scuttlebutt in the office is that rather than a couple months we’re probably looking at 9-12 before we can move into the new building because of all the work that has to happen to get the IT systems up to snuff, including work outside the building to tear up the street and install better external wiring. So much for “move in ready” in the request for proposals. Not complaining, at all, just amazed at how messy this whole thing has been. All because a large agency head hated his building downtown, and his commute. Lawdy.

I’ve been slacking off on my PT exercises for the repaired knee, with the (expected) result that it’s been more sore lately. Splurged for a squat wedge, which is a lot easier to use for heel elevated squats. I can get a lot deeper into a squat than on flat feet, and that was one of the things they had me doing a lot when I was going to PT on the regular. Between that and the slack block my knee is feeling better.

Was back to work today, teleworking. Relatively quiet, so mostly cleaned out email and read a longish memo from justice that pertains to my small gubm’nt agency’s work, though it was written for a different agency. We’ll have to change some of our programs, and cancel some others, under this new guidance. But that’s a problem for next week.

The husband and I are going to take some trips via airplane next year so I’m applying for TSA’s PreCheck clearance. He’s already got it, and I consider it worth the cash to not deal with as much security nonsense at the actual airport. Less valuable in the DC area where it’s well known and so well subscribed, but for flying back I understand it cuts out a lot of hassle.

Slowing down in terms of work, speeding up in terms of other life things.

Work has been getting a tad slower. Most of the folks know what they should/shouldn’t be doing at this point, so there’s little need to consult the lawyers after you’ve been going at it for 35 days. We do get inquiries, but not as many. That may pick up as we start planning restart activities, for whenever Congress decides to do their damned jobs. There’s rumors of movement, but nothing as yet. It’s not like they can take the House’s bill at this point, since that only takes us through the week before Thanksgiving, and no one wants to deal with this mess all over again in three weeks anyway.

In happier news, I finished the latest scarf tonight. No pictures yet, as it’s still damp on a towel for blocking at the moment. Looking at the next things in the queue I may go nuts and cast on two projects – a chunky hat with an interesting bit of color work detail (in grey and dark blue), and this very 90s looking scarf that the husband asked me to make him when I was flipping through patterns (in the exact colors pictured, because my local yarn shop had that exact wool in stock). It apparently looks just like a sweater he had back in the 90s that he loved. The scarf will be a ton of mindless 2×2 ribbing, which makes it perfect for the few meetings I have, as well as new TV viewing, where the hat will need a bit more attention, so older movies I’ve seen will be the call there.

Caught up on comics last week, and again this afternoon. Not thrilled with the current book on my kindle, The Portable Door. Having just finished re-reading the Wheel of Time series, I’m finding the smart assedness of this one jarring. Not that I don’t love a book with a smart assed voice, but it’s not hitting for me right now.

Had what is likely my last physical therapy session for the knee today. I have a ton of notes I took on exercises, so I think I’m set. It’s surprisingly not sore this evening, even after some shuttle runs and turning drills. I won’t be running a race any time soon, but in theory I could start more walking with some running interspersed.

Early day metroing downtown for dentist appointments for the husband and myself. Walked him up to a different metro after, then I walked up to the U street metro, all around about a mile and 3/4 (2.7km). Hardest part was reminding myself to brace my core and stand upright. I’ve been walking oddly for so long because of the knee that I have to retrain myself to walk normally. But I’m determined not to be one of those old men who are permanently hunched over.

Home to cool off, then PT. The husband met me there, a quick trip for groceries, then home to shower and knit. Finished the body of the shawl, now I’m on the border. Between the afternoon and evening (post comics & dinner) I finished the last two rows of the body and the first four rows of the border. Fourteen more to go, then bind off and done. So maybe seven more hours? Ha.

After all that I’m hoping I sleep like the dead.

Both in terms of PT and the knitting.

At PT they’re upping the weights in hand, and changing up the exercises, as they should be doing. I’m mostly fine on steps now, still some numbness when I kneel on the knee, and I can walk and bike pretty much normally. Zero cardio capacity at the moment, though, so I need to get on the bike more to help build that back.

Four more rows on the shawl. I’m 70% there, but with a lot more to go. I’m determined to get through this, though I may break and do a dishcloth or two when I need a small piece.

My nieces are all crocheting these days, and it’s fun to watch them finish things.