Osteoporosis, Renaissance Festival, and my Dehydrator - A Busy Morning/Weekend

My bone density scan results came through yesterday afternoon. I suppose I should be depressed, but all I can do is keep doing what I'm doing and hope for the best. I live in a house with stairs to everywhere. There's no way we could continue to live here if I couldn't get up and down the stairs. So I'd better not have any hip or large-leg bone fractures in my future. But, apparently I've lost 3.0% in my lumbar spine, 6.1% in my right hip and 6.8% in my left hip. The next paragraph in the report is headed FRACTURE RISK and states "The FRAX risk calculator is not applicable due to osteoporosis". Huh? So, apparently my BMD is consistent with osteoporosis and at increased fracture risk. I should be "treated". But the treatment requires breakdown of the bones in order to create new ones. Not always a great way to go about healing. 

Osteo in the spine is never a good sign, and my lumbar 
region is definitely affected. *sigh*

On that note, I'm just going to push this behind me until I chat with my Doctor. I just spent two years on osteo drugs, and she wants me off them for at least two years before putting me back onto the medication course. I can't disagree with her - those drugs are rather evil and frightening and I really don't want to be taking them. But ... yeah. 

I'm a swimmer. I absolutely HATE floor exercises. I may 
have to change my exercise routines or add Mondays and Fridays 
to my gym days so that I can use their equipment. I like 
the schedule I'm on, and I'm a swimmer! LOL 

I just posted my newest writing in our writing contest. I should have details for voting later today, so I'll hold off posting a request for votes until Monday. Tomorrow (Sunday) is our first day at the Renaissance Festival for this season. I'm looking forward to it, DH isn't. He doesn't have to go with me if he doesn't want to, but he'll force himself to go. I'll admit that it's been degrading for the past 5-6 years, and COVID didn't do it any favors either, but I love just being outdoors for a few hours mingling with friends from years back, and listening to music, looking at products for sale, and generally wandering. It makes me happy. So DH dresses in his peasant garb and we'll be at the front gates tomorrow morning ready to enter the town again after a long year away. 

Ren Fest changed their parking last year. It's a purchase plan 
for Fest Grounds parking (last year it was $30 on the day, 
$15 in advance, $13 for season ticket holders). This year they're 
only charging $15 for the general public (which will increase 
the number of people parking on grounds), but it's still $13 
for those of us who are season ticket holders. I have my parking 
pass already printed out and ready to be presented. 

I just pulled out the two season tickets and our parking pass for Fest and put them onto my desk. For that first Ren of the season, I'm often a bit scatterbrained. I DON'T need to be leaving this stuff behind when I live an hour away from the Fest grounds. LOL 

So, I'm signing off. I'm looking forward to reading some of the entries submitted for this session of LJ Idol later today, but right now I have to turn off the dehydrator and get my herbs and peppers put into appropriate containers. Have a great Saturday, I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

Building - Shelves and Bone Density

The new storage system is almost completed. Today DH will drill into the concrete blocks behind the paneling and bolt each unit into the concrete wall (the entire room is in the basement - thus the concrete block wall). When that's done, we can start moving items into the new cubbies. I have magazine files, books and materials just waiting for their space. Take a peek at how it looks now from the entryway and the back of the spread. 

Looking down the final spread from the entryway of the craft
room, you can see that I've got a lot of storage available now.
I really need it - I outgrew the last storage units he made me
several years ago. 

I saw my doctor yesterday and we had a good discussion about the pros and cons of Fosamax and other medications recommended for osteoporosis. I used to take Fosamax - in the early 2000's I took it for approximately three years. Then I started hearing about "Large Bone Fracture" and jaw problems linked to the type of medication and I got frightened. I started researching it, and decided to pull back on the meds. I went into my doctor yesterday fully prepared to say "No" to bone density replacement medications. I changed my mind. 

Looking from the back of the room towards the doorway, you can
see the full extent of the new shelving along with a nice cubby at the
back of the credenza for a desk lamp. 

The last time I had a bone density scan was in 2015 - a little more than three years ago. That scan revealed the osteopenia that I knew I had, but no problem areas in my lumbar or hip regions. The scan I had a month or so ago was quite different. I still had no problems in my lumbar region, and my right hip was fine, but I had lost more than 7.1% of my bone density in my left femur top of my hip joint. That led to a diagnosis of osteoporosis and her strong recommendation for bone strengthening and replacement medication. 

My doctor as very pleased that I had mentioned the osteoporosis
diagnosis to my PT and that we had worked that into our
PT regime and exercise choices. I'm using the recommendations
of my PT in more ways than just the original shoulder issue. 

So, I'll try it. Seven-point-one percent is a huge amount of change in three years and that's got me spooked. I live in a four level split, and a hip fracture could force me to move - suddenly and without warning. I don't want to move. So I'll pick up my prescription today and start taking the meds in the hope that any fracture I might have will be far, far in the future. 

Have an excellent weekend. I'll be cleaning (shock! I know) and grilling (country ribs and corn again, along with macaroni salad that I'll make tonight), and hopefully the weather will allow us to enjoy margaritas in the backyard for an afternoon break. I'll be back on Monday, so enjoy your weekend. I'm off to the gym. 

Summertime Is Grilling Time

I'm getting energetic this weekend, and decided that I am doing the cooking on Sunday. I'm marinating and grilling boneless pork country ribs and making home-made macaroni salad and grilled corn to accompany it, along with our favorite store-bought deli potato salad. We won't starve to death - LOL. I haven't had a chance to grill for years since DH took over that aspect of the cooking. It'll be nice to be at the grill again, I've missed it. 

We don't go hi-tech with our grill. We use a
standard Weber 22" charcoal grill. It works
great and we've used one of these for many
years. 

I've also been working hard on my PT exercises as well as my posture in general. My arm is getting better, but it's slow going. I purchased a little posture reminder and trainer to help with my general abdominal muscle tone more than a month ago and have been using it almost every day since. The Upright Go 2 is very compact and I apply it to my upper back when I've arrived at work. I usually leave it on until late in the evening, so that I'm tracking 8 hours minimum. It tracks whether I'm slouching or upright and the adhesive is marvelous. I've used it for 27 days now and haven't had to replace the adhesive pad yet. It's very helpful, too, reminding me to straighten up when I curl or slouch and keeping general track of my progress throughout the day. I like my gadgets, and this one is a winner. 

I'm really liking my "Upright Go 2" posture trainer. It's
small, links to my smart-phone, and charges from my
computer via cable. The adhesive is strong and is still
working after almost a month. I purchased extra adhesives
when I bought the trainer, but I might not have to use
them until late this year. 

I've also been working hard at my fast walking. I have to watch myself closely, I'm not supposed to run because it's too much impact. I have to stay at a quick clip pace, but not actually run - just walk. Walking means one foot must be in contact with the ground at all times, so I'm concentrating on that. Although I also want to increase my speed and work my time down, right now I'm  pacing a mile at 16:30 and I can live with that. I'd like to get it closer to a true 15-minute mile, though. Something to look forward to and work towards. 

As you can tell, there is a difference in impact between the
walking on the left and the running on the right. But take a look
at the actual graph below.

Look at this graph. Walking is on top, running at the bottom. The
force generated by running is high peaks and low drops. The
force generated by walking is much more gentle and lessens
the direct impact on the bones. That's the kind of exercise my
PT and doctor recommend for my osteoporosis. 

So, as I envision the steps to making my macaroni salad tonight, and what I need to do to brine my pork country ribs tomorrow morning, I'm moving ahead. I hope all of you have a wonderful and outstanding weekend. It's already early August and our summer is moving fast. Take advantage of this wonderful season and get outdoors (unless the heat is dreadful or the bugs have taken over your favorite hang-outs). I'll be back on Monday and if I remember, I'll let you know how my return to the grill went. 

Le Tour Days 8 and 9 - A Very Busy Week Ahead

Yesterday's long stage completed, the boys and their bicycles continue their journey to the southeast and the Pyrenees mountains. Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) is still in the Yellow, and Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) is still in the Green. Even though we've had riders in the Polka Dot, King of the Mountains, jersey, now is when that jersey will truly come into contention and the gaps in the times for the riders will continue to increase. Congratulations go out to Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) for winning Stage 7 in an exciting sprint to the finish. Now ... on to Stage 8, Macon to Saint-Etienne, marked as "hilly" on the TdF official website. Yeah - hilly!!!. 

Just look at all of those hills, it's a virtual roller-coaster in
yellow. Today features seven peaks for the riders to pull
themselves over in a 200 km long course. It's getting serious now. 

Here's your general description of the stage: 

There are no less than seven categorized climbs on the 200km long stage 8 from Mâcon to Saint-Etienne. It should be more animated than on the previous day with just Yoann Offredo and Stéphane Rossetto opening the road before the peloton. It’s actually a perfect stage for attackers like Alessandro De Marchi (CCC) who is one of the riders looking the Grand Tour trilogy following the path of Elia Viviani on stage 4 to Nancy. The last climb is the côte de la Jaillère 12.5km before the finish in Saint-Etienne near the famous football stadium Geoffroy-Guichard. It features a bonus sprint that means 8’’, 5’’ and 2’’ to the top 3 riders there. It could inspire Julian Alaphilippe for getting the yellow jersey back as he’s only 6’’ down on Giulio Ciccone. But that would mean asking a lot to his Deceuninck-Quick Step team the day after they invested many resources in gearing up for a bunch sprint with Elia Viviani who was hampered by a puncture in his final effort and there are two weeks left with some ambitions on GC with Enric Mas. However, the duel is open between the Frenchman and the Italian for the yellow jersey.

Today (Saturday) will start to see greater and greater gaps as the boys are challenged with seven separate peaks, five of them Cat 2, two of them Cat 3. We're not into the true mountains yet, but we're getting closer and closer. A disappointment for me is that Tejay Van Garderen (EF Education First) has been forced to leave the Tour because of an accident early in Stage 7 causing a broken thumb. The doctors declared him unfit to ride, so he's the third rider to abandon this year. 

Let me see if I can get a good in-depth detail map for the next few days and put that up here. 

Here's a detail map for most of the rest of this year's race. Today
we're at the blue mark in the upper center, heading to the first
rec below, which continues tomorrow to the second red. 

So we're entering the Massif Central of France now, and that's lots of hills and peaks and valleys. We're heading towards the Pyrenees, but there's a lot of time before we're actually near Pau and the individual time trial. You got a look at Stage 8 above, and I'll show you Stage 9 for Sunday below. The route goes from Saint-Etienne to Brioude, and is once again considered "hilly". 

Stage 9, Sunday, continues the route South-Southwest. Here the
peaks are less, but the climbing is more intense, starting with a steep
Cat 1 to pull the boys into the larger terrain. 

As we move into next week, the Pyrenees loom ahead and also, The Open will be going on next weekend. I'll have four days of Le Tour and premium golf to watch, which will help make up for the fact that Chickie will be on vacation and I'll be working a 6-day week. 

Shifting back to today - Saturday, and looking at the general rankings, Geraint Thomas is still in 5th place, positioned very well to take some serious time over the next few days. The total number bunched into the first minute of time gap, though, has decreased to seven riders. 

So, on that note, please have a wonderful weekend. I'll be trying to figure out the best way for me to get the "impact" exercise I'm supposed to, without going too much overboard, I'll also be working to get my tempo trainer (originally purchased to help me in the pool), shifted over for a fast walking cadence. I'll get it nailed during the next week. Enjoy your weekend and I'll be back on Monday for Stage 10. 

Day 7 and We Progress Southwest Toward REAL Mountains

Today is rather flat, bur yesterday's six peaks started to crunch the field and imposed the beginnings of time cracks and gaps. It was wonderful to see Guilio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) drag himself over the top of the final peak to win the Yellow Jersey. Alaphilippe, the previous holder of Yellow, crossed 41 seconds later. It's quite probable that Ciccone will hold onto the Yellow for at least one more day since today is a "flat" stage, but he'll still need to watch the field carefully and not allow threats to get ahead of him. When you have the Yellow, it turns into a race of tactics. 

Let's take a look at today's profile. 

Today is almost a meander - two Cat 4 peaks, and one very steep
Cat 1 ascent as they go from Belfort to Chalon-Sur-Saone. 

As you can see, the hills are packed into the front half of the ride, with the flats taking over the second half. Strategy will be important since the field has already started to fracture. Congratulations have to go to Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-Merida) for winning Stage 6, but now it's time for Stage 7, a new day and a new section of route. The top seven riders are separated by less than one minute of total time. Think about how many miles have already been raced and the differences between the riders is that slim. Amazing! 

Here's the official blurb for the day: 

Stage 7 is the longest of the 106th Tour de France with 230km to cover from Belfort to Chalon-sur-Saône. As there’s no stage without any categorized climb this year, KOM points will be up for grabs at col de Ferrière (cat. 4, km 37.5), côte de Chassagne-Saint-Denis (cat. 3, km 95.5) and côte de Nans-Sous-Sainte-Anne (cat. 4, km 119.5) but Tim Wellens’ polka dot jersey is not under threat and his Lotto-Soudal team will have another goal with gearing up for a bunch sprint finish. The day after his 25th birthday, Caleb Ewan is looking for his first stage victory at the Tour on his first participation, just like Dylan Teuns yesterday. Sonny Colbrelli is surely inspired by his team-mate from Bahrain-Merida but Dylan Groenewegen and Alexander Kristoff are the other top sprinters who are yet to win this year. It’s the Tour of the new faces. Giulio Ciccone is the third rider in yellow for the first time after Mike Teunissen and Julian Alaphilippe.

That's something to think about that hadn't occurred to me. There is NO stage without a categorized climb somewhere in it throughout this year's race course. That's so fun, and will definitely keep the King of the Mountain competition fresh and hot.  

Taking a look at the map blow-up from yesterday, you can
see that large almost straight section running from the
blue at Belfort to the red at Chalon-sur-Saone. It's easy
to see that we're leaving the border mountains behind and
heading into the center of France. 

We had our first two withdrawals from the race yesterday, Bevin Patrick (CCC Team) did not start, and Edet Nicolas (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) abandoned while on course. That we are having withdrawals this early without a major crash causing group injuries speaks to how hard the course is this year. But the best part is that we still have weeks to go! I love July because it's TdF month. 

On a personal note, I was a good girl and ran around the track like my doctor recommended. The things I do for health *sigh*. I was the only one running on the indoor track (because I really dislike running outdoors), and it's really boring. I will have to make this a part of my regime for at least three days a week, if not more, though. Impact is important for osteoporosis, so impact I will have. *sigh* Here's hoping you have a fabulous Friday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

Le Tour Day Six - Six Peaks and A Storied Finish Line

I hope some of you had a chance to see the last portion of yesterday's stage - such excitement. Congratulations to Peter Sagan for pulling out the Stage win in an exciting race to the finish line. Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) remains in Yellow, and Sagan is continuing to solidify his grip on the Green. The real surprise this far in the race is a new rider, Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma). This young rider has been second in the overall standings since Day 2 of the race and was right on Sagan's heels on this stage. If he can keep up his energy and stay away from accidents or disasters, he might well be a serious contender for the GC win. I'm impressed by this young Belgian rider. 

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So - Day 6 and we're going from Mulhouse to La Planche des Belles Filles. Just look at that profile. It's 160.5 km of up and down - the first "mountain" stage of this year's Tour. It's time for the sprinters to grit their teeth and pull through, and the mountain men to dance on their pedals. The official blurb is as follows: 

This is the fourth finish atop La Planche des Belles Filles in eight years. It was the venue of Chris Froome’s first ever Tour de France stage win in 2012. Vincenzo Nibali was first in the ski resort of the Haute-Saône in the massif of the Vosges in 2014 and Fabio Aru won up there in 2017. It was already a very steep finale but it’ll be even steeper, longer and harder this time with one more kilometre to climb. It makes it a 7-km long hill at 8.7% and final ramps at 20%. This is Thibaut Pinot’s territory. The Groupama-FDJ leader will race on home soil. He knows how difficult the previous climbs are too: Markstein and Ballon d’Alsace are first category hills and the col des Chevrères just before La Planche is a very hard one too. Julian Alaphilippe is aware of the huge tasks he’ll face in the defence of the yellow jersey against the GC contenders but also the attackers from far out who haven’t had the scenario they wanted on stage 5.

When we take a look at the full TdF route once more (it's been a few days since we've taken a peek at the overall map), we see that we're actually on the far eastern side of France, not even down as far South as the Alps ... yet. They're coming, but they'll be at the end of the Tour, not the beginning. After today's stage, we'll start moving west and south, across the Grand Massif and towards the Pyrenees. Mayhem will still ensue. 

Here's a bit closer look at the overall course for
this year. We're still in the upper right, moving closer
to the center in tomorrow's stage. 

Here, I'll give you a closeup of where we've been so far. Look for Colmar with a red tag against the right side. That's where yesterday's route ended. Today we start at the blue diamond slightly below that, and jig/jag over and around to Le Planche des Belles Filles. Cracks in the peleton that have already started should grow larger with today's very hilly route. There's not "quite" mountains, but there're going to feel like that anyway. 

Here's a close-up of where we've been so far. It
includes tomorrow's stage as well. It's not a lot of
area compared to the full map, but it's already
testing the riders. We'll start to see people lose
energy and fall off the back today. 

Today should be STELLAR and I'm hoping I'll have a chance to actually see the race ending instead of working with a customer, but you never can tell. That's the problem when working retail, but it's also the good, since those customers pay our salaries and allow us to be in business. 

So, I'm off to the gym. Yesterday's consult with the doctor basically reaffirmed what my PT said - I need to increase my impact exercise. So, instead of fighting my way through the elliptical, etc., I'm going to be running/walking on the indoor track. I also have a new exercise for therapy to add to the repertoire, an exercise that necessitated the purchase of an inexpensive yoga mat (to help keep my face from direct contact with the Y's floor mats). At least I found a yoga mat for $16. I'm really NOT a yoga person. Have a wonderful Thursday, enjoy Le Tour, and I'll be back tomorrow! 

Le Tour Day 4 and A Poor Test Result

The magic of the Yellow Jersey only lasted for three days, and we now find the jersey on a new rider as we enter Stage 4. Those hills at the end of yesterday's stage were killer - not high like the peaks yet to come, but steep and the first serious challenge for the legs of those planning to ride into Paris in three weeks. Today, the Yellow Jersey sits on Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step). We'll see how long he stays in yellow, but it's a good color on him - LOL. Peter Sagan came in at 5th position, solidifying his grip on the Green Jersey. 

The first half of today's course is somewhat flat, but the second
half features two Cat 4 climbs, challenging the riders to work
their legs, long before they are in the actual mountains. 

Today's Stage takes us from Reims to Nancy, 213.5 km with two Cat 4 peaks in the second half of the course. Although it's still a "sprinter's" course, not a true "climber's" day, those who shine on the flats will have to deal with hilly terrain in the second half, making for a fun watch.  

I've been aware that I have poor bones for years, and
have done what I can to keep up my bone density, but
apparently my left hip didn't get the memo and has now
developed oeteoporosis. This totally SUCKS! 

On the home front, my bone density scan came back with some depressing news - my osteopenia has progressed into true osteoperosis in my left hip. This has me very concerned, since it means I can potentially have a hip fracture at any time without real cause. I was on Fosomax years ago after surgery, but felt quite uncomfortable taking it since it can lead to a "pathelogic fracture" of the long bones. I suspect my doctor will recommend taking Fosomax or a similar drug again, and I'm feeling as if I'm between a rock and a hard place with this one. I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't. Sometimes life hands me lemons. It's hard to find the lemonade in this one. 

Have a wonderful Tuesday. It's a busy day for me, starting out with a 7:00 am appointment with my Physical Therapist. I'll be back tomorrow for another very busy day. Oh well, life is interesting, right? LOL.