So here we are in the third week of January and things are a constant battle for me . It started back in the beginning of the third week in December.I took a day off from building the shed for my neighbor to go ride my motorcycle.It was a beautiful Sunday morning as I was rushing around to get ready to head out.It had rained the night before and the roads were finally dry so as I'm rushing around to get out I slipped and fell real hard in my driveway and went down hard on my left side.Got back up and didn't feel bad , a little sore in the shoulder and that quickly went away.Went riding on my R5 Yamaha and all was good.
Now it's a few days later.I'm working at a house I renovated fifteen years ago fixing up the apartment I built in the down stairs of this split level.As I get out on my old 65 Valiant station wagon I feel a slight stiffness in my left leg .It goes away after I walk about 20 feet and I ignore it.This continues for the week and a half duration of this small job and doesn't really bother me so I continue to ignore it writing it off to the seats in my old car. Now it's after New Years and I'm back working on the shed for my neighbor.She bought these old windows for me to use when I was framing back in early November.They are old ,probably 90 or 100 years old and just the sash.So,I had to totally restore them and then build a frame work for them so I can install them into the building. I calculated the rough opening when framing so that's all set and built these really nice fixed windows with this old sash.
As I'm building these my leg really started hurting.I guess I really hurt the muscles in the hip area and there is some sort of inflammation causing swelling and pinching the sciatic nerve because now I have this damn pain running right down my leg !
Yesterday I started taking this stuff called Wobenzyme .Took it a few years back to help clear up an inflamed disc in my lower back.It worked great so I'm going with it again for this. Not into pain killers or doctors so I'm dealing with it on my own.Took the maximum allowed yesterday and am doing this for the next few days to clear it up.I already feel it working.This is an enzyme that attacks inflammation and really works well for stuff like this.Usually I just take a low dose each morning to control the arthritis from a lifetime of injuries and abuse.It really helps. So, with any luck this will be history in a few days.
While all this garbage is going on I'm out running errands in my old Valiant station wagon when I make my last stop at the hardware store.I come out , get in the car and I have no reverse ! I get out and climb under the car only to see the reverse linkage rod dangling from the transmission.I have a 4 speed manual transmission in the car so this is not a disaster I'm thinking . I climb out and start the car and start pushing it out of the parking space because I could see when I was under there that this part had failed long before I got to the hardware store.I figured I could drive it home ok as long as I didn't have to back up. Got half way out of the parking spot when I couldn't push any harder because of my leg. Just as I came to this realization some guy comes along and helps me push and I'm back on the road .Made it home ok but all the pain came back so it was a set back for my real problem. Now it's two days later and I'm feeling a little better than before the car problem.Spent yesterday rebuilding an old shifter I had in my spare parts stash .
And on and on it goes. Went online and found a used shifter in South Carolina on this MOPAR site I'm on. Gonna buy it so I have another spare to replace the one that I rebuilt yesterday . I think I'm going to find the reverse arm over time and rebuild the unit that failed the other day as well. This is life with a 56 year old car . It's always a challenge and I like that even with the pain in my leg I'm still going forward so life is good. Yesterday I made a prototype of the tool I need to keep the three arms of the shifter in position to adjust the linkages when I install the one I just rebuilt. It was fun using my metal lathe. Made this one out of aluminum .It will do for this Job but I really need to make one out of steel for future use. There will be lots of future use as I am set to start the restoration of this little car with my friend Steve this spring. That job will be the subject of many posts here for sure. Now that I have all the small work that I can do without hurting my leg any more than i's already hurt finished I think I'm going to paint. Painting is an activity I have been neglecting for way too long and it's also one I can do without injuring myself . Put the new front tire on my Moto Guzzi the other day .That didn't help my leg any. The next day I took it out for a test ride and could barley get my leg to move the side stand up and down.The ride was nice as long as I didn't have to put my left foot on the ground.I went 10 miles and returned home.Rode just enough to do the bike some good and am staying off her until my leg works right again. So, life goes on and with any luck I'll be building the door for the shed later on in the week .
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