Greetings and salutations, everyone; yes, once again it is I, your popular host, Mani the purebred border collie, here today to talk about various things. You may remember me from such posts as “Much More Springy”, among so many, many others.
Here I am in a characteristic pose.
The other day, a friend, whom I hadn’t seen in quite a while, came over to take some pictures in the garden.
I spent some time lounging around, watching the proceedings.
The guy I live with, who’s still somewhat under the weather and super annoyed by it, got some cactus from Cistus Nursery in Oregon; these are going out in the front garden, away from my nose. You can see all the glochids; nasty things.
The cactus may look the same but they’re all different.
For the last year, give or take, the guy I live with has been having a lot of pain in his knees. I mean a lot. So much so that he had a lot of trouble taking me on my walks, and wondered if he’d be able to go up and down the stairs for much longer.
The guy I live with was planning to whine about his knees to the doctor, when he has his annual physical next month.
He ordered a gardening bench, or kneeler, from Garden Talk. He says it’s totally excellent and he could get up very easily after doing some weeding. He’d thought about getting one of these for a while, because even before his knees starting hurting it wasn’t always that easy for him to get up after weeding.
The bench can be turned upside down, too. (Well, almost everything can be turned upside down, but here I mean with a purpose.)
He was also suffering from plantar fasciitis, which he’s had before and said really hurts. He saw an ad on Facebook for shoes specially-designed to help with this.
Here’s a picture of the shoes, and his very stylish compression socks with ladybugs on them, which the doctor said to wear because of the aftereffects of radiation therapy several years ago.
He’s had these shoes for a month, maybe less, and all of a sudden, one day, he said his knees no longer hurt. Not even slightly. He can go up and down the stairs without using a cane or holding onto the rail.
This could be a coincidence, of course, since it’s hard to figure how shoes can make knees better (I don’t wear shoes, so I don’t know), but my walks are now a lot more enjoyable, not hearing all this moaning and groaning, and occasional cries of pain, behind me.
And that’s all I have for today.
Until next time, then.
the miserable gardener 
Those are fine socks.
Sent from iPhone. Please excuse typos.
The guy I live with said it’s okay to be jealous. The socks were $30 a pair, and he has ones with chickens on them, bees, and giraffes.They replaced a bunch of cheap compression socks which weren’t doing the job.
I might be too embarrassed to go outside if he wears shorts with his compression socks; he assured me he wouldn’t do that.
That’s funny. Tell the guy you live with thanks. Not just for the socks, For the shoes, too. I now have some shopping to do for my husband, and this brand might be a good solution. Finding pain relief is everything.
Sent from iPhone. Please excuse typos.
You’re welcome. The guy I live with at first thought this was a lot of money for shoes, but I guess not.
(It’s not like he hasn’t spent way more money on plants that are now long-dead.)
Does the guy you live with take you for walks, or do you take him for walks?
Both, I guess.
Oh, of course.
Great news, Mani, and thanks for the info. I may check those things out myself.
You’re welcome. The guy I live with liked the shoes so much he bought another pair.
I looked up the shoes….sounds interesting. I’ve also been eyeing one of those kneeler benches as I have SO FAR always managed to get up from a weeding session but can imagine having to crawl to a fence or something to haul myself up….. So thanks for the consumer tips! My little cactus collection has to live up on a bench and under lights inside due to dogs being intensely interested.
Ceci
The guy I live with wondered if the rails, or whatever, would be sturdy enough that he could lift himself off the bench, but they definitely are.
There are some cactus in the back yard but most of them are in the front, where I never go, except to and from on my walks.
Having suffered from Plantar Fasciitis for decades, I’ve spent a fortune on shoes and inserts over the years to relieve the pain it causes. Shoes with good plantar support can make all the difference in the world and can realign the whole body when they’re good enough. Glad the man you live with found relief (once you get the inflammation down, proper plantar support will keep your feet happy). Nothing worse than when your feet hurt to cut a dog walk short. Love the compression socks-very garden-y.
The guy I live with was wearing flat tennis shoes for a long time, and should have known better, because shoes like that caused the last episode of plantar fasciitis.
The kneeling bench seems to help a lot with orthostatic hypotension. He sometimes weeds standing up and then gets dizzy when he straughtens back up, so this is a better way for him to weed.
The guy I live with’s grandfather would weed on his hands and knees well into his nineties, but they didn’t have these benches back then.
Tell the guy you live with to shop around for a good physical therapist. A lot of knee pain, and especially plantar fasciitis, is caused by tight muscles pulling on other areas of the body. (My daughter is a physical therapist.) The right pair of shoes can compensate for the tightness and by doing so relieve the pain, but doesn’t fix the underlying problem. However, if he is the type of person who doesn’t do his exercises, the shoes are probably the best solution. And some PTs have a cookie cutter approach to problems and some ask a lot of questions and observe the patient walking and get to the root of the problem. Hence the admonition to shop around, which is a bother.
HURRAH fore THE guud shoess! HURRAH fore LadyBug sockiess two Mani!!! Iss grate to see you again….
Sorry wee miss THE 15 yeerss post. Sendin **purrss** to Guy an {{{hugss}} from BellaSita Mum.
Wee allso happy yore both enjoyin bettur walkiess now….
***purrss*** BellaDharma an ((hugss)) BellaSita Mum
Thanks. It was okay to have missed that post; the guy I live with said that things don’t really get all that better, like some people claim they do.
Wee agree with Guy! BellaSita missess Mistur Paul #2 who leeved March 1st still so much. An shee missess both huzbandss Mistur Kevin an Mistur Paul. Shee meowed to mee shee missess THE connection an THE companionship an goin’ on adventuress an THE LOVE so-o much…..
Beein without THE one you love iss THE hardest thing mee thinksss. Sendin Guy ***nose rubss*** from mee an {{hugss}} from BellaSita Mum