Our Weekend in Girdwood

Our Weekend Get-Away in Girdwood did not go as planned. The intent was for Bryan to go skiing all day Saturday, and for me to stay in and work on my papercutting. He had new (to him) skis, boots, and poles to try out – I had Valentine cards that needed to be made.

But, as Robert Burns once wrote, “The best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray.”

The apartment we rented this time was directly above The Bake Shop and offered up the ability to ski right out the back door – literally – as well as close proximity to those World-Famous Cinnamon Rolls any time we felt the need. The place was teeny-tiny, with the bed right there in the living room – but it had all the necessities, although we did have to go buy a spatula for our pancakes one morning. Not a horrible place, but not the greatest either.

For Bryan: it rained the entire time we were there. And not just a light sprinkle, either - it was pouring down rain! He would have been miserable because his gear is not waterproof. He had to stay in and work on computer stuff instead: not a complete waste of the day, but not at all what he’d hoped for. He couldn’t even go to the Sitzmark for a drink (also located conveniently nearby) since that was closed due to the whole pandemic thing.

For me: I woke up with a killer migraine Saturday morning around 3:00 A.M. and spent the rest of the weekend trying to recover from that. I did manage to make the cards I wanted, but not much more than that. On top of that, the building was very busy with lots of skiers coming and going all the time. STOMP, STOMP, STOMP! STOMP, STOMP, STOMP! All day long, up and down the hallway. And at night, people were partying, laughing, playing loud music, and just generally having a great time VERY LOUDLY.

We did at least get to go out to dinner at our favorite Japanese place. We weren’t going to go at all until we learned that they were seating people in the ballroom rather than in their tiny little corner of the hotel. That way, they got to spread everybody out and comply with COVID-19 regulations while still offering up some really fine sushi. It was expensive, but oh so tasty.

Duck Foot Brewery

Last night’s virtual tasting was probably one of the best ones we’ve attended so far – except that it was beer, and I am not a beer drinker. Bryan is, however, and he said it was very good beer.

The event was hosted by La Bodega again, this time featuring the Duck Foot Brewery out of San Diego. We had both their Owner and their Chief Beer Taster talking with us and sharing three of their creations with us: Sour On Love (a sour beer with cherries), Jabberducky (an IPA), and Turn of Darkness (an imperial stout beer). As an added bonus, the Tasting Kit included a glass for the beer with the Duck Foot label on it! Because, yeah… we need another glass.

Matt Delvecchio started the Duck Foot Brewery back in 2012 as a way of providing good craft beer for people (like himself) who have Celaic Disease and cannot tolerate gluten. With that in mind, ALL the beer they create is certified Gluten Reduced. Technically it is gluten free (they consistently test well below 20 parts per million) but since they start with products that contain gluten and remove it organically for their end product, they cannot claim being completely gluten free.

Matt Akin, the Chief Beer Taster, has to have the worlds best job ever = he gets paid to taste beer! He stated last night that every beer that comes out of their brewery has to pass his palette first.

The evening was full of good conversations, good beer, and good company.

Numb Pinkie Finger

I don’t remember exactly when it started, but it was at least a year ago when my right pinkie finger went numb. Not the whole finger, either: just a section in the middle of it. I can’t think of any specific injury that may have caused it, it’s apparently just a random occurrence. It’s oddly painful, too. You would think if the nerve went dead, I wouldn’t be able to feel anything; but that is not the case. I can feel things – just muted and painfully.

“You really should get that looked at.” He kept saying each time he caught me wringing my hands and complaining of the odd feeling.

I totally meant to, but I was afraid that it was my neck again and I did not want another surgery. So I put it off “Just until I get back from my vacation.” Then COVID hit and everything went to hell in a handbasket, which gave me yet more excuses to not go in to have it looked at.

Finally, however, I could not put it off any longer. In October, when I had my mammogram done, the doctor also had them do a CT scan on my neck to see what was going on. Insurance balked at paying for that, however, so it was yet another three months before I was able to follow up on those results with Dr. Kralick, my Neurosurgeon.

Now really – how many people can say they have a Neurosurgeon? That’s pretty cool – except that it isn’t. 

Anyway, he reviewed the pictures taken from the CT scan and found that my neck was just fine. It shows just normal wear & tear, with nothing to indicate there is any reason to go under the knife again.

However, my pinkie is still numb – so he recommended that I have an EMG done to see how my muscles and nerves are functioning. 

As luck would have it Dr. Kussro works right there at the Anchorage Neurosurgical office, so they scheduled me for another appointment just a week later.

That was an interesting experience, to say the least. Dr. Kussro was very talkative, explaining the procedure and what he was doing as he did it. I learned all about the nerves, muscles, and how they interact with each other.

The first part of the test involved sending electric shocks at particular spots along my hand, arm, and neck to see how well the nerves transmitted the impulses. They were very mild shocks but still not very pleasant. I had to use my breathing techniques several times to keep myself from getting upset.

The second part of the test was a bit more invasive, involving needles stuck into the muscles at various places. This showed him how the muscles respond to the mild shocks he gave. The needles involved were very tiny but long; I barely felt most of them – but I have to say the one he stuck into the ball of my thumb really hurt. He had to apply a bit of pressure afterwards to stop the bleeding on that one!

The result of all these fun and games was inconclusive. We do know that I do not have any never damage. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we still don’t know why my pinkie is numb.

More tests will be forthcoming, I think…

 

 

Ringing In The New Year - My Way

I was planning on writing a post to commemorate the first day of the new year: it was going to be so witty and so well written that you’d come back day after day, eager to read any future posts I might write. But of course, life had different plans for me. I came down with a nasty migraine, one that lasted well into 6 days. I would say I still have it, but this might be just the hang-over I’m feeling now.

My sleep has been whacked way off course. I’m so exhausted I can barely function, and yet when I lay down to sleep my head hurts so much I can’t. So I quietly get up, get myself a cup of tea, and head upstairs to amuse myself on the computer while Bryan sleeps.

During the day, I find myself just aimlessly wondering around the house with no clue as to what I was doing. I also find myself following people for no particular reason other than that they look like they know what they’re doing.

Realistically, what better way for me to ring in the new year, you know? It doesn’t get much more ME than that. I suppose.