Tuesday 5 February 2013

1 Step Forward 2 Steps Back (Staircase challenge: Week 4)

Well, the good news is, we no longer have colds.

The bad news is I have had literally no time to work on the staircase... shall I tell you for why? well, it's my blog, so I will.

We had family over visiting at the weekend. There's a limited amount of times you can say "Sorry we're varnishing the floor / painting the stairs / plastering the ceiling" before it really starts looking like you are a wanna-be hermit. But it is so lovely having peeps over and it reminds us why we are breaking our backs doing all this work.


Now, because our open-plan mega-room is the whole of the downstairs (livingroom + den + study + staircase + kitchen + diningroom) we can't just close a door and hide everything. Plus my 4YO niece was joining us, so all the tools and materials had to be cleared out of the mega-room. Still it gave us a good excuse to have a proper tidy up, wash the dust-sheets and run the hoover round.

Friday and Saturday were written off. But it is OK I could still get going with the stairs for at least a few hours on Sunday (before visiting my mother in the evening)


But that was before the injuries happened. I injure myself on the most random things, do read on.


In the process of shaving my legs - 'cause between the drilling and filling and hammer-wielding I occasionally like to pretend that I am just a teeny bit feminine. I managed to gouge off a chunk of my thumb... on the plastic cap of the shaving gel bottle... not on the razor I was holding in my other hand... that would have been too conventional for the likes of me.

The next morning while baking with Small, I managed to slice my finger open... on the glue from the top of a flour packet.

SERENITY NOW!


Oh, but it doesn't end there...
I woke up on Sunday morning with a badly twisted back which has just wiped me out since.

True to form I didn't pull my back muscles lifting anything heavy, lugging a wheelbarrow for 8 hours, twisting, bending, carrying or balancing up a ladder while plastering, painting or sanding (all of which I do on a fairly regular basis). I managed to pull a muscle in my back while sleeping.... I don't even know how that is possible.

So, I'm still nursing my injuries from a plastic cap, the flour bag and sleeping. (I'm nothing if not consistent)

To cheer me up I found our big old subway sign that will hang in the stairwell once we are all done. It has hung in every house I have called home, I'm really looking forward to hanging it again :)


I'm sitting out for a bit in the hope that I get better in a few more days. I'm spending my down-time  pinning stuff, learning Spanish, teaching Small... and also watching The Muppets.

Hopefully I'll have more to update on next week. In the mean time check out how all the others are getting on (at varying speeds) with their staircases



Any tips on fixing a pulled upper-back muscle would be greatly received.

6 comments :

  1. Ouchy, you poor thing! The weirdest thing I've done to pull my back is brushing my hair and I felt it go twang! I always head swimming to try and free it up and if that fails, the chiropractor.

    Hope you feel better soon, that staircase will wait!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kayjay

      Oh, yes that 'twang' is the kind of sore I have for sure.

      I'm currently relying on hot water bottles, we don't even have a bath and the last time I went swimming was sometime in the 90's - yikes!

      If it hasn't passed in a few days I'll have to take it to the Dr.

      Delete
  2. What a whopper of a weekend! I'm so sorry for all that ill luck that came your way. I hope you'll heal up quickly!
    I threw out my back ..ahem, bowling (we're not getting younger obviously) and after dragging myself around for a bit I broke down, literally, and went to a Chiropractor. I LOVE him! He snap-crackle-popped my back into place and I felt like new. Maybe give it a shot, you know, when the hot water bottles aren't doing any good ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm wondering if they do Chiropractors on the NHS.

      My 6YO is offering massages to me :)

      Delete
  3. There are certain times when the universe simply let's you know that now's not a good time to use power tools. That's when you go shopping. So way to pick up on that message before you chopped off a limb or lost an eye.

    Great sign. Late last year I had serious neck problems from sleeping, so I went out and bought a molded pillow from Ikea meant for side sleepers. It has been a godsend and I don't feel the pain anymore. So maybe you just need something more supportive? Feel better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sarah

      Am I really old enough to buy a special pillow?... I know I gave up the booze and I'm on my second washing machine, but am I really so old that I need a special pillow!?!

      It sounds like a plan though, I shall pop it on my IKEA list.

      Delete

I love getting your comments, they really make my day! I try to respond when I can.

I moderate all comments to cut out the stinky spam. So please be patient if it hasn't popped up immediately.

If you ask a question remember to check back for an answer later.

Thank-you, you wonderful peeps!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...