Osteo and the Christmas fair

 My osteo session yesterday was great, it amazes me that her gentle movements of her fingers can have such a positive effect - I can feel my muscles relaxing as she's doing it.  And when she finishes and I stand up, my whole body feels so much looser, as if all the tenseness has gone.  I slept really well last night, woke up about 05.30 (my usual time), but instead of getting up straight away I thought oh I'll get up in a minute.....the next thing I knew it was 06.36.  Again, I feel sore this morning, I have soreness and aches in places where I don't normally - like my upper back - but it's not unbearable, and there's no pain, just the soreness/achiness.  My back and hips aren't so stiff either, which is fantastic.  

I've got an exercise bike, which I stopped using ages ago as it hurt my back too much.  Felicity suggested trying it again, putting a folded towel or small cushion on the saddle, adjusting the handlebars a bit so I don't lean forward so much (I don't know if the handlebars do adjust actually, will have to have a look) and using it initially for just 5 mins at a time.  She also suggested that I keep to the time length of my walks (15 mins), but to try walking a bit faster.  She said it might be a good idea to get a pair of those walking poles, they'd help to steady me and having one in each hand will be better than just using one stick.  I'll have a look and see if I can get some second hand.

Last time, the stiffness returned with a vengeance after just a few days, I wonder if it will this time.  If it does, I'll have a chat with Felicity next time (going again in a fortnight) and see what she suggests.

Husband didn't have time to go to the supermarket whilst I was at the osteo yesterday, he went to a country store to get some dog food first and was in there longer than he anticipated.  So we had to go to the supermarket when he picked me up, luckily it wasn't crowded and we didn't need a lot so it was more or less in and out in 20 minutes.  And then after lunch, we went to the Christmas fair at Hestercombe.  It was lovely, lots of artisan craft stalls selling beautiful handmade things - a lot of Christmas tree decorations, cards and jewellery, I'd have preferred to see more general crafts, but it was a Christmas fair after all.  I bought some tree decorations and a couple of gifts for friends.  It was well organised, ticketed timed arrivals so not too crowded, a one way system in operation, masks recommended (although not everyone was wearing one - we were, of course).  However, by the time we left, my legs and back had had enough walking and I was feeling wobbly again.

Husband always exclaims at the cost of everything, but I said to him if he'd spent time making something with love and skill, he wouldn't want to sell it for peanuts would he?  Yes, handmade crafts do cost a lot of money, but why not when they're beautifully made and not mass-produced and they take a lot of time to do?

I shan't be sitting down all day doing nothing today, but will take it a bit easy.  I'll have a go on the bike and see how it feels.  I might do a bit of baking......there's a pack of puff pastry in the fridge that needs using within the next day or two, so will do something with that.  We're having roast duck tomorrow, so there's a duck-sized space in the freezer where any baking can go.