StatCounter

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Limits



I once spent 6 months doing intensive physical therapy for my back. The physical therapist was very good at what he did and surgery was avoided. Months can go by without me ever thinking about my back at all. Lately it reminded me that I'd better slow down. I've done more heavy lifting in the last week than I've done in months. At one time I'd have pushed myself to keep going. That's how I ended up in physical therapy. Once was enough. My back is just sore enough to remind me of my limits.

As if physical limits were not enough, I've come to the limit of my small engine skill set. The generator that I had such hope for decided to up and die. First I changed the fuel. Then I tore it right down to the points and condenser, but that didn't work either. It just had a new tune up kit put in, so I'm at a bit of a loss. The points looked like they were adjusted a bit too tight, but opening them up didn't do anything either. A friend will be coming over to give me a hand with it. His engine skill set is greater than my own.

The loss of the generator came at a bad time. With rain and cloudy days, my solar electric power is more limited. Some of my planned projects are energy intensive, so they'll have to wait. The generator would have allowed me to just push on.

Maybe there's a lesson here. If I'd slow down when the weather got bad, my back wouldn't have been under so much stress. When I was living on my sailboat I knew schedules were dangerous. I've only been home a few weeks and find myself trying to keep a schedule. On the boat I had to listen to the environment around me to keep from exceeding the limits of boat and crew. I should run my house more like I ran my boat. My back never hurt on the boat.

-Sixbears

8 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. It was a hard lesson, but I've learned to pace myself.

      Delete
    2. Wise words 6B. Having spent nearly 12 months in therapy fixing a back damaged by pushing the limits, I concur - pace yourself. We are having some cloudless days here too and don't want to push the limits on our batteries, lest I damage them too. I'm off to see if the generator will start...and hoping that I dont have to exercise my also limited small engine skills.

      Delete
    3. My expert couldn't start it either. No spark, so it's an electrical issue. I'm picking up a tune up kit tomorrow. In the mean time, my buddy has a spare generator I can borrow. It's all good.

      Delete
  2. Rest the back it will heal.If you run short on power in a few days use the van if you need to top the batteries some your back on veggie oil

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm taking it easy. One sunny afternoon made all the difference.

      Delete
  3. Protect your back, you only have one.

    I had a well problem last week. Actually it's been going on quite a while. An oak root grew far enough to push down my service line coming from the tank to the house. This stressed the 90 from vertical to horizontal and cracked it.

    Once I got some of it dug up I was looking at a 12" thick root blocking any more excavation. And numerous other roots. More than I can handle. My host, I room with, came over from Tallahassee to help me w/ his 4 wheel drive pickup. Together we knocked it out. I used to do that kind of work all the time. I would handle whatever came up. I'm 68 now and finding I indeed have limits that I didn't used to have.

    Which is to say, "A man's got to know his limits" as Dirty Harry said. So be careful and take it a little bit at a time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good advice there from Dirty Harry. It's not that I wouldn't get hurt doing those foolish things when I was younger, but I used to heal faster.

      Delete