My Left Thumb

This morning I had surgery on my left thumb. A couple of posts ago I wrote that I had been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. After immobilizing my wrists and resting my hands the carpal tunnel syndrome has subsided. I can tell something is wrong with my right hand, but I can freely use it. My left hand, however, has been a different story. I was sent to a hand specialist (read: surgeon) and was told I had tenovaginitis stenosans of the thumb. Okay. This was last Thursday. Today is Wednesday and I've already had the surgery.

This is my thumb and our hydrangea - isn't it pretty? (The hydrangea, not my thumb.)

It was a wild few days between that last appointment and the surgery. I was sent home with four pages to read and sign that I understood and agreed to the terms of surgery, potential complications, options, etc. All in German. Sigh. I pulled out the old woerterbuch (that's 'dictionary' auf Deutsch) and got busy. 

In the meantime, Douglas and I went on a road trip along the Romantic Road to Wuerzburg. There was a Mozart festival going on so we heard some music in the street. Not accordion players, rather chamber orchestras. We enjoyed the city then took a meandering route home while visiting museums and ancient Roman ruins. We were walking near some dense looking woods and heard cuckoos. Cuckoos! I haven't been so excited since I heard a wolf howl in Duluth.

Today I was Douglas's excuse to take most of the day off. He drove me to the appointment and has sat with me to be sure I didn't start bleeding uncontrollably. I have not.

The surgery was brief. It lasted about 20 minutes. After three excruciatingly painful injections (each lasting roughly 30 seconds) into my thumb (to kill the pain of surgery, ironically enough) I settled back and listened to my tendons being pulled and snipped. Visions of vultures feeding on roadkill came to mind. Nice. I also recalled having my head stitched after being mugged years ago. I had a gash behind my right ear and I could hear them stitch it! I'll tell you, you just haven't lived yet.

Many of you probably already know this, but doctor's code word for pain is "pressure". During one of the three injections (I'm not sure why he chose this particular injection to interject this comment as it would have fit in anywhere) he said "You'll feel some pressure now." And the pain rose from a level seven to eight and a half (on a scale from one to ten - one being a mild pinch and ten being your arm caught in a wood chipper). Pressure, he says. Huh, I say. No, I think what I actually said was "Aaaaaahhhh!"

Well, as you see, so far I am fine. I am back to writing and working on my novel which I still have high hopes of completing before leaving Munich. 

Springtime In Munich

I have been diagnosed (by a orthopedist, a neurologist and a rheumatologist) with carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. Poor me. Poor Douglas, really as I must wear these consarned braces and am not allowed to use my hands. NOT ALLOWED TO USE MY HANDS! Yes, as I type this I am indeed using my hands. But I'll be brief and make this a photo blog.

I have written before (at Christmastime) about how wonderful the window shopping is here in Munich. Here are a few more examples.

Some of the snails we see here have lovely shells like fine wood.

Flowers (intended and unintended) pop up all over our neighborhood.

All sorts of families head to the English Garden to picnic.

I guess to save money on lawn mowing, they brought in the sheep to the English Gardens.

Every spring is Frühlingsfest (Springfest). It's like a mini Oktoberfest. Mom and dad were in town last year and we danced.

Douglas's sister Kim visited us and participated in (and even got to lead) Tai Chi in the English Gardens. This man brought his very young daughter to the circle. I thought, "Oh, dear." But this pictures tells a lot. She watched and watched. He then guided her hands to some of the moves.

Here you can see Douglas and Kim.

Everybody appreciates spring in Munich.

We had two or three days of extreme winds. Many trees were lost in the English Gardens.

Thank God this tree, with the swing, survived.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

For those of you who want to be forewarned, this post may be from the Department of  Too Much Information. Feel free to skip; I'll never know.

I'm havin' a heat wave, a tropical heat wave.

Usually they're referred to as hot flashes, but let me tell you that there is nothing flashy about them. They come on more gradually and last longer than hot flash implies. It's like my skin is one of those old, flat hoses with thousands of teensy holes like a slip and slide (my pores) and someone eases on the water, shuts it off, eases it on, shuts it off until I'm sitting, sweating and peeling off winter clothes to dry. These often follow a bout of chills. It's like I have the flu, except I feel fine.

This is a particularly awkward experience when I'm in the gym exercising. The first time I felt it there I was walking on the treadmill (the milder of my routines) and I was sweating like I was on the bike. When I later got on the bike (days later, not that day for heaven's sake) you could have mopped the gym with what dripped off me. Thank God the marines weren't there that time. Or maybe they should have been so they could see how hard I work. Usually when they are there I'm skipping on the treadmill. I always feel a little guilty skipping while they are heaving their bodies up on the pull up bar and jumping from a squat with their packs on. Skipping is hard work! Try it if you don't believe me.

I stopped taking birth control just before Christmas. Don't tell Douglas. (Just kidding!) I'm sick and tired of taking a pill every night and I was hoping I would have already gone through menopause and just not noticed. Stop laughing. I'm told it happens. The heat waves came first. I was expecting that and they really don't bother me at all. I love the heat, born in Phoenix in June and all that. What I did not expect was the pain. I don't know what's going on with that. First I noticed that when I eat my morning hummus wrap my hands get tingly from holding it. I have to put it down to get the circulation going again. At night my hands fall asleep or just hurt whenever I lie on my side, which is how I've always slept. Two older friends of mine told me that it could be a lack of potassium, magnesium and Vitamin D. So now I'm popping pills of a different sort. This time in the morning. Ah, me. The hand pain is particularly distressing as I can't write. I can play piano thank the living God and, as I sit here, I see I can type.

I mentioned being distressed. I guess I could put on some rose colored glasses and see it as my ticket out of housework. Apartment work as it is here in Munich. Hmm.

There is a bright side to all this. Unlike most women my mood has improved. My New Year's resolution was to live deliberately. This includes getting myself to stop swearing. I've hardly sworn in 2015. I've even been through some triggers and merely shrugged off whatever usually sends me into a rant. Nice. And I've lost weight. Yes. Lost weight. Not much, but I don't want/need to lose much. If my hands keep giving me trouble while I'm eating I guess that will get more dramatic. I'll have to wait to be fed or eat piggy style.

Last Lent was a disaster for me. I was good for a couple of weeks (no sweets, no alcohol) then fell apart. I fell apart for months. This Lent my only promise is to live like all this menopausal stuff is not going on. This is contingent on the doctor saying it's okay to use my hands even when it's painful. I don't want to start telling myself this is too hard or that hurts too much (unless it truly does) because that will send me to a place I don't think I should yet go. I can still exercise, it's just not as comfortable. Written as though it were ever comfortable. The free weights are very painful for my hands to hold, I'm going to try another apparatus in the gym that is set so that I don't have to grasp the weights. I can just push with my palms.

I can hear some older women saying, "Just you wait, dear. You're going down whether you like it or not." Maybe true. I believe that one of the main reasons people realize one day that they are 50 pounds overweight is that they ignored the first five. "It's only five pounds." Likewise, the reason many can't touch their toes or balance is because they stopped doing it daily. Even though it's a challenge I still stand on one leg to put each sock on and even though it hurts my hips I still stand straight legged to tie my shoes. I'll likely be able to do this for many more years because of that.

I'm not faulting those in poor health. Things happen. Bones are broken and, in the healing, strength is lost. Arthritis sets in (like it or not) and makes some movement too uncomfortable or impossible. Inner ears act up throwing off balance beyond our control. I know this and I know that it may happen to me. I remember an old ad for some skin cream. "I don't want to grow old gracefully; I want to fight it every step of the way." While I do want to have the grace of my mother, I do want to stave off as much as I am able.

I wish us all the ability to age gracefully whether it's learning to walk, going through our adolescent body changes, childbirth and recovery, losing sexual abilities or urges or simply growing old and stiff and weak. We all handle it in our own way. I'm hoping my way is a good blend of pushing through it while not ignoring or denying it. Those of you who can, write me and tell me how you've handled it.

Snowshoeing into 2015

I ended 2014 snowshoeing through the English Gardens. We had three or so days in a row of snow which laid down a good bed for walking through - marching is more like it when you're wearing snowshoes. The gardens are surrounded at most points by woods as in the picture below.

With all these woods I find it strange that I've never seen any wild animals except squirrels and birds. I almost saw a mole once. There are mole hills all over the open fields of the garden and one of them was moving as I walked by last summer. I see these woods and expect to see rabbits at least, but also a fox or deer.

As soon as I got past the initial woods across the street from our apartment I saw this:

This is a Sylvester Igloo. (Sylvester is what the Germans call the New Year celebration.) When I first walked by this, it was just a wall built with blocks of snow. The next day the igloo had been completed. Our New Year's Eve was pretty quiet. I got some writing done on my novel then tried to stay awake until midnight. We could see fireworks from our apartment windows. They are pretty intense going constantly for about 20-25 minutes. It was cloudy so the sky lit up and the fireworks themselves reflected in the neighboring buildings' windows. The poor crows that live in our trees didn't know what to do. They were so scared I felt sorry for them. The explosions echoed in our courtyard sending them flying every which way, landing, then taking off again.

Back to snowshoeing. When I turned around from the igloo this is what I saw:

Although you can barely see it in this small picture, in almost the exact center, the second highest structure is the Monopteros. I decided to walk (march) over to it to check out the view. I went the long way by the pond, river and waterfall. Near the waterfall are a few benches. On one of the benches was a surprise:

I don't know if this is evidence of a hot time in the old garden tonight or what, but it makes a nice artsy picture. I hope it's not the aftermath of a tryst, not for any moral reasons, but because, well, brrrrrr . . .

On to the Monopteros. I had to climb a small hill to get the view, It was not as difficult as I expected and it was worth it.

From up here, Doug says, the view probably hasn't changed much in the last hundred or more years. Old church spires can be seen peeking above the trees surrounding (and in) the garden (as seen in the next picture). New Year's revelers sat up here to watch the fireworks and probably had a great view.

I spent from an hour to an hour and a half snowshoeing three days in a row taking advantage of the perfect snow. At its deepest it was up to my upper shins. The first day I walked on the trails for a half hour or so then put on my snowshoes and went through the open fields. The second day it had snowed so much I put them on before I crossed the street to the garden. I stayed on the south side of the park this week. After the next snowfall that's worth trekking through I'll walk to the north end (about a 20 minute walk) then put them on and enjoy the open space over there. Fewer people walk on that end so I'll feel more remote.

Happy New Year from Laura.

Christmas markets and Window Shopping

When Douglas and I found out we were coming to Germany one of the first things I looked forward to was Christmas in Germany. I did not get my hopes too high.


There are several Christmas markets within walking distance of where we live and many within an easy subway ride. What is striking about the Christmas markets is the variety of goods. Hats, scarves, sweaters, socks and gloves are very popular and beautiful. Douglas and I like to look at the Alpaca booth to tempt ourselves. There is a medieval market that has more dated looking and unique decorations and clothing. This year I bought some tea candle holders, two that look like cordial glasses that sit on a table and three that clip to the boughs of a tree so we can actually have candles on our Christmas tree. I bought them from the man who made them. I was on an excursion with my German teacher. He heard me struggling with German and switched to English. I told him that my German teacher was right here, and to please use German so I don't get in trouble. He laughed and continued in German. I have no idea what he said. At this market there are costumed characters, including St. Nicholas, who wander around interacting with the patrons. It reminds me a bit of the renaissance festival and makes me wish I had my costume with me. The food there is the best. I've eaten (twice) their potato-based noodle dish with ox meat. Oh, my . . .


Most of the markets feature handmade works. I'm eyeing a honeypot I may buy for Douglas this year made by a local ceramicist. Don't tell Douglas.


My favorite things are the ornaments of which I've bought several. Specifically I like the blown glass and the painted pewter ornaments. There are many handmade nativity scene booths with more pieces than I've ever seen in anyone's Christmas nativity. I've not bought any of these, but I always stop to look which is more than half the fun.




Speaking of looking being more than half the fun, I've never been a window shopper. Sure I'll notice an attractive display, but that's about it. In Munich I find myself often pausing outside windows throughout the year, but at Christmas time it seems like it's a friendly competition for our attention.




















The above two pictures are of a shop near Marienplatz (a famous area where the Rathaus - old town hall - and Glockenspiel are located). There is always a large crown outside this window. I was lucky to get these shots.


















The above picture and the following picture were taken on my way home from a rehearsal one night. I joined up with the Munich English Language choir (which conducts its rehearsals in German, go figure) to sing an Advent service. One evening Douglas and I had been out to dinner with a friend before my rehearsal and I was so full even after rehearsal that I decided to walk home rather than ride the subway. I was so taken with the windows that I pulled out my phone to take some pictures. They turned out particularly well, I think, because it was dark out and the windows were lit. Enjoy.

A Diplomat's Life

Douglas and I are into our last year in Munich. This has been his required consular tour during which he spends his mornings interviewing people for visas to go to the United States. His afternoons are spent following up on some of these cases. Our next post will likely be in Washington D.C.

Occasionally Douglas is called upon to serve in a representational capacity as he was last weekend. We were  privileged to accompany the Consul General,Bill Moeller to the laying of a wreath at the Munich War Memorial. 

The morning began with indoor speeches bringing attention to all those who have died in wars and other violence from World War I to present day Syria. Interspersed between speeches were performances by a chorus with an orchestra. The ceremony then progressed outside to the memorial where  a few of us were allowed to go down next to the memorial while the rest of the audience watched from above. A military band marched into position to a cadence. This was juxtaposed with the ringing of Sunday morning church bells giving the event more depth and meaning. Hanging low in the sky were small, dark gray clouds giving me the impression of cannon smoke. Wind whipped the flags representing various parts of Germany so that their fabric rustling could be heard and their supports clanging on the flagpoles called attention to some of the affected areas of the wars. That plus leaves swirling down from surrounding trees set a perfect backdrop to honor those fallen in war and violence. As those trees continue to flourish after losing their leaves, so do countries continue strongly after losing so many in war.

This is a scene from the memorial Sunday morning. It was slightly awkward taking pictures so we (Douglas) only got two. We didn't realize the man checking his phone. Too bad he couldn't pay attention for the half hour or so he was there.

This is the wreath representing the United States that we laid next to the tomb. To put it in perspective, this enclosed/covered tomb is located to the right of the first picture.

Later that evening we attended a concert by the Munich Symphony Orchestra sponsored by the local law firm of Bub, Gauweiler & Partner at the Cuvilliés-Theater at the Residenz (former royal residence, now museum and concert hall). The first half of the concert was music by Richard Strauss; the second half by Sergej Rachmaninow. A violin concerto (Opus 8 in D minor) by Strauss was played featuring Ingolf Turban on violin. Tenor Francisco Araiza sang Morgen, Opus 27 #4, Allerseelen, Opus 10 #8 and Zueignung, Opus 10 #1 also by Strauss. Soprano Marija Vidovic sang three songs by Rachmaninow - Vocalise, Opus 34 #14, Wesennye wody, Opus 14 #11 and Sdjes choroscho, Opus 21 #7. The concert closed with Aglaya Sintschenko playing piano concerto Opus 18 #2 in C minor. The talent was superb. The theater, while not very large, was elaborate. If you want to see a picture, look up “cuvillies theater Munchen”. 

A Walk in the Park

As I write this (long overdue) blog I am by an open window listening to a pianist and violinist practicing at the Orff Center next door to our apartment. We often hear musicians practice. We also get our share of free concerts during the fair weather when all windows are open. Two beautiful woodpeckers are hard at work snacking on one of the trees just outside. The larger of the two is primarily black and white, but has a prominent orange or red spot on the underside near its tail.

I just got back from a walk around the English Gardens. It's a gorgeous day. I'm not sure if this is too early for Indian Summer, but that's what it feels like on the tail the blood red moon.

Though it's crowded, I love the park on days like this. It's the opportunity to do things like dance and sing in a circle and no one thinks it odd. You won't get a second look if you just throw up your arms to the sun and spin around smiling. No one here thinks it out of place to strip off your clothes and lie out in the grass either. You may get some second looks, however, especially from the tourists of whom some are so rude they'll walk right up and take your picture. I always want to yell at them when I see them do this, but I never know which language to use.

Musicians come out in droves and play alone or in groups. I passed a particularly talented duo today - one on guitar and one on clarinet. There is always an accordion to be heard and, of course the band at the Chinese Tower Beer Garden known as 'The World's Drunkest Oom-pah Band'.

I suppose one could easily see the English Gardens as the world's largest dog park. German's dogs are rarely on leashes so they wander around freely making friends, chasing each other, rolling and romping in the grass.

It's hard to tell if people just congregate and things happen spontaneously or if they call each other and plan activities like soccer games. I once saw a group of men playing soccer wearing nothing but their BVDs. Who makes that call?

"Hey, you wanna play soccer in your undies?"

"Sure! I'll call Hans."

"Okay, I'll call Dieter."

"Great, see you there."

Often I see a strap strung tightly between trees where people practice tightrope walking. Once I saw a young woman sitting with a little girl and stringing dandelions in a garland for her hair.In the spring, wild garlic grows in patches around the garden and people gather it. There are horse-drawn carriage rides, bicycle rickshaws and Pedal Pubs where you sit in a circle pedaling while drinking beer. I'm sure there was a long line to surf in the Isar today, though I didn't go see them. There is no fishing in the river that I've seen, but there is swimming. People hang their clothes and towels, get into the river float down a mile or so, climb out and either take a tram or walk back and do it again and again. Lulu visited me (a future blog) and she and I saw a couple of men playing Ladder Golf (a game which has many, many names). You toss two balls connected by a thin rope onto a ladder-like apparatus. Which rung it wraps around or hangs on determines your score.

I can honesty say that I've never heard a cross word spoken in this park. (Come to think of it, my German isn't that good. Maybe I'm overhearing cross words all the time. If I am, they are spoken most congenially.) It's like magic; people are so relaxed, content and high when they are in it. Every city needs a place like this.

This is a typical path in the English Garden in the autumn. This, I confess, is an old picture (note the absence of people.) I love wandering off the path into a area with many tall trees. I lie under them and watch the leaves fall down on and around me.

Paddle boats and canoes are available to use on the Schwannensee (Swan Lake). There are swans on the lake as well as a great paddling of ducks and gaggles and gaggles of geese.