BACKlog: Hitting the bottle again (ASPIRIN BOTTLE)

   The fruits of my labors ...
   Thank Heavens that this maple syrup project only lasts a few weeks once a year. I don't HAVE to do it ... sorta ... it is one of those things that I used to do & it would only add to my discouragement if I couldn't do it at all. My procedures have been scaled back & new ways of doing things so as to be easier on my back. I keep reminding myself that the lifting has got to be kept at a minimum ... for instance ... using gallon milk jugs, and ONLY MOVING ONE AT A TIME !!!!! Instead of boiling off the sap outside over a wood fire ... I am doing it inside on the kitchen stove. Then, I can lie down & tend to the kettle, and not have wood to cut & haul & pitch into the firepit. There have been times when I just realized that going out to gather sap was not going to be possible until my back would allow it.
     I have been told to get more exercise ... & to walk more ... this is certainly providing that ... but, I'm sure that advice did not factor in the steep hill.
     Often, I've had to call off another trip to gather sap, or some other household task, just because there was so much back pain ... which often took hours, or, all night to get a grip on.
     Now, with the snow about gone, and it's so nice out ... maybe I can get more exercise, which I'm sure would benefit my blood pressure & heart condition.
     I have to check & see how I'm doing on the allowable number of chiropractor visits ... only 18 allowed on my medical card for the year!   I have been wondering if I could somehow convince "them" to allow more.
     Treatment by a physical therapist is allowed, if on a doctor's prescription ... but, the chiropractor seems to be accomplishing miracles compared to the results of the physical therapist.
     I wonder if one of my doctors would write a prescription for the chiropractor ... most doctors have an aversion to chiropractors!
     Over the months since my back injections (facets) ... I have gone from skeptical & unsure to HOPEFUL. The overall pain level is just not as miserable as it used to be! I am afraid to hope! Just about the time when everything is going well ... for no major reason ... there I am on the sofa again ... or rolling around in the bed at night, trying to find a comfortable position!
      I am never sure what helps or hurts ... there is never a clear cause & effect. It might take until the next day for effects to be apparent. When something helps or hurts, it might be only a little. When there is little or no improvement ... sometimes I wonder if it could have been WORSE?
     To me ... it is a very positive statement to be able to announce, "At least, it's not WORSE"!