Icing

For the past three months I have been icing my two feet in the hopes that it will assist with the myriad of problems which significantly effect my ability to do normal tasks, in other words, my lifestyle.  The severe pain started last December 2020.  I am well below 10,000 steps per day, and on a good day my total steps may be equal to that I would have acquired on my normal 2.71 mile old morning walk. On not so good days, it is only about 2,500.  I am not sure if icing is helping, but I am afraid of stopping in case the feet would get worse; it is, however, hard to believe things can get worse. 

House made of four shipping containers
Grand Designs

I always seem to have pain, particularly in the left foot, so the issue is how much pain should I put up with. I figure I can walk about a .5 to .7 miles before the most severe pain arrives.  I also have found that it is good to walk really slow.  How slow?  I walk so slow that my wife has to now slow down for me.  She likes asking, "I'm not going too fast for you am I?"  Anyway, the walk I am able to do is is quite a drop from my original 2.71 mile morning walk.  It is closer and the same route I used to walk in the afternoon just for because I liked to walk.  My wife kept telling me I should take it easy. To ice, I generally place on ice cube directly on the foot in front of the heel  and move it around the heel and the arch.  I ice one foot for about 5 to 10 minutes than switch to the other foot.  I may move back to the first foot if sufficient ice remains. As I ice my feet, wondering if there is a return to normal for my feet, I watch a streaming show.

I watch television, because it is difficult to read while having one leg up in an L position on top of the other thigh and move the ice cubes around with one hand.  With streaming, I generally go for lighter fare. While icing three times a day, I have gone through episodes that Netflix has for: Forged in Fire, The Curse of Oak Island, The Big Flower Fight, and Grand Designs. I have not yet gotten through Blown Away, and The Repair Shop. My wife found some additional seasons of Grand Designs on Amazon, so that is presently what we watch when I ice my feet.

Grand Designs, House mainly built by one Man

I first heard of Forged in Fire and the Curse of Oak Island a few years ago when I would look at the History Channel on my I-pad.  If I had cable television, the history channel would be the reason.  Anyway, Forged in Fire reminds me of my grandpas brother and his son, my Dad's cousin, who were farmers and then blacksmiths. The show is intriguing because it delves into the science of making knives and swords.  Different metals may not work well with each other, and the challenges can be difficult such as taking parts off a snowmobile, go-kart, and an old truck.  For other challenges they gave three different types of metal to use and form a blade. The blades are tested for strength, killing, and sharpness.  The neat thing about the show is the variability of age and occupations of contestants.  On one episode a Medical Doctor/Researcher at MD Anderson one, a two time champion, who won the battle of the branches (military) hails from central Wisconsin, and some are as young as 18 to int their 60's.  Even Land Girl got into it for awhile, and was getting quite good at predicting who would move on.  However, she told me in no uncertain terms that I cannot take up forging as a hobby.  I think she said this after a contestant almost cut off four fingers. The show gives me a higher appreciation not just for the hard work and strength required, but the skill level and the required attention to detail. One guy from Wisconsin missed out on the potential $10,000 prize because he had a small bur on the handle which cut into the judge's finger.  He did not pay attention to detail. When two or three knives or swords are close, the smallest detail in overall weight, weight distribution, and finesse capability make the difference. Or, it could come down to one handle feeling slightly better than another.  At times people won simply because their device outlasted someone else, in other words, it did not break as quick. Of course, much better tools are available today, enhancing even more my appreciation for how hard my great uncle worked at this profession. It was not as easy to form a blade as it is today.   

Grand Designs, which is a British show about residential form, follows varied house construction projects through the area. It is rather fascinating to watch as many of the buildings lack any real structural foundation , much less one that is up to four feet deep.  Some are built on what I would call a slab.  Which makes me wonder if the ground does not freeze in parts of Britain. A few things stand out about their designs.  First, the number of homes that have their living quarters on the top floor, best for the view. An upside down house, if you will.  Second, while the construction styles vary, few have used the frame construction technique typical in the US.  Many homes have used concrete block and iron beams.  Third, on some homes their cladding is to me circumspect.  They put wood on but leave gaps so the back, what I suppose (hope) is a water barrier can be seen.  It seems like it could be a spot for rodents.  Fourth, two things commonly occur with each project: over time and over budget.  Of course, at times it is blamed on the planners, particularly in historic areas or rural areas with their paragraph 55 and code 5 and code 6 laws. But, most often the project is complicated and/or in a built up urban area (London) which can pose problems and difficulties.  As the host said on the last show for season 12, the difficulty of building is not the planners but water." Planners, as I well experienced, are a good scapegoat. Many use contractors, some do some of the work themselves.  One doctor and his friends were doing quite a bit of work on his house and his wife put a stop to it so it would bet back on sheduale (the host pronounces schedule like sheduale, so I will go with the Brit way).  One home took over a decade and was built primarily by the homeowner with some assistance on difficult areas, like installation of windows, and the plaster work.  For part of the home he made over sized wood shingles, feet in length with thickness to match.  This house, and the hand craftsmanship, the owner was a furniture maker, reminds me of my brother Joe and the log cabins he would build which contain, among other things, handmade closures, kitchen cabinets and counter tops and even wood bath tubs.  

Grand Desgns, buoyant house
notice the dolphins the vertical elements on the side

As for interesting ideas and building techniques, one home was built using plywood boxes filled with insulation.  The rectangles were cut onsite with a computer operated machine.  The process was designed not by a contractor but some artists.  This way, if they have a piece that does not work, they just cut a new one.  Cladding options are also a wonder, like the house that used zinc scales.  This same house was built on an island in the Thames River which is subject to flooding. And, the worse part, all access is by a watercraft--no road. During construction in January the river flooded and the site was under water about 4 or more feet in depth.  Once it dried, a different contractor came in and built the floating, bouyant, house held in place by four dolphins and as the water rises the house, its concrete basement and all rise held in place by the dolphins, which are essentially one rectangular shaped tube that fits over a piece of stainless steel that is attached to the foundation. (I wondered how they handled sewer and water services, by tubing?)  This of course, begs the point, that some places just should not be built on.  Like in a flood plain, particularly on an island. But, also the home an ecologist in Scotland built on a 35% slope. Nice energy efficient home, but still, one should not build on such a steep slope.  Perhaps steep slopes are more common in the UK than here in the Midwest of the US.

Grand Designs, image showing how buoyant house works

My wife really enjoyed The Big Flower Fight, another British show. Ten teams began and made large organic sculptures from flowers, grasses, sedums and other natural plant products, with some man made materials to hold  The creativity was amazing.  Some teams had certain strengths, like the team of two female US florists who really worked well with color.  The problem was the size and scale of the sculptures tested their strength and capabilities to provide the necessary support and at yet have time to to properly complete the flowering of the article.  One team, not them, had their structure fall.  I believe there were eight episodes which I think were filmed during Covid.  The winning team, from Britain, would place a sculpture in one of the botanical gardens in England.

Same Sistine Chapel Fresco, before and after Cleaning

Depending upon what sculpture they chose some repair may be required, but I suspect they would do it themselves rather than going to the Repair Shop.  At a living museum somewhere in England, the Repair Shop tracks restoration repair technicians as they repair a variety of items brought in by the Brits. Here, in the US these items would probably be discarded, but here they often hold some sentimental value, albeit at times rather weak.  Sometimes I think they take the repair overboard, doing too much to the piece. It reminds me of when my wife and I in 1990 toured the then recently refurbished frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. After centuries of use, the frescoes were covered with soot and grime from candle wax, people's breath and just the dirt in the air.  People were used to seeing the dull, dark colors, but the cleaning and restoration brought out the bright colors actually used by Michelangelo. It was an eye opener for many art restorers, and of course, art critics. The critics had a field day, and our guide was one of them.  She said it was too clean, and she preferred the dark, and dingy frescoes. I thought that people back in the early 16th century were not so dull after all. Perhaps she was too used to looking at them before the cleaning. At the repair shop one day a well worn 100 year old German made teddy bear was brought in for restoration.  They gave the torso a new coat of mohair, but died it, cut it back and thinned it out so it looked like it was say 75 years and not 100 years old; it better matched the fur on the arms and legs. Shortly after we watched that episode, my wife restored a teddy bear for a someone. I thought I should have filmed her doing the work.  I could have played the film crew, Jay, the foreman at the shop, and the narrator.  A couple weeks later I could have filmed her repairing two jackets. 

Sistine Chapel Fresco showing cleaning

Icing my feet is like some of the shows I watch. Time affects items, land, and people, to the point a rebuild or restoration is required. I ice my feet because use and time have taken a toll to the point I can hardly walk, much less get over 10,000 steps per day. I hope I am not in a "new normal", as it would make for a long year(s), and that my feet will return once again to the way they used to be, if not better. Structurally I have orthopedic insoles that are supposed to help with the arch and cut down on the planter fasciitis. Since they have yet to get me back to normal I guess they are not a grand design in assisting my feet after two months of wear. To the effort of restoration, I get ultra sound treatments (over 5 treatments to far), and hope at some point they start to help. Thank goodness I am a patient man who knows how to pace himself. (Yes, I can see my wife shaking her head at this comment; I think she would be shaking it in the up and down, Yes motion.) Months of icing is getting rather old, but at least I found some enjoyable shows to watch while doing so.