St. Paddy's Day

 

And a grand day to one and all. 

I received an updated report from Ancestry recently, and while I'm definitely a mutt, 12% of me is Irish, so that should allow me to celebrate a bit today. I'm planning on having corn beef and cabbage today from the local meat market. Might even have a wee dram of Irish whiskey as well. 

Yesterday the weather was about 98% perfect in my book. Sunny, temps in the low seventies but just a bit too breezy to peg the meter at perfect. I went out for a bike ride in the early afternoon. Easy 16 miles per hour heading north, struggle to do half that heading back in. Good muscle builder, however. 

I went out to the shop later to finish making the parts for the trans mount and found another racoon in the trap. Fortunately, my set-up to keep the trap on the boards worked well. Unfortunately, just as I swung the trap over the side of the attic ceiling, the little darling decided it was the perfect time for a bowl evacuation. The part that hit the floor wasn't so bad but I didn't appreciate getting it on the rungs of the ladder below me. 

I didn't get anything done on the jitney after that. By the time I cleaned everything up and dispatched the 'coon, it was time to get myself cleaned up for my appointment at the "massage parlor". In addition to typical deep muscle massage, I get a half hour session of Cranial Sacro Therapy (CST). I'm not sure how valid the whole concept of CST is, but it does seem to help me a bit. Might be the placebo effect, but as long as I think it works, it does work. No doubt about the regular massage, though. When my back muscles tighten up, the chest muscles tighten up and then I'm in constant discomfort. Nothing I would describe as pain but definitely an irritant. Felt really good last evening after dinner. Actually, what I felt was nothing - no tightness in the chest or back. I can feel a little something in the back this morning but nothing like before my appointment. I really should have taken better care of myself when I was younger.

Going out to the shop later today and I've got some things to do on updating my preps. Tornado season will be here soon and I want to get a bit more prepared for all of us to be comfortable down the basement, including the dog and the cat. Lots of buzz about nuclear war these days but that's not really much of a concern for me. If I move some of my camping stuff down there and get a place to sleep, I could live down there damn near permanently. From what I've read, depending on your distance from the blast, a couple of weeks and a couple of good rains and you should be safe enough to go back outside. I don't know how contaminated the main living space in the house would be, though. If I thought a nuclear attack was a real threat I'd invest in a Geiger counter or just put my head between my knees and kiss my ass good-bye.