A View of Chestnut Ridge

I took this photo at Outback in Harrisonburg yesterday. We are looking southwest across University Boulevard. 

Chestnut Ridge is known as the place where Confederate General Turner Ashby was killed during the Battle of Harrisonburg (June 1862).  Obviously the scene has changed since then. The long building just left of center is Costco; the tall lights on the right are illuminating JMU's softball field.

Chestnut Ridge Historical Marker on HMDB.org

A View along University Boulevard

This scene is in the part of Harrisonburg that's east of I-81. The historic district is west of the interstate. 

That's one of my favorite restaurants on the right. I like Outback because they serve good prime rib and baked sweet potatoes, and they have a gluten-free menu. 

Waving at the Camera

I was in the yard feeding the birds when Frank asked me to wave. He was on the deck with a camera.

Our yard is still very slippery, thanks to a glaze of ice on top of the snow. The front walk and driveway are pretty much clear though.

Snow Day at the Library

Basye-Orkney Springs Library and
Sky Bryce Airport

Here we see our local library and airport. I decided to make the picture look even more snowy so I filtered it in Photoshop (Filter: Distort: Glass).

Our library is located in the Resort but it is a county library open to the public. Vacationers often stop by to use the internet.

If you missed my story about flying in one of those small planes, read it here or go to November 2008 and scroll to the bottom of the page to see all my aerial photos.

Ski Lodge, Bryce Resort

This is down at what we call the "core" of the resort. Here folks buy their lift tickets and eat lunch. In the background is the restaurant where you can enjoy a quieter meal.

Planter in the Snow

Shoulder Surgery Scheduled

I am scheduled to have surgery to repair the torn shoulder tendon in mid-February. I'm not looking forward to it but will be glad to get the chance to start healing. The shoulder hurts in the morning when I wake up, and of course the arm is weak all the time.

The doctor thinks that I probably injured the shoulder playing tennis. The only time I played any tennis this year was in July. I think it re-injured it in August, maybe completing the tear, either when we practiced golf or when I was walking the dog.

Frank took the photo during that fateful tennis session.

I have a reprieve from physical therapy until after the surgery. That's a relief because going twice a week took a lot of time. The physical therapist says if I play tennis again, I need to serve underhand, not overhand.

Rotator Cuff Repair

Fireplace

For those who don't have a fireplace, take a look at ours. Maybe you'll feel warmer.

Click the triangle below to see a brief video version.

Fresh Snow

Above: A junco pauses on a branch.

Left: Snow on the pines.

I took these photos from our deck around 9:30 this morning. We had a couple of inches of snow already.

Listen to the birds and see the video version here. (Some of the frames are pixelated; sorry.)

Our House in the Snow

We awoke to a white world this morning, and got more snow during the day. Now a wintry mix is upon us, with icy rain and snow chilling the entire outdoors. It could continue all day tomorrow.

I've already canceled physical therapy for tomorrow morning and plan to stay close to home.

About Blogging...

This is from the Despair.com Demotivators Collection.

A Note about Rebates

I found out that companies are not allowing as much time to mail in rebates as they used to. When we ordered my laptop just before Christmas, there were several rebate offers. Late last week I suddenly realized that almost a month had passed since buying it, and I hadn't mailed in the rebate paperwork for the "free" printer that came with Macbook.

I went to MacMall's site and followed the links for rebates for that printer and printed out the one that we originally qualified for. When I started to fill it out, I was dismayed to see that they only allowed 20 days from purchase to send it (postmarked) instead of 30! And there I was at day 30, with not much time before the post office closed.

I went back to the website and looked at other rebates for the printer-computer combination. I found one that still allowed 30 days. Frank cut the UPC code off the printer box while I filled out the form and prepared an envelope. Then I copied everything and drove to the post office.

Aleshia was taking down the flag as I drove up but the OPEN sign was still on the door. I asked her if my envelope would still get postmarked for that day. She said yes and hand-canceled it; the envelope being awkwardly thick from having the piece of cardboard inside. When I got back in the car, it was still one minute before closing time.

Another rebate story: Since our refrigerator quit prematurely, we called Frigidaire (Electrolux) and complained. They emailed us a form for a substantial rebate on a new one (around half the price of the replacement). We received the rebate the other day, and today we received a credit from Lowe's for the delivery charges. Pretty good considering that they delivered it the same day we called!

Coincidentally, a week after we replaced the fridge, our Frigidaire dryer stopped working! We called Matt's Appliance Repair (in Timberville) again, and the same repairman came out. This time he felt that the appliance might still have some life in it. He got the drum to turn again and told Frank to check the exhaust hose for blockage, for it was likely to have gotten bent in some way that stopped it from working properly.

Frank had to move the washer and dryer to do this, but he did get the hose unbent and cleaned out. We think it got bent when it was moved during the kitchen remodel. Anyway, it has worked fine since he fixed it, thank goodness.

Another View of the Golf Course

Golf Course in November as Seen from Resort Drive, Basye, VA

Tip for Mac Blogspot Users

I have two browsers that I use on my Mac, Firefox and Safari. Both are said to be more secure than IE. They each have their advantages for editing my blog.

Firefox lets me resize pictures by grabbing a corner of the image (using the mouse) and pulling it in diagonally until I have the size I want. For some reason, I can't do this using Safari.

On the other hand, Safari makes it easy to correct an entry while looking at the blog. Once I've signed in, a little pencil icon appears at the bottom of each entry. Clicking on it takes me directly to the Edit screen. This saves time when I want to edit more than one entry, such as when some change in the template made a bunch of my images go off the right side of the page. I can control-click (that's right-click on a PC) on the icon and open the edit screen in a new window while keeping the blog open on the old window so I don't lose my place. Also, if I add a new tag, the pencil shortcut makes it faster to page through and add the tag where appropriate.

Photo Booth

My new Macbook comes with a built-in camera and a program called Photo Booth. You can choose from various special effects and then snap your picture.

The one I posted yesterday was also created in Photobooth but then I cropped it using Photoshop. I think that one looks more like me than this one does.

Rotator Cuff Injury

I went back to Mountain View Orthopedics to discuss what the ultrasound of my right shoulder showed. I knew it had revealed a tear, so Frank went with me to find out what the doctor recommends. It was not what I wanted to hear.

I have a full tear in a tendon. The doctor recommends surgery. She said that a partial tear can often heal without surgery, but mine is a complete tear. That's why it hasn't healed in the five months since I injured it, and why physical therapy has not restored my range of motion.

I have not scheduled surgery yet. She advised that I finish the course of antibiotics that the gastroenterologist prescribed before having surgery, which will require it's own set of medications.

Right now the shoulder doesn't hurt much during the day, but sometimes the pain wakes me at night, and it's bad early in the morning. I cannot raise my right arm more than halfway, cannot open heavy doors with it, or reach high shelves...

I don't like the idea of surgery, of course. I could have an allergic reaction to anesthesia, the recovery period is long and uncomfortable, and there's no guarantee that my range of motion will be restored afterward. Still, Dr. Stevens did not see any other good option.

Article on Rotator Cuff Tears

Lights at Dusk

Service Stations at Exit 273, Mt. Jackson, VA

Left: Cloudy Sky, Parking Lot Light, Woodstock, VA

Computing the Cost of a Prescription Part II

I already complained about how difficult it is to compute the cost of a prescription under our health plan. Here I go complaining about prescriptions again! As you probably don't recall, the gastroenterologist gave me a prescription for Rifaximin and warned that it is expensive. He said if it is unaffordable I could take Flagyl instead. I decided to try the Flagyl, although I remembered from last year that it makes everything taste bad. By day three, my food had a sour taste and it was getting worse. Also, I read that Flagyl (metronidazole) may increase the risk of cancer. I decided to make another attempt at getting the expensive medicine.

I already had Wal-mart's price but knew they didn't keep it in stock. We called three other stores. No one had even heard of Rifaximin, but after I gave them the brand name Xifaxan they looked it up in the computer. (I only knew of the brand name because I had researched it on the internet and made some notes.) However, none of the stores would gave me the price that I would pay as an Anthem insurance member, saying that I would have to come into the store before they could submit the info to insurance electronically, and then they could tell me the price. (This makes comparison-shopping pretty much impossible.)

Neither CVS or the Mt. Jackson Pharmacy had the drug in stock, but Rite-Aid had a partial supply (half the amount prescribed). I decided to go there and get the partial bottle since at least then I would only pay half price for now, and could get more later assuming that I didn't have an unpleasant reaction to it. (More than once I've bought a prescription, had an allergic reaction, and had to throw out the rest.) We drove to their store in Woodstock and got the half-bottle for $130, the amount allowed by our insurance. It was only a 5-day supply.

I didn't have notice any side-effects except for a slight dizziness which could be due to something else anyway. On Monday morning I only had one day's supply of pills left, so I called the drug store for a refill. I had to go to Woodstock for physical therapy that day, and after that tried to pick up the prescription. The clerk informed me that insurance would not pay for their share of the prescription until the next day. I protested that I only had one day's supply left and I was not planning to come back to town the next day, but it was no use, even though if the store had stocked the full amount in the first place I wouldn't have this problem.

I've had problems before with Anthem refusing to pay for medication if I refilled it early, and I didn't want to pay full price (almost a hundred dollars more), so I left without the medicine. On Tuesday we made a second trip to Woodstock and got the prescription. That's about an extra 34 miles of driving, and over an hour out of the only day this week on which we had no appointments, no reason to leave our neighborhood except for this extra trip to Rite-Aid.

I sure hope this stuff works!

A View of Downtown Basye

Basye, VA in January

Basye and Bryce Resort Seen from "The Hill" Condominiums

Basye is a small unincorporated town in western Shenandoah County, VA. The red building is the Community Store.

Inauguration Day 2009

As we watched Barack Obama's Inauguration today on television, I was moved by the event and by his speech. I wished my mother could have lived to see it! She believed so strongly in equal opportunity; she would have been so pleased. For that matter, so would my dad.

In 1958 and 59, my parents were among the many Virginia parents who successfully lobbied to keep the state's public schools open when the governor tried to close them to avoid integration. They would have been proud of the American People today. I was.

This Morning's View

We had about an inch of snow this morning. Most of it melted by late afternoon.

I feel very fortunate to have a pretty view.

Real Estate Activity

Congratulations to Frank! His listing on Aspen Road is under contract and he has a new listing: a condo near the store in Basye. The 2-bedroom condo has a nice winter view from the deck.

It's on the second floor of a contemporary building and is listed at $133,000. It is within walking distance of Lake Laura, a park with swimming pool and nature trail, Hot Plates Café, and the Community Store. You can see details at Homes Database, MLS#: SH6960044.

Creekside Realty Contact Info

Dog Quieting Device, Make It Yourself

What are we looking at here? It's a tin can with a few pennies in it, of course. And it's one of the few things that can startle Benny into shutting up.

I've been told that an empty soft drink with seven pennies works especially well, but this one works for me. I shake it once for each bark, and I stop as soon as he stops barking.

If you want full instructions, click for a version of the Bad Behavior Stopper.

---

If you spill any pennies, pick them up so your dog doesn't swallow any. The ASPCA warns that the zinc in pennies is very toxic to dogs.

Benny Spaniel has never been the best-behaved dog. When Scamp was here, he got worse, becoming very territorial in response to Scamp's aggressiveness and barked more than before. After Scamp left for a new home, Ben continued being territorial. He was ruder than ever to visitors, and even barked at us if we got near his "property" - that is, his crate and sometimes even his bowl. The little memo recorder (on which I recorded his bark) continued to quiet him sometimes, but was losing it's volume and it's effectiveness. Then I remembered the tin can with pennies trick. It's working well.

An air horn works too, but it's as jarring to us as it is to him. And it costs a lot more than a can from the kitchen and loses it's air after a while.

Birdfeeder, January

Seen from our Dining Room

We've had several very cold days. When I walked Ben this morning, the temperature was one degree Fahrenheit, and that was around 10 AM. (I had procrastinated, hoping the sun would warm up the ground. Ben often naps patiently in the morning.)

I just read of a Wisconsin study of black-capped chickadees when temperatures are below 10 degrees. Chickadees with access to feeders have a survival rate of 69% but those without feeders have only a 37% survival rate in such cold weather. So be sure to feed the birds when it's cold like it was today! You can throw seed on the ground if you don't have a feeder.

I wouldn't throw it on the ground in warm weather though. You may attract wildlife that you don't want. Several people around here have seen bears pawing at their bird feeders! We stop feeding the birds in early spring, about the time that bears come out of hibernation.

By the way, human food such as bread is very unhealthy for deer. We saw warning signs on the Blue Ridge Parkway about this, so don't scatter baked goods around for wildlife.

A Bird Nest

This is a photo we took last Spring near Tom's Brook, VA. Birds found this nesting spot at a truck stop off Interstate 81.

Blog Post No. 1700

Hard to believe I've posted 1700 times since I started blogging in 2005. Someone said my blog looked "distinctive". Since the template is only slightly revised from one of the standard ones, I assume the sizing and placement of pictures may be what looks distinctive.

Generally I like photos to be large enough to show some detail, usually "medium" in Blogger terms. Still, small ones can be handy when the detail isn't important, and readers can always click on them to see a bigger version. Keeping them lined up with the text can be tricky, since different-sized monitors change the spacing. I've gotten pretty adept at inserting tables in HTML to line up pictures and text, when I take the time. Tables are fairly simple as long as you work carefully so that you don't split any code in the wrong place.

While I'm writing about the blog, here's a summary of postings for the last three months:

• December '08: Christmas, Squirrels, and our trip to Tacoma.
• November: Thanksgiving, Port Republic, Shenandoah Valley Autumn, Aerial Views of Basye, Orkney, and West Virginia.
• October: Fall color in Shenandoah, deer, Civil War Reenactors at Belle Grove, and our Carolina trip

The Historic Pritchard Home, Kernstown, VA

Still standing at Kernstown Battlefield is the gracious-looking Pritchard House. The inside of the house has not yet been restored and is not generally open to the public (although I toured it last year with a group from Lord Fairfax Community College).

Although Kernstown Battlefield park is gated in the winter, you can visit from May to October and it is worth seeing. A number of historical markers interpret the site and volunteers staff a visitors center in one of the farm buildings. The farm itself is attractive, with green grass, curving lanes, and a large barn. All this is within walking distance of Creekside Station Shopping Center. The battlefield lies at the southwest boundary of the city of Winchester.



An interpretive marker tells us that "Fighting swirled around the home during the First and Second Battles of Kernstown, as it did during smaller engagements on June 13, 1863, and August 17, 1864." The Pritchard family took shelter in their cellar as battle raged around them.

When the fighting subsided, the home was used as a field hospital, and Helen Pritchard, a Unionist from New York, personally cared for many wounded Union soldiers in the house. “If it had not been for me,” she recalled, “they would have died...” After Second Kernstown, Confederate soldiers carried the mortally wounded Colonel James A. Mulligan of the Union army into the house. A Confederate surgeon offered what little medical care he could, and a priest from the Louisiana Tiger Brigade gave Mulligan his Last Rites. Two days after the battle, Mulligan died peacefully as Helen Pritchard cradled his head in her arms.

Read the rest of the Pritchard story on HMDB.org.

Pictured: Helen Johnston and son, Samuel Reese Pritchard, c. 1860

Viewing Kernstown Battlefield

Here are three well-marked places to view the Kernstown Battlefield. They all have historical markers, but the previously-mentioned Opequon Church is the most accessible in that the parking lot is always open. You can find it behind the 7-11 in Kernstown; watch for the sign to the Civil War marker.

Right: Battlefield seen from Opequon Church. Below: View from the Pritchard-Grim Farm in Kernstown, now a battlefield park. Plan to visit between May and October (weekends are your best bet).
	Left: Historical Marker at Winchester's Rose Hill Farm, Jones Road near Cedar Creek Grade (not far from Route 37). Significant in the First Battle of Kernstown, this farm is the site of Jackson's dispute with Garnett.

Rose Hill farm is occasionally open to visitors for a walking tour; see the Museum of the Shenandoah's website. A map and more information can be found on Historical Marker= Database (marker #2646).

See also my previous post on the Pritchard-Grim Farm.

Can You Compute the Cost of a Prescription

I called my health insurance provider to try to figure out what is the actual cost of Rifaximin to me. I learned some time ago that it's less than what I pay at the pharmacy. Here's why:

After we meet our yearly deductible, we start getting refund checks from Anthem (our insurer) for prescriptions. It appears that they were reimbursing 60% of what we had paid. I called them today to confirm this.

Yes, after we meet our deductible, they pay 60% of the allowable amount on prescriptions. By using a participating pharmacy, we are only charged the allowable amount or less when we pick up the medicine. However, if we get a lot of prescriptions, Anthem stops paying after they pay $5,000.

It gets more complicated if we reach the out-of-pocket maximum like we did last year. At that point, the co-pay is dropped and we are reimbursed 100% until the $5000 limit is reached. (This would only happen if most of our expenses were non-prescription, since the out-of-pocket maximum is $6000 for all allowable expenses. Have I lost you?) But let's forget the out-of-pocket thing since we don't usually reach it, nor have we ever reached the $5000 limit on prescriptions.

Anyway, since there is no way of predicting how much of our deductible will be made up of prescriptions versus doctors and tests, there is no way of knowing how much of each prescription applies as a credit toward the deductible. To get a general idea, I used a couple of scenarios and found that my actual prescription cost runs (over a year) 49% to 67% of the price paid at the counter. Considering that we've had three medical tests already for 2009 (at two weeks!), and that I'm racking up $146 weekly in allowable physical therapy alone, we should meet the deductible pretty early this year. (Last year we met it in April.) Anyway, I estimate that for a prescription costing $250, we are actually paying around half, which is still a lot of money.

For my reader who is a benefits professional: am I correct in thinking that submitting prescriptions before we meet our deductible is actually more beneficial than submitting them afterward, since our co-pay on prescriptions is 40% and our co-pay on office visits is only 20%, but as far as meeting the deductible all expenses are credited at the same rate? I'm no mathematician, but if I can get a little extra out of health insurance, I get a little thrill.

Kernstown Fences

The Kernstown Battlefield has a number of old stone walls. There must be at least several miles worth, viewable from a number of different places.

I took these photos from the grounds of Opequon Presbyterian Church in May 2008.

Second Kernstown at Shenandoah at War

A New Prescription Finally

I finally got a new prescription from the gastroenterologist, two prescriptions actually. I had to drive to Winchester (an hour away) for it because the doctor did not return any of my (three) phone calls. The appointment was made before the breath test, and I would have preferred to have canceled it, but I needed the medicine, so we spend the entire afternoon obtaining it.

After a long wait in the waiting room and another 15 minutes waiting in the examining room, I finally saw Dr. S. He gave me a prescription for Rifaximin, which I was happy to get because I had already researched it online and it sounded ideal. Then he said it could be VERY expensive, even four hundred dollars, so he also wrote out a prescription for Flagyl in case insurance would not pay for the first. I took Flagyl last year and didn't like it because it made everything I ate taste terrible.

I went to Walmart Pharmacy and inquired about the cost of Rifaximin. They had to run it through my insurance and it came out as two hundred and something. AND they didn't have it in stock so they'd have to order it. I decided to try the Flagyl first. If it doesn't work, I can still get the high-priced stuff. If it does work, I'll have saved $200.

A Bit Torn

I had physical therapy this morning and an appointment for ultrasound immediately after that. (Both appointments were in Woodstock, VA, and both for my sore shoulder.) Ultrasound is an interesting experience because you can see inside yourself on a monitor. The image of my shoulder reminded me of waves on the sea.

The doctor showed me a dark area: "That's fluid." Then he showed me another area that looked different from the smooth waves. "This is a tear."

So I have a torn tendon. His job is only to interpret the images; I'll have to wait until I see the orthopedic doctor to get her prognosis. But I was shocked to learn that a tendon was actually torn. I thought it would just be strained. It is less painful than it was a few months back. Still, it has been sore since August, and physical therapy has not enabled me to lift it straight up.

I want to avoid surgery if possible. The recovery is slow, and gaining complete range of motion is not a sure thing.

Meanwhile, I still haven't had any luck reaching a doctor or nurse at the gastroenterologist's office in Winchester, so I still don't have a prescription to cure my long-standing digestive problems. I left them an additional message this afternoon: "I have a torn tendon, so please don't prescribe one of the antibiotics that cause tendon problems."

I imagine by now they think I'm a real pain to deal with... which is certainly what I think of them, since they don't return phone calls.

Opequon Church

This church at Kernstown stands on historic ground. A church was built here in 1732. It is the oldest Presbyterian Church west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and is called the
"Mother Church of the Valley."

During the Civil War, the church was damaged by battles and was even used as a stable. In 1873, it burned down but was eventually rebuilt.

By the way, Opequon Creek is nearby, but it flows for a long distance and the "Battle of Opequon" (Third Winchester) took place north and east of here.

The picture below is one I altered in Photoshop because the landscape reminded me of an impressionist painting.

Links:

• See a painting of this church by Mort Kuntsler
• Opequon Church Marker at HMDB
• Opequon Church Website
• Map of Opequon Creek
• Read all my posts on Opequon-Winchester

Second Battle of Kernstown

In May, our NVCC "Advanced Civil War" class ended our second field trip of the season at Kernstown. Since we were following the 1864 Valley Campaign, our interest was in the Second Battle of Kernstown. Instead of visiting the new battlefield park, we went to Opequon Presbyterian Church which has been a viewpoint for seeing the battlefield for many years.

The sign summarizes both battles of Kernstown. Here's what it says about Second Kernstown:

July 23, 1864 – Federal General George Crooke’s corps was camped to the north of here after pursuing confederate Gen. Jubal Early’s force from its raid on Washington, D.C. Early attacked Crooke’s forward positions around Prichard’s Hill and Hogue Run. The federals withdrew in disorder after heavy fighting and Early followed up with raids on Martinsburg, W.Va. and Chambersburg, Pa. This battle opened the final phases of the 1864 Valley Campaign.

Professor Poland Lectures at Kernstown

Wild Roses at Kernstown

I'm working on some digital pictures I took at historic Kernstown last summer. These flowers were growing over an old stone wall.

Results of the H2 Breath Test

I got an envelope in the mail today from the gastroenterologist. It contained a note (saying that I have small intestine bacterial overgrowth) and a prescription for oral neomycin. Darn it, we went through this last time, doc! I am allergic to neomycin. It says so on the original form that I filled out. And I told the doctor this last time after he sent me the exact same thing. (He then wrote me a prescription for Flagyl, which seemed to work for a while.)

I got angry and tried to call the doctor's office, but Winchester Gastroenterology has a phone system that does not let you talk to anyone. You have to leave a message and they call you another day. That means I won't get a replacement prescription until next week. This is terrible customer service. I left a terse message. They will know I'm upset. Doctors should check their notes and not prescribe things that the patient is allergic to. And they shouldn't make the same mistake twice!

Well, at least I have a prescription already that controls intestinal cramping, which was very painful. And I can take garlic capsules over the weekend, which should keep the bacteria down until I get an antibiotic. It will be the third round of antibiotics for this condition over a period of about 18 months. Maybe the garlic will be better than antibiotics anyway.

Back Seat Ben

When Ben was a puppy, he was afraid to ride in the car. We got him a travel crate with plastic sides and he felt secure in it and would ride without a problem. Eventually he was able to ride in the back seat without being scared.

Birthday and Christmas Combined Gifts

I often felt a bit cheated by having my birthday fall close to Christmas. As a child, I felt like my birthday got celebrated less than my friends' birthdays because my day got drowned out by the din of holidays plus two other December birthdays in my family. And then there was the combined gift. That's a gift that someone gives you for BOTH your birthday and Christmas. Sometimes it was bigger than a normal birthday gift, but often I got the feeling that the giver just didn't want to bother with buying two things for me.

Frank's birthday was even closer to Christmas than mine, plus since his birthday fell AFTER Christmas, so he'd get toys that were less than desirable: the left-overs after Christmas shoppers had gone through the store and bought the best items.

But this year Frank decided to buy himself a new TV as a combined Christmas-birthday gift for himself. He could justify it by needing a larger and sharper screen to read the subtitles. I decided to ask for a combined gift too -- a new laptop. The old one didn't have enough memory for some applications.

In the photo, my new toy is dwarfed by the television, but I'm thrilled to have it.

Why I'm Tired This Evening

I had the H2 breath test this morning and I'm tired. Not because of the test (which is easy but boring) but because I had to get up early and leave the house at 6 AM. I only had about 4 hours of sleep, and the drive was stressful because there was cold rain which threatened to turn to ice. The temperature was barely above freezing, there was fog in some places, and the winter sky was very dark. I drove a little below the speed limit because I thought there could be black ice on the road. It takes an hour to get to Winchester, and I fasted overnight so I was a bit hungry.

Frank did not go with me because he had a dental appointment scheduled for 10 AM in Mt. Jackson. My test lasted a little over 3 hours. I had to breath into a tube every 20 minutes. There was a liquid to drink after the first breath was put into the machine to be analyzed. It has a form of sugar in it; enough so that I didn't suffer from hunger. With luck, I'll obtain the results tomorrow.

This afternoon I had a physical therapy appointment at 2:30. It's been a busy week for appointments. On Monday Frank saw his primary care physician in the morning and I saw the podiatrist in the afteroon. Yesterday I saw the orthopedic doctor. Today we had the 3 appointments I mentioned. On Friday Frank sees the audiologist. Tomorrow is our only free day. Normally I would have yoga on Thursdays but attendance has been so low that classes will not be held in the resort this year.

• Hydrogen Breath Test
• Valley Health

Update on My Shoulder

I went to an Mountain View Orthopedics this morning for my right shoulder which has been stiff and sore since summer. The doctor had x-rays done and made arrangements for an ultrasound. She spoke highly of A.J., my physical therapist, and wrote a note for me to give him:

Patient's R shoulder rotator cuff tendinitis /adhesive capsulitis... X-rays normal. Keep me up to date with pt's progress in physical therapy. She may require surgery.

See adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) on Wikipedia.

Stonewall Cemetery

When our "Advanced Civil War" class toured the Third Winchester battlefield last spring, we didn't stay long at the Stonewall Confederate Cemetery because a rain storm was moving in. Last month I went back to the cemetery and took some photographs.

The Confederate Cemetery is part of Winchester's Mt. Hebron Cemetery. It is located between the National Cemetery (which you can easily reach from Route 7) and Pleasant Valley Road. (See map.)

The plaque above reads: Stonewall Cemetery 3000 Confederate Soldiers Rest Here Dedicated 1866 Left: Monument to Unknown Confederate Soldiers

Right: Marker gives a brief history of Third Winchester, starting with: THE THIRD BATTLE OF WINCHESTER (The Battle of the Opequon) September 19, 1864 The decisive assault in the campaign set in motion by General Grant to free the Shenandoah Valley from the control of the Confederacy took place here. This high ground was part of Winchester’s defensive rampart against attack from the east. The text concludes with: These Honored Remains: Destiny’s Debris When Diplomacy Fails For more about this marker, see Historical Marker Database, Marker 2660.

Previous Post: More of 3rd Winchester to be Preserved

Recognizing the Women Who Memorialized their Men

This monument in the Winchester's Confederate Cemetery strikes me as being unusual. Although surrounded by grave markers, it does not mark a grave or recognize those fallen in battle, but honors the Confederate Women of Winchester. It recognizes the work done by women to memorialize those they had lost in the Civil War.

However, it was not erected until 1999. Read the text below.

In Honor of the Women of Winchester
The Ladies Confederate Memorial Association Organized in 1865 And Turner Ashby Chapter #184 United Daughters of the Confederacy Chartered 1867
For Five Generations They Have Cherished The Memory of the Soldiers Who Lie in the Stonewall Cemetery
"Love Makes Memory Eternal"
Dedicated June 6th 1999

Throughout the South (and in some other places), Confederate Women formed memorial societies to honor and even mythologize fallen soldiers. The phrase "Love makes memory eternal" is a clue to why they did this, trying to hold on in some way to those they had lost to an unsuccessful war.

The insignia at the top of the monument says "Daughters of the Confederacy 1861-65." The Confederate officers pictured appear to be Turner Ashby and Robert E. Lee.

In a Winchester Star article, Professor Jonathan Noyalas of LFCC is quoted as saying “This whole cemetery is a monument to the legacy of Winchester’s Confederate women,” he said.

By creating the area as a last resting place for some 3,000 Confederate soldiers, the city’s women “started the ball rolling” across the South to establish similar cemeteries, including monuments to unknown soldiers.

April 2008 Post Mentioning Prof. Noyalas