If you don't want to read about aches and pains, skip this log entry.
I've had a sore shoulder for over a month. I think I strained it when we went to the driving range. I hadn't swung a golf club in a long time and I wasn't in shape. Then later when I was walking Ben and he pulled on the leash, I felt pain in my right shoulder. Ever since then, it hurts if I extend that arm or lift anything heavy, etc.
I had to stop going to yoga for a while. (You might be surprised how much weight you put on your arms performing yoga.) And I've had to ask Frank to lift things, open jars, stuff like that. And the range of motion in my right arm is very limited right now.
My chiropractor in Woodstock seems to think it's not too serious, and indeed it is imp
roving slowly but steadily. But I get frustrated with the limitations imposed by pain, and the pain itself can be sudden and sharp, brought on by simple things like reaching to pull a blanket over me, or even by just being jostled. And I wake up at night whenever I start to roll onto my right side. It hurts and I have to roll back. Which has turned out to have a positive side-effect: my lower back is bothering me less.
Long ago I injured my sacro-iliac joint on the right side in a fall. Since then I have had hip pain and back pain off and on. At the time (around 1990) I sought care from
Erbe Chiropractic Center in Falls Church, VA. Dr. Erbe helped me tremendously and after a couple of years the pain became fairly minor. Then I moved to Prince William County and eventually stopped making the long drive to Falls Church. (Sitting in a car for long periods is hard on the low back.) And after a while the pain became more bothersome. I tried a nearby chiropractor with little success, and sought help from a neurologist when I started having other symptoms (tingling in my toes, for instance). He ran a battery of tests and said "Something is going on." Then I got frustrated with his billing department and my health insurance so I stopped going.
There were other doctors who didn't help. I tried a form of physical therapy and a few exercise programs. Some exercises are detrimental - I learned the hard way to avoid leg lifts.
As years passed there was little improvement and then I had additional symptoms. Sometimes pain shot down my right leg; sometimes an ankle would go weak so suddenly that I'd stumble. A medical doctor said I probably had a pinched nerve. My yoga instructor gave me the names of a couple of chiropractors in Woodstock. I decided to try Dr. MacDonald and he has been helpful. Naturally when I hurt my shoulder I had him check it out.
Anyway, the shoulder is improving. But I wanted to vent a little. And since it helps my hip and back to avoid sleeping on my right side, I wonder how I'm going to keep doing that after the shoulder stops hurting. It doesn't hurt the hip enough to wake me up.
This school served the families of Cullers Run from 1898 to 1956. On Hardy County Heritage Weekend, it was open to visitors. Some friendly volunteers shared the history of the school and offered us juice and cookies.
We saw this custom-made wood stove in West Virginia. An expert welder made it to look like a face.
This mill is on U.S. 11, the Valley Pike, at the south end of Mount Jackson, VA.
Hardy County Heritage Weekend will be celebrated Sept. 27-29, 2008. We attended last year and did not have time to see everything. 
I attended a meeting yesterday of the Mt. Jackson Garden Club. We had a guest speaker who presented the principles of flower arranging. Then we were given our pick of flowers and greenery and a mug to arrange them in.
This is a 3-bedroom chalet listed at $197,900. It has 2 bathrooms and almost a half-acre of wooded land. The lot is sloping and a lower-level is visible from the rear.
roving slowly but steadily. But I get frustrated with the limitations imposed by pain, and the pain itself can be sudden and sharp, brought on by simple things like reaching to pull a blanket over me, or even by just being jostled. And I wake up at night whenever I start to roll onto my right side. It hurts and I have to roll back. Which has turned out to have a positive side-effect: my lower back is bothering me less.
We took Scamp and Ben to Orkney Springs for a walk around the pond. We were pleased to see that they old springhouse has been repaired and painted. The pump is working and there's even a new sign: Great Bear Wallow Spring.
We went through the old Shenstone Mansion at the southern end of Mt. Jackson, VA. It's on the market right now and the current owner has done a lot of work on it, including replacing the front porch.
Today Frank had to work at the real estate office and I spent the morning working at our library. But it was too nice a day to spend indoors, so this afternoon I went to the Edinburg Ole Time Festival.
Marie created a multi-media video about some horrible neighbors we had long ago when we lived in a townhouse. She includes sound from a cassette tape that I made from my window. You can hear these people yelling and cursing. They did that regularly. Which leads to why I made the tape.
We enjoy watching the little hummingbirds that come to their feeder all summer. They move so fast you can't see their legs and feet.
As Seen from the Food Lion Parking Lot
And here's a restored brick "necessary" or outhouse. There's one on each side of the house although some distance away. Under a staircase that led downstairs from his bedroom, Jefferson had an indoor toilet, a convenience that was rare in this country at the time but fashionable in Paris, where he had spent some years as our Minister to France.
I wasn't familiar with the term curtilage. It means the enclosed land around a house or other building. I've copied the text from this part of the sign for you:
I've mentioned before that this blog gets visitors who are looking for information on split rail fences. I've always loved the look of those rustic wooden fences and have taken many pictures of them over the years. The one on the left is at New Market, Virginia.
This weedy-looking plant is tobacco. It's been grown in Virginia for centuries even though it's known to deplete the soil. 
"Appomattox Court House" refers both to the county court building and to the historic town itself. This building is a reconstruction of the 1846 court house and is used as a visitors center.
This fellow is a historical re-enactor at Appomattox. He told us how he joined the Confederate Army, was wounded, went back after healing, only to be with the Army of Northern Virginia when they were defeated. 
