random thoughts – Day 1,387 – (Wednesday) – word power

New Year – Day Three.

A year ago, the new year began for me with COVID, and 2024 has kicked off with raging sciatica which seems to get worse daily, but mostly only when I move or walk, which, unfortunately, are daily activities. When sciatica inflicted itself upon me before and during the ten-week physical therapy adventure of the summer, the therapist said not to stretch the area, because it can aggravate the nerve more. The guidance is alternating heat and cold. 

The cold part is easy with a zillion ice packs handy at all times, so the evening after work involved an ice pack on for 20 to 30 minutes then off, but the heat is not as readily available unless I sit in the car with the heated seat.

The workday was one of those problematic days where it felt like an obstacle course of 1,000 brush fires and landmines of excess wordiness. The simplest tasks went sideways, and the simplest of questions requiring a one- or two-word answer unleashed a novella length non-answer. All. Day.

But it wasn’t all annoyances. 

Cupcakes!

It was the day of the company's 35^th anniversary and there was a delicious lunch that included chicken, penne, mac and cheese, and tomato soup shooters with tiny grilled cheese sandwich quarters –wonderful comfort food. And there were pretty cupcakes with fluffy icing in a range of flavors and some with sparkly sugar sprinkled on them.

Despite the delicious lunch and restorative powers of cupcakes, by 3:00, my head was aching nearly as much as my lower back and leg. Despite the discomfort, I needed to get away from the desk, the emails, and the wordy non-answers.

I walked to LaLa Books. Slowly and carefully due to the sciatica, but it was only a block or so. The air was crisp and chilly. The best way to escape excessively wordy emails and review comments clearly was to buy more books filled with words. Right? At least the words in the books might make sense.

I bought the February book club selection (No Land to Light On, by Yara Zgheib), and there was a bonus event happening – a free mystery book with a purchase. Not mystery as in the genre, but mystery as in wrapped in plain paper with clues on the front. I could have browsed the blind date book profiles, but I asked the bookshop owner to grab one for me to make it truly random. 

Books!

The book was billed on the wrapper as “Historical Fiction – England in the Great Depression – delicious dishes – a side of romance.” Inside was Good Taste, “a novel in search of great food” by Caroline Scott. Sounds fun to me, and I can’t wait to jump in to it. Or maybe ease into on the couch or in bed. There won’t be any actual jumping at least until the ibuprofen and ice packs calm the sciatica.