Photo by Sasun Bughdaryan / Unsplash

Don't do this after a workout. Apparently that's not a good idea.

I sighed up for a fourth booster, one of early adopters. My last one was July of last year, so no real protection going forward. These vaccines, if the manufacturers are to be believed (that is in question) have a swift half-life. At least that's what we're led to believe.

So, since I am off to Canada next week, and to Africa shortly thereafter, another booster seemed in order. I got it without fuss at noon yesterday. It wasn't until I woke up around 2:30 am that I realized that something was afoot. And a hand. And a leg. Okay, well, everything, most particularly my punkin head.

Interestingly, and I can say that now at nearly  6:30 pm when it seems the worst of this has run its course, most of the pain in the body is where I've been sore from workouts. Barring my noggin, the pain was worst where I had arthritis and sore legs from a very energetic hike prior to the shot.

This intrigued me.

If I have to take a migraine shot of sumatriptan, the same thing happens. If I have a bruise, or muscle pain, for a few hours the pain is much exaggerated. Most especially where there is inflammation, which makes sense, as in my hand arthritis. It's no fun at all. Imitrex is a vasoconstrictor, a very strong one. So I've learned that if I get breakthrough migraine, I know what I'm in for.

I Googled the Moderna vaccine for the same kind of information but didn't find it. However, the pain is identical. Whether that means that the vaccine is acting in the same way I have no clue. However, since this is the second time this happened, and this time around it was worse, I am going to take this as a trend.

Does that mean it will happen to you? Dunno. Those of us on meds, those of us working on getting back in shape, each of us with our different bodies and foods is going to react very differently. I got a full day of rest, and spent my time drinking a lot of water and watching all the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies. And writing when I could sit up.

I had a very busy day planned. I hurt so much that getting up to release all that water was definitely no fun. But, with the exception of my hands, where the greatest pain resides, much has resolved. But, a busy Monday was relegated to the couch, a few very small meals and lots of water.

Tomorrow I leave mid-morning for Kennewick for a much-anticipated travel bloggers conference. Most of the pain has abated, but frankly I feel as though I had a practice punching routine with the Hulk. I lost.

However, here's the good news. I was so damned uncomfortable that I couldn't eat much. When that happens, that is a gift, for it allows my tummy to shrink. Lately it's needed to, given that I have recently developed a nut habit, which has done my body no favors. They're healthy, but not at the rate I've been going through them.

So here's what happened.

On Easter Sunday I reviewed your stories, some of which I haven't published yet. I was so animated and delighted by a number of your ideas I decided to move all my lovely tasty nuts WAY out of reach, so that I'd have to get a ladder. Then, inspired by Jim's story about seed oils, I tore out all the stuff in my pantry, even packets of tuna. While there isn't much in my house that has those oils, I found several items that did, and those are going to my local food bank.

I thought I had cleaned it all out, but the drive across country last year meant that I picked up pre-packaged tuna. All of them had canola oil.

Well SHIT. I'd just bragged to  Jim Stutsman (a perfect setup for a fall if there ever was one)  that I'd done all that work a long time ago, but clearly a few things slipped through. I dunno about you but such reminders are terrific humblers. Right about the time we think we have our stuff together, some of our stuffing leaks out.

That is just FUNNY.

Those packages of tuna salad are ready for the food bank.  Which is a fine reminder that while we like to think we've cleaned out all the bad stuff, something invariably sneaks in. No more packaged popcorn, for the same reason.

This really, truly brings up the point that even if you buy some or a lot of your stuff, say, at some "organic grocer," that labeling is meaningless. Knowing what we do about seed oils, they are laced through tons and tons of those products which underscores what Dr. Robert Lustig said: It's not the food itself. It's what's been done to it.

That is precisely how something slips, it becomes a habit, then that habit starts to undermine our progress, like my love affair with flavored popcorn.

READ THE LABEL.

Lustig writes that whatever the box or bag claims, that usually means just the opposite. I take that to heart these days.

That is why we need a community. I got a lot of value from the stories and plenty of ideas. It is so easy to tell ourselves the story that we have it all under control when we don't, and that blind spot can be a real problem.

That's just one reason I love posting stories about other peoples' journeys, because they force me to consider what I am doing or not doing, and whether or not I am leaning into my story or living my truth.

Was there a lot of it? Not at all. Truth, very small amounts. But regular ingestion of stuff that is really bad for us adds up. So, like it or not, losing convenience or not.

So a day down on the couch, in some kind of pain, and I slept there too, after making most of the way through Fellowship of the Ring.

It's morning now, and I will be out of here shortly. Two days away from the nuts and too much food ( I have been feeding my loneliness, which is another story) and my body is swiftly releasing what it doesn't need. More on that later.

The Buddha just outside my kitchen door

Most of the soreness is gone, and it's a lovely rainy day in the PNW. With that I leave you a photo of one of my favorite perennials which is blooming along my garden path:

Julia Hubbel