Monday, January 25, 2010

The Joys Of Winter

Last Wednesday evening I was taking out the trash to the curb, when I slipped on some glare ice in the driveway and landed like a ton of bricks on my left knee. I hobbled back inside the house and spent the next day and a half watching the joint swell to elephantine proportions.

Having been down this road before, I applied the R.I.C.E. technique of Rest - this was easy, since I could put very little weight on the leg. Ice packs helped reduce the pain and swelling. Compression (Thank you, Ace Bandage!), and last but not least Elevation above the heart level to keep the throbbing down as much as possible.

So the crutches have been put away, and I now look like a proper curmugeon limping along with a cane. I remember ice and snow being a lot more fun when I was younger! Perhaps it was because the ground wasn't so far away! Ha, ha, ouch! ha!

So how did I pass the tedious days and hours of recovery? Well...like any good wargamer would; painting figures and reading. When I'd get tired of one I would switch to the other, and before I knew it, I was a lot more mobile. My latest addition to the Wargame Library is "Wargaming In History,Vol. 1, The Seven Years War", by Charles Grant and Phil Olley. What a read it was! Each chapter and page held me spellbound. I haven't been so enchanted by the printed word since I first stumbled across "The Wargame" for the first time. I highly recommend it!

Actually, Messrs. Grant, Olley, Asquith, and Hyde have much to answer for making my annual wargame budget resemble a piece of Swiss cheese. Their constant barrage of publications keep blowing large holes right through it.
Well...that's enough of sitting at the computer for now. Where did I put that ice pack?!