Day Three Back Pain, Origami Money, And The Cat Tracker.

Maybe..... after I get better.... 

These Things actually WORK!

Thankfully,  it appears that the back pain is only superficial.   How do I know this?   Well,   I did not go to see a Doctor..  Who would have told me to probably do everything I am already doing and then charge me $60!  (Or MORE!)  Nope,  I followed the simple instructions I put up in the blog last posing and they WORKED!   Kind of.   Mostly they stretch out the hurty parts and allow me to function.   All be it on a limited scale.   I am able to walk and bike.... but the pain is still there to remind me that it will take a while to be 100% again.   Then, I may just upgrade to the strength training rather than the simple stretches.   We shall see how things go.   For now,   I'm sticking with the easy stuff.

Cheryl wants to run anyway. 

9 miles instead of the normal 7?

Despite my pain and agony,  Cheryl insists on running and dragging me along.   ( She is such a sadist!)  I did manage to hang with her for the entire 9 miles... ( 9 MILES!   Since when do we randomly add 2 extra miles to our usual routine?)  We have a long run coming up tomorrow...  so I will be trying real  hard to get that muscle stretched out and limber.   Thankfully,   riding a bike is not too strenuous on the back muscles to begin with.  But 15 miles usually effects me in different areas.   Wish me luck!

Origami eases the pain?

Or just keeps mu mind off of it. 

To help ease the pain of sitting,  and to keep my mind off of the pain ....and food....   I have been folding Origami Dollar bills for the Casey's people.   Today,  I delivered perhaps the most difficult model I have ever attempted with a Dollar bill ( Actually,  it takes 2 single dollar bills.)

The Origami Formula One Racer!

Origami Formula One Racer... from 2  single.dollar bills. 

Box pleating.  Easy? 

Assembly and shaping required. 

Simple box pleating...  Simple?  Did I say simple?    Well,  In theory, yes!  In practice... let's just say it took me 3 DAYS to complete it.   Ok,  that is a little over the top exageration.   I worked on the front and back part for about 3 hours each.... ( Or so,  I only know I started at 11:00 and finished around 3-ish.)  spending a day on each section.  Yesterday I finished the assembly and final shaping.   Maybe 2-3 hours total.   So possibly 8-9 hours worth of folding...  But I like it!

Looks pretty close to the pictured model.   Not bad...

Leave it at Casey's

Along with a bunch of other things. 

  I dropped it off today along with several other models.  ( Because,   what the heck am I going to do with it?   Keep it forever?)  Maybe the Casey's crew will grow tired of my expanding zoo and ask me to stop.   Or they could throw them or give them away.   It's just paper after all.

And more animals. 

Cats love Subaru s

And finally I caught the Cat  tracker in action.   Cheryl says we should call him "Badger"...  which sounds better than Oreo.  We shall see which one finally sticks.   He left me a "present" yesterday in the form of a fresh Vole.   I have to say,  I found the gift endearing. I have not received a gift from a cat since Hiro gave me a baby rabbit.  (And Hiro does not go outside anymore....)  I didn't know what to do with it,  since I'm currently trying to watch what I eat after the holidays.   And Hiro does not eat "Wild Food" anymore.

Badger sits.   

Leaving Muddy Paw Prints. 

I'm not sure why he loves the Subie so much,  but Subie has been looking rather dirty with this new slush on the roads.  It doesn't appear to damage him and I will have to give the car a good washing eventually anyway.    The Tracks will vanish then.

More Casey's Origami. 

So that is all.    We visited with a couple of friends  in Iowa City today.   Catching up and talking about work...  mostly enjoying a donut and coffee.   It is always fun and passes the time way too quickly.   We begin work next week,   so we will see each other more frequently then.    In the mean time,  it is always fun to catch up on stuff.

The Origami Camel..  from a dollar bill. 

Hope everyone is having a great week so far.   Looks like we will be doing a long run  trying to beat the snow storm that is predicted for tomorrow.   Hopefully my back,  the weather,  Cheryl's running,  and the rotation of the earth will all hold out until the run is over.   Then... finally...  we should be able to relax.    Thanks for stopping in.