Not sure what to write about today. That’s usually the case when I sit down here so, often, I start by describing the weather, and then maybe what was happening the day before, and then maybe what’s in store for the day ahead, and then the rambling follows without thought. But this morning that seems so pedestrian, even though it’s exactly what I like to hear about the lives of others. So I’m scratching my head a bit. Maybe I wish there was some drama that was mine to tell, but there isn’t. There’s concern about the health of a close family member, and he’s only at the beginning of getting to the bottom of it. We’re still hoping it’s something manageable.

I did my 3 miles yesterday and had to open my umbrella only once and only for a few minutes. Today is a “leisure walk” day and so far (8:30 a.m.) it’s not raining and the sun has appeared. The mosquitoes are a real plague, I was warned yesterday, so before leaving the house in the morning I lotioned up as usual with Laura’s lemongrass lotion and sprayed my clothing with insect repellent, and they didn’t bother me.

But oh how my lower back aches. It began the morning after I slept in our king-size bed with Farmbeau. Emil was here that weekend so I’d vacated his bed, which is more comfortable for me. It has a one-inch foam on it and feels softer than the two-inch mattress topper we bought for our own bed. I can also listen to a podcast in the spare bed without disturbing Fbo. But I haven’t moved back there yet, curious to see if it’s just a matter of readjusting to our bed after not sleeping in it unless we have company. Maybe it needs a one-inch foam too.

The day before, it was my glutes that ached. I don’t know why so don’t ask.

Or could the aches be slightly belated side effects of the Letrozole, which, when I mentioned my concern about having no estrogen in my body whatsoever because of the drug’s effects, a doctor said I “need” in spite of the risk of heart disease and stroke that the lack increases. He’s not wrong; better those two than cancer, I suppose. But not much.

Or could it be that in doing my short yoga routine, I’ve pushed a stretch further than I ought? My back was surprisingly stiff when I started doing it again, remembering nightly by setting my rolled-up mat in the spot on the couch where I normally sit to watch TV with Fbo in the evenings (if we can find anything worth watching, that is). But I was pleasantly surprised by how much easier and farther I could stretch in only a few days.

If it’s a side effect of the drug and doesn’t pass, and if aches and pains are standard issue for old folks, then I’m getting a taste of ageing a little earlier than expected and will have to put up with ageing 20 years in a matter of months.

Excuse me for the most self-referential post you’ve ever seen! But: