Trying To Vote

 The primary election went pretty good. Lines were short early in the afternoon, the ballot was party only, so pretty quick to go through, and Steve had a chair to vote from. Getting up when he finished, as it was so low, required my pointing out his issue to a couple of assistants standing around, but they were prompt and effective.

That of course was before his back's pain interrupter went totally FUBAR.  These days he can be reasonably fine when he wakes up but a slight coughing fit will destroy all hope of moving with just moderate pain. Say, like a level 7 of 10. Thus it was this morning. We'd agreed we'd hit the courthouse a bit later to vote absentee, which Minnesota is great about, before he coughed. 

Now it will be an ordeal to get to the bathroom. Or just stand up.

We'll see if there's improvement by around 3, giving time to get there, vote, and get out before the place closes.  If not, each day will be a repeat until fate gets it right and is kind to him.

There has been one major improvement at the house end of the trip. Paul has thoroughly braced the railing along the front door's steps. It had been wobbly enough Steve was afraid to trust it. I noticed the wobble but have been working on going up and down without needing it. The wood in the bottom post anchoring the railing had been rotting, both top and bottom. After much thought and measurements, Paul replaced that post (declaring those stairs temporarily no-go), dug a hole in the dirt next to the concrete where the post rested, and put in a second angled post, making a triangle for true stability. The bottom of the brace is down about 10" in the ground, its hole filled with concrete.

Despite the 4x4s being treated wood, I insisted on paint, and not just because the management would have insisted it be "pretty". I've seen how soon even treated wood, ignored once installed, starts to rot. The new wood got two coats of white primer, which I'd gotten over a month before for this and other painting needed. There was some in the shed left by a previous owner, but after stirring Paul declared it the consistency of cottage cheese. We plan to leave that can and a few similarly old ones open out in the shed over the winter to fully dry out so they can be just tossed in the garbage like rocks. 

Now that the concrete has fully set, I've gripped the railing and tried to shake it. It's immobile. Steve should be just fine using it... as soon as he is just fine for long enough to use it. Monday he gets in to his back doc again to discuss getting his FUBAR machine removed and possibly replaced by one with a better history rather than broken leads and shocks creating spasms, etc. We have no idea how much added wait that will take, and whether it takes one surgery or two. We do believe pulling out the old breaking one will be a big improvement. We hope a better quality replacement will be another improvement. 

Meanwhile we need to get him to vote.