January 2022 Newsletter Edition
Overall January has been good to me. Looking back it has gone as well as I could have hoped for. The challenges that come from my legs are part of the package deal. It is rewarding when I am able to look back and see what I did get done and had help completing.
Each year the area of Canada where I live experiences about 10 really cold days. This year I had a water pipe burst. Repairing this was on my "to do" list for repairing this coming summer. I could feel a draft that needed to be addressed. With a burst water pipe preventing me from flushing the toilet I had to hire a contractor to fix this. For the few days when I had my water off I used melted snow to flush the toilet. I am a single man. I was able to get through this. Although after the repair was completed I did feel the effects of not being able to soak my legs in really hot water as a strategy for managing my physical disability. At the same time it has become increasingly difficult to physically get to the tub. The tub is upstairs. Going slowly, a step at a time, has worked in the past. I am increasing needing a chair lift to access the tub. It is becoming too physically challenging to go a stair at a time. I am starting to research if there are any funding sources available that I could apply for that would contribute towards the cost of a chair lift.
I've tried some new things to see if it would help manage my physical disability. I've started using chondroitin. This is a supplement that can help repair arthritic tissues. I am giving this a 6 month try to see if I am able to sense any gains. I've also purchased a heating pad to help ease the muscle contractions I am feeling in my hip joints while I work at my computer. I typically only make 1 change at a time so I am able to measure success. I think the biggest challenge I have is trying to keep pace with my body and making decisions related to managing my physical disability when I am not feeling tired so I have a 30,000 foot balanced view of how my life is going. This is especially helpful when there is no good option and I am left to pick the better of all evils.
I am pleased and even pleasantly surprised on the progress I am experiencing on Twitch. Over the years I've learned when someone knows me and they are passionate about an idea for me to try I seriously need to consider doing so. Even in these short few months the gains I've made have exceeded my expectations. When I started my mindset was "Let's see what happens". I'm amazed that at the time of this writing there are 106 followers and people are financially supporting me with subscriptions to my channel. I knew there was a money making opportunity with this. I hadn't looking into this. I thought I'd see how it would grow and take on a life of it's own. As the month came to a close I invested in a controller that has mappable "Push To Talk" buttons for interacting with my subscribers. I am also working towards setting up a green screen so I may stream my face. So far this has been a very interesting journey. It will be interesting to see what comes of this as 2022 reaches an end.
I really enjoy making the annual Christmas Lights video. I have already started thinking about the 2022 edition. This year I put effort into contacting nursing homes to share the video with their residences. I expect with the pandemic lingering on any type of volunteer help would be welcome. Those that got back to me were very appreciative. For the 2022 edition I am going to use play the Christmas carols on the piano. Instead of making an orchestra for the music I am going to put the words on the screen for the Christmas carols so it may be a sing-along activity for those who are isolated at Christmas. I am going to dedicate the bottom 15% of the screen to showing the words for the Christmas carol one line at a time. I ordered a metronome for use as I record the Christmas carols. This will help me to keep a steady rhythm and play the songs at the tempo the composers years ago desired. I want to make Christmas special for those who aren't able to get out and enjoy the beauty of Christmas as the birth of the baby Jesus is remembered and reflected upon.
I am continuing to enjoy sharing Rocky the hamster with the people who use my online media content. I got the Rocky The Hamster Cam setup. I mounted it on a tripod so I'd have the option of repositioning it around his cage and easily repositioned if I decide to move the cage to a different area of my home. This provides an easy mechanism for making videos of him along the lines of CCTV. I also mail ordered a thin chocolate making mold that I will use to freeze ice cubes to put in his water so Rocky easily adjusts to the heat of the summer months. At the request of the people who use my Twitch channel I setup Amazon Canada and USA wish lists if someone wants to give Rocky a treat. I love my little buddy and enjoy sharing him with others.