Back Again?

So, since Memorial Day weekend, my back has plagued me with aches, pains, lost sleep, etc...  Actually, my back pain started in High School after a car accident I was in.  However, during the past several years I haven't had many problems with it.  In Italy I was walking, I had changed my eating habits and lost weight, and our bed was nice and firm.  Since my brother's accident a year ago, I stopped walking, ate whatever was given to us, slept on whatever we could find (hospital beds, recliners, benches, couches, air mattresses, etc....) and gained some of my weight back on.  A dietician we met with said stressful situations will add weight on, maybe there's something in my survival instincts that tells me body, 'whatever problems we are facing, if you brace yourself, find a cave to crawl in, put on some hibernation weight and hunker down until things settle, we'll be okay'.  Well, the dust has been settling and my back pain has worsened due to the situational and habitual factors. 

My chiropractor told me today that it is my sciatic nerve running down my right leg that's bothering me.  He asked if it feels like a dagger is digging into the top of my right leg, to which I replied wholeheartedly, "Yes".  For a few weeks now, I have been trying to walk Brinkley each day.  It also gets me out into the neighborhood, something that I would have made a goal to do in Italy.  Been working on exercising some with a big RED ball and trying to be more discerning into what goes in my gullet.  Hopefully, next time I write about this, I can title it, "Back no more".

Various Pictures Around Our New Apartment

I couldn't help taking this picture. This bicycle is just sitting outside the door of our apartment.

This is the tree lined street that takes you to many local stores , including our grocery store.

Here's our puppy, Brinkley, sitting in our new apartment buildings' private courtyard.

And here is a picture of our local grocery store. It's called MiGross. It basically translates "Give it to me in bulk!"

This is the walkway on the backside of our building. This covered walkway leads to each of the four stairwells that make up our building.

How Things Are Going

So, we have not last night, but the night before. Our entire trip has gone really smooth. So much smoother than previous years. Marcus, Emanuela and Ugo met us at the airport and helped us with luggage. Ugo's van carried all our bags and we took most of them to our storage unit, since we move to Verona this Friday. All of our stuff in storage seemed in fine condition. No mold, no dirt. Great! Yesterday, we met our landlord from our storage unit and picked up our car. He had a nearby mechanic do a full onceover, filling fluids and tires, etc... He also changed out most of the filters, which he showed me were a mess. Then we went to check on our car insurance. Our agent wasn't there, but we talked to him and said we could pick up the paperwork today. After that we went out and got new phone numbers for our phones. In the mall, we sat and had a cappucino and some Italian breakfast. Once done, we took off to the pet store to get a few things for Brinkley (check out his blog here). He has been great!! Not barking when we have left him and getting on his regular routine of food and sleep patterns. The funny thing is, as I was writing that last sentence, he let out a loud bark from the other room! After the pet store, we went by the post office and Angie went in to pick up the packets we have to fill out to apply for legal living permits. We have to do that within our first eight days.

Anyway, last night we headed to dinner with several of our friends, Valeria, Luca and two of their kids, Emanuela and her boyfriend, Luca, Daniel and Simona, Maurizio and his girlfriend, Antonetta, Novella and Giulia, Marcus and Kyle (both on the Ancona team). It was a great evening of dinner, laughter and reminiscing. Maurizio's eyes bulged with excitement when I told him OU was listed in the preseason top five and that he was welcome to come visit us in Verona to watch some of the games and have barbecue! He came over many Saturdays here in Ancona and grew to love American Football. He is looking forward to coming.

Really, the only downside to everything has been my health! It's crazy. Because I had three teeth removed last week, I have been dealing with pain and headaches. The oral surgeons' office insisted that the pain would be better next week. Also, apparently, I slept with my right foot in a funny position on the middle and longest flight. It felt like I had a huge internal bruise. For the past two days, I have been practically limping at times. It is feeling much better this morning. The last thing is my reoccuring bronchitis. It is showing its ugly head once more. I can feel it down in my chest and I am having difficulty getting it out. I am praying for it to keep from getting infected and just getting through it. We have a full day ahead for our last full day in Ancona. We make the move to Verona tomorrow.

Brinkley, Our New Puppy

So, Angie and I got a new puppy. His name is Brinkley and he's a Yorkshire Terrier, or Yorkie. We want to put up photos of Brinkley online, but rather than inundate this blog, we've made a new blog that is all about him. Check it out if you want to see our new little buddy. Follow the link below...

http://apupnamedbrinkley.blogspot.com/