Just a quick note. I will reply to comments soon, but for now I’m having to rest my hands. Even clicking a mouse button is currently a bit sore. I can use a different finger to do it but operating a mouse with different fingers or with two hands causes extra complications.
The same goes for typing – even using different fingers imposes strain on the sore joints. Last night I used a hot wter bottle but I’m not sure it helped. Today at work has been a bit of a trial, though arthritis was only part of that, and not necessarily the worst part.
On the plus side of the leger, I have had another acceptance, which ws for a tanka prose I ws quite pleased with. That’s often the kiss of death as editors quite often reject poems I am pleased with.
Aren’t you pleased with them all? I hear you ask. In truth – no. There is usual one in three that is just there to make up the numbers and the other two are often OK, but don’t really excite me once they are done.
If you wanted me to sort out poems I am really happy with, I expect that out of the roughly 150 I have had published, less than 15 would be ones I was really happy with.
I suppose that’s always going to be the way of things – we are always fated to want to do better.
I will stop here. My clumsy fingers just wiped out all my words and I had to search drafts to find it again. It happens infrequently and I can never remember how to do it. Fortunately I was able to find it. This was very dis-spiriting.
Congratulations on the acceptance, Simon! I am sorry to hear about the pain in your hands. I sometimes use Epsom salts soaks.
I am sorry to hear that your hands are sore. I don’t want to teach granny to suck eggs, but have you tried speech to text? I use it quite a lot as my stiff fingers and poor eyesight lead to endless mistyping. I have a Microsoft app which comes free with Windows 10 and 11 and works amazingly well.
So sorry about your hands! And I agree that we never seem to be satisfied with our writing.
The hands are getting better – the feeling that the writing could be better may never leave me. 🙂
I know the feeling.
🙂 Writers, never happy . . .
Hope you’re better soon!!
Thank you. It’s improving day by day – much better this morning than last night.
How very frustrating. I would find it much more difficult to live with than the fact that my hand is no longer steady enough to draw with my previous precision and my handwriting is now less attractive.
It is frustrating, but based on previous experience I am fairly sure things will improve within a week or so.
I’m sorry to hear your drawing and handwriting have been affected – they are two talents I have always lacked so at6 least I am spared that annoyance. 🙂
Oh, Simon! I’m so sorry you are having such difficulties. Heat is often helpful; I immerse my hands in hot water – but you said that the hot water bottle wasn’t much help. Maybe you need to see if you can talk to someone at the medical centre. Have you been fitted for splints and have you got some of those fingerless pressure gloves? I find both of those helpful at times, but not all the time. I also understand about the clumsiness caused by arthritis. The amount of things I’ve broken and/or dropped recently is amazing to me as I used to be so deft and careful.
Congratulations on getting another poem accepted!
Thanks Clare, but it’s my own fault for messing up the medication, so I don’t deserve much sympathy.
I’ve been told that alternating hot and cold may be effective. I’m going to try the heat again as it helped some parts of the problem – just not the main inflamed knuckle.
I did have some gloves but didn’t need them and seem to have mislaid them. Typical. 🙂
Even on good days I often find myself dropping stuff at work as coins slip through my grasp. Arthritis and numismatics do not go together.