Update

Doc says "no more heparin" which is probably a good thing, and "the thrombus is measurably shrinking" which is definitely a good thing. I shall continue to bandage my leg every day for another week or so, then see how it looks. He ordered blood tests, to be certain that I am otherwise in good shape; the last such general test was made in 2001, so it's probably well overdue.

Doc also says that the vein will probably remain blocked for the rest of my life, not to worry though because the body is full of veins and the blood will find another way back into circulation. This puzzles me: is it to be considered a positive outcome?

On the other hand I am thankfully aware that my burdens are far lighter than many others' and I do count my blessings often. One doesn't wish to be as self-centered as the man who, on hearing that his barber had had to cancel their appointment because he'd broken his leg, muttered "Damn, why does this always happen to me?" However, having said that: I have become aware of the mass of twitches and twinges and flashes of discomfort in my body, which I'd never taken full notice of before. Walking home from a cappuccino at the Dead White Male Poet Cafe, I realized that I had a knot in my chest, and was able through poking and prodding to identify it as being the effect of a mildly out-of-place rib and overtense shoulder and upper back muscles.

It's been about two weeks since I started cutting down on coffee, reducing my intake from two or three cups a day to one or two a week. Having done so, I notice the effect that caffeine and sugar have on my nerves, temperament and stomach — and I don't like it. I am jingling and twitching all over, irritable and unconcentrated and easily annoyed. A resolution: I will give up sugar completely (coffee is the last holdout, I gave up putting it in tea and on cereal twenty-five years ago), and will continue to drink coffee only as a rare treat on very special occasions.

I read an interview with Peter Sloterdijk about doping scandals in sports and the Tour de France in particular. It's available in English on the website of "Der Spiegel," the magazine in which it appeared, in a very good translation. Fascinating reading, as always with Sloterdijk.

The Mauersegler are still here, though to judge by the experience of the last few years (after I began taking notes) they should be gone within a week. The days are already getting noticeably shorter, the weather seems to be cooling and calming down.