Sunday, October 30, 2011

Processing Caviar Can Be Hazardous To Your Health

Or at least detrimental to your lower back.

Chicken Mama worked a short shift in the roe house this morning processing roe (caviar). Since there was no more work to do in the afternoon (the waters, like our temperatures, have been unseasonably warm which is affecting the spawning of the fish), she went to her office in town to put on her other hat and get some work done there.

But very quickly while sitting in her hard desk chair, her back rebelled against the hours she's been spending bent over picking/sorting, washing/cleaning, salting and packing in the roe house and muscle spasms started.

She tried lying on the floor of her office but since that didn't help decided to make the trip to our house to seek relief and a heating pad.


So here she is stretched out on our kitchen floor with heating pad and pillow on the offending muscles. Her ministrations helped because she was out the door and back to her office within the hour. She took the heating pad with her though.

Who knew all the suffering that goes into your caviar served on toast points?

16 comments:

Sue said...

Poor Chicken Mama! Hope she finds some relief--back problems can be tough to deal with.

And somehow---I always thought caviar came from someplace "exotic"..... who'd have thought that meant Minnesota!
LOL!

Judy T said...

@Sue- isn't Minnesota exotic??
I do hope she is feeling better. I hate that seized up back feeling from bending too long.
Judy

Mama Pea said...

Sue - HEY! You sayin' Minnie-soda ain't exotic? Well, it is. ;o} Ya sure, you betcha! (Wanna know where all this caviar gets shipped to? Sweden. Go figure that one out!)

Judy - I just looked "exotic" up in the dictionary. It said, "Having the charm of the unfamiliar, strikingly and intriguingly unusual or different." Huh. Ya, that's all right, eh?

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

I just completed a few weeks of physical therapy for my back and I can so sympathize with her. Back pain sucks. Hope she is on the mend.

Mama Pea said...

Jane - And just what did you do to wrack up your back, Little Girl?

dr momi said...

....Another beautiful header pic Mama Pea!

OK the chiropractor in me has to speak up...if by chance Chicken Mama's back keeps giving her problems, switch to ice instead of heat. Hoping she still is doing good.

Leigh said...

Now that's one "safety" hazard the government doesn't know about yet.

Sparkless said...

Oh ouchie! Back pain is not one of those pains you can work through. It's like you can have the same amount of pain in your arm but be able to keep working. Put that pain in your back and you can't do a thing.
I hope the heating pad does the trick and Chicken Mama is feeling better soon.

judy said...

YOU'D BE SURPRISED OF HOW MANY THERE ARE OF US THAT SUFFER FROM THAT-ONE DAY LAST WEEK-I HAD JERRY HELP ME OFF THE BED--HE WANTED HIS PEA JUG-WHAT A PAIR WE ARE! BUT ON A SERIOUS NOTE -PLEASE GET THESE PROBLEMS CHECKED OUT-MY SISTER -IN -LAW DISCOVERED HER LUNG CANCER THIS YEAR WITH A BACK ACHE [ AND SHE NOT DOING AS GOOD AS JERRY [ IF THATS GOOD ] YOU JUST DON'T KNOW IF ITS A GOOD DAY OR BAD--TAKE CARE C.M.

Jenyfer Matthews said...

I feel her pain, literally. I would suggest some gentle stretches, every day at least once, to keep things in good shape and hopefully avoid future spasms. These are easy to do while lying in bed even:

Lay on your back and pull your knees to your chest and hold them there. Breathe and relax in to the stretch. Hold for 3-5 long breaths.

Straighten one leg, keep opposite knee bent and drop bent leg over straight, keeping shoulders flat, for a side twist. Breathe and relax.

Reverse above stretch.

Repeat sequence as necessary.

Hope she feels better soon!

Mama Pea said...

dr momi - I told CM of your suggested ice application and she acknowledged that made sense. Thank you.

Leigh - Funny thing is she does have a back brace/support but has loaned it to one of the guys working with her because he's having more trouble than she!

Sparkless - Yep, pain in the back makes one realize how very vital those back muscles are to EVERYTHING we do during a day!

judy - I think a lot of muscle spasms or back pain is caused by stress, too. When we're under stress, we hold ourselves in an unnatural way that stresses the muscles.

Jen - Thank you so much for your detailed suggestion. I'll make sure she reads it.

odiie said...

So do we get the roe from Lake Superior Sturgeon?
Are there Lake Superior Sturgeon?

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

Well Mama Pea, what no one puts on the brochure is just how hard homesteading is on the back. Lift that bale, tote that bucket, etc. And I guess that I favor one side. So you mix lifting heavy stuff daily, add a dash of hours standing in the kitchen, and just a pinch of animal wrestling and bake for a few years and you get a good old fashioned bad back. Guaranteed to keep you up at night and go out when you need it most. Yep, not fun.

Mama Pea said...

odiie - The roe is from herring. It was a surprise to me, too.

Um, are there Lake Superior sturgeon?

Jane - Have you been given any special exercises for your back you can do daily to try to strengthen it? 'Cause you're right, living on a working homestead is gonna require you to use your back muscles constantly. Yesterday I was carrying 5-gallon pails full of sod to dump in a compost bin. Each trip I had to step over a low fence. NOT recommended for back muscles, trust me. :o(

Erin said...

LOL, exotic... funny stuff! And yes, Mama Pea, there are sturgeon in Lake Superior! I have always heard of herring roe referred to as "Minnesota Caviar", since it's not true caviar (true caviar only refers to sturgeon roe), but still highly desirable by those that desire it, which would not be me LOL. I had some back issues that I'd never had before earlier this year, and exactly what Jenyfer said is what helped me, even though unfortunately it lasted a good two months. Hope she feels better!

Mama Pea said...

Erin - Thanks for filling us in, Minnesota Homegirl!

I agree with you on the taste of roe or caviar or whatever you may call it. Nuthin' I want to spend my money on!