averygoodun42: (ooh!  dinner!)
2017-01-25 12:03 pm

Humph. Trump may be good for something after all.

I can't read my FB page for more than an hour before I become too emotionally drained to do anything at all. So, there's that. Too bad it takes the disassembling of democracy to treat my addiction.

Lordy. It's all too much. I am trying my best to be as politically active as possible, but it's hard not to feel like end times are upon us. Not globally, I don't think. Just on this continent. Canada isn't even much of a safe-haven, because Trump's rise has empowered the fascist and racist scum there, too. (Not to mention that Canada historically has bent to the will of the States because they would prefer to keep what sovereignty they have.) And, of course, the end times are mainly for those of us who are vulnerable to begin with. Unless a full-scale revolt happens, the wealthy (who pander) will come out virtually unscathed.

Ach well.

Good things exist. Geoff's shoulder is strong and supple enough to shovel the wet muck that fell from the sky. It was only a few inches of the shtuff, but it was particularly heavy shtuff. He also is advancing in other areas that are meaningful.

Page is coming along on the saxophone. He's getting to the point where once he starts playing, he has fun (for the most part). Getting him to start, however... Well. He was startled at the nasty look I gave him last night when he commented blithely that he didn't think of his music being needed for practice. This was after soaking his reed, and futzing about for more than an hour (while we nagged at him every five minutes). He had a good practice, though. Too bad it took him an hour past bedtime to finish it. (I wasn't feeling well yesterday, which probably made the glare meaner than it should have been. We were on good terms before he went to bed.) I'm also super pleased that he's growing perceptive. He's a good man in the making, I think. An oddball, but a good and empathetic oddball.

I haven't been painting, but the basement progresses, and I did sketch out my next painting. I need to sketch it out further with colors today. I'm starting to conceive of a statement to go with this series of paintings. I don't want to use it, though, because I hate conceptual art that much. I am also practicing drawing faces again more frequently so as to be able to teach that better. Now I just need to figure out how to teach basic painting better. So much of it is instinctual for me, that it's hard to give advice that's practicable.

My health is... odd. I'm WAY better than I was leading up to the holidays, but I still feel pretty weak and fatigued. I really need to start exercising more, and meditating every day or else this administration is going to literally kill me from the stress. The trick is to remember to do it (which is a trick, given that my memory is the first thing to go when my energy is low). And I really dislike the amount of energy making decisions takes. I don't dislike it enough to give up my freedom of choice, but weighing things out is exhausting. (And some of it's stupid stuff, too. Like, I desperately need a haircut, but I also need supplies for finishing up the basement. I only have the money for one. And should I forgo both so as to subscribe to Teen Vogue and support the ACLU?)

But on the whole, life is pretty good for me and mine. And there are opportunities to make it better. So that's very good.

And here's hoping you all are doing well, too.
averygoodun42: (Default)
2016-04-15 01:59 pm

Nothing bad to report! Yay!

Things are perhaps - knock on wood, do a hail Mary and whatnot - starting to look up.

- Geoff's shoulder is still messed. The orthopaedist says surgery isn't a good option at his age (he's not THAT old, is he?). HOWEVER, he has recently had two injections of cortisone, and movement within the shoulder itself is starting to return. He can now do the PT exercises without having to (figuratively) bite on a wooden spoon. He's under doctor's orders to take it very, very easy on his shoulder for at least a week, but it's better. Hopefully he'll be able to start sleeping through the night very soon, which will help loads and loads in the recovery process.

- Page has been ill, but he does not have pneumonia. Instead, he has thickened bronchial tubes (common in asthmatic patients) possibly caused by bronchitis, and a pleural effusion (effectively a large blister on the lung). The reason we know this is that his shoulder and lung were hurting him a lot when he took moderately large breaths. Since strep and bronchitis have been going around, and the pain wasn't going away quickly, I took him in. The doctor didn't hear any congestion, but sent him for an x-ray anyway. Anyway, since starting the antibiotics on Wednesday, he's improved dramatically, to the point where he's doing his normal "pew pew" bedtime avoidance routine. He's better enough, in fact, that he's at school! First day since Monday! He won't be going to his sax lesson today, though. I'm giving him till Monday to start that back up.

- I don't need a fifth crown! Or, at least I don't need one immediately. Instead, I had a cross drilled into my dodgy tooth. And, since it's a tooth they already worked on (one of the first), they're only charging me for the surfaces that they hadn't worked on (the grand total of which comes to $23). So that's better than the $230 for the first third of a crown...

- The back wall of the basement is ready to be covered. Already, I have most of the pegboard up, so now it's just a matter of getting the paneling. That will have to wait at least a week or so, because Geoff's shoulder needs babying, but that's okay. There's lots of other stuff that needs to be done in the meantime that doesn't require lifting. Or purchasing, for that matter.

- And best, the other day I went to a friend's son's birthday party, not expecting to stay long because of the noise and people factor. Fortunately, this friend knows and completely understands about sensory issues, so besides an understanding smile or two, I was able to retreat now and again without notice. Anyway, while there, but thinking about escaping, another friend came with loads and loads of presents. And it turned out, not all of the presents were for the birthday boy. One, in fact, was for me! She handed me a fairly heavy bag, and in it I found a Nessie tea infuser and a HUGE can of Troika tea.

I nearly burst into tears. I have felt so isolated and... unheard lately, and here she was, giving me a couple things I'd pointed out as being awesome a fairly long time ago on FB. Needless to say, there was hugging involved. And more retreating because I'm an ugly cryer and I needed to get my emotions in check. But anyway, that helped a huge amount. I love this friend, and I hate that we can't see more of each other (even though we live less than a mile apart... She's disabled and not terribly mobile, and I can't go over to see her in cool weather because she has cats). So I have to think of a way to thank her for her thoughtfulness. Beyond giving her more of my plants. :-)

So, yeah. There's still rough stuff, but, on the whole, as long as I avoid the news and politics, life is bearable and sometimes even good. Which, you know, is pretty awesome, considering. This weekend is looking fine, in the weather department, which means that I can get out and finish cleaning up the garden. The strawberries are still plotting a takeover, and I need to nip that in the bud. There shall be no coups in this yard, thank you! ;-)

Cheers!
averygoodun42: (Default)
2016-03-10 01:03 pm

Anyone want to call the Canadian Embassy for me?

I hate making calls. Really, I'm almost phobic about it. Not quite, but it's amazing how long I have to psych myself up to make any call besides one to Geoff. Even calling family makes me nervous.

Ah well. I do need to find out whether Page is a Canadian citizen due to the date of his birth or not. So I guess I will call. At some point. Soon. Honest.

In other news, it was almost 80 degrees here yesterday. I sunbathed (for vitamin D purposes), and even as exposed as I was (sports bra and swim-skirt), I was getting uncomfortably warm by the time my 15 minutes were up.

However, later in the day, I persuaded Page to come outside with me, and I cleaned and weeded the garden while he regaled me with details about the new world he's creating. I had the thought that perhaps JRR Tolkien's mum (or, more likely, his nurse), went through something similar. It wasn't too bad, as my body was busy and my mind idle, but, wow. He can still talk.

While he was talking, I managed to weed most of the strawberries out of the ornamental garden out back. I still have a dozen or so to pull up, but I think I may have a chance of keeping up with them come spring. I also managed to pull up most of the alders that had taken root last year. My poor neglected garden really was neglected last year. I think I got out only a few times in the spring, and then... nothing. For the entire summer. And fall. (I lay the blame on the basement. It sucked everything out of me. Everything.)

But spring is definitely coming. Crocuses are blooming, daffodils and hyacinths are emerging, my honeysuckle is budding, and the creeping phlox is greening. And the grass, too. It even smells oddly fertile around here. It's a month early, but spring is definitely coming. Most people are pretty happy about this, and I figure I might as well join them. As long as we don't get a front-range spring with two foot snow drops that break all the trees and kill all the flowers, I'm okay with winter being done. I certainly don't want a deep freeze to come along at this point!

I have also been productive in the basement. Two wall panels are done(ish), and cabinets have been installed on them. I've also put up one unit of pegboard and organized the more necessary tools on it. It's a temporary storage solution, as many things will go on the as yet unfinished walls, but it's getting there. And it's all accessible!!! Oh, man, is it nice to be able to use the basement to construct things again. And, I am constructing things. I've almost finished the column to cover the support beam, which is the first step to creating the storage cabinet for the laundry area (which will double as an art storage place; it'll be double sided), which should improve life for us me significantly.

Painting... I haven't been so productive. I did put in a week of labor getting "Herald" framed up nicely (enough) so as to put it in the Art Association's Spring art show at the mall. That went up last Saturday. I still have yet to go down to the mall to photograph the show. Ah well.

I've also started sketching with watercolors (well, watered-down acrylics; use what you have) in preparation for a painting I want to do. I overworked the first sketch, but it's not too bad. I'll share a photo of it eventually. I think that also happened on Saturday... Heh.

Otherwise, life has been spent drinking tea and running around in a daze. I sure would like this basement done so that I can take a guilt-free weekend off. But it's getting there. It is. Finally. Almost a year later... *grunts*

Anyway, I ought to go. Lunch to eat, instruments to deliver, husbands to ferry... Yep. Exciting stuff. ;-)
averygoodun42: (snape)
2016-02-25 11:49 pm
Entry tags:

I have been crowned

And they're riding just a wee bit high... But fortunately I have to go back to the dentist to get my new cavities filled in two weeks, so the high bite can be dealt with then.

I hate my mouth.

In related news, I think I may have gotten stoned today off of aleve and tylenol during my dentist visit. Not quite sure "stoned" is the right description, but it was close. It felt nice, if a fair bit soporific.

Ah well.

It is school vacation week, so I am trying to cope with the constant company as best I can. This has involved escaping into the basement to work (or just stare) for as long as I dare to (I don't want to incite the pouts of the emo-demon that's taken up residence - things start breaking or going wrong when we interrupt its alone time), and sleeping as much as my schedule allows. And coffee. Coffee is wonderful stuff. Too bad I can't tolerate it more often.

Hell, I even delved into coloring this week. Normally I can't stand coloring because it feels like cheating to me. I'm all for other people coloring for any or no reasons, but it ratchets up my anxiety rather than relieving it. However, I found myself in that uncomfortable state where I was physically fatigued, but not quite brain-dead enough to just watch videos. So, I colored as I watched... whatever it was that I watched. (Fatigue does not help one retain memories.) I chose a geometric design that I've colored like a quilt, though I'm not sure I'll ever finish it. I s'pose that depends on how I feel tomorrow.

*sigh*

Stress sucks. Literally. I am trying to hold onto all the advances I've made health-wise, or at least be able to compare myself favorably to some time in the past, but... I need the basement to be finished and usable and my teeth to be dealt with pronto. And for Geoff to heal! Lord, I miss his touches, but I don't complain (to him) because I know he's in pain, and touching me makes it worse. It's got to be hell for him... But, yeah. I miss that form of comfort and love.

So, yeah. Stress sucks. But I'm - dare I say it? - hopeful that some of the stressors are coming to conclusions. Maybe by the end of March the basement will be finished and usable. Maybe Monday's doctor appointment will be the start of Geoff's healing. Maybe with both of those calmed, I'll be able to deal with my mouth issues without needing ice cream and cinnamon rolls and other (GF) goodies to go with the buckets of tea I'm consuming. Because, yeah, I know that's not doing my body any favors. But I'm not going to beat myself up about it, either, because there's only so much a person can deal with without breaking. And since sticking to the diet along with dealing with everything else was breaking me, and the diet was the only variable I could (and can) control, it's the one that gave.

We do what we must to survive.

Right. Enough rambling. Time to put the bone broth in the fridge and go to bed. Tomorrow has errands and crap to do, so rest is needed.

I hope all is well with you. And if it isn't, I hope you can find the comfort you need to get through it.
averygoodun42: (Default)
2016-02-18 08:01 pm

Good things (with a cold)

- I accomplished the task I set for myself today (move and remove. Move a (small) cabinet so as to remove the half tiles underneath it). Unfortunately, I discovered that mastic supports life of the fungal variety. I vinegared the shit out of it, but it's discouraging to know that the battle of the mold is by no means won and will have more casualties than expected. (I knew that, but it still sucks to have it confirmed.) But still. I got those tiles up, and only shorted out the blow drier once. (It overheated, nothing dire.) I did not finish removing the mastic so as to prep the area for tiles, but that wasn't part of the task, so ner.

- Page and I finished Star Trek: Voyager, and a very satisfying ending it was.

- I more or less finished that painting. )

The colors aren't quite right in the photograph, nor does the lighting show off the texturing to best effect, but I think I like it anyway. Not sure I'll continue in that direction, but it was an interesting experiment.

- I was able to just chill for most of the day. I have set myself a task a day so that the depression doesn't eat me whole, but I mostly need to rest, I think. So achy and tired... So it's good that I'm able to do what my body requires. I'm lucky.

- I was able to help a friend in a professional capacity this morning. She said, "You've just given me a million dollars! No! Seriously! That's how excited I am about this!" And considering I was feeling pretty sluggish and brain fogged, that's pretty cool. I hadn't even had any tea yet... though I had consumed some magnesium and tylenol...

- Page is doing better, but not well enough yet to take him to his sax lesson tomorrow, which is all good where I'm concerned, given that his teacher is a 1/2 hour's drive away. I'm not up for that.


In other news, I'm trying to figure out a way to get a live furry pet into this house (after Purgatory has reached it's conclusion). We can't afford a dog, no matter how much Page and I want one. And we really, really do want one. But, well, realities being what they are, I've decided that we might get a rat (or two). Rats are the only rodent I have any interest in (besides rabbits, which I am even more allergic to than cats, if that can be believed) given their intelligence level. But, well, Purgatory MUST be finished before we introduce a slinker into the house. Not only will we need the room for its habitat (what a nice name for "cage"), but also because intelligent creatures tend to escape their confines, and I do not want to have to dig through the heap of our basement to find said creature's corpse.

I'd also like to get a betta for my desk, but I think a pothos for my bedroom is first on the expenditure list. One living addition at a time...

Speaking of living additions, I'm starting to think about what I'll be planting in spring. Lettuce for sure. Kale, probably (even if it's just to harvest what sprouts up on its own). Chard, probably. And maybe one of the beds will be devoted to the three sisters, even if I can't eat the corn or beans. It would be cool to try and grow a native species of maize in the traditional manner.

I'm also determined to finish the entryway to the garden this spring/summer. I want to have another garden party, and it would be nice to show that I haven't completely ignored my garden the last couple years (even though I pretty much have). Nice thing is I have a couple more pavers thanks to the basement quikcrete bucket leftovers. And I could probably use one or both of those buckets as lemonbalm and herb planters... Anyway, I need to get outside more often this year. My body has told me it's not negotiable. Even with mossies.

Anyway. That's the state of being here. Pretty good, all said, despite colds and looming flares and a demon in the basement. :-)

Hope all is well with you.