Averygoodun's Personal File

Sorry it's past the day itself in your time zone, dickgloucester, but I hope you had a wonderful day.

(Now to go scan my friends' page and see if you did.)

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!

- 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.

So I was utterly useless yesterday because I had the absolute temerity to shovel out half the driveway the day before. It seems moving six inches of powder is too much for my delicate system, but it was too shy to say anything at the time.

*blows raspberry at shoulder and back*

On top of that, I actually missed church this morning because my back was hurting so much. As I was going through my early-morning ritual, I realized I was taking extreme care of how I positioned myself just so I wouldn't be setting off the huge pain sensors.

Fortunately, Geoff spared a few of his precious (not being facetious) pre-church minutes to give me a back rub. That and the short nap afterward seemed to help enough that I'm not clenching my jaw to the point of pain. Still sore and needing to be very, very careful about lifting things, but I can at least get comfortable in various postures.

But, oh, I do hate being utterly useless. Especially when everyone else around me is being active and helpful. Ah well. I will pacify my guilt with the knowledge that I have been doing lots and lots up until now. And there's lots I can do that won't injure me further.

And I have been helpful lately! ( tl;dr: A longer than expected winter vacation equals seriously hyped up kids )

( My hair is no longer wonderful to me )

( Today's activities )

( Geoff starts his high travel season tomorrow )

Aaaaaaannnnnndddddd, that's about it. Given the time it is and the lack of people home from church, I'm guessing Geoff got Page a playdate, and is spending that time at work preparing for tomorrow's trip. He's such a good husband, giving me so much alone time. Although, really, what I'd like is a bit more time alone with him, but, well, it's human nature to never be happy with what blessings have been bestowed, right?

Hope you all are safe, warm and doing what makes you happy.

While so many thoughts and prayers are going out to those in the Midwest and the Philippines, could I ask for a few to come over to New England, too?

A friend of mine is having some serious, female, non-cancerous health issues. She really, really needs to have a hysterectomy, as her uterus is literally killing her and has been trying with increased insistence for a couple years now, but she's more adverse to surgery than I am. At this point, it's possible she might not even be stable enough to have surgery.

So, please send good vibes her way.

First, an apology. I'm sorry I haven't been commenting on many (any?) of your posts lately. I have been reading and sending good vibes and well wishes and cheers and such your way, but I have been in a less than communicative mood lately. Basically, I'm so peopled (or stressed) out that I don't even want to interact in the digital sphere.

I'm also sorry for all the whining, but I don't in any way expect absolution for that because I fully intend to continue doing it. In fact, I am about to start another round right now! ;-)

( At least I will put it all behind a cut. )

Cheers!

Well, this morning I found mental, if not physical, relief. I'm pretty sure what's wrong with my jaw is that my Sjogren's is flaring, rather than anything dire.

Granted, that means I'm on a diet of anti-inflammatories and pain killers until it calms down, but at least it isn't an infection. Probably. (There's a question of whether I have an ear infection that's getting masked by the parotid swelling, or if the swelling is causing the ear pain. If the ear pain is still there by the end of the week, I'll go to the doctor anyway.)

On the plus side, I don't have to restrict myself to soft foods for the next couple of weeks. Though I'd still love a bowl of oatmeal... :-(


Last accounting test (less the final) was today. No idea how I did, but I suspect relatively well. It had a slightly different questioning format, and there were two multiple choice questions I really wasn't sure about. Especially the last one (I gave an explanation for my answer, as I wasn't quite sure what the "correct" answer was in the prof's mind, though I know what the FASB has to say about it).

*shrug* I think I'll still get an A in the class, even if I didn't rage on this test. After all, most of my test scores have been solid A's and my paper was favorably received. So that's good.


Biology... No idea. I may get my first -A. Possibly even a B. I think I'm still doing better than most of the other students in the class, though. Before the test on Friday, we had to fill out the evaluations, so I put a fair amount of my suggestions on it. I'm hoping he learns from it rather than is discouraged from it, because he could be an awesome teacher if he ever got his shit in order.

Speaking of biology, I should go study. Need to finish up chapter 10 and start chapter 11. I do not see how we're going to get through chapter 12, considering this is the last week of classes. (Unless he uses Lab as a lecture, which I'd be fine with.) But whatever. I will definitely be interested to see what my official grade for this class is.

( Odd dream )

( The funeral and a poem )

Fun with friends last night was fun. Mostly.

I got a better grade on this week's biology homework (98.5%). Would have been even better if I could distinguish my left from right reliably.

( The best laid plans and all... Health and Page woes. )

Anyhoo. Don't really have anything to say. Mostly I just wanted to get that dream kernel down, and the link to "The Pond". Hope your weekends were good.

( Read more... )


Tired. Stayed up too late last night. Without anything fun happening to make it worthwhile. Ach well.

However, shared dinner with friends last night, which was nice. Well, except for one of our friends having to leave very early to relieve her son from caring for her dementia-disturbed husband. *sigh* I worry about her. I think she needs more help than she's getting. I think she actually needs professional help with him now, but I don't know that she's willing to cede that amount of control. *sigh*

Geoff and I had another of our common mis/non-communication things yesterday. Page had a spontaneous play date after church, and he implied that he was coming right back home. When he didn't, I figured he was socializing with playdate's parents and sticking around till it was time for Page to come home.

Nope. Turns out he thought that I wanted to do homework all day because I was writing notes like mad in the time between church and playdate drop-off so he went to work after dropping off Page. Really, I was studying like mad so as to have my mind (and conscience) free for when he got back, so we could have a nice date.

*sigh*

The reason why mind-reading/assuming is just NOT a good idea.

And I had coffee in my system and everything.

*pouts*

Anyway. I'm depressing myself, so I'd better go get started on my to do list. I know I'll feel better when I actually get moving.


But, to end on a positive note, this weekend the whole neighbor's shed thing was arranged. Neighbor's shed is now in a different neighbor's backyard, while different neighbor's 'temporary' vinyl shed is stacked up and ready for us to assemble when our yard has been finished. So we're all happy. I'll be even happier when the temporary shed is replaced with a nice wooden one, but this will do nicely for plotting, planning and storing purposes in the meantime. :-)

( But that's not all! )

Lots to do this week, but I think I will save the writing of the to do list till tomorrow. After all, I need to catch up on the Daily Show.