Miscellaneous Stuff 05-30-23

Seems that my health is all I deal with these days and I hate to fill this blog with all that annoying stuff.  I do have a new medication which I think is helping some, but I  won't know until I have taken it for a couple weeks.  I did not have a epidural last Thursday as planned.  Somehow the locations got mixed up: I want to go to the Orange facility as I have in the past.  So that is rescheduled until June 8th.  Have needed to take some Norco a couple times.  Pain is so tiring that it helps  to be away from it for a few hours.  But if I take it I cannot drive and there are those other medical appointments I need to drive to.  Plus I still drive the boys to school on Tuesday and Wednesday.  I am a Tylenol junkie every day!!  I read an post and comments on the Elder Orphans Facebook page about the problems others are having with medical issues and it is reassuring to  know that I am not the only one who is dealing with these medical problems - there  are hundreds of comments on  the original post.  And there are some good suggestons about  how to deal with problems.  

I have had a "studio assistant" for multiple hours this past few weeks.  A young lady, who lives in the neighborhood and has some art training, has come to help me roll/cover/tag TCQC quilts to clear off the cutting table and get them ready for storage.   Haven't figured out the storage exactly, but it is progress and I can now use the cutting table for ...well.... cutting!    We could only work for a couple hours because I don't have the energy to work any longer.  I do enjoy  talking about the quilts, the quilt makers, and the many different techniques and Anna seems to enjoy hearing about everything.   Our progress has been slower than if I didn't talk so much. 

Rolled quilts waiting on the guest bed for decisions on storage.  One thing we did was re-roll all of the Ruth B. McDowell quilts in the same fabric and used all 21 yards  of the bolt I bought at Rosie's bargain room.  We also rolled quilts I have made in a solid crimson that has been in my fabric library since 2005!  

Of course, KoKo and  I  still  walk twice  a  day, even with the drizzle we have been having almost every morning.  Locally it is known as the ""May Greys" and we will now move into the "June Glooms".  Always surprises early summer visitors who expect sunshine.  But there are still bright flowers and drifts of roses, along with huge weeds  and tall lawns. 

For the Monarchs.

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Miscellaneous 05-05-23

Had enough roses?  Just want to add this image of white landscape roses used as a sort of hedge .  There are six bushes here, all covered  with blossoms.  No fragrance. 

The oral surgery is doing just great.  No bleeding, no real pain, just a tenderness and  then you probaby understand about disciplining one's tongue to 

LEAVE IT ALONE! 

My phone would not charge last night.  It dropped to zero and stayed there even as I tried all three charger cables.  Went to Best Buy to see the Geek Squad guy.  He diagnosed it instantly, my charger cords were dead.  After buying two new cords I took a  stroll around the large store and saw things I have no knowledge of.  Perhaps I isolate myself too much.  One thing they do not have is a plain old toaster oven - might have to go to a resale shop for that.  Air fryers, air purifiers, air coolers, ... just to mention the "A"s.  Many things I have no idea what they are used for.  Do you think I should get out more?   I would like a "Ring" doorbell installed, but the choices are more than I could sort out.    I went on the gas up the car, shopped at TJoe's where there is an abundance of flowers.  Purchased some lilacs for myself - how I do love them and they do not grow locally.  And some bouquets for friends.  It is a special treat to have someone buy me flowers and I think everyone deserves that now and then. . And it is May! 

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Those roses! 05-04-23

I don't know about all the roses in last nights post, but the white ones are some variety of "landscape roses" which require very litte care.  Pruned once a year in Jan/Feb they put out blossoms all year, but with the rainfall we have enjoyed this year the bloom is indeed a "super bloom".  They don't have much fragrance, but they are gorgeous to look at.    We did have a pretty good rain last night so everything was a bit droopy this morning.  

  I had a dental procedure this morning on my lower right gum.  My doctor is very good at giving just the right amount of deadening shots, which is admirable because  I can't take epinephrine and the numbness starts wearing off quickly.  No pain even now, however I followed the ice pack routine and took the Tylenol.  The area is just a bit tender and I hope will be normal tomorrow when he calls to see how I am doing.  Such a good doctor. 

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Blossoms and Thumbs! 01-31-22

All of a sudden there are new flowers everywhere.  It can't be spring yet, we have only had one rain storm.  Hope more are coming. 

A tulip tree or tulip magnolia is an early bloomer. Hard to take a good picture because there are houses around in every view.  This is the best I did today. 

The blossoms are loose and sort of floppy and a bit larger than my spread hand.  No fragrance that I can tell. 

This Bradford Pear, an ornamental, seemed to just burst into bloom overnight.  They are very lovely, but probably half the population in now sneezing and sniffing. Fortunately for our allergies the blooms don't last long. 

Camellias here are almost the first spring flowers after the narcissus.  Can't count roses because some variety is always in bloom year around.  This camellia bush in a neighbor's yard is under a slight roof overhang and against a west facing brick wall is always the first to burst forth - nice and warm.  

My bad luck!  I have time and enthusiasm for sewing and what do I do?  Cut my right thumb in the middle of the pad.  It isn't a deep cut and hardly bled, but it is in the worst place and vertical at that - catches on everything.  The flexible bandages work okay, but they also catch on every thread and make it hard to hold onto a needle.  I hope it is healed enough tomorrow before I lose my sewing mojo.  

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Friday foot AND Food from January 2012 01-28-22

Looking back ten years - seems like it is longer ago than that.  But on the other hand, has it really been ten years?  There was a lot more going on back then, who could have expected Covid and self isolating?  

One morning I got out of bed and could not walk on my left foot.  i hobbled to the doctor and discovered that my lower leg was fractured.  Nobody knows why!  The doctor says this sometimes happens, I might have stepped off a curb wrong, but it didn't start hurting until I was off my feet during the night and it started to swell.  Who knows!  Anyway, I had to wear this brace, but could take it off to get my pants on and off or take a shower.  Seems like I wore it for about six weeks.  I also started treatment for osteopena.  

I was a "poodle nanny" then and took care of a lovely little guy in Long Beach.  When I was staying there I frequented Whole Foods.  It is on the corner of PCH and 2nd Street and I was just fascinated.  All those different foods and a deli besides.  

This was corn "stew" and delicious.

And I discovered these extravagant crackers. $$$$

So crispy and tasty with cheese and several different seeds on top.  

I may have to visit my local Whole Foods since I have remembered how tasty these are.  

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Goodbye 2021 12-31-21

Hope you are all enjoying New Years Eve in your own way.  KoKo and I are being quiet and peaceful - until the fireworks start.  So far only a few and not close by.  I just hold him and pet him and talk softly and he survives, shaking and growling.  

I did have to go to the pharmacy this morning, but masked up and distanced.  Nothing else on my calendar for more than a week.  I did have the booster on Dec 22nd.  I had waited until there was nothing on my calendar for a few days because I reacted so strongly to the number two shot.  It was a wise move as I spent about three and a half days with headache, temperature, ache all over, wiped out.  But I'd rather do that than have full blown Covid.   I certainly know people who have it or have it in their family, but no hospitalizations so far.  Scary stuff.  

Here is to better luck with 2022.  

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Pain free! KoKo & Froggy 12-02-21

Here is KoKo with Froggy in his arms.  Left paw underneath his body and right holding on to his head.  Froggy needs to have another surgery, but minor.  Maybe I can do it tomorrow.  This picture is from a couple days ago, but he had a bath and trim today so he isn't this shaggy. 

I had another epidural today and now I have no pain!  Hope I am not celebrating recklessly.  I anticipate it will come back, hopefully not soon.  I do have a headache and some nausea, but suspect that is from the anesthesia.  When we walked this evening I stepped up on the curbs without wincing.  I was very tired when I got home from the surgery center(driven by my friend Dick, Carol's husband), so KoKo and I had a nice nap.  Tonight I am still tired and anticipate a good night's sleep without pain. 

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Christmas creeping up 11-30-21

Out of the fifty or so houses in my immediate neighborhood (what I call the Loop) only about eight have Christmas lights or decorations up.  

The giant skeleton has been dressed up with a santa suit.  No hat, so far.  I wonder what will they do after Christmas?   A beating heart for Valentines?  Bunny ears for Easter?The two blackbirds have flown away to be replaced by black gift boxes.  

I needed a Covid test within five days of my scheduled epidural, which is Thursday, and had to drive down to my doctor's office in Orange.  I couldn't find a pharmacy nearby with an open reservation.  I didn't think about making a reservation last week to have the test this week - duh!  Anyway it only took about an hour and 15 minutes to drive there, have the one minute swab and drive home.  The test was negative, as I expected.  I try to be masked and distanced when I am among people.   Even at the Starbuck's drive thru window.  One doesn't know these days.

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More Thanksgiving and some sadness 11-27-21

My neighbors in the cul de sac (parents of the ice cream boys)  presented me with another full Thanksgiving dinner yesterday morning.  It is the first traditional meal they have made and they took it to his parents somewhere in LA County.  They must have made a lot because I ate it last night and tonight and still have enough turkey for a sandwich tomorrow.  All of you who have to cook every night will appreciate what a boon it is to have home cooked food that I don't have to cook!  Everything was very tasty.   All I need to do is wash and return the containers.

Today I went to a memorial service for the husband of one of my Book Group friends.  He had not been sick long and she is still struggling with the shock, I'm sure.  I sometimes muse on the difference between a loved one being sick and knowing that they will not get well and the sudden loss of someone who dies or is killed suddenly.  As hard as it was to have my husband get worse over two and a half years, I would always choose that, as we had those months together to settle things and say goodbye.  The memorial today was very tasteful and praiseful.  He was an exceptional person and lent a hand to others whenever he could.  He was a avid fisherman, so I'm sure that many of the guys there were his fishing buddies.  Two sons, their wives and children and grandchildren, his sister and her daughters and four of us from the Book Group were among the many attendees.  Afterward Carol and I went out for lunch which was good for me because I wasn't ready to be alone with my memories.  

The wind has departed for now and we have not had any brushfires nearby.  Blessings indeed.  Between the wind and the sewing that I have been doing I am so dry I have resorted to lotion several times a day.  If I could only figure out something to do with my nose - humidifier and nasal spray helps, but it is still dry and uncomfortable.  KoKo's eyes need cleaning a couple times a day after we go outside.  I am almost tempted to use some eye drops on him! 

Here he is hanging out the window while we were in line at Starbuck's the other day.  The Bird of Paradise are in full bloom everywhere.  They bloom well even in a drought. 

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