#3045 not much going on, but also a lot

You know, I've had kind of a weird week. Last Sunday, I took a long nap during the daytime hours, then I stayed up until 2 AM (re)watching the first season of Ted Lasso with my son who has never seen the show. I don't know if I can tell you the last time I stayed up until 2 AM on purpose. I felt like I was behind on my sleep all week.

I had to take two dogs to the vet this week. I took Harley to her regular vet on Wednesday to get some vaccinations, although I think there was a mistake and she got all her shots already, but I'll double check that. It doesn't matter though because she didn't get vaxxed anyway. Harley is a bit underweight, and the vet is concerned that she might be sickly and she told me she doesn't vaccinate sick dogs. I was actually pleased because Harley has gained three pounds since I took her to the emergency vet in February. She has been having diarrhea fairly often, though, and that's the concern. She eats very well and is hungry all the time. I am monitoring the situation and giving her a pro-biotic supplement, and she is doing better. In the meantime, I'll recheck my records on those vaccinations we went in for.

Stella had to go to the emergency vet today. Yesterday afternoon, I noticed she was being very quiet and not moving around much. Her nose was dry and she was panting rapidly. She shook her head a lot, and when I tried to look at her ear, she yipped really loudly. She didn't eat her kibbles last night or this morning, although she took a few from my hand. (Harley happily ate them for her.) I noticed that Stella seemed to be stepping very gingerly, and she didn't want to play frisbee. Something was definitely wrong. The vet examined her and told me that her little paws have foxtail weeds in between the pads, so Stella needed to be sedated, her paws shaved, and the foxtails extracted. Poor baby. 'Tis the season for foxtails. At the vet's office on Wednesday, there was a woman picking up her dog who had foxtail removed from his feet, too. It's easy to get the weeds out of Harley and Mac's fur and feet because their fur is so different from Stella's. Now it is 5:45 PM and Stella is still at the vet. We went there at 11:30 this morning. I called a couple of hours ago, and was told that an emergency came in, so Stella's treatment was delayed. The guy said she was resting in the kennel and that she's okay, but I'm getting anxious for her. More to come...

Speaking of our back yard/weed patch, we are having some work done on it. One of our tenants, Sandino, has a crew of guys who do work on yards. They dug up part of the yard and prepped it for sod. They also replaced the pavers that we put down 20 years ago or so. They are also working on the sprinkler system. They are doing a good job, and it will be nice. We have a big backyard, and every inch of it needs some love.

T and I have been going to the movies on Friday afternoons the past couple of weeks. We have seen Michael and The Devil Wears Prada 2. It's a nice way to spend a couple of hours, in a cool, dark theater, having some popcorn and watching a movie with my son. Yesterday I watched the movie Remarkably Bright Creatures on Netflix. I loved it. I wept. It was one of those stories where you kind of know what's going to happen, but you get caught up in the acting - Sally Field! - and the way the story unfolds. So good. I still want to read the book.

One more thing: on Thursday before I recorded blooms at RBGA, I stopped for breakfast at All Purpose Bakehouse.  I'd stopped there a couple of times for to go items, but I wanted to sit there for a bit. It was nice. The place was pretty crowded. I sat up at a counter by the window and read while I enjoyed a cappuccino and a pain suisse. 

breakfast at APB

The pain suisse is made of croissant dough and filled with a light vanilla custard and chocolate. It is really delicious and really rich. I think next time I'll just have a regular croissant. The baker does a wonderful job on the croissants. They are crispy and flaky outside, tender and buttery inside. Perfect for dipping into the foamy cappuccino.

Looking forward:

We are now at 20 days until The Trip. This week I'm planning to do some Trip Admin, like ordering euros, scheduling the mail to be held, and arranging for international phone plans. I'll probably also take a closer look at the EES stuff and the State Department's STEP program.

On the Dixon front, I need to follow up with the bank to make sure they got the paperwork I sent to claim the funds in the account there. I also want to make the arrangements with the cemetery and the funeral home to inter the ashes of my aunt and uncle in the family plot. I've already started that process, and I want to get all the arrangements made. 

Stella is going to the groomer tomorrow, at least that's the plan. I am going to the dentist on Wednesday for a cleaning. I'll record blooms at RBGA on Thursday, probably, and I've got my regular docent shift on Sunday.

Stella update! The vet just called. They are done with her feet. The vet didn't see anything in her ear, but did see a lot of black icky stuff, so she might have an ear infection. They are testing that now. I'll be going to get her in 30 to 40 minutes. 

That gets you all caught up on my activities. Have a great week!

#3043 the week in review plus April art

I can buy myself flowers

 Hello!

It wasn't a terribly busy week, but I felt kinda tired every day. I think with the weather being so warm then cold then warm then wet, my body hasn't adjusted to anything. I've been staying up later than usual because T and I have been watching the NBA Playoffs. There are 16 teams playing, so every day there are at least two and sometimes four games a day. Usually two or three games during the week and four games on both Saturday and Sunday. It's a lot of basketball, and I enjoy watching with my son. 

I went to Red Butte Garden and Arboretum (RBGA) twice this week. I recorded blooms on Tuesday. I am sorry to say the wisteria did not do well with the snow. SAD.

15 April

21 April

On Friday I volunteered at the Arbor Day festivities. It was one of the first times I have been able to volunteer during a weekday for an event. It was a beautiful day, and there were hundreds of people who came to the Garden that day. It was a free entry day, for one thing. The Garden gave away 500 little red bud trees - I was sad I didn't get one! There were tables from organizations like the West Jordan Conservancy District, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Sierra Club, and others. They were giving away information and stickers. RBGA had some interactive stuff for kids and adults, like the game I was helping with. It was a Plinko game where we learned the four things tree roots need to grow: space, water, oxygen, and soil. Watching the little orange disc plink down the board was hypnotic for me and the kids. I did a lot of squats in those four hours as I plucked the plinko discs off the board for the next player. We always had someone playing the games. It was actually pretty fun, and I had a good time, even though I was dang tired at the end. That's a lot of smiling, chatting, and being "on" for an introvert like me. 

Yesterday I had the urge to wander around Barnes and Noble. MT came with me and we just looked around. MT got a book, and I picked up a sketchbook that will be my travel journal for the June trip. It is bigger than I usually get, but I like to put lots of things in my travel journal like postcards, maps, business cards, pieces of wrappers or parts of bags, photos, and of course sketches and words. Since I'll be out in the world for about three weeks seeing lots of new things, I decided the bigger size book was a good option. Not only is it big in size, it has a lot of pages, too. It is not watercolor paper or even multi-media paper, but if I want to paint, I can glue two or three pages together and it will be okay.

On a sad note, Mom's sweet doggo Lulu crossed the Rainbow Bridge this week. I noticed that she was quite a bit less peppy in March than when I saw her in December. Lulu was Mama's companion for 14 years. She was a smol girl, but she took up a lot of room in Mom and Lizzie's hearts, and I know they are missing their furry friend. 

RIP Lulu

It's the last Sunday of the month, so let's have art show and tell time :)

Here are a few little things I did on my own:

These pieces were all responses to prompts from Jill Badonsky.

"Pretty Funky Chicken"

"Gaudy Gecko"

"Bubblebees"

"The Power"

"Come Fly Away"

I like the chicken. The gecko I drew upside down with a single line, then got a little carried away with the painting. (It happens.) The Bubblebees were a combination of two prompts from a big list. The peace sign made of words was an exercise in letters, and the last one was a "sky" prompt. 

~~~~~~~~~

Looking forward to:

* Final follow up with Dr. Holt about my wrist on Tuesday. It won't ever be like it was, but I think it's about as good as it can be.

* Training at RBGA about the app they are using this year. It's called Bloomberg Connects, if you are interested. I tested it last year, and it's informative. The idea of folks wandering through the Garden with their nose in the app makes me squeamish, so I hope one of the things we talk about is encouraging use of the app as a tool, but not a guide, if that makes sense.

* I will also record blooms sometime during the week, maybe Tuesday after the doctor appointment?

* Friday is May 1 and the official countdown to vacation will begin!

Have a great week! Stay safe. Be kind. Have fun.

#2992 pdin 11 a weird commute

Thank you, Veterans!

I drew that little doodle at lunchtime today. Happy Veterans Day and thank you to all who have served!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~. . . . . . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just wanted to tell you about a strange experience that happened on my commute to the office this morning. It happened around 8:20 am. I was on I-15 heading north to the office, listening to a book and minding my business when I noticed a white pick-up to my right. The driver was even with me, and he was smiling and waving, so I smiled and waved back. I thought it must be someone I work with, but I couldn't really tell. He stayed right along side me. When I sped up, he sped up. When I slowed down, he slowed down. At one point he rolled down his window and was gesturing, like waving. I thought maybe he was trying to tell me there was something wrong with my car although there weren't any indicator lights on the dash that I would expect to light up if there was a problem. I decided to focus on the road and ignore the dude, but he wouldn't go away. I was unable to get over to exit I normally take, and that annoyed me, so I sped up and finally got in front of him. You know what he did? He moved over to my left and continued to stay right alongside me. He rolled down his passenger side window and was gesturing, but I couldn't tell what he was trying to say or indicate. It's quite difficult to communicate at 70 miles an hour on the freeway. I was trying to remember if I'd inadvertently cut him off or swerved a little or something to make him so persistent, but it didn't seem like road rage. It seemed more like road stalking. I waved my hand at him with the universal "shoo" motion, a flick of the wrist, and I peeled off at the next exit to get to the office. At the stop sign, I felt kind of shaky, and realized I'd missed some of  the book, too, as I was low-key freaking out about the dude in the truck. I kept looking in my rear view mirror to see if he'd figured out a way to get on my road even though I know there isn't an easy, quick way to do it. The relief I felt when I got to the office was real, let me tell you. Nothing like that has happened to me before, and I didn't like it. I walked all around my car to see if something was amiss, but everything was fine. WTF?!

Tomorrow I get to work from home, and I'm glad.

 

#2991 pdin 10 oh yeah, it's expensive

 

I spent some time on the phone with a health insurance representative today. I went through this open market open enrollment show last year getting coverage for my aunt and for my son, and I can tell you the price difference is significant. Of course, for my aunt we are talking about supplemental since she has Medicare and she's under the umbrella of the University of California system. T is just one person, and he's young and doesn't have a lot of money. I'm sure his coverage is going up, too. I've had a flood of mail about insurance that I need to look through with him. 

Anyway, back to me. OOF! The first set of numbers the guy showed me made me want to throw up in my mouth. That was through the ACA, and I can tell you that it isn't affordable. The next set of numbers was more reasonable, but still awful, at just over $1,000/month. It made me really grateful to Granite for giving me such good coverage for so many years. This new insurance plan is through a private market company and we had to complete an application for it. We will find out if we are accepted in the next day or two. It's good coverage, so I'm hopeful it works out. My hell, though! It's shocking.

More to come on that. I think I need to do a little art to put my mind in a happy place, then I'll read and probably finish this Dan Brown book.

Have a good night!

#2968 48 hours

 

 HEADS UP: THIS IS A LONG POST.

When I wrote here a week ago, I was all excited about the fun, musical week ahead. There was some music, but there was also a wild 48 hour span that flipped everything around. Let me tell you about it.

On Tuesday afternoon I took T to a physical therapist. He couldn't seem to stand up straight, saying it hurt in his right calf when he tried to stand up. He also said his right foot was numb and that his toes tingled. Looking at him, you would think something was wrong with his back since he was all hunched over like Quasimodo, but he said his back didn't hurt. 

After an evaluation, the physical therapist advised us to go to the ER and ask the doctor to check for nerve damage. She wasn't sure what was causing it, but suspected something in the back that was pinching the nerve that goes down the leg. This is the beginning of the 48 wild hours. It was 5:30 pm.

We went directly to the emergency room in our neighborhood. It is linked to St. Marks Hospital, and it has most of the testing machines that are in the big ER in the hospital. Dr. Olesky was on duty that night, and after we told him what the physical therapist said, he ordered blood work, an ultrasound on the hip, x-rays of the calf and a CT scan of the spine. The CT scan was difficult for T because he couldn't straighten his back to lie flat. It was quite painful and he returned to the room in tears with the apologetic radiology technician. A bit later, another radiology tech came in and said he had an idea about how to get the scan without having T lie flat, so they tried it. T came back teary and apologetic for having yelled at the tech, to which the man replied, "It's okay. I've heard worse." The tech told me that he thought he was able to get an image of the spine, and that the doctor would talk to us soon.

The ultrasound technician came to the room to do the test, and I stepped out in the hallway. Dr. Olesky found me there and let me know that the CT scan showed a bulging disc in T's back, and he was waiting for the surgeon at the hospital to call him back to verify what he'd seen and to make a plan for fixing the problem.

When I got back in the room with T, I didn't say anything. T was getting restless, and he was in a lot of pain from all the poking and prodding that had been happening. We'd been in the ER for a few hours by that point, and T was ready to go home. That's when Dr. Olesky came in with the news that T had a bulging disc in his spine and would be taken to St. Marks by ambulance and that he would have surgery to remove the hernia the next day, probably in the morning. The ambulance came about 20 minutes later and T was whisked away to the hospital. I went home to feed the dogs and get some clothes and chargers for T, then I drove up to the hospital, which is about 20 minutes away from our house on the east side of the city. I got there around 10:30 pm.

T seemed a little dazed by how quickly everything was happening, but he was also in a cloud of pain-killers so he felt more calm. I got him situated, talked to the nurse about what was going to happen, and left the hospital around 11:45 pm. I slept poorly. I was freaking out a bit, but there was nothing for it. This was all happening, and I was going to cope and figure it out as best I could.

I was back at the hospital by 7am, and the surgeon, Dr. Sikora, came to see us by 7:30. He told T there was a big bulging disc in his back that was severely pinching the nerves on the right side of his leg that was causing the pain in the calf and the numbness in the feet. He said it needed to be removed immediately to stop any further nerve damage, and that he was concerned there may be permanent damage already done. The surgery was scheduled for 5:00 pm, but he would try to get him in earlier. 

T went back to sleep, and I decided I would stay at the hospital all day. A local coffee place, Grounds for Coffee, had a shop on the main floor, so I figured I'd need at least one coffee to get the day going. I met Dr. Sikora in the hall and we had a good chat while we walked to our respective elevators. He told me it was going to be a great day and T would be better soon. 

Around 2:15 T was taken to surgery. Dr. Sikora called around 4:00 to say the surgery was successful. He had removed a "massive" hernia from T's back and he was confident that T would have a good recovery and the pain would be gone from his leg. The hernia was about the size of a pink pearl eraser - around four centimeters, about an inch and a half. We do have a pic of the hernia itself, but I won't post it, because it's ugly and gave me a nightmare. 

 

T got back to his room around 5:15. He was groggy, of course, but laying fully horizontally on the bed which was something I hadn't seen in a few weeks. Dr. Sikora came in to check on T and show us the photo of the hernia - now a part of T's medical record - and to tell us that T would spend the night in the hospital and be released the next day.  T was hungry since he hadn't eaten for a at least 24 hours, so I got him some food from McDonalds and I went home around 9:30.

I was back at the hospital by 7am. Ally, Dr. Sikora's PA came around 7:15 to check on T and gave us information about going home and what happens next. T will have at-home physical therapy for a couple of weeks, then outpatient PT. Dr. Sikora came in a bit later to make sure all was well and said he'd see us in a couple of weeks in his office for a follow up. A physical therapist came in to get T up and moving. He walked down the long hallway using a walker to the PT room where he got to practice going up and down stairs. 

He was released from the hospital around 1pm, and we got home at 1:30. The dogs were super-excited to see him and took a little time to calm down. They wanted to lay by him while he was sitting on the couch, but T didn't like to have them close to his leg or back. Eventually everyone settled down. I went to the pharmacy to pick up the meds and to get a walker (I'm not sure why we didn't get one at the hospital, something about insurance.) I got home with the meds and the walker around 5:30, and that was the end of the weird 48 hours. 

Not to say that the time after 5:30 on Thursday hasn't been odd. It's low-key awful to see your 27 year old son using a walker, knowing he has a big incision in his back where the surgeon cut through tissue and muscle to get to the thing that shouldn't have been there. Overall, I'd say T is doing well. He is more upright, although not completely straight yet. He's taking full steps with the walker instead of shuffling with little steps. He's getting up and down the stairs well, and I watch him carefully when he's on the stairs. I've asked him not to go up and down without me or someone (Jordyn) around. 

So there you go. It's been a wild week! I had already planned a quiet weekend, and I haven't done much (except for that Chris Stapleton concert last night!) I've been napping and taking it easy, and I'm starting to feel more calm and relaxed. 

Surely there will be more stories about T's recovery, but that's all for now. MT is doing great on the Colorado Trail and was upset about what was happening here at home, although there wasn't anything he could do or could have done about it anyway. MT will likely be home a week from today

#2963 dogs get UTIs too

I was supposed to be in southern California this weekend. Things changed because of T's deep muscle contusion and the fact that he was having a hard time walking and seemed downright miserable, so I cancelled the trip and stayed home instead. After I made the decision to stay home instead of go on my trip, I had myself a little pity party for ten minutes or so, then I decided to make the best of it. I made a list of things I wanted to do: make art, write, clean the kitchen, read, and relax. It seemed like it would all be okay until Harley, the lab, got a urinary tract infection. 

How do I know she had a UTI? Well, she was leaking pee. Where? On my bed. Yeah. It was gross.

Thursday night I noticed she was licking her privates a lot, which is not pleasant to witness. She was up on my bed, lickinglickinglicking. I told her to stop, and she did, but the damage was done. There was a big, stinky wet spot . I stripped the bed - this was around 2:30 a.m. -- and stomped into the spare room, closing the doors. Mac howled. Stella scratched at the door. Harley felt ashamed. I laid in the bed obsessing about how to get the stains and smell out of the mattress. I googled how to do it, then I got on Amazon and ordered a waterproof mattress cover and a new pillow top for the mattress for good measure. I fell asleep around 4:30. 

T woke me up around 6:30 am because he needed something, so I got up and moved around slowly, thinking about having a nice cup of coffee. I never did get that coffee because stuff kept coming up, and I was tired and dragging. I called the vet around 10:15 to schedule an appointment for Harley to get some meds. They had an opening at 10:30, could I make it? HECK YEAH! We'll be there. The vet's office is just a few blocks away. 

The thing is that Harley gets way amped up when she gets to go anywhere. I always give her a doggie downer before going to the vet or the groomer, but since we only had 15 minutes to get to the vet, there wasn't time to give her the downer, and she was bonkers hyper. On top of that, Mac managed to slip out the door and run straight to the car because she wanted to go for a ride. Stella also got out and ran to the car, but she came back in with the offer or a cookie. Not Mac, though, so she just came along. 

The hour I spent at the vet was a total shitshow. The vet was busy, and I didn't want to wait too long since Mac was out in the car. I waited about 30 minutes and told them I'd call to reschedule. Harley and I got out to the car and the tech came running out and said she'd put us in a room right away, so we went back in. The plan was to extract some urine from Harley and test it to make sure it really was a UTI.. They were also going to draw some blood to check her thyroid because she lost four more pounds since we were there a month or so ago. (She's skinny - just 64 lbs now). However, no urine or blood was able to be drawn because the dog was so hyper five techs could not  hold her still enough to get any samples. The tech came back in, covered with Harley hair, to give me the news. We now have an appointment at 9:30 on Wednesday morning. Doggie downer will be given before the visit.

The new bedding arrived, and I made up my bed all fresh and nice. Ooh, that new pillow top is decadent! I'm happy to say the waterproof pad works nicely, however my sheets got leaked on and I again was stripping the bed in the early morning hours, laying in the spare bed, shopping Amazon for doggie diapers and UTI chews. 

Saturday I dutifully did a bunch of laundry and again made up my bed nice and fresh. The doggie diaper didn't fit. She liked the chew, and I think it's helping, but I decided that no dogs would be allowed to sleep with me. (I know. Why didn't I do that before? I don't know.)  I'm happy to say I had a delicious sleep last night, and I haven't even had to have a nap today. 

Between caring for the dogs and caring for T, the staycation wasn't everything I'd hoped it would be, honestly. Today has been a good day. though I spent the morning drinking coffee and reading, then I cleaned the house. It really needed it and I feel glad that I took the time. It's just much better. I've been reading, drawing, writing, and eating cookies I got from Crumbl yesterday. I've only left the house once today to get some ice. 

AN UDPATE ABOUT T:

The quad muscle has relaxed significantly, although T says that he now has pain in his calf muscle. I do feel a little tightness there, but I think he's mostly better. I don't know what will happen with his work at FedEx. I think he is worried about re-injuring that quad muscle. More to come on that.

AN UPDATE ABOUT MT:

My husband has been hiking the Colorado Trail for two weeks now. When I spoke to him earlier today, he was on mile 170.6, and he is a happy hiker!

Have a great week!

xo

#2961 3 things: Sunday family version

This pic is an oldie but a goodie from back in 2020. That's Mac photobombing our family portrait, back when she was an only dog.

Tonight I wanted to take a quick minute to update y'all on the three of us.

1. MT. He has been out on the Colorado Trail for eight days now and has covered 102.4 miles with no off days. He did go off-trail on Thursday afternoon to spend the night in the town of Fairplay. He wanted a shower and to wash some clothes, and he was back on-trail the next day. Tomorrow will be a "zero day," a day of rest, zero time on trail. He is in the town of Frisco at a hotel. When I talked to him tonight, he was appreciating the comfort of a bed and air conditioning. He feels good, is pleased with his progress, and is happy to be doing the hike. Here is a pic he posted on Facebook tonight:

MT on the Colorado Trail

2. T. Right now, the youngest member of the family is the least mobile. T has a deep bruise in his right quad muscle. On Thursday he was in so much pain, his whole body was quivering and he could hardly put weight on the leg. I took him to the ER where he was diagnosed with this deep bruise. The only cure for it is to mitigate the pain with a layering of ibuprofen and acetaminophen, heat/ice, and rest. He's been doing the resting, but hasn't been as diligent about the other parts. Today when I got home from RBGA (Red Butte Garden and Arboretum), he was in tears from the pain. He was scheduled to go back to work at FedEx tomorrow, but there's no way he could do the job. We went back to the ER and the doctor extended his order for T to have until July 24 off. This evening I have been monitoring his heat/ice schedule, making sure he has his meds and plenty of hydrating liquids, and encouraged him to take a shower which cooled his body and his temper. He is more calm now, but still in pain.

3. Me. I am doing okay. I have decided to cancel my trip to CA to visit Mom and Lizzie this week because I feel that it will be better for me to stay home with T, especially as he is having such a hard time walking. I'm bummed, for sure. I was looking forward to seeing my fav women. I just didn't feel right about leaving T. 

So there you have it. MT is having his turn at living his best life. T is experiencing physical pain for maybe the first time, and I am just plugging along. Hopefully I will have a good update on T for you on Wednesday or Thursday. 

Have a great week! 

#2956 the swamp cooler

Harley and Mac relaxing on the deck

Stella doesn't relax

Note: the pics of the dogs have nothing to do with this story except that we were outside because it was so freaking hot in the house. Read on:

On Tuesday, our AC stopped giving us cold air. It was running, but not cooling. On Wednesday I called an HVAC company and got an appointment for the technician to come out on Monday, which is ironic considering the name of the company is Same Day Heating and Air. 

With temperatures forecast in the 90s over the weekend, I was concerned that my house would be oven-like. We got through those first few nights, but I knew the weekend was going to be rough and unpleasant. I tried to romanticize the situation by telling myself it would be like being in Europe in the summer, but I was dreading it.  Imagine my delight when I walked in the house Friday after work to find the air pleasantly cool. It's pretty great having a real life handyman living with you. Let me tell you why my husband is awesome. We had a swamp cooler in storage from one of our properties that didn't want the unit, so MT installed it at our house in our kitchen window.

Let's be clear: nothing about the situation is ideal. The swamp cooler - I call it The Monster - is big and loud and not beautiful. It takes up half of the kitchen window and is a big lurking thing from the outside. It sprays out little white flecks of hard water deposits. The spigot it is connected to outside has to always be on. On the other hand,  The Monster puts out a generous amount of cold air that travels all the way up the stairs. The AC has never cooled off the upstairs - where the bedrooms are - but The Monster doesn't seem to have a problem with doing it. We leave it running on medium, and I have woken up cold with Harley pressed up tight against me in the morning. It's been glorious! I haven't slept so well in a long time. I like to sleep on the cool/cold side. 

The repair guy is coming to work on the AC tomorrow. I think it just needs a Freon fix, although they will try to sell us a new unit. We think we might keep The Monster in the window to supplement the AC, though, because we have all enjoyed the cold sleeping temperature. 

More to come on this, and I will try to get back to my regular writing schedule here in July.  

Can you believe it is going to be July the day after tomorrow?!

Have a good week. Stay cool!

#2937 three things: night guard, Grammys, WTF

 

Oops...I missed writing a time or two. Happy February! I hope it goes by a little quicker than January. I felt like there were eleventy-hundred days in January. Let's get to it, shall we?

1. I need a night guard. I went to the dentist today and the hygienist told me that it looks like I'm grinding my teeth at night because some of them are worn down. She asked if I have jaw pain in the mornings. I don't, but I do frequently have headaches and my neck and shoulders are sore, which can also be signs of teeth grinding. A custom-fitted night guard is expensive, but my insurance does pay for half of it.  The hygienist did say that Botox injections are another option, but that is more expensive and you have to get them every four to six months. I think the guard will last for awhile, so I think I will go ahead and get it. Not having headaches when I wake up and getting better sleep would be swell.

2. The Grammy Awards. I missed writing on Sunday because I watched the Grammy Awards, aka the LA Fire Relief telethon. I actually didn't mind the request for donations, and I liked the commercials about the local businesses affected by the fires. As far as the performances, I think my favorite was the "California Dreaming" duet by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars. (Side note: please put out another album soon, Bruno!) My least favorite part of the show was the reaction by Beyoncé when she won Best Country Album. It seemed phony to me. 

3. WTF is happening? It's been less than 30 days since Trump moved back into the White House, and he seems pretty intent on tearing down a whole bunch of stuff. From the tariff announcements and subsequent walk-backs to dismantling the federal workforce (except for the military), to saying that the U.S. will buy Greenland, that Canada should be the 51st state, and that the U.S. will take control of Gaza, every day brings something new to ponder. And WTF is Elon Musk doing there? Why is he getting so much government information and how is this going to end? It all feels very weird and yucky. I am trying to keep an open mind, I really am, and maybe things will all work out, but I'm uncomfortable.

Dog bless us, everyone. 

#2913 three things: oh deer, triple shot, back-to-back musical nights

 Happy Sunday and happy September! The 'ber months are here, and I'm ready for them. I don't usually write a three things post on Sunday, but these three things summarize the week that was, so here we go.

1. Oh deer. MT was driving home from Pocatello on Monday night and a deer jumped out and ran into the truck. The deer was not found by the highway patrol, but we can only assume it did not survive the impact. The passenger side headlight was completely removed from the truck, and the whole passenger side is dented and scraped and the doors cannot be opened. MT is fine, although he was mightily shaken up by the event. He is sad for the deer and sad about his beautiful beloved truck. It is drivable, so he made it home safely, even though he was a cyclops (one headlight.) Insurance will pay the $7,500 repair bill, and our portion of that payment is...$100. Whew! Apparently being hit by a deer is covered by comprehensive insurance, so we just have to pay the deductible. Here are a couple of pics of the damage:

2. Triple shot. I've been thinking about getting a new coffee maker for a few weeks. I figured I'd do it when I returned from Italy, but my subconscious had other ideas, and when I was washing my coffee pot on Monday, I accidentally cracked the pot on my sink, rendering it unusable. My coffee maker is duo, meaning I can brew a pot of coffee and it has  Keurig, too, so I was not completely out of coffee-making options. I could have waited and just used the Keurig, but that's not my style, so I went over to Target with a gift card I'd received and purchased a moka pot.

This is the 3-cup size, and it is small and cute. It's also heavy duty. I can't crack this one because it is made of steel. Did you know that a coffee in Italy is espresso? American-style coffee is a drip situation, way more water than coffee. What I'm trying to say is that the 1 cup in the moka pot refers to 1.5 oz of espresso, which is a shot of espresso. Three cups from the moka pot is a triple shot of espresso. 

I didn't actually put all of that information together when I made a pot of coffee on Wednesday morning with my shiny new moka pot. I was delighted by the bubbling up of the coffee and lovely aroma that floated through my kitchen. I poured the whole three cups into my big American mug, and it only filled the mug about halfway. I added milk and sugar and took the coffee outside to the deck. It's a simple pleasure. I took a sip and said out loud, "Whoa you taste good!" I took another sip and my eyes popped open and I felt alive and alert. I slurped down the rest of the coffee and felt great all morning. I didn't even miss having a second cup, which I usually do when I make a big pot of coffee. 

When I am in Italy, I will be looking for a small, espresso sized cup to bring home as a souvenir and from which I will enjoy my espresso. And I might not have the whole three shots at the same time again. However, I'll be using the moka pot again tomorrow, so we'll see.

3. Back-to-back musical nights. I volunteered to work at two concerts last week, one on Tuesday, and the other on Wednesday. I try to manage my schedule so I don't have back to back shows because too many late nights aren't good for me, but I didn't realize the date of the second show when I offered to work that night, plus I really wanted to see the artist.

Tuesday night I saw the band Pink Martini.  I didn't know anything about them, but I like their name. It turns out, I really like their music, too. They are more like an orchestra than a band, and the singer, China Forbes, has a gorgeous voice. It's like cocktail party music. Plus, the songs are performed in a variety of languages. On Tuesday, there were songs in English, French, Turkish, Portuguese, Spanish, Italia, Korean, and Japanese. I really loved it. At the end of the night, they encouraged the audience to form a conga line, and they did, and it was a spectacle. I had a good time, even though I did not join the conga line.

On Wednesday night, I heard Lukas Nelson. I say I heard him because I didn't actually see him. I was working the west side recycling station, and the view of the stage is non-existent. I did take a few minutes to try to get a look at the stage, but everyone was standing up, so I couldn't really get a good look, although I can say that I did see him on stage for a minute. Yes, he is Willie Nelson's son, and yes, he does sound a lot like his father. He also has a much bigger vocal range than Willie, including a spine-tingling falsetto. He was really good and I enjoyed the music very much. 

Have a great week!

 

#2899 three things: Dixon update, a rough year, and the walk

First thing...each of these topics could be an entire post in itself. I will attempt to keep them brief and related to each other. 

1. Dixon update. This is the first month since September that I have not traveled to Dixon. That certainly doesn't mean that nothing is happening. Most of the month has been spent waiting on the county to approve the well permit. The permit was issued last week, so we are ready to proceed. The driller needs a tree to be trimmed, but the tree is actually dead and covered with trumpet vines, so it is coming down tomorrow, then the driller will determine a day to begin the drilling process. I'm told it will take about a week. After that comes the pump installation, hook-ups to the existing waterlines, and potability testing. All of that will be done by the pump company. After all that is done and water is running in the house, I would expect the house to be listed on the MLS and hopefully it will be sold fairly quickly. Crossing my fingers. 

2. A rough year. Since my uncle passed away in July last year, I have taken on a lot of the responsibility for my aunt and the property. Sometimes I have felt overwhelmed. I am so thankful for all the help and support from MT, Lizzie, Mama, Rick, and David. I'm also thankful to my doctor for prescribing anti-anxiety medication. I often wonder how I would have managed without it. I'm sure there would have been a lot more tears and more physical ramifications. It wasn't just the monthly trips to Dixon and the worries about Mary, Lee, Bettie, and the property. I had a heavy load at work as well, plus my commitment to volunteering at Red Butte Garden. Of course something had to give, and volunteering got the short shrift last year, but I still had over 100 hours there, which was about half the hours from the previous year. 

Looking back through my journal, I often noted how tired I felt, and how I didn't feel well physically, mentally, or emotionally. I didn't sleep well or long. I ate poorly, relying on take-out often because I was too worn out to prepare a meal at home, or sometimes even get to the grocery store.  Another thing is that my body decided it was time to menopause. As a result of all that, I gained nearly 20 pounds in these 10 months. I fucking hate it. I feel every one of those pounds on my body. The good news is that I finally feel like I'm in a good spot to take better care of myself with healthier food choices and exercise.

3. The Walk. On Pinterest I saw a cute, helpful pin about taking care of yourself. I'm terribly surprised I didn't pin it because usually I do, and now of course I can't find it. Anyway, the first thing on the list was to walk 30 minutes a day. You would think this would be so easy. When I'm on vacation, I think nothing of pulling on some shoes and going for a walk. Why is it that here at home I think I must put on some exercise clothes and have just the right shoes? After overthinking this for a few days, I decided to just go for a walk. Today it happened. It's not that simple though, is it? Not for me.

It was lunchtime and I figured I'd take about 15 or 20 minutes to walk. I decided not to take the dogs because I just wanted to be quick. I headed up the street and crossed the road to walk on a little path between houses. I got to the end of the path, and I'd only been walking for about five minutes, so I turned right and walked through a nice neighborhood.  Pretty soon I felt a bit disoriented. I wasn't lost, but I wasn't exactly sure where I was in relation to my house. I finally came to a place I recognized, a school, and I turned up the street knowing I'd get to the street light and I'd know exactly where I was and how long it would take to get home. Turns out I grossly miscalculated the distance between the school and the stoplight. I'd been walking for about 20 minutes, and I was still a good 10-15 minutes from home, all up a slight-but-steady hill. Oh, and did I mention the pollen count was high and it was humid (for here?) I was a gasping, snotty, watery-eyed mess of a woman those last 10 minutes.

In the end, I was out for nearly 40 minutes and I walked nearly two miles. It was a bit more than I wanted to do right off the bat, but there you have it.  Now I just need to limit my visits to Crumbl and take-out places, and get to bed at a reasonable time. I got this, right?

#2896 there was SOMETHING going on

On Friday night I was mindlessly scrolling through Facebook after I watched a movie. I saw a post from a local group I am in that posed the question about where a person could see the Northern Lights that night. I thought it was a joke, and I went to bed around midnight without giving it another thought.

On Saturday morning, I was mindlessly scrolling through Facebook and saw lots of pics from local people who had seen the northern lights out by the Great Salt Lake, not ten minutes from my house! I was annoyed with myself for not making an effort to find out if the phenomenon was really happening in my own night sky. After a little research, I learned that there was a chance of seeing the Aurora Borealis on Saturday night, so MT and I agreed to head out to the west desert to check it out.

The problematic part was that the northern lights were not visible to the naked eye. You could only see them through the night mode and long exposure through the camera. Okay, I can do that. The other problem was that there were cloudy skies to the north. You can tell there is something going on, but you might not guess it was a geomagnetic storm.

You can click on the photos to enlarge, if you like. Normal photo (night mode, regular exposure)

Night mode, long exposure:

This was the first time I've ever had really clear shots of stars:

Overall, it was kind of a bust. It was cool, but not what I thought I'd see. We ended up getting home just after 2am, and I didn't get to sleep until nearly 3. I'm pretty tuckered out today.

#2865 suitcase blues, corn maze mindfulness, and difficult situations

It's been a busy week. I had my teeth cleaned on Monday, but it feels like it was a really long time ago, not just six days. I spent three nights in Dixon, and it feels like it was a lot longer, but also, weirdly, shorter, too. This weekend I have been cleaning the house in preparation for family guests. I love that the house is so clean, and I'm also annoyed with us because we only clean it that well when people are coming! 

The biggest thing this week was the trip to Dixon. I was so thankful that Lizzie agreed to meet me there. We both flew in to Sacramento. She arrived a little before me, and we agreed to meet at the car rental terminal. While I was waiting for my bag, my phone rang. It was a number from Huntington Beach. I almost never answer a number I don't recognize, but I answered this one. It was a lady in Long Beach who had my suitcase. I found her suitcase in Sacramento. What happened was that we were both at Sky Cap in SLC at the same time, and our Sky Cap guys grabbed the wrong labels. I didn't look at my receipt where he put the sticker for my baggage claim, and I didn't see him put the tag on the bag that said LGB instead of SMF. Bummer. Lizzie and I had to go to Walmart so I could buy a few things until my luggage would be delivered on Wednesday evening.

I had a lot of objectives to accomplish on Wednesday, and I am happy to say that all of them were completed successfully, but not without some drama, of course. First Northern Bank in Dixon continued to be a pain in the ass to deal with. I finally got access to my aunt's accounts after the second visit to the bank of the day, and only because I brought my aunt into the bank. The behavior of the regional manager was so unprofessional. I just have a really bad taste in my mouth from my dealings with that bank.

The other big thing that happened on Wednesday was a visit with my aunt to her doctor so we could discuss a few different things. I have a more clear picture of her medical condition now, and access to her records as well as medial power of attorney. I truly wouldn't wish what I am dealing with on anyone. It is by far the most difficult position I have ever been in, even more than when my dad was dying. With Dad, I knew what was going to happen, and I prepared myself for it. His passing was painful and heartbreaking, and I know that I did what I could to ease his way into the hereafter. With my aunt, she is still living, and is physically healthy, although unable to take care of and live by herself. She wants to stay in the home she has lived in most of her life. Is that the best thing? I really struggle with the answer. 

Oh yeah, and my bag arrived on Wednesday night around 10 or 10:30. There was a little extra drama there. A bag arrived earlier and was delivered to my room, but it wasn't my bag. I immediately got on the phone with the delivery service. The driver came back to the hotel, picked up the bag, went back to the airport, picked up my real bag, and brought it back to Dixon. Sheesh Delta! I was glad to get my suitcase, though.

On Thursday, Lizzie and I visited a couple of assisted living facilities in the area. They are both nice, although we definitely preferred one over the other.  We were both emotional at the thought of taking our aunt to live there. We are not finished exploring all the options, though, so more to come on this situation.

To take our minds off the intense things we were dealing with, we decided to go through a corn maze that was right on the way out to the house. I'd never been in a corn maze, and this one is huge. It was the world's largest corn maze a couple of years ago. They gave us maps and a crayon, and sent us on our way. I'm so lucky Lizzie was there. The woman is a fantastic map reader, and she got us through the maze in just under an hour. It was so hot that day, around 93 degrees F, and it was quite muggy in the corn. I was a sweaty mess. Here are some pics:

Before we went into the maze. So many pumpkins!

In the maze. The corn was tall!

So much corn! That tent thing in the distance was the end. We'd been on two platforms before this one. 

We did it!

The best thing about the corn maze was that it completely took our minds off the reason we were in Dixon. We had to be totally present in that maze in order to get out of it. That hour we spent figuring out how to get out of the maze was exactly what I needed. I think Lizzie felt that same way.

That night, we went to dinner in downtown Dixon to a place MT and I liked both times we have been in town called Dawson's. Fun family fact: our bachelor great-uncles used to raise a little hell in town at Dawson's. It makes me smile to think of Walt and Clyde sitting at the bar, smoking their cigarettes, drinking a beer and having a laugh. 

There were some wings painted on the back of the building, so of course, we had to have a photo op.

On Friday we took care of the medical POA, then it was time to go to the airport. Lizzie and I were in different terminals, so we said good-bye at the car rental terminal, and went our separate ways. Have I mentioned how glad I was that she was with me in Dixon? I'll be happy to see her again on Thursday night here in SLC when she and mom arrive for the weekend!

With all the stuff that was going on, I haven't done any art this week. Sad. 

You know what? It was a year ago this week that Lizzie and I were in Greece. I will always be thankful that I went on that trip for the creativity retreat. It changed my life, I think. 

Time to run my family Lyft service - that just means I am going to pick T up from work. I probably won't write next week because I'll be entertaining my cousins and I have a lot of fun stuff planned, then we'll go to Yellowstone! YAY!!

#2855 a month later...

The last time I posted here was July 6, and now it is August 6. The past four weeks have been a bit of a blur. Let's catch up.

On Thursday July 6, I found out my uncle Dewey had terminal cancer. His life expectancy was two to six months without treatment, 18 months of pain and sickness with treatment. Amongst our small family, we decided no treatment would be what Dewey wanted. 

On Wednesday, July 12, he was transferred from the hospital to a care facility. He died the next morning, Thursday July 13. His passing was expected, but not so soon. The thing that makes me the most sad is that none of us got to say good-bye. It crushes me.

That weekend, MT and I drove to Dixon with the intention of getting the financial affairs in order. My uncle asked me to be the executor of the estate once he and my aunt Mary passed away. The thing is that Mary has reduced cognitive abilities. She is Dewey's heir and the trustee of the estate, but because of her difficulties, she resigned as trustee, naming me the successor trustee and executor. I have taken over paying all the bills for the Dixon household. My aunt Mary lives there, along with her sister, my aunt Bettie, and Bettie's husband, my uncle Lee. 

I met throughout the day on Monday July 17 with Bill, the attorney my uncle worked with to set up the will and trust. I had a mobile notary come out to the house to notarize Mary's signature on the Power of Attorney paperwork. I took everything to the bank that Dewey and Mary use to set up a trust, but nothing can be finalized until we have the death certificate from the state. My aunt Bettie was talking to the funeral home to get all that done, then on Wednesday July 19, she fell and broke her femur in three places. We had already come back to Utah, but Uncle Lee called to let me know about the accident, and also that there was no hot water in the house because the propane tank was empty and could I order some more propane?

In the meantime, I was able to get a bank account set up here with a check Aunt Mary signed so I could get the bills paid. I opened an account with the propane company and got a delivery scheduled. I talked a lot with the funeral director who would not accept my authority regarding my uncle's remains. A representative from the funeral home went to the hospital to have Bettie sign the paperwork. They sure enough called me for the payment, though. 

Bottom line: bills are paid, propane tank is full, Dewey's mortal remains are being attended to, Bettie is in a recovery facility, and Lee and Mary and going along as best they can. I feel like I've been in an adulting whirlwind, and it's not a really fun place to be. I'm doing the best I can.

Through all of that family grief and trauma, there was work. My job isn't difficult, but there is a lot of it. The company is working on a new business venture, and I'm smack in the middle of it, and we are all making up the rules as we go. I was already behind at the end of June, and had big plans to get everything caught up by the second week of July. That didn't happen. Suddenly, it was July 22, a three day weekend here in Utah for Pioneer Day. I wound up working a bit through that weekend and holiday, and really pushing through the last week of the month. On August 1, the last day to get our billings in for July business, I worked a lot of hours to get it all done. I'm embarrassed about how long I worked that Tuesday. I wouldn't have imagined getting myself into that position. The good news is that I'm no longer behind. It took a toll on me, though, mentally, physically, and emotionally. I don't want to get in that position again. The experience made me question the way I was handling things. I'm still pondering. 

Oh yeah, and I was volunteering throughout that time. I think going to the Garden helped keep me sane and grounded. It gave me the space to clear my mind and rejuvenate. Plus I napped a lot. Overall, I feel like I've handled it all pretty well. I have cried normal grief tears at the loss of my uncle several times. I'm really sad about losing him. I have been good about keeping my anxiety at bay. I haven't had any meltdowns. I think in the past I would have cried a lot and sunk into depression. There have only been a couple of times when I've cried anxious tears. When that happens, I take some deep breaths and figure out what I can do to get rid of some of the stress, and tell myself that I can only do one thing at a time. It helps me to stay calm. 

Of course, some things have had to "give" during the busy July. I didn't have the time, energy, or bandwidth in my brain to write, or really even to read very much. I couldn't seem to focus on a story or take the time to get into one. I was reading a book with the book club that I was very excited about. I got about halfway through it (it was over 700 pages long), when I realized that I just didn't care anymore about the story or the characters or anything. I stopped reading it. In July, I only finished one book - well, one and a half, I guess. Actually, I didn't even finish one book. I was 94 percent done with a book, there were 20 pages or so left to go when the library loan expired. Sheesh.  I marked that book as read. I made my up my own ending. Someday I'll see it in the library or bookstore and I'll read those last 20 pages to see how the author ended the story. 

I've done a little bit of art. Here are a couple of pieces I did in the last couple of weeks:

Giraffe family portrait

Armless woman with tall hair

The thing that was fun about the armless woman was that I drew her upside down. I don't know why, but I just really like her. The giraffe family makes me smile. 

Anyway...

I've got another busy week coming up, with mostly good stuff. On Monday, I'm volunteering at a concert. Tuesday night, MT and I are going to see the Foo Fighters in concert. On Wednesday, my MIL and FIL are coming to town. My MIL, Linda, has a doctor appointment. Thursday I'll record blooms at RBG. Friday, T, J, and I are going to La Mirada to see mom and Lizzie. T & J are going to the Drake concert on Saturday. I'll be happy to hang out at Mom and Lizzie's house. I'd like to drink a cold glass of wine and lay around. Maybe Lizzie will take me on a walk so I can smell some eucalyptus trees.  I hope we can go see the ocean. I need to repair my soul a little bit. It's all been a lot.  Oof...here comes some of those anxiety tears. 

I think I'll take some melatonin and get to bed. One day at a time. Look for the good stuff along the way.

 

#2736 it’s always something

The good news is that I am feeling much better. Yes, Mama, I am current on my flu shot. I wound up taking the day off work yesterday. I sat on the couch and watched TV, then I sat out on the deck, reading and playing with the dogs. After the past year and a half of taking it pretty easy, I realize that I want to continue to take it a bit easier. I like the slower pace.

The bad news was that MT cut his thumb and forefinger with a chop saw today. I took him to urgent care where he got five stitches on his finger. The doctor said there is a good chance that he will lose a “divot” on that finger, and maybe the fingernail (which will grow back). It could have been worse. When he called and told me he’d cut his finger, I had an image of a dangling fingertip. It was nothing like that, but it was pretty bloody and kinda gross.

I was with him when the doctor came in to clean the wound and stitch him up. I was trying to avoid hearing too much medical talk and seeing what was happening over there. I probably read the same page of my book five times. The doctor offered to let me see the wound and the part of the finger that MT will likely lose. I passed on that. I was there strictly for moral support and to listen to the after-care instructions. 

Tonight I watched a movie on Netflix called Love and Gelato. I read the book years ago, and the movie didn’t really have much in common with the book as I remember it, but it was still pretty cute. The best part was that it was filmed in Rome and in Florence. I loved seeing places that I had just seen a couple of months ago. There were also plenty of places that I had not seen. At the end, there is a beautiful view of the Roman skyline that made me catch my breath and get a little teary-eyed. I absolutely want to go back to Rome sooner than later. I have a good-sized list of things I’d like to do there. 

#2691 tripped up

I fell down today. Actually, I fell up…I tripped on the last step coming up from the basement. I was goofing around with Mac and my toe caught on the step. I went down hard on my right knee, bashed against something with my right arm, landed on the right side of my face and smacked the top of my head on the table leg.

Damn.

The dogs were freaking out that I was laying on the floor. I slowly sat up and assessed the pains. Everything hurt, but nothing seemed to be broken. I took Tylenol immediately, after I stopped crying. I wasn’t crying from pain so much as from shock and distress that I could be so easily hurt. 

Since the fall, I have felt subdued.  MT and I went out to Lehi to shop at the outlet stores there. I got a dress and he got some pants and a coat. We had lunch at Straptank Brewery. When we got home, we were both tired, so he flopped on the couch and I went up to the guest room. It’s dark in there and that’s where I keep my weighted blanket, the best nap-time blanket ever.  I asked MT and T to check on me after 30 minutes, because I was a little concerned that maybe I had a wee concussion. (They did check on me.) I don’t think I do, thankfully. I slept for two hours. Now I’m kind of groggy and a little worried about getting a good night’s sleep.

Mom, I think I know what you may be thinking, but don’t worry! I’ve lived in this house for 20 years and that is the first time I have had such an accident. It isn’t the dog’s fault; it’s totally my fault for not paying attention and taking care of myself. Believe me, I am moving very, very slowly now on the stairs.

My knee and arm are bruised. I might have a bruise on my eyebrow bone. The top of my head is a little tender. I’m sore. For some reason, my back and my neck are stiff, too. I feel like a dumb-ass, but I am okay.

*sigh*