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 |  Fibro fog, pain, writing sandwiched in between. Quotes. Sermon notes. Encouragement. |
A Texas Sunrise  A friend, William Taylor, took this picture. He visits Surfside Beach with his dogs almost every morning, watching the sun rise while the dogs prance about at the water's edge. This is only about ten miles from where I lived in Lake Jackson, Texas. Sadly, I only visited this beach about four times in the six years I lived nearby. Each day is a challenge. A challenge to get by without thinking about the fibromyalgia pains. A challenge to stay awake when chronic fatigure wants to take over. And a challenge to navigate through fibro fog. I haven't been writing as much as in the past. For years, I wrote at least 500 words a day. Now, I'm lucky if I write 500 words in month. Sigh. For more information about what my day (or life) is all about with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, chronic pains, IBS, depression and everything else thrown in, check this out:
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| Not much to report on our kitties today. Piewacket must not have enjoyed her visit to the vet. Since she got home last night, she has been spending most of her time behind Tiffany's bedroom door near the heat vent there. Hiding. Poor thing. The first day at the vet, she had her butt poked to get her temperature. The second day she had her belly shaved to see if she'd been spayed yet. The latest blood tests won't be back for a few days. Meanwhile, now we have the task of getting stool samples for both kitties. Or rather challenge, since they share a litterbox.  ******** Nothing to report on hubby's health yet, since his doctor's appointment isn't until later this afternoon. ******** We've still have been blessed with better winter weather than usual (and than other areas). Yes, we finally cold temperatures, more usual for this time of year. And we did get another snow dusting yesterday and last night. But nothing more than a dusting. ******** Two bad accidents in our area today. Early this morning, a school bus crashed and all 17 kids and the bus driver went to the hospital. Most of the kids, especially in the back of the bus, had injuries, albeit minor ones. They showed one girl just a while ago on the news. She had bruises on lower body that couldn't be seen. But she had obviously had lots of glass in her face. She had red scratches and small gashes all over her face. Sure hope there's no scarring. I think only two kids were hurt badly. The horrible thing is that some of the kids the news folks interviewed said the the bus driver - a woman - was playing games on her cell phone when she lost control of the bus. It swerved to one side of the road, then to the other, and finally ended up hitting a pole. If they're right, that bus driver is in for some trouble. The other accident was between a pick-up truck and a train. The pick-up truck driver must have tried to get across the tracks before the train. He failed and both the driver and passenger died. Why in the world do people try that??? I remember when I lived in Jackson, Michigan years ago, the trains went right across town a couple of times a day. One was early in the morning, right about the time everyone was trying to get to work. There were many times when that train made folks late for work. Grrr. There were also Amtrack trains that came through, but usually later in the day. Once, I was crossing train tracks and when I got across them, I heard the warning sounds going off. As I looked in my rear view mirror, the gate closed just behind my car and then an Amtrack train came zooming down the tracks. Scared me to death. When I cross train tracks, I always look for trains, even if the signals are not going off. I did so that time too, and that Amtrack train was no where in sight. Boy do they go fast. I cannot imagine trying to beat a train. They're waaaaaaaaaay too big and even going at a snail's pace, they'd do horrible damage to any vehicle. ********** My buddy Bud started a series of essays about blogging. Do check it out.
And don't forget to check his blog too:
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| I took our cat, Piewacket, to the vet's office this morning. She was none too thrilled to get her leash on this morning, although she usually loves walking. She fussed about getting in the car. Yesterday's memory of the car trip and vet trip were obviously still fresh in her mind. The vet's office called a little while ago. When they shaved Pie's belly, the discovered that she had already been spayed. That's one expense we don't have to have. But...the blood tests from yesterday had come back, and one of her readings for white blood cells was elevated quite a bit. For cats, normal is 2 and Pie's reading was 16. Not good. The vet thinks perhaps Pie has heartworms, which, she informed me, is harder to treat in cats than it is in dogs. It also makes putting her under anesthesia a danger, and they had wanted to give her mild sedation to see what's going on in her throat. She still can't meow. They'll be doing more extensive blood tests and fecal sample tests to find out exactly why her white cells are elevated. Meanwhile, we certainly don't want to put her under, since it could cause her to die in the process. There's a slight chance that the elevated white cells could mean cancer. But the vet said there's less of a chance of that than the heartworms. We need to know what's wrong with our poor cat. So the extra tests are being done this afternoon. Here's hoping and praying that it's nothing serious. We really don't have the money for extensive treatments. We also don't want to lose this important part of our household. *********** I'm still coughing, but haven't even thought about making a doc appointment for myself. Sleeping on the recliner in the living room isn't fun, but it does help me not cough all night. *********** Tomorrow, hubby Incurable Romantic   has a trip to his doc to see what can be done to bring his blood pressure down.*********** Yes indeedy, life is complicated. ************ You know, if we could sell the 1925 Steinway antique baby grand player piano that sits in our living room, it would help our finances. (It would also mean I could have living room furniture!) Don't suppose you know any who wants to buy it? For a friend of a friend, we'd gladly take $14,000. It surely is beautiful. |
| Sigh. Animals can cause you just as much grief as kids. Perhaps more, since they cannot tell you what's happening with them. Our adult cat, Piewacket or Pie for short, used to be such a talker. I think I wrote about that a while back. She knows by the tone of your voice if you're asking a question of her and is always apt to respond. Her meows are different for different things. Lately, though, she hasn't been doing much meowing. I thought that it might have something to do with having the kitty. She has not been too sure she likes sharing her house with that new kitty. She never minded having Allison's dog here. But another feline? She's just not sure that's the right thing for all of us.  This weekend, I noticed (or rather my son pointed out to me) that Pie opens her mouth to meow an answer when you ask a question. But nothing comes out. It appears that she's lost her voice. Pie and Opera were both scheduled to see the vet on Feb. 7. But those plans have changed now. When I checked with the vet's office, they said she needs to be seen - today. Let's hope this doesn't cost an arm and a leg. My own sore throat and cough is back to being annoying and I'll probably need another doctor's appointment this week. Bird poop! What's that? You don't understand my reference to bird poop? Well, hubby would. A while ago, our pastor (and it might have been sooooooo long ago that it was the pastor at Jim's old church), told a story about a man whose life was in shambles. I can't remember all of the things that went wrong for that fellow, but there were many. And when he complained and shook his fist at the heavens, wondering how much more he could take or if there was ever going to be an end to his troubles, the answer came. Some bird pooped on his face. That's what I was thinking. You know, when it rains, it pours. (And it is raining here today, by the way. Some areas of Cincinnati are expecting flooding.) Or, when you really think there cannot be any more bad stuff happening in your life, a bird poops on your face. The shorthand version of saying all of that is to just say, "Bird poop" when someone is having a bad time. *************** We're back from the vet's office. Seems like she's mimicing what I went through. We can't pass the same viruses around. But I guess while we're suffering a bunch of viruses, so are our pets. Grrr. Blood tests show that she doesn't have anything bacterial. But the vet couldn't really see down her throat. I guess cats are the worst for having you look in their mouths. So...tomorrow Pie will arrive at the vet's office somewhere between 7 and 8:30 a.m. to be spayed. While they have her anesthetized they'll also be able to look at her throat. Thankfully, while we were there, Pie tried to meow for the doc. She moved her mouth and nothing came out, just like at home. (Riding in the car, which she didn't like at all, she tried doing a loud cat howl. With all that effort, a small squeak did come out, but that's all. Poor thing.) The vet said Pie could have any number of problems. It could be that she has a sore throat and laryngitis like a human. Or, my son could be right about the hairball. Doc said sometimes they actually get them stuck around the vocal chords. Who knew? The doc also said it could be something worse than that but we're not going there until she checks Pie tomorrow. Good idea. We're not ready to think bad thoughts. Happy thoughts, that's what we're thinking. The folks in the waiting room were all impressed at Piewacket walking on a leash. One couple had tried that with their cats and had nothing but scratches to show for it. Tonight, we have to take up the food and water bowls after 8 p.m. That's going to make two felines very unhappy. Maybe we'll have to put the young one in our bedroom with the door closed and some food and water on our floor. She eats and drinks all the time!!!! That's all about Pie - for now. Meanwhile, if you didn't look at the new picture at the top of my page, you probably missed that I made an album of pictures of downtown Pittsburgh, the inclines and Kennywood. Here they are:
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| At our house now, with that 5 month old kitten looking for things to play with all day long, you can't drop anything on the floor. If you do, Opera comes a-running and takes off with it as if she's playing hockey. Boy is she quick. It doesn't matter if I drop a small piece of food while cooking in the kitchen or if she knocks mail off the kitchen table. Anything on the floor becomes her toy. She swats things under the stove and refrigerator. Yesterday, she even swatted something under the door to the cellar. I found that out when I started down the steps and found a piece of junk mail on the steps. Luckily I didn't just step down without looking. ********** This morning, I noticed that there were lots of birds singing. I thought it rather odd, considering the time of year. You just don't usually hear bunches of birds singing in the winter time. Later this afternoon, I realized that the weather must have the birds totally confused. First, I noticed a robin on the tree in our front yard. When you live in the northern US, you usually can't wait to spot that first spring robin, knowing it means that warm weather is coming. I saw that robin and, again, thought it rather odd. Just 30 minutes later, I was sitting on our front porch and was truly amazed. Frankly, in my 54 years, I don't think I've ever seen more than two robins at one time. I saw about 200 this afternoon. There were four to six in every tree lining the neighborhood. Plus there were about another 50 sitting in one yard just down the street from me. I wondered... Are these birds finally flying south because they know we're supposed to finally have some winter weather? Or are they returning because our winter has been so mild? I never really thought about it before, but the strange, warm winter must have the migration patterns all goofed up. From what I've been told, even Canada has had a mild winter. Hmmm. |
| Does anyone else have this problem? My home page is set at Yahoo, and if I'm curious about a news item, I'll start there. It used to be that a news item from the present day or the day before would be something easy to find. It's still easy to find them, but many of the "featured" items are now videos. On those videos, a commercial comes first. I guess I understand that. But what's happening with me is that I only see the commercial, never the actual news clip. It's happened more than once. Quite a few times, actually. I end up checking somewhere else for the news I sought. Grrr. Anyway, what I wanted to check out was about those two boys who were found - one who had disappeared in 2002 (Shawn Hornbeck}. I saw in PastVoices 's blog "Invalid Item"  that this was a story about St. Louis, and as I explained a few entries ago, I lived in St. Louis for only 6 weeks. I did discover that the boys were found in an apartment in Kirkwood, and that's the exact place in St. Louis where I lived (and where my son's dad's family lived). What a miracle it was that the one boy was found alive after a few days. It's a super-duper-miracle that the other was found alive after more than 4 years.Our adult cat seems to have lost her voice. Do cats get laryngitis? Thinking back, I realized that she hasn't done much of her normal talking with me since we got the kitty. I thought maybe she was mad at having to share her space. But yesterday, I noticed that she is opening her mouth to meow and nothing is coming out. My son thought maybe she had a hairball she needed to get rid of. But that's never been a problem before. I wonder what's up? I saw my gastro doc yesterday and some new prescriptions for my tummy problems. One is just for bloating. It really is annoying that I can eat one tiny piece of watermelon and then burp like crazy. I told the doc that eating out is really not an option when I have to burp so much after eating. Looks like I'll have to see my regular doc next week. My sore throat is back and my sinuses are clogging up again. And I've never really stopped coughing, although it did get better. I haven't been coughing in the daytime, just at night. My cabinet looks like I have my own pharmacy... |
| My brother, that is. Sigh. Bill is an alcoholic and homeless. He was the smartest of all of us, but chose to quit school in March of his senior year in high school. Drugs and alcohol became his way of life. Now, he can only afford - somehow - the alcohol. Beer companies don't tell you all the horrible things that can happen to someone who chooses to drink morning, noon and night. Bill's body is a mess. His liver and kidneys don't work well anymore. He often has to go to the hospital just to have his fluids drained. He looks like he's pregnant. And his belly button is herniated. It's an ugly growth that looks like another body apendage. He's often able to drink because he bets new bar customers that he has an extra male part. That's what it looks like. Bill started lying as a kindergarten kid. He used to tell our mom that kids gave him toys when he came home with his pockets full of trinkets that were not his. His lying continues today. Last week he called his daughter and told her he was in the hospital to have his gall bladder removed and was finally having an operation to remove/fix his herniated belly button. She called one of my sisters, who passed on his (supposed) number in his hospital room. Both of my sisters tried calling that number and it just rang and rang. Odd for a hospital room phone to just ring and ring. Bill's daughter showed up at the hospital and discovered that he wasn't there and had not been there. She searched bars Bill is known to frequent and found him. When she confronted him, he said, "Your mother owes me $300." His daughter told him not to ever contact her, her brother or her mother again. This has been a mild winter. But there have been harsh winters when Bill has lived in cardboard boxes, in abandoned cars and in abandoned buildings. I wonder what makes people turn to drinking this way. I wonder what makes people lie to the ones who really care. I wonder... |
| Here's some information about a new Gospel Music Channel that will be on 24/7. If your cable or satellite provider doesn't decide that they have enough Christian programs. http://womenoffaith.com/newsletter/january07/GMC.html Part of the write up I received says: "Enjoy contemporary artists like Jeremy Camp, Steven Curtis Chapman, Natalie Grant, Tammy Trent, Nicole Nordeman, Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary, Casting Crowns, and Mercy Me; country artists like Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, and The Crabbe Family; and traditional gospel artists like the Blind Boys of Alabama, Byron Cage, Shirley Caesar, and Sandi Patty. Want to see it for yourself? Go to gospelmusicchannel.com to watch a sample video. You can make a difference Isn’t it time we had a positive, faith-based, entertaining music television network not only for our kids, but also for US? Support the channel that will support your faith! Help spread this positive, faith-based music television network to homes across America and in your community. Many cable and satellite providers believe they have enough Christian channels – or that their customers don’t want a Christian music television channel How You Can Help Call 1-800-DIRECTV within the next few days, while they are making program decisions – even if you’re not a DIRECTV customer -- to let them know you support the channel in your market or want them to launch GMC in all their markets. Call your cable or satellite provider to let them know you want GMC made available on your TV. Together we can spread Gospel Music Channel across America." |
| Yesterday, I went grocery shopping with $105 in my wallet. My goal was to get what I needed and spend $100. Alas, when I went through the check-out line I discovered that I had spent....$100.36. I love it when I can get that close! And I did get everything I wanted...without a list. ******** I was searching for a good picture of Pittsburgh that I could use at the beginning of my blog. Those snowmen are cute, but the way they're arranged, they look too much like a Christmas tree. And Christmas is over. I decided that a picture of the Duquesne Incline would be great. (For those of you who don't know, I grew up in Pittsburgh.) There aren't that many inclines left in the world. The Duquesne Incline is in the Mt. Washington area of Pittsburgh, and that's where I spent my high school years. In fact, that incline is just steps away from the church I attended. While searching, I discovered that USA Weekend named the night view of downtown Pittsburgh from Mt. Washington as #2 of the top 10 most beautiful places in America. I have to agree. In fact, when I married my first husband, I wanted to get married on one of the observation decks in the early evening with downtown Pittsburgh as the backdrop for our pictures. Alas, his mother thought that was the most stupid idea she had ever heard. She won, and if I had been a bit older and wiser, I would have realized that we never should have married. Not when his mother was going to win over important decisions. Oh well. New picture(s) coming soon. I also thought about including pictures of other places I've lived, but instead I'll probably create a special place just for those. A few years ago, I determined that I have lived in about 37 homes in 50+ years. I lived in Pittsburgh for the longest time - 21 years. But while there, I lived in the communities of Mt. Washington, Brentwood, Baldwin and Crafton. I lived in St. Louis, MO the shortest time - about 6 weeks, I think. I've also lived in Michigan (Jackson, Rapid City and Midland), Texas (Houston and Lake Jackson), and Florida (Ft. Lauderdale, Seminole, Largo, Belleair, and Lake Wales). Ooops. I just realized that my shortest time was actually at California State College (in California, PA) - 3 weeks. That's quite a story...******** At one time, I had relatives in about 40 of the 50 states, and one in Canada. That was back when my mother did monthly newsletters for the Mackenzie and Zitzman sides of our family. Everyone sent news to Mom and she did monthly newsletters for us. There were so many aunts, uncles and cousins on both sides of the family that writing to all of them was impossible. But writing to Mom/Sister/Aunt Ellen was something everyone could do - and did. She would type up the newletter, then run off to the local office supply store to copy pictures that everyone sent to be included. Many of the aunts and uncles sent money to her to help with copying and postage costs. She stopped doing the newsletters right about the time everyone got computers and started using emails. Unfortunately, none of us have kept up with news about relatives since. Some of us email a few relatives, but no one took up the task of writing a monthly newsletter. I miss knowing what all my relatives are doing. ******** A few weeks ago, I asked Budroe about the stastics for his blog - "Invalid Item" . I've been trying to help him promote his blog ever since I discovered it. A few days later, he informed me that 12% of the hits to his blog had come from mine. Today as I was checking my stats, I discovered that 6% of my hits have come from TexansBeatTheMiamiDolphinsBy3 's blog page and 5% from Bud's. Oddly enough, two hits came from a search someone (or two someones?) did at answers.com about Philippans (yes, misspelled!). Turns out I had misspelled Philippians in my entry on October 30. "Relationships" (When I'm through here, I'll change the spelling. Maybe I'll get even more hits with the right spelling.)*********** I warned you with the title to this entry that it would be a hodgepodge and so it has been. I still have not remembered the profound thought I had a few days ago. It may be lost forever. And that, my friends, is a message for us all. When you have a thought, do write it down. Bye for now. And God bless. |
| I still don't remember that profound thought that I should have immediately documented here. Actually, I did remember it yesterday for a brief time. But I had my hands full. I was sitting at the vet's office with kitty struggling to get out of my arms to explore. Once the vet visit was over with and kitty and I were settled in back home, I realized the thought was gone once more. Since it came back to me, though, I think this is one of those thoughts that will continue to bounce around until I capture it on paper (or computer screen). Budroe 's last blog entry mentioned a friend's theraputic cat. Like him, I was never a cat person. My grandmother (dad's side) was a lover of any and all animals. Her home always smelled horrible, and I came to learn that it was the cats that made it smell that way.My dad never liked cats, probably because his mother was so fond of them and there were always lots of smell-up-the-house cats around. He also told the story of visiting a friend's house and discovering their pet cat on the kitchen counter licking the human food that was about to be served. A friend once shared that a neighborhood cat used to lie in wait in a tree and pounced on kids as they got off the school bus. Never having cats around as a kid, I always thought of them this way. They licked human food before it could be consumed and they pounced on school kids. Besides, we always had dogs and puppies around. They're so much different than cats. You can own a dog. Dogs love you no matter what. Cats, on the other hand, own you. They can look at you quite critically, while your doggie friend is looking at you with adoring eyes. Then one day my ex and my son and I moved to "the country." We lived in a mobile home on an acre of land with a 30x50 barn and an above-ground pool. What a great place that was. Our lots were pie shaped, so that the mobile homes were fairly close together on the cul-de-sac. Our backyards contained most of our acre of land, and the only neighbor facing our backyards was a commercial orange grove. Of course we would end up raising dogs, cats, ducks and nursing sick squirrels there. I've already written about "Hissy Cat and Pretty Kitty" - two wild cats that ended up at our place. I've also written about "Daddy Guard Duck & the Rest of the Gang" and "Spike The Wonder Dog" . Someday, I'll have to add the story of the squirrels we raised.When my son and I left Florida and his dad, we went to Texas. My sister and her family had eight acres with plenty of horses, one dog and two barn cats. Then something strange started happening. Somehow, cats and kittens appeared at their front gate. My sister took them to the vets to be fixed and they stayed. A few cats died, but by the time they moved to Michigan they must have had about eight or nine cats. All that interaction with kittens and cats changed my mind about them. A bit anyway. I still think/know that they own their humans. But I realize now that there is more to them than just getting on kitchen tables and counters. Waiting in trees to pounce on kids. Jim and I inherited a cat from his dad when the elder Jim moved from a big house to an apartment with his girlfriend. (Funny thing to talk about a guy's girlfriend, when the guy is in his 80's.) Piewacket is somewhat typical and somewhat not so typical of a cat. She's certainly not very graceful. When she jumps down from the windowsill, her feet loudly thump on the floor. And, while she's probably about 4 or 5 years old, she only started playing about six months ago. In fact, it's because she got so playful that we decided to get a kitty. Opera (who everyone calls Oprah) came home with us from a no-kill shelter just a few days before Christmas. We thought she was 10 months old, but it turns out she's only 5 months. That explains why she's still such a baby. She is! The Christmas tree, of course, was pretty attractive to this kitty. Since I've had animals before, and since Pi was attracted to the tree last year, I was smart enough to put unbreakable ornaments on the bottom of the tree. Good thing. Opera knocked off most of the ornaments at the bottom of the tree and knocked them around the house. She's a cutey. When I yell at her or tell her, "NO!" she curls up in my lap and starts her purring machine going really loudly, while looking at me with such innocent eyes. She figures she's pretty irresistible when she's that cute, and she's right. She waits until I've forgotten why I tried discliplining her, then she repeats whatever it was she did the first time. I've tried explaining to her that the loud purring isn't really getting to me. But she knows that's just not true. Yesterday, the vet said I was right to be concerned about her. She is rather skinny with a distended tummy. They did $99.50 in tests yesterday, and I'm still waiting for the results. Of course, we still have to get a stool sample, but I think Incurable Romantic is going to have to help with that task. Our cats share a litter box and somehow we have to snatch up some poop right after kitty uses the box. Doesn't that sound like a pleasant task?Animals. Gotta love 'em. |
| Last night, I thought of something that would make a good blog entry. At the time, I thought it was rather important. But since I had already made an entry for the day, and since I have not been making daily entries, I thought I'd hold off until today to make that "important" entry. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I've totally forgotten what was so important last night. Sigh. Fibro fog? Or just getting old? Or a combination of both? Grrrrrrr. Oh well. Perhaps as I think and write last night's revelation will return. Right. Anyway. Onward and upward. A few days ago I got an email newsletter that I usually delete. It's one of those things that I really don't know why I receive it or how I got on the mailing list. Heck, it's got some pretty technical internet stuff in it and I'm just not that technical. But this last one had an interesting link in it. Originally, I think this article appeared in some computer magazine that doesn't even exist anymore. But someone discovered this and posted it. It's a list of the best and worst of 1994 and predictions for 1995. Remember...this was back in the days of Usernet. Before my (computer) time. I got my first computer in 1999. And I'm still using it!Here's the link: http://www.neonshop.com/bio/iw/bwv6n1.htm What made me chuckle was this quote: "The organization of the World-Wide Web. I love the Web, but finding something specific on it is a nightmare. And because the Web is growing by leaps and bounds, I just don't see things getting easier anytime soon." And this prediction: "The Information Superhighway as delivered via set-top boxes will die forever; a good idea gone awry (gone the way of Betamax); unless someone figures out what people really want, such as the ability to search reference works, participate in distance learning, search the holdings at the local library, and practice electronic democracy." *********** I also got some "cute" forwards in the past week or so from an internet friend who is the king of forwards. He sends so many that I usually don't have the time to look at them all. Two this past week caught my attention, though.One was a reminder that too many of us put off living until later. We say, "When the kids grow up, I'm going to do such and such." Or, "things will be better when...(fill in the blank)." Or, "When I get that promotion I'll have more money to...(fill in the blank)." The email was a reminder that today's journey is just as important (and maybe moreso) than that future better time that may never come. The other was a slide presentation with music that took a while to deliver the whole message - that life is like a train ride. One never knows who will sit beside us or for how long. Sometimes we forget to watch the scenery. Sometimes we sleep through parts of the trip. Some other passengers get on and off much too quickly for us to ever get to know them. Others stay for a while and become our friends. Sometimes those friends choose to sit in another car, but it's okay for us to seek them out. And sometimes when we do seek them out we discover that someone else is sitting next to them. Our train ride always comes to an end eventually, but it's important that we enjoy it while we can. Both of those were messages that were good ones for this time of year. Here we are in a brand new year. We have many choices in how this new year plays out. There are also some circumstances over which we have no control or choice. But we do have a choice in how we react to life as it unfolds. *********** Hmmmmm. I still haven't remembered what was so important last night. I have learned a lesson, though. Next time I think of something profound, I'll make sure I document it immediately. Now...if I can just remember that... |
| Okay. It's been days and days since I posted anything. I went from barfing to having a sore throat to coughing and coughing and coughing. I think we're on the home stretch on this cold or whatever it was. Finally. Things have been tough. Allison, my son's former girlfriend, drove in from Memphis to pick up the rest of her things here and to deliver some of my son's things. Having her leave was sad. My son still loves her but says he's not in love with her. He still considers her his best friend, but she's really not handling this well. Neither am I, frankly. I really love Allison. Derek is dating someone else now. I like Laura too. It just takes some getting used to the idea that Derek and Allison aren't getting married. After Allison arrived back in Memphis, her dog disappeared as she and her mom were unloading the car. I still haven't heard whether or not they ever found him. I surely hope so. Allison has had Bone since she was about 14, I think. That's 7 years! Losing both your boyfriend and your dog cannot be an easy thing. I also heard that the dad of one of her lifelong friends was in ICU when she got back to Memphis. And she's supposed to be starting a new job today. What a mess. When it rains, it pours? My son's job may be in at risk. He works the night shift at our local Target and it seems that having a new super Wal-Mart just down the road has affected business there. I guess if things don't pick up his 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. shift will be cut. Instead, they'll be offering him a shift starting at 3 a.m. Since he's still not driving and I'm his ride to work, that's not going to work at all. He tried a shift for a while that started at 5 a.m. That would certainly be better... Meanwhile, once winter is over with, my son really does need to learn to drive. The kitty we got just a few days before Christmas has me worried. Opera eats all the time, but she's all skin and bones. I think a visit to the vet is in order. I just hope it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. (I keep thinking back to when I was a single mom in Texas. My son and I could see our family doctor for $65, but every time we took our dog to the vet the bill was always over $100, often closer to $200. I wonder why that is?) Having the kitty around has been good for our cat. It used to be that around 3 a.m. Piewacket would realize that Jim and I were sound asleep and she was in the living room all alone. She would start to meow and howl as only a cat can do. Jim would meow back at her, telling her to join us in the bedroom. And that would go on until she gave up and came to bed. Now, she chases the kitty around the house at 3 a.m. Lucky for me I sleep rather soundly. |
| ....such a whiner???? This cold or virus or whatever they think I have has really taken its toll on me - and my ability to "always look on the bright side of life" (whistle, whistle, whistle). I'm about to remove my contact lenses and go back to sleep. At least when I'm sleeping, I don't feel the pains. And if I sit up in the recliner I won't be coughing too much and waking myself up. So...off I go. After two hours sleep, the world looks better. I was reminded of a sales seminar I attended years ago. The speaker said that when he was asked, "How are you?" his response was always, "Unbelievable!" What a cool answer. It could have a good meaning or a bad one. I used a response myself for years. Still do sometimes. When asked, "How are you?" I resond, "Just peachy." |
| I've always been quite a talker. And ever since I could write, I've been doing that almost as much as the talking. So? Right now I can't do much talking. I have a horrible sore throat (more about that later). And talking is pretty much out of the question, since it hurts soooooooooo bad. What I wonder is this. Is the fact that I can't talk affecting whether or not I can write as well? I haven't had much of a desire to write ever since I had to stop using my voice. Hmmm. Or is it just all the drugs I'm taking that makes me not want to write? Good question. Anyway, in my last post I said that I was barfing. Boy did I. Eight times in eight hours. I had a sore throat before all that started, and bringing up all that stomach acid just made my throat raw. Or so I figured. Yesterday about 1 p.m. I lost my voice. And the pain in my throat increased bunches. I tried getting in to see my doctor - or any doctor in her group - but they were busy. So last night after hubby got home from work, he took me to the emergency room. Turns out it's not bacterial. That can be good or bad, depending on how you look at things. If it had been bacterial, I could have taken antibiotics and gotten rid of the sore throat. Since it's viral, they can only treat the symptoms. So I'm taking a killer pain pill to get rid of the throat pain. Gargling salt water. And using throat spray. It still hurts like crazy, but my voice is gradually coming back. I just don't want to talk because it hurts my vocal chords. The good thing is that this pain pill has actually almost taken away all the other pains - in my knees, back, legs, shoulders, etc. Almost. And it's half-way working on the sore throat. It's driving me nuts not to be able to talk and sing and whistle, though. Grrrrrr. Again. |
| Last week, one of my docs decided to change some of my meds and decided that I should be taking Omega 3 fatty oils, folic acid and vitamin B12. I finally got all the prescriptions filled a few days ago and am now taking all of the new meds. I don't know if one or more of them doesn't agree with me. Or if my sensitivity to any drugs has kicked in today, even though I take something for nausea every day. Or if maybe it's just my pain pill that's fighting me today. The manufacturers of my pain pill were rather smart; they put something right in the pill that will make you sick if you take too many. Unfortunately for me with my drug sensitivity, sometimes one is too many. Or maybe I'm getting the flu, since I missed getting my free flu shot at hubby's workplace...because I wasn't feeling wonderful enough to drive the 30 miles that day. Whatever it is, I'm going to have to rest today. I'm hoping that if I cuddle up under the covers I'll stop tossing my cookes. (There really shouldn't be anyting left after four episodes already this morning. Next will be dry heaves.) |
| When Gerald Ford became Vice President, I was 21 years old. When he became President, I was 22. I remember how the media and comedians made fun of him when he slipped on the stairs of Airforce One. I remember them making fun of him when he goofed up playing golf. I didn't remember that he had been a star athlete. Perhaps I never really knew. I remember that he pardoned Nixon. How could I forget that, since it caused such an uproar. Last night as I listened to why he did that, it made sense to me. He wanted the chance for the country to go on to other things and for himself to do Presidential things. What surprised me this morning, though, was that first speech Gerald Ford made after becoming President. I don't remember that at all. He said he wanted to be the President for everyone - black and white, rich and poor, feminist and male chauvinist, Christian, Jew and atheist. Then he said, "If there are any atheists left after what we've been through." And then he asked for the prayers of his countrymen. I really don't remember that at all. But I think it's because those words, the asking of everyone's prayers was not an unusual thing back then. Yes, prayers had been taken out of schools. But still most people attended some kind of worship service. President Ford knew that most folks believed in God and prayed. Today, folks get angry at President Bush for invoking the name of God or for quoting Scripture. But in the 70's that was not something that made folks angry. It was a normal part of every day life, even (or especially) in the life of our President. Somewhere between 1974 and today, politicians have either stopped going to church or started doing so secretly - in case it might offend their constituents. I'm sorry, President Ford, that I didn't remember any of that first speech you gave as President. But I won't forget it now. Now it stands out because it's something different. Something not everyone would be brave enough to say or ask. Last night and this morning, the news media and people who knew you best talked about what a nice man you were and how you were able to help our country heal. I'm certain that your faith was instrumental in that. I wish I had heard that speech when you made it so many years ago. But I'm glad I heard it now. Rest in peace, Gerald Ford. |
| Merry Christmas! We exchanged gifts yesterday. Incurable Romantic 's daughter, Tiffany, was with us for the weekend, but she had to head on home on Sunday afternoon. On Saturday, we visited a no-kill animal shelter and selected a kitty who is about 10 months old. Her name is Opera, but Tiff and my son think that Oprah sounds better. She surely is full of energy. We thought that since our other cat (about 4 or 5 years old) had started acting playful and "kitten-y" the past few weeks that she would welcome some younger company. Not yet. Right now she's practicing hissing. I guess only time will tell if they'll become friends or just learn to tolerate each other. Today the kitten has been responding to the hissing with her own little growl. On Sunday, Jim, Tiff and I attended church together. Then we ate and opened packages. Soon it was time for Tiff to go home. Our weekends with her just seem so short. Sunday evening we went to our Christmas Eve service. Jim played his cello in two of the songs. Bless his heart. He hasn't played in probably 40 years, but he did well. A bit of stage fright, probably. And I'm betting if he's going to participate often in the praise team, he might just need a pair of trifocals. I think the music is just out of range for either the distance or close-up part of his bifocals. Today the weather is cold and rainy. That's not exactly what you expect from Christmas in Ohio. But we're not alone in strange weather. My sister - the one in northern Michigan - informed me that this was the first year since she's been there (over 20 years) that they didn't have a white Christmas. The rain and gloomy sky made me quite tired this afternoon, and I fell asleep while watching TV with hubby. We were watching a show on HGTV about Christmas celebrations and decorations in the warmer parts of the U.S. It brought back fond memories of how we tried to make Christmas more festive when I lived in Texas and Florida...and the December 25 temperatures were in the 70's. Most of the lights and yard decorations were rather tacky. At least I thought so. And that's probably why I fell asleep in the chair with the new purring machine on my lap. I decided to check my emails and see if anything exciting was happening here at WDC. In doing that, I ran across a website: http://www.unitedstatesartists.org They quoted a study by Urban Institute, Investing in Creativity: A Study of the Support Structure for U.S. Artists (2003), and Rand Research in the Arts, Gifts of the Muse: Reframing the Debate about the Benefits of the Arts (2004). What I found interesting - and most likely true from my experiences of having people tell me that one cannot make a living out of painting, sculpting, or writing - was that 96% of Americans said they were inspired by and highly valued art in their lives and communities. Oddly, though, Americans do not value the artists. Only 27% believed that artists contribute "a lot" to the good of society. That is strange, indeed. Our fellow citizens value art, but not the act of creating that art. Here's a quote from the web page referenced above: "Further interview data from the study reflects a strong sentiment in the cultural community that society does not value art-making as legitimate work worthy of compensation. Many perceive the making of art as a frivolous or recreational pursuit." I guess I shouldn't be surprised by these statistics. After all, supposedly over 85% of Americans believe in God. But many of them don't want anyone talking about it. |
| Mary Crowley was the founder of a home party plan called Home Interiors. I never worked for Home Interiors, but I did work in the home party business for many years. I purchased many of Mary Crowley's books because she was a wise woman, in both life matters and business matters. And she was a devout Christian. In my files, I have quite a few of Mary Crowley's quotations. Here's one of my favorites: "Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He's going to be up all night anyway." She also said, "Life is an echo. What you sent out comes back. What you sow, you reap. What you give, you get. What you see in others exists in you. You treat people exactly like you see them. And, "I love God's mathematics. Joy adds and multiples as you divide it with others." For some reason, I've been going through some of the quotes I've collected over the past few years. That usually means that I'll be writing something about some of them later. For now, I'm just reviewing them.Andrew Carnegie: A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm. John Greenleaf Whittier: The joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you. Ralph Waldo Emerson: It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. H. W. Arnold: The worst bankrupt in the world is the person who has lost his enthusiasm. Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. J. Carl Humphrey: The potential for greatness lies within each of us. It is simply our best. A man who can peacefully lay his head upon his pillow of rest each night, thankful to God for the blessings of the day, secure in the knowledge that he has given his best to all he has done, is great. Ziz Ziglar: You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough people get what they want. Charles Dickens: No one is useless in the world who lightens the burden of another. Goethe: Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the world will be clean. Psalm 118:34: This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. I wonder why I had to stop and read these quotations today, especially when I should be working make the house look like Christmas is almost here. I guess we'll find out... |
| A few folks have asked me about some previous posts. 1) My smashed thumb still isn't healed, no. And the nail still has not dropped off. It finally feels loose, though. So perhaps soon. 2) The boo-boo on my hand (Dec. 7 post, I think) has finally scabbed over. Took a while. 3) Yes, I'm still gaining weight. On one doc appointment last week, I discovered I weigh more now than I have since I was pregnant 23 years ago. I weigh more than I did when I had such horrible reactions to the pain management/injections for my back years ago. (Except then my face was so swelled up I looked like a pumpkin.) The good news, though, is that yesterday one of my docs informed me that one of the meds I take causes weight gain. He's weaning me off that to see if it helps. Hopefully. None of my clothes fit! That med is one that hubbo takes too, so that could be why his weight loss stalled. If I don't seem as "sunny" as I usually am, I think it's partially because I've been struggling with the fact that my son and his girlfriend have broken up. My son was the one who decided that they should see other people and become more healthy and whole apart before finding out if they should continue with a lifetime commitment. I understand that. He is only 22 and she's 21. But she's hurting and talking to me about her pain. And I'm in the middle, understanding both of their struggles and pain. And I'm feeling my own pain. I love Allison like a daughter. Hopefully, no matter what happens with them, Allison and I will be able to continue as friends. Derek and Allison met online about eight years ago. They helped each other through some tough times. They finally met in person while Derek and I were still in Texas. He took her to her prom. They really hit if off, after corresponding online for so many years. Then, they were forced into a living together situation. The relationship I was in was a nightmare, and I felt trapped. I called one of my sisters to rescue me, and Derek didn't want to move to Michigan. He also wasn't prepared to live alone in Texas. So he went to live with Allison and her mother in Memphis. And due to other family circumstances, I ended up in a women's shelter in Michigan, then lived with my elderly parents for a while. When Jim and I married, Allison and Derek moved in with us in Cincinnati. She didn't like it here and after a year, moved back to Memphis. They still had plans for both of them to end up together in Memphis. Then Derek dropped the bomb a few weeks ago that he wanted to break up. I guess I feel guilty about the way things happened. Perhaps if I had not been forced to leave Texas when I was, their relationship could have developed differently. Or maybe if I had tried harder to help her get to know and like Cincinnati when she was here, she might not have left. In any case, I miss having her around here. Last year was such fun at Thanksgiving and Christmas. We shared a kitchen without fussing and fighting like some women do. I haven't even put a Christmas tree up yet. And Jim and I haven't done any Christmas shopping. (That's a money issue.) I've never been one to go out the few days before Christmas to shop. I always had my shopping done by mid-October at the latest. I guess I'd better get off here and finish cleaning up the house so I can get that tree up. And tomorrow Incurable Romantic plans on taking the day off. He does need to practice playing the cello for the Christmas Eve service at church. But, hopefully, we're going to get all of our shopping done in one quick trip. Remind me not to let things go like this next year! |
| On Sunday, our pastor spoke about Mary. He said something about how perhaps the Catholics talk a bit too much about Mary's role and the Protestants don't speak about it enough. That's probably true. As part of Pastor John's sermon, he showed some clips about a teen girl discovering she was pregnant. He reminded us that Mary was that young, and that being with child without a husband at that time and in that culture was not good. She could have been stoned to death. And yet her faith in God was strong enough to be courageous about this. Today I read a devotional about submitting to God's will. The writer said, "When it gets right down to it, when I initially said, "Your will, Lord, not mine," what I really meant was, "Your will, not mine, as long as Your will is the same as mine and it doesn't involve hardship or suffering!" To see the whole devotional: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/chronicpaindevotional/message/3008 Boy that statement hit home. It's easy to say we want God's will and not our own. It's also easy to say, "Wait! This isn't what I had in mind when I said that!" Our pastor's sermon had four key points about faith: 1) It is not age dependent. 2) If you choose to walk by faith you will never be alone, but will probably be favored. 3) Faith requires a little courage on our part. 4) Faith means that worry can be replaced by worship. That last one requires some emphasis and reflection. If we drop those worries at the Lord's feet, we can freely worship. We can freely minister to others. We can go on, knowing that God is taking care of everything. Our problems come when we give our troubles to Him and then try to snatch them back again. |
| A few days ago, I was wondering what happened to someone who I had "met" here about a year ago. I was one of the first to welcome this newbie when he arrived. He read and reviewed a bunch of my port, and I read the few items he posted. Every once in a while, one of us would contact the other just to check in. About a month ago, I started trying to find this writer, but the problem was that I completely forgot his handle or user name. Finally, I decided to sit down and go through some of my old correspondence to see if I could figure out how to find him. Today, I finally found a few emails we had exchanged back and forth. But I also discovered that his WDC email address is no longer a working one and there are no writings posted by this writer. I feel badly that I didn't keep in closer contact with this writer. I wonder if all is well. I wonder if he felt that he was spending too much time here and just had to leave. I'm pretty sure that the membership costs were not a problem for him. And as I sat here thinking about my five years at WDC, I realized that so many with whom I shared brief Internet friendships have come and gone, often without even glancing back or waving good-bye. Perhaps that's one thing that I have against these computer generated friendships. They're easily established. But they're also easily severed. At least if your next door neighbor is moving, someone in the neighborhood will probably see the moving van or U-Haul truck being packed. Unless it's the middle of the night and they don't disturb the dogs. But here in cyberspace, people often just silently slip away. |
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