Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Good morning. I got home last night. After my weeklong class ended on Friday, I was so enthused about the experience that I signed up for the weekend class. I drove home yesterday.

Both the writing workshops were intense, all-consuming. For seven days I did nothing but try to be present for that experience. I did much writing, and some of it was good. I met lovely people -- two excellent teachers and students. And I read and heard strong, strong writing by others.

Today I'm knackered. Will chime in later.

Ann

P.S. I also had dinner one night with one of Shel's best friends (who lives in Iowa City). Shel, thank you so much for introducing us. She is wonderful!

So glad it was a great experience, Ann!!

Good to hear from you Anne. It's not surprising that someone Shel chooses as a best friend would be good people.

Today is a perfect weather day. Summer had a cold and rainy start. Days like this make it easy to forget that the weather is ever problematic. Sunshine induced amnesia.

Today starts with an MRI. My wrist injury from the fall I took early June is not getting better. I saw an orthopedist yesterday, and he said it's possible there is a break or fracture in a small bone that is deep in my wrist that x rays can't always show. Hopefully not. If there is no break, I'll start hand therapy. If there is a break, probably will need to see another specialist.

We leave for Ireland in two weeks!

Quote: Listen, today we are gods! Our blue shadows are enormous. We move in a gigantic, joyous world.

~ Vladimir Nabokov

Hey Diamond, Hope your wrist can be helped. As a veteran of lots of hand PT I can tell you it helps. And I sure hope you can be healed without a surgery. Alternating hot/cold soaks can help. Ditto paraffin dips. Diane S

Since good laughs are the best medicine, I see your ostrich pimple boots (Shel was that you that posted those?) and raise you boot thongs:

What on earth is the purpose of these!!? Can you imagine the product design meeting? There's a market out there for people who like boots, but their feet get too hot. I know, we can ....

HIDEOUS! I can't even laugh!

I've seen these (thankfully, not in the real world). What a hoot! Total contradiction in function--sandals to keep the tootsies cool, Leather up to the calves to keep your legs warm, as well as protect from snake bites, which returns me to the open toed opportunity for said snakes. I wonder if Shirl would recommend these? PS- toes in sandals need a bit of summertime color and polish.

OMG! I love boots and thongs but these???

145.8

I return from whatever closet ...

Ann, what a perfectly lovely and creative time you?ve had. The best are those experiences that kindle a desire to carry on with the activity. I see much writing in your future. You have so much to say; carry on!

Interesting thoughts mulled over and discussed yesterday. I think all of us being some years out of WLS have and are experiencing changes, regressions, battle fatigue, experimentation, frustration, challenges, you name it...regarding food, sleeves, body chemistry...

Well, maybe it is the natural way of the world- Evolution.

Rocks and nonliving things pretty much stay the same. Living things change and adapt to what comes to us in time- hopefully retaining what is profitable and discarding that which is not- or worse- harmful to us. We are constantly searching to find who we are and how best live our lives only to wake up to a new day and a new self. We are an action verb?-not merely a finished noun.

Re. sleeve stretching and capacity- I, too, have an appropriately tight sleeve when eating any and all good (for me) foods. That given, I also have an UNLIMITED capacity for all crap foods. For example, given time, I can eat an entire box of crackers (1#!) and a pound of nuts or half a jar of peanut butter in a day. I don?t even want to think of how much bread, pasta or mashed potatoes....

I don?t think my sleeve size has changed so much (in fact I lost some additional stomach due to the Whipple) as has WHAT I may choose to put into it.

I was a voracious sf soda drinker before WLS- had to have it. If I measured all the sf soda in the 6 years since it would amount to about 6 ounces. I have, however, increased intake of flavored water- try to stick with truvia based sweetener. Could just be a matter of apples vs apples without the carbonation.

Today I?m working on the assumption that I am not totally broken. I may be dealing with some ongoing collateral damage, but that?s all part of the privilege that comes with waking up alive, So today I ?carry on? being grateful that I can.