Friday, August 2, 2019

Wishing you healing as you process your grief. Many, many hugs.

Me too.

Cecily we are in the same weather pattern. It's glorious.

My MRI results show fractures deep in my hand and wrist. All the ligaments and tendons are in place, so they are holding the bones where they should be. The bones just need to grow back together. To that end, the orthopedic doctor said he wished urgent care had referred me because he would have casted it and it would probably be healed now. Instead, a new removal splint (taken off for bathing only) and no lifting anything heavier than a coffee cup. One of my friends was quick to ask, you can still lift a wine glass then? DH and DS will be handling my bag for me in Ireland (I only ever intended to bring a carry on) and DS has volunteered to make dinner so I'm not tempted to lift heavy things with my right hand. He says we will be impressed tonight. So it's not all bad!

Today's fun: DH is off today, so we had breakfast on our deck. He made homemade hashbrowns. In a little bit we are going to the lake. DH will kayak, and I'm wondering if swimming counts as bathing, thereby justifying removing the splint for a dip in the lake.

Quote: Be happy. It's one way of being wise. ~ Colette, writer

Greetings Special Tribe

I weighed today but am not going to post. Instead I am raising a cup of fabulous coffee in tribute to our dear friend Shel. I so love the image of her at peace on a spectacular summit. Our tribe needs to heal for awhile. Its so amazing how little 6 pound babies can grow up to be persons of such depth, talent, intelligence, grace and wisdom. Life is magic.

We are also having lovely weather. A bit overcast but cool and slightly breezy. DH is wearing shorts! I don't own any. Cecily your photos make me want to go take a walk in our marsh - the Arcata Marsh and bird sanctuary. Thanks for posting. What a great boardwalk. Just the right distance for recreational strollers.

I will do my strolling today in Kmart and from parking to the gallery for afternoon duty. Sales really picked up last month (thanks to one guy who sells very expensive but wonderful stuff). We have a new applicant who is a ceramics professor at the university here and I am excited about that.

Liz I expect you are the catalyst for your whole family and have a gift for organizing and planning fun. So the others depend on you. You know this. I so LOVE the Shel tribute you framed. I might do the same thing.

DD glad you don't need a hand surgery. Take the doctors instructions seriously and rest that hand. I blew off some of my hand doctors instructions and paid a price. Get some moleskin if the brace has parts that hurt.

Maybe more later. Feeling sort of empty at the moment. Diane S

I'm doing just as the doctor ordered. They put a more comfortable and sturdy brace on me yesterday. What to do so I could swim? I brought my old brace with me and wore it in the water. One if by land, and one if by sea. :) And what a satisfying, glorious swim it was. Makes me so happy.

Good Morning All x Starting by saying our love our tribe too x Very thankful to be part of such a wonderful group

Little sleep in this morning which is rare as I had the house to myself. DH and Puppies left for the farm last night. I stayed home as my mum is coming tonight - we leave to go on holiday tommorrow. DS and his partner are taking her out to lunch as an early birthday gift so I will just steam some dumplings for dinner I think.

Hoping to get a lot done today around here. Pressure wash the chook house out and refresh the sawdust and hay. Shopping. Want to make some peach pies plus spinach and ricotta cups for the freezer for mum and DS while we are away. There will likely be mowing if the grass drys enough - more rain overnight. For fun I might take myself off to my favourite op shop which has a cafe for lunch and a latte then a potter thru their offerings

Cec - Gorgeous pics, so peaceful and serene - I would have sat closed eyes and soaked in the sounds then opened eyes and taken it all in - bliss

Diane O - Thank for the decal x I agree she will find ways to show us shes still around and its comforting thinking of her at such peace with no struggle or pain. The selfish part of me wanted her to stay but I know she will have chosen when she was ready. Peace darling Shel x I keep seeing ads for stranger things on Netflix. Thats what she was binge watching around the the 4th July.

Liz - The Photo Frame is just stunning. With your permission I might copy? I have a wall space above my desk here which is empty.

Ann - Thankful to hear your voice x You have been on my mind a lot. Here for you and may memories bring a smile to your face through the tears x Shes with you

Diamond - Sorry to hear about your hand. Take it very easy and allow the boys to do all the lifting etc so you can enjoy your upcoming trip

Diane S - Enjoy Gallery Duty - glad you are getting more applications for the gallery :)

Peps, Leap, Miss and anyone else I missed - Hello

I best get moving. Feel very flat

Shirley

Weight stable at 262

Morning: Hearing test, stopped by school to work on a few things, training session.

Went home to make lunch and then it was off to get my glasses adjusted (again), back to the post office for the mail they didn't give me yesterday when I went to the main post office to pick up my held mail (sigh), and am home again. Forgot to get to the bank, but that's okay.

Today's hearing test confirmed my reasoning for requesting the test. I have mild hearing loss. Sigh... it was inevitable. Hearing loss runs both on my mother's side and father's side of the family. So, I come by it naturally. My brother has hearing loss, too, but he has yet to see an audiologist or MD about it. Next step will be a consultation about hearing aids and whether at this point they are the right choice for me. I am leaning to at least trying them. (In CA the law provides that patients are allowed 6 full weeks of hearing aid trial with no financial obligation.) I miss a lot of conversation when there is background noise and the voices of young girls can be difficult for me to understand sometimes. I tell my students over and over, "Remember, I have old ears! You need to speak clearly." I will do a bit of research as I like to do in cases such as this. Another reason I am leaning toward trying the hearing aids is that it has been shown through MRI scans of the brain that people with hearing loss rely on the visual and cognitive cortexes to compensate for the hearing loss. The use of the cognitive part of the brain for hearing takes away the reserved space for actual thought. I don't like the idea of using my cognitive abilities to hear instead of to think. My aunt refused hearing aids and slipped into an isolated world, without conversation or television, and eventually a world of dementia. Early treatment can arrest the continued loss of word recognition. There is continuing research that links hearing loss and dementia. So, early detection and treatment seem to be the way to go. I will just have to accept that this is simply my lot and there is a means to treat it and do my level best not to worry about what others might think seeing me with hearing aids at my oh-so-YOUNG age.

Thought about Shel today and ended up getting angry, so I borrowed an ostrich from Shel's playbook. I have been angry about Shel's cancer from the get go.

Thank you Diane for the decal. It was in the mail I picked up from the post office. I have not yet decided if it will be affixed to Goat in some way or whether it will be on my computer cover where I will see it daily and be reminded of Shel's tenacity and strength.

Brag-able item: I use a monitor and an app called My Zone to track my exercise. In July (with a full 10 days of traveling NOT logging any exercise minutes) I logged 651 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise. My average physical exertion rate was 70% which is pretty good, IMO.

And that's it from me today.

My cousin (in his 50s) got up from the couch to go to bed one night a few years ago and his hearing went out in one ear. After much painful treatment that included shots into his ear (!) he went with hearing aids. I can't see them they are so small these days. Another friend is only 3 weeks older than me and has them. Again, very small and unnoticeable. But good gosh are they expensive!!

I have hearing aids. Took about 3 weeks to get used to them. I also have a devise that connects the hearing aids to my phone. The devise is about $300 and I have gone through 3 and the 4th one is starting to act up. In the shop and mowing I use Bose noise canceling headphones. They produce terrible feedback with the hearing aids. I try to wear them if I am going to be in a group. They help. If you have a Costco around you might check their pricing. It was the same brand as I have.

Ceci, beautiful pics.

Hard to wake up this morning. Odd for me. I slept part of the night without my CPAP so that may explain the dragginess.

Took my mom for orthopedic visit. They injected steroids to help with the inflammation.

The 3.5 hours of driving were quiet. No audio book. No music. Just quiet. I must have been deep in thought because I would lose my place in the travel. I revisited shel s pictures yesterday. Reread the posts from the last couple of days. Sadness flooded in. Feeling is a void today. Can not even imagine how her family is handling this.

My shop is a mess. It has wood working stuff, air conditioners, chairs and baby stuff. It has encroached on my floor space. I also brought my bed from the Searcy shop so I can set up a better post op setting than the Airstream. I will start making my nest in the morning because the end of the month is very soon. It will make me feel better to clean it all up.

Good nite all you strivers to maintain.