Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in freyaday's LiveJournal:

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Sunday, June 19th, 2005
10:13 am	RIP Freyaday 1965-2005 Freyaday lost her three-year battle with breast cancer this morning. Her passing was comfortable, at home, surrounded by family and friends. E1, E2 and I shall miss her greatly. Current Mood: Grieving (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 10th, 2005
10:25 am	Trip Back East We had a great time in Maryland this weekend. We went to the airport somewhat early, due to the horrid experience I had traveling with E1's wheelchair last time. A real deal: with my new handicapped parking tag, we got to park in under 4-hr garage, right by the door from baggage claim, for only $9/day, the regular price of the remote lot. Security was pretty easy and polite--E2's OshKosh overalls' snaps caused a hassle and Random got a good patdown all over for carrying her, but we, of course, got preboarded, so it wasn't too bad getting through. The kids were good on the plane. The car rental place had a paperwork glitch (gave us someone else's contract and was going to make us switch cars once we were all loaded up and the car seats installed), but we got it settled without the hassle of changing cars. We spent Friday night at my mother-in-law's huge, beautiful Federalist house in the Charles Village/Old Goucher neighborhood of downtown Baltimore. They've done some beautiful work on it, but it was disturbing to see the changes in the backyard. The Kentucky Coffee tree is gone, and while the walled garden in the back has more sun, it is just so different. The bamboo I planted in the late 80's is now about 2" in diameter and about 18-20 feet tall. Gorgeous. The walkway I cleaned by hand every spring from 1981-1991 is covered in grass and violets to the point where it's hard to see the bricks. The pear tree I planted is healthy and huge and bears dozens and dozens of beautiful pears every year. The fish pond was healthy and the fish beautiful. The Japanese maple on the brick patio is a tree now rather than a shrub. Random's mom and stepdad are doing well. Saturday morning we drove to southern Maryland, with my sister following us in her minivan, to my father-in-law's wonderful cabin in a private community on the Chesapeake Bay. We got there just in time for lunch. Random's little brother and wife and two kids were there, along with her father. This was a goodbye visit; Bro, wife, and kids are getting ready to ship out in the next few weeks to take up their diplomatic post in Guinea, Africa. Her dad also works for the State Department, and they couldn't stay all weekend because they had to get him on his plane the next day to go back to his diplomatic post in Malta. The kids had a great time on the beach. E1 did her usual strip-down, and she had a great time in the sand and waves. E2 wasn't sure about the water (too cold) but had a lot of fun running around and sitting on my sister's lap. Cousin L, a really rambunctious 4 yr old boy, played really well with E1. Grandpa J took each for long rides in the sea kayak, and they were even good about taking turns. Cousin A, four months older than E2, didn't want anything to do with the sea kayak, and neither did E2. Sand shovels and buckets were their choice. Because there were plenty of people to watch kids, Random got to go hunt sharks' teeth fossils, something the Cliffs area is known for. (Ask him sometime; he would love to show you the collection.) We went back to the cabin for dinner, and it was great: yummy salad and pasta. My girls ate like barbarians, but it's not something I worry about much. The other kids were much more neat about eating, and maybe I should work on mine more, but I am trying so hard not to over-pressure them. It doesn't bother me in the least for them to eat spaghetti with their hands at home, but in public and restaurants it's getting a little embarrassing. I finished eating before everyone else, so when the kids started getting restless, I took all four into the living room and got them to play games like "Ring Around the Rosy" and "London Bridge" and "Pop Goes the Weasel." I'm sure L. thinks of me as the weird 'Duck, Duck, Goose' aunt, but it's a game that he seems to love. My sister only got to stay for Saturday, but she really loved the cabin and the beach. She has a lot of money, but I don't think her family could buy in this exclusive community. This gated community only allows highly educated or world-class skilled persons to buy there. I have a hard time with gated communities in general, but the fact that this one has nothing to do with race, etc. makes me feel better about it. (However, of course, due to historical/economical forces, few minorities get advanced degrees, so maybe it's just a more discreet way to discriminate.) Random's family has been there a long time; my kids will be, I think, fourth generation members. I made my specialty Sat. afternoon: mint juleps. The diplomats all loved them and wondered if it could be done with Irish whiskey. We couldn't get decent reception to see the Derby; all we had was a fuzzy, snowy image with no sound from a tv station across the Bay--there were horses and one of them won and the juleps were good, so the tv was on for about three minutes total. Sunday morning was quiet. It was just my family and Random's father and stepmother. The bay was pretty rough. We had nice long walks anyway. More sunburn for me. The kids wouldn't take their naps, so we drove out to the supermarket for supplies. The kids were asleep before we got out to the main road. I got the supplies and I also got pizzas and baggo salad to make an easy dinner. I was tired and went to bed early with the kids; Random had some quality time with Dad. They apparently took the telescope out and watched Jupiter and its moons, just like when Random was a boy. I gave my sister a bracelet and a special thank you card, Random's stepmom a bracelet, and his mother a bracelet. The bracelets were nicely beaded and had a horse on them, i.e. Derby-ish. I didn't really get a physical thing for Mother's Day; this whole vacation was my present, especially lunch on Monday. On Monday morning there was a marvelous sunrise over the Bay. We had a last walk down on the beach --calm, cool, sunny, the Bay like a mirror--and I found a few sharks' teeth. We left to go to Baltimore around one, and we called ahead to tell Random's mom we wanted to have lunch in Little Italy, at Chiaparelli's, the place Random and I ate the day we were married. My sister drove down from Bel Air to join us (grabbed the check before Random's mom could, quite a feat). OMIGOD--the food...oh... there are no real Italian restaurants here in L'ville...every bite was an 'oh yes, that's what this is supposed to taste like'. My sister and Random's mom both ordered takeout for their husbands. I carried our leftovers onto the plane, terrified that Homeland Security was going to confiscate them. We went to the airport really early. It had been such a nightmare the last time at BWI that we missed our flight. Since my sister took E1's wheelchair to return it to the place we rented it from, we weren't going to have that, but we didn't want to take chances. Security was thorough but polite. I had to take off my flipflops and send them through the xray, and then they had to open my carry-on because, it seems, my pretty little compact had been sitting on its side and looked like a small knife. Yeah, right, whatever. He swabbed it and the machine said I was okay. Not too much of a delay, this time. We ended up waiting for our flight for over an hour and a half, but I'm still glad that we went early. We got in late Monday night. With the help of an airport wheel chair and a skycap with a cart, we got everything loaded up and then home rather quickly. The girls were glad to be home, and so were we. We had a great time, but we were all exhausted. I want to go back in late July or early August, when the Bay is warm and wonderful for swimming and more sea kayaking (but before the height of jellyfish season). (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, May 6th, 2005
5:05 pm	Weekend Trip We must now be real Louisvillians--we're leaving town for Derby Weekend! We'll be walking along the serene, beautiful Chesapeake Bay and eating at fine restaurants in the Balto/Wash area. We'll be back soon, bearing Utz potato chips, Tastee Cakes, and Berger cookies... but no crabcakes... (Comment on this)
5:03 pm	and one more thing... My mom has been gone almost a week. I really appreciated her help and don't know what I would have done without her. And maybe I'll figure out where she put my dishes in a few weeks. (Comment on this)
4:37 pm	lawyers, doctors, and idiots, oh my! Lots of good news: 1. E1's cast is off! Yay! She's walking a little, but she isn't bending her knee or ankle yet. Every day is a little better, though, and she'll be running and swimming soon. 2. The other side of my lawsuit gave their depositions this week. F*ing liars. My lawyer is going to make mincemeat of them. I give my deposition next week. (about as pleasant as eating raw unagi) 3. My xray from last week seems to have missed the fracture in my thoracic spine. New scans set for May 18 to see what's actually up. Let's hope a different radiologist reads this set, not that I need a dr. to tell me there's something wrong with it. 4. E2 is talking a lot; looks like the last surgery helped. New hearing test soon to make sure she's okay. 5. My name is now my name. My address is now my address. Lots of paperwork to convince the DMV that I am me. My driver's license now has the name I've used since 1988 rather than the ridiculous moniker my parents hung on me. (And Homeland Security might not hassle me so much at the airport now since all my IDs have the same name on them) 6. I now have, after a signature from a doctor and a notarizing by a lawyer, my handicapped parking tag from the DMV. It's going to make parking at UofL much easier, but it was a pain to get. Some bad news: *Poor Ziggy is going downhill more quickly than we'd like. *The cats need worming. *I think I need to go to the dentist. *E1 has a cold. *E2 has been in several fights at daycare and has bruises on her face. I don't know what the other kid looked like. *I have arthritis in my right hip and damage to the sacroiliac joint. But then I knew that. It was the doctors who needed some kind of confirmation. *The cable modem STILL isn't working. I'm doing this on dial-up.:( Anyway, I'm a little cranky right now. Lawyers and doctors and more doctors...and some hours at the DMV and fussing at the cable company on top of it all. Please don't tell me 'that's life' because if that's all there is to life, I'm really going to get depressed! Current Mood: cranky (Comment on this)
4:22 pm	at first I was mad/ now I'm amused This is dedicated to the Harper Valley Hag on the committee... (to the tune of 'Sing A Song') See, see my thong See its straps Rising strong Thongs are good things, not bad Thongs make me happy, you sad See, see my thong See it's simple And not so wrong Don't worry that I've had two kids in the last three years And I can still Wear a thong La la la la la etc. See, see my thong Riding high Black and long Don't worry that I am 40 and can still wear low-rise jeans And I wear Wear my thong La la la la la etc. See, see my thong See it's comfy And not so wrong Don't worry that I'm not Unitarian enough to teach youth group Cause you can see See my thong Current Mood: sarcastic, wryly amused Current Music: carpenters, of course (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 26th, 2005
3:47 pm	sad news re Ziggy It has been confirmed that Siegfried, our wonderful Rottweiler, has cancer in his leg bone. The growth will probably be showing outside the skin in 3-4 weeks, and his pain is going to increase steadily. The vet said that about a month from now is the time to let him go. I am very sad. He came into my life at a particularly bad time for me, and he has been a source of comfort, joy, and friendship since then. He has protected me; he has watched over me, following me from room to room, always. He ate dinner with me and slept on my bed in the long, cold weeks when Random was on tour with his band. From the beginning, when he graduated at the top of his class in obedience school, to being housebroken in about 3 days, to breaking his leash on the bank to come in and 'save me' when I was swimming out at Taylorsville lake, to howling at every fire engine to scare it away from his family, to traveling with me to Baltimore, to camping with me all over, to hiking in the backcountry with me, carrying all his own food in his special backpack and trying to frighten away the black bear, to breaking up cat fights in the back yard, to now, when he herds and protects poor E1 in her cast, physically inserting himself between her and anyone who is angry with her, yelling, or a stranger, he has been the most intelligent, loyal, and wonderful dog I've ever known, and it is going to really upset me to let him go. If you visit me any time in the next few weeks, be sure to slip Siegfried Wigglebutt, AKC registered pureblood and descendent of many champions, a few treats. If you have any memories of him you would like to share, feel free to post them here. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
3:37 pm	an OBOE? Random, don't tell your dad. And I played flute in high school. I have no idea why I scored so low for flute... Cello? That would be okay. Female cello players always look like they're, um, having fun. </td> Oboe 83% Cello 83% String Bass 75% Bassoon 75% French Horn 75% Trumpet 67% trombone 67% Violin 67% Tuba 58% Viola 50% Flute 42% Clarinet 25% Percussion 25% If you were in an orchestra, what instrument would match your personality? created with QuizFarm.com (Comment on this)
2:51 pm	grateful for the rainbow A few days ago I saw a tornado. I was driving east on Kentucky Street about a block from my house and saw it to the northeast of me. E1 was screaming, my mom and aunt were dealing with her, and no one in the car would listen to me when I said I saw it, so I wasn't sure that it was a funnel cloud. I thought maybe it was an optical illusion of a low black cloud outlined against a lighter-colored one. The hail was really heavy, and the wind and rain were really fierce at the time also. The tornado sirens were blaring and the radio stations all cut out. I had a panicked moment of wanting to drive south as fast as possible to get away from it, or stopping in the underpass by my house, but I went on to the house and we scrambled in, through the rain and hail and the river of water heading for the storm drain. CUUPs' unofficial crone called just as I came in the door and said to go to the basement. Mom and my kids went to the basement; I went to the tv on the second floor to get an update. One of the Wave 3 weather jocks said they had seen a tornado directly over their studio, which is about where I was looking, but they had failed to get it on tape. It was heading east, right toward where Random was working late on a special project, so my fears for him were justified. The hail/rain stopped (of course) just a few minutes after we got into the house. My mom and aunts sat on the porch watching a tremendous bright rainbow until it got dark about twenty or thirty minutes later. I watched tv, frustrated that nobody would say whether there had really been a tornado downtown, and worried for friends and friends' families in the areas the storm had moved to. I called Random on the phone as soon as the tornado sirens went off, thinking that he would be out of the basement there and back at his desk as soon as the all-clear was given. It turns out he was hiding out on the second floor trying to see something, but didn't. (He's a little jealous that I did). And now the Curious Journal has confirmed the touchdown and damage a few blocks east and north of my house, particularly near the Home of the Innocents, which is only a few short blocks away from where Random works. The last time I got caught in a tornado, I was driving back from teaching at Ft. Knox; that one hit out at Brooks/Pioneer village. I was on Dixie Hwy headed north toward Lville and was in its path right when it crossed the river. The wind, hail, and driving, flooding rain made it one of the scariest experiences I've ever been through, much, much worse than the one a few days ago. The Wave 3 dude said it looked like an F1 to him, but the Pioneer Village one was a lot stronger than that. Though I don't remember its exact number, I do remember it being on the ground for 7 miles and taking out lots of houses and putting the area under military rule for a few weeks. After I got out of that storm, I was driving through a beautiful, sunny day, and as I turned from Dixie Hwy onto the Snyder to head east to I-65N, I drove into the most beautiful double rainbow I have ever seen, both stretching horizon to horizon. This time, just like the first time I got in a tornado path, I was grateful for the rainbow. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 20th, 2005
11:49 am	E1 is miserable The poor thing is itching and has a heat rash under the cast. We keep putting in stuff to cushion the places where the cast rubs her skin, but, being a 3-yr old, she picks it out, so she is getting some bedsores. She was waking up screaming, but we figured out that it was the itching and that she couldn't turn over, so she's sleeping on a mat on the floor now. She's more comfortable on her belly because of the sores on her back. And, um, she, um, smells. She has been asking us to take the purple cast off. We keep saying "soon." Kids that age live in the eternal now. Grandma keeps saying 'next week,' and E1 nods and agrees, but has no idea what that means. We've also had a major setback in potty training. When asked 'did you pee-pee in your diaper,' she answers, 'Ellie has a purple cast!' It has been the excuse for a lot of things. "Did you hit your sister" "Ellie has a purple cast!" "Did you hurt the cat?" "Ellie has a purple cast!" "Did you throw your peas on the floor?" "Ellie has a purple cast!" "Did you get macaroni in your hair?" "Ellie has a purple cast!" "Would you like to talk to Grampa Joe on the phone?" "Ellie has a purple cast!" She demands "Milo and Otis" at least 2-3 times a day, and screams a horrid fit if we try to put on a different movie. And my little bookworm has decided books, puzzles, crayons, blocks, and magnadoodles are for throwing, not playing with (though since she's learned to scoot on the floor in her body cast, no one's purse is safe). If we tell her not to throw things, she, of course, answers "Ellie has a purple cast!" Grandma, who sort of works with the Forest Service in a remote area of WV, paces in the house like a caged cat. We've gone as many places as I can--thrift shopping, Buffalo Ranch, Huber's, Jefferson Forest's handicapped-accessible hiking trails, etc. etc. etc., but she is still not too fond of city life. She is taking E1 out in the stroller for long walks several times a day, and we have big plans for Thunder. Eight more days... (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, April 16th, 2005
6:29 pm	Earth Day/Falls of the Ohio Had a great time on a marvelously beautiful day. Thank you, Gypsy, for inviting us! Spring in this area is so beautiful. Years ago, when UofL asked me to come, I had my campus tour about this time of year, and Random and I just fell in love with the area. We left a cold, dirty city with snow on the ground and came here to this grandeur, with trees heavy with blossoms and the almost indecently sensual scent of crabapple, pear, cherry, plum, wisteria...of course we took UofL's offer over all the other schools'. No one told us, though we should have been smart enough to know for ourselves, is that these brief, beautiful weeks are the only time this place has even remotely pleasant weather. And a few weeks after Derby, the litter is all back, just like it had never been cleaned. Well, we're still here almost 14 years later, so we must like it here... or else the rest of the year's misery of heat and humidity or cold, dank, gray depression is just the price we pay for these weeks of wonder. I love to watch the turbulence of the water as it flows through the dam and across the rocks of the Falls. I saw kayakers and fishers today, playing at the edges or in the middle of the powerful chaos... a simultaneous urge to join them and a mental note that those people must be insane... Spring fever. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, April 14th, 2005
1:01 pm	An Opinion: Biology vs. Sociology--sex alluded to IMHO, one of the marks of intelligence is the ability to discern the difference between biology and sociology. For example: teen pregnancy. Biologically, there is little to no reason not to have children at 16 or so, when the hips are wide enough and the interest in sex is high. Sociologically, it's a disaster. Our economic system requires an artificially prolonged adolescence in order to have time to complete the education level required to be a self-supporting economic unit in our society. Confusing the two causes many problems. Teens, for example, have many sexual urges. These must be suppressed. The 'abstinence' movement can't seem to understand that they are fighting against biology. In the past, many females did not begin menstruation until 16-18 years of age. Today, probably due to better nutrition and the addition of Bovine Growth Hormone to the diet through commercial dairy products, the average age has dropped down to about 10. Yes, there are now 10 year old girls capable of child bearing. This is biology. These girls must be prevented from bearing children until they are about 22, i.e. until after college. At least 4-5 years of this is sociology, not biology. The apex of male sexual interest is supposedly at about age 19. This is biology. But they should not father children until they are out of college and able to get jobs to support the kids, i.e. at least 22. (The US Govt, btw, has a use for that pent-up energy; 18-21 year olds are especially needed for the current "rebuilding efforts" in Iraq...) This is sociology. So, how much of the outrage about teen sexuality is based on a fear of pregnancy occurring? Is the outrage against teen sex just that this society is largely Christian-based and therefore suspicious of anything pleasurable and outraged/paranoid that birth control is available and abortion is legal? Is there emotional trauma to the adolescents from the artificially prolonged adolescence? Has anyone ever thought about the epidemic of teen depression and suicide might be based in a suppression of normal biological urges? Is the economic benefit to society worth the emotional trauma to adolescents? Should "adulthood" be defined sociologically or biologically or an awkward compromise between the two? In an SF novel I've taught, the system was to inoculate all the teens against pregnancy and then *encouraging* them to 'experiment.' And the Ancient Greeks...maybe I shouldn't talk about their system. It involved encouragement of homosexuality through the teen years of education as prep for married life later. Here is an Ancient Greek argumentative form: the enthymeme. (Sloppier and more casual than the formal syllogism, an exploration more than a proof). 1. Morals are socially-constructed to meet the needs of the society in which they are created. 2. They are an attempt to make sociology triumph over biology. Ergo: Someone whose religious/spiritual beliefs honor Nature (biology) is going to be thought of as immoral by the general society. Any thoughts on helping a struggling intellectual type make sense of these issues? Current Music: "the birds and the bees/the flowers and the trees" (Comment on this)
12:02 pm	Things Stressed Women Say At Work THINGS STRESSED WOMEN SAY AT WORK 1. Okay, okay! I take it back. Unfuck you. 2. You say I'm a bitch like it's a bad thing. 3. Well this day was a total waste of make-up. 4. Well, aren't we a damn ray of sunshine? 5. Don't bother me, I'm living happily ever after. 6. Do I look like a people person? 7. This isn't an office. It's hell with fluorescent lighting. 8. I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left. 9. Therapy is expensive. Popping bubble wrap is cheap. You choose. 10. Why don't you try practicing random acts of intelligence and senseless acts of self-control? 11. I'm not crazy. I've been in a very bad mood for 40 years. 12. Sarcasm is just one more service I offer. 13. Do they ever shut up on your planet? 14. I'm not your type. I'm not inflatable. 15. Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't gone to sleep yet. 16. Back off!! You're standing in my aura. 17. Don't worry. I forgot your name too. 18. I work 45 hours a week to be this poor. 19. Not all men are annoying. Some are dead. 20. Wait...I'm trying to imagine you with a personality. 21. Chaos, panic and disorder ... my work here is done. 22. Ambivalent? Well, yes and no. 23. You look like shit. Is that the style now? 24. Earth is full. Go home. 25. Aw, did I step on your poor little itty bitty ego? 26. I'm not tense, just terribly, terribly alert. 27. A hard-on doesn't count as personal growth. 28. You are depriving some village of an idiot. 29. If assholes could fly, this place would be an airport. 30. For this, I went to college. 31. If you stop looking down my shirt, I'll stop laughing when I look at your crotch. 32. Yes, you are resistible. 33. I thought I wanted a career, turns out I just wanted a paycheck. 34. Behind every successful man are several women actually doing the work. 35. No, I'm not dizzy. It's just so disconcerting sometimes how the world revolves around me. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 13th, 2005
3:56 pm	taxes & gen'l bitching about paperwork 2003 is done and signed: Uncle Sam is going to give us about four much-needed grand (of our own money). The major holdup? Medical crap. Cancer, chemo, 5 surgeries, radiation, and a preemie baby in NICU...not a year I'd wish on anyone. A 3" ring binder of EOB's arranged chronologically by date of service. It was rather painful to look at where I was and what was being done to me. How the hell did I do it? I was working full-time June through Dec. during all this. I don't work now, and can't seem to get half as much done. The medical bills are all paid; I appealed many things and won, played hundreds of hours of phone tag over charges that ranged from $20 to $100. It seems that the really big charges just get paid and piddly ones just keep coming and coming. Eventually, you explode. You start making phone calls and asking bluntly, "Who the hell are you and why should I pay you $12?" And you get answers like, I was the asst surgeon and didn't come in until after you were asleep, so we've never really met... And my absolute favorite: Norton Hospital. It seems that you cannot call up and say, "My name is X and I want to discuss my bill." They don't do something as sane as put your bills under your name. Nope, each visit is catalogued under a new acct number that isn't connected to any of your other accts. So I had about 47 accts with them, each with a different number. And I had to call and get the date of service (not on the friggin bill) in order to collate the bill with my insurance company's Explanation of Benefits (which I usually call either the "Non-Explanation of Benefits" or the "Explanation of Non-Benefits, and on particularly bad ones, the "Non-Explanation of Non-Benefits"). Now to 2004. We've already collated my medical bills. Another 3" binder of EOB's for surgeries, chemo, zillions of xrays and CT's and MRI's and lab tests for hemoglobin, etc., and participation in a Pfizer clinical trial... OK, time to fess up. I stopped opening medical bills and EOB's about March of 04, throwing them all into a box unopened, and we had to open all of them, file them in chronological order, and then open all the bills that various companies have sent and match them with their EOB (see above). I think I've been sued by four companies, but I have developed an unofficial form letter for each of them. Boiled down to bare essence: Go Shit In Your Hat. We had an industrial-sized garbage bag full of envelopes and inserts and zillions of the 1-pg insert on "Your Right to Appeal." I put one in the binder and really didn't need the other 499. I made a neat stack of all the blank return envelopes. I'll use them for other things, like the car pymt. (5/3 is too cheap to include return envelopes with the pymt book). 2005's EOB's and medical bills are in a folder. (We opened them, but didn't file or collate them.) Maybe we'll deal with them by 2007, but I wouldn't bet on it. I don't think that we would have dealt with these, but the lawyer wants copies of our returns as part of my lawsuit against my former employer. Something about not wanting to be in contempt of court...otherwise, it would have been the sanity-saving form ltr... Current Mood: glassy-eyed Current Music: beatles--1 for you, 19 for me... (Comment on this)
3:52 pm	two...more...weeks... Well, we're back from the orthopedist: E1 is making bone and is healing well, but not well enough. Her cast can't come off until the 27th. :`( Current Mood: booboo boohoo (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 6th, 2005
1:31 pm	The (Almost) Winning Poem ORMSBY TRIPTYCH ( Read more... ) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
1:26 pm	2nd Place/Metroversity Writing Competition Email Just Received: I'm happy to inform you that your poem "Ormsby Triptych" has been awarded second place in your category in the Metroversity Writing Competition. You are invited to receive your award and read your winning poem at the award ceremony on Sunday, April 17, from 2:00 until about 4:00 on the JCC downtown campus. (It's in the Hartford Building, corner First and Gray, in the lower level.) Please invite family and friends to join you in this celebration of writing. Would you please let me know if you plan to attend -- and (if possible) how many guests may be joining you? Thanks and congratulations, Jean Tucker Competition Coordinator Current Mood: happy (Comment on this)
10:55 am	Medical Updates E1 is doing well. Her x-rays showed that the bones are aligned like they're supposed to be and new bone is forming. There was no need to remove the purple cast or re-set the bones. She is scheduled for another x-ray next week. There will be one of two outcomes at this appt: she'll either have healed enough to get the cast off, or it will be on for another two weeks. Please think good thoughts for her. She's a really good-natured kid, but she's getting pretty bored with being immobile. Yesterday we drove out to the Buffalo Ranch out in Shelbyville, and she really enjoyed feeding the swans and especially the goats, but she really wanted to swing. We tried putting her on my lap and swinging, but it wasn't very successful. When we got home, we ate dinner out on the back deck, which she really loved, but she could see the pool, and she has mentioned wanting to go swimming over and over. And this definitely has been a major setback in potty training. E2 is also doing very well. She had surgery last week to have the tubes in her ears replaced and to have her adenoids removed. She is running around, happy as can be, and has gone back to daycare, where her teacher remarked to Random, "she has really gotten so 'verbal' in the last few weeks." The immediate leap in verbal skills also happened after the first time she had the tubes put in. Actually, since she had been deaf before the last tubes, she was really scared and upset. For example, she heard the doorbell, and it scared her because she had never heard one before, same with dog barking, fire engine, etc. etc. We haven't had any fear reactions like that this time. She's just happy and bubbling. Some of that, of course, is that her sister is immobile and can't push or down or steal her toys, but some is that she's feeling better. She is even singing. (Row Row Row Row Row EEEEE! mer-a-ly a-ly...a-ly...DREE!) Random is finally going to the orthopedist about his shoulder. My suspicion is a torn rotator cuff, but what do I know. So when we took E1 in for her x-ray, we scheduled an appt for him at the same time as her follow-up. So we'll see next week what's up. Ziggy the Rottweiler is feeling a little better. A x-ray of his leg showed no fracture, but a 'dark area.' It is either a bone infection or cancer. He is on antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, and he's a lot perkier, but still limping, maybe not as bad. If it is cancer, they'll want to amputate his leg. If it has spread, they could do chemo. However, as a cancer survivor, let me say right here and right now--I wouldn't put my dog through chemo. He is nearly 12 years old, and although in pretty good shape other than being overweight, his breed is only supposed to live 7-9 years. He has been my loyal companion and friend, and, if it's cancer, I think that I'll have to say goodbye rather than put him through the hell of cancer treatment, particularly since it would only buy him a few years anyway. He has, btw, really bonded to E1 in the last few weeks. She doesn't understand it, and sometimes she gets scared and upset when he bumps her chair, but he has been doing his best to protect her since she's been hurt. (So if you visit, don't be surprised if he tries to physically insert himself between you and E1; it's a passive, first-level defense of her. Speak to him, thump his butt, reassure him you're not going to hurt her, and he'll just lie down beside her. Btw, Level-two involves making a Klingon face and posturing. You do not want to see level three.) And me: Bad drop in anemia score, down to 8.9. I wore a sweater with low-rise jeans and my mom (what a mom) wanted to tell me to pull my shirt down, so she said "I see where you got your shot." The PA wasn't too gentle with the shot last week and I have a little round bruise on my belly where he stabbed me. He said that he wanted to give me a unit of blood. I said no. Yuck. Ick. The last time I was given blood it took all day and I felt like shit afterward b/c of the steroids and anti-inflammatories and antibiotics and such that they give with it. My number was 6.9 when they gave me the blood last time (actually packed red cells). It may have been under 7, but I was still walking, though they weren't sure how. For those who don't know, the anemia was so severe last time because of the pregnancy anemia--on top of the chemo anemia my little hidden E2 was stealing all of my iron and the iron produced by the procrit shots. On top of that, the surgeon sort of nicked an artery when doing my breast reconstruction, and I bled internally/had emergency surgery/lost a lot of blood and never quite caught up, one of the five major surgeries I had in 2003. My numbers are nowhere near that bad now, so I don't want any blood. My mom really wants to give me a unit of her blood, though. She thinks it would be better for me than some stranger's. The PA said that we could get her cross-matched and see (they check for a lot more than type now). She is feeding me spinach and a special juice concoction (1 qt apple/1 qt grape/quarter cup apple cider vinegar) that will settle my stomach and help me absorb the vitamins from my food. She's bugging me about taking vitamins. I hate taking vitamins. Iron pills especially give me intestinal cramps. She's cooking lots of great food (tells me I'm too thin and need to put some weight on), my kitchen is spotless, and she sort of looks at my clothes like she's waiting for me to take them off so that she can wash them. It's a laundry fetish, and I don't understand it, but, hey, who am I to complain? She even did the hand wash stuff that I had in a basket in the basement for six months in the 'I'll get around to it someday' pile. Now Random and I need to put all that laundry away. It's in neat piles on top of everything. If a cat sleeps on it and it has to be re-done, I'll be really upset. Teenagers are coming to mow the lawn and finish cleaning the yard today. It felt so good to be outside yesterday. Maybe sunshine is the cure I've been looking for! My back is still hurting, and when I go in for my shot on Thursday, I'm going to ask. I think their response will be to write a prescription for stronger pain relievers and say we'll check it out in your next regular quarterly scans. Ok, they moved me up from Aleve to Darvocet. What's next? My mom said she has a bottle of my dad's oxycontin left. I've heard that "oxy-cotton" is the drug of choice for rural America, so maybe I should give it a try. Just kidding. If I were going to be a druggie, I'd probably want uppers, not downers. I think I'm down enough, thanks anyway. If I felt any slower, I'd probably be going backward. My mom is staying for another week, thank goodness. People have made me some meals (in the freezer for when she leaves) and I have lots of offers for help with the kids. After she leaves I'm going to take everybody up on them. Just having someone watch them while we run to Kroger makes all the difference in the world. And to relieve stress, I think Random and I are going to go play bridge again. At last Thursday's game, having not played since I was pregnant with E1, we won in our division (novice), earning .16 masterpoints each. While we're nowhere near being lifemasters, it was nice to earn more points toward it. It was like proof that I still have all my marbles despite all the crap I've been through in the last two years! Current Music: "It's Getting Better All the Time" (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, March 25th, 2005
3:22 pm	RIP Sweetpea the Cat Farewell, Sweetpea. You were the best cat I ever had. For 14 years you have been my companion and friend, and I will miss you. I'm glad your passing was easy, and if there's an afterlife, I wish for you a soft, warm bed by a fire, companions to pet you and scratch behind your ears, and canned food everyday. Blessed be. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, March 17th, 2005
10:54 pm	while you're making other plans I am not in San Francisco. I am still in Baltimore. E1 fell down yesterday and broke her leg. She has a spiral fracture of her left femur, and she has been put into a spica cast for the next 4-6 weeks. The cast goes all the way down her left leg, across her pelvis, and half way down her right leg. She won't be able to walk or bathe for 4-6 weeks. I'll put a long boring post up later about the whole adventure, but right now I'm just too tired. We went to the Upper Chesapeake Medical Center around 11am, but we were transferred and transported by ambulance to Johns Hopkins, and we didn't get back from there until nearly 3 am last night. I sat with E1 for most of the rest of the night, so other than a nap this afternoon, I haven't slept in a really long time. E1 is ok; no surgery was needed. However, life in a body cast is going to make the next month very, um, challenging. I need to decide how long to stay in Balto. The Hopkins orthopaedist admitted that local dr.'s could take her case from this point. Here I have my sister to help. My mom is packed but doesn't know whether to come here or go to L'ville. E1 will probably be in a wheelchair or be carted around in a wagon. With all the stairs in my house, keeping her clean and fed and entertained will definitely not be easy. E2 can still go to daycare but is having surgery on the 29th for ears. I have med appts every Thursday that can take anywhere from ten minutes to ten hours, and even though the cast isn't horribly heavy, she's going to be too much for me to lift as much as is going to be necessary. I also am responsible for the 6:30 Chalice Night service and, since the person who was going to lead the discussion that night is ill, the circle and class and desserts for the class. I'm tired and confused and full of Nyquil, and so overwhelmed I just can't figure out what I need to do. I hope this all makes more sense in the morning. E1 was very brave through all of this, and so was I. But this morning as the anaesthetic wore off, she was in a lot of pain, and the adrenalin wore off, and I have gotten into post-crisis mode. I usually deal with stuff and give myself permission to whine or to break down and have a crisis later. So later's here, and I'm open to suggestions on ways I can deal with this. Current Music: Help (27 Comments |Comment on this)