Category: Medical

Animals, anxiety, Creativity, Dogs, Emotions, family, Learning, Life, Love, Medical, Nature, Photography, retail, Thinking, Writing

Stormy Head

1972italy

Between the weather and lack of sleep I have the most exquisite headache. Archie got up with me but Stella is still in bed. I think this is why I don’t nap well.

The snow is still falling. What were footprints in the snow a mere few hours ago are now barely dents. The furnace is almost constantly on. It is a day you just want to hunker under the covers and sleep until Spring. The storm warning has been extended to 7pm tonight.

Oh damn. I just realized that on top of everything else I have to work until 3pm. Which means I won’t see Chris unless he stops by work before he heads out to his work. That extra hour is going to be difficult today. Especially if this headache doesn’t let up.

I was busy pretty much the whole time yesterday. I didn’t get home until after 10:30pm last night. I have no idea if any of our deliveries are going to arrive. If it is slow I might spend time in the beer cave and see what needs to be moved around. I had one of my new vendors stop by last night and I think I might be having another event at the end of May with the help of one of our local breweries. Fingers crossed!

I need to get this posted and head out. Looks like we still have internet. Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Aging, Animals, anxiety, Books, Creativity, Dogs, dreams, Emotions, family, Friends, Gardening, Learning, Life, Love, Medical, Nature, Photography, Reading, Thinking, Writing

Cruising

1972italy

Parts of my back have flared up, badly. The muscle beneath aches and the skin feels like it is burning off. Good times! The temps have dropped (again) and we got enough snow over night to turn everything white (again). The wind is really blowing as well. What’s creepy is that the trees will be bent sideways with the wind, the next time you look all is immobile. Not a breeze to be felt.

Not much got done yesterday. I used it as a day of rest. I did water the plants. They are doing very well. My agave plant now has seven babies crammed into her pot. I need to repot all of them. But I am nt sure where I would put them right now. So I leave them in and hope for the best. If I can get my greenhouse put up this Spring that will open up more room for over the Winter. I have a few ideas I am exploring since it will be starting as a very basic greenhouse. Chris has put forward some very good suggestions as well. I am very excited about the whole thing.

I don’t know what will get done if my back doesn’t stop. I will atleast get the basics done, dishes and laundry. Last night just before bed I had a bad anxiety flare up. I manage to get things calmed down enough to fall asleep. Barely.

Some cool news though! My friend and I are going to the one day writer’s conference again this Spring! I went through and picked out what I wanted to attend. Some of them are the lesser of two evils. There are several sessions to choose from that do not interest me in the least. But I am paying for them and maybe if I learn about something else I can use it to fuel my own creative endeavors.

The second cool thing is that I won a contest on my horror app. It is called “Slasher” and is dedicated to everything in the horror genre. It is Facebook for horror fans. What is awesome about it is that everyone just becomes good friends. Nobody is pegged as weird or creepy because they like horror. We just share things we love and support each other. I have been on it from the start and it is awesome to watch it grow and flourish! Anywho, I entered a random contest on there the other day and I got a message that I won! Giggity! Other fun things we do on there have been a Secret Santa (the person that runs this incorporates various holidays so we’ve done it for other holidays besides Christmas), random give aways by both the app creator (who stays very involved in the group) and other app users…. It’s just a fun place to hang out. We dry each other’s tears and encourage as best we can. (Several people have finally been able to leave abusive relationships while others have fund people that understand what they are going through with their depression… did I mention a lot of friendships have been made on here?)

I guess I ought to get this posted. I might curl up with a book. I finished Kane Hodder’s autobiography yesterday so I can pick up something new off my shelves. I do have a few new titles that I haven’t started yet. Or I can get one of my writing books out and delve into that. Maybe one of each? Anyway, thanks for reading and stay safe!

Aging, Animals, anxiety, Books, Cooking/Baking, Creativity, Dogs, Emotions, family, Food, Gardening, Learning, Life, Love, Medical, Nature, Photography, Reading, Thinking, Writing

Looking For a Way

1972italy

Yesterday did not go exactly as planned. There were a few blips but all in all a good day. My concern is with Mom. She told us via text not to come over because her arthritis was acting up and she was crabby. Ok, we can do that. So we went out to dinner and got a few groceries for today (I’m making ravioli from scratch) and came home. Around 10pm she starts sending me text messages asking where we are and if we are ok. This morning I got several phone messages asking if we were ok. I sent numerous text messages to her last night saying that we were fine and at home. I don’t know if she did not get them??? I don’t know what to do. Dad is the same way. He never seems to “receive” me text messages or emails. If I try calling either of them I get put to voicemail more often than not. They freak out and think that I am not making an effort to keep in touch but I am. I just don’t know anymore.

I did not sleep well at all last night. I tried. This morning everything hurts and my anxiety is through the roof. So now I need to try to talk myself off the ledge. Chris’s gift seems to be on the move finally. It is in Wisconsin. I ordered him another gift off his Amazon list yesterday. It should be here Tuesday. I believe that is the same day he can go get his desktop for his man cave. I am excited to see his new gaming desk come together.

I got two sweet books that I wanted. The first one is called “Ocean” and it is like a guidebook to everything regarding the ocean. Not in depth on any one topic but enough to keep you safe. It’s hard to explain. But if you love the ocean I highly recommend it. It has the basics on sailing, surfing, survival, fishing, science, scuba and snorkeling….. The full title is “The Ocean The Ultimate Handbook of Nautical Knowledge” and it is written by Chris Dixon and Jeremy K. Spencer. The second book I got was “Supernatural The Men of Letters Bestiary, The Winchester Family Edition.” Now I have a version of this that is smaller that I received in one of my Supernatural boxes. I took it off my wish list but apparently Amazon put it back on. Regardless, I am excited to have it. I need to find a space to house my growing Supernatural books.

I purchased an extension cord yesterday as well. I plan to hook my scarecrow back up in the garage today. It was comforting to come home to him every day. For the past few months he has been in a heap on the garage floor. Time to resurrect him!

I am going to wrap this up and get it posted. Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Animals, anxiety, Books, Cooking/Baking, Creativity, Dogs, Emotions, family, Food, Gardening, Learning, Life, Love, Medical, Nature, Photography, Thinking, Travel, Writing

Step by Step

1972italy

I slept as late as my body would let me. The sun was just starting to peek out. It is mostly blue sky again today. I hope to use that to my advantage. I have several work related things that I need to do today. But they shouldn’t take very long. I need to do a few things for myself today as well. I would like to try to do a bit of housework if I can. I would like to get things cleaned up a bit for us for our weekend together. I am rather excited to be making pasta for the first time on Saturday. I think I will make some ravioli. I am seriously thinking of doing the sauce from scratch as well. I have several recipes to choose from.

I also need to get my office clean. Part of that is the big pots of plants on the floor (the stacks of magazines and books aren’t helping either). I need to go through things in my office and figure out what I am doing in there. I would like to work more in there but there isn’t enough room to have the dogs. I need more bookcases (no, not less books). Mom has one that she is giving me but I need a space to put it. I have a few ideas but nothing solid. Every time I think I found a spot I see where it’s not going to work.

Nuts. My laptop has just gone into power saver mode. That means I need to pick up my pace with this. I hope to get some new photos to share soon. As the Spring and Summer progress there are a few new places that I would like to take the pups for walks that will have a lot of potential for new photos. We could all use the change.

I guess I need to get this posted. Sorry it is a bit rambly. I hope you have an amazing day! Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Animals, anxiety, Dogs, Emotions, family, Life, Medical, Nature, Photography, retail, Thinking, Writing

The Frustrations

1972italy

For once I am not sitting on the floor. Stella is on the couch. Archie has gone back to bed. They both got in trouble after breakfast For not going out to go to the bathroom. It is 4am and I don’t know how long Chris will sleep so I need to make sure no accidents will happen. But neither of them did anything beyond walk out the door. Stella got me up around 2:30am to go out and they both went. I hope it is enough.

I didn’t sleep well. When I did sleep I slept hard, so that seems to have taken a lot out of me. I’ve been in pain for several weeks and it flared up very badly last night. I just hope the shift goes quickly. I would rather be home.

Chris got the fridge to fit. It looks very nice and he had it done before I got home. I had planned on helping him when I got home. Be both agree that this “old” fridge he got for $25 is a lot better than the one we had.

It must be cold out. The furnace has just turned on for the third time since I got up. I don’t know what work will be like. It is Super Bowl Sunday here in the States. We’ll probably be busy late afternoon before the game but before that????

I need to wrap this up and get it listed. Thank you to everyone who has reached out.❤️ Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Animals, anxiety, Creativity, Dogs, Emotions, family, Food, Gardening, Learning, Life, Love, Medical, Nature, Photography, retail, Thinking, Writing

Keep On Comin’

1972italy

We are only six days into the month and already it has been crazy. We have a new fridge. That works. But it doesn’t fit where the old one was (which is now totally dead). So for the time being it is plugged in but sitting at an angle where it is supposed to go. But it works. I will pull the last of the stuff from outside in and put it in the freezer.

I did get one of my promotions started at work. I pulled together a punch card promotion for my shooters (small bottles of liquor, also called airplane shots). I plan to have a shot of the week and if you buy one you get a punch on your card. If you buy two of any of the other flavors you get a punch n your card. Once that is filled you get a discount on your next purchase. it just started yesterday so we’ll see how it goes. I am also running a recipe contest that you have to use the shot of the week in. The recipe can be a drink recipe or a food recipe. At the end of the week I will pull them out and have people vote for their favorite one. Whoever wins gets a $10 gift card for the store. So we’ll see how it goes.

I have heard nothing new from the Brewery I contacted. I am still going to do the event, I just need to figure out how to word the flyers. I am debating about how early to put the flyers up. I don’t want to do it too early but I want to get people excited about it so they come. Sooooo…. in looking at the calendar I think that maybe the end of next week would be a good time. That would be about a month to the day. I also need to pull things together for the event. I am worried because they are redoing the store around that time. I have no idea where my set up will be. I’d prefer in front of the beer cave but that is at the back of the store. And I have no idea when this moving of the store’s internals will take place.

I did take a few photos of the repotted plants as well as my one cactus that after several years has actually started to bloom! I had no idea that this cactus bloomed. I just thought it was a cool looking cactus. I am very excited to see what she does! I think I might be able to include a photo of the little display I have set up for my promotion as well.

I see that it is late. The pups are snoozing behind me on the loveseat. Archie has been busy this morning with a bone but, much to Stella’s chagrin, settled on the loveseat with/on her. We’ll see how the day goes. I might see if I can get them playing outside. The snow might be too deep still for a walk on the property. It’s not that we can’t navigate through the snow so much as if Stella’s paws are constantly sinking in the snow her paws will get colder faster. Then she will start the holding a paw up because it is too cold thing. Archie seems to not care about the cold. Unless you get that soul chilling wind that we had a few days ago. Anyway, I need to get his posted. Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Animals, anxiety, Automotive, Creativity, Dogs, Emotions, family, Gardening, Learning, Life, Medical, Nature, Photography, retail, Thinking, Writing

Back Home

1972italy

A late post since I didn’t really fall asleep until after 5am. Archie is right back to his old self. Which means I am all over the place. Keeping him from playing and running around is near impossible. A side effect of his anesthetic is excessive whining. And he did. He paced and whined. Til around 7pm. For a while I think he was afraid to fall asleep. He finally fell asleep in my lap. All 88 lbs (40 kilos) of him. This morning it is like nothing happened. They want him to wear the cone of shame but he probably won’t. For one thing he hasn’t really bothered the area and for another he will destroy more of the house with it on. He is not the most agile pup right now. I hate that I have to work three nights next week. I don’t want him getting into things. I keep telling myself that it is just for that week. And I will end up with over time. Those three days are going to be atleast 10 hour days and I will still have two more days to work that week. I hope that will allow me to get the car in for possible repairs.

Mother Nature has decided it is winter again. The snow started coming down hard last night and left about an inch of snow. Right now it is snowing pretty steadily. The size of the flakes waxes and wanes. I am glad I can stay home today. I am weary of going all over the place on my time off. I have not heard from either parent in several weeks. Whenever I try to talk with Dad he doesn’t feel good (migraine etc) but tries to act like I am never available (sorry, I love you, but I work). Mom is still having issues with her phone. She is also not happy with me because she has freaked out because she can’t get her text messages to work with me and starts calling and calling til I answer. Then gets upset because I can’t talk because I am at work. The last time she did that I pointed out that I had called and left a message telling her that I would be at work so if she called back I probably would not answer. Four phone calls later (one after the other) I answered and told her I could not talk and that I had left a message. She was not happy with me. So there we are.

I have no idea what to do today. I did get the bird feeder filled and the plants watered. I also sprayed them with old milk. I was reading one of my gardening books and she recommended using expired milk diluted with water to get rid of bug issues on plants. It also gives them nutrients that they need but might not be getting. I did that and my plants look all the happier for it. I sprayed their leaves.

I had better get this posted. Oh and happy side note… the vet bill was less than the lowest quote for his surgery and shots. So YAY! Thanks for reading and thank you for all the love and support for Archie. He sends puppy kisses and snuggles! Stay safe!

Aging, Animals, anxiety, Books, Creativity, Dogs, dreams, Emotions, family, Food, Friends, Gardening, Learning, Life, Love, Medical, Nature, Photography, Reading, retail, Thinking, Writing

And We Wait

1972italy

It was one of the hardest things to do to leave Archie at the vet’s office this morning. I keep telling myself he will be ok but the way January is…. I just don’t trust it. So I am biding my time until 2:30pm when I can go get him. I took the earliest possible time. Stella has wadded herself up behind me on the love seat. I don’t knw how she managed to get the blanket so tight around herself. She is sound asleep.

I was worried about icy roads on the way in this morning. We, thankfully, had no issues. But I will probably leave early to go get him because I miss him and am worried. Everyone has been very understanding of my craziness lately. I am forever grateful. A coworker got me a bouquet of tulips that I wanted. I loved the colors but I decided against getting them because I needed the money for Archie. While I was busy dealing with a cooler that had gone down he got them for me. I did my best not to cry. It was a near thing.

I think I will make Chris breakfast if he wants this morning (or rather this afternoon). He’s not feeling well and I need to make sure I take care of him. He made us dinner last night even though he didn’t feel good. And he has had the patience of a saint this past month while I have tried to deal with all this crap going on. He needs to be taken care of too.

A bunch of friends from work are checking on me. Bless them. I am going to try writing today. I haven’t really done anything with my novel. Not even looked at my research materials. I also need to see about pulling that interview together. At the very least I want to print her responses to my questions. That way I have a paper trail.

I spent a bit messaging with my cousins last night. We have our own private chat outside of the normal family one. I don’t feel the need to include everyone in our conversations. But both are coping since their Mom’s death. My one cousin is quietly going through her Mom’s stuff trying to simultaneously clean out her Mom’s stuff and pack up to move. But all in all they are moving forward. It is hard to believe it has been two weeks already. One week since the funeral.

I guess I will wrap this up and try to keep myself distracted. I will try to include a photo of the tulips I got. Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Animals, anxiety, Creativity, Dogs, Emotions, family, Gardening, Life, Love, Medical, Nature, Photography, retail, Thinking, Writing

Spinning and Spinning

1972italy

Both pups are curled up on the loveseat. Archie goes in tomorrow morning for his surgery. I am not looking forward to it. I hope I can get him early in the afternoon but I don’t know. We will be at the new building for our vet. Every time I woke up this morning I was trying to make sure I gave us enough time to get there but not too much time once we got up. I plan to get up and let the kids out to go potty then head to the vet’s soon after. Once I come back I will feed Stella and write this. And wait.

The Girls were going to stop by Monday before work (I still need to give them their last gift) but I asked if they would mind Tuesday instead. I don’t want to have to head out as soon as they get here to go get Archie (possibly).

I would give a lot for time off at this point. I am wondering if I would be able to do that some time soon. I hate using vacation time so soon into the new year but…. I just need some time to not be crazy for a bit. We’ll see how things go next two days off.

I do have one interview done for the upcoming Women of Horror issue of Horror Tree. And I am grateful to say that she is a well known author (atleast in horror) that is married to another well known horror author. I am friends with her husband on Facebook and asked him to relay the request for me. And she said yes!😍 I need to get that printed and saved on my laptop (originally we celebrated Women of Horror in February but there is concern with it clashing with Black History Month so it has been pushed to March).

I need to wrap this up and get to work. Thanks for reading and thank you from the bottom of my heart for the love and support these past few weeks. Stay safe.

This is Moose
This is Archie
Animals, anxiety, Automotive, Creativity, Dogs, Emotions, family, Gardening, Learning, Life, Love, Medical, Nature, Photography, retail, Thinking, Travel, Writing

What Now?

1972italy

Things are off this morning. Outside it looks like someone has sprinkled confectioners sugar all over. I am concerned with my car, Angus. By the time I pulled into the church parking lot Monday the engine did not sound right. I am hoping that the rest will make a difference. I’ll find out when I leave for work. I don’t have the money for car issues right now. I have to have the money for Archie’s vet appointment this coming Monday. I only hope that everything will be ok until then. But the next paycheck has to go toward my car payment.

I had my little to do list written out for yesterday but I did one thing on that list. Everything else is unaccounted for. Writing did not go as planned not did working with my plants. What I did manage to get done got done right before bed. I feel like I need another day off. But I close tonight and open tomorrow. I need to make sure that I only get what we need at the store. No treats for any of us. They are calling me on Friday to let me know the specifics for Archie’s surgery. I will need to remember to put the water bowl up on Sunday before we go to bed.

I hope that the kids don’t get into anything while I am gone. It seems more likely to happen when I am upset. And I am. Friday will also be the one year anniversary of Essie’s death. Did I mention how much I hate the month of January? I was looking at the calendar earlier and thought to myself that it is a good thing that I quit the paper. I would’ve had two meetings that someone else would’ve had to cover for me.

I have no new photos to share. It has been dark and very blah here. So I will share older ones. We seem to have a winter storm watch going on. The snow is coming in from the north. I know this because I can barely see across the road to the front of the house (which is north) and if I look out the back (this is south) things look clear with no snow. It doesn’t seem to be moving either. It’s almost like our road is the divider and the snow won’t cross it. Weird.

I need to wrap this up and atleast get my violet repotted before it dies. I was supposed to do that yesterday. Both pups are behind me asleep. I hope you have a good day. Thanks for reading and stay safe.