Radiation Day Two - Day One Went Well - LOL

Radiation was interesting. Whoever designed the platforms the patient is lying on must have taken lessons from whomever designed the apparatus you're in when you're doing an MRI. Both surfaces are absolutely unyielding. They offer (and I gladly accept) a warm blanket, which helps from waist down in my case, but my head needs to be in a certain position which is uncomfortable without hair to cushion me, and the body, of course, must be immobile. Still, as treatments go, I think this will go well. 

That's pretty much what the radiation equipment looks 
like - rather alien. You lie there unmoving, hands holding 
pegs above your head, and you stay immobile for as 
long as it takes. It's pretty easy, as treatments go. I'm 
told it will wear on me, and that's possible, but I'm a 
rather high energy person, so maybe it won't be totally 
horrid by the end of my 15 sessions. 

This first session was actually a lot of measurements and I think there was some treatment in there too, but it all started to look the same after a while. The ceiling is rather fun - they have small blinking lights, like stars in the night sky, that turn on and off in random patterns. There are also interesting lights on the sides of the machine and at the machine itself, so I enjoyed that. I have three new tattoos (although they're so tiny, I can barely notice them). Just a single prick to drive a pinpoint of ink into my skin. It's for placement for the radiation, so one on each side, and one between my breasts. I had to laugh a bit when they asked if I had any problem with tattoos. "Have you looked at my head?" I asked, laughing. They chuckled, and explained that some people have an issue with tattoos. But that's definitely NOT me. 

The ceiling has sets of small LED or fiber optic bulbs 
scattered across it, and they turn on and off in random 
patterns. I rather liked the effect. 

In the afternoon I had my six-month checkup with my orthodontist, who was VERY pleased with how things are holding up and the condition of my retainers (I sonic clean them every day). I was in and out of there in a flash, and don't have another appointment until my one-year check in the Fall. I popped over to the grocery store across the street from the clinic to pick up a BUNCH of tea. I prefer Republic of Tea choices, and this particular grocery carries the largest variety. So I spent a BUNCH of money on tea, but I was down to my last three canisters, so it was a necessity. Now I'm stocked until quite late this year. 

I adore Republic of Tea Hibiscus varieties. They 
have several, and I love them all. I got a lot of 
other teas too (I spent a LOT for a six-month 
supply). I have to read the labels carefully, 
though. Nothing with "natural flavors" because 
there's NOTHING natural about "natural flavors". 
I used to know a chemist who worked in food 
chemistry, and she told me that little gem. 

So today will be Day 2 of 15 days of radiation treatment. I'll have to drop by the shop first, I'll switch off the security alarm, but leave the doors fully locked. Chickie has keys for both locks, so she'll be able to get in if I'm still caught at the clinic at 10:00 am. My appointment is for 9:15 am, but I have to factor in travel time, etc. too. I suspect I'll be within 5 minutes of opening, but it could be five minutes late - LOL. I hope all of you have a wonderful day. I had an excellent "run" this morning, and am feeling fully recovered from the infection I fought for two weeks. It's so nice to feel good again. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow. 

A Day of Appointments and the Printer Saga Resolution

Today is my first day of Radiation therapy, with an appointment for 9:00 am. I follow that up with a 10:00 am appointment with a doc to double-check my armpit (which seems to be healing very well - FINALLY), and I also have an appointment with my Orthodontist at 2:00 pm for a six-month checkup. Busy day! 

Brian was an absolute sweetheart, very detail 
oriented, and focused. He was the perfect 
service tech - not wasting a lot of time on chit 
chat, just getting right to work. 

The printer saga ... oy veh! So, Brian arrived from the service department of our local printer and copier store. I've done business with them for years and years, they're really good and very dependable. So, he took a thorough look at the printer that had just died (A), and also at the replacement printer (B) that I purchased a couple of years ago. The printer that died had lost a very important sensor. I actually remember seeing a piece of metal while printing a report, I guess that was it! After realizing the importance of that very small piece of metal, we recognized that the second printer (B) actually did have that sensor. The question was would we be able to (1) move the sensor from B ro A, or (2) make B feed paper properly. After some serious time, tearing things apart and rebuilding them, the consensus was a firm "NO", it won't work. *sigh* 

It's a VERY old printer, but it's HP, so it's a workhorse 
and it's reliable. I could never bring myself to toss it 
away because it worked well, just was very old. Well, 
my system seems to like it just fine, so it's now our new 
printer until we close. It's a LOT bigger than our old 
printer, but we'll just have to deal with that. 

In desperation we looked for something we had that might work. I've had an old HP LaserJet 5P for decades. It was a workhorse when I was in my Mall of America shop. I had tried it with the sales system before, relying on the printer setting recommendations of my Computer Guru (who will be the first person to admit he knows nothing about printers). This time we tried printing on "Generic Printer" setting, and it worked, but it didn't print at the size we needed. I switched the setting to an HP setting offered by my program, and tried printing again. Perfection! It works! Now I have to find and buy a replacement printer cartridge for it, because I have no idea how many pages are left in the current cartridge, but it works, and we'll use it. It takes up a LOT more desk space, however, so DH has cut another shelf for our over-structure and will install that today. I'm sure it will be messy in no time at all - LOL. 

As you can tell from comparing the two photos, 
the printer here is much smaller. It's unfortunate 
that it couldn't be fixed, but the fact that both 
printers died from the same cause means it's 
a systemic failure. I won't bother trying another 
used one, we'll just deal with the 5P instead since 
it seems to work properly - slowly, but properly. 

I hope your problems all turn out to be minimal. I have a billion appointments today, but should JUST get back home in time to chat with Aearwen. At least, that's the plan - LOL. Have a great Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow, just in time for the next session of Radiation (fifteen days in a row, no weekends). Be good to yourself and kind to others. Slava Ukraini. 

Tea, Cooking and LJ Idol - Yesterday Was a VERY Busy (But Good) Day

It was a very crowded day yesterday, but I actually got everything done that I needed to, including a check-up with my Orthodontist. I passed that with flying colors, my next checkup is in March next year. Whoot! It was lovely to see everyone again. 

I passed my checkup with Doc DeVoe with flying 
colors. He's pleased, I'm pleased, and I don't see 
him again until March! Whoot! 

I did grab some time to pick up a bunch of tea from the grocer across the street from Dr DeVoe's clinic. I had checked my selection at my local grocer earlier in the day, and it just wasn't thorough. So, I bought a bunch at the store "up North", and I'm stocked for at least four months, probably closer to six months, now. 

I ended up with more than $100 of tea, not unusual when 
one canister can cost $14. But I love their teas, they're 
very clear about what exactly is in each one, and I do a 
LOT of label reading before a tea makes it into my 
shopping basket. I drink several portions of tea every 
day, so ingredients are important. Remember - "There's 
nothing natural about 'Natural Flavors". In fact, 
the term "Natural Flavors" is a really good reason for 
you to NOT buy something. 

My next story for LJ Idol is due today, and I didn't have ANY time to work on it at all, yesterday. Today will be a crunch time. I think I see where the story is leading me, but I just have to bring it home and revise it a few times before posting it. 

My cabbage soup turned out really nice. I'll 
have some in two days. I have to finish up 
my chili first, then I can dive into my soup. 

I made a lovely cabbage soup in the crock pot yesterday, baked my next 10+ days of fruit for my breakfasts, and I was still prepping salad vegetables at the end of the day when DH came home. I also managed my three loads of laundry. What a housewife! LOL I feel fortunate that Aearwen cancelled our chat yesterday. I could have managed it, but it would have been in the kitchen instead of comfortably in front of my computer for an hour of "down time". I think next week we'll be back to our normal schedule once again. 

I have to finish my story for LJ Idol, and get that uploaded 
while I'm at the shop. We operate on Eastern Time for this 
contest, so I can't wait until I've arrived home and had 
dinner before uploading. 

So, as I rush off to the swimming pool once again, I wish all of you a safe and productive Thursday. I'll let you know when my story is available for reading and voting. We're down to the Final Eight, and I'm up against some extremely talented writers, so every vote will count! Thanks in advance and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It's Another "Day Off" That's Anything BUT a "Day Off"

 I'm hitting the ground running today. It's a laundry day, so my first load is already in the washer. It's a "day off", but I also have a 2:00 pm appt with my Orthodontist for a check-up. I think things are going really well. I'm remembering to wear my appliance overnight, I'm keeping it super clean, and it's a total joy being without braces and having straight teeth during the days. What a wonderful thing this past two years have brought to me. 

I'm still in the running for LJ Idol and I'm thrilled. I think 
this week's challenge is coming together well, I actually could 
see a book out of it if I was so inclined. However, one story 
will be sufficient at this point in time. LOL I'll let you know 
when I have posted it and when the voting is opened. 

I'm working on my next tale for LJ Idol. It's turning into a bit longer story than my usual, but I still have to edit it (and work on it), so it might shorten in the editing process. I like where I'm going with it. We'll see what I end up with overall. 

Aearwen and I have been chatting on Wednesday 
afternoons for several years now. It's always lovely 
to catch up with her. Today will be a bit of a time 
crunch, but I think it will work out just fine. 

If our schedules mesh, I'll have a chance to catch up with Aearwen for our weekly "convo" at 4:00 pm my time. Last week her brother was visiting from Arizona, so we cancelled our chat. This week, I can't recall if he's still visiting or if her schedule is once again open. I guess I'll find out - LOL. It might be a tight one for me, since I want to grab some tea at the grocer near my orthodontist after my visit with him. I think the schedule will work if there aren't any unforeseen items like exceptionally heavy traffic, etc. But we chat on the cellphone, and that can be done practically anywhere, including my car. So no real problems there. 

I'm a huge fan of Republic of Tea herbal teas, and the 
grocery shop across the street from my Orthodontist 
has a great selection of them. I'm getting rather low 
on them right now, so I'll try to make time to restock 
while I'm in that area of the Cities. 

But, I have load 1 of 3 in the washer and I'm wearing my swim suit, prepared to head off to the gym in less than an hour. I'll need to look through my TBD list and make sure I hit everything on it, but I think I'll manage well, in one way or another. LOL I like busy days (usually), and I really like my Orthodontist, so it's all OK. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Challenges - LJ Idol and Retainers

Although today is a "day off" and I have a ton of things to finish before DH returns home from the shop tonight, I have to take time and write my offering for the current LJ Idol challenge. I didn't have any time over the past two days, just snippets here and there. I'm not sure if today will be any better, so I'm scrapping what I had written and my original thoughts on the subject matter and going into a shorter format. It'll still require some thinking and it won't be "thrown" together with ease, but I think (I hope) I can have it ready to post by deadline (and remember to put the link down on Gary's post, which is something I often forget until the following day). *sigh* Just one more thing to add to my busy, busy day, but something that I enjoy and a challenge. I've always loved a writing challenge. 

I enjoy a writing challenge, but after having attempted 
two times already to complete this week's challenge, I'm 
almost at the end of my rope. But, a thought came to me in 
the shower (as they often will), and I'm going to give that 
a try. Deadline's tonight, the clock is ticking. 

My "Graduation Gift" from my Orthodontist was a lovely Yeti 32 ounce metal mug with a magnetic lock for the lid. It's wonderful. I really like it a lot, and the best thing about it is the handle is just slightly above the cup holders in Minnion, so I can easily transport it in the car with me. I actually read the instruction sheet (I know ... what WAS I thinking! Actually reading the instructions??). I have to wear the removable retainers (and they fit VERY snugly) 24/7 except ... I can remove them when eating, brushing my teeth(well, THAT makes sense - LOL), swimming (I was pleased about that) and when participating in contact sports. Well, I don't do contact sports, so that's irrelevant to me. Still, I don't have to wear them 24/7, just 22/7 or so - LOL. 

My new Yeti cup is quite similar to this, 
with my Orthodontist's business name 
imprinted on the reverse side. I REALLY 
like it. It's heavy, so won't fall over 
easily, and it fits perfectly in the cup 
holder of my car. Win/Win

After the first week, even better! After the first week, I have to wear the retainers when I sleep, but they can be off while I'm awake. I suspect that most of his clients sleep for more than 5-6 hours a night, so I'll probably leave them in until breakfast and put them in again when I go to sleep. That will put an additional hour or two of wearing time into the schedule. The instructions also note that if the retainer feels tight when placed (and it seems that way all the time right now), increase the amount of time wearing them. Also, if I miss a night or two (which I doubt will happen), I'll need to wear them full-time for a few days. 

I did order a Zima ultrasonic cleaner for my 
retainers. I want to keep them looking clear and 
lovely for as long as possible. Even though 
I'll only be wearing them overnights starting in 
a week or so, I still want them fresh and clean 
and not scuzzy, dirty or smelly. I can always use 
the cleaner on my jewelry if I decide to branch 
out a bit more - LOL. 

I did order a sonic retainer cleaner to add to my usual toothbrush and toothpaste. I suspect these will look scuzzy quickly if I don't take super good care of them. BUT, I'm also not supposed to subject them to heat sources - hot/boiling water being the first one on the list. OOPS well, I'm NOT going to stop having my tea. My herbal tea in the morning and throughout the day is what keeps me going. So ... I'll have to cross that bridge when I get to it, but right now, I'm thinking my tea (which I don't drink SUPER hot anyway) will be OK. It'll have to be - LOL. 

I'm not sure all of the blame can be placed on this 
adorable dog. If he/she managed to eat THREE sets 
of them, then someone isn't putting them away 
carefully overnight. Replacement retainers are 
expensive, so I'd be a Dad who would make his kid 
work off the expense with extra chores around the 
house and a temporary cut in allowance funds. 

Oh, and I also have to keep the retainers away from pets. I always thought that was a folk tale, but I do recall one time when I was in the waiting room and a young man came in for a new upper retainer. Apparently his dog had gotten hold of it and chewed it up. I moved the "folk tale" up to "true" on my mental list with that young man's tale, and am grateful that I have no pets. A husband, yes, but no pets. DH's far too labor intensive to add any other critters to my care schedule. On that note, I'm out of here. I have a story to write! Have an excellent Friday and I'll return to wrap the week up tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Braces, Alarms and Mulberries - A Busy Weekend and Week Ahead

I have my next-to-last orthodontic appointment early this morning before work. If all goes according to plan, my next appointment will be my last one. If all goes ideally, it will happen before the State Fair and I'll be able to truly enjoy my time with Sharon at the Fair and at Fest. We'll see - it's really all up to Doc DeVoe, but I've got no complaints at all. He's done a stellar job and I'm absolutely thrilled. 

Dr DeVoe really is this young (well, maybe a few years 
older than this photo - but not by much). But he's 
extremely good at what he does, has a huge customer 
base, and does excellent work. I think I absolutely 
chose the right orthodontist for my teeth straightening. 

My alarm company contacted me early Sunday morning about a call-back that wasn't answering properly. I will be contacting them again, and getting them out to double-check the system on Wednesday or Friday (Friday would be the better day). It's usually just something simple like a back-up battery that needs to be upgraded. But we'll see. 

Our alarm company has gone through a couple of different 
owners and name changes over the decades. Currently we're 
covered by Securitas Electronic Security. Whoever it is, as 
long as they monitor well and can keep our systems operational, 
I'm just fine with it. 

DH and I spent most of Sunday working in the yard. He mowed everything - it's a huge job. I cleaned - swept the patio completely and pulled all of the weeds from the steps that lead from the lower yard to the upper one. One of the things DH was doing was clearing overhanging branches from the public walk in front of the house. One of those trees is a mulberry tree, and it was filled with fruit. How fabulous! I hadn't even been aware that we had a mulberry tree, but the ripe fruit is really sweet. I harvested what I could from the branches he had removed, and he showed me where we have three others in the back yard. One of those is also full of fruit, and I think I can manage to get to many of those branches, so that's a task for Wednesday. 

They're not large, and I'm sure the birds absolutely adore 
them, but so do I! These are the ripe mulberries that I 
pulled off the branches DH removed from the public 
pathway. They're now washed and in my refrigerator. 
I'll try to harvest from the one other tree I can reach later 
this week. Yummy! 

So, all in all, it was a lovely weekend. The weather cooperated, DH's moods were good for a change, and there were no arguments about food choices, etc. I'll consider that a win. I hope your weekend was excellent and that your Monday won't be too dreary. Have a good one, and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

A Busy Day Ahead - Monday, Monday

Today starts out quickly, with an Orthodontist appointment at 7:30 am. From there I scoot to work. Since I'm gong to the Ortho, I'll skip breakfast until after my appointment. Therefore, no "toast" for me today. I'll grab a container of cooked fruit for my breakfast, and that'll just have to do. I'm sure I'll survive - LOL. I'm really hoping he can make some adjustments that will make my brackets stop ripping the interior of my mouth to shreds. It's painful, and I'm not to happy when this happens. It seems to happen more frequently a week or two before my visits with him, and then skips again for another 6-8 weeks. 

Dr DeVoe and some of his staff. It was a tough hunt 
to find photos of him and the clinic, but I finally tracked 
him down on Facebook. I suppose I should send him 
a "friend" request - LOL. 

Yesterday was a fun day of playing "Lord of the Rings Online" and the ice hockey playoffs. There were some really fun games to watch, and I hated having to go to sleep, but I would be a Zombie for the entire week if I didn't get my Monday sleep-until-5:00 am slumber. I do tend to push the sleep envelope by the end of the week, there's no sense in starting the week on a deficit. 

Those of you who know LOTRO will recognize the 
"Prancing Pony" immediately. Those who only have read 
the "Lord of the Rings" books, may not recognize the 
building, but will certainly recognize the name of the inn. 

We would have spent Sunday outdoors, of course, but it was cold and rainy and we simply didn't want to be outdoors. DH did check the garden out first thing in the morning. It's his ritual and not to be missed. I, however, did my own ritual load of laundry and kitchen clean-up. So exciting, our lives are! LOL 

We're continuing to watch whatever games we can 
catch in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. There have been 
some REALLY good hockey games - very entertaining, 
with fast action and tremendous goals. Fun! 

If I'm really lucky (and I doubt I will be), I can continue working on my Crystals mastersheet today. It's unlikely, since DH really doesn't deal with customers. But, I do hope we'll be busy enough for me to keep the laptop in it's backpack until tomorrow. So ... today will be semi-boring, "normal" and nothing exciting. In many ways, I rather hope I go to sleep tonight thinking about absolutely nothing. That will make it a very good day indeed. And so, I wish for you - all of my readers - a wonderful Monday. I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל. 

It's Warm - Record Setting Warm Here in the "Frozen Northlands"

Today we'll see a return of snow - not a lot, and not for a long time, but snow. I'm not sure any of us will recognize it after the winter that we've had.  It's been the warmest winter since we started keeping weather records, and that's a long time (for the USA, at least). We'll get snow this afternoon, however. My open areas of timid new growth may regret their early awakening. We won't get a lot of snow today, tomorrow will stay below freezing, but on Thursday we'll be back in the warm temps once again, and anything we get over these next two days will probably be melted before the weekend. It's the weirdest winter EVER, and we're setting weather records all over the place. 

One of my swimming buddies is over the moon about 
being able to golf throughout the winter. Courses that 
normally wouldn't be open until April or May, have been 
open since January. It's a freaky winter - the warmest 
winter on record for my state. 

The visit to the Orthodontist yesterday was all good. I no longer have to wear my cross band on my front teeth (it was only worn overnight - so no impact when speaking to customers. Now I get to dump the daytime wearing of my side bands also! I wear them at night only. DH is overjoyed. He had a really hard time understanding me when I was wearing them, so now he doesn't have that excuse any more - LOL. 

I still have to wear my side triangle bands 
overnight, but only overnight. I can take them 
off during the day and have no bands on at 
all. That's AMAZING and makes me VERY '
happy. We're looking at an end of Summer/early 
Fall removal of the hardware. Outstanding! 

I contacted the people regarding their repairs. GG came in almost right away to get her two necklaces picked up. She was absolutely delighted. She's off to Paris today to spend some time with one of their kids, and she might pack one or both of the necklaces along with her for the journey. It was a fun repair - easy, as repairs go, which is always appreciated. 

So, apparently I'm batting 50% on my repairs this time. 
In baseball, that would be a great percentage. For repairs, 
that's pretty awful. One person loved the repair and happily 
paid what I billed. The second person apparently mis-
understood Chickie's quoting my hourly rate, lives on 
a fixed income, and can't afford to pay for the repair. 
I'm willing to negotiate, but I can only go so far down 
before I will inherit a pot holder I really don't want. 

The lady with the beaded pot holder, however, lives on a limited income and apparently understood Chickie to say that her repair would be $20, not $20/hour. That's a problem, because even with my subtracting a LOT of my time off the repair, I still need to charge her for 5 hours of work. We'll see, but I may have inherited a beaded potholder from the 1950's-early 1960's. *sigh* I'm quite sure she would be much happier with it than I would be. I emailed her back to find out what would be "affordable" for her and we'll see. 

Right in the middle of that dark red patch? That's 
where we are, and the winter we're experiencing 
is going down into the record books as the warmest 
winter we'ver EVER had here in the Frozen 
Northlands of Minnesota! 

So, I'm off to the pool in our "warm"" temps, not looking forward to our approximately one inch of snow later today. Still ... one inch in a winter of green? I can totally live with that even if I do have to shovel and scrape off my car before heading home tonight. Have an excellent Tuesday, I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

It's A Packed Day and I'm Sleepless in St Paul

In a little over two hours, I leave for my next orthodontic appointment. Normally I would have gotten at least seven hours of sleep, but not last night. My mind just wouldn't relax at all. I gave up and went to the computer, paid some bills online and checked a few things, then finally tried to get to sleep again and managed about four hours. I'll be a total ZOMBIE this week. I have swimming for the next three days, and those are days of approximately five hours of sleep. By the time Friday rolls around, I'll be exhausted and that's never a good thing. 

Normally I'm asleep within ten minutes of my head 
hitting my pillow. Last night, however, I just couldn't 
settle down. I'd blame the movie we watched - "Guardians 
of the Galaxy 3", but I know it wasn't that. The movie 
was a blast! It was too many thoughts running through 
my head. Totally my OWN fault. At least I got some 
bills paid, so it wasn't just tossing and turning. 

I have to hand off the two different repairs I did last week over the next two days. I spoke to my acquaintance for whom I restrung two necklaces of antique beads. She said if she doesn't make it into the store today to pick them up, it'll be pushed back a week or two while she goes overseas to visit with one of their kids. No problem. If she doesn't make it in today, that's fine. I'll hold them on the "Pick Up" board which we keep in our back room. 

I sell a lot of different types of antique beads, but my 
acquaintance had some in her two necklaces that were 
new to my eyes. It was a fun and fast project to do, the 
major time was pre-stretching the silk cording I used. 
That takes a minimum of 24 hours under tension so that it 
won't stretch out on the piece itself as it is worn. 

I emailed the lady who gave me that antique beaded trivet for repair, telling her that it was ready. It's an expensive repair, but there's really no help for that. She's disabled and relies on a specific transit system designed for those who are unable to be mobile on their own. That always requires her to make her travel arrangements in advance, and her timeframe is tight. So I assured her that it was ready, and that we would have all of the paperwork in order. I also told her the cost, so that she was prepared. It turned out quite nice, and I'm pleased. I had a blast fixing it - I've missed beading for the sake of beading. 

I know I have a print by JoAnn Bird (Oglala Sioux) in my 
prints. It's not this image, but similar in style. Most of 
my artwork is Southwestern in feel and the artists are from 
the many tribes of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and 
Oklahoma. I'm always pleased when I find a great artist 
from the Plains, though. JoAnn is one of those wonderful 
Northern Plains artists. 

DH is talking about doing a "Collectibles" sale next, and that would certainly be an easier sale to manage than the Swarovski crystal sale. I'm also working on inventory sheets for our clearance bins. Chickie maintains the inventory, but it's taking WAY too much time. I think I've devised a system in conjunction with DH, that will speed things up a LOT. We need that because wasted time just isn't in our stars right now. 

It's taking Chickie WAY too long to do inventory on 
our seed bead clearance boxes. I think I've devised a 
way that will speed her up and increase our accuracy, 
I just need to devise the form. Between the three of us, 
we might have figured this PITA out and streamlined 
a very important part of our inventory process. 

So, I forsee a lot of computer work at the shop today, and a very tired me at the keyboard tonight - if I even bother with any computer work at home tonight at all. I hope all of you have a wonderful Monday and I'll be back on Tuesday for a short post before heading off to the swimming pool. Keep well, be kind, Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל. I'll be back tomorrow.

I'm Running Late - Got to Get Moving Now

Yesterday was about as busy as I thought it would be, but it was good. I had my orthodontic appointment. Of course, it was the day after Halloween, and Doc showed me a photo of the entire office staff dressed up as Barbie, and himself with a blonde wig and blue pullover as Ken. It was hilarious! My ex-sister-in-law was dressed as "Baseball Barbie" in the lower left, and every tech was dressed differently, but all were in pink. 

This is my Orthodontist, and yeah - he's really that young. 

I got new wires put in, a thicker gauge, so my teeth are hurting a bit today. Now the adjustments are down to fine tuning - millimeters. His goal is to have my front teeth even, not just straight from side to side, but even on their bottom edges. So, there's some minimal adjustments that have to happen. I'm hoping I'll be out of the braces by my birthday. That would be a lovely gift to myself. 

We want some smaller items, similar to this pair. We're 
really low on jewelry items for the holidays. 

I've got an order of turquoise and silver earrings and pendants coming in, just in time for the holidays. Actually, it's a bit late, but not too late. We'll scurry to get those checked in when they arrive so that we can get them onto the sales floor ASAP. Like all stores, however, we've noticed an uptick in theft. We're set up so that very little of any real value is on the sales floor - we operate on a sample system - one of everything on display, the stock behind the counter. That means we're pulling for customers, but it also keeps our theft minimal. It's been a good system for us, but wouldn't work in many retail situations. We did this because we simply don't have the room to have all of our stock out. Samples work quite well for beads. 

I feel like I'll be quite comfortable wearing 
the snorkel today after watching a lot 
of videos and wearing it around the house 
for a while to get used to the feel. 

I got some tips from Meg on using my snorkel yesterday, and watched several videos yesterday afternoon. I made some adjustments, and feel fairly confident that I'll be able to start using it today. I did discover that the snorkel absolutely doesn't work with the rubber bands for my braces, so the bands will have to go for that hour of swimming. Not the end of the world, but something to be aware of and get taken care of ASAP after I get out of the water. 

I'm running late, have to get going. 

The snow from earlier in the week is just about gone now. We're not super warm, but are getting above freezing in the afternoons still, so things are defrosting. Hopefully it will be much warmer this weekend and the remainder of our trees will shed their leaves so that we can start "The Big Rake". We have a LOT of trees, and rake up a HUGE amount of leaves every autumn. We've been filling in a spot of erosion for more than 20 years, and it's stable and quite happy with all of the leaves we've put down there every year. 

So that's about it. Not much going on. I baked some pears and plums yesterday (so yummy!), but didn't get to peeling and baking my butternut squash. I'll do that tomorrow. I also decided to make Goulash next week, after a quick batch of Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas. I'm all for the flavor profile, and easy is also a real plus. I hope you have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. Have a good Day of the Dead, Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

It's a Busy, Busy Day - Swimming and New Swimming Toys

I hope all of you had a lovely Halloween yesterday. We didn't even turn on the porch light - we were just tired, and it had snowed, so we didn't think we'd get any people. I guess we were anti-social, but really, we mostly ARE anti-social, so we weren't acting out of character. For two anti-social people to be running a store where we interact with strangers on a daily basis ... well, let's just say WTF? LOL 

I'm not against people, but I really like my privacy 
and my solitude. I was an only child, and I'm 
pretty comfortable in my own skin with a book 
to read. 

Today is All Saints Day - a day to remember all of the martyrs, etc. within the Catholic spectrum. Well, I'm not Catholic (even though DH was raised in that faith). I'm not even Christian, so I'm basically going to ignore that and just go about a very busy day ahead. 

After a bit of hunting, I was able to find the 
Michael Phelps snorkel in Ontario, Canada. 
I ordered two of them since they're no longer 
made and Meg said if I didn't want the second 
one, she'd be happy to buy it from me. We'll 
see about that. I'm hoping I can improve my 
swimming speed and skills by using one. 

The first thing on my agenda is swimming. I just got my new snorkel in the mail yesterday - very fast shipment from LY Sports in Ontario, Canada. Highly recommend them - great customer service. I wanted a specific snorkel - the Michael Phelps one - which is no longer being made and is very hard to find. Apparently the water expulsion valve is superior, and there are other aspects that also place it ahead of the rest of the pack (recommended by my friend and serious swimmer, Meg). So, when I finally located one in Canada, I ordered two. Meg has already told me that she'd buy my second one if I decide I don't like swimming with a snorkel. 

If you think that a snorkel looks ridiculous, I'll be the first 
person to agree with you. But it's a very common swimming 
tool, and highly recommended to bring my swimming to 
the next level. We'll see. There's that small matter of nose 
plugs that I'll have to work through before I'll be comfortable 
with using a snorkel. 

I'm working with a snorkel; because I want to work on strokes and speed. If I can breathe, I can just concentrate on those two factors and ignore the constant back and forth of my head to get my next breath. The only problem I can foresee is the nose plug that I'll need to use. I'm really bad with nose plugs. Going through windshields twice and having a lot of reconstructive surgery in that area of my face, makes it super sensitive to being pinched. I've ordered some different styled nose plugs from Amazon, but they won't arrive until next week. I want to try out my snorkel now, so I'll suffer with the standard pinch-style of nose plug. *sigh* 

My nose has a lot of scar tissue from the two times 
my head has impacted windshields of cars and the 
various reconstructive surgeries to piece it back 
together again. It really doesn't like nose clips. I've 
ordered some different styles from Amazon, but 
they won't be here for a week or two. So, I'll be 
uncomfortable and possibly in pain for a week or 
two until the new styles arrive. 

The second thing on my agenda is an orthodontic appointment for 7:30 am, so I'll be starting my day out running from the pool to home to the Orthodontist and THEN, I can finally get to the grocery store and start my day - LOL. I hope your day isn't starting quite as busy, and that you have an excellent November 1st. I'll be back for All Souls Day tomorrow. Be safe, be kind, Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

It Turned Into a Great Day - It Was a Busy One, Though

Yesterday actually went pretty well. I'm one of those people who despises the concept of "late". I'm early. for everything. I've always joked that I was probably born before the full nine months of growth in the womb, because when pressed, I'll always try to arrive early. Yesterday's appointments were no exception to that. 

It was a stunning Fall day yesterday, so in addition to 
the blue skies and the charmed schedule, I had a 
chance to drive through and look at a lot of the gorgeous 
autumn leaves. They'll start falling pretty quickly now. 
The temperatures will demand it. 

I arrived and checked in for my mammogram more than 15 minutes early, and she called my name, did the 3-D procedure, and I was out of there walking in the parking lot before my actual scheduled appointment time had arrived. I headed up to my Orthodontist from there, and again, arrived early. Still, they have a very comfortable waiting room, and I always have a book I'm reading on my phone. My name was called, and the technician pulled my wires. Sure enough, the cap came off when the wire was removed. She cleaned it and put it into a small envelope for me. 

I now had some time, and it was 2nd Tuesday - a day when I try to get to my co-op for a great deal on my collagen powder. So, I drove down to the co-op, picked up my "ice cream" bars and collagen (they have a great deal on "wellness" products on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, and there was also a $3 manufacturer's coupon - bringing my usual $44 price down into the mid-$30 range). Putting them into the chiller in my trunk, I headed off again towards home. 

But there was still time and DH was possibly still home. I decided to do a quick grocery shop since I had the time, so I got the last red pears and four Red Lady apples to bake, as well as the chicken I needed for dinner and veggies, then headed home, got everything put away and the fruit cut up. I decided to head over to the dentist before baking the pear/apple combo, so put everything into the fridge to marinade and headed out. 

I arrived about 45 minutes early for that appointment, but was called in almost immediately, and I was out of there, crown cleaned and re-attached, within a half hour. Charge? $38! Sweet! I dropped off a package I'd been intending to return to Amazon, and then headed back to the Orthodontist. I was almost an hour early for my 1:00 pm appointment, but they got me in quickly, reattached my wires and the elastic braid I've had, and voila - I was through with the back and forth. Time to cook. 

The rest of the day was spent cooking - my baked pears and apples combo, and a butternut squash in maple syrup - chatting with Aearwen, and generally enjoying a lovely afternoon. I can't complain at all. It was one of our last beautiful Autumn days, and I had the opportunity to spend a lot of it outdoors, all around the Cities, looking at lovely and colorful trees and a perfect, blue sky. SCORE! Now, if my teams had only won their games yesterday. Oh well, I can't have everything. LOL Have an excellent day and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים לישראל .