It's Surgery Day (Finally) - Let's Wave Goodbye To This Pesky Tumor

Today is the big day - surgery for my breast cancer. I'm scheduled to check in around 6:00-6:15 am at the hospital, then I'm whisked away, DH can go to the shop and get that ready for the day, and Claire will settle down in whatever waiting rooms are available. My actual surgery is scheduled for shortly after 8:00 am, and I'll probably be back home before noon. Claire will stick around at the hospital until about 10:00 am, at which time she'll drive to the shop and keep Chickie company until DH gets me settled back at home after I'm released. It's been a long journey, but a surprisingly quick one too. 

My tumor is located in the lower portion of my breast, so 
I suspect the middle picture will be closer to my reality. 
Still, I'm not the one performing the surgery (thank 
goodness). LOL

I'm very grateful that breast cancer treatments and surgery has come as far as it has in my lifetime. It used to be a death sentence, then horribly disfiguring (although you do what you need to do, in those cases), and now, if they can catch it early, it's quick, focused, and thorough. At least, I HOPE it will be thorough. But I will go on record here that I'm getting really tired of having needled stuck into my breast. It got old really quickly. And even if every time I got jabbed it was for a good reason, I will be happy to allow that experience to melt into the past and not be revisited. 

Memories hang around, and are warped by newer 
experiences. Memory is rarely entirely truthful. 
Here's a small bit of Dali's masterpiece, "The 
Persistence of Memory". This is life, encapsulated. 

I asked DH to bring home some good sushi last night, and he totally delivered. It was an awesome dinner with lots of variety. So good! But then we separated once again, because he's got this cough that simply won't go away, and I refuse to potentially catch whatever germs he might be carrying around him. So he was upstairs and I was downstairs for "Oak Island" last night. I do wish he'd get rid of the cough. I don't think he's even bothered seeing his doctor about it. Of course his doctor is a piece of work - probably should have been retired at least a decade ago. No real help there! 

We had a lovely assortment of sushi for dinner last 
night. I had texted DH and told him I was really in 
a mood for a nice assortment of "real" sushi (not 
just the rolls we often end up with for the sake of '
economy). He brought home three lovely groupings 
and we both enjoyed dinner very much. 

So, as I wrap this up, I'm going to reiterate once again ... GET YOUR MAMMOGRAMS! We managed to catch my cancer early and we've been treating it aggressively to get rid of it quickly. That wouldn't have been possible without early detection through my most recent mammogram. Get those boobs squeezed - it might save your life. (That includes you too, guys! Men get breast cancer too.) I'll be back tomorrow, although I might let myself sleep in a little bit. Have an excellent Wednesday. And Matt - my dear departed friend - I'm thinking of you today! Slava Ukraini. 

It's Day One of a Two-Day Countdown - Besties Are REALLY the BEST!

I won't be posting tomorrow. I have to be at the hospital at 6:15 am and my surgery is at 8:15 am. Today is taken up with my pre-op physical, but that won't happen until early afternoon. So I still get a chance to get some grocery shopping in and make a batch of Ogre Juice. Having Ogre Juice available is going to be prime in healing quickly. Getting those nutrients into my body to replenish it from the shock of surgery will be essential. 

I know that the nutrients in my alkagizer will help me heal 
quickly. I have two still avaliable, but I'd like to make another 
four today so that I don't have to worry about them until late 
in the week. 

At this point, however, I just want this over and done with. I want to get on with my life, for as much or little as I have left of it. My hope is that I'll still have a good 20 years left, but who knows? I'm no Spring Chicken any more, I'm fully into the Autumn, and seeing those freezing winds of Winter approaching. But today I'm taking an unusual Tuesday off since I'll be busy tomorrow. 

I still feel like a Spring Chicken, although 
the weather is trying to convince me 
otherwise *sigh*. I'm not much of a winter fan. 

DH is very worried, but my friend Claire (Chickie Mama) is my rock. She's been amazing throughout and at my side through everything. She'll be at the clinic with me this afternoon, and at the hospital with DH tomorrow. I don't know what I ever did to get such a good friend, but I'm eternally grateful for having her in my corner every step of the way. 

There's nothing much better than a best friend, and in Chickie 
and Chickie Mama (Claire) I have two amazing and awesome 
friends. I really couldn't have done this process without 
both of them. 

So I'm going to bundle up and head to the grocery store. It's below zero with a stiff wind chill, and I'm not going to want to be out in it any longer than needed. I've got some soup made, I can get chicken for tomorrow's dinner, and I have a little of this and that in the freezer. I won't starve to death, even in the middle of a Minnesota winter. I hope all of you stay warm and safe, and I'll be back on Thursday. Slava Ukraini. 

Upcoming MRI, Coughs, Cooking, and "The Hat"

I'm finally caught up with posts I had missed. It's been a crazy few weeks, and we're not finished yet. DH is at least staying away from me, so I'm coughing less and think I might be able to pull off this MRI tomorrow after all. At least that's my hope. I'm not sure I'll do the Valium, though. I seem to be able to control my coughing a bit better if I'm not befuddled. And, looking at images on-line, it's not a totally enclosed chamber - it's a tunnel. I can usually handle tunnels as long as I can see the exit. So ... we'll see how I do tomorrow. 

I don't have claustrophobia if I can see an out, 
so I think I'll actually be OK. I'll be enclosed, but 
not 100% locked in. As the saying goes: There's 
light at the end of the tunnel. LOL

What I do know for a fact is that my doctor needs the imaging to make sure she knows exactly where the tumor is located. That's kind of important stuff - LOL. Me? I'm more worried about where I check into the hospital for the surgery. It's a very large hospital, and I want to make sure I can do it efficiently, not waste time going from one location to another. I think I'll phone my Doc and ask the team this question so that we're all now wasting time. 

United Hospital is a large hospital near downtown 
Saint Paul, MN. The last thing I want is to check in 
at the wrong side of it and be late for the surgery 
on the 4th. I have time to check that out, though. 

Today I'm grocery shopping, depositing DH's check and paying a lot of bills, and making soup. I'm still undecided about what soup I'll make, but it's cold up here in the Frozen Northlands, and soup is my go-to in cold temps. The last one I made, the cabbage soup, was WONDERFUL. I absolutely loved it and I'll make that one again. But not today. Variety is the spice of life, after all. 

I'm in the mood for a nice vegetable soup today. I'll have to 
see what veggies look good when I go to the store in an 
hour or so. 

So we're starting out another Trump presidency. It's four years that we have to check off on our calendars, and we can only hope that we'll still be an independent nation of mixed peoples and cultures after those four years have passed. I have to say that I loved Melania's choice of headgear. She could stand up there, look prim and polished, and ignore 90% of what was happening around her. Nobody could tell the difference. LOL. 

I have to give her credit - not everyone could have 
pulled of the "Lady of Mystery and Mourning" that 
Melania managed at the changeover of power ceremonies. 
I actually rather like the hat ... on her! LOL

"Honey, did you see how masterfully I took over my old 
job?"

"No dear, I couldn't see a thing in front of me." LOL

Have an excellent Wednesday. Tomorrow is the MRI, but I think I'll still have the opportunity to post, although it might be a short post. If I don't post early, I'll post late and let everyone know if I freaked out or not - LOLOL. Slava Ukraini. 

Eyes and Flowers and Color - Oh My!

My eye doctor was very pleased with how my eye is healing, and I have my appointment time for my next surgery - next week Wednesday at 6:30 am. I got very lucky and got the first surgical slot once again because the first person the scheduler called didn't answer the phone, so I was second on the list and got my choice. First thing works well for me, especially on a Wednesday. Yippee! Putting the trash buckets back into the garage will be a challenge, but I'll manage that small bit of driving (I'll have to back my car out of the garage and then re park it). 

Our ornamental crabapple tree in our upper 
back yard was in full bloom last Sunday. It 
started as a tree given to us by my Father-in-Law 
many years ago, and has flourished. So beautiful! 

I'm giving you shots of the garden after DH finished with the initial planting, and some of the plants that we purchased on Mother's Day at Gerten's. Such lovely plants. Things are settling in nicely now, and the plants are quite joyous. He's got one section where we have a nice large Bleeding Heart between two rust-colored Coral Bells and it's stunning. I'll take more photos after the plants grow a bit more, but they're settling in nicely. 

Here's a close-up of those crabapple 
blossoms. They;re starting to fall now, and 
the ground is covered with pale pink blossoms. 

The eye doctor said a couple of things I found interesting. The first is that the cataract lenses that he's implanting are for far-sighted vision. I assume that's because as the eyes age, they move more and more into near sighted vision. I've always been hear sighted, so this ability to see clearly at a distance is quite new to me. I don't know when things will calm down enough for a new prescription, but I'm sure it will happen. 

The little side section of the castle walls, where we had 
our Datura last year, will be colorful this year with 
moss roses, goldenrods, celosia, lantana and I forget what the 
fifth type of flower is. This bed took a lot of work - 
it was quite sandy and DH had to put in a LOT of soil 
and peat moss to make the soil better for the flowers. 

Regarding my missing friend - someone asked about her user name. As I mentioned, she was relatively new to me, someone I met through LJ Idol. The name "Desdemona" came to mind, but I'm not 100% sure if that's correct, if it's a varient, or if I'm remembering the incorrect user name. Still, something based on Desdemona seems right to me somehow. If fellow LJ Idol people reading this can help me track her down, I'd appreciate it. I'm a bit worried, it's rather like she fell off a cliff after posting regularly for months. 

We bought a lovely red columbine this year, and it's 
front and center of the main section of castle walls. 

We also bought these pink flowering plants - I don't 
recall what they are named. The taller white/purple 
plants are now between my Lantana in the side garden. 

So, I'll leave you with garden photos, and head out to the swimming pool for my final swim of the week. Then I'll get Tuesday's swim (and I might go Monday, just to get two days in next week), and then time for cataract surgery number two. Have a great Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow! Slava Ukraini. 

It's Going To Be a Day - Looking At Dust Storms

Today is a massively rushed day, It's a standard "day off" =- swimming, laundry, housecleaning, cooking, and shopping. But in addition, I have a 7:30 am appointment with my eye doctor for my two-week checkup. I was doing great until Sunday afternoon, when I think my eye got scratched by dirt or dust while DH was planting things in the garden. There were a few things he needed my help with, and  somehow my eye got scratched. I've been going heavy on the generic eyedrops, and making sure I'm not missing scheduled doses of the antibiotic eyedrop ever since. 

Dust in the wind isn't all bad. Check out this piece 
by artist Linda Nedilski called "Dust in the Wind". I 
really like the shapes and colors she used here. 

Monday's work day was miserable because of my eye, but Tuesday was better. I see the eye doctor early today for my two-week checkup and I'll get a chance to see what he says. All I can think of is that some dust or dirt from the garden got into my eye somehow. But it's been a miserable few days. 

Check out this dust storm from Israel. Now, I'm NOT 
fond of dust storms. They frighten me - almost more than 
tornadoes or deep winter blizzards. There's something 
about being unable to breathe easily that just quirks me out. 

My next surgery takes place in a week, so I'd better have clear, non-painful vision in my "fixed" eye prior to then. When I'm seeing comfortably, however, it's rather amazing. I'm seeing colors and clarity as I haven't for years. It's worth the aggravation. 

I don't have a location on this dust storm, but it's 
another big one. When I went to school in New Mexico, 
we would get dust storms in the spring. The dust would 
get EVERYWHERE - even through the double-pane 
windows. It was a red dust, and it colored everything. 

But, I need to get the garbage cans to the curb and run to the pool for my swim, then drop off my wet stuff and leave immediately for the eye doctor. It's going to be a day! :LOL I hope yours is wonderful and I'll be back tomorrow. 

Cataracts - Surgery is Now On my Agenda, If Not My Calendar

My eye doctor appointment went well. After having my eyes checked out by several different machines, the doctor came in and did some other checks, and then confirmed that my cataracts need surgery. What I had suspected. My vision is crap, and I need it functional, so I'm waiting for their surgical scheduler to get in touch with me so that I can grab one of the first open slots for the 6:00 am or 6:30 am slots. DH will have to drive me back and forth, and then go on to the shop after dropping me at home, so scheduling is important. 

With laser surgery, things are so different and 
improved from the time when my Dad had 
his surgery many years ago. There's only two 
weeks between my two eye surgeries, and 
I'll be able to be relatively active (some small 
restrictions exist) almost immediately. I expect 
I'll be laid low for the single day, but maybe 
not for all of it. Hard to say. 

I'll have one eye done, and then two weeks later, the other one. I'm not allowed to be in the swimming pool for a week after each surgery, so I'll have to work out on the elliptical instead. I''ll miss the pool, but at least I'll have all of this over before the outdoor pool opens up (ideally). Of course I'll also need a new prescription for my eyeglasses after the surgeries have been completed, so as much as I would like new glasses, that won't happen immediately. Still, it's great to have a course of action nailed down. 

DH said he would set his alarm, but he doesn't have a 
lot of faith in it, so he wants me to phone him just 
before I enter the gym today. I have my alarm set for 
4:55 am to do that. 

Today I'm supposed to phone DH at home shortly before the gym doors are unlocked to wake him up for an appointment that he has. It's never just one thing with us, we tend to go in clumps - LOL. So, I have an alarm set on my phone to remind me, else I'll forget while catching up with Rosemary and Meg at the front doors. 

Oh my ... calling DH at 4:55 am might just 
be TOO much excitement for me today! LOL

I think that's all of the excitement I can handle today - LOL. I have peppers in the refrigerator and tomatoes on my countertop waiting until tomorrow when I'll make my Roasted Peppers and Tomato soup. Yum! I'm already looking forward to it. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow for the final day of March! Spring is coming (although it's certainly NOT here yet - snow today *sigh*). Slava Ukraini. 

ChickieMama Surgery and Thoughts on the Middle Ages

Today is a topsy-turvy day. I work for Chickie today while she takes ChickieMama to Mayo Clinic for cancer surgery. It's a minor procedure, they leave early this morning and should be back home by early afternoon. But it's surgery and Claire is older than I am, so there's always something to worry about, even in out-patient surgery. If you can spare a positive thought or six for Claire today, it would be kind of you. 

Claire's surgery is at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, 
approximately an hour or so south of the Twin Cities. 
We're quite fortunate to have a world-class medical 
center so close to where we live. 

But, that means that I work today and I'm off tomorrow. My schedule is totally turned on end. I'll continue with my current task at the shop which will take me through today and many more todays, and I'll have to work with customers also, because DH is fairly useless at working with them. All I can say is he'd better be busy with something that has to do with our closing next year while he's secreted at his desk in the back. That's all I'm saying - GRRRR. 

I really dislike it when schedules are switched or 
changed up, but this is for a really good reason, and 
Claire is a good friend. So I'll just be hoping things 
go well for her and I'll get tomorrow as my "day off" 
instead of today. 

But with this small exception and bump in the road, nothing too much is happening today and that's not a bad thing. Sometimes routines and focus on tasks is what's important. For a change, though, why not think about what it would have been like for you at this time of the year a century or two or four or more ago. 

I guarantee that life would have been harder and probably 
shorter in the Middle Ages. There was no Industrial 
Revolution, no machines to help us in the fields. We lived 
a much more hand-to-mouth existence then, although 
some people are still living that way today. 

Where would you have been living? Would you have been a maker or a farmer? A lord or a serf? Would you have been a craftsperson? Who would you be interacting with daily? Weekly? Once a year? Would you have a strong roof over your head or be living in a one-room home? Where would your meals come from? Do you have a spouse? Children? Pets or domestic animals? How about a garden? Is it ready for harvesting or was it a poor year for crops and you're looking ahead at a winter of want and deprivation? 

There weren't a lot of career choices in the Middle 
Ages. They mostly fell into agriculture, maker (blacksmith, 
weaver, cook, etc), ruling class or military service. Of 
course, the peasants were also forced to go to war if their 
ruler decided it was necessary. *sigh* Not a very 
bucolic life, to be sure. 

Sometimes I like to take these little journeys into my head. It's these journeys that can populate your writing, that can inspire you to greater achievements in your present life, or that can color your art. On that note, I'm plugging in photos and getting out to the pool. It's trash day, so one more thing to do before I can leave the house this morning. Have an excellent day and Slava Ukraini. 

How's Your Summer Going? Seize Your Minutes

So how's your summer going? LOL Yes, it's only been a day, but a lot can happen in a day. After all, it's 24 hours of time, 34,500+ minutes of time. A person can do a lot in one minute. There's a minute minuet for the piano, there are minute mysteries that I remember reading while I was a young adult, an adorable puppy can bring a smile to a face in mere seconds - a fraction of that minute, and a person can be hurt by words or physically in less than a minute as well. As we enter this new season, be mindful of those seconds, minutes and days so that when you look back at them at Mabon (the end of September and start of the autumn), you'll be happy with the positive energy you spread through your world. 

One thing that makes me very happy, was this photo that
Chickie took of our milkweed outside the back door
to my store. See those striped caterpillars? Those are
Monarch butterflies just waiting to grow their wings. 

I spent yesterday on the phone and at the clinic getting the referrals and the appointments I needed onto the schedule. Next Wednesday morning I meet with a physical therapist to learn what kind of exercises or motions I can add to help my arm recover and live pain-free. It would be a nice option. I won't even hope for the pool because my second appointment might eliminate that for the rest of the summer *sigh*. 

My arm pain is keeping me from sleeping well and affecting the
performance of my job. I need some directed care and specific
instructions on exercises and movements that will help the muscle
heal. I've been abusing my body for decades and it's taking its
revenge now. 

On another Wednesday, this time in mid-July, I have an appointment at a Sports and Orthotics clinic to get my hand looked at. I've had a small growth in my hand for a year or more and it ebbs and shrinks, becoming quite painful sometimes. When I mentioned it to my doctor, she recommended getting it removed, saying that each time it grew and then subsided, it created scar tissue that would make surgery more difficult. I'm NOT looking forward to needles and knives, although I know it's a simple procedure, but I've come close to doing it on my own when the darned thing is inflamed. I'll meet with them and see what they have to say. 

I have a small growth in the palm of my left hand that my
doctor thinks should be removed. I'll get it looked at, and
then decide on a course of action. But I'll probably get it taken
out before it gets larger, if that's the recommendation. 

So, I guess I'm getting my Medicare's worth. As I grow older, I realize that it's a lot harder, there are aches and pains I never thought about, and my respect for the elderly who climb out of bed each morning and shuffle to breakfast and through their days has increased. It's not easy to live with pain, but it seems to be a necessary evil for so many people. 

Have a wonderful and fantastic weekend. It's looking like it might storm on Sunday, which makes grilling less enjoyable, so we might go out for a nice Italian meal. Pasta sounds really good to me right now. I'll be back on Monday. 

I Don't Want A Repeat Experience

Earlier this year, (or was it late last year?), I had an eye infection that required me to have surgery. My eye was irritating me yesterday morning, so I took a look and decided to see the doctur ASAP to get some antibiotics and, hopefully, nip this in the bud before I have to have another surgery. They could have squeezed me in yesterday with a staff doctor, but I had nobody to cover for me at work. Today, however, I was able to arrange that, so I'm off to the eye doctor at 11:00 am and hopefully can get this under control before a second surgery will be required. *sigh*

I'm looking for some modern 'magic' to cure this before it becomes
more of an issue. 

What did people do before there were doctors and antibiotics? When I think of the things that I've gone through in my life, I would probably be crippled, would have had several teeth pulled (without anesthesia - OUCH!), maybe have lost the sight in one eye. Actually, since life expectancy was much lower, I'd probably be dead. Icky!

With age comes wisdom, at least some of the time. 

I'm suddenly very grateful for my modern conveniences. Yes ... very grateful indeed :-) Happy Friday, everyone!

Moving On and Frustrations

First of all, I survived my surgery and thank all of you for your very kind thoughts and good wishes. I'm really hoping I don't have to go through anything like that again in my future, but it went quite smoothly and I actually got most of what I needed to, accomplished during the day. After this morning's writing I only have a bit more than 6000 words left before winning NaNoWriMo again for the third year. I got a lot written yesterday because I was supposed to be a bit quiet after the surgery, so I sat down and wrote another 2000+ words. DH spoiled me with bar-b-qued ribs for dinner along with a gourmet cupcake for dessert. Yummy!

I do love gourmet cupcakes. So yummy! 

I'm frustrated right now because I'm having all kinds of problems with my AOL email accounts. My main account which I use constantly suddenly isn't allowing any new mail to show. I can't access anything newer than August, 2011. Three out of my five accounts are compromised in this fashion and I can't get in touch with an agent to figure out what's going on. Getting this resolved is my NUMBER ONE PRIORITY today.

I'm about to pull my hair out over this email issue. It's more than
frustrating. It also means I can't get order confirmations, questions
from customers and general comments from daily subscriptions.
SO NOT HAPPY! 

So I'm really happy on the one hand, and really cranky on the other. Life could be so easy...but it's just not. *sigh* Happy Thursday everyone. I hope yours runs a bit smoother than mine has lately. I'll be back with more tomorrow, and thanks once more for all of the kind thoughts and wishes for my eye surgery.

Stress - Eye Surgery Day

I thought I was pretty much OK about this eye surgery that I'm scheduled for this afternoon, but I guess there's something in my subconscious because I had a really lousy night's sleep. I tossed and turned and even gave up and read for an hour in the middle of the night. I guess I got about four good hours, but I'm running on empty today.

I think some winking animals to celebrate my eye surgery is
a good photo theme for today. 

I have a lot of writing to try to do today, and of course I have to be at the doctor's by 2:00 pm for this procedure. I don't expect it will take more than a half hour or so, but it won't be pleasant and I'll just be happy to see the back side of it. If the darned thing wasn't affecting my vision so much, I would just say the hell with it. But it really is causing some serious vision issues, so I have to see this through. The doctor has assured me that I can drive myself back home as long as I'm willing to sit in the waiting room for an hour or so after the procedure until I can see well enough to be behind the wheel of my car. I'm fine with that.

I can't resist this little puppy with his paw raised. So cute!

And just because we got more snow overnight, I thought this
lovely snowy owl would cap off the day nicely. 

So, I'm going to try and get done whatever I can today, but with such a big chunk of my day scheduled for the doctor, I know I'll be catching up on my laundry later in the week and I may not get the 5000 or more words I want on my Wednesdays written. I'll do my best though, and I'll be back talking with everyone again tomorrow. I thought since I'm having eye surgery, I'd look for animals winking for photos today. Enjoy and have a great Wednesday.

Where Has November Gone?

In a little more than a week we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving! Then we'll hold our Black Friday and Small Business Saturday sales. I haven't updated our email list for our sales yet, and I haven't composed he text or even decided what items I'm going to put on sale yet. I'm already out of time and it's only the 18th! I have a bunch of new products that have to be strung, labelled and hung out for display within the next week. I have new products that still need to be processed and there's still one more shipment I'm expecting before Turkey Day. I don't think I've entered the Holiday Season this unprepared in many years. We've brought too much in too close to the holiday to easily catch up.

We always run specials for Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. We
don't get a dramatic increase in business, but we usually do get enough
to make it worth our while to offer some deals. I used to shop at other stores
on Black Friday just to get into the spirit of the holiday, but probably won't
bother shopping much this year. 

Having my eye surgery tomorrow also isn't going to help this schedule. I'll want to rest and recuperate, but I won't have any time to indulge in that. My timing couldn't be much worse. I'm keeping up with my words for NaNoWriMo, but Wednesdays are usually a good catch-up day for me and I've got the surgery instead. I'm going to have to figure out really quickly how to work on my laptop with a backup copy, then pull the backup back into current text. I know it can be done, I've done it before. But I wish I had a bit more time for experimentation.

I use Scrivener writing software for NaNoWriMo. I confess that
I totally love it, although there is a definite learning curve. I started
out several years ago using a different, less expensive program, but
switched to this two years ago. I recommend it to any serious
author. And if you're doing NaNo, you can get it at a reduced cost. 

But, whether I want it or not, tempus fugit. I hope all of you have a wonderful Tuesday and I'll be back with another short post tomorrow.

Life's Little Vicissitudes

Smooth sailing is for other people.

I saw the eye doctor yesterday and good news - the swelling is down and the pain is minimal. Bad news - I need to have the cyst, for so it's been determined I have, drained which is eye surgery. It's an inpatient procedure done at the office, but it will involve needles for local anesthetic. I've had these before for eye surgery. The damned local anesthetic shots HURT A LOT. Once I get through that, the actual cut and drain should be a cakewalk. I can drive myself home if I sit in the waiting room for up to an hour until I am no longer tearing blood. Oh joy! That's scheduled for the 19th in the afternoon, so I have two weeks until DOOM strikes.

Doom will strike. Probably not this dramatically, though. I love this picture
of  Volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupting in south Iceland, May 2010

I've been working with the city to try and get a handle on the street parking in my area. We have a university across the street from us and students parking have been causing us all sorts of problems. The city finally put up some signage instructing "No Parking from 8:00 am until 6:00 pm" for most of the block, but they stopped right after my driveway. My DH wants the sign moved to our property line. He's been driving me crazy bitching and moaning about this stupid sign since they put them up on Friday night. If I have to listen to much more complaining, I might run into the street screaming, so I guess I'll have to phone the city today and see what I can do. One more thing on my agenda *sigh*.

I had wanted signs like this, but the city over-complicated things.
Now I have to call Duane and see if anything can be done.
A face-to-face meeting between him and DH might be for the best. 

I'm looking at my to-do list for the day and I can't even read my own writing. This isn't good. I know I have several errands that have to get done today. It would be helpful to be able to actually read them on the list. I'll be spending as much time as possible writing or working on my beadwork project. I should have 10,500 words in to my NaNo by the end of today, and I only have 7678 right now. So I have a bit more writing to do. I keep looking at what I'm writing and I'm so unsure about whether this is actually going to work or not, but I have a lot invested in the story, and if I have to delete a word, a sentence, a paragraph or entire pages in the editing process, so be it. It can't be edited if it hasn't already been written.

Most authors are familiar with the phrase "Kill your darlings". But is it
always a good idea? Check out this link for some different thoughts. 

Happy Wednesday to all of you. I hope you're happy with the results of your various elections from yesterday. I haven't checked the news yet, so I don't know who won in my area, but I'm sure DH will have something to complain about - LOL.

Jury Duty and Surgery Update

So things progress. I need to find one single report for the accountant that I didn't have (grumble, growl). I had everything else perfectly organized, just one was missing. So now my financial life is sitting in two grocery bags in front of my closet until I get a day off to put everything away properly. More mess for my room *sigh*.

On the jury duty side, DH got a card in the mail from the Jury Commissioner on Monday. Cut and dried, it said "Your request to be excused from jury service at this time has been granted. You do not need to report as previously summoned. At some time in the future you may be selected again. If so, it will be necessary to reconsider your juror status at that time." Gee...do you think? DUH! But, at least he's off the hook this time. Truthfully, I can't imagine any lawyers wanting to have him on their jury, but that's just me - LOL.

And DH has his surgery today. He'll have an audiogram early in the morning and his minor surgical procedure around 11 am. He took the day off from work, but is expecting to be back at work tomorrow. We'll see. At least his hearing will be improved for a short time once he has this done. It never seems to last for long, but I'll take it while I can. Have a glorious Wednesday!

A Working "Day Off"

We're running our 4-Day End-of-Year sale today.  It's Day 2.  Yesterday was pretty busy and I don't dare leave Chickie and Jim on their own today because Jim isn't up to speed helping customers when they get a lot into the store at a time.  So I'll go in and work.  But I'll go in late - I figure I'll show up around 11 am - and if the pace isn't as busy as yesterday, I probably won't stay.  My usual day off consists of studio time and laundry.  I won't be able to do the laundry until tonight if I have to work all day, I also won't get the grocery shopping finished.  So I'm torn.  I want some serious busy shoppers to be in my store.  I want to have a day that is as busy and filled with happy shoppers as I can.  But I'm also frustrated because I'll have to give up my day off.  I think I'll sit in my little computer area when we are not busy and continue reading Surgical Steel's "King's Surgeon" story.  It's got a lot of chapters and I (might) have a lot of time - a perfect combination. 

Our End-of-Year sale has been popular with our
customers for several years.  Some real bargains are
available and we love to have less to count for inventory.

I will take a bit of time to go to Barnes & Noble Booksellers this morning, though.  I want a screen saver and a cover for my Nook.  I'm just thrilled with this new toy in my life and I want to be able to use it without worrying about scratching it.  It's an amazing tool.  I'm middle aged and I am so amazed at the strides that computers have taken in my lifetime.  I remember my first laptop.  The concept that a computer could be portable, when they had started out taking rooms worth of space, was so amazing to me.  I've had several laptops since then, and numerous desktops, and now I have the Nook - in essence, a tablet computer.  Computers have broadened my life and my group of friends, and given me my entertainment for after-hours also.  I'm not sure who thinks up these developments and makes them happen, but I am really grateful to them. 

I am in love with my new Nook Color.  I am
going to be using this a lot.  Now if I can just
get my art books delivered as e-Books.  Then I
would be totally joyful. 

And shouts go out to Surgical Steel for her birthday, and Poo who is undergoing gall bladder surgery today.  May all go well for both of you, and may your days ahead  be awesome. 

Watershed

This will be a week of events and changes. My DH goes to see his Doctor for a surgery follow-up today. There are a lot of things that aren't going as well as he had thought, although he is not known as a patient man. I think things will improve over time and that it has been barely more than a week since the surgery. I guess I have a longer-term aspect to my thoughts :-) I also am the featured member of the month for the Upper Midwest Bead Society's newsletter and I am being incredibly honored by being chosen as the artist of the month for the Metalclay yahoogroup (which necessitates my coming up with a biography and a personal website ). I'm still rather amazed that I was asked to allow this - I work in metal clay, I enjoy it as a media. But I'm such an across-the-board jeweler and artist. Maybe my cross-venue art can help to inspire someone else though, and then it will be well worth the exposure.

I've been waiting for word from Lark Books about two different submissions that I have pending. I'm at the point of crossing my fingers because I should hear by the end of the month. I may have to break down and actually contact them directly - something that I usually would never do. I am fully aware that I may not get positive responses from them, but sometimes the rejections can be as good a learning experience as the acceptances.

As we enter Autumn, take a look around you with eyes open. Enjoy the fall colors - the warmth of topaz, the sun inside olivine and the scarlet reds of sumac and the setting sun. These are the colors that will allow us to live through the color-drained season of winter which is still to come. Live happily today and share smiles - they cost you nothing and enrich everyone.

Aftermath and Shyness

The surgery went well. I brought a book on watercolor techniques as well as my current volume of History of Middle Earth and my sketchbook and pencils. I had a four-hour (or so) wait in the waiting room, so I got the book read and the current HoME finished and really wanted to draw, but I was too shy to get the sketchbook and pencils pulled.

After I got my DH settled, I went back to the shop and opened for the rest of the afternoon. I mentioned to Chickie that I was too shy to open my sketchbook and draw while I was at the hospital and she couldn't quite figure out why since only practicing will improve my technique and any child would be happy to sit with pencils and paper and draw. She's right. I need to find the courage and self-confidence of my inner child again before I will be comfortable drawing in public, but I need to find that soon because I want to work on my sketching techniques and that's not going to happen if I'm a creative coward. So....my challenge to you and to myself is to put on the blinders and work on your art with the joy and lack of self-consciousness of a child. I have a feeling it will be harder to do that than to spell it, but I'm going to try very hard to allow myself the joy of creating.

Surgery

My DH is scheduled for surgery in a few hours, so I'm not posting anything much today. I'll be sitting, bored, in a waiting room. I think I'll bring my sketchbook and pencils with me as well as one drawing book and my standard book that is always in my purse. I hope all of you have a creative and wonderful Friday.

Stress Filled Week Ahead

I really work hard at keeping my equilibrium and allowing things to slide off me rather than affect my daily viewpoint. It doesn't make a lot of sense to worry about things in advance of the appropriate time to worry about them. It also doesn't make a lot of sense to stress about things because my body doesn't react well to stress. So I try to stay mellow and concentrate on my art and projects when I do stress to pull the stress out. But this week will be a hard one. My DH is having ear surgery on Friday, and Wednesday is our 30th wedding anniversary. Both of these are stressful - the anniversary because it usually is a day that my DH spends regretting (nothing like regret for the past 30 years to make a person feel really wanted and cherished ) and of course surgery is always stressful.

I hope that the surgery will be beneficial. His hearing is getting worse and worse and he develops ear infections which also are a serious problem. The past two ear infections led to some major surgeries and the doctor is hoping that this smaller one will nip this current infection in the bud and keep us from requiring the more major surgery. Either way, it still will be painful and will require me to have the shop closed to the public on Friday while I am at the hospital with him. So my Assistant Manager will do inventory and packing and will answer the phone on Friday, but our doors will be locked. I have had signs posted for a week, and I hope that people will not be too disappointed, but sometimes we have no choices.

I don't think I'll be brave enough to bring my watercolors with me to the surgery waiting room, but a sketchbook would probably be OK. I think my cloak might be too bulky, and they don't have Wi-Fi for my laptop (or at least they didn't the last time I needed to accompany my DH to the Day Surgery clinic. But I have a few days to work out my logistics for how I want to spend a few free hours :-)