Thursday, August 31, 2006
Sweet History—-Must. Let. Go. Now.
For the past little while, I have been going through all the stuff in the study. Twenty-three years living in this house, what has accumulated is overwhelming.
I keep stopping to get sentimental, especially about items from our sons’ childhoods.
They might not be all that interested in keeping mementos (I looked it up, there is no need for an ‘e’ before the ‘s’ ) but as a mom, I feel duty-bound to hold history in a box.
Something turned up the other day, having fallen between the couch and the cedar chest. There were cat hairs and mold and a muddy color of something not recognizable on the whiteness of the fabric.
I pre-treated, washed, soaked, then washed again. Some stains are meant to stay.
More Sweet History—-Must. Let. Go. Now.... below the fold
Monday, August 28, 2006
Quick with Quips
Guitar chords of the theme song from the TV show Hogan’s Heroes were wafting down the hallway.
I asked the son why he was playing them.
His answer “Homework”.
A few minutes later as he entered the kitchen, I mentioned that I’m feeling kinda OLD right now, because that show was my favorite when I was a little girl.
My husband spoke up from his seat at the nook table.
“Honey, he’s expected to study ancient history in college”.
~~love and Huggs, Diane
White Flowers up the street
The sun finally came out
these can be seen at the end of a driveway on Normal Avenue
Two great hunters
I found this and many others at Go Comics dot com toon in daily.
I’m not going to link it because we’ve been having some really weird spam coming in, getting past the filters and ruining my good sentiments.
This is so true to my life this week.
Talk about ho-hum at the end of summer.
There was a bit of excitement on the back porch earlier today.
I was just stepping out of the shower, drying off, then getting dressed, but could hear two cats and much howling and many thumps and bumps against the wood on the other side of the wall. By the time I tied my shoelaces, all had settled down.
When I got to the kitchen and looked out the window, girl cat was on the chair, and boy cat was on the bench under the window. Both snoozing without a care in the world.
I went on about the morning, changing laundry one machine to the other, starting a cd, reading the Internet.
Awhile later, I heard the mail carrier’s truck going down the Court. I waited until he got ‘round to ours (the dropbox is in the garage), then wandered out to bring in the mail.
As soon as I opened the door, the smell of blood hit me.
And right by the frame was the guts of some small creature, with a little tuft of gray fur beside it.
That’s all I could see, but opened the screen door very carefully.
Mahalia opened one eye, giving me a wary stare.
Oscar did not even twitch.
I stepped over the mess on the mat, allowed the door to close, and assessed other damage.
Blood spattered on the door and wall beside it. More tufts of what I’d say is rabbit fur.
Drips of blood in a path to the middle of the steps.
No other pieces or parts in sight.
Poor, pitiful little beast. Two huge hunters fighting over its still warm and bleeding body.
And there they rested, as if nothing had happened.
I turned on the hose and got the porch broom and cleaned up. The sound of the waterspray woke up Oscar, but he didn’t get down from his perch, and seems to understand that I won’t torture him.
Hally hopped down and went sniffing at a blood splotch I had missed, so I had to turn the nozzle that direction. She scooted away real fast, and hissed at me.
HISSED at me!
I hope that bunnyrabbit is giving her indigestion.
So yeah, other than the cats, it’s been real quiet here.
May you all be content as well.
~~love and Huggs, Diane
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Donations: One Box and No Unit
Well, I filled a box with children’s books and before I could change my mind about any of them, I carried it off to the public library. There will be a used book sale next month. I’ll try my best to not buy back any of my donations!
I went over to the place where the blood mobile is today, with the aim of giving while I am getting over the side effects and feeling better.
Before I went, I called the Red Cross Blood Services and asked if the prescription meds I am taking would put me off the list for Donors, but the nurse said I should be just fine.
I signed in, read all the booklet pages, waited my turn for the check-in. Temp, blood pressure. Then the finger stick.
I told her she would have to put the blood in the centrifuge, it happens every time.
Except this time, spinning didn’t help.
Hematocrit only at 34, and it has to be at least 38 to donate.
I told her the pills are for my thyroid, I didn’t think about the iron.
Ah well, I still got a nice 100% cotton t-shirt, and I asked to make sure my situation is in the computer so that the phone messages and request cards will stop coming for awhile.
On the way home, I got to thinking about eating lately. I’m not supposed to take any other pills with my thyroid pill, and then I don’t eat for an hour.
In times past, I took my multi-vitamin with iron and calcium first thing in the morning with breakfast, and then got on with my day.
I have been forgetting the vitamin, which means I should put it on my lunch menu, the way my friend Evelyn does.
This works out, in a way. Now I know that I have to make more adjustments in order to get the iron high enough to donate when our church has its Blood Drive in less than two months.
I usually volunteer at church, but find that working and donating in the same morning does tire me out for the rest of the day.
However, if this is what it takes, I’m glad to know earlier.
Our Parish Nurse will be pleased to know I’m eligible for the Fall Blood Drive.
We want this one to be a high number of units donated!
~~love and Huggs, Diane
Monday, August 21, 2006
Not much, how ‘bout you?
Neato pictures are further down!
Trying desperately to come up with something to say lately.
No, really, life is fairly routine right now.
Last week, middle son, Lucas had a meeting with his Academic Advisor at the U of I/Urbana, and looks like he is on track to have his Bachelor’s in Mathematics in December, along with several courses towards a Master’s.
He will be cutting back his work hours at both jobs to accommodate carrying 12 college credit hours.
New roomies from foreign countries will be sharing the student house, he got a new front wheel and tire for his bicycle, and his boy cat had the operation (seems a shame, no babies, for Scratchy is smart and beautiful).
Over the weekend, Husband and I cleared away junk from behind the couch. Three trash bags to the curb, one box given away, and the rest rearranged for better access. Actually, it looks like nothing was done at all, which means there is way too much stuff for sentimental reasons.
To think that 23 years ago, when we moved here from a 4 room apartment, the house felt big and airy.
Sunday afternoon, we went to a 50th anniversary party. The couple can be considered our friends for more than 20 years, even though we’ve only been married half as long as they have.
Their house is beautiful. And enormous. The story of being built from lumber recycled from an old barn is quite a tale unto itself.
That was the best meat (grill-roasted pork) I’ve had in a long, long time. I passed right over the cake and had a second sandwich for dessert.
I could talk about this being the third Monday in August, which is the beginning of classes at ISU. My husband, as staff support, and youngest son, Chris as student, are much more involved with adventure than I am.
The only trouble I had is navigation on University Street riding my bicycle on the way home from breakfast. Pedestrians would help if they walked in a straight line.
Golly, this looks like a simple event planner.
I guess I’m not in a real ‘sit up and take notice’ nor a very nostalgic kind of mood.
I’ll be getting to work on the latest crochet project just as soon as I hang the next load of laundry out on the clothesline.
~~love and Huggs, Diane
More Not much, how ‘bout you?... below the fold
Friday, August 18, 2006
Wasn’t it Yesterday?
The movie Saturday Night Fever was released the summer of my 21st birthday.
Twice I went to see it. The first time with a guy/date. He got jealous while I sat drooling over John Travolta’s dance moves.
A couple weeks later, I went with a girlfriend.
After the movie, we stopped to get milkshakes and discuss its goods and the bads, and how life portrayed in Manhattan connected to what we knew in the Valley growing up.
It seemed much better the second time I saw it.
Much better with pleasant company.
In the months that followed, the soundtrack zoomed to the top of the radio listening charts. Several dance places opened, with the sparkly ball overhead, and the light-up panels on the floor.
The fella mentioned before proved to be a worthwhile dance partner. We were at a club every chance we could get.
Whoever could have known that this summer of my 50th birthday, when the song Saturday Night Fever came on the tiny radio I keep in the laundry room, I’d be counting the little steps and swaying hips while changing the litter in the cat box.
Times steals softly…....
~~love and Huggs, Diane
Friday, August 11, 2006
Maybe I’ll be out of the house
While sitting here waiting for a phone call, I got to thinking about the trip back to the Valley which happened the end of May. It seems like that was the last situation I was truly excited about, the driving, having youngest son along, telling everybody about my college AA degree.
When we got back, there was a few days of laundry and blogging, and then the challenging Edu Psyche class kept me going awhile. I earned a B for the class (I was only hoping at least to pass with a C), and my overall GPA is 3.11, which should allow me to apply anywhere to continue education (if and when that might happen).
It seems like the educational momentum is what kept me going for the last year or so.
Next thing I know, I have 7 trips to our clinic in a month, I’m taking a pill every morning whether I want to or not, and walking in neighborhoods where my shadow hasn’t been seen in years, give or take the occassional yard sale perusal.
Then, the other day, a thought came niggling into my head, and I decided that I might volunteer with a work team from church. 
I wasn’t sure exactly what was expected, but I need to get out of the house and back amongst the worker bees again.
Doing good works is a time-honored way of being busy for its own sake.
I’ll worry more about Retirement benefit plans in a couple months.
I sent e-mails, I made a couple phone calls.
This aroused a flurry of activity for the details of exactly who is doing how much of what, when, and where will it happen?
While I am ready to have an outside force as incentive, I don’t really want to be wielding lots of responsibility on short notice.
And so I wait, carrying the cordless phone, and hoping that my willing hands will find a worthwhile place for a day or so.
Some folks are better managers than I want to be.
My life can get back to routine on Sunday.
~~love and Huggs, Diane
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Idiom: Snake in the Grass
Meaning: Someone who is a snake in the grass betrays you even though you have trusted them.
While I shouldn’t call my own dear husband such names, I’m wondering why in the world he can’t just cut the grass already?
He explains over at his blog with a picture of what I can see outside my window. Click on the tiny picture to find the detail. The photo is from a slightly different angle than my view.
The discussion about the yard is pretty much our most exciting situation going on here at the house.
On my To-Do List are the items:
- sweep kitchen floor
brother’s birthday gift
clear study table
finish cotton lap robe
vacuum love seat
sort yarns for next crochet project
This is about all I have the energy for. The new medicine for the thyroid is proving to be a difficult adjustment. The CNP says to give it two full weeks to settle in. Today was pill #7.
The directions say to take it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach with plenty of water, then don’t eat or drink anything else for at least an hour. That’s when I leave the house to walk or bicycle, so I won’t be tempted to pour a cup of tea or have some oatmeal.
Actually, I feel my best about 12 hours after taking the medicine, which happens to be in the middle of the evening when I should be winding down to get ready for bed.
It is turning out to be alright that I don’t have a job right now.
An odd feeling during this season. Raising the sons in the school system, then working daycare, then returning to college meant Back-to-School is a major event.
I don’t have that pressure these days. A good thing, given my constant low headache, sore muscles, and trips to the bathroom.
Although I’m not writing much, I am going around reading many other places.
I’m holding good thoughts and prayers for several buddies.
And You are one of them!
~~love and Huggs, Diane
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Stone arches
The historic and recently restored Blaine Bridge on the old National Road in eastern Ohio.
photo by Diane Wiman last Saturday in May 2006
Have a nice weekend!
Thursday, August 03, 2006
This girl would say NO
My dad was 25 years old when I was born.
That is a fact I carried in my head for a long time. It became a measurement for age when I tried to figure where other people might fit in years on the planet.
When we were young, my sisters and I had a job of being daddysitters. Dad had a drinking problem, and we figured out that if one of us kids went along, Dad didn’t drink as much. He would use the excuse that he had to get the kid home, or maybe a little girl had powers of persuasion to head for the door.
More This girl would say NO... below the fold
Medicine, Walking, and Books
There was an appointment with the Family Practice Nurse Practitioner yesterday. The main conversation was about the lab tests which showed my thyroid numbers more than double where it is supposed to be. This tells us that my gland is not working its required potential, with the term hypothyroidism applied. She says we won’t worry about the lipids and cholesterol until we get the thyroid regulated. Research has shown that the body tends to go overboard in other areas in order to protect the main organ. Once we get the dosage of the pills correct, the other blood components decrease and level off in a more normal pattern.
I asked the CNP if she had taken an Edu Psyche class with [Instructor] because those words “research has shown” were used quite often during lectures. She said no, given that her education was quite awhile ago, but the phrase fits in many areas.
For all you medical types out there, I’ll copy the name of the medication LEVOTHYROXINE in the lowest dose of 150mcg. I told her to write the lowest dose because of all the troubles I have with drugs. Demerol almost killed me by causing my blood pressure to drop too fast. Two Tylenol or Motrin will have me sleeping for about 10 hours.
I take this one each morning for 6 weeks, then return for another blood test and weigh in to see if that drug quantity is sufficient, or if we need to increase or cut back.
Since so many of my women friends and family members who are above the age of 40 seem already to be on this path of thyroid failure, let us please clasp hands and pray for smart medical professionals and worthwhile health benefits.
The statement came today for all my trips to the clinic during the last month, with a total of over $700.
I, the patient/spouse-insured, owe a little tiny $5, which we missed as a part of the co-pay structure update.
Meanwhile, the morning walks have become routine. I’ve decided that I will go a little further on the straight sidewalk, then turn for a round in a different neighborhood as variety. Sometimes I pick up trash, this morning I carried 2 pound weights in my hands.
I’ll have to remember my camera every so often, because well-tended flower beds during sunrise—-gasp—-my camera and hand tremors might not do them justice for a blog picture.
The lump in the arch of my left foot is gone, but the spot is still tender when I massage it. My waistline is changing shape. Today, I wore shorts with a drawstring, which I needed to hold them up. The denim shorts which I could not get fastened in April now hang so low as to be uncomfortable during pace.
My husband has been looking at exercise machines for use here in the house. Once the weather gets colder, I might not be quite so likely to get out and keep moving.
The best space to use it would be here in this area, which was an addition intended to be the formal dining room.
The original owners must have been quite the party-givers.
We used it as the playroom when I was doing home daycare. Hard to believe there was a mini-trampoline getting hard and frequent use. There were some afternoons with 7 children playing. They are all at least college age now. Time marches on.
These days, the room holds thousands of books and videotapes, with my computer over here in the corner. We call it the Study, although I mentioned before that the table cannot be used for work. The clutter boggles the mind and overwhelms any organizing system.
Perhaps I should simply bring in a snow shovel from its storage place in the garage.
Nah, some of these might be donated to benefit the library book sale. I cleared two shelves yesterday. The box is too heavy to carry, which means I’ll have to sort again.
Now before you come on saying that I should sell on E-bay, etc. my answer is No.
I watched son Lucas doing that for years, all the ISBN entering and descriptions and site monitoring and packaging and trips to the post office.
He was good at it. I could be, but I don’t really want to.
Plus, online sales and competition has gone much further than many people ever dreamed could happen. A book I ordered did not arrive, after a month of waiting before I complained, then it took another month to get the payment returned, and then I got a letter of woe from the sender about how I gave her a low rating.
I have a difficult time dealing with folks across the counter, so if I have a choice, I’ll pass over wailing by e-mail.
The local library does its job very well, I’m delighted to provide items for its support.
This little message fills you in on most of my happenings. Do you folks have a life? What are you doing this summer?
~~love and Huggs, Diane