Monday, March 30, 2009
The Nose on my Face
Last week I was on Spring Break, doing a whole lot of putzing around the house because my car is in the shop with troubles in the right front wheel (Did I hit a pothole too hard?).
Although I have Husband’s car anytime, I don’t like to drive it more often than necessary.
One would think with all that time open that I could have made an appointment with the doctor, but No, he was at a seminar for part of the week, then the treatment room was not available, so I had to take a day off work today, after Spring Break is over.
Since before Christmas I have been dealing with a troubled spot on the tip of my nose. If it wasn’t itching then it was bleeding, and if neither of those, the mirror said it was the wrong shade of pink.
When I finally went to the doctor at the walk-in clinic to have it cauterized, he got all in a tizzy about how long this has been going on, wrote out a scrip for some potent antibiotics and sent me to my family practitioner, who said a biopsy needed to happen.
The Cancer word was mentioned.
Today was the day.
I had to lean back in a recliner under a real bright light. Then a sterile cloth was placed over my face. At least I assume it was sterile, it had the tape and markings of having been through an autoclave, but the assistant didn’t seem all that conscious of what her hands were doing after she pulled on the gloves.
After taking off the gloves, she reached across the tray and set something upright by touching the outside but not the rim. The actual instrument was still in an intact sterile wrap, and I heard the doctor himself open it.
Even with an injection to numb the area, I think the specimen was taken from a place so deep he might have been touching the root of a tooth. Golly, the pressure.
Then the bleeding began. I lost count of how many gauze pads he used, and several swabs of the clotting drug. At last some tape put on, the doctor left, the assistant said I could sit up.
Immediately, the area began to ooze blood from under the gauze, which was already soaked through.
I leaned back again while the assistant went out to ask the doctor what to do. More of the clotting drug applied, a fresh wad of gauze, tape cris-crossed so much I could hardly set my glasses on.
Instructions are to keep it on for 12 hours, then I can remove the big one and replace it with a small regular band-aid. Which I have been wearing every so often since before Christmas, so I should have plenty of stories to tell.
Now the amusing part was going to the store afterwards for my prescription. The staff knows me, I’m there often enough ever since the days when my sons were in the cart seat. But most folks are too polite to ask.
Over the weeks of having a spot on the nose of my face, I have learned to volunteer some information, saying I have a long and sorry tale to tell about doctor’s appointments and waiting for lab results.
When I say something first, it brings a look of relief to the other person.
Well, anyway, I just got a job for tomorrow, at a junior high. Sixth Graders have a keyboarding class, so I think I’ll tell the story of not having my glasses on and leaning in too close to the computer screen, so I burned my nose.
Lab results for the biopsy not in until early next week. If the news leans towards the worst, it means my health plan will pay for a new nose job, which I have been thinking I need since I was a teenager, what with my dad’s genes showing up so prominently.
I’m behind my nose, so I don’t think about what it looks like too much.
I’ll be glad when I don’t have to put a covering on it again.
Which could be awhile.
~~love and Huggs, Diane
Thursday, March 26, 2009
More about Braille for students
If you go HERE you will see that I have written before about my small knowledge of Braille.
As a teaching assistant working with special needs students, I know how much we rely on gadgets to help them get through the school day.
In one classroom, an entire drawer is devoted to battery storage, with labels saying whose device uses which size.
We don’t have blind students in the local school system (I believe we pay for their education elsewhere, rented services perhaps?) but this article makes sense to me.
Braille literacy is needed more than reliance on technology for self-sufficient blind persons.
No Child Left Behind is falling behind with programs.
Just because Braille is old does not mean it is useless.
Spring Break So Far
The last week of a month is usually free of social commitments for me. I rarely have a committee or group meeting, even the child care at church tends to happen by someone else on the schedule.
So this week, being Spring Break from the job, was especially Open and full of possibility. I had high hopes for a nap after the lunch on Sunday 
, and leisurely activities the rest of this week.
Plans:
the family newsletter is about halfway
I have envelopes addressed (since before Christmas)
picture pages copied at the copy shop, sorted into piles
stamps purchased
all that remains is the actual writing, edit, print
yet I have run out of oomph for the project
Stalling, actually. Dawdling.
I wish all my relatives would read our blogs.
Writing twice a week is so much easier than cramming so many happenings onto paper pages.
read Judas, My Brother a book by Frank Yerby which I have never read before, even though he has been a favored author since I was in 7TH Grade
the hardback which I found online for 75¢
another strong case for knowing how to cruise the ‘Net
this finding of treasures
getting close to DONE on the baby aphgan
and I have 10 more rows plus the border to finish
the littlun is due in April
I tell ya, there were some lovely items in the booth at the Relief Sale, but this one of mine will be greatly appreciated, if the compliments so far while I’m working on it are anything to go by
I did not donate a blankie this year, knowing I have two to crochet for April and August
The end of Spring Break is coming up too soon, but I think I have made some progress with what I wanted to do.
I’m saving the reading of the book for last, the most cherished time to relax.
Husband says nobody ever gets finished with all they want to do with free time.
Smart Man, he.
~~love and Huggs, Diane
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Three Days in for Spring Break
Spring Break for the school district is happening this week, yet this morning, I automatically checked the SubFinder to see if a job is available. A creature of habit is me.
Sunday was luncheon of major importance at church, the Appreciation Meal for all the hard worker volunteers who just finished a successful Mennonite Relief Sale.
click on the picture to see some of what was donated
the Fellowship Committee (of which I am an assistant) was responsible for the lunch event
Lasagna (both kinds, with meat and for vegetarians), salad, bread, variety of desserts, lemonade to drink.
the preps were done by others, I ran the dish machine after
the drink was supposed to be self-serve, but I noticed the little spout was not working well (as in drip-drip-drip onto the table), plus folks were coming by with silverware in one hand and full plate in the other, so How would they be able to get the drink?
so I began filling glasses and setting them out for pick-up, which seemed to help the line go much smoother
the estimate is there were 130 people who ate fine
Monday, I devoted to pictures, as in getting them off my camera chip to make room, getting prints at a store, putting them in labeled folders on the computer
back here at the house, we haven’t seen the top of the table since 02-December-08, which is the date on the receipt closest to the wood, under all the items needed to stuff envelopes
my idea is ~ the family newsletter ~ in the mail ~ Saturday
It can be considered either late for last New Year
or early for next…. if my plans come together
Hope Springs Eternal
My car went out to the mechanic last evening. The front wheel is making a whine when the speed gets above 30 mph. If need be, I will drive Husband’s car, but it is better that I have a reason to stay home doing activities.
Today, I had intended to strip our queen size bed and run everything through the laundry. I decided to wait to begin until after my shower.
Alas, when I got back into the room, there were two cats all comfy and snoozing amongst the folds of aphgans, and who can disturb such adorable critters?
No doubt, You get the benefit, since I’m sitting here writing about it.
well, I spoze I should get going on the newsletter preps
the pictures need name and dates
hardest part is deciding what to type as newsworthy
especially since I do the weblog online
Thank Goodness the envelopes have address done.
~~love and Huggs, Diane
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Relief Sale Pie Tale
The last few weeks, our church congregation has been busy with plans for the central Illinois Mennonite Relief Sale.
Amongst other things, I donated some bookmarks
a couple of which you have seen before, and will most likely see again because there are more pictures on the chip but I am too tired to mess with them this evening
well Anyway, when I left the event at Noon today, there were still 4 of them on the board, and the lady running the booth said the first to be sold had been the pastels squares. I figured the navy and orange would go, with the location being so close to the sports teams of the U of IL, but ya never know.
She wanted more of the nylon scrubbies which had been in the same box coming from our church, had several folks asking for them, but I told her we are finding it difficult to purchase the proper type of nylon net.
There was a booth which featured items made by widows in Afghanistan. Nearby, I overheard a young woman saying she would not be buying anything from that country, her husband had been stationed there for several months and did not need any reminders.
I came home with both a raisin pie I like
and a rhubarb pie for Husband
How does one tell if a pie is good? especially when they are made in kitchens all over the county by volunteers
I mean, the Health Department requires the ingredients list, and individual wrappings, but a pie worth eating is an art form, so it can be very difficult to know if the price is worthwhile, even for a good charity event
here is the one I brought home
I’ll tell you what made me decide on it
first, it has a top crust
and my daddy always said a good pie should have a covering
there were rhubarb pies with a crumbly top, all looked the same
but it is the writing that lured me in
it is actual handwriting, not a computer printout
slightly shaky, as if the hand was tired from using a rolling pin on pie crusts
and the mis-placed h in the title name
and it was the only one like it on the table
Yes, indeedy,
this person probably knows a whole lot about PIE
even if the Health Dept. might frown on the labeling
I waited in line to pay for over a half hour, telling the man behind me how I made my decision to purchase that particular rhubarb pie
this goes to show how friendly the whole event is
I can promise you, the rhubarb pie is very yummy
and the raisin pie, also
In fact, Husband just cut his second piece of the day to have as his bedtime snack, so I think I’ll do the same
~~love and Huggs, Diane
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
A Day we should wear green
Chookooloonks and her Commenters say it oh so well
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
~~love and Huggs, Diane
Monday, March 16, 2009
Almost Hit my Walking Goal
Today’s steps tally is close enough to 10,000
from the time I left the house until I returned
I guess we kept moving
for a good day in Third Grade
~~love and Huggs, Diane
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Making Do with bigger Thread
Before bed last night, I checked SubFinder
to see the No Jobs Available message
This morning, only one job up, at a junior high, which if absolutely necessary, the kid could get along without an aide, which is the goal being set for next year when he is promoted to the high school anyway.
But after yesterday, I think it might be awhile before I’m ready for another dose of supervising an adolescent with autism.
So I have the day open.
A friend calls time like this A Mental Health Day.
The sun is shining through the window, bright light needed for working on a crocheted bookmark.
Twenty nine years ago, a friend sent an Easter card with a crocheted cross bookmark enclosed. I still have it, of course, tucked into a Bible so full of mementos that I cannot use it for studying now. When I need to look up a verse, I read it from a Bible I bought at an estate sale.
Upon receiving the crocheted cross, I promptly replied with a big Thank You! plus a request for the pattern. Photocopying machines were still new back then,
but soon enough a page came, with front and back covered with instructions for six crocheted bookmarks and one Star of David.
I pulled out that pattern page this morning.
I chose a proper size hook and a lovely shade of blue thread to crochet a cross. I settled into a comfy chair next to the south window, just as the rising sun was peeking over the neighbor’s garage.
As I was getting to row 3, I noticed a mistake in row 1, which could not be adjusted. Letting go of my work to pull out stitches, I realized how much my hands were cramped.
It has been almost 11 years since the carpal tunnel surgery on my hands, but the symptoms are coming on again. I thought I could crochet a tiny cross again.
It has been so long, maybe take it slow and easy, rest often.
Such a lovely item would be worth all my effort and determination.
No. . . I put away the size 12 hook and size 30 thread.
My disappointment right now is too heavy for words.
Age and ailments. . . my thoughts are wistful.
After going downstairs to empty the container for the dehumidifier, I decided to just crochet a granny squares bookmark using a size 8 hook and size 10 bedspread cotton.
The bigger sizes and straight edges of the pattern are much easier for my hands to cooperate.
These are going to the Illinois Mennonite Relief Sale in a couple weeks. Maybe by then, I will have added to the pile.
~~love and Huggs, Diane
Monday, March 09, 2009
An hour at the spillway of the reservoir
On Sunday, at church there was a small group gathered for lunch after services, but I declined the invitation to stay and eat, saying I had a date with my spouse
While we had sandwiches at Subway on Raab, we watched through the window as gusts of wind would blow trash across the parking lot and cause waves in the water detention basin.
As we buckled back into the car, he asked if I wanted to go see the waves at Lake Bloomington?
Well, sure, we can decide what to do as a couple.
We stopped back by the house to fetch our cameras.
The drive through the country was lovely.
Many of the fields have been plowed already, waiting for a warmer day to get the seeds planted.
I love the big blue sky of the prairie.
By the time I adjusted to the change in temperature and looked around a little, Husband was already making his way closer to the water.
See that little red dot almost in the middle of the bridge?
that’s my guy
By the time I caught up with him, he was already waiting to catch just the proper ray of sunlight and gust of wind to get the picture he has already posted over at his blog
he says he was in no danger
even with wind squalls of 38mph
I did feel a need to be concerned.. .
~~love and Huggs, Diane
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Sincere Condolences
By way of Susie’s Sunday post
I learned that Old Horsetail Snake has passed from this world to the next.
Although I did not follow closely on his blog,
I loved the comments he wrote for some folks.
So sweet,
the sense of community the InterWeb brings for us.
~~love and Huggs, Diane
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
It pulls me in, so I go look
Oh Goodness Me
I’ve used up so much of the morning here at the screen
Rodge has a drawing at Urban Sketchers
showing the wonder of Spring
click on the picture there to embiggen
This week is ISAT tests in the public schools, so my usual job and hours of Teaching Assistant are modified a bit.
At Noon, I’m gonna be at a junior high
as a TA Supplementary which means having willing hands with whatever is happening
Hope your day is going well.
~~love and Huggs, Diane
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Same Ol’ Stuff
A beautiful morning, full of sunshine outside
According to Mahalia, who only ventured as far as the top edge of the porch steps before turning around to run back inside to the litter box to do her business, it is very cold
the Time and Temperature Voice on the phone says 29oF
I’m going to enjoy these few mornings of sunlight at just the proper time, because this Sunday is when Daylight Savings Time begins. Spring Forward as the saying goes.
It would be the day when I have promised to be Hostess of the Fellowship Class, so I will seem groggy.
Our street has a new mail carrier, so I got to meet him when I handed him the pile of envelopes holding bill payments. Saved me having to find a blue box on my way to work. Mail carriers, all the ones we’ve had over the years, have been nice. It is a job I would not want, being out in the weather.
Having a morning at home, I got the ironing done while listening to girl tunes.
Trisha Yearwood and Dana Owens
each in her own way helped brighten my mood to match the sunshine
this Noon brings a TA Sub Job in Kindergarten
so I should start to get ready to be there on time
~~love and Huggs, Diane