illness – The Hermits' Rest

Lovely memory in a lovely day

What’s a small moment from your past that you still think about years later?

I often think about my father, who was one of the people I loved most deeply in my life. The last time I saw him was after his 80th birthday party, and it was time to go home. I was the last one out of his apartment, so we had a brief moment of just us, something we always treasured. I hugged Dad really hard. Then I hugged him again and told him how much I loved him, and he reciprocated. I’m so glad I did that because I never saw him conscious again. His fatal car accident was just a few weeks later. But, I know we both were happy with each other.

As for today, it was my ideal autumn day, neither hot nor cold and neither too sunny nor too cloudy. I sat outside and watched birds, animals, and the backhoe for much of the day.

It was cool to see the Greater Yellowlegs and small sandpipers in the very dry pond.

The rainwater collection project is now ready for the pumps and filters. The tank behind the garage got all hooked up this morning and the drainage pipes connected. Any overflow from the tank will head out to the pond behind the house, which will probably be much fuller in those circumstances!

Everything is all covered back up except pipes for hooking up the equipment. Nonetheless, when it rains tomorrow, both tanks will catch the water. That’s a milestone.

The other drainage project at the house is in front, where the backhoe has been digging a swale for the past two evenings. It will direct water beside our driveway and into the front pond, rather than rushing down the driveway and washing our road base into the arroyo.

It’s not shaped up and graded yet (or it may be but it’s too dark to tell)

The swale will be gentle, so we can still drive across it with our many vehicles.

It won’t mess with our faithful rain lilies

I think the yard is just about graded enough to put out grass seed, but I may be wrong about that. It’s been a fun project to watch. My family menfolk sure are good with everything that goes into such a big project!

As you can see, naked Alfred is impressed.

Dogs seem to be doing better, and I’m happy that Anita knows what has been causing her abdominal pain. Gotta remove (yeet is the new word for that) the offending organ soon. We had a nice reunion of our Ruidoso travel gang this morning at the bakery and she told us all about diagnostic procedures. It’s good she knows a lot from all her medical journal editing.

O graphic medical pictures, just Benito showing his love of Lee.

I’m still soliciting healing energy for all my friends with health struggles, though. And I’m staying centered by sticking shiny things on sticky bookmarks. It works for me. But I’m gonna have lots of bookmarks.

I’m a successful person

How do you define success in life?

I’m successful by my own definition, anyway. My friend, Diana West, once wrote a book about breastfeeding after breast surgery and called it Defining Your Own Success. I’ve always thought that idea applied to many other aspects of life. Success is not some finite status you attain when you earn X amount of money or achieve Y status in your career, at least unless that’s your definition, which is fine, I guess.

I feel successful when I find a scarab beetle.

In all, I’m quite satisfied with my life so far. Here are some of the ways I think I’m successful.

I have lifelong friends and a small community of people I trust and care about.
I’ve successfully kept in the good graces of a few family members who I trust and treasure.
I’ve done interesting paid and volunteer work that has helped other people learn and grow.
There are many fascinating places that I’ve gotten to see and explore, some in my own backyard.
I haven’t stopped learning.
I rode a horse at a canter.
I think I’ve found “inner peace,” most of the time. It’s still a process, but I define success here as keeping on the path

That’s not all, but it’s enough.

Inner peace reminded me of some thoughts I’ve been having this week after conversations with some wise people. Since Wednesday, when the surprising results of the US midterm elections became clear, I’ve had a little difficulty accepting that something positive actually happened. But I think it’s sunk in, because I truly feel a huge weight is removed from my shoulders; the constant dread is gone.

I can enjoy the thrill of finding a pretty insect better now! A nuptial scorpion-fly.

I suddenly can concentrate again and I’m remembering words better. All day today I had a ridiculous amount of energy, too! I got more work done than I sometimes do in three days. And I had ideas, thoughts, contributions…made me feel quite successful! My brain works better (though the struggle with nouns in speech concerns me).

Talking with my boss today, I realized another important cause of my long period of feeling awful has been lifted. For the past ten years or so, I’ve been incredibly disappointed by people (here and elsewhere). My boss reminded me that our faith in humanity has returned. People DO care about each other and do reject mean-spiritedness and self-centered leadership.

Sure, there are plenty of people who are in this life only for themselves and who would rather call each other names than talk to others, but I feel less alone. I’ve successfully lived long enough to feel encouraged about the future, even though the next few years will be hard.

Hard times are still here. I have three friends who are hospitalized right now, so thoughts would be appreciated. And Harvey’s results came back indicating thyroid issues. That poor dog!

(Thanks to all who blew up my blog stats looking at house pictures—now I know how to get hits, buy a house.)

If pets could talk

If your pet could talk, what would be the first thing it says?

Feed me. Now I need a nap.

I’m worried about various illnesses. Dogs have bad allergies (Penney got steroids). Black widows are on the prowl again. My mental health is slipping—I can’t make myself do things i know I need to do. I just want to read.

I guess I couldn’t do much outside anyway, since they fertilized the field across the road and it smells like a very ripe diaper. I still have humor.

Slept a Lot. No Better.

While over-the-counter pain meds enabled me to get through the day, the antibiotics haven’t put a dent in my throat pain. I got the news that my thyroid is fine. Of course that’s good news, but that leaves me back not knowing what the heck is wrong. I’m very impatient with illness.

I did get outside to check the mail and saw lemon beebalm starting to bloom.

At least I didn’t miss horse stuff, since there was light rain most of the day. For that I’m grateful.

I had many meetings today, but napped in between. Tomorrow is not quite as bad as that, and if I don’t feel better, I’ll go back to the doctor for an ENT appointment or something. Ugh.

I’ll try to be interesting tomorrow.

Yes, I’ve Been Camping! Yes, I Feel Yucky. Not Related.

Have you ever been camping?

Yes. I’ve been camping. I’m not sure if all this RV camping we’ve been doing the past decade or more counts as “camping” to some folks. I don’t blame them. We have heat and air conditioning, plus real mattresses on the bed. Still, if camping is about nature, fresh air, and learning, then, indeed, I’ve been camping!

I love quiet times and hiking. I love birds, flowers, trees, and insects. And I love the interesting people I meet. I’m not fond of screaming and loud music, or of messing with the parks. But, people interact differently with nature and enjoy different camping activities. I’m fine with that. At least they’re getting out.

So I answered the question. I’m about done. Today I was pretty damned miserable with throat, ear, and neck pain. It’s so hard to swallow!

I did go see my health care provider like a good girl. I got a free ear wax cleaning so she could see my inflamed ears. TMI, no doubt. But it worked, and indeed I’m all inflamed and my throat looks extra bad. Strep test was negative, but when I told her I haven’t had my usual energy and have suddenly put on ten pounds, we agreed that my thyroid is acting up again.

I didn’t even get to see Fiona and all the new grass sprouting up where hay bales were.

So after three tries, the technician finally got enough blood out to test my thyroid numbers. I hope to hear back soon. In the meantime, I’m hoping the antibiotics have done their work by morning. I’m weary of this.

I love all these ball moss flowers in black and white.

Kathleen made a delicious dinner that was soft enough to swallow, which was a relief, because I was really hungry! And wow, I’m tired, thanks to waking myself up all night making wheezing and gagging noises. The curse of being a light sleeper is your snoring wakes YOU up.

No doubt things will be better soon. My friend circle has a lot of harder challenges. Aging isn’t for sissies, but we keep plugging along!

I’m the Source of My Own Problems

Still feeling sick, but I was able to take care of animals and sit in the sun a bit. Kathleen and I took a slow walk this afternoon to just get out of the house. I didn’t get to go to marches with my friends, which I really regret. But my energy is awfully low.

This pretty Texas star was a surprise on my walk by the front pond today.

Right now I don’t want to drive anywhere, anyway, thanks to wars and such. Grumble.

Grumpy is a good word for me, because I’ve not been taking NyQuil or anything, so my snoring and loud breathing issues keep waking me up all night. I must have sounded awful last night, but I didn’t bother Lee with his earbuds on.

Tonight I have Chloraseptic for my throat and will sleep with my head raised. I’ve had enough of this irritating minor illness.

I need to do some writing and other things that require an alert mental state, so wish me the best! And I know there are many friends out there dealing with MUCH more serious concerns. They have my thoughts, and they help me remember to focus on what’s good in life, which there is plenty of.

For example, the chickens are back to laying in their usual nest box! Woo hoo! Plus I found a new plant!

This plant with cool seed pods is wild tantan (*Desmanthus acuminatus)*, the second sighting on iNat in our county!

Weird Illness Symptom

I have a virus or bad allergies since yesterday. Not horrible, but my throat hurts and I’m tired. I do seem to have one off symptom, though. I remember things in the wrong color. What?

Lee brought home a loaner vehicle while my car was getting serviced. It was very nice and looked very much like my car. More than once I referred to it as the black car. It was quite white. Just as white as my car (but sadly lacking the snazzy red interior).

My car, which looks like half the cars on the road today.

I also mentioned the pink book I was reading. I went to bed and saw the deer book and the next book on my nightstand. Both are green.

Yes, I’m reading a popular self-help book about a topic I’ve already been working on. This kind of book serves as a good reminder.

I do think the color thing has a non-viral source!

That’s all I have for you, friends. I took NyQuil, so the zzzzzz is calling.

Book Report: The Great Shadow

I’ve been picking some fascinating books lately. The Great Shadow: A History of How Sickness Shapes What We Do, Think, and Buy, by Susan Wise Bauer, is most assuredly fascinating. I wish it was about twice as long, because I feel like she rushed through the past 30 years.

The book traces how humans view illness throughout recorded history. It turns out that those Ancient Greek philosophers had some notions that even today we can’t get rid of, like being in a place with bad air can make you sick (many people still think you can catch a cold by going out in bad weather).

The idea that every illness is particular to the sick person and must be cured by the doctor figuring out a specific cure for them lasted for centuries. It was a big deal when someone figured out that outside agents cause disease and that large numbers of people can have the same illness with the same cure.

I enjoyed learning how people found cures for illnesses before they knew about germs, bacteria, or viruses. Spoiler: it involved guesswork.

What surprised me was how many epidemics there have been that killed huge numbers of people. The plague was really bad, y’all (and there are three kinds!). These incurable diseases kept the population under control all by themselves! And international trade made diseases spread wider and faster. I’m relieved at least some of us lived.

Once we discovered bacteria and antibiotics it got interesting, because so many products were developed to keep our homes and businesses clean. Did you know Listerine was invented by a guy named Lister? You’ll learn the origins of many everyday objects like toilet paper, Kleenex, and sanitary napkins (Kotex).

Yep, if you can stomach the graphic descriptions of symptoms, you’ll be enthralled by The Great Shadow. My copy has already been passed along to my favorite medical editor, Anita, who’s recovering nicely.

We got more plants for the porch today, so I’ll really enjoy reading my next book out there!

Under the Weather

And also the weather is annoying. The annual late February cold spell arrived right on time last night, which made for a chilly and windy day, even though it was nice and sunny. The birds were there, even a Roadrunner, so it wasn’t a total loss.

Roadrunner from the coast, but my photo!

I started feeling like my lymph nodes were swollen last night, and it’s still going on. I’ve taken it easy all day, just crocheting and watching more of the Great Courses series on the Middle Ages. I got past weapons of war and into cathedral construction, which made me happy. It’s fascinating how they put them together. Yes, my life has gotten that thrilling.

Boy do I know how those arches stay up now. Photo from Pexels.

Then, since we finished The Closer (great series, satisfying ending), Lee and I started a show with more modern cell phones, The Diplomat. Lee liked it perhaps too much and we got halfway through all the episodes today. I like the scenery, lots of lovely English interiors.

I finally have come up with a hypothesis for why my immune system is on overdrive. Carolyn and I did a lot of playing around with cedar pollen yesterday, making the male plants “smoke.” Even though they were Eastern Red Cedars, not Ashe Junipers, all that pollen may have inflamed me. Oh well, it was fun.

All that yellow on the green tree is pollen.

Note that the tree is Juniperus virginiana, which hints both that it might cause some allergies and that you could make gin out of the berries (on female trees).

Let’s hope I’m better tomorrow, since there’s stuff going on at work that I have to be ready for.

Sweating Like a Horse

It’s supposed to be autumn. It was even down to 61°F here this morning! But it warmed right up and by the time I stopped working on my magnificent SharePoint page and went to the horses to get ready for a rare Friday lesson, it was decidedly toasty. I don’t think I’ve sweated as much in my life as I have this year.

I did get to enjoy this young doe as I had my morning coffee.

I’m not the only one who’s been all sweaty and icky this week. Apache has been encrusted with dried sweat all week, mostly mixed with dirt. I didn’t take a picture of it because I was concerned. I’d brush it off when I groomed him, but it came right back. And he didn’t feel happy all week. He told me in no uncertain terms that he didn’t want to move faster than a walk.

So when we got to Tarrin’s, I told her he’d sweated a lot and was grumpy. She felt along his neck and got salt crystals off it. He was drenched already and he’d just ridden in the trailer for a while (it’s not bad in there when it’s only in the 80s).

See all the strips of dried sweat? That’s after I rinsed him thoroughly.

I knew she was concerned when she started looking stuff up on her phone about extra salty horses. It turns out he’s probably losing a lot of electrolytes with all that salt, which can lead to muscle cramps and stuff, just like with people. His metabolic issues aren’t helping, even though he takes his medication and is not eating the wrong kind of grass.

It’s fun to watch Tarrin research issues. By the time she was done, we had a plan to feed him extra electrolytes (I forgot I’d done that last year) and keep him exercising moderately.

Mabel has some sweat marks but nothing like these.

We are also going to take him (we is probably me and Vicki) to the vet when we reschedule Drew’s appointment just to get his hocks looked at and other stuff.

Drew really needs that vet appointment. Even the shots of Adequin aren’t helping with his hind leg. But he tried his best for Vicki today. She’s not going to lease him though, because he’s too unpredictable.

I don’t blame her at all. It’s probably not a good idea to sell him, to be honest. I’ll keep working with him after he goes to the vet and see if he ever gets better. At least he only sweated like a normal horse today.

By the way, even though I couldn’t sleep last night from making web pages in my head, I ended up doing a fine job on my work project. I really enjoy a good challenge in a supportive environment.