I am a de-marked woman

The next time I go to see my people and my friends in WI, I hope they will still recognize me. As of this afternoon, I am minus the lifelong 'vampire bite' beauty spots on the right-hand side of my neck. The doctor has been drooling over those marks for some time. When the medical assistant was getting things set up, she said, "I think she just likes to cut things off..." My younger sister has had some cancerous areas on her face, making me now more agreeable to having mine removed.

Betsy, the doctor, just went after me once I was in the office and removed 5 in my necklace area, and one from my back. She had trouble locating the one on the back after making a fuss about it during my check-up earlier this month. She chose one and zapped it off, the worse part being the freezing thereof. The rest--the snipping off and cauterizing---was a breeze. Two of those removed she is sending in, the rest were simply cosmetic (in her mind, they never bothered me!) improvements.

Many of the brown spots you see in this photo are no more. The necklace is covering one of the two vampire bites and one does not appear in this photo, the opposite side of my neck. 

I had mentioned Sunday that Justin was unable to loosen my 'good' necklace for me, due to the threads. The nurse and the medical assistant also tried their hands at getting the threads loose but gave up as well. The doctor was able to work around the necklace but fears it will rub on the treated areas. She suggested I go to the jewelery store to see if they have a tool to get it off. Now that I think of it, I bet her cauterizing tool would have worked great for getting those threads off the clasp. Wish I had thought of that when sitting there!

Next Monday I return for her to check over the treated areas and she will likely have the results back on the two sent in. I did not ask for special favors to expedite the results and am not worried about them. Not yet anyway! No shower for me tonight and when it seems the bleeding has stopped, I can remove the band-aids. I suppose I should cover my pillow again in case something seeps through the band-aids. And tomorrow? Off to the dentist to have a small filling taken care of. Too much of these type of appointments this year, and that's it!

The end of an era

Today Justin disconnected my old three-in-one-printer and moved the one he gave me for Christmas into its place. He could not recall how old it was, the one being replaced, but we did have it at the lake house which was in 2004. 

Oh, if that thing could only talk! All the newsletters and such spit out of that machine...It still works but the ink cartridges were getting so expensive, which is why Justin got me this new one. The salesman at Office Max told me they cost so much because fewer people use them anymore. Since I had recently replaced the ink I asked Justin to leave the old one hooked up until I used all the ink. Who would think the cartridges would last THIS long, since before Christmas? 

                                   

Of course, I used the new machine for printing my photos for the Flock Board, as the old one would no longer tolerate photo paper. Justin has already ordered new cartridges for me for the new machine, "high capacity cartridges" which should last longer than the originals did. A little 'cartridge' humor there....

Tomorrow is my appointment to have my skin tags (a.k.a. moles) removed, late afternoon. Wanting to make sure I was ready, I took off my heart necklace and asked Justin to open the latch on my 'good' necklace. There is a safety on it, and another latch. I never take it off and he said it seems to be jammed. He tried and tried to push the latch but he said there are threads in it which won't allow the release. Perhaps the doctor can get it off, or will have to work around it somehow.

More than once I snagged my decorative pillow or other pillows and now it comes back to bite me, sort of. One time I had to go to his room with the pillow attached to me, looking like Quasimodo with a hump on my back. I couldn't get loose of it on my own and didn't want to break the latch. Now it seems that might not have been an issue!

A fantastic day

This morning Judy and I drove to Victory to attend a seminar on Alzheimer's Disease. When Judy and I walked up to the church, we marveled at the amount of activity going on there, including the lawn mowing. Another team of guys, hired to paint the exterior of the church, were starting with the bell tower. A regular beehive of activity!

Pastor met us and seemed surprised that I did not have dough nuts with me. He asked, "Did I answer your lovely e-mail yesterday?" and I looked at him with a concerned look on my face. Oh no! Is my memory going? I had written to let him know Judy was coming along and asked if I could bring something, like dough nuts. Since I didn't hear back from him (really, I did not!) all we carried in were a couple of sodas.

He checked his e-mail and reported to me, "This is as far as I got: Dear Kim...." and he was distracted or something. He never did get back to me (so it wasn't my memory playing tricks on me!), it was his! He called Anne to bring the treats, saying she was not happy to do so. We made sure to thank her for them during the break.

The presenter was a pastor from The Lutheran Home in MN and did a fine job of it. He had printed materials, a power point presentation, and videos interwoven in the presentation. There were equal number of attendees from GS as from Victory. I sat next to Fran and was glad to do so. More than once she wished she knew this info two years ago when Andy got sick. 

Now, about the content of the seminar---as I told Linda later on, I could/can hardly express how much I took away from this four hour session. We were taught about the difference between dementia and actual Alzheimer's Disease, and the other illnesses which present with memory loss, short or long term. There were suggestions about what to say or not say to those suffering which might trigger a defensive reaction instead of a positive one.

He addressed the matters of establishing POA (powers of attorney) for financial reasons and for medical purposes, doing it ahead of time when people can still think straight and know what they want done, etc. The one part that choked me up was the discussion about the Christian preamble as part of ones Will. His booklet had verses to reference for that, as well as for helping to determine end of life decisions to be made. I can't help it---the tears just come.

One idea to help a sufferer 'remember' the good memories of the past was the use of a picture book using photographs of better times and loved ones. Anne mentioned the movie "The Notebook" where the husband read his wife's and his life story to her daily at the nursing home. She would 'open the curtain' every now and again to remember him, and fade away into her other place. Might have to get that movie out to watch tonight!

Pastor Hoyer mentioned how beneficial this class or session would be to have at the Seminary. The presenter, Curt, said he spoke at a Pastor's Conference recently and ended up with appointments to speak at 35 more congregations in the upper midwest. Later, Pastor said that GS should invite him down next year to have this session again, especially after those of us there talk it up.

                                                          

One of my longer time friends at Victory, Carol, was introduced to me years ago by Linda O. She brought us together because we were both writing. Carol was writing about her dad and his Parkinson's Disease. In 2008 when Linda was visiting, we arranged to meet up with Carol at The First Coast Writers group where the speaker was the author of the book "Mothering Mother", Carol O'Dell. "Victory Carol" had a chance then to talk with the other Carol, who suggested she wait a little while to work on her book because it was still so fresh for her, to give it some time to rest. So she did!

Today Carol said she is getting close now to wrapping it up. The stuff she learned in this class would go a long way to helping put the finishing touches on it. And then, she came to me afterward and asked me to proof her manuscript when she is done, prior to sending it to the editor. I would be honored to do so. What a privilege she is giving me. The icing on the day!

Waxing nostaligic

The line from "Karate Kid" comes to mind---wax on, wax off---when I think of waxing nostaligic. Another line from a movie is "Nostaglia is what you wish you had..." which I find to be quite accurate, and far better than the reality. 

Because my friend, Pat, has had foot surgery, we have been absent from Breakfast Club since before Easter. In speaking with Marlena last night, she reported Pat having been there this week with her hubby for dinner, which means she is now able to venture out. Just can't yet drive herself  with the goofy thing on her driving foot.

This a.m. I had the news on while at the same time listening to 'old' music from my past. Some Joan Baez and some Joni Mitchell, and even Kris 'n Rita when they were still married. I think I might watch "A Star is Born" this evening, for old times' sake! I sure do enjoy youtube for such trips to nostalgia, and back again.

This morning the sky was graced with this abundance of color. Yesterday was lovely as well, and I managed to snag a picture of magnolias in bloom at Victory. They have their parking lot lined with these trees and I almost cannot wait until they are fully blooming. I could smell the flowers even while yet in my car, which must really annoy those with allergies.

Speaking of which, I don't remember if I mentioned when at my 50,000 mile check-up a couple weeks ago, the doctor, Betsy, asked me how my allergies were doing. I told her I didn't have any allergies and she said, "Yes, you do..." and I said, "Well, I guess they are fine then", leaving it at that. I wonder to what I am allergic...Perhaps it is to her!

Since our lovely sunrise this morning, the sky has given way to grey clouds. If I were a weather watcher I would know what is in store for us here in N. Florida. Hopefully it will not rain us away since my upstairs neighbors are taking custody of their home today. One of my other neighbors told me the owner said to him, "I never ever thought I'd be able to live here..." I am glad for Richard and Deborah but sad because it was the falling market which allowed them to afford it. Their dream comes true while mine loses value. There is good and bad in everything, it seems.

Judy C. called this a.m. to ask me to lunch. YES! We are going to La Nopalera where we have not dined in a while. I got hung up on the country fried steak at Pengree's so that was where we were going most recently. Now that I have the go-ahead from the dentist to eat chips and sip through a straw, well, I am all about it! 

Tomorrow she and I are going to Victory for an Alzheimer seminar put on by a pastor from MN, from the Lutheran Home. Suzanne, Judy's daughter-in-law, will be there, too, as she is currently dealing with an aging parent. I hope the turn out is good for this seminar.

Now, before I leave for the day, I am listening to vintage Baez circa 1976. Marveling at the smoothness of her delivery. No one does Dylan better than she does, not even Dylan himself!

A night of reflection

It seems I can more easily capture the moon glow with the cell phone camera than can I with the real camera. Justin sent me a message from the Jaguar stadium simply stating: "How about that moon?" More of a statement than a question, as it was simply amazing, and grande.

Revising my routine

My ears and brain are struggling to accept my new listening routine. Since Neal retired earlier this year, my morning listening has been shuffled around a bit. While I am a fan of Herman Cain's, he is easier to take in smaller doses. I think he is where he needs to be right now, so it worked out well for him to drop out of the race for president. He has strong leadership skills, this few can deny. I simply choose not to listen to his program which filled Neal's spot. 

                                              

When I am in the car in the a.m., I listen to Laura Ingramm, but when I am home, I am now catching my Internet radio show LIVE in the a.m. vs. listening on the podcast later. At least the first three hours are caught live, with the next two hours caught up later on the SoundCloud. Whew! I know, right??? I still download the entire 5 hours worth of programs just in case I miss something. The podcasts are minus the advertisements so it goes by quickly. It is hard to listen and write at the same time.

This revised routine does 'free up' a couple hours in the afternoon, once Rush is done. I find myself often sitting at my desk longer, depending upon how the first part of the day went, instead of listening in my reclined position. Thus, it makes me seem more productive, with 'seem' being the key word here. Some adjustments are being made to my hearing schedule!

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Yesterday I was going to take a rest in the afternoon as my eyes were quite tired but I no sooner laid down when the equipment outside started up. It sounded like an engine idling, sort of a hissing sound, similar to air brakes being released, and then more hissing. At last I went outside to see what was going on, but all I could actually see was a machine attached a truck. No workers, but every now and again, the compressor, or whatever it was, belched out puffs of black smoke. Hmmm....

My next door neighbor was just getting back and his nurse told me the double doors to the elevator lobby were closed off. The guys had to stop their work to let Jack, who is wheelchair bound, and Shirley, get to the elevator area. It seems it was sandblasting equipment being used in the garage, on the ceiling portion, removing the areas damaged from the above leaks. It was these leaks which were causing the problems in the first place, dripping white calcium stuff onto the cars below. Now, they are being patched and sealed. 

Saturday I got a peek at the ceramic tiles being suggested to replace those chiseled out, including decorative medalions which will be spaced out the length of the sundeck. It seems the price for the tile is coming in less than expected. We Owners have one more installment due to the Association from this most recent capital assessment---sigh.

                                               

Saturday I attended a clothing party downstairs in Tracy's house. I love fashion and had a nice visit with the other ladies, but did not order anything. The key colors for this season were poppy and lime, much like one sees in the stores, but in more classic styles. It was a nice break in the day which was otherwise rainy, dull and dreary--- filled it with color and company!

Delaying the task

I have a couple choices here---to write or to vacuum some floors. Yes, I will sit and write for a bit. The vacuum cleaner isn't going anywhere, nor is the 'girt', as Timmy used to say. This a.m. was spent doing much writing as I wrote and sent notes to three different addresses plus readied a birthday greeting for my friend, Gretchen. I cannot WAIT for her to open my card!!!

My lunch consisted of the last of my wonderful sloppy joes made on Sunday (I think it was Sunday....). Got three meals from a pound of hamburger. I make a mean sloppy joe, and that is it! I have another portion or two left of the chicken and dumplings which will serve me well for my dinner tonight. 

                                    

Tomorrow my plans are to have lunch with Lisa B., who used to attend GS with me and now goes to Victory. I am so looking forward to our first time having lunch together. She said I get to choose the place so I think I will suggest we go to Longhorn on Fleming Island. The county policemen are serving and I like to go when they are doing the table waiting. Went last year with Betty and Robin C. for this same type of event. 

This a.m. I found myself awake far to early so after checking in on Facebook, I managed to turn over and go back to sleep for about an hour. It seems that was not quite enough, or was not sound enough a sleep for me. Once I remake my bed after washing the sheets, a nice nap might be in order. 

When I went to the laundry room to put my laundered sheets into the dryer, I found a load yet in the dryer. It seems the dryer stopped before the items were entirely dry last week. I put them in the washer on the rinse cycle to freshen them again, for another ride in the dryer. If there is one thing I cannot stand, it's smelly towels!

Another thing I had trouble standing was the accumulation of insects in the webs on my windows. Fortunately, against what I expected to happen, the wind the last two days has removed much of the collection making my view less buggy. For that I am most thankful. See? It really takes little to make me happy---which brings me back to having to run the vacuum cleaner...