For our second date, Karl took me to see "Pirates of Penzance" at the local dinner theater on the spur of the moment. I was simultaneously blown away and taken aback, because at that time we were only hanging out together as a prank on our friends to see how fast the rumor mill would churn and then we would say, "Gotcha!" We had a great time and ( Read more... )

I went to the physiatrist today. He injected both sides of my lumbar spine with cortisone in one visit and I just have to call him next week with a report. The only pain was a couple of pinpricks from the lidocaine injections and two weird pinprick sensations deep along the side of my spine when he injected the cortisone. The worst part was having ( Read more... )

It was a beautiful day, but I've been too headachy to work outside or do anything else that requires exertion. Karl and I drove to a couple of garden centers for various things we needed. He got bok choy seeds and I got little stone owls for the back flower bed ( Read more... )

Rio, our big seal point Siamese boy, is always bored. Lately he's been dashing out the door to go exploring. So Lydia put a harness and leash on him and walked him around the front yard yesterday and today. Rio loves it! Then he likes to lie on the porch and chill out while someone holds the leash. We expect him to start bringing the leash to us

Karl and I just got back from a couple of days alone on the Eastern Shore. We stayed at a nice B&B with a private porch just for us; we had a great view of the grounds and the river. As always when we travel, the weather was perfect: sunny, not too hot, and no rain. Karl's whole family on his mother's side are weather witches who have perfect ( Read more... )

Yesterday I spent trying to get all my medical paperwork filled out, pulled together, and xeroxed. This was in preparation for seeing a new neurologist who specializes in headaches. Five pages of new-patient paperwork, my regular neurologist's report, my list of current meds, and the migraine history I wrote myself. I managed all but the last; my ( Read more... )

I was sure when I posted that poem a while back that there had been more to it than that, but I figured it had been lost in fits of paper recycling past. But then the other two handwritten pages turned up in a file basket meant for things like birth certificates, marriage licenses, and such. So here it is, my magnum opus ( Read more... )

I wrote this poem one morning when Lydia was a toddler. She had a habit of occasionally appearing in bed, often without waking me; Karl was working out of town during the week and he always woke up when she joined us. But I awoke many mornings with company I hadn't realized I had. I love my young woman but sometimes I miss my baby ( Read more... )

A couple of days ago I drove to Pennsylvania to visit my mom. But there were predictions of enough snow that if I didn't leave on Wednesday, I might not be able to make it home till Sunday. So I bid farewell to Mom (with whom I was having a great time) and left early to beat the snow. It started when I was ten blocks from home ( Read more... )

Rio gets to come home today after surgery to remove stones from his bladder. This seemed the best way to solve his recurring blockage problem while not putting him through the slightly risky urethra-redirecting procedure. The cats will all have to be on a special diet, at least until the test results on the stones come back; the tests will tell us ( Read more... )