At this time of year my thoughts are often of Wrightsville Beach, N. C. So I thought I would post some pictures I took there in June, 2012. This is my "happy place."
Well, I fell asleep and just woke up. Now back to DA again and falling asleep again soon. Many, maybe most of us leaning past our middle age, women, lose that ability to sleep uninterrrupted, thru the night, at least not without the help of some better living through chemistry. Waking up at all hours is something I don't mind anymore since I retired and can sleep whenever.
I've been pondering and I think there are several reasons why I like this DA series so much. It seems to satisfy both my right and left brain. My right brain is not too critical, mostly just appreciating the scenery and the attractiveness of the characters but... my left brain can be picky, a real spoil sport. So much of what I try to watch on tv or in the movies, I think, no one would act like that or say something like that, it just doesn't make sense to me. If something is meant to be sci-fi or preposterous, I can tolerate it because my brain understands that it is fantasy. If it is supposed to represent some known reality, and I think it can't possibly be, I lose interest in the program. Does that make any sense to anyone else but me? Probably not.
I guess that much of that, making sense to me, depends on how good the writing is and I think the writing is very good with this series.
Maybe this being in a different time and place, neither of which I'm familiar, gives it an advantage also. Not knowing any different, I have to accept that that could be the way was.
I also think the acting is very good. Those actors sell their characters very well.
Hey Chloe, we're both in for some really yukky weather. They're threatening 3-5 inches of rain by Thursday and tomorrow a Torcon 3 on the potential tornado scale for both of us.
That weather will keep my worker guys at home. Seems that construction workers are allergic to rain. It's not like they are working outside much anymore. They had to saw outside but I can't see what sawing they still have to do.
I really like Obama's selection of Chuck Hagel as SOD. I first remember meeting the guy when Bush and Gore were battling for President. He was a Republican but seemed to think that Gore was the real winner. He never just carried his party line, he said what he thought and that was what so impressed me. Over the years, I've mentioned liking him, even thinking he should run for President.
He was strongly against the Iraq war and bravely spoke out. Pissed his party off. I was sad when he disappeared from politics. We always seem to lose the good ones.
Huff wrote an article detailing some of this. She thinks he is an inspired choice for SOD and so do I. I'm not often impressed with anything Obama does but I am with this one.
Always respected former Sen. Chuck Hagel...still do, even though there are whispers from both sides of the aisle against him (& mostly from those who wish to go unidentified)...whether it is his supposed gay bias or anti-israel sentiments, I hope that in the end the confirmation process does not wind up being a name-calling, innuendo filled showcase for individual senators to posture for the cameras...
A less than stellar performance, time to mention the recent example of rank hypocrisy, none other than so many people's hero...Al Gore...
Interesting how the left has zipped their lips about his gigantic payday with the sale of his losing current tv channel to one of the biggest targets of his war on those who oppose his version of climate change...none other than a subsidy of the govt of Qatar, one of the largest exporters of that vile, disgusting greasy stuff...oil!...not to mention the 'slant' of the supposed news coverage that channel provides...& yes I know all good libs think any entity that views this country in a negative light is the good guy...
In the end, Gore took the money & ran, just another typical hypocrite...do as I say, but hell you can not be allowed to do as i do!!...didn't really matter where the $$$ came from...& at the same time tried hard to get the deed done before any tax increases that would cost him, even though he has been right there pushing for taxing those nasty rich people (just didn't want it to be him being taxed)....
Now really...(even though Kurtz mildly criticizes Gore in this article he really is lobbing softballs not wanting to call it out like it is).... Why Al Gore's Sale doesn't seem right
Carol, I have the same problem with sleep. Any more I seldom sleep through the night. I often wake up and cannot go back to sleep. I did that last night too. Sometimes an allergy attack will wake me and by the time an antihistamine works, I am awake. I often fix a cup of tea, take it back to bed and read for a while. I go back to bed in the guest room as I don't like to disturb John with getting up and down and turning on the light to read. Usually I can get back to sleep in an hour or two.
Working just part time works ok with less than a good night's sleep. Even if I have to be at work early (seldom before 9 am), it is easier to catch up on sleep through naps rather than if I worked full time.
Inconsistency and Hypocrisy? I thought those were normal traits in all human beings. Just more so in some than others.
Can you imagine what it would be like to be so famous that everything you did turned up on the world wide web, or worse yet, in the Inquirer, so every grocery shopper or WM shopper would know every little thing you did, even those times when we experience a little lapse in judgement.
Just kidding around here, but I have thought about that before.
" I have done much work with teen moms and none realize the responsibility and work involved in caring for a child until they experience it themselves, and they will tell you that."
There is NO way to describe to someone even a fraction of what's involved in raising a child. If there was, I think there would be much fewer women giving birth. :) (me thinks -- but don't read too much into it. I'm sure I'm not being politically correct, as usual)
Jan and Carol, Please, don't worry about me. Go on discussing the present episodes. I'll never remember what you said by the time I'm caught up anyway. Believe me!
I don't know how I found so much time to get through the first season so quickly (it seems like so long ago, but I know it couldn't have been all that long). I remember all the basics, the most important things. I can look at their faces, and know exactly who they are. I slot people that way, I guess. Good, bad, indifferent, judgmental, manipulative -- well, probably way too many adjectives already. But you get the drift.
To tell you the truth, I don't relate to the characters in the same way you guys do. I can't really put myself into any of their places, although I do completely understand exactly who they are, but things were so different back then, there's no way I can imagine having as few choices as they had.
Carol, I would have thought you would have been the lady in charge (can't remember her name, but she's a very likable and unusually perceptive and empathetic person, as well as efficient and aware).
When I view a movie, I think I may experience them differently than most others -- maybe more as an ease dropper. I do very much feel the characters point of view and their motivations most of the time (if they're good, believable actors) , but I never fit nicely into feeling like I could be one of them.
I found myself focusing on how much I dislike some of the bad guys (just 2, I guess) and hate it when I see them get away with so many horrible things that affect other peoples lives so deeply.
Long ago, duringa 'Logic' class I took, I remember the professor asking: which is more important -- intention or the act itself. Back then, I struggled with the question, but now I have no doubt what my answer would be. It's intention.
If I 'had to' pick which character to be, it would be the one who marries the best looking and nicest guy. :) -- one that would accept my independence and respect my opinion. Women had so few rights on their own back then, so that's why they used to place so much importance on marriage. The misogyny, along with all the laws to back it up, was disgusting.
... actually, I just put in the part about good looking, because I like sounding even more shallow than I normally come across.
As hard as we try, there's only so much we can put in print and it always ends up just being the tiniest piece of who we are.
I couldn't have done the upper class at DA. I couldn't do all those fancy clothes. I'm used to uniforms, well, I used to be. Haven't had to do those in many years. I also couldn't have sat around all day just reading for entertainment.
It's been drizzling here all day. No heavy stuff yet but I see some serious stuff out in the Gulf. I hope it goes around us. Tomorrow is predicted to be worse than today.
I'm trying to make some focaccia bread and I'm making some of that spinach artichoke dip. Just something to do. I hope I can freeze some of it. Could use another mouth to eat it.
Our weatherman said that the computer models predict somewhere between 6 and 10 inches of rain tomorrow. Hope he's wrong about that. I'm tired of all these extreme weather events.
LOL, Carol. AT me. It should have been 'during' a logic class. My typing has been atrocious and I can't make myself proofread. The things I say feel too dumb to reread.
Yes, I think intent must preceed action, but I don't think that's exaction what he was asking.
I think it was more like this: if you intend to do something nice for someone and it turns out wrong, and therefore they don't appreciate what you did or it fail miserably (kinda like that Le Mis movie did for me), then was the intent more important than the fact that the actual action failed to achieved your intended goal (or something like that).
I think another example would be like the expression "don't look a gift horse in the mouth'. The gift was well intended, but the result was not appreciated necessarily.
Actually, looking back, I realize I was just brain storming here for some reason today. It was fun, but it probably didn't make a lot of sense to anyone but me.
I do appreciate having a place to come to say things, but am aware we can often be misinterpreted. I think that's why I said something about communication in writing can be so difficult (or something like that).
Carol, I LOVE 'Dalton Abbey'. I was so glad you brought it up, because I thought there was just one season, and I was very disappointed when it ended.
Netflix let me down, because they never brought in season 2. I wouldn't have known if you didn't mention it. So yes, your synchronicity is alive and working.
Thank you
(... I don't know what I said to make you think I didn't like it. I'm just a little frustrated, because HULU is a little different, and I'm still struggling with my ques. I'll get caught up eventually (hope sooner than later).
I'm enjoying your and Jan's comments on it, and they make me more anxious to dive further in to the second season in order to get to the third.
I thinking you thought I didn't like DA because I said I didn't relate to the characters in the same way you guys do.
I meant that I do that in all movies and all fiction (probably non fiction too). I just process the information differently -- or another you could probably put it, is that I relate to the movies a little differently.
I wouldn't be surprised if we don't all do that (see things a little differently). Actually I'd be more surprised if we didn't.
Don't worry about the typos Chloe. Most of the time I read what you intended and don't even notice the mistake until you point them out.
Keep brain storming. That's one storm I can handle.
I didn't want you to feel like I was pressuring you to watch DA. It is fun to be able to discuss things like that series here. I don't know anyone around my parts who watches it to talk to about it with.
Hadn't thought about your river rising, Carol. Is it high enough that it's going to become a problem?
I was thinking (you know I love rain) what a beautiful Spring we're going to have with all this unexpected rain we've been having. We've had too many drought years and that is what cause that very, scary fire that was close to us last summer. So I was thinking of this as a good thing.
However, I just took a look at the 10 day, and it looks like it's going to keep coming and going for quite a while now. I'd forgotten how much that may hinder the work on your camp.
That strange guy that showed up over at TM about an hour ago (not sure of time) made things sound kinda scary, when he mentioned that this government usually gets what it wants.
I know we need gun control. But other than that, I'm wondering what other things are going to happen. I really don't understand what's happening in our country right now. Not understanding makes me nervous.
Maybe I'm reading more into it than there is, but it's feeling more and more that our well being is not represented through our politicians anymore. I mean, I know that's been pretty obvious for a while, but the thought of things getting worse is not very comforting.
Carol, hope your camp and work on your camp survives the rain. Sure wish we had some.
I woke up a little after midnight last night to terrible abdominal cramping. Had a bad d****hea. After about an hour went back to bed and lay in a fetal position for a few minutes as I was pretty nauseous and went back to sleep and slept well. Today felt down some but not really sick.
Hope you had your flu shot, Jan. This is supposed to be a bad flu year throughout the entire nation.
There's nothing worse than abdominal pain that gets so bad it makes you nauseous. This may sound like a overly simple suggestion, but have you taken any Pepto-Bismal?
I have a lot of chronic abdominal pain (periodically_, and my gastroenterologist has said Pepto-Bismal is often very effective.
Chloe, I think the guy was just saying that the excuse that we need assault weapons to defend ourselves from a “Tyrannical government” is kinda silly. I agree.
With this gun thing, the government has done nothing for so long, now they feel like we expect them to at least act like they care about what happened. I really doubt they even want to be bothered. I do think that we should do something also or at least try to do something.
I think if it was one of our loved ones that was killed or injured, we'd be screaming for some action.
It's weird to see how many people actually fear our government. Why so much paranoia?
Jan, I also have pretty frequent attacks of those belly aches and diarrhea. It's always been part of my life. They do go away as fast as they come, except when I had that diverticulitis. That was scary and is more common with age.
"I think if it was one of our loved ones that was killed or injured, we'd be screaming for some action."
You're so right, Carol.
Regarding the government paranoia, I think it's weird that I just took all that talk so seriously, because as you know, I usually don't. What you just said just brought me back to my normal state of thinking. Thanks for being the voice of reason.
Am fine now. Might have been a short-term bug. Don't think it was anything I ate. Hope I don't have diverticulosis. I have a colonoscopy scheduled soon.
Chloe, I like it when I drop in and there's something to read. There's not a word limit here.
I was a little surprised that there was as much agreement on the Trail as there seemed to be. At least, I thought there was. People will get defensive and jump to the conclusion that someone feels different but after talking it out, it seemed we were mostly on the same page.
One thing that I used to try to remind myself of when someone gets angry, even us here, that anger is a response to a real or perceived loss. It's part of the grief process. If I do remember that, then I try to figure out what loss might that person be experiencing. That helps me not to get too defensive and angry back. Hey, even when I remember, it doesn't always work. I'm a weak human.
I had to chuckle at Craig. After we beat that dead horse for a while, he gently suggested we put it to bed for a little while until we see what Biden comes up with. Then after that didn't happen, he said, unless you're not ready to. He's always so agreeable. Sometimes I'd like to reach out and hug him.
It still pouring, so hard that my satellite is blocked. I'm up to 5 inches in the rain gauge since about 8 this morning. I dumped out 6 inches which is the gauge's capacity. My yard is a swamp.
"One thing that I used to try to remind myself of when someone gets angry, even us here, that anger is a response to a real or perceived loss. It's part of the grief process"
Wow, Carol. You really are back to your old self. Pondering, perceptive, analyzing. I love it.
Regarding you perception of anger being a response to real or perceived loss, I think you're right, and that is often the case.
But for me, I think it is often a form of self protection.... that it occurs when I feel that my beliefs are being threatened. I say threatened because, of course, I wouldn't feel threatened if I was dead on sure I was right.
When I proclaim too strongly, especially defiantly, then I know for sure (after I've had time to think about it) that I'm reacting too emotionally for probably the wrong reasons.
Glad there's no word limit here. If there were, I'd actually have to rethink everything before I said it, since so much of it doesn't always make sense, even to me. But unfortunately, I don't realize that until later.
I have no doubt that I use anger as a defense mechanism.
You're getting more rain than us. One reason I don't complain about our rain much here, is that we lucked out (dumb luck) by finding a place that stays high and dry. And the soil is sandy, so we don't get the usual mud or clay, that many fairly close by get.
.... want to clarify, all those things I just said were about me. Not trying to guess why others feel as they do. I'm empathetic, but I don't try to be a mind reader, ever.
Often Chloe, when we are angry, we might not even understand what loss we might be perceiving. That's when we need to start pondering what it could be. It might even be loss of control. We all do have our control issues.
I really think that this gun issue represents control and/or even power for men. Men are more into power. Certainly not all men, maybe only those who feel somehow inadequate. I'm not talking about guys who want a handgun for protection or their hunting guns but anyone feeling the need and desire for an assault rifle and mega rounds of ammo is a serious scardy cat.
Watch about 2 minutes into this video of Piers Morgan and Alex Jones. Jones is freaking nuts and scared silly and makes one of the best cases for not allowing crazy people to have guns. He said he has 50 in his home.
Well, I'm awake and it's still raining. I hate these weather extremes. Jan, you seem to miss having weather extremes, except, I guess fires. Y'all do have fires over that way. Fortunately, not many trees to burn to spread them. Is there anywhere for me to slap a camp over your way? Not many puddles either huh?
I tried to see my rain gauge and I think it went over the 6 inch limit it has. It's worse to the west of me. Looks like they've had around 12 inches.
Remember, it was February last year when I had to move out of the camp because the river kept rising and keeping me from getting out there. Overall, we had less rain than usual over the last year. We'd go weeks without any.
The river is above flood stage and it's predicted to continue rising. Flood stage is 4 ft but that's not really significant as far as my camp is concerned. It may put the water over the road in a couple of places. The graph shows it getting at least to 6 feet and then that's where the graph ends. I'm sure that's not the peak. I'm pretty sure that is impassable.
I'm really getting impatient with the camp construction. This last leg of the work started before Thanksgiving and should have taken no more than a couple of weeks of work. All the holidays and then my guy's injuries and illness added to that. Now the river will keep them out for no telling how long.
I guess it's not like being out there would be possible anyway. I'm eager to start moving stuff back to where it came from. All the other rooms are full of stuff. Looks like one of those hoarder shows. And with my lift limitations, it will take forever having to move one fork at a time back into the kitchen.
No rain here today. Just blue skies and sun, and it's supposed to be even warmer tomorrow. I think I was due for some sunshine, because it sure looks and feels good. Cold is not a pleasant thing to me.
Our 10 day doesn't show more rain likely until Sunday (70% chance, so most like will be plenty)-- but there is a 30% chance on Sat. and Mon. too.
My thermometer on the front porch says 72 or so, but it has a little sun on the edge of it (it's on the inside of a poll partially blocking the west).
Hope things dry up your way, Carol. At least for a while. Saw that you woke up to rain the a.m., but I don't think we'd had any for most of the night.
I really got burned out on the gun talk yesterday, and ended up being away most of the day today. There's never enough time for me to catch up on anything, and I feel a little guilty for spending so much time on the computer yesterday.
Jan, Hope you're feel closer to normal today and things are getting back to normal.
I just turned around and looked at the thermostat inside here, and with all that south sun able to shine into these windows from an indirect angle, it's 77 inside. No wonder I feel nice and warm. Just the way I like it, too. Warm. Some other parts of the house are probably a lot cooler. We don't have temperature control running today, and hope it stays that way for a while.
Did stop raining but no sun just dismal gray skies. I attempted to go out to the camp, saw the water over the road and turned back. Wasn't in the mood for an adventure. Now the water will continue to rise until whenever. Probably at least a week or so.
Now here is a group of people who know how to give back to others, especially after the devestating loss they endured on September 11...a truly magnificent memorial to those they lost that day... NYC firm hit hard by 9/11 gives $10 million to Sandy families
Chloe, did you see that video that I posted a link to on TM? It was this "James Yeager, CEO of Tactical Response, a Tennessee company that trains people in weapon and tactical skills" It was a scary video. He threatened to start killing people if Obama managed to pass any laws that would change gun policies.
I'd think that wouldn't be quite legal to even say something like that, especially post it on a video for the world to see. He looked like a skinhead and he looked dead serious. I think there would be a shoot out if anyone did come to arrest him and I certainly wouldn't want to the in the neighborhood if and when they try.
I knew two different guys who were locked up for threatening to kill the pres. One was at this nursing home where I saw patients. That was a very interesting experience. I think Jan supervised students doing their clinicals there years ago.
The facility was a long term care facility. Besides the guy who had threatened to kill a president, don't know which one, I met quite a few other interesting people while working there. I met a couple of patients who claimed to be Jesus. Took extra special care of them, didn't want to take any chances. I figured that if Jesus did return to earth and said he was Jesus, that's exactly where he would end up. I also met Hilter and Napoleon.
The first page of the chart on the guy who threatened the president had a warning..."notify the secret police before any transfer from this facility."
We had another guy in jail who was in for threatening to kill Obama. I think he made a call to the White House. He was nuts but didn't seem at all violent. I don't think either of those guy will ever get out. It may be OK to threaten to kill anyone else but definitely not the president even if you're not likely to be able to do it.
"This is such a help to my little son who is emotionally challenged and lost everything," said Debbie Torres, clutching her cash card from the brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald. "God, thank you. These people here, thank you. Thank everybody."
Yes, Coreen. A perfect example of what you've said so often about giving to others within your reach, and they managed to touch the lives of so many families in such a short amount of time. They were able to accomplish so much without asking so much from the people in need (it's just so complicated when it's the government doing the giving).
A great, uplifting story, showing how people can help people.
Jan, Hope you're feeling good and not worrying too much about why you had that severe pain the other night. I know how scarey it can be when these things come out of no where.
I'm glad to hear you've got a Colonoscopy scheduled soon, just to relieve your worries.
"I met a couple of patients who claimed to be Jesus. Took extra special care of them, didn't want to take any chances ...... I figured that if Jesus did return to earth and said he was Jesus, that's exactly where he would end up. I also met Hitler and Napoleon."
Carol, So glad to see your sense of humor is still intact. With all the craziness we see in this world, it can take a lot of work to keep things in some kind of perspective (a perspective that won't drive us crazy preferably).
(I've always wondered if those guys become experts on the lives of those guys before they decide that's who they are. Did they seem to know what they were talking about?)
No Chloe, they did not give any evidence but anytime that my delusional patients did say anything interesting I did pay attention, just in case something they said had some meaning.
I am feeling better. John is not doing good. He is going to urgent care tomorrow. He has been coughing for 2 weeks and I think it is time to have it checked out.
Watched the last of the People's Choice awards. I was tickled to see that Big Bang Theory won Best TV Comedy award. It won over Modern Family and several others.
I did go in and see TM a bit yesterday. I thought you both did a good job of telling your views. I agreed with a woman at the end who said the one guy was putting people down (I am not sure those were her words).
My GI problem was just a 24 hour thing. I didn't work today as I had some personal business to take care of but our Admin Asst. wrote me that several in the office have the same thing.
I have had it before too Chloe and it usually does not last long but it is BAD for a short time.
Carol, I was tested and so was he, and it wasn't the flu.
Glen, Emma and I have all had ours. I haven't missed the flu vax for over 10 years, because the last flu I had felt like I was going to die. It was the worst I'd ever had. So now I get it, and make sure everyone around me does too.
When I had that cough, I finally went to emergency, because I knew they'd do the xrays and blood tests all at once and not drag it out for days at a time. They saw a small spot on my lung -- they didn't really think it was pneumonia, but just in case, that's how I got that particularly antibiotic that is supposedly very good for lung infections.
I was sick enough, that I felt like I had pneumonia, but to this day I don't know, because the cough was bad, but not as deep down the lung as you'd think pneumonia was. But I had been sick enough that it was becoming hard for me to function for quite a while.
I made sure my doc later sent me for a follow up xray and the spot was gone 3 weeks later. But like I said, it had been small enough to be questionable at the time (so emergency said).
After that, I got a pneumonia shot, and have decided I will every 5 years (supposedly that's how long they last). I normally get my flu shot at Walmart or where ever is handy, since they give them out almost every where now.
I've read this is one of the worst nation wide spreads of flu (and people are dying from it) than we've had in a long time. That's a shame, because the shot is so readily available, and a fairly reasonable price.
Emma got hers in the nasal form. I love her doctor and trusted him that it would work out better for her: sparing her the needle.
She even likes her doctor, and so I make sure we always see the same one. He's Indian (dot Indian, they say her) and I adore him and he's so good with her.
My doctor is Indian too. Houston has a huge amount of doctors from India and other countries in the Mid East, and they all seem to be excellent doctors.
Have I mentioned how much I love Houston lately. :) I love it here!
You know Chloe, I've worked with Indian docs, even one of my preceptors was Indian when I was in grad school..in Houston. There's just something about most of those Indian guys, who I worked with. They seem to all have a good sense of humor and it was very compatible with mine. You know how important a sense of humor is to me. I did a lot of laughing. It's weird. I must have been Indian in one of my last lives.
And I find the people in India, and in the Middle East, very beautiful. Many of the man, women and children are beautiful. I'm also partial to their beautiful olive skin and dark soft looking hair. I'm I sounding weird here? My fav guy on The Big Bang is Rajesh. Several other favs who play parts on comedy shows are Indian.
My little preceptor while in grad school was short and I was tall. He would joke about me getting a thigh resection to reduce my height so we would have an easier time communicating with him.
Just went to our little dew drop map and their were 4 drops, used to be stars, from India.
Do please drop in if you read us here and are from India. We may just be soul kin.
Chloe, when I was in grad school, my intention was to eventually go back to Houston. I came back here to my U to help them get thru accreditation. Of course, once you settle in, that's over. I'm not so brave when it comes to going out in the big world alone and remember I was a mama's girl. Mama worked hard to see to that. Big sis was the extreme opposite. That's why she and mama used to lock horns. Mama had no power of control over her.
Mama pretty much kept me around because she needed me. I was her gofer and dofer. Lived out her dreams. I did everything around her house that most husbands would do because Pa was always out in the fields working.
Now, when I go to Houston, I have an anxiety attack. It's too big and confusing. I don't do big and confusing very well anymore, if I ever really did. But my personality was certainly more compatible with the diversity that I found in Houston than it is here in small southern town USA. That's why I have very limited friends. I feel like an alien from outer space here. Maybe I am.
I have to get up early because I have that eye appointment early. I'm a little worried that the eye doc won't know what's going on. I'm a pretty good diagnostician and I'm stumped. When I first started experiencing these symptoms, they scared me so much that I wouldn't focus on them. I was afraid that if I focused on them, they might last longer. Fortunately, they don't last long so I've tried to really start evaluating them so I can accurately describe what is happening.
It seems to start with a few lighted meteors in my right eye. Then a dark cloud appears that covers a good bit of the visual field in my right eye. It is just my right eye that is involved. The dark cloud is shaped different each time. Sometimes it is on one side, sometimes more in the middle, today it covered the lower half of my vision. When I close or cover my right eye, I see that the sensation does not involved my left eye at all. I thought retinal detactment but can't see how that would explain it. It's in different places each time. It's spooky. It's not like when I had those visual migraines either. They involved colorful images and lasted much longer.
I even had my eyes shut today, listening to something on TV, when one started. Somehow I knew I was having the experience, even with my eyes closed. I opened them and sure enough I was. It lasted a tad longer today. It's probably never much over a minute. I've checked my pulse, observed for other neuro deficits and don't notice any.
It's already disturbing that my left eye is fogged up with a cataract. The vision in my right one is much brighter, even though I have some marks on my vision, I assumed from the wrinkles behind the sac that the new lens is in. Both create an uncomfortable visual sensation. Bright light in the room, outside, or from these monitor screens/TV, that I have to look at, bother me. And it almost feels like it is bright light that triggers the sensation except today my eyes were closed when it started.
Carol, looking forward to hearing how your eye exam went.
Took John to Urgent Care this morning. I had meetings but ducked out of them. Knowing John, he would not get there If I didn't take him.
Doc said his lungs sounded good. Because of his asthma and I expect his age too (he is not on the blog) he gave him a prescription for a Z pack. Doc did say is difficult to say whether it is viral or bacterial. We will know in the next couple of days.
Jan, whichever it is, there's still a powerful placebo effect of the Z-pack.
My eye doc said it is changes that are going on in my vitreous humour. Either it is clumping up or it's a mega floater. He saw floaters in both eyes. He thinks this will settle down after a while. It has to have something to do with having that cataract surgery.
He was very nice and probably has never had anyone who gave him such a detailed description of a symptom before. I asked if anyone else came in with the same problem and he said about 5-6 a day. Interesting. How come I've never heard of anyone having this experience. Have you?
I promise, it's scary. It's like I'm having a partial to close to total eclipse in the vision of one eye. Not something one would just casually blow off. But he did assure me that it was not likely to be a brain tumor. That was a relief. I'm much relieved.
A guy on TM from Australia wanted us to post a video showing our neighborhoods. I decided I would try to make one when I could get out to the camp again. That may be quite a while. I went to Youtube and found someone who already made a video of my river. They also added some Cajun music.
I am just now getting on line for the first time today.
Spent most of the day getting all of Emma's birthday party stuff together, so she can have it at school with her friends. There's 28 in her section!(3 teachers) That's why it was a lot of work.
Carol, I love the Indians too. I've mostly dealt with males, because that just happens to be what these particular doctors were.
You're right about their sense of humor. The ones I've come in contact with are very intuitive and efficient also.
Wow, Carol. That's a pretty big responsibility you took on there. Losing her must have been horrifically traumatic.
I realize now why you feel manipulated by others. I don't think it's because you want them to like you (as you've pondered that may be the reason in the past here). I think maybe you just got in the habit of not putting yourself first.
It must sound strange to you when I start preaching of my opinion that it's important to always think of yourself ahead of everyone else, in order to be true to yourself.
I just hope you can look back on your past, and feel good with the way it went. You've made so many good decisions (and yes, I still think you deserve the credit for everything you done and earned, so I'm going to call them your decisions -- even though they were made while you were keeping the needs of others in mind when you made them).
You've got a lot to be proud of, and I hope that you can think of all you've done for others as rewarding, and take that credit without feeling you had no choice.
Seems to me you decided somewhere along the way to be a giver. That's something to be proud of. But if you feel you had no choice, then it would be hard to come to terms with.
Carol, I don't put it that way, but you may have heard me say before that I feel like a square peg and that others are trying to put me in a round hole.
If you think for yourself, if you don't go along with exactly what's expected of you, then that's the way you feel.
It's a price we have to pay for being different. But in my opinion, it's worth it.
You said here a while back, you didn't care if you're different. Remember?
Well, neither do I. I prefer to think for myself, and if it doesn't make sense to others, than so be it.
It's just too hard to keep explaining. I do often feel misunderstood, but I realize that's my problem, not someone else's.
Jan, That Z Pack is what I was talking about!! (the AZithromycin)
And yes, it was just like a miracle! I was better the first day after being terribly ill for such a long time.
But it's important to finish the whole card.
They also had give me an intravenous antibiotic before that and it seemed to help right away too. That's what I meant about them not knowing for sure it wasn't viral, but that particular anti-biotic being miraculous.
Never discount the placebo effect of any therapeutic action and that includes pharma, touch, vitamins, chicken soup erc. It's powerful. I depended on it often in my practice and observed its efficacy. Belief is a powerful tool for healing. We can't actually use a true placebo but can use something that has very little effectiveness but sell it to the patient as potent.
They have done studies where they compared a drug with a known therapeutic action to a placebo with no action. When the subject took both believing both would have a certain action, often the placebo was even more effective.
Had insomnia again. It's ok. Plenty of time to nap.
We had a few hours of bright sunshine today but I couldn't enjoy it because my eyes were dilated and I couldn't tolerate the light. May have been the last sunlight for many days. More rain coming. I also see a north wind coming. That's much needed since it will help blow out the river.
Good plan Jan. I really don't think it's bronchitis because most of the time bronchitis is accompanied by some wheezing..even without asthma. They do usually label a cough as bronchitis anyway. You must remember that much of medicine is bullshit anyway. We all want a diagnosis so we practitioners pick one that sounds good.
Maybe it's sinus drip. The stuff dripping out of his sinuses may be triggering the cough. That could be from an allergic response or could have turned into either a viral or bacterial sinusitis. I think that if he had an infection, he'd feel pretty yukkie.
Oh, and the standard for treating bronchitis states that for most cases, "empiric treatment with antibiotics is NOT warranted because most cases are viral." Just a little factoid. Now if the person is an old COPDer/smoker then antibiotics are warranted because they are more likely to have a secondary bacterial infection.
In all my years of practicing medicine I've found that no matter how educated the patient is...they really want an antibiotic whether it is warranted or not. And honestly, taking antibiotics when not necessary is not totally harmless. But like Chloe said, once committed to taking them, you really should complete them..unless there is a problem.
My camp neighbor texted me pic of my camp with the water all the way under the camp and up into the front yard. Now y'all pray for a strong north wind. That's about the only thing that will do some good right now. I think that tomorrow the wind will shift to the north and Wunderground does predict north wind of 10-20 mph. If that comes, it will help blow the water down faster. Also pray that we don't get all the rain they still predict. I do believe in the power of prayer.
Neighbor had to borrow my boat. His was not in the water and many others didn't have theirs in either. I'm glad he is going to use it. It needs a little work out. He will need mine to get him back to where he had to park his truck. Too deep to drive in now.
Sorry to hear about not being able to get to your camp Carol. Will pray for a north wind.
John too thinks his cough is from drippy sinuses. He definitely has that. Although, he has and does feel pretty yukky. He has not really been a smoker although he now tells me he smoke a pipe for about 10 years (23 to 35 y/o) He has been a swimmer for years. His granddad did die of COPD and had never been a smoker. He was a lawyer though and back then everyone else smoked.
He is one of those older guys who is on several presc meds. He thinks he needs a med for everything and he takes several OTC's. John has a regular pharmacy.
How long has he been coughing? There is something that might be contributing but I don't want to mention it/her....
Can't really blame him for the polypharmacy. The TV tells us we need something for everything. Also, if you see a doc, you will come home with some prescription. Got to get your money's worth. Most people don't want to pay for just some good advice.
Not that it has anything to do with his coughing, even though GERDs can cause coughing at night when reclining, but...it is not recommended that we take those PPIs)ie omeprazol, for too long. They can cause calcium to be leached out of hips and increase chance of hip fractures. Hate to mention that also. There are other things to do to decrease reflux. Smaller, more frequent meals. Head of bed elevated to sleep. No food or fluids for 2-3 hours before bed or reclining. (nope, I couldn't do those things.)Heck, even many of the other meds we take can cause GERDs. We are doomed.
LOL your last message Carol. I think he is coughing less today Carol although he disagrees. I think he is also feeling better. His color has been crappy - he would go from flushed to pale all day. When they did his 02 sat - it was 90. so I have been telling to take some deep breaths. His color is better today. He knows about all those non chemical ways to relieve GERD but has a hard time following them. We are trying to eat earlier in the evening to help some of that and just a small snack a couple of hours before bed. We shall see! Thanks for all the great ideas. You are a great friend.
John's daughter, Jennifer, in Herndon, Virg. is running for delegate (for something) in her state. She has been in politics for some time now (about 8 years). She just posted a speech she made in her little town on FB. I "shared" it if you want to hear it. She is a lovely young woman and looks just like John when he was younger ( I call her John with a skirt).
Carol, you are on FB with me. Chloe and Coreen if you want to hear her speech, just google me - jan wayland or sandra jan wayland and you will pull up my FB page. I did not realize how much one can find on internet. I should probably take some of this off or figure out how to keep people from doing this.
122 comments:
I may have posted these pictures before, so if anyone would like to post some others, please do.
"I know you can identify with some of the naughtiness of Mary."
LOL Carol, yes - you do know who I am, don't you? And I am ok with that.
And that's why I love you Jan.
Like your pics and no, I don't remember seeing them before. Was the sea angry that day? It looks a little upset.
It turned out to be a stormy day.
Alabama is beating the s*** out of Notre Dame. We are sorry about that.
As for the guys at DA, my affections float around to several...Lord Granthum, Matthew, Branson, and Bates. I like different things about each of them.
I can't tolerate Thomas, however he spells it. He's disgusting.
I forgot about that game. What channel is it on?
Well, with that score, it doesn't look like a fun game to watch anyway.
Back to DA. Sure wish you would join us Coreen. Just think of it as Dancing with the Monarchy. They do some dancing.
Chloe has about 10 hours of viewing to catch up with season 2. I wonder if she recorded last night's show.
Well, I fell asleep and just woke up. Now back to DA again and falling asleep again soon. Many, maybe most of us leaning past our middle age, women, lose that ability to sleep uninterrrupted, thru the night, at least not without the help of some better living through chemistry. Waking up at all hours is something I don't mind anymore since I retired and can sleep whenever.
I've been pondering and I think there are several reasons why I like this DA series so much. It seems to satisfy both my right and left brain. My right brain is not too critical, mostly just appreciating the scenery and the attractiveness of the characters but... my left brain can be picky, a real spoil sport. So much of what I try to watch on tv or in the movies, I think, no one would act like that or say something like that, it just doesn't make sense to me. If something is meant to be sci-fi or preposterous, I can tolerate it because my brain understands that it is fantasy. If it is supposed to represent some known reality, and I think it can't possibly be, I lose interest in the program. Does that make any sense to anyone else but me? Probably not.
I guess that much of that, making sense to me, depends on how good the writing is and I think the writing is very good with this series.
Maybe this being in a different time and place, neither of which I'm familiar, gives it an advantage also. Not knowing any different, I have to accept that that could be the way was.
I also think the acting is very good. Those actors sell their characters very well.
Hey Chloe, we're both in for some really yukky weather. They're threatening 3-5 inches of rain by Thursday and tomorrow a Torcon 3 on the potential tornado scale for both of us.
That weather will keep my worker guys at home. Seems that construction workers are allergic to rain. It's not like they are working outside much anymore. They had to saw outside but I can't see what sawing they still have to do.
I really like Obama's selection of Chuck Hagel as SOD. I first remember meeting the guy when Bush and Gore were battling for President. He was a Republican but seemed to think that Gore was the real winner. He never just carried his party line, he said what he thought and that was what so impressed me. Over the years, I've mentioned liking him, even thinking he should run for President.
He was strongly against the Iraq war and bravely spoke out. Pissed his party off. I was sad when he disappeared from politics. We always seem to lose the good ones.
Huff wrote an article detailing some of this. She thinks he is an inspired choice for SOD and so do I. I'm not often impressed with anything Obama does but I am with this one.
Blast From the Past: Why Chuck Hagel Is Such an Inspired Choice
Always respected former Sen. Chuck Hagel...still do, even though there are whispers from both sides
of the aisle against him (& mostly from those who wish to go unidentified)...whether it is his supposed gay bias or anti-israel sentiments, I hope that in the end the confirmation process does not wind up being a name-calling, innuendo filled showcase for individual senators to posture for the cameras...
A less than stellar performance,
time to mention the recent example of rank hypocrisy, none other than
so many people's hero...Al Gore...
Interesting how the left has zipped their lips about his gigantic payday with the sale of his losing current tv channel to one of the biggest targets of his war on those who oppose his version of climate change...none other than a subsidy of the govt of Qatar, one of the largest exporters of that vile, disgusting greasy stuff...oil!...not to mention the 'slant' of the supposed news coverage that channel provides...& yes I know all good libs think any entity that
views this country in a negative light is the good guy...
In the end, Gore took the money & ran, just another typical hypocrite...do as I say, but hell you can not be allowed to do as i do!!...didn't really matter where the $$$ came from...& at the same time tried hard to get the deed done before any tax increases that would cost him, even though he has
been right there pushing for taxing those nasty rich people (just didn't want it to be him being taxed)....
Now really...(even though Kurtz
mildly criticizes Gore in this article he really is lobbing softballs not wanting to call it out like it is)....
Why Al Gore's Sale doesn't seem right
I like Chuck Hagel too. Good choice.
and Coreen, I too have been very disappointed in Gore. He turned out to be at best, inconsistent and worse, a hypocrit.
Carol, I have the same problem with sleep. Any more I seldom sleep through the night. I often wake up and cannot go back to sleep. I did that last night too. Sometimes an allergy attack will wake me and by the time an antihistamine works, I am awake. I often fix a cup of tea, take it back to bed and read for a while. I go back to bed in the guest room as I don't like to disturb John with getting up and down and turning on the light to read. Usually I can get back to sleep in an hour or two.
John has the same problem with sleeping. He sometimes takes Melatonin.
Working just part time works ok with less than a good night's sleep. Even if I have to be at work early (seldom before 9 am), it is easier to catch up on sleep through naps rather than if I worked full time.
Dang, I agree with both of you. Mark that on a calendar.
http://www.demandaplan.org/
Please go to sign the petition to demand a plan to end the killing of innocent people.
Inconsistency and Hypocrisy? I thought those were normal traits in all human beings. Just more so in some than others.
Can you imagine what it would be like to be so famous that everything you did turned up on the world wide web, or worse yet, in the Inquirer, so every grocery shopper or WM shopper would know every little thing you did, even those times when we experience a little lapse in judgement.
Just kidding around here, but I have thought about that before.
" I have done much work with teen moms and none realize the responsibility and work involved in caring for a child until they experience it themselves, and they will tell you that."
There is NO way to describe to someone even a fraction of what's involved in raising a child. If there was, I think there would be much fewer women giving birth. :) (me thinks -- but don't read too much into it. I'm sure I'm not being politically correct, as usual)
Jan, forgot to mention first, how much I love your 'happy place' pictures. (I'd be happy there too)
Looks like there was a storm a-brewin' when you took them.
Jan and Carol,
Please, don't worry about me. Go on discussing the present episodes. I'll never remember what you said by the time I'm caught up anyway. Believe me!
I don't know how I found so much time to get through the first season so quickly (it seems like so long ago, but I know it couldn't have been all that long). I remember all the basics, the most important things. I can look at their faces, and know exactly who they are. I slot people that way, I guess. Good, bad, indifferent, judgmental, manipulative -- well, probably way too many adjectives already. But you get the drift.
To tell you the truth, I don't relate to the characters in the same way you guys do. I can't really put myself into any of their places, although I do completely understand exactly who they are, but things were so different back then, there's no way I can imagine having as few choices as they had.
Carol, I would have thought you would have been the lady in charge (can't remember her name, but she's a very likable and unusually perceptive and empathetic person, as well as efficient and aware).
When I view a movie, I think I may experience them differently than most others -- maybe more as an ease dropper. I do very much feel the characters point of view and their motivations most of the time (if they're good, believable actors) , but I never fit nicely into feeling like I could be one of them.
I found myself focusing on how much I dislike some of the bad guys (just 2, I guess) and hate it when I see them get away with so many horrible things that affect other peoples lives so deeply.
Long ago, duringa 'Logic' class I took, I remember the professor asking: which is more important -- intention or the act itself. Back then, I struggled with the question, but now I have no doubt what my answer would be. It's intention.
If I 'had to' pick which character to be, it would be the one who marries the best looking and nicest guy. :) -- one that would accept my independence and respect my opinion. Women had so few rights on their own back then, so that's why they used to place so much importance on marriage. The misogyny, along with all the laws to back it up, was disgusting.
... actually, I just put in the part about good looking, because I like sounding even more shallow than I normally come across.
As hard as we try, there's only so much we can put in print and it always ends up just being the tiniest piece of who we are.
Hubby's the only one who knows how much I joke around. And even for him, it took a long time.
It's pouring here Carol. And it's supposed to go on on and off for the next 24 hours or so.
Our water table here can use it though. It's about 250 feet deep (like I've mentioned before, we're on a well)
I couldn't have done the upper class at DA. I couldn't do all those fancy clothes. I'm used to uniforms, well, I used to be. Haven't had to do those in many years. I also couldn't have sat around all day just reading for entertainment.
It's been drizzling here all day. No heavy stuff yet but I see some serious stuff out in the Gulf. I hope it goes around us. Tomorrow is predicted to be worse than today.
I'm trying to make some focaccia bread and I'm making some of that spinach artichoke dip. Just something to do. I hope I can freeze some of it. Could use another mouth to eat it.
Supper will be a salad, homemade focaccia bread with spinach artichoke dip on top.
Do you want that on the menu when you and John visit Jan?
Chloe, what is a "duringa 'Logic' class"? And wouldn't intention precede action?
Our weatherman said that the computer models predict somewhere between 6 and 10 inches of rain tomorrow. Hope he's wrong about that. I'm tired of all these extreme weather events.
Did you hear about AIG suing the government for their bailout. The interest was too high. Really.
It's OK Chloe if DA isn't your cup of tea. If I hadn't been stuck on my couch for over 2 weeks, I would have never even watch the first show.
"what is a "duringa 'Logic' class"
LOL, Carol. AT me. It should have been 'during' a logic class. My typing has been atrocious and I can't make myself proofread. The things I say feel too dumb to reread.
Yes, I think intent must preceed action, but I don't think that's exaction what he was asking.
I think it was more like this: if you intend to do something nice for someone and it turns out wrong, and therefore they don't appreciate what you did or it fail miserably (kinda like that Le Mis movie did for me), then was the intent more important than the fact that the actual action failed to achieved your intended goal (or something like that).
I think another example would be like the expression "don't look a gift horse in the mouth'. The gift was well intended, but the result was not appreciated necessarily.
Actually, looking back, I realize I was just brain storming here for some reason today. It was fun, but it probably didn't make a lot of sense to anyone but me.
I do appreciate having a place to come to say things, but am aware we can often be misinterpreted. I think that's why I said something about communication in writing can be so difficult (or something like that).
Carol, I LOVE 'Dalton Abbey'. I was so glad you brought it up, because I thought there was just one season, and I was very disappointed when it ended.
Netflix let me down, because they never brought in season 2. I wouldn't have known if you didn't mention it. So yes, your synchronicity is alive and working.
Thank you
(... I don't know what I said to make you think I didn't like it. I'm just a little frustrated, because HULU is a little different, and I'm still struggling with my ques. I'll get caught up eventually (hope sooner than later).
I'm enjoying your and Jan's comments on it, and they make me more anxious to dive further in to the second season in order to get to the third.
BTW, That logic class was actually a philosophy class, so I don't think there was any correct answer. It was more subjective.
I don't even know why it entered my mind today. You know how it is when you're brain storming. Anything can happen. :)
... see, there I did it again. I put 'exaction' instead of 'exactly' in my previous comment.
Maybe Alzheimers is making a visit in my head. Either that or my fingers have a mind of their own.
Don't forget guys. I told you the 'quirky' was a disclaimer, so anything I say should be taken with a grain of salt.
I thinking you thought I didn't like DA because I said I didn't relate to the characters in the same way you guys do.
I meant that I do that in all movies and all fiction (probably non fiction too). I just process the information differently -- or another you could probably put it, is that I relate to the movies a little differently.
I wouldn't be surprised if we don't all do that (see things a little differently). Actually I'd be more surprised if we didn't.
Don't worry about the typos Chloe. Most of the time I read what you intended and don't even notice the mistake until you point them out.
Keep brain storming. That's one storm I can handle.
I didn't want you to feel like I was pressuring you to watch DA. It is fun to be able to discuss things like that series here. I don't know anyone around my parts who watches it to talk to about it with.
It's been raining and raining and raining. And the river will be rising and rising and rising. Yuk.
Hadn't thought about your river rising, Carol. Is it high enough that it's going to become a problem?
I was thinking (you know I love rain) what a beautiful Spring we're going to have with all this unexpected rain we've been having. We've had too many drought years and that is what cause that very, scary fire that was close to us last summer. So I was thinking of this as a good thing.
However, I just took a look at the 10 day, and it looks like it's going to keep coming and going for quite a while now. I'd forgotten how much that may hinder the work on your camp.
Chloe, it could hinder the camp not just the work.
That strange guy that showed up over at TM about an hour ago (not sure of time) made things sound kinda scary, when he mentioned that this government usually gets what it wants.
I know we need gun control. But other than that, I'm wondering what other things are going to happen. I really don't understand what's happening in our country right now. Not understanding makes me nervous.
Maybe I'm reading more into it than there is, but it's feeling more and more that our well being is not represented through our politicians anymore. I mean, I know that's been pretty obvious for a while, but the thought of things getting worse is not very comforting.
I didn't realize the rain was that close to causing more damage, Carol.
Sorry to hear that. Let's hope that the rain forecast is wrong, or that it will change.
I certainly don't want to see your problems to become any more overwhelming than they've already become.
Carol, hope your camp and work on your camp survives the rain. Sure wish we had some.
I woke up a little after midnight last night to terrible abdominal cramping. Had a bad d****hea. After about an hour went back to bed and lay in a fetal position for a few minutes as I was pretty nauseous and went back to sleep and slept well. Today felt down some but not really sick.
Hope you had your flu shot, Jan. This is supposed to be a bad flu year throughout the entire nation.
There's nothing worse than abdominal pain that gets so bad it makes you nauseous. This may sound like a overly simple suggestion, but have you taken any Pepto-Bismal?
I have a lot of chronic abdominal pain (periodically_, and my gastroenterologist has said Pepto-Bismal is often very effective.
I hope you feel better Jan. Think it was something you ate?
Chloe, I think the guy was just saying that the excuse that we need assault weapons to defend ourselves from a “Tyrannical government” is kinda silly. I agree.
With this gun thing, the government has done nothing for so long, now they feel like we expect them to at least act like they care about what happened. I really doubt they even want to be bothered. I do think that we should do something also or at least try to do something.
I think if it was one of our loved ones that was killed or injured, we'd be screaming for some action.
It's weird to see how many people actually fear our government. Why so much paranoia?
Jan, I also have pretty frequent attacks of those belly aches and diarrhea. It's always been part of my life. They do go away as fast as they come, except when I had that diverticulitis. That was scary and is more common with age.
"I think if it was one of our loved ones that was killed or injured, we'd be screaming for some action."
You're so right, Carol.
Regarding the government paranoia, I think it's weird that I just took all that talk so seriously, because as you know, I usually don't. What you just said just brought me back to my normal state of thinking. Thanks for being the voice of reason.
Thanks.
Jan, I hope to hear that your pain doesn't come back and that by tomorrow you're no longer feeling down.
Please let us know how you're doing, once you feel like it.
Nite
ps .... glad you were there today, Carol.
Add that double thanks to the list of weird typing mistakes I've been making. Maybe I should start using a touch screen, to see if that helps.
... I'd talk a lot less too, because touch screens are so much slower (at least for me).
Am fine now. Might have been a short-term bug. Don't think it was anything I ate. Hope I don't have diverticulosis. I have a colonoscopy scheduled soon.
Chloe, I like it when I drop in and there's something to read. There's not a word limit here.
I was a little surprised that there was as much agreement on the Trail as there seemed to be. At least, I thought there was. People will get defensive and jump to the conclusion that someone feels different but after talking it out, it seemed we were mostly on the same page.
One thing that I used to try to remind myself of when someone gets angry, even us here, that anger is a response to a real or perceived loss. It's part of the grief process. If I do remember that, then I try to figure out what loss might that person be experiencing. That helps me not to get too defensive and angry back. Hey, even when I remember, it doesn't always work. I'm a weak human.
I had to chuckle at Craig. After we beat that dead horse for a while, he gently suggested we put it to bed for a little while until we see what Biden comes up with. Then after that didn't happen, he said, unless you're not ready to. He's always so agreeable. Sometimes I'd like to reach out and hug him.
It still pouring, so hard that my satellite is blocked. I'm up to 5 inches in the rain gauge since about 8 this morning. I dumped out 6 inches which is the gauge's capacity. My yard is a swamp.
"One thing that I used to try to remind myself of when someone gets angry, even us here, that anger is a response to a real or perceived loss. It's part of the grief process"
Wow, Carol.
You really are back to your old self. Pondering, perceptive, analyzing. I love it.
Regarding you perception of anger being a response to real or perceived loss, I think you're right, and that is often the case.
But for me, I think it is often a form of self protection.... that it occurs when I feel that my beliefs are being threatened. I say threatened because, of course, I wouldn't feel threatened if I was dead on sure I was right.
When I proclaim too strongly, especially defiantly, then I know for sure (after I've had time to think about it) that I'm reacting too emotionally for probably the wrong reasons.
Glad there's no word limit here. If there were, I'd actually have to rethink everything before I said it, since so much of it doesn't always make sense, even to me. But unfortunately, I don't realize that until later.
I have no doubt that I use anger as a defense mechanism.
"Sometimes I'd like to reach out and hug him."
Me too.
You're getting more rain than us. One reason I don't complain about our rain much here, is that we lucked out (dumb luck) by finding a place that stays high and dry. And the soil is sandy, so we don't get the usual mud or clay, that many fairly close by get.
I mean, after a down pour, we have puddles, etc. But it tends to sink fairly quickly (because of the sand).
Regarding that quote once more "anger is a response to a real or perceived loss"
... you could add 'fear of loss' to that too. Fear of losing something we feel we 'need to believe' in order to cope.
.... want to clarify, all those things I just said were about me. Not trying to guess why others feel as they do. I'm empathetic, but I don't try to be a mind reader, ever.
Often Chloe, when we are angry, we might not even understand what loss we might be perceiving. That's when we need to start pondering what it could be. It might even be loss of control. We all do have our control issues.
I really think that this gun issue represents control and/or even power for men. Men are more into power. Certainly not all men, maybe only those who feel somehow inadequate. I'm not talking about guys who want a handgun for protection or their hunting guns but anyone feeling the need and desire for an assault rifle and mega rounds of ammo is a serious scardy cat.
Watch about 2 minutes into this video of Piers Morgan and Alex Jones. Jones is freaking nuts and scared silly and makes one of the best cases for not allowing crazy people to have guns. He said he has 50 in his home.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1Ddb3oa5CE
Well, I'm awake and it's still raining. I hate these weather extremes. Jan, you seem to miss having weather extremes, except, I guess fires. Y'all do have fires over that way. Fortunately, not many trees to burn to spread them. Is there anywhere for me to slap a camp over your way? Not many puddles either huh?
I tried to see my rain gauge and I think it went over the 6 inch limit it has. It's worse to the west of me. Looks like they've had around 12 inches.
Remember, it was February last year when I had to move out of the camp because the river kept rising and keeping me from getting out there. Overall, we had less rain than usual over the last year. We'd go weeks without any.
The river is above flood stage and it's predicted to continue rising. Flood stage is 4 ft but that's not really significant as far as my camp is concerned. It may put the water over the road in a couple of places. The graph shows it getting at least to 6 feet and then that's where the graph ends. I'm sure that's not the peak. I'm pretty sure that is impassable.
I'm really getting impatient with the camp construction. This last leg of the work started before Thanksgiving and should have taken no more than a couple of weeks of work. All the holidays and then my guy's injuries and illness added to that. Now the river will keep them out for no telling how long.
I guess it's not like being out there would be possible anyway. I'm eager to start moving stuff back to where it came from. All the other rooms are full of stuff. Looks like one of those hoarder shows. And with my lift limitations, it will take forever having to move one fork at a time back into the kitchen.
No rain here today. Just blue skies and sun, and it's supposed to be even warmer tomorrow. I think I was due for some sunshine, because it sure looks and feels good. Cold is not a pleasant thing to me.
Our 10 day doesn't show more rain likely until Sunday (70% chance, so most like will be plenty)-- but there is a 30% chance on Sat. and Mon. too.
My thermometer on the front porch says 72 or so, but it has a little sun on the edge of it (it's on the inside of a poll partially blocking the west).
Hope things dry up your way, Carol. At least for a while. Saw that you woke up to rain the a.m., but I don't think we'd had any for most of the night.
I really got burned out on the gun talk yesterday, and ended up being away most of the day today. There's never enough time for me to catch up on anything, and I feel a little guilty for spending so much time on the computer yesterday.
Jan, Hope you're feel closer to normal today and things are getting back to normal.
I just turned around and looked at the thermostat inside here, and with all that south sun able to shine into these windows from an indirect angle, it's 77 inside. No wonder I feel nice and warm. Just the way I like it, too. Warm. Some other parts of the house are probably a lot cooler. We don't have temperature control running today, and hope it stays that way for a while.
Did stop raining but no sun just dismal gray skies. I attempted to go out to the camp, saw the water over the road and turned back. Wasn't in the mood for an adventure. Now the water will continue to rise until whenever. Probably at least a week or so.
Now here is a group of people who know how to give back to others, especially after the devestating loss they endured on September 11...a truly magnificent memorial to those they lost that day...
NYC firm hit hard by 9/11 gives $10 million to Sandy families
Chloe, did you see that video that I posted a link to on TM? It was this "James Yeager, CEO of Tactical Response, a Tennessee company that trains people in weapon and tactical skills" It was a scary video. He threatened to start killing people if Obama managed to pass any laws that would change gun policies.
I'd think that wouldn't be quite legal to even say something like that, especially post it on a video for the world to see. He looked like a skinhead and he looked dead serious. I think there would be a shoot out if anyone did come to arrest him and I certainly wouldn't want to the in the neighborhood if and when they try.
I knew two different guys who were locked up for threatening to kill the pres. One was at this nursing home where I saw patients. That was a very interesting experience. I think Jan supervised students doing their clinicals there years ago.
The facility was a long term care facility. Besides the guy who had threatened to kill a president, don't know which one, I met quite a few other interesting people while working there. I met a couple of patients who claimed to be Jesus. Took extra special care of them, didn't want to take any chances. I figured that if Jesus did return to earth and said he was Jesus, that's exactly where he would end up. I also met Hilter and Napoleon.
The first page of the chart on the guy who threatened the president had a warning..."notify the secret police before any transfer from this facility."
We had another guy in jail who was in for threatening to kill Obama. I think he made a call to the White House. He was nuts but didn't seem at all violent. I don't think either of those guy will ever get out. It may be OK to threaten to kill anyone else but definitely not the president even if you're not likely to be able to do it.
Very nice story Coreen. It's not easy to find those kind of stories. Thanks for posting it.
"This is such a help to my little son who is emotionally challenged and lost everything," said Debbie Torres, clutching her cash card from the brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald. "God, thank you. These people here, thank you. Thank everybody."
Yes, Coreen. A perfect example of what you've said so often about giving to others within your reach, and they managed to touch the lives of so many families in such a short amount of time. They were able to accomplish so much without asking so much from the people in need (it's just so complicated when it's the government doing the giving).
A great, uplifting story, showing how people can help people.
Jan, Hope you're feeling good and not worrying too much about why you had that severe pain the other night. I know how scarey it can be when these things come out of no where.
I'm glad to hear you've got a Colonoscopy scheduled soon, just to relieve your worries.
"I met a couple of patients who claimed to be Jesus. Took extra special care of them, didn't want to take any chances ...... I figured that if Jesus did return to earth and said he was Jesus, that's exactly where he would end up. I also met Hitler and Napoleon."
Carol, So glad to see your sense of humor is still intact.
With all the craziness we see in this world, it can take a lot of work to keep things in some kind of perspective (a perspective that won't drive us crazy preferably).
(I've always wondered if those guys become experts on the lives of those guys before they decide that's who they are. Did they seem to know what they were talking about?)
No Chloe, they did not give any evidence but anytime that my delusional patients did say anything interesting I did pay attention, just in case something they said had some meaning.
Are you feeling better Jan?
I am feeling better. John is not doing good. He is going to urgent care tomorrow. He has been coughing for 2 weeks and I think it is time to have it checked out.
Watched the last of the People's Choice awards. I was tickled to see that Big Bang Theory won Best TV Comedy award. It won over Modern Family and several others.
I did go in and see TM a bit yesterday. I thought you both did a good job of telling your views. I agreed with a woman at the end who said the one guy was putting people down (I am not sure those were her words).
My GI problem was just a 24 hour thing. I didn't work today as I had some personal business to take care of but our Admin Asst. wrote me that several in the office have the same thing.
I have had it before too Chloe and it usually does not last long but it is BAD for a short time.
I want John to get better soon so we can see some more of the movies nominated for Acad Awards. I could go by myself but I want John to see them too.
Jan, That cough that John has is a weird illness that has been going around for a long time (months) here in Texas.
I had it for over a month, and was finally put on Azithromycin and and it did the job. Same with hubby a few weeks ago.
I'm not sure what kind of infection it is, and you'd think it was viral, but that particular antibiotic work for us.
Hope they can help him tomorrow. It also makes you very tired and miserable.
thanks for the info Chloe. I want him to go.
Everyone did get the flu vaccine? I hope so. It's bad this year.
Carol,
I was tested and so was he, and it wasn't the flu.
Glen, Emma and I have all had ours. I haven't missed the flu vax for over 10 years, because the last flu I had felt like I was going to die. It was the worst I'd ever had. So now I get it, and make sure everyone around me does too.
When I had that cough, I finally went to emergency, because I knew they'd do the xrays and blood tests all at once and not drag it out for days at a time. They saw a small spot on my lung -- they didn't really think it was pneumonia, but just in case, that's how I got that particularly antibiotic that is supposedly very good for lung infections.
I was sick enough, that I felt like I had pneumonia, but to this day I don't know, because the cough was bad, but not as deep down the lung as you'd think pneumonia was. But I had been sick enough that it was becoming hard for me to function for quite a while.
I made sure my doc later sent me for a follow up xray and the spot was gone 3 weeks later. But like I said, it had been small enough to be questionable at the time (so emergency said).
After that, I got a pneumonia shot, and have decided I will every 5 years (supposedly that's how long they last). I normally get my flu shot at Walmart or where ever is handy, since they give them out almost every where now.
I've read this is one of the worst nation wide spreads of flu (and people are dying from it) than we've had in a long time. That's a shame, because the shot is so readily available, and a fairly reasonable price.
Emma got hers in the nasal form. I love her doctor and trusted him that it would work out better for her: sparing her the needle.
She even likes her doctor, and so I make sure we always see the same one. He's Indian (dot Indian, they say her) and I adore him and he's so good with her.
My doctor is Indian too. Houston has a huge amount of doctors from India and other countries in the Mid East, and they all seem to be excellent doctors.
Have I mentioned how much I love Houston lately. :) I love it here!
... that 'love it here' has a double meaning.
I love it in Houston!
I love it in 'The Swamp'!
The only thing I'm not lovin' is this temporary insomnia I've been getting.
You know Chloe, I've worked with Indian docs, even one of my preceptors was Indian when I was in grad school..in Houston. There's just something about most of those Indian guys, who I worked with. They seem to all have a good sense of humor and it was very compatible with mine. You know how important a sense of humor is to me. I did a lot of laughing. It's weird. I must have been Indian in one of my last lives.
And I find the people in India, and in the Middle East, very beautiful. Many of the man, women and children are beautiful. I'm also partial to their beautiful olive skin and dark soft looking hair. I'm I sounding weird here? My fav guy on The Big Bang is Rajesh. Several other favs who play parts on comedy shows are Indian.
My little preceptor while in grad school was short and I was tall. He would joke about me getting a thigh resection to reduce my height so we would have an easier time communicating with him.
Just went to our little dew drop map and their were 4 drops, used to be stars, from India.
Do please drop in if you read us here and are from India. We may just be soul kin.
Speaking of insomnia...note the time here.
Chloe, when I was in grad school, my intention was to eventually go back to Houston. I came back here to my U to help them get thru accreditation. Of course, once you settle in, that's over. I'm not so brave when it comes to going out in the big world alone and remember I was a mama's girl. Mama worked hard to see to that. Big sis was the extreme opposite. That's why she and mama used to lock horns. Mama had no power of control over her.
Mama pretty much kept me around because she needed me. I was her gofer and dofer. Lived out her dreams. I did everything around her house that most husbands would do because Pa was always out in the fields working.
Now, when I go to Houston, I have an anxiety attack. It's too big and confusing. I don't do big and confusing very well anymore, if I ever really did. But my personality was certainly more compatible with the diversity that I found in Houston than it is here in small southern town USA. That's why I have very limited friends. I feel like an alien from outer space here. Maybe I am.
I have to get up early because I have that eye appointment early. I'm a little worried that the eye doc won't know what's going on. I'm a pretty good diagnostician and I'm stumped. When I first started experiencing these symptoms, they scared me so much that I wouldn't focus on them. I was afraid that if I focused on them, they might last longer. Fortunately, they don't last long so I've tried to really start evaluating them so I can accurately describe what is happening.
It seems to start with a few lighted meteors in my right eye. Then a dark cloud appears that covers a good bit of the visual field in my right eye. It is just my right eye that is involved. The dark cloud is shaped different each time. Sometimes it is on one side, sometimes more in the middle, today it covered the lower half of my vision. When I close or cover my right eye, I see that the sensation does not involved my left eye at all. I thought retinal detactment but can't see how that would explain it. It's in different places each time. It's spooky. It's not like when I had those visual migraines either. They involved colorful images and lasted much longer.
I even had my eyes shut today, listening to something on TV, when one started. Somehow I knew I was having the experience, even with my eyes closed. I opened them and sure enough I was. It lasted a tad longer today. It's probably never much over a minute. I've checked my pulse, observed for other neuro deficits and don't notice any.
It's already disturbing that my left eye is fogged up with a cataract. The vision in my right one is much brighter, even though I have some marks on my vision, I assumed from the wrinkles behind the sac that the new lens is in. Both create an uncomfortable visual sensation. Bright light in the room, outside, or from these monitor screens/TV, that I have to look at, bother me. And it almost feels like it is bright light that triggers the sensation except today my eyes were closed when it started.
My vision is pretty important to me.
Carol, looking forward to hearing how your eye exam went.
Took John to Urgent Care this morning. I had meetings but ducked out of them. Knowing John, he would not get there If I didn't take him.
Doc said his lungs sounded good. Because of his asthma and I expect his age too (he is not on the blog) he gave him a prescription for a Z pack. Doc did say is difficult to say whether it is viral or bacterial. We will know in the next couple of days.
He already seems to be coughing less, if that is possible.
Jan, whichever it is, there's still a powerful placebo effect of the Z-pack.
My eye doc said it is changes that are going on in my vitreous humour. Either it is clumping up or it's a mega floater. He saw floaters in both eyes. He thinks this will settle down after a while. It has to have something to do with having that cataract surgery.
He was very nice and probably has never had anyone who gave him such a detailed description of a symptom before. I asked if anyone else came in with the same problem and he said about 5-6 a day. Interesting. How come I've never heard of anyone having this experience. Have you?
I promise, it's scary. It's like I'm having a partial to close to total eclipse in the vision of one eye. Not something one would just casually blow off. But he did assure me that it was not likely to be a brain tumor. That was a relief. I'm much relieved.
A guy on TM from Australia wanted us to post a video showing our neighborhoods. I decided I would try to make one when I could get out to the camp again. That may be quite a while. I went to Youtube and found someone who already made a video of my river. They also added some Cajun music.
Video of the Calcasieu River
I tried to see where my camp was in the video because I saw landmarks that I did recognize but they were moving too fast.
Carol, you were right about your eye.
I went into the link. Neat scenery. enjoyed it.
I am just now getting on line for the first time today.
Spent most of the day getting all of Emma's birthday party stuff together, so she can have it at school with her friends. There's 28 in her section!(3 teachers) That's why it was a lot of work.
Carol, I love the Indians too. I've mostly dealt with males, because that just happens to be what these particular doctors were.
You're right about their sense of humor. The ones I've come in contact with are very intuitive and efficient also.
"Lived out her dreams"
Wow, Carol.
That's a pretty big responsibility you took on there. Losing her must have been horrifically traumatic.
I realize now why you feel manipulated by others. I don't think it's because you want them to like you (as you've pondered that may be the reason in the past here). I think maybe you just got in the habit of not putting yourself first.
It must sound strange to you when I start preaching of my opinion that it's important to always think of yourself ahead of everyone else, in order to be true to yourself.
I just hope you can look back on your past, and feel good with the way it went. You've made so many good decisions (and yes, I still think you deserve the credit for everything you done and earned, so I'm going to call them your decisions -- even though they were made while you were keeping the needs of others in mind when you made them).
You've got a lot to be proud of, and I hope that you can think of all you've done for others as rewarding, and take that credit without feeling you had no choice.
Seems to me you decided somewhere along the way to be a giver. That's something to be proud of. But if you feel you had no choice, then it would be hard to come to terms with.
You have given me so much good advice, that has helped me so many times, and I doubt that I have made that clear enough to you.
The reason you are able to be so empathetic and intuitive is because you are so introspective. You call it pondering.
I have a lot of respect for all the thinking and rethinking you do, probably because that's something I've always tried to do too.
... and I still don't think we ever get to old to change, if that's what we want to do.
I know I plan on trying to change a lot of my ways. I may end up dieing trying, but try I will 'til the end.
"I feel like an alien from outer space here"
Carol,
I don't put it that way, but you may have heard me say before that I feel like a square peg and that others are trying to put me in a round hole.
If you think for yourself, if you don't go along with exactly what's expected of you, then that's the way you feel.
It's a price we have to pay for being different. But in my opinion, it's worth it.
You said here a while back, you didn't care if you're different. Remember?
Well, neither do I. I prefer to think for myself, and if it doesn't make sense to others, than so be it.
It's just too hard to keep explaining. I do often feel misunderstood, but I realize that's my problem, not someone else's.
Jan, That Z Pack is what I was talking about!! (the AZithromycin)
And yes, it was just like a miracle! I was better the first day after being terribly ill for such a long time.
But it's important to finish the whole card.
They also had give me an intravenous antibiotic before that and it seemed to help right away too. That's what I meant about them not knowing for sure it wasn't viral, but that particular anti-biotic being miraculous.
Carol,
Hope the docs right about your eyes clearing up eventually (hopefully sooner than later).
Never discount the placebo effect of any therapeutic action and that includes pharma, touch, vitamins, chicken soup erc. It's powerful. I depended on it often in my practice and observed its efficacy. Belief is a powerful tool for healing. We can't actually use a true placebo but can use something that has very little effectiveness but sell it to the patient as potent.
They have done studies where they compared a drug with a known therapeutic action to a placebo with no action. When the subject took both believing both would have a certain action, often the placebo was even more effective.
Had insomnia again. It's ok. Plenty of time to nap.
We had a few hours of bright sunshine today but I couldn't enjoy it because my eyes were dilated and I couldn't tolerate the light. May have been the last sunlight for many days. More rain coming. I also see a north wind coming. That's much needed since it will help blow out the river.
John coughed a lot last night - again. So much for placebo effect. I didn't tell him what you have said here in case the placebo effect might work.
Good plan Jan. I really don't think it's bronchitis because most of the time bronchitis is accompanied by some wheezing..even without asthma. They do usually label a cough as bronchitis anyway. You must remember that much of medicine is bullshit anyway. We all want a diagnosis so we practitioners pick one that sounds good.
Maybe it's sinus drip. The stuff dripping out of his sinuses may be triggering the cough. That could be from an allergic response or could have turned into either a viral or bacterial sinusitis. I think that if he had an infection, he'd feel pretty yukkie.
Oh, and the standard for treating bronchitis states that for most cases, "empiric treatment with antibiotics is NOT warranted because most cases are viral." Just a little factoid. Now if the person is an old COPDer/smoker then antibiotics are warranted because they are more likely to have a secondary bacterial infection.
In all my years of practicing medicine I've found that no matter how educated the patient is...they really want an antibiotic whether it is warranted or not. And honestly, taking antibiotics when not necessary is not totally harmless. But like Chloe said, once committed to taking them, you really should complete them..unless there is a problem.
My camp neighbor texted me pic of my camp with the water all the way under the camp and up into the front yard. Now y'all pray for a strong north wind. That's about the only thing that will do some good right now. I think that tomorrow the wind will shift to the north and Wunderground does predict north wind of 10-20 mph. If that comes, it will help blow the water down faster. Also pray that we don't get all the rain they still predict. I do believe in the power of prayer.
Neighbor had to borrow my boat. His was not in the water and many others didn't have theirs in either. I'm glad he is going to use it. It needs a little work out. He will need mine to get him back to where he had to park his truck. Too deep to drive in now.
Sorry to hear about not being able to get to your camp Carol. Will pray for a north wind.
John too thinks his cough is from drippy sinuses. He definitely has that. Although, he has and does feel pretty yukky. He has not really been a smoker although he now tells me he smoke a pipe for about 10 years (23 to 35 y/o) He has been a swimmer for years. His granddad did die of COPD and had never been a smoker. He was a lawyer though and back then everyone else smoked.
Also Carol, he has been dx with GERD and does take Omeprezol daily.
He is one of those older guys who is on several presc meds. He thinks he needs a med for everything and he takes several OTC's. John has a regular pharmacy.
How long has he been coughing? There is something that might be contributing but I don't want to mention it/her....
Can't really blame him for the polypharmacy. The TV tells us we need something for everything.
Also, if you see a doc, you will come home with some prescription. Got to get your money's worth. Most people don't want to pay for just some good advice.
Not that it has anything to do with his coughing, even though GERDs can cause coughing at night when reclining, but...it is not recommended that we take those PPIs)ie omeprazol, for too long. They can cause calcium to be leached out of hips and increase chance of hip fractures. Hate to mention that also. There are other things to do to decrease reflux. Smaller, more frequent meals. Head of bed elevated to sleep. No food or fluids for 2-3 hours before bed or reclining. (nope, I couldn't do those things.)Heck, even many of the other meds we take can cause GERDs. We are doomed.
LOL your last message Carol. I think he is coughing less today Carol although he disagrees. I think he is also feeling better. His color has been crappy - he would go from flushed to pale all day. When they did his 02 sat - it was 90. so I have been telling to take some deep breaths. His color is better today. He knows about all those non chemical ways to relieve GERD but has a hard time following them. We are trying to eat earlier in the evening to help some of that and just a small snack a couple of hours before bed.
We shall see! Thanks for all the great ideas. You are a great friend.
John's daughter, Jennifer, in Herndon, Virg. is running for delegate (for something) in her state. She has been in politics for some time now (about 8 years). She just posted a speech she made in her little town on FB. I "shared" it if you want to hear it. She is a lovely young woman and looks just like John when he was younger ( I call her John with a skirt).
Carol, you are on FB with me. Chloe and Coreen if you want to hear her speech, just google me - jan wayland or sandra jan wayland and you will pull up my FB page. I did not realize how much one can find on internet. I should probably take some of this off or figure out how to keep people from doing this.
John has a very nice looking daughter. I didn't listen to the speech. Just couldn't do anything political today.
Just talked to my neighbor. He took the boat out and it's running good. Glad to hear that. He's doing me a favor giving it a workout.
I just slapped at a mosquito. With all my new floaters, I wasn't sure it was actually something, until it started buzzing.
Here's another one I thoroughly enjoyed at the time: Lilly
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