A Woman's Work...

Busy day, woke up at 5:00 AM this morning when the alarm in my bedside clock went off. I must have accidentally reset it yesterday morning when I fumbled with it trying to turn it off. I did not fall back asleep until almost 6:00 AM and then did not wake again until 7:30 AM. and that only happened because Duke was standing on my side of the bed grunting like a pig. That is his not too subtle signal for, "I need to go outside right now." So I got dressed and took him for his morning walk. It was a beautiful morning. We have had enough rain to keep everything green. Usually by this time of year the heat has turned it all yellow.

It has been so wet and cool this summer my flowers are just blooming. This weather also kept most of the wheat from being harvested until this week. Last night a quarter of a mile long line of grain trucks sat on one of the main roads through town waiting to unload at one of the grain elevators. I've never seen that before.

Today I got the mower out and mowed the lawn. I also got the weed whacker out and took care of the weeds in the alley and trimmed around the fences and the house. The weeds in the alley were wet so when I finished the front of my jeans, sneakers, t-shirt, and me were covered in bits of green slime. I put the clothes in the washing machine and myself in the shower. After my shower I decided that since I was already doing one load of laundry I might as well do all the laundry so that is what I've been doing most of the afternoon between short naps. I guess the naps prove that I am not as well as I thought I was but even though, I do feel better than I have in a long while. It's about time.

I'm Baaack

My horoscope for today:

Gemini (May 21-June 20) ***
Use the morning, when you feel more together and connected than you have in a long time. Your optimistic thought patterns continue to be an asset. Tonight: Take a personal night.
-Jacqueline Bigar

Yep, that's how I feel.

It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times

I knew I was in trouble when I woke up in the small hours of the morning inside a bucking aircraft headed for JFK somewhere over the Midwest. My gut was in an uproar and the movement of the aircraft was giving me motion sickness. I stumbled to the toilet and sat down. The next thing I knew I was back in my seat waking up from a long nap. Only I wasn't in my seat, I was still on toilet but slumped into the back wall. The antibiotics I had been taking had destroyed all the good bacterium in my gut and my intestines where trying to evacuate everything I had ever eaten in my lifetime. And it kept doing so until yesterday.

I don't want to go into anymore details but I will say that I now completely understand the phrase gut wrenching pain. I am on the road to recovery thanks to time and a doctor friend who sent me a more potent brand of probiotics than you can get over the counter. I am also about ten pounds lighter. Seven pounds of that ten I lost the first seven days but this is not a diet I would recommend to anyone.

Now, you would think that this put a big crimp in my Maine vacation but, all in all, it was enjoyable. I did do two things I should not have; I ate lobster twice. I found out when I got home that eating the lobster wasn't the big mistake, the butter that went with it was. When your gut is compromised fats are the hardest thing for it to break down. I can verify that this is true and that it is also very painful.

One of the highlights of my trip was meeting fellow blogger, Ronni Bennett, of Time Goes By. She was kind enough to meet me at the Hilton near the Portland airport on my way home. We had planned a half-an-hour meeting but ended up talking together for an hour-and-a-half. It would have been longer but I was worried about missing my plane.

One thing about meeting people who's blogs you read is that you usually have an idea in your head about what they are like. I had the advantage since Ronni has photos of herself at the top of her blog but she only knew me from my writings. She was amazed by my short hair. What she didn't know is that I have a tendency to cut my hair very short whenever I feel some kind of change is coming in my life. It may be a emotional change or a physical change (like a trip) but it is always a sign that I am ready for something new.

So, that's it for now. I plan on spending the weekend catching up on other people's blogs and if everything continues as is, will be back Monday. Have a good weekend.

I've Been Everywhere

I've been everywhere, man
I've been everywhere

I've crossed the country fair, man
To breath that sea coast air

I've been to Portland, Yarmounth, Bath, and Blue Hill

Stood in picturesque Camden town,
Ate seafood from a lobster pound,

I've been everywhere, man
I've been everywhere

I've been to Rockland, Rockport, Northport, and Moose Point Park

Listened to the ocean roar,
Lying on Acadia's rocky shore

I've been everywhere, man
I've been everywhere

I've been to Wiscasset, Lincolnville, Deer Ise, and Ducktrap

I've looked down on beautiful Clam Cove,
Took a ride on Turnpike Road

I've been everywhere, man
I've been everywhere

I've been to Ellsworth, Belfast, Searsport, and Bar Harbor

Traveled on a road that soon was done,
To a town called Stonington

Yes, I've been everywhere

Edna And Me

(Me in front of the Edna St. Vincent Millay statue in Camden, Maine)

My candle burns at both ends It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends -
It gives a lovely light
-Edna St. Vincent Millay

Home now and will get back to regular blogging next week. See you all then.

I'm Out Of Here

Start my trip to Maine today and not sure if I will have the time or ability to blog while I am gone. If I can, see you soon, if not, be back in a little over a week. Have fun while I'm gone.

What A Difference A Day Makes

(I know there are major events happening in Iran and that the worries of one little person does not amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world, even though, since I can not control what happens in the world, I will continue to focus on the little part of it that is mine. At the same time I will keep the people of Iran in my thoughts. God be with you.)

Actually, what a difference three days make. Friday I walked into my dentist office with a feeling of great apprehension. As the dental assistant closed the door to the small room I now occupied, after informing me that the doctor would be in shortly, I started crying. I got myself under control in a few seconds and then my doctor walked into the room and I lost it again. I told him not to worry, my tears had nothing to do with him and all to do with my childhood. For me my teeth had become a reminder of the neglect my siblings and I had undergone. I understand that some of the neglect, perhaps even all of it, was partially due to my mother fears. She had many and dentists were one of them.

Having the teeth pulled should have taken less than twenty minutes but it took almost two hours. The tooth that was being reabsorbed by my body broke just at the line between good tooth root and damaged tooth root After taking an x-ray my dentist showed it to me and pointed out the small section of tooth that was still in my mouth. Not only had the tooth broken off but the X-ray also showed that the root of the tooth did not end in a point but in a curved like a hook. This defect had not shown up in past X-rays because it had been hidden but now, since he had moved the tooth around in an attempt to extract it, it was visible.

As he worked I realized that my head was moving slightly in reaction to what he was doing and I so put my hand to the side of my head to hold it steady. He asked me if I was doing OK and I gurgled out a yes while a tear slid down the side of my face. He stopped what he was doing and reached over to pick up a square of gauze and used it to gently wipe the tear track from my face. That bit of kindness almost caused me to break down.

I have had lots of work done on my teeth and never reacted the way I did this day. I was not afraid but I realized that at this point I had all the muscles in my body so tense that if I had dropped to the floor I would have reacted like a Corelle plate, not breaking but wobbling back and forth. I thought why is this taking so long? Am I making this harder than it should be because I really do not want to loose the tooth? As I was thinking this my doctor said out loud to himself more than to me, "It's as if the tooth doesn't want to come out."

At this point I almost lost it completely. I never felt so alone in my life. I was afraid and I needed help so I called for my mother. "Mom, help me," I begged.

What I wanted was for the doctor to miraculously hold the bit of tooth up and say, "I've got it!"

What I got was the feeling that my mother was in the room with me and a utter sense of calm and peacefulness. I stopped fighting what was happening to me and relaxed. It took a few more minutes but with me helping the doctor by letting him know what I was feeling (pressure changes, the tooth moving, the instrument he was using hooking onto the tooth) the root came out.

My gum is healing nicely and the temporary bridge, known as a dental flipper, is only a little annoying. Hopefully I will get used to it. Eating with it will be a bit of a challenge but I think I can handle it until I get the permanent one.

I Cannot Stay, I Came To Say I Must Be Going

Still working at the library this morning. We got a good start yesterday but also realized how big the job is going to be. Every single book has to be re-cataloged into the computerized database. This will probably take the whole summer. Then this afternoon I go to the dentist. God, how I dread this right now. My husband said he will take me to the dentist office and wait there for me. It always feels good knowing someone has your back.

Now for your entertainment, Groucho Marx singing Hello, I Must Be Going from the film Animal Crackers (1930).



(Groucho Marx as Spaulding)
Hello, I must be going,
I cannot stay, I came to say, I must be going.
I’m glad I came, but just the same I must be going.
La La.

(Margaret Dumont as Mrs. Rittenhouse)
For my sake you must stay.
If you should go away,
You’d spoil this party I am throwing.

(Spaulding)
I’ll stay a week or two,
I’ll stay the summer thru,
But I am telling you,
I must be going.

(All)
Before you go,
Will you oblige us,
And tell us of your deeds so glowing?

(Spaulding)
I’ll do anything you say,
In fact I’ll even stay!

(All)
Good!

(Spaulding)
But I must be going.

(Zeppo Marx as Jamison)
There’s something that I’d like to say,
That he’s too modest to relay.
The Captain is a moral man.
Sometimes he finds it trying.

(Spaulding)
This fact I emphasize with stress,
I never take a drink unless - Somebody’s buying.

(All)
The Captain is a very moral man.

(Jamison)
If he hears anything obscene, He’ll naturally repel it.

(Spaulding)
I hate a dirty joke I do,
Unless it’s told by someone who -
Knows how to tell it.

(All)
The Captain is a very moral man.
Hooray for Captain Spaulding, The African explorer.

(Spaulding)
Did someone call me shnorrer?

(All)
Hooray, Hooray, Hooray.

(Jamison)
He went into the jungle where all the monkeys throw nuts.

(Spaulding)
If I stay here I’ll go nuts.

(All)
Hooray, Hooray, Hooray.
He put all his reliance, In courage and defiance,
And risked his life for science.

(Spaulding)
Hey, hey.

(Mrs. Rittenhouse)
You are the only white man to cover every acre.

(Spaulding)
I think I’ll try and make her.

(All)
Hooray, Hooray, Hooray.
He put all his reliance, In courage and defiance,
And risked his life for science.

(Spaulding)
Hey, hey.

(All)
Hooray for Captain Spaulding, The African explorer.
He brought his name undying fame
And that is why we say, Hooray, Hooray, Hooray.

(Spaulding attempts to speak)
My friends, I am highly gratified at this magnificent display of effusion and I want
you to know.........

(All)
Hooray for Captain Spaulding, The African explorer.
He brought his name undying fame
And that is why we say, Hooray, Hooray, Hooray.

(Spaulding)
My friends, I am highly gratified at this magnificent display of effusion and I want
you to know.........

Hooray for Captain Spaulding, The African big hero.....

Well, somebody’s got to do it!

Rushing Into The 20th Century

Working all day in the library as we start automating (computerizing) the book check out process. Today and tomorrow are set up and learn the system days.

So, How You Doin'?

Not too badly, although it has turned out to be a busier Spring than I expected. I have almost rested up from all the travelling I've already done but next week I fly to the coast of Maine to visit a friend and then in mid July I head for Pagosa Springs. It would not be so bad if I was not constantly weary. This weariness, I have discovered, is caused by a chronic infection in one of my teeth and the mild depression that has accompanied it. I have been on antibiotics, which I hate, for the last month and a half, mainly because I wasn't sure just what to do about the tooth.

I knew the only cure for the infection was to have the tooth removed but I dreaded the idea since having the one tooth pulled was not the limit of the treatment. I've already had a tooth removed and now I have to have the infected tooth pulled along with another tooth who's root is being reabsorbed by my body.

This is all happening because of an accident when I was a child but in my mind I equated having the teeth removed from my mouth with not taking good care of my body and I felt ashamed. I thought to myself that if I had only taken better care of my teeth none of this would be happening; the ways in which we beat ourselves up. Anyway, I finally realized that all the teeth I am loosing are the ones I damaged as a child and that I can now truthfully say I lost them all in a car accident. This thought cheered me up immensely.

So, on Friday afternoon I get the two teeth pulled and a temporary bridge put in. In about four months, after my gum heals, I will go back to the dentist and a permanent bridge will be installed. In anticipation of the couple of days of down time that I will be experiencing after my "procedure," I have assembled a few books to read while I lay on the couch willing my body to heal as quickly as possible. All the books chosen will take me to distant times and places, all will make the time pass quicker, and all will keep my mind off of my missing teeth.