We come home from vacation and I feel odd for a while, usually until the kids start back at school. We're in a holding pattern, and nothing seems quite real. Sure, there's laundry and grocery shopping and cooking and cleaning, not to mention occupying the offspring somewhat productively from time to time, but none of it feels real.
Silly.
One thing, this year: much more true vacation time at home. Usually we get back and it's a big rush to the first day of school, but this year we've plenty of time. We had a two-day Monopoly game that must have spanned 6 hours at least, with DD emerging victorious in spite of the fact that DS2 owned three-quarters of the board. She just never landed on him. Remarkable.
In other news, I saw my spine doc today and reported to him that my neuro symptoms (numbness, tingling, hot ears) had gone away completely. Of course my ear has been acting up all evening, but I'm pretty sure that's because of my bad posture and failure to be as consistent with my exercises, not to mention not having taken any ibuprofen today. The doctor says my sore neck is due to muscle weakness and it should improve over time with careful exercise. Here's hoping. I don't have to go back unless things take a drastic turn for the worse; I was very happy to hear I don't have to go for another MRI to make sure things are OK.
I don't go back to my endo until the end of August but I've already sent out my bloodwork. I'm dreading getting back into the annual test regime, on top of everything else that's going on with the kids' new schools. With any luck by then we will have established a routine. I'm looking forward to those days. I find these structureless days oddly wearying, or maybe it's just the 110+ degree weather we're having.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
catching up
Thank God I took pictures most days, otherwise I wouldn't remember what we did.
Sunday, we went to the New England Air Museum, which is enormous and requires multiple visits to really appreciate. The history of aviation amazes me, people willing to throw themselves up into the atmosphere in the flimsiest contraptions. The vast majority of the collection is war-related. It's frankly overwhelming, but I loved catching details like this:
Not all of the collection is planes,though. I loved this hood ornament.
1935 Ford Roadster
Monday we went to the Peabody Museum at Yale, which is such a manageable little museum. I took almost this exact photo of the kids last year. Excuse the cliche, but it's amazing to see how much bigger they are this year.
Wednesday we saw Michael Cavanaugh's "Billy Joel and More" show at the Talcott Mountain Music Festival. It was awesome. The kids really got into it.
Much dancing and lip-syncing
DH's brother and his family came in from Ohio Thursday, and we had a huge family dinner at Maine Fish Market Restaurant. Friday was family portrait day, which was much less painful than anyone expected. It was lovely spending time with the family. The girls had some fun hair-styling:
College-bound (and extremely patient) cousin J returns the favor
Saturday, we packed up and flew home. We had a long layover in the Saint Paul/Minneapolis Airport. When the kids started bickering, I made them read. I'm evil like that.
"How did you do that?" A guy across from them asked. A mom knows what levers to apply, when.
In the days we've been home, we've unpacked, done laundry, shopped for food and school supplies, and otherwise generally vegged. School doesn't start until August 10, but there will be a separate post about all that.
Sunday, we went to the New England Air Museum, which is enormous and requires multiple visits to really appreciate. The history of aviation amazes me, people willing to throw themselves up into the atmosphere in the flimsiest contraptions. The vast majority of the collection is war-related. It's frankly overwhelming, but I loved catching details like this:
Not all of the collection is planes,though. I loved this hood ornament.
Monday we went to the Peabody Museum at Yale, which is such a manageable little museum. I took almost this exact photo of the kids last year. Excuse the cliche, but it's amazing to see how much bigger they are this year.
Wednesday we saw Michael Cavanaugh's "Billy Joel and More" show at the Talcott Mountain Music Festival. It was awesome. The kids really got into it.
DH's brother and his family came in from Ohio Thursday, and we had a huge family dinner at Maine Fish Market Restaurant. Friday was family portrait day, which was much less painful than anyone expected. It was lovely spending time with the family. The girls had some fun hair-styling:
Saturday, we packed up and flew home. We had a long layover in the Saint Paul/Minneapolis Airport. When the kids started bickering, I made them read. I'm evil like that.
In the days we've been home, we've unpacked, done laundry, shopped for food and school supplies, and otherwise generally vegged. School doesn't start until August 10, but there will be a separate post about all that.
Friday, July 10, 2009
here in CT
Computer access is limited, and I have no way to upload photos, yet. I should work on this for next year. For now, I'm making do with random access to my in-laws PC.
It's Friday evening now, and the past days have been very busy.
Tree Climbing 101
Sunday, we hiked Beebe Woods out to the Punch Bowl. We didn't see any frogs but we did see a bird in its nest, and had a nice lunch at the 99 Restaurant.
Main Street, Woods Hole
Monday, our last real day on the Cape, was sunny but too cool to swim, I thought. We went to Woods Hole and had to deal with the parking situation (always difficult). We went to the WHOI Museum and had lunch, and pie, at Pie in the Sky, the scene of last year's infamous melt-down (mine, not one of the kids). Lunch was great, and the pies -- chocolate mousse and apple -- were fantastic. On the way back we stopped at Good Will Park because DD wanted to go on the swings.
Goodwill Park
It was quite warm by that time so I demanded that we have a quick swim before dinner, which took some doing -- once we got back to Mom's, the kids had to be pried out again. We headed for one last swim and the water wasn't even (that) cold. Monday evening my older sister came down to see us before we took off, and the two of us were up past 1AM... typical.
Tuesday was spent packing up, doing laundry, and cleaning Mom's house before we finally got out about 4:30PM, heading for CT in a huge thunderstorm. The rain was kind, though, letting up when we stopped to eat, and again when we arrived and were unpacking the car.
Wednesday morning DH arrived about 10AM, having flown in on the red eye, and I picked him up at the airport. He was surprisingly energetic for someone who had been up all night, so we ended up climbing Talcott Mountain in the cool sunshine.
At the base of the Heublein Tower
We failed to get new bug repellent for the hike, but the mosquitoes did not eat us alive. It was a great day for a hike, but clouds rolled in overnight and it poured later.
The view from the porch at the Mermaid Inn
Thursday morning DH and I headed to Mystic, for our annual overnight at the charming b&b, the Mermaid Inn of Mystic. We stopped for tastings (and gelato) at Heritage Trail Vineyard and then at Johnathon Edwards Winery. We had our usual incredible dinner at the S&P Oyster Company, discussing once again why we always go there when there are so many other restaurants around... but the S&P is reliably good and the views are unparalleled. After dinner we had coffee & dessert at the b&b, the fresh-baked cookies are divine.
This morning after our delectable 4-course breakfast we strolled through Mystic and enjoyed the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts 98th Annual Juried Exhibition at the Mystic Arts Center. Then we headed out, picking up some fudge at Mystic Seaport's bake shop, before stopping at Maugle Sierra Vineyard for another tasting.
The Grounds at Maugle Sierra
This evening we took the kids to hear ABBAMania, a Hartford Symphony Orchestra summer pops concert out in Simsbury. The performers were terrific. It was fun, although the kids are a little too old to be uninhibited about dancing and enjoying themselves. They were thoroughly exhausted by the time we got them all into bed around 11PM.
And now here I am trying to remember all these details, hoping to be able to upload photos eventually.
Photos added 7/23.
It's Friday evening now, and the past days have been very busy.
Sunday, we hiked Beebe Woods out to the Punch Bowl. We didn't see any frogs but we did see a bird in its nest, and had a nice lunch at the 99 Restaurant.
Monday, our last real day on the Cape, was sunny but too cool to swim, I thought. We went to Woods Hole and had to deal with the parking situation (always difficult). We went to the WHOI Museum and had lunch, and pie, at Pie in the Sky, the scene of last year's infamous melt-down (mine, not one of the kids). Lunch was great, and the pies -- chocolate mousse and apple -- were fantastic. On the way back we stopped at Good Will Park because DD wanted to go on the swings.
It was quite warm by that time so I demanded that we have a quick swim before dinner, which took some doing -- once we got back to Mom's, the kids had to be pried out again. We headed for one last swim and the water wasn't even (that) cold. Monday evening my older sister came down to see us before we took off, and the two of us were up past 1AM... typical.
Tuesday was spent packing up, doing laundry, and cleaning Mom's house before we finally got out about 4:30PM, heading for CT in a huge thunderstorm. The rain was kind, though, letting up when we stopped to eat, and again when we arrived and were unpacking the car.
Wednesday morning DH arrived about 10AM, having flown in on the red eye, and I picked him up at the airport. He was surprisingly energetic for someone who had been up all night, so we ended up climbing Talcott Mountain in the cool sunshine.
We failed to get new bug repellent for the hike, but the mosquitoes did not eat us alive. It was a great day for a hike, but clouds rolled in overnight and it poured later.
Thursday morning DH and I headed to Mystic, for our annual overnight at the charming b&b, the Mermaid Inn of Mystic. We stopped for tastings (and gelato) at Heritage Trail Vineyard and then at Johnathon Edwards Winery. We had our usual incredible dinner at the S&P Oyster Company, discussing once again why we always go there when there are so many other restaurants around... but the S&P is reliably good and the views are unparalleled. After dinner we had coffee & dessert at the b&b, the fresh-baked cookies are divine.
This morning after our delectable 4-course breakfast we strolled through Mystic and enjoyed the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts 98th Annual Juried Exhibition at the Mystic Arts Center. Then we headed out, picking up some fudge at Mystic Seaport's bake shop, before stopping at Maugle Sierra Vineyard for another tasting.
This evening we took the kids to hear ABBAMania, a Hartford Symphony Orchestra summer pops concert out in Simsbury. The performers were terrific. It was fun, although the kids are a little too old to be uninhibited about dancing and enjoying themselves. They were thoroughly exhausted by the time we got them all into bed around 11PM.
And now here I am trying to remember all these details, hoping to be able to upload photos eventually.
Photos added 7/23.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
it's (mostly) all a blur
Wednesday the weather was lousy again, and I thought we'd go up to Boston, but nobody was up for it. At 11:30AM it was as dark as 8PM, and the rain poured down. It's just as well we stayed home. We did go out for Chinese food for lunch, though, to my Mom's favorite buffet, so it's not as if we didn't do anything all day.
Thursday was another one of those days that starts dreary and ends up surprisingly OK. Unfortunately, by the time the weather broke it was about 3 in the afternoon, and the kids didn't want to do anything. I chased them out of the house for a walk on their own, and they delighted in exploring the path to the marsh. I haven't let them go down there on their own before, and they were surprised by the freedom, I think. They're growing up, and I have to learn to let them go.
For me, Thursday was a cooking day -- blueberry cake and pizza. Normally pizza would be for Friday, but since Friday was the day off for the July 4 holiday, we pushed it back to Thursday. Since I was cooking in the late afternoon, it limited what I could do with the kids, which was another reason I pushed them to go out on their own.
The annual blueberry cake
Friday? One of those beautiful days where it's much too cool to swim, but you really should be outside. Still, no one wanted to go to Beebe Woods or any other kind of hike; my brother and his wife brought down their Wii Fit game and the kids enjoyed getting back into it. (Our disc at home has been missing for some time now.) I swept up a bit outside, but nothing to strenuous. I sat and chatted with my sister-in-law in the backyard while my brother power-washed the patio and the outdoor furniture.
In the evening, my oldest brother came down with his wife and youngest son, who will be a senior in high school this year and is way, way taller than I am. We had a great dinner and sang an early Happy Birthday to my brother. Here's how you do a birthday cake when you have neither cake nor frosting:
A pan of brownies, a few candles, and birthday greetings from a color printer
Today, finally, was a beach day! It was a bit cool, only in the 70s, and that proved to be too cold to counteract the wind that was whipping. I draw the line at blowing sand, and we were almost there -- if no one was walking nearby, you'd be OK, but any movement at all and you'd be attacked by hundreds of sand pellets. The waves were awesome, though, and we all enjoyed jumping in them. The two younger kids got chilled quickly, and we ended up coming home after only a couple of hours because it just wasn't warm enough to stay, at least for me and the younger kids. DS1 could have stayed for hours, he was having so much fun.
My brother and his wife treated us to a lobster feast for dinner, and then we played Apples to Apples and hung out and I finally got the kids to bed after 10. All in all, a Happy 4th of July.
A whole lotta lobsters
Thursday was another one of those days that starts dreary and ends up surprisingly OK. Unfortunately, by the time the weather broke it was about 3 in the afternoon, and the kids didn't want to do anything. I chased them out of the house for a walk on their own, and they delighted in exploring the path to the marsh. I haven't let them go down there on their own before, and they were surprised by the freedom, I think. They're growing up, and I have to learn to let them go.
For me, Thursday was a cooking day -- blueberry cake and pizza. Normally pizza would be for Friday, but since Friday was the day off for the July 4 holiday, we pushed it back to Thursday. Since I was cooking in the late afternoon, it limited what I could do with the kids, which was another reason I pushed them to go out on their own.
Friday? One of those beautiful days where it's much too cool to swim, but you really should be outside. Still, no one wanted to go to Beebe Woods or any other kind of hike; my brother and his wife brought down their Wii Fit game and the kids enjoyed getting back into it. (Our disc at home has been missing for some time now.) I swept up a bit outside, but nothing to strenuous. I sat and chatted with my sister-in-law in the backyard while my brother power-washed the patio and the outdoor furniture.
In the evening, my oldest brother came down with his wife and youngest son, who will be a senior in high school this year and is way, way taller than I am. We had a great dinner and sang an early Happy Birthday to my brother. Here's how you do a birthday cake when you have neither cake nor frosting:
Today, finally, was a beach day! It was a bit cool, only in the 70s, and that proved to be too cold to counteract the wind that was whipping. I draw the line at blowing sand, and we were almost there -- if no one was walking nearby, you'd be OK, but any movement at all and you'd be attacked by hundreds of sand pellets. The waves were awesome, though, and we all enjoyed jumping in them. The two younger kids got chilled quickly, and we ended up coming home after only a couple of hours because it just wasn't warm enough to stay, at least for me and the younger kids. DS1 could have stayed for hours, he was having so much fun.
My brother and his wife treated us to a lobster feast for dinner, and then we played Apples to Apples and hung out and I finally got the kids to bed after 10. All in all, a Happy 4th of July.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
how I spent my morning
Sprucing up the flower beds I replanted last year -- raking out the leaves and dealing with the volunteers.
I think I tweaked my neck, though. Ow. And it was feeling so much better, too.
I think I tweaked my neck, though. Ow. And it was feeling so much better, too.
finally!
The forecast was for scattered thunderstorms, highs in the low 70s.
The reality was a clear blue sky and 75 degrees by 10AM.
A beach day!
On the plus side: blue sky, warm temps
On the minus side: no waves, freezing water. It hasn't been sunny enough for it to warm up much at all.
Solution? Dig a hole.
DD's project, brothers helping out
The boys quickly got bored.
For once, peace between them
DD did not, and achieved her goal of digging down to the water she knew she would hit eventually.
Success!
I filled it in before we left.
The reality was a clear blue sky and 75 degrees by 10AM.
A beach day!
On the plus side: blue sky, warm temps
On the minus side: no waves, freezing water. It hasn't been sunny enough for it to warm up much at all.
Solution? Dig a hole.
The boys quickly got bored.
DD did not, and achieved her goal of digging down to the water she knew she would hit eventually.
I filled it in before we left.
Monday, June 29, 2009
wild things
We woke late to a light, steady rain. Nobody felt like hustling to do anything; breakfast was late, and lunch was, too. But just before 2PM the clouds parted and we saw blue sky. With the temperature hovering in that sweet spot between too cold and too warm, we headed south to the Zooquarium.
We've been going there for ages, and the kids are really too old for it now, but still, DD wanted to go. The boys did not mind. I reminded her several times that we might not get to see the hedgehog, and indeed, when we arrived, we saw that the African wildlife show had been at 10 this morning.
Fortunately for us, one of the workers there has her own very friendly hedgehog, and she brought her out for us to see. We had an extended semi-private hedgehog visit, and she was very sweet and so comfortable around people that Beth, her keeper, told us that Malaika simply won't roll up into a ball or do that adorable little sneeze-bark, she's just too friendly.
Malaika, a small, prickly angel
After our hedgehog visit, we went through the aquarium and the zoo proper. In the cool weather, all the animals were up and about, even one of the raccoons, and they are always sleeping. We saw the live animal demonstration of the great horned owl, and learned interesting things like their feathers are shaped so they can swoop down silently on their prey, and they can lift three times their weight. I was surprised to hear that Maestro, fully grown and about 8 years old, only weighs about 4 pounds. He looks a lot bigger than that, but I have to remember it's mostly feathers.
Maestro, the great horned owl
Off-exhibit, we saw several wild rabbits venturing under the fence to nibble on the greens along the zoo paths. I'm sure they feel very safe there. This baby rabbit is hands down the cutest wild thing I've ever seen.
Fearless baby bunny, enjoying clover
As for these three, they enjoyed themselves, yes, and got completely silly on the train. When they were younger, they could play on it without irony, but today they were just being goofy.
Exuberance
A little bit wild sometimes, yes, but wonderful.
We've been going there for ages, and the kids are really too old for it now, but still, DD wanted to go. The boys did not mind. I reminded her several times that we might not get to see the hedgehog, and indeed, when we arrived, we saw that the African wildlife show had been at 10 this morning.
Fortunately for us, one of the workers there has her own very friendly hedgehog, and she brought her out for us to see. We had an extended semi-private hedgehog visit, and she was very sweet and so comfortable around people that Beth, her keeper, told us that Malaika simply won't roll up into a ball or do that adorable little sneeze-bark, she's just too friendly.
After our hedgehog visit, we went through the aquarium and the zoo proper. In the cool weather, all the animals were up and about, even one of the raccoons, and they are always sleeping. We saw the live animal demonstration of the great horned owl, and learned interesting things like their feathers are shaped so they can swoop down silently on their prey, and they can lift three times their weight. I was surprised to hear that Maestro, fully grown and about 8 years old, only weighs about 4 pounds. He looks a lot bigger than that, but I have to remember it's mostly feathers.
Off-exhibit, we saw several wild rabbits venturing under the fence to nibble on the greens along the zoo paths. I'm sure they feel very safe there. This baby rabbit is hands down the cutest wild thing I've ever seen.
As for these three, they enjoyed themselves, yes, and got completely silly on the train. When they were younger, they could play on it without irony, but today they were just being goofy.
A little bit wild sometimes, yes, but wonderful.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
back to the garden
Friday was "new tv day". Mom's television died early last week and my best efforts to find the magic "screen" control were to no avail, so Friday was spent getting the new set. After a ridiculous amount of waiting around, we abandoned the local Wal-Mart (really the only option in Falmouth proper) for the Best Buy down in Hyannis, where I ended up getting a 42-inch Panasonic, based on two main criteria: it was a decent price for the feature set (1080p, 3 HDMI inputs, etc), and it fit in the car. (The price has gone up since we bought it! Weird.)
Friday evening, my brother set it up, and Saturday morning, we got the old behemoth into the car and took it down to what used to be the dump but is now called something like the Waste Management Facility. Even with a bigger screen, the living room seems bigger because the new tv is so much less massive. The picture is gorgeous, too.
The rest of Saturday was odd, the kids weren't in the mood to do anything, and we alternated clouds and sun all day. The temperature barely hit 70. By two o'clock I'd had it with the perpetual video games, and forced them all out to the beach. The two younger ones swam, DS1 could not have been less interested, and only went out because I made him. It pains me to see him turning into a disaffected teen already. At least the younger ones had fun.
Making castles with "silly sand"
Sunday morning I had fun photoshopping the new tv onto the fireplace. (I just used the old Paint application.) My father, God rest his soul, always said that someday he'd get a tv to hang on the fireplace, well before flat screens ever existed. My mother has always detested the idea, so this is the closest we'll ever come to liberating the living room from the encumbrances of the television stand:
Quick-and-Dirty Photoshop puts "Wheel of Fortune" on the TV, and the TV on the fireplace.
Sunday afternoon my sister and her younger grandson visited, and we went back to Spohr Gardens. It was a good day for the gardens, cool with occasional sun breaking through the clouds. The kids didn't mind too much being chased out of the house again:
And they're off!
Perhaps some day I will look back on these 60-degree days wistfully, as I melt in Arizona's 100-degree-plus weather. Today is not one of those days.
Inviting, isn't it?
Friday evening, my brother set it up, and Saturday morning, we got the old behemoth into the car and took it down to what used to be the dump but is now called something like the Waste Management Facility. Even with a bigger screen, the living room seems bigger because the new tv is so much less massive. The picture is gorgeous, too.
The rest of Saturday was odd, the kids weren't in the mood to do anything, and we alternated clouds and sun all day. The temperature barely hit 70. By two o'clock I'd had it with the perpetual video games, and forced them all out to the beach. The two younger ones swam, DS1 could not have been less interested, and only went out because I made him. It pains me to see him turning into a disaffected teen already. At least the younger ones had fun.
Sunday morning I had fun photoshopping the new tv onto the fireplace. (I just used the old Paint application.) My father, God rest his soul, always said that someday he'd get a tv to hang on the fireplace, well before flat screens ever existed. My mother has always detested the idea, so this is the closest we'll ever come to liberating the living room from the encumbrances of the television stand:
Sunday afternoon my sister and her younger grandson visited, and we went back to Spohr Gardens. It was a good day for the gardens, cool with occasional sun breaking through the clouds. The kids didn't mind too much being chased out of the house again:
Perhaps some day I will look back on these 60-degree days wistfully, as I melt in Arizona's 100-degree-plus weather. Today is not one of those days.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
blue sky
We finally saw some sun this afternoon. I dragged the kids out to The Heritage Museums and Gardens, a quick half-hour drive away in Sandwich.
It was gorgeous, but we really needed bug repellant; the mosquitos interfered greatly with our enjoyment of the beautiful gardens. We spent most of our time wandering the many trails, but finally headed indoors to escape the bugs.
Continuing this summer's tradition of taking advantage of things we've already paid for, admission was free because we are members of the Desert Botanical Garden, another lovely (and usually bug-free) place to spend a sunny day.
meds, etc
I saw Dr. C, my TMD/headache doctor just before we left AZ. He was interested to hear that the neck issues I had been having were caused by cervical radiculitis, and when he heard that I'd been taking ibuprofen to keep the head and neck pain under control, he recommended a therapeutic dose of 600 mg, three times a day. I checked it out with Dr. S, my spine doctor, who OK'd it, and I've been on it ever since. It helps tremendously with the neck pain, which has subsided considerably.
It also has helped alleviate almost all my Sjogren's symptoms... and the gastroparesis, too. I haven't taken any Domperidone in over a week, and while I do have the occasional feeling of queasiness, it's nothing that I want to medicate. Taking Domperidone at this point is a guarantee of the return of "rapid transit" issues. While this is not conclusive proof that the gastroparesis is auto-immune (it could just be coincidence that I'm recovering at the same time I'm taking the anti-inflammatory), it is really nice to be able to stop taking a prescription, even though I have started taking another medicine.
I was going to say that surprisingly, my rheumatoid arthritis has been very quiet this trip, in spite of the cold and damp -- but then I remembered that 600 mg of ibuprofen three times a day, and surely that's helping. Last year I took Aleve all summer just to survive. Ibuprofen works better and it doesn't mess up my blood sugar, but I think that long-term it's going to wreck something else, so when we get home I need to give my rheumatologist a call and see what she says.
Meanwhile, the neck: I have a back-of-the-skull headache right now and I don't know why. The neck itself rarely hurts, what usually bothers me is my left shoulder muscles, and I don't know why that should be, either. I feel best on days I don't spend sitting in front of the computer. Driving for hours isn't so great, either, and I did two hours today, broken up into 4 half-hour chunks. I use my neck pillow while driving and it helps tremendously.
I'm pretty good about doing my physical therapy for my neck. Most of the exercises and stretches are easy and I do them at least once a day. One is killer and I try to do it at least once a day but sometimes I don't. I think I am making progress, but I am using Biofreeze a couple of times a day on my tense shoulder and neck muscles, and that helps, too.
My neurological symptoms have abated significantly. I no longer have the dead/numb/tingling feeling in my right shoulder or arm, or along my right side. I am conscious of right-side weakness from time to time, but I don't know if that will ever change given my surgery. My neck still feels numb and today my right ear was hot for about 15 minutes after one of the drives (that's a strange, annoying feeling), which is the worst neuro symptom I've had since we arrived. In general, I think things are going pretty well.
Noting something that's probably nothing, but I want to have the reference: about 2 inches below my collar bone, there is a lump just to the left of my sternum. On the right side, there is nothing. At first I thought it was just muscle tissue overlaying the ribs, but since it's absent on the right, I think it's weird. It's a little tender if I push on it, whereas is if I poke the (non-lumpy) right side, it feels just fine. I don't know what the heck it is and again (I tell myself) it's probably nothing, but I noticed it and I wanted to record it here so I remember to ask my endo about it when I see her in August. (Why the endo? Because I had metastases to my upper chest, that's why. Of course they got it all, but still.)
Last -- my last refill prescription for Cytomel came in as generic. It's only 10 mcg a day, I figure it's not going to kill me, and it's much less expensive than the branded Cytomel. Besides, I need a new prescription, which I will get ... when I see the endo in August.
It also has helped alleviate almost all my Sjogren's symptoms... and the gastroparesis, too. I haven't taken any Domperidone in over a week, and while I do have the occasional feeling of queasiness, it's nothing that I want to medicate. Taking Domperidone at this point is a guarantee of the return of "rapid transit" issues. While this is not conclusive proof that the gastroparesis is auto-immune (it could just be coincidence that I'm recovering at the same time I'm taking the anti-inflammatory), it is really nice to be able to stop taking a prescription, even though I have started taking another medicine.
I was going to say that surprisingly, my rheumatoid arthritis has been very quiet this trip, in spite of the cold and damp -- but then I remembered that 600 mg of ibuprofen three times a day, and surely that's helping. Last year I took Aleve all summer just to survive. Ibuprofen works better and it doesn't mess up my blood sugar, but I think that long-term it's going to wreck something else, so when we get home I need to give my rheumatologist a call and see what she says.
Meanwhile, the neck: I have a back-of-the-skull headache right now and I don't know why. The neck itself rarely hurts, what usually bothers me is my left shoulder muscles, and I don't know why that should be, either. I feel best on days I don't spend sitting in front of the computer. Driving for hours isn't so great, either, and I did two hours today, broken up into 4 half-hour chunks. I use my neck pillow while driving and it helps tremendously.
I'm pretty good about doing my physical therapy for my neck. Most of the exercises and stretches are easy and I do them at least once a day. One is killer and I try to do it at least once a day but sometimes I don't. I think I am making progress, but I am using Biofreeze a couple of times a day on my tense shoulder and neck muscles, and that helps, too.
My neurological symptoms have abated significantly. I no longer have the dead/numb/tingling feeling in my right shoulder or arm, or along my right side. I am conscious of right-side weakness from time to time, but I don't know if that will ever change given my surgery. My neck still feels numb and today my right ear was hot for about 15 minutes after one of the drives (that's a strange, annoying feeling), which is the worst neuro symptom I've had since we arrived. In general, I think things are going pretty well.
Noting something that's probably nothing, but I want to have the reference: about 2 inches below my collar bone, there is a lump just to the left of my sternum. On the right side, there is nothing. At first I thought it was just muscle tissue overlaying the ribs, but since it's absent on the right, I think it's weird. It's a little tender if I push on it, whereas is if I poke the (non-lumpy) right side, it feels just fine. I don't know what the heck it is and again (I tell myself) it's probably nothing, but I noticed it and I wanted to record it here so I remember to ask my endo about it when I see her in August. (Why the endo? Because I had metastases to my upper chest, that's why. Of course they got it all, but still.)
Last -- my last refill prescription for Cytomel came in as generic. It's only 10 mcg a day, I figure it's not going to kill me, and it's much less expensive than the branded Cytomel. Besides, I need a new prescription, which I will get ... when I see the endo in August.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
mini get-away
We took a vacation from our vacation.
Our first destination, Boston's Museum of Science
Tuesday morning, not as early as I would have liked, we hit the road for Boston, to visit The Museum of Science. It originally opened in 1972, and my Mom joined as soon as possible -- maybe even before it opened. We met my sister and her grandson there, and four hours flew by. We saw the show in the Theater of Electricity, with the largest air-insulated Van de Graaff generators ever:
My (grand? great?)nephew was thrilled to be picked as a volunteer in the show and did a fine job at demonstrating how strong magnetic force can be. We also saw a live animal talk about scorpions (which are both arthropods and arachnids), and wandered through several of the exhibit halls. The Collections room held an abundance of beautiful objects.
We ended our day at the museum with the IMAX movie, Mystic India, which was both interesting and beautiful in subject matter and presentation.
After the museum, we headed north in horrific rush-hour traffic to our hotel with its indoor waterpark. The kids enjoyed it, although they may have enjoyed their room service supper and breakfast more. Overall impression of the waterpark: fun, but also very noisy, humid, and a bit stuffy. We escaped to the outdoor jacuzzi where it was considerably quieter and the air, though cold, was much fresher. It was odd being at a water park with no sun shining down! The park itself is well-laid out with four huge water slides (the stairs up, and pool where you land, are both inside, the slides themselves are outside), plus two smaller slides and many tiny ones, plus various water jets, play pools, and a tubing river surrounding the central area. It wasn't too crowded and the kids enjoyed finally being able to play in some water.
Our wristbands were good until 3PM but we cleared out about 2-ish, and headed back to the Museum. It was my idea; we spent so much time at the shows on Tuesday that there were huge chunks of the museum we didn't get to see. We spent another two hours there today, and got to see a lot more, although ideally you would visit often for an hour or two, and only visit one or two galleries during that time to really see everything. There is just so much there to see and do, it's a bit overwhelming.
Of course we stayed too late, and got stuck in traffic, again.
Speed Limit 45? I wish!
I was so bored in the stop-and-go traffic I started taking pictures in the tunnel. Beauty can be found where we least expect it. We stopped for dinner and a new tank of gas on the way back to Mom's, and finally got here about 9:30PM. Next time, I'll know better: hang out and have dinner in Boston and wait for the traffic to dissipate (about 7PM, I'd say), and end up getting back earlier.
The kids amazed me today by reading nearly non-stop all the time we were in the car. It made for a very quiet, pleasant ride, even with the horrible traffic and gloomy weather. Tomorrow's forecast contains the word "sun", so here's hoping.
Tuesday morning, not as early as I would have liked, we hit the road for Boston, to visit The Museum of Science. It originally opened in 1972, and my Mom joined as soon as possible -- maybe even before it opened. We met my sister and her grandson there, and four hours flew by. We saw the show in the Theater of Electricity, with the largest air-insulated Van de Graaff generators ever:
My (grand? great?)nephew was thrilled to be picked as a volunteer in the show and did a fine job at demonstrating how strong magnetic force can be. We also saw a live animal talk about scorpions (which are both arthropods and arachnids), and wandered through several of the exhibit halls. The Collections room held an abundance of beautiful objects.
We ended our day at the museum with the IMAX movie, Mystic India, which was both interesting and beautiful in subject matter and presentation.
After the museum, we headed north in horrific rush-hour traffic to our hotel with its indoor waterpark. The kids enjoyed it, although they may have enjoyed their room service supper and breakfast more. Overall impression of the waterpark: fun, but also very noisy, humid, and a bit stuffy. We escaped to the outdoor jacuzzi where it was considerably quieter and the air, though cold, was much fresher. It was odd being at a water park with no sun shining down! The park itself is well-laid out with four huge water slides (the stairs up, and pool where you land, are both inside, the slides themselves are outside), plus two smaller slides and many tiny ones, plus various water jets, play pools, and a tubing river surrounding the central area. It wasn't too crowded and the kids enjoyed finally being able to play in some water.
Our wristbands were good until 3PM but we cleared out about 2-ish, and headed back to the Museum. It was my idea; we spent so much time at the shows on Tuesday that there were huge chunks of the museum we didn't get to see. We spent another two hours there today, and got to see a lot more, although ideally you would visit often for an hour or two, and only visit one or two galleries during that time to really see everything. There is just so much there to see and do, it's a bit overwhelming.
Of course we stayed too late, and got stuck in traffic, again.
I was so bored in the stop-and-go traffic I started taking pictures in the tunnel. Beauty can be found where we least expect it. We stopped for dinner and a new tank of gas on the way back to Mom's, and finally got here about 9:30PM. Next time, I'll know better: hang out and have dinner in Boston and wait for the traffic to dissipate (about 7PM, I'd say), and end up getting back earlier.
The kids amazed me today by reading nearly non-stop all the time we were in the car. It made for a very quiet, pleasant ride, even with the horrible traffic and gloomy weather. Tomorrow's forecast contains the word "sun", so here's hoping.
Monday, June 22, 2009
jinxed?
It's raining. It rained all day, and it will be raining for the foreseeable future. So, there goes the rationale for being here during summer vacation, as opposed to being at home -- here, supposedly, we can go to the beach. It's fun, it's outdoors, it's free... it's cold, windy, and enveloped in fog, even when it's not being pelted by rain.
So, we're trying to make the best of it, but it seems like things are breaking down all around us. Mom's television died yesterday -- some research showed that Sony Trinitrons with no video but everything else OK can be fixed by a simple tweak, once you get the back off. So I got the back off (no small feat) but can't find the two screws that are supposed to be there to adjust the video.
DS1 wanted to watch a DVD, and with the TV out, he popped it into Mom's iMac, which promptly starting grinding, and now will not eject it. I tried restarting, I even tried the firmware option (fun), but no dice: lots of noises, none of them good, but still no DVD.
Heating up the pizza for dinner this evening, I burned the first batch under the broiler. My mother's oven is so different from mine, I should have known better, but I got distracted making plans for tomorrow and Wednesday, when hopefully I will have something more cheerful to report.
This afternoon, we went bowling, then out for hot chocolate (Mexican mocha for me) at Coffee Obsession, then we went to check out Old Silver Beach in the rain. I would post pictures but the final glitch in today's parade of things-not-working is Blogger won't upload my photos, even after I cleared my cache and cookies and whatnot. This seems to happen from time to time and eventually it works out. Update: It works! I had to quit Firefox and restart it, and then everything was fine. Yay!
My neck is bothering me after all the driving yesterday and the continued high humidity; I suppose bowling didn't help. It doesn't help that I've felt chilled most of the day, either. I am not cut out for this damp New England weather any more. But the plans for the next couple of days include a brief sojourn to a much warmer place; here's hoping it's worth the effort and expense.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
thoughts on the day
I had lots of reminders of my father today. This morning at Mass we met a friend of my mother's; she didn't recognize me as my mother's daughter so much as she recognized my brother as my mother's son -- "I look more like my father," I said, and it's true.
Later, I noticed the word "Dad" prominently labeling the really nice wooden hanger on which my blouse had hung, warning acquisitive children to back off Dad's suit hanger. Funny how those good hangers would migrate without the label.
My sister had a graduation party for her youngest daughter, recent graduate of Boston Latin, and she has photos all over her house -- and there was Dad, of course. Oh, how proud he would have been of his granddaughter! I can well imagine it.
I miss him. The happy graduation-party day was tinged with sadness. The relentless weather is getting to me, I'm sure: would I be feeling sad if I'd seen blue sky for longer than 5 minutes in the past week? Maybe. Probably. Yes - it's when we're (almost) all together that I miss him the most.
Later, I noticed the word "Dad" prominently labeling the really nice wooden hanger on which my blouse had hung, warning acquisitive children to back off Dad's suit hanger. Funny how those good hangers would migrate without the label.
My sister had a graduation party for her youngest daughter, recent graduate of Boston Latin, and she has photos all over her house -- and there was Dad, of course. Oh, how proud he would have been of his granddaughter! I can well imagine it.
I miss him. The happy graduation-party day was tinged with sadness. The relentless weather is getting to me, I'm sure: would I be feeling sad if I'd seen blue sky for longer than 5 minutes in the past week? Maybe. Probably. Yes - it's when we're (almost) all together that I miss him the most.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Big Blue & camp fires
Today, I had the day off. My brother took over planning and driving duties and took us all (me, my 3 kids, himself and his son) up to the Blue Hills where we climbed to the top of Big Blue, the highest free-standing point on the eastern shoreline, or something like that. It was a beautiful hike, and there's a cool old army fort and an awesome working weather observatory at the top.
At the bottom, we stopped in at the Trailside Museum, which is really charming, and was celebrating their 50th anniversary today with free admission. They have a great little collection of animals and excellent displays on the native animal life in the Blue Hills region.
After dinner, we headed to Plymouth to Camp Massasoit for a Cub Scout Campfire. My nephew's pack was having a family camping weekend, and they were holding a campfire; my brother had checked to be sure it was OK if we all came along. It was a blast. Various groups of kids from the different troops performed skits, and my nephew and my two boys did one, too, "The Duck." It went like this:
DS1 is standing towards one side of the stage. N approaches from the other side.
N (walking like a duck): Do you have any duck food?
DS1 (the storekeeper): No.
N leaves.
DS2 (the narrator): The next day...
N appears again, and walks over to DS1: Do you have any duck food?
DS1: (becoming angry) No, I told you yesterday we don't have any duck food. If you ask me again, I'll rip off your beak and nail it to the wall! (he was very dramatic)
N scurries away, frightened.
DS2: The next day...
N peaks around the corner of the stage, and sneaks up to DS1, who pretends not to notice him.
N: Do you have any nails?
DS1: No!
N: Oh, well, in that case, do you have any duck food?
fin
This is the level of humor/entertainment that's typical of cub scout campfires. The camp staff did a great song with much enthusiasm -- there was a good deal of enthusiasm for everyone, appropriately. One family was honored for all the volunteer efforts they put in, and you could see how much everyone appreciated them.
After the official campfire, we retired to a smaller campfire with just my brother's (and his son's) troop (I may be confusing those terms) and the kids got to roast marshmallows and hot dogs over the fire, although where they found room for it all, I don't know. DS2 had a minor crisis with a marshmallow dropping off his toasting stick, but I retrieved it, brushed it off, and put it back in the fire to burn off any germs, and he was able to have his s'more after all. DD was thrilled to try JiffyPop, although popping it over the campfire without some kind of hand protection was a rather hazardous job. (DD was happy about the s'mores and the popcorn, otherwise she was rather mortified at having to attend a boy scout event, even though it was a family camping weekend and there were other girls there. She's at an age where she found the skits mostly embarrassing.)
Got home late, hustled the kids through their showers (church in the morning, no time then...) and got them to bed, and am now off to bed myself. It was a lovely day, and I hope the weather is this cooperative tomorrow.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
freelance day camp
That's what summer has become. I don't recall my mom, God bless her, ever concerning herself too much with what we did over the summer. We all went to the beach or hung out or played in the woods or something. It was fine.
Now, it's reading-math-writing-piano every morning -- not a lot of each, just enough to keep their brain cells from dying off -- and then casting around for something to do so they're not glued to various video screens for the rest of the day.
Plus, cooking, washing dishes, grocery shopping, and house work, all of which I would do if we were home in AZ but which have an overlay of slightly weird difficulty because, well, we're not home in AZ.
I have this feeling there is something I'm supposed to be doing, and I don't know what it is. I'm sure the weather (and horrific extended forecast) are contributing to my sense of frustration, but there's not a thing I can do about it, except keep looking for things to do on rainy days. I will be so happy when we finally break out of this cold and damp.
Now, it's reading-math-writing-piano every morning -- not a lot of each, just enough to keep their brain cells from dying off -- and then casting around for something to do so they're not glued to various video screens for the rest of the day.
Plus, cooking, washing dishes, grocery shopping, and house work, all of which I would do if we were home in AZ but which have an overlay of slightly weird difficulty because, well, we're not home in AZ.
I have this feeling there is something I'm supposed to be doing, and I don't know what it is. I'm sure the weather (and horrific extended forecast) are contributing to my sense of frustration, but there's not a thing I can do about it, except keep looking for things to do on rainy days. I will be so happy when we finally break out of this cold and damp.
critters & trails
Another cool, cloudy day. The forecast called for rain late in the day, so I decreed we'd go to the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. If it were up to the kids, they'd spend all day playing video games and building forts with blankets and chairs, or playing video games inside their forts. And eating.
Brewster is a bit of a haul from East Falmouth, but it was an easy drive today, before school is out, and before the tourist crowds hit. Later in the summer I imagine it would be pretty horrific, but for us it was only around 45 minutes, which isn't bad at all.
The museum itself is quite manageable, with a small aquarium downstairs and a great "marsh view" room on the main floor. There's an osprey's nest which they have on camera, so you get a close-up view of what's going on in the nest at all times. The marsh view itself is gorgeous, and there are plenty of bird feeders drawing the local fauna to the windows for our entertainment.
Lucky shot: photographing squirrels is hard enough, but chipmunks are impossible. This looks like some kind of gray squirrel/chipmunk cross.
View from the marsh room, left
View from the marsh room, right
We walked the wildflower loop and a little bit of the marsh trail, but didn't have time for extensive hikes -- energy was flagging, too, since the kids had a sleepover last night and didn't get to sleep until about 1AM. The trails were well-maintained and easy. Happily, sometime in the past couple of years, the children have decided that they like to walk around in nature.
Funny how we associate blueberries & summer... these won't be blue for at least another 6 weeks.
These blossoms were everywhere in the woods around the marsh.
Laurel? Raspberries? If I figure it out, I'll update.
I think the high point of the kids' day was the ice cream we got at Kate's Seafood.
Classic Cape roadside restaurant.
On the way home, DS1 commented that it was "a nice trip, but I really want to go to the beach."
So do I, baby, so do I.
Brewster is a bit of a haul from East Falmouth, but it was an easy drive today, before school is out, and before the tourist crowds hit. Later in the summer I imagine it would be pretty horrific, but for us it was only around 45 minutes, which isn't bad at all.
The museum itself is quite manageable, with a small aquarium downstairs and a great "marsh view" room on the main floor. There's an osprey's nest which they have on camera, so you get a close-up view of what's going on in the nest at all times. The marsh view itself is gorgeous, and there are plenty of bird feeders drawing the local fauna to the windows for our entertainment.
We walked the wildflower loop and a little bit of the marsh trail, but didn't have time for extensive hikes -- energy was flagging, too, since the kids had a sleepover last night and didn't get to sleep until about 1AM. The trails were well-maintained and easy. Happily, sometime in the past couple of years, the children have decided that they like to walk around in nature.
I think the high point of the kids' day was the ice cream we got at Kate's Seafood.
On the way home, DS1 commented that it was "a nice trip, but I really want to go to the beach."
So do I, baby, so do I.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Spohr Gardens
A sunny, cool day.
We ventured out in the afternoon to Spohr Gardens. I can't believe I've never been there before! We missed the profusion of rhododendrons and other spring flowers, and it was too early for all but the most precocious peonies, but the gardens were still gorgeous.
A portion of Charles Spohr's nautical collection, including an anchor from H.M.S. Bounty
Red maples provide relief from the ubiquitous green
The kids investigate the bell from 1882; mill stones arranged behind.
Calling sinners home
Inscription on the bell:
HOOPER & CO. BOSTON MASS. AD 1882
===============================
SINNERS! The sound of this bell
calls you together for the good and
eternal happiness of your souls
and to praise and glorify Christ
AND ONLY THIS
I'm unclear on what the possible confusion was, but Messrs. Hooper & Co left no doubt as to the piety of their purpose.
The "Flower" setting on my camera (a Fujifilm FinePixZ) does weird things to the color pallet -- this iris was purple, not blue.
The only fresh-looking cluster of rhododendron blooms in the entire garden.
Lovely pink bells capped by a speckled bloom.
Fern thicket in sunlight.
Peak peone.
From the gardens, we wandered over to Woods Hole, but the WHOI Aquarium was just closing as we arrived at 4PM. So we went to our favorite beach instead, where it wasn't as windy as I expected. I lined up all the kids for our now-classic beach shot:
Jump!
Shortly after this photo was taken, my camera's battery ran out of juice. That's why I have no documentation of their first swim of the year. DD complained that even the sand was cold, and she was right, but they wanted to go swimming, so we headed home for their suits and then back again. It was, probably, too cold for DS2 and DD, but the two older boys were just fine. They all survived and now have another great shared adventure to remember in times to come.
We ventured out in the afternoon to Spohr Gardens. I can't believe I've never been there before! We missed the profusion of rhododendrons and other spring flowers, and it was too early for all but the most precocious peonies, but the gardens were still gorgeous.
Inscription on the bell:
===============================
SINNERS! The sound of this bell
calls you together for the good and
eternal happiness of your souls
and to praise and glorify Christ
AND ONLY THIS
I'm unclear on what the possible confusion was, but Messrs. Hooper & Co left no doubt as to the piety of their purpose.
From the gardens, we wandered over to Woods Hole, but the WHOI Aquarium was just closing as we arrived at 4PM. So we went to our favorite beach instead, where it wasn't as windy as I expected. I lined up all the kids for our now-classic beach shot:
Shortly after this photo was taken, my camera's battery ran out of juice. That's why I have no documentation of their first swim of the year. DD complained that even the sand was cold, and she was right, but they wanted to go swimming, so we headed home for their suits and then back again. It was, probably, too cold for DS2 and DD, but the two older boys were just fine. They all survived and now have another great shared adventure to remember in times to come.
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