Hot Diggity Dog

  The good news is .... I made it to my appointment on time. The bad news is ...... I need a hand surgeon. Used to be a hand surgeon in Hiawassee, but he retired last year. Just my luck. Closest hand surgeon is in Gainesville. I have no desire to travel just to get rid of this cyst. There is a plastic surgeon in Blairsville that will cut it out. I called and my referral has been sent.  So, the good news is that I won't have to go to Gainesville. But the bad news is that they have no openings until February. We stopped in at a cafe for a late breakfast for my chauffeur. He thinks every trip anywhere involves food. We sat in a booth, and he got his biscuits and gravy fix. I had an extra cup of coffee and possibly the blandest pancakes ever. When I was exiting out of the booth, my right knee twisted and gave out. I did not fall to the floor, as I was hanging onto the back of the booth. Not my day, this day. I am seriously considering going to bed and starting over. I need to chan...

  It seems like I have not written a word in the past month! My hand pain is not unbearable. It does make me miserable, but hitting keys on the keyboard is not that stressful. While bemoaning my fate, having scheduled the surgical procedure to remove the ganglion cyst, my right knee decided to act up in a big way. I have not been able to navigate well. Especially steps. This means that while the weather has been excellent, I could not walk around outside. I could not make it down the steps to pick up my kitten. Going anywhere was doable, but the aftermath of pain was not worth the effort. In the midst of all my woes, I was in bed, leg propped on a pillow and hand propped on a dog. I decided to shift my position and threw my back out. Very few people are that talented. After two days of lying flat in bed, my back is better. My knee and hand are not. I have finished off several books. Two of them were playing when I dozed off. Nothing about the plots sucked me in and I just moved on ...

  After the ring debacle, the man tells me that he got me something I will like, but it is not quite ready yet. Really, thinking back over the previous 50 Christmas gifts, I will take his statement with a bit of apprehension. Gee, what do we think it could be and where did he get it and why isn't it "ready" yet? Hmmm, I think it must be jewelry, because he was in a jewelry store having my ring fixed, instead of doing what I asked for. He is not a great shopper, so I think it is from that the same store. I mentioned my birthstone, so it must be something with a ruby. How am I doing? One of my packages came today with gifts for the grands and grand nephews. When we visited Gavin at his new home, he mentioned needing something to keep Bruno's toys in. Bruno is his dog. So, when I was pulling all the items in the package out, the clueless man in my life asked me what one item was. It is a wire frame with fabric that has Frenchies all over it. For the dog toys. The man was...

  The man I married 51 years ago just presented me with my new ring. Completely restored to its original form. You may recall that my ring band had become so thin that I easily cut it off. I then asked the man who chose the ring originally to have the DIAMOND reset on a different band. I showed him pictures of several rings I liked and said I wouldn't mind having some other stones along with the original stone. Maybe rubies, my birthstone. He looked at the pictures and made eye contact when I spoke, leading me to believe he actually listened to me. Maybe I should have texted the man, as he is never without his phone. I did not handle myself well when I saw the ring. I didn't even try to hide my disappointment. It is not so much the actual ring. It is the fact that he either did not listen or chose to ignore my wishes. Is it too much to ask that someone pay attention?

  I may have expressed one of my idiosyncrasies about the bed I sleep in. I have standards about where I lay me down to sleep. Like the Princess and the Pea, anything out of my regulations annoys me and I find it hard to sleep. There can be no crumbs or sand in my bed, so I always keep a rug next to my bed entry point to carefully wipe my feet, just in case a grain of sand may have been picked up on the soles of my feet. And I do not eat in bed. Even though I have a matching rug on the other side of the bed, I often find it under the bed, never having been put to use. He likes to eat in bed. He likes those individually wrapped Hostess snack cakes. It's a double insult, since they make crumbs, as well as an empty wrapper on his night table. Mr. BoJangles is the only canine with the agility to jump up into the bed, and he always finds any leavings the master of our universe may have left behind. This causes me angst. Another major gripe (and I have quite a few) is wrinkles in the bot...

  I was supposed to have a bone density and mammogram next week. Well, guess what? The equipment for the bone density is kaput, and they had to order a new machine. I am beginning to think I am a jinx for medical equipment! You might recall that the stress test took 3 appointments to finally achieve the test. Phone rang while I was still abed. I was awake, just enjoying those moments before I have to venture out with my dogs. My valves are still functioning enough to avoid surgical intervention, and my heart muscle looks good in general. The stress test did not reveal any more problems than I already have, so that was good news.  I finally had a full night's sleep and looking forward to the day. The sun was shining, and I got started on chores that have been mostly neglected. The chauffeur took the trash to the dump and I mopped floors. I love the feel of a clean floor under my cold bare feet. I took a short walk, then put my slippers and socks back on. I changed the sheets on...

  Now that I am back on track with my crazy pills, things are looking a little better. Crazy is not the name of my meds, it is a mouthful and crazy is easier. Just so you know. Having been to the facility the day before, having the right time and wrong date, I witnessed the lunch rotation. I knew the tongue chewer would be leaving for lunch before I checked in. We always arrive early and sat in the truck until I saw her come out of the building. Yes, she is that unpleasant. Shortly after arriving I was escorted to the treatment room for the ultrasound of my heart and carotid arteries. My valve is definitely leaky. Even I could see it as I watched the screen. Both valves are defective, but one is worse and had not been 6 months ago. The carotid was unremarkable. It was not quite time for my turn for the stress test, but they took me back to that area's little waiting alcove. I had not settled in my seat before they got me to start the IV. The technician who stuck me was not gentle a...

  The bad day got worse as it continued into day 2. I was having a small meltdown, feeling like crap, aching all over as we drove to the doctor's office. The meltdown began at home. I had gotten myself up at 7 and took the canines out. I felt so bad that I went back to bed, lifting that fat dachshund into bed with me. At 9:30, when they wanted to go pee again, I asked the sleeping man beside me to deal with them. I swear to you on Eddie's life that the man LOOKED me in the eye and said "okay". I waited patiently to feel the bed move indicating he was getting up. No such motion came. Eddie was doing a low annoying whine and Bo was at the foot of the bed on the floor, leaping into the air in order to see me and let me know he needed to go outside. Poor, dumb Toni was content to watch before going to the other room and peeing a lake onto the floor. She totally missed the pee pad. I got up. I wasn't careful or quiet; I was mad as a wet hen. Do wet hens get mad? I don...

  Yesterday was a total loss. I woke and tried to escort the canines out the door when a wave of extreme dizziness knocked me down. Thought I was going to have to crawl to the back door to open it. Fortunately, there is so much junk on the porch that I had plenty of handholds to get me there. About every two months I get out there and clean like a whirlwind of pure fury. Just because I didn't create the chaos I do not get to opt out of the cleaning. When I clean, I move everything and rearrange it to my liking. I zone things and give explicit instructions as to where things are supposed to go. It all falls on deaf ears ..... quite literally. But I digress. I spent the better part of the day in my recliner with my right hand upward above the level of my heart. Along with the dull constant ache, it was throbbing to the beat of my heart. I was dizzy for most of the day. The messy person awoke full of vim and vigor and wanted to go out for breakfast. He wanted me to participate in the ...

  We arrived at the meeting to find the place packed with concerned citizens. So many people I began to doubt the results of the census that numbered the citizens of our county. I saw the first inkling of this in a Facebook post. Knowing that some people love to exaggerate the facts and make them into something scandalous, I read it with a degree of skepticism. Then I was getting a daily text reminding me of the meeting, so I started to lend more credibility to the issue. Upon arrival you have to sign in at the long table set up at the entrance. You are asked if you received a letter. Upon the negative answer you were sent to stand in a long line to await a representative to speak with. Most of those in the line were there because they saw it on Facebook.  The event was being hosted by the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority). They maintain the lines and sell electricity to Blue Ridge, who provides our power. They had engineers on hand to explain the proposal. He answered all my q...

  I am trying to make a grocery list, and my mind went suddenly blank. Maybe it will reset while I write. Sometimes it helps to clear my thoughts. Like having a palate cleanser when sampling food. We have to go to a townhall meeting at 1, so since we are out, we will get the water bottles filled and pick up select groceries at Aldi's. They have bananas for 17 cents a pound! Of course, you can only buy so many bananas. I know I could freeze them, but I have limited freezer space. The townhall meeting is in protest of a deal presented by the power companies that provide power to our area. They want to condemn and demolish all the homes in the path they have chosen to put high voltage power lines to carry enough power for 100,000 new homes. Keep in mind the fact that there are only 12,000 people in the latest census that live in this county. They want to clear this area for upscale homes. Apparently, crammed as close together as possible. The close proximity to Lake Chatuge is a facto...