Do you have any personal news you'd like to share with the jellatinous community (2)

I’ll go first. I’m off to California tomorrow to see my one month old granddaughter for the first time.

@janbb How exciting and hey, you’ll be near me, feel free to come over and help me strip wallpaper. haha

My personal news is that I am prepping to move again to a new little abode I have been waiting to become available. The couple that have been living there finally found a home to buy and escrow closed last week and they moved out over the weekend. Sooo, I am stripping old wallpaper and prepping to paint and re-carpet and have a new sliding glass door installed. I hope to move in the next month or so, depending on how long the renovations take.

Other than that, looking forward to Californias first good rainstorm rolling in tomorrow night. Possibly several inches of rain, up to 4 predicted for the foothills and mountains with the first snows over the higher elevations. Yay!

My DIL says I bring the rain to Cali.

One news item, very mixed. I have watched a dear friend through the highs and lows and a partial remission then recurrence of ovarian cancer for a few years. She has just gone into hospice. She is tired of fighting and ready to be at peace. I am devastated, yet glad for her that it’s soon to be done.
Sorry for the downer, guys.

@canidmajor A hug for her and for you but I know about the feelings of relief too when the suffering is over.

@canidmajor Best wishes to you both. That’s a tough thing for all involved.

@janbb, meeting that baby will brighten all of our days! Nothing is more wonderful!
@Coloma, a new home is always worth a party! I’ll bring some wine and snacks, you supply the brownies. :-)

@canidmajor I am sorry to hear about your friend.
I lost a friend this week to ovarian cancer. She was a friend of the family and although we were not very close, we chatted on a regular basis, and her death was abrupt and that has been odd. It’s strange to talk to someone almost every day and then suddenly they aren’t there.The last thing she said to me was “thank you so much for everything,” which makes me feel like she knew it would come sooner than she was letting on. I’m glad that she isn’t suffering.
In a similar vein, earlier this year my best friend was diagnosed with cervical cancer (she responded well to treatment and is doing just fine.) Female bodied jellies: please get your annuals. Don’t skip it. And if something is wrong, push for answers. I had a grapefruit sized mass (along with 3 other smaller ones) on my ovary that my doctor completely missed, despite my frequent complaints. I am extremely fortunate that it was not cancer, but don’t accept bullshit if you think something is wrong. Get it checked and if you aren’t satisfied with the answers you get, get a second opinion.

I just cooked and ate chicken winglets. cost $7 .

My mom just passed away a week and a half ago. She was in her early 70’s and she had breast cancer 6 years ago which metastasized to bone and liver cancer. The thing with bone cancer, I learned, is you can’t cure it but you can treat it.

She told me she had spots on her liver but she said the doctor said it was nothing to worry about. I found out at the end that she had been minimizing it, probably so as not to worry us.

I keep thinking I should call her and say hi. I didn’t always call her every day, but usually about every other day to touch base and see how she was doing.

She had a good quality of life, thanks to a great doctor. She did everything, including going to France this year a few months before she died.

It was extra tragic for my 9 year old daughter, who had a very close relationship with her Nana. They did everything together and my mom was like a second mother to my daughter.

When we came home Saturday night, my daughter looked up at the stars and said “there are a lot of stars in the sky. One of them is Nana.”

I just found this thread and it looked like an alternative to the “how are you” thread. Sorry for what you are going through @canidmajor @jca @ANef_is_Enuf.

Yeah, sorry, didn’t mean to share bad news (I don’t have any big, positive announcements right now) but I do like to stress the importance of advocating for our health in this department at every opportunity.

I’ve been in my new job for 4 months as of today. Still enjoying it immensely.

Today is my birthday…that is all :)

Happy birthday!

Happy Birthday, @ucme !

@ucme have a great day

Cheers girls :)

Happy Birthday ya old fart. :-p

Old?...old?...I may be a fart but at least it’s fresh :D

@ucme: Happy Birthday! I hope the kitchen staff bakes you a wonderful cake! ;)

^^^ and has him bend over so they can all give him a spanky. lol

@jca No, no, the wife insisted she bake it herself…the fire engines are on their way as I speak type

@ucme Is she going to spank you too? lol

One spanky-spanky for each year? LOL

Idea for a new show…Milf’s of Manhattan

@janbb If you are anywhere near L.A. and have time I would love to get together.

@ucme Happy happy!

I’ve been saving money to buy some very nice sheets and I have enough now.

I’m off to Kauai for the weekend tomorrow. I’m taking tomorrow off, and I’ll be there by lunch. Tomorrow night, we’re going to hear Makana play. Saturday, we’re preparing for a wedding my friends are hosting. We have to string some lei, and other things will need preparation, too. I’m getting a 2-hour Thai massage that I am really looking forward to. The wedding is Sunday. It’s on the beach and should be lovely. I don’t know the couple, but my friends do.

@tinyfaery That came as a bit of a shock, cheers :)

@ucme I know. It’s so hard to save money. Tee hee.

@tinyfaery Only in Bay Area this time but maybe at some point.

Yay RAIN!
Although going out to feed 6 horses in the rain is not especially fun. I’m stylin’ this morning, orange and white jammy bottoms, orange shirt, leopard print slogger boots and my wet, hay covered Cabela raincoat. All I need is a clown mask to complete the ensemble.

Having a Jelly for lunch – or maybe lunch with a Jelly!

Wow @janbb! It’s really hard to actually see a jelly in person!

@Mimishu1995 I travel a lot and have been lucky enough to be able to meet about 6 or 8 plus the founders whom i already knew.

@mimishu1995. I’ve had the extreme pleasure of meeting @janbb and a few other jellies in person.

Me, too. It’s easier when we live in the same region.

I have never met another jelly but i woukd like to too.

@Stinley I have the feeling that a penguin may waddle across your path some day.

Had a very nice dim sum lunch with @zenvelo today.

God, jellatinous? Sounds like we’re choking on cellulite.

I just moved into a nice hotel for a few weeks. I was delighted that there was a resident cat hanging by the pool, a medium sized tabby with white paws and very docile disposition. They serve a lot of seafood here and he lives very well and gets pampered by all the guests.

One night I was coming back to the hotel from the back and as I neared the dumpsters I saw an army of cats. Cats were all over the place eating from the dumpsters. This little one came up to me, a little kitten, a manx, very pretty shorthair, with a pure white coat and beautiful calico spots along her back. I suspect she has a bit of hip displasia because she sometimes walks like a little bunny. She has green eyes. But she is the cutest little kitten I’ve ever seen. So, I took her back to the room and adopted her. She’ll be going home with me and I’ll have my vet provide all the things she needs. This is the sweetest little animal.

I can’t think of a name for her. Any ideas?

Bunny

Yeah, I was thinking about something along those lines.

Yes the new MacGyver is on now.

@Espiritus_Corvus You adopted a kitten! Squeeee! :-D
What’s the name of the hotel? Maybe name her after the hotel or the island or the town.
“Bunny” is cute too.

I’m afraid the name of this hotel would not fit the character of this kitten. She shows no inclination for hédonisme, or libertinage—at the moment, anyway. She is decidedly French in her discriminating palate, and she is a feline, however, so who knows what the future will bring.

You all made me wish I lived in the US…

@Espiritus_Corvus how about Amelie? You know, from the movie

Awe, yeah. Cute film. Amelie is on the list.

I’ve eaten in the cafe where Amelie worked.

^^I was going to say that you’re up quite late for the Penguin, but I remembered you’re visiting the West Coast. I hope you’re having a good time. So, does grand-mère approve of the latest family issue?

Yes, she does!

^^LOL. Like any other reaction could be expected. Congratulations, mère-mère.

@Mimishu1995, I’ve decided to name the bunnycat Mimi. I’ve always liked that name: it’s cute, sweet, it’s of Gallic origin and it fits this kitten to a T. Mimi it is.

@janbb I would like that a lot

@Espiritus_Corvus That’s my little female tortie point siameses’ name! Actually her name is “Mia” but I call her “Mimi”. It is a great name. Her giant brother is “Myles” because he looks like a Butler in his tuxedo. haha

@Espiritus_Corvus Don’t tell me you are naming her that because of me ~

But I didn’t know that name has a Garlic origin! I thought it was just some random name people made up and it just became popular. So are you going to go with that?

Ducky

@Mimishu1995 It’s of French origin, short for Naomi, Marilyn, Miriam and Michele. The Spaniards picked up on it and use it for Mira, Maria and Noemi. It’s probably short for any female name that has “mi” in it. I’ve always liked it. And, yes, I was looking at your name when it occurred to me. You are now the god parent of the cutest little kitten in the whole world.

@Espiritus_Corvus and @Mimishu1995 this is all too cute! Is this the first Fluther godparent?

How about Gigi?

About 4 weeks ago, I became a grandpa for the first time. Fortunately they are in the area so we will be seeing them often and taking lots of pictures. Nice!

Congratulations paw paw!

Congrats Gramps!

Such excellent news, @LuckyGuy!

Congratulations, @LuckyGuy!

Uh, oh. Bad news. What I absconded with the other night wasn’t just some feral kitten that through generations of random, anonymous couplings just happened to turn out a magnificent, docile beauty. Mimi happens to be a royal princess in the world of cats, a product of a few hundred years of careful breeding of the pedigree Japanese Bobtail, commanding the same respect as their beloved koi.

It wasn’t hip dysplasia I was seeing—they are bred with slightly longer legs so they hop like bunnies when traveling short distances. They sell for anywhere from $500 to $3,000. A nearly hysterical tourist lady showed up at the front desk this morning searching for her lost kitten. I was called and willingly surrendered Mimi to her rightful owner.

Oh, well. Sorry about that @Mimishu1995. But I’m sure your godkitten will live a long and pampered life.

@Espiritus_Corvus You did a good deed! I’m sure the owner was relieved!
@jca Yes. It is wonderful! At this age he sleeps a lot… so cute! I love those little squeaky sounds!

@LuckyGuy they smell delicious also. That warm milky smell.

@Espiritus_Corvus Think someone’s going to have to get themselves a kitten! Justify it by thinking of @Mimishu1995 and how disappointed she is to have lost her godkitten

^^No, no. If Mimishu could have seen the joy and tears on this woman’s face at the re-union of her beloved kitten, Mimishu would not feel bad at all.

Oh, @LuckyGuy, your username is so apt these days! Congrats!

@LuckyGuy Wonderful news! So exciting. :)

@LuckyGuy: I remember when my daughter was born, all she did was sleep and wake up very briefly to eat, and then go back to sleep again. I was thinking “everyone says you’re going to be exhausted but this is cake!” Then her awake times started getting longer and longer, and I was thinking “uh oh. It’s going to get where she’s awake all the time!” Anyway, it was great in the beginning! Everyone would look at her and say “this is the best time!”

@LuckyGuy Mael tov! We’ll have to arrange a shiddach with my cute maidele!

@Stinley Wow…what a story! That’s wonderful the kitten was reunited with her owner but I’m sorry for your loss, I know you were quite smitten with that kitten. :-)

I just ate the last piece of my birthday cake, don’t usually eat cake but hey, that was delicious!!

@Espiritus_Corvus awwwww… but at least she got home. I’m glad she wasn’t a stray cat with a sad life like I thought.

And I think she will always be your Mimi mine too. You had a great time with her.

We should start calling @LuckyGuy LuckyPa : )

Yes. I am quite lucky. Everyone is happy and healthy.
Lucky indeed!

I’m doing my new bathroom in beige and salmon. Found the perfect ensemble today, combo salmon and beige towels with cool cloth shower curtain in beige and salmon with a tad of purple geometric designs and two neato rugs. I think it will look quite fetching.

@Coloma nice! We got a new rug with a tessellating pattern. It’s lovely

Well, my friend is at peace, finally, we are sad, but grateful that it’s over.

I think that my anxiety is related to what I eat two hours before my 8pm pill. I had cup of noodles sooner to see what happens.

@canidmajor I’m so sorry that you have lost a close friend. {{{Hugs}}}

And ordering a medium cheese lovers pizza with double peperoni. Will be delivered 1 to 1 and a half hours.

@canidmajor I’m sorry to hear that you lost your friend but glad she is at peace.

My parents’ good friend died last week of esophageal cancer. I’ll be going to that funeral this week.

I also took my cat to the vet last week for surgery to remove a tumor on her stomach. He told me she had 3 tumors and he sent it for biopsy but it’s probably not going to be good news, he said (because it’s spreading). She’s 12.

My coworker had to put his dog down a week ago because the dog was sick and my best friend had to put her dog down on Saturday because it had pancreatitis.

I feel like death is all around me.

@jca nothing to say but a hug :(

@canidmajor Condolences to you.

@jca So sorry about your kitty, when it rains iit pours, seems to be true a lot of the time.

Oh @jca…..
(Hug)

IT WORKED! No anxiety. Will get expensive to have pizza every day. Am trying to have a pork chop for $4 and see if it works.

Just found out our saucy housemaid from below stairs is pregnant, it wasn’t me I swear

The butler did it.

I don’t have to report for jury duty tomorrow! Yay! May have to go in on Wednesday.

I was glad not to serve some weeks ago. I don’t mind it, but it was a bad time. Next year…

@canidmajor The part I hate is having to be somewhere at 8 a.m. that’s a half hour away. Not a morning person.

I am a morning person and I still hate that. I like being a morning person in my own house.

I love being on jury duty! I was on a murder case. It was really cool. Well except for the person was murdered part.

@chyna But I’m not sure they would actually seat a penguin on a jury….

Ate half of a pork shoulder steak (too large to eat at once). Will see about my anxiety at 8pm.

Anxiety is gone. Two days in a row. I just have to eat something large with my medicine.

@janbb: I live in the catchment area for jury duty for federal court in New York city. It takes me, by train, over an hour and a half to get to Grand Central, and that doesn’t include parking at the station and the subway to lower Manhattan. Meanwhile, I work in a city that also has a federal court (closer to my house, only about 45 minutes away). I dread the day when I no longer have a legitimate excuse and have to go downtown to jury duty. It will be ridiculous and awful.

^^That would be a good reason to stay in the city overnight from the day before jury duty, so when you wake up the next day it’s just a quick commute to the courthouse.

Don’t need to report again tomorrow! Need to check in for Thursday.

I cleaned my desk at work. I had a year’s worth of papers piled up. They are now in the trash. I much prefer to save things electronically, but my colleague makes copies of everything and gives me one.

Three days and no anxiety. Only had two pieces of pizza and egg nog. No cup of soup.

@RedDeerGuy1 That is very good news.

@RedDeerGuy1 I hope your 8pm meals are not additional calories to your usual food intake. Pizza and egg nog can add up quickly!

I have hives.

I am en route to Paris

I am still about 2 cups of coffee short of being fully awake this morning. haha

No need t oreport again! Ran errands this morning and going to a movie this afternoon.

What movie? I’m trying to get it together to see Denial soon.

I want to see a movie too, lets go! I just saw The Magnificent 7 and The Birth of a Nation recently, both good.

Certain Women

I want to see “Moonlight.”

So many movies, so little time! I recently joined the Netflix DVD thing, $5 for 2 movies per month. I’m catching up on all those indies I missed…what a treat!

^You mean they still offer that? Have you heard of streaming? :)~

@Hawaii_Jake Many movies aren’t available on streaming. I kust had a “discussion” with my DIL about this.

“Moonlight” does sound great.

“Certain Women” was a bit slow and bleak.

@Hawaii_Jake: I’m doing this for exactly the reason @janbb mentioned (not everything offered by streaming) and for the fact that I can take the DVD to someone’s house if a bunch of us want to have a movie night. My house is small, and not everyone is as enamored of my goofy dogs as I am.
And, most importantly, I am an old fart. I like doing it this way. :-P (you young whippersnapper!!!)

I have both.

Get off my lawn.

my lawn is a lake right now. You kids are welcome to swim…

^ Was there just a glitch in the Matrix?

@janbb Look at your lurve score! Right now it’s 48888.

Yes, I conquered it. I am a god!

We candidly welcome our new Matrix overlords.

I have recently seen The Constant Gardener and The Lady In The Van with this service. Both outstanding. Mister Holmes was charming.

^ Luddite

Hey kids – no fighting allowed on my thread!

Now come and sit here and eat some brownies. And we can all watch “A Room with a View” which was just delightful.

@janbb Let’s be careful to not mix up my brownies with your brownies. My brownies may effect your attention span. lol

Ooooh, I haven’t seen that in forever! Loves me some Merchant Ivory!
Howard’s End is just about my fave.

@Hawaii_Jake: yup, and I make my own mouthwash, too. :-P

I adored “A Room with a View.” I would love to watch it again.

“Howard’s End,” too!

Yes. Yes.

Helena Bonham Carter was outstanding in those days!

I have a problem.

I make tea using loose leaves at home, but at work, I use teabags. I buy tea from Harney and Sons. It’s superb.

Anyway, they use some kind of string for the tag that conducts water, and it ends up siphoning half my cuppa onto my desk more times than not.

I usually put a napkin under it, but I really just want it to stop.

Suggestions?

I’m teaching the book and the film next week. Should be fun. Seeing Maggie Smith and Judi Dench as relative youngsters is a treat.

For the tea, just put the bag and the string in the cup and then fish it out with a teaspoon. And bring a proper saucer in to put under it.

How should I hold my pinky?

^ If you don’t know that already – there’s no saving you!

It’s hopeless.

Wif yer bluey?

Or wif my blanky?

We are regressing…

oy vey. ess, ess mein kinder.

Sorry, Bubbe!

I am having a shit morning, utterly and completely shit. haha
1st, my neighbor woke me up out of a sound sleep panicking about her cat that might have eaten one of her pills on the counter. She had to leave for several meetings so I am going back and forth watching the cat, who seems fine per the vets consultation that it is probably not an issue but possibly could have a seizure. So far the cat is fine, but, it is pouring rain, and on my last trip back from her house I slipped and fell on my ass in the wet leaves, threw an entire cup of coffee all over myself and was covered in mud and wet leaves.

I tweaked the same arm I hurt last May in another fall and that took 4 months to heal completely. Getting old sucks!
Meanwhile, I discovered I left my favorite, wear every day, vest at another persons house last night so have to drive 20 miles to get my vest back and am completely out of groceries too. I think I am going to call it a day already at 11:57 a.m. and just get takeout later after I go get my vest. There’s more, but I don’t like being a whiner, so consider this my 5 minutes, thank you for the rant. haha

I happen to have nowhere I needed to be this Friday (usually I am already out of the house in the early morning), just a bunch of stuff I needed to get done ASAP, but that I could do at home. I didn’t set an alarm, thinking that I would (as I usually do when I don’t have an obnoxious 5am alarm) wake up between 6–7am. Nope. I didn’t stir until 9am today… and I am still about 2–3 hours behind on everything! :\ ... But I do feel marvelously rested. My eyes don’t hurt to be open for once in a long time, so I’m appreciating that. I don’t do well on little sleep, haha, and I don’t hide it well, either!

@Soubresaut Nothing like an amazing nights sleep!

I can’t post this on other social media sites.

I would like to ask for prayers, burnt offerings, sacred dances, ritual sacrifices, warm thoughts, or just a passing smile for myself for next week. I’m going to be doing something that I hope will open up a new era for me. I’m optimistic and confident in my abilities. It would herald in an enormous change, a good one.

Since the Cubs don’t need to sacrifice a goat anymore, you can do it for me.

@Hawaii_Jake Will do!!

^What will the penguin be offering up to the heavens? Tiny smoked fishes? A joyful romp in frigid waters? A slide down a slippery slope? A pebble?

^^Maybe even this egg I’ve been sitting on for months for some frigging reason!

^Scrambled? Over easy?

@Hawaii_Jake Whatever it is, I wish you the best : )

How long will you keep us in suspense?

I’ll have an update next week sometime. I’m not sure what day.

Looking forward to the update, @Hawaii_Jake!

After more months than I want to admit of not being able to hear well (stuffy ears), I finally when to a clinic today. The doctor looked in my ears and explained to me they were totally clogged with wax. She then stuck this into my right ear and dug around—after some pressure and a sharp pinch she pulled out a huge wad of wax. It was grotesquely fascinating, this misshapen wrinkled pale mass that I swear was the size of an M&M. But it took me a while to even see it, because I was so surprised at the difference in the sound—everything suddenly sounded so crisp, almost sharp, and loud! and so echo-y, and somehow so far away. The room seemed suddenly bigger—I didn’t know sound had so much an affect on my perception of space. When the doctor spoke, I heard her voice coming from her mouth and also bouncing off all the walls. It all sounded surreal, but so wonderful… I actually started tearing up.

The left side wasn’t as dramatic because the wax was stickier, and I flinched so she nicked my ear canal and didn’t want to keep trying after that. But I’ve got ear drops and in a week the build up should be gone from both ears and I’ll be able to hear like a normal human again.

Also weird is it’s not like I’m getting accustomed to “sound” as an entity. More like, I’m getting used to the world sound by sound. Every time I hear a new sound for the first time since the procedure it sounds just as strange and sharp and unnaturally loud as the sounds did in the room. Also I feel like I’m speaking into a microphone every time I say something. Still.

Anyway, that’s probably oversharing, but there you have it.

I sneezed out a corn flake which flew across the breakfast table & hit Carstairs on the forehead.
He didn’t flicker, dedicated to service & a stiff upper lip, we do value him so.

I’m finally sailing home this morning. There isn’t much wind, but it should pick up as soon as I round Cap Salomon. From there it’s only 55 nm at about 12 kts—I should raise the heights on which I live before noon. Bloody hell, this has been one bad week. I was down with gout for nine days until election night, then the Trump surprise, and then we lost one of the greatest poets of our time. I’ll be playing Cohen on the PA all the way and sailing under dark skies and light rain. So sad. So appropriate.

I can’t wait to be with my dogs again. Shoving off at 0700. Can’t wait to get home.

@Espiritus_Corvus Homeward bound yay!

My new little place is coming together splendidly and tomorrow will be my first night there. Going to spend the night with a friend tonight and rent the trailer in the a.m. to bring my lovely bed back tomorrow. I am in my element decorating, one of my favorite creative endeavors and I am quite talented if I do say so myself. haha
I’m a color person and have chosen red, turquoise and salmon orange as my color scheme. I found an awesome large area rug incorporating all of those colors and things are coming together nicely. I also am bringing back my huge, teak wood temple gong. Ring in the day, bruuuung! haha
Unpacking all my things from my storage of the past few years has been like Christmas. My Ming horse, various paintings and other artwork, cool lamps, etc.
It has been really fun re-discovering my hidden treasures.

My thing went well. I’ll know how well next week.

I bought a fuckin cane today, lol. I don’t need one, nor did anyone even suggest it would help me. The only thing I got it for is so that I can sit down on public transportation (when I get back to work) without people thinking I look too young to need a seat. I just had emergency abdominal surgery last week, if anyone in this thread hasn’t heard.

But…but…is it really cool looking? Like with a wolf or dragon head or something?

Naw, I wish! Went for the simple, cheap, plain, black foldable one.

Well, I’ll just imagine the cool one. Pretend it’s the cool one, you’ll feel taller and more mysterious!

Today is five years since G told me he was moving out. What a long, strange trip it’s been!

Wow, Jan. You’ve come so far.

What she ^^^ said!

@Mariah You should also get a monocle. That would be super cool.

Dude, I fuckin have one!!! For some reason high school me thought that’d be a hilarious thing to own and bought one on eBay. I still have it, I think.

And don’t forget the black leather trench coat and black fedora. You could clear the bus in that get up.

11:29 p.m. on the west coast and my it is my first night in the new home zone.
I am beyond pleased with my creative endeavors.The place looks stunning! Great use of space, color, lighting and creative arrangement.

Now, the magic moment, climbing into my precious bed and basking in the luxurious red velour sheets with the pussy cats.
Yay, I’ve done it again! Home sweet home!
Myles is snoring away on the bed as I type. Cats like it too! :-)

My new state of normality since the election is a wave of anxiety followed by a wave of giddiness followed by brief calm. I cannot describe how exhausting this is. I wake in the middle of the night in panic attacks.

I lived in a state of calm for 2 years, and now, fear has returned in a way I have never experienced before.

This may kill me, and I do not mean that hyperbolically.

@Hawaii_Jake I empathize.

Jake. Good luck. Be well. I care for you and am worried about you right now. This is very scary. Focus on you – I know you’re already trying your best.

@Hawaii_Jake, if an odd internet post can offer any comfort at all, I offer it. I can only marginally empathize, being a woman with some health issues, all I can say is that I hope you can be in a safe space.
And, FWIW, your advice to those of disturbed and distressed has helped me.

Thank you, all.

I am using my tools. One thing that helps me above all else is meditation. I was able to take a break from my workday and walk down to the Episcopal Cathedral at the other end of the block and meditate. I do that every day I can at lunch time. This morning, I needed it earlier than that. It’s helps tremendously.

Here is a technique that I use. It works. I have not watched the video all the way through, but what I’ve seen is good. (I’ve been meditating for a very long time, so the video is a bit too introductory for me.)

I am calm again. For now. I know the anxiety will return, but I will allow it its space again, and then I will use a tool to deal with it.

Another tool that works well for me is talking to a psychologist. I see him every other week, but I’ve been going weekly for the last 3 or 4 weeks. I have made an extra appointment with him again for tomorrow. I will ask him if we can do weekly visits for a while.

I used mindfulness this morning, and it gave me great relief for a while. I will continue to use it as the need arises.

One tool I have had to quit is exercise. I enjoy powerwalking, but I developed plantar faciitis in the spring and had to quit. My foot does not hurt now. I was going to rest until the beginning of December, but I just now decided I will start again tomorrow morning. I must. I need that outlet.

I have 5 tools: medication, meditation, exercise, therapy, and sleep. I am using the first 4 as much as I possibly can. I will talk to my psychiatrist about my sleep difficulties. We have talked about it before. I’m reluctant to take a sleep aid other than melatonin, because they are all habit forming. I will talk to him again.

Again, thank you.

You are wise and you know yourself and this will serve you well. Love to you, Jake.

^ Thank you. I’ve spent years getting to know myself. It helps at times like these, but that doesn’t make the pain any less painful. It still hurts. Actually, it makes pain all the more unbearable. I know it’s possible not to live with fear, but current circumstances don’t allow it.

@Hawaii_Jake I know you know about managing worries as you have helped so many people here. So this is just to remind you that worrying about things that haven’t happened but are a threat means that those who are threatening you are winning. Don’t let them win.

They took my fuckin’ staples out too early again. I argued and argued. Said this has happened to me before, the wound came open and took five months to heal. They just kept saying the staples are doing nothing for you, they have to come out, we need to open it in order to treat it. It’s oozing a stupid amount of pus. They didn’t think I needed any additional antibiotics (I’m already on antibiotics on a regular basis), just hydrogen peroxide and, strangely, honey. I can’t decide yet if I’m on board. I’m really mad they took out the staples and made it open up. I hope it doesn’t take too many weeks to heal. I am trying so goddamn hard to eat normally but it’s slow.

@Mariah I hate them.

@Mariah I am so sorry they didn’t listen to you. As a mental health consumer, I know how hard I have to fight to get them to listen to me. Sometimes, I win. Sometimes, I lose.

Found Mtn. Lion tracks in the horse arena this morning. Big kitty on the prowl over here.
Not worried, they follow the deer around, rarely attack horses unless foals .Goats & sheep on occasion, yes.
Prowling under the super moon, go kitty! haha I love wild life.

@Coloma I lost count of how many animals you have :)

@Mimishu1995 We have 4 cats, 4 dogs, 6 horses and 30 chickens between us here. The Mountain Lion does not belong to me. haha

@Mariah i’m so sorry!

@Mariah I thought I would mention Unasyn IV is the closest to Augmentin. Mind you I’m not recommending insisting on that drug, but if you have trouble it’s something to know. I would say if your surgeons are unfamiliar with it, and you think it might help, ask to have an infectious disease doctor review the situation maybe.

Surgical wound is usually treated by other antibiotics, but Augmentin can sometimes treat that also. It could be completely unrelated, but anyway it’s just something for you to know regarding the Unasyn. It might be useful one day.

Keflex should help with pus at wound sites too, but there are many drugs that can be prescribed.

@Mariah Ditto @janbb..

Yeah, I went into a state of physical shock when last night I finally removed the gauze they had placed in the morning. Shaking uncontrollably. Couldn’t believe I did that because five years ago I became so desensitized. Luckily Matt was very calm and gentle. The wound yesterday was about 3 inches by 1 inch by ¼ inch deep, so not horrific. 5 years ago I had a 4×1x1 wound that I packed for five months before it healed. Depending on how well I eat I think this one could take a couple weeks to be done with. It just sucks.

^sending warm, healing thoughts to you.

Thank you @chyna and everybody! I lurve you!

@Mariah that’s horrible. Stay safe.

@Mariah Love and lurve.

@Mariah Get well soon.

@Mariah Wishing you a speedy recovery from this setback.

@Mariah Are you being seen by a wound specialist? Some doctors and nurses are not real swift when it comes to wound care. I have had some real ignorant medical professionals On that front. My sister dealt a lot with wound care, I think she even trained other nurses in it.

@Mariah Just for a little levity, you should also get some Spats for your shoes, then your look will be complete. : )

^^And a long, elegant cigarette holder. Be sure to hold it between your thumb and forefinger. Be nonchalant and sinister. One glare through the monocle at a sitting passenger and words will not be necessary to clear the seat.

Sounds like we’re setting @Mariah up to be cross between the Monopoly Man and Baron Barracuda. ;-)

“Below in the deep there’s adventure and danger,
that’s where you’ll find Diver Dan….”

I am sooooo glad you know that! I thought I was the only one left! :-D

You guys are hilarious.

I haven’t gotten my ass out of bed quite yet today but I think I’m about to have a good day. The top of my gauze is white this morning for the first time in days. Normally enough drainage has soaked in to make it yellow with my underwear starting to get wet. I’m sure it’s nasty under the surface today too but clearly less drainage to have not gone all the way through. I’ll get up soon and take it off and shower and really assess it but I’m optimistic this morning. I also slept fabulously and I think I’m fighting off the touch of pneumonia that felt like it was trying to creep in yesterday. Matt is working from home all day today so I have help. I will try to walk around my block this afternoon.

Really, @Mariah, you’re not doing us any favors handling your enormous, ongoing medical issues with so much grace. I have wanted to whine and complain sometimes over the lesser things (PAPER CUT OMG) but it always comes back to WWMD? and I am cowed.
Le big ol’ sigh. ;-)

Hahahah! You give me too much credit. It’s easy when I choose what I type here. Matt’s seen some grumpy Ray. But in general I find, yes, a positive attitude, when attainable (it certainly becomes harder with time), goes miles. In the hospital this time I had this really unpleasant roommate who I’m pretty sure had never had any health issues before (she’d just fallen and broken her elbow). She was really nasty with the nurses who were just trying to help her and guess what? They stopped trying quite so hard for her. I always kiss ass with whoever’s taking care of me, firstly because they deserve it, and secondly because it’ll get me better care. Just things I’ve learned over the years. There are multiple ways to handle a health crisis, but one of them is going to be easier for everybody than the others.

….Also, I don’t always deal gracefully. All of you have seen me be an ass about things on Fluther before. Strangely it’s when things are worst that I get most pleasant. I guess it makes me appreciate the little things.

Oh, that nurse thing! I have had my fair share of med, and my philosophy had always been to be REALLY REALLY nice to the people who approach me with pointy stuff. :-)
I don’t ever blame people who take their robust good health for granted, but I do want to slap them sometimes. :-)

@Mariah if someone with no prior knowledge about your health read your responses here, they wouldn’t know you’ve been really sick. You sound really cheerful today :)

Well…my doc gave me the double whammy yesterday, a flu shot and a pneumonia shot. Now if there was a shot for not falling on my ass that would be great.
Defy gravity vaccines. Why the hell is no one researching this? haha

@Mariah years ago I had kidney surgery for a blocked ureter and my room mate was an elderly women with some unknown issue.
I was on a clear liquid only diet and this women would wake up around 2 a.m. every night and be rummaging through her snacks, crinkling wrappers, crunching and munching on god knows what for like an hour. WTF!
Bad enough you can’t eat anything but broth, juice and jello but then to have this person turn the lights on behind her curtain in the dead of night and wake you up to the sounds of food wrappers crinkling was enough to push me right over the edge. I wanted to put a pillow over her face until she stopped moving. lol

@Coloma: About 9 years ago I was hospitalized with Guillain Barre Syndrome. I was put in a room with an elderly woman who had a lot of health issues (could not eat but she was mentally ok). She’d wake up in the middle of the night and require nurses and help and whatever, meanwhile it interrupted my sleep. Once I wake up, I have a hard time going back to sleep and it usually takes hours. After one night I complained and was moved to a private room, which was great.

Also, after I had the baby I paid extra to be put in a private room. It was supposed to be $75 extra per night, so for the two nights I gladly shelled out $150. Then my insurance or somebody reimbursed me $75, probably because I entered the room after midnight on the first night so it probably didn’t count as a full night.

It pays to speak up!

I have many roommate stories. No such thing as a private room in any city I’ve ever lived in. In my childhood I went to a very overcrowded hospital that did not have a floor specifically for cases like mine, so I typically got put on a pediatric cancer floor. There were children there who I ended up being roommates with on multiple occasions. 3 patients to a room intended for 2. Very sad circumstances. I often wonder about those children and if they are still alive. The worst was the parents who would turn on the TV and leave it on all night as a nightlight for their child. I understand the thought, but very disrespectful to the roommates who then can’t sleep.

I’ve had great roommates too. I’m Facebook friends with one young woman who was so cheerful despite the tube up her nose that it made my jaw drop. There was also a middle-aged woman who was very pleasant and kept complimenting my parents on their parenting.

The elderly woman I was with this time around is probably the worst I’ve had. She was in for a broken elbow and had never had prior health problems. She was on no medications and refused all medications including Tylenol despite being miserable. She fought with them over the standard placement of an IV. They put it in and then she said it was “worse than hell” and made them take it out. Said she wouldn’t need it anyway because she would refuse all medications. Then she started calling the nurses for trivial things like needing her teeth brushed, and getting very angry if they didn’t respond immediately. They were overworked. They had to spend a half hour with her every time she needed anything and most of their other patients were much sicker. I even ended up doing favors for her at times, nothing that could get me in trouble, she just kept losing her call button and I was very uncomfortable with the idea of her not knowing how to call for help. Finally almost lost my shit when she started abusing her bed alarm. She was a fall risk, so if she got up without help her bed would scream. Well she learned that when her bed screams, the nurses come running. So one time when she wanted her teeth brushed and nobody was responding fast enough, she got out of bed and made three nurses run into the room. Pissed me right off. But, I wish all the best for her. I get that most people don’t understand how awful it is to be in a hospital and are shocked when it turns out not to be a luxury hotel.

Here is your cane, @Mariah!

Wow. What a crappy person @Mariah.

Hahahaha I think a jelly sent me that exact one on Facebook! It’s so cool, I wish I’d gotten it!

She was hurting, and she was scared because she’d seemingly never been to a hospital before. It brings out the worst in a person. I tried to empathize instead of judge. It was really hard at times!

You’re a better person than I, @Mariah!

I thought about getting that cane for my daughter, who is now permanently disabled due to her back. She’s only 38, and it is so heartbreaking. But…I don’t know if I should get that for her or not. She’s been fighting off any sign of “giving in.” She refuses to get a hover round, or a wheel chair, and insists on continuing to walk when ever she can. It is so freaking sad.

Aw jeez. I thought she’d had a breakthrough with a chiropractor or did that not do enough? I would hold back on getting her a cane. She’ll take that step herself once she feels it’s necessary. My condolences, that really is terribly sad.

It was hopeful, but a no-go. She still goes when she needs to, but it’s permanent.

Jeez. Sorry to hear that.

Thanks Mariah. ♥

On my way to DC for visits with cousins and some Jelly friends.

Someone at my job hit my car door with her car door when both of our cars were parked next to each other. I was in my car and she hit it hard enough to put a minor dent into it. Then when I talked to her about it, right there on the spot, she was rude about it which I really still don’t understand to this day. I’m going to get it fixed through the insurance but it’s a headache and it was so weird how she was nasty and she’s the one who did it.

One more headache to deal with in life.

Oh – too bad @jca!

@jca Wow…go figure. If I hit someones car door while they were sitting in it right next to me I would be SO apologetic. People. Sorry for the inconvenience and frustration.

@jca why do so many bad things come upon you these days…

Well, I got the first coat of red glitter paint on my granddaughter’s reading chair put on!

I just set up Google voice here and am having fun calling everyone with my headset. Cool little extra thing to save money, now if I could just get over feeling like I am yelling into the microphone. lol

@Coloma can we do some voice chat sometime? I used to do Google voice with johnpowell and it felt great :)

My school is in chaos. It is nearly our finals and we were supposed to see the exam schedule three weeks ago. When it first came out everyone noticed that it was horribly arranged: several overlapped exam sessions, subjects that weren’t in the curriculum in the first place, unclear exam places… My class has two courses that are supposed to last until December and they were on the schedule! Apparently the schedule had been made in the beginning of the school year. But then there were some changes in the policy that made several courses start later than usual, my class’ two courses included. And for some reason they didn’t bother to consider the policy and just push the old schedule out.

Several attempt was made by students to get the schedule changed. A week pass and there was minimal changes in the schedule and our courses were still there. The second week when it came out without much changes I had to get the courses’ teachers involved for more pressure. This week it came out again, and they still refused to omit the two courses! As far as I know a lot more students also had similar problems to me. How can we sit for an exam of a subject that we haven’t finished studying? More panic and more “peditions” are going rampange. I still don’t know if I should take the schedule seriously or not.

I am back on the US after spemding 2 weeks in Nepal. It ccould be such a beautiful place but the poverty and corruption is strangling.
In 8 hours I will be in my home! I can’t wait!

@LuckyGuy Welcome back!

@LuckyGuy Yes, Welcome home!

Gonna hang out with grandkids for Thanksgiving at a steak place today!!

My friend’s mom died last night. This was a woman of unfailing kindness, humor and intelligence. I called her my “TV Mom” because she was always wonderful to me, especially when my mother was mean and awful. She was a source of great comfort to me when I had cancer, where my own was inconvenienced.
Find a moment to appreciate the truly generous-hearted people that you know, they are a blessing in your lives.

@canidmajor I’m so sorry for your loss. Thank you for the nice sentiment. Sometimes it is hard to remember to appreciate the good people in your life and let them know that they are special.

@canidmajor sometimes the people who doesn’t have much connection to you is the one who is closer than the people near you…

@canidmajor I know what you mean. I remained close to a friends mom up until she died in 2012 at age 90, but…I have her famous Butterscotch pie recipe to remind me of her. The Sunday diners that woman cooked were out of this world.