Surgery

I just got back from a 17 day trip on Wednesday.  (I'll write about that later.) Yesterday I went in to do pre-op for surgery on Monday.  The surgery is for a lumpectomy in my left breast.  Yup, breast cancer.  The surgeon put me on an estrogen inhibitor well before I left on my trip in hopes of shrinking the tumor.  It worked.  Hopefully she won't find anything in the lymph nodes in surgery.  I'm optimistic she won't.  After surgery is radiation.  A new experience.  A friend who has been through it says there's nothing to it.  My daughter is taking me in and will bring me home.
I hated going for mammograms.  Now I recommend them to all my female friends.  To you lady readers, too.  And, by the way, men can get breast cancer also.

New Year

A new year has arrived.  Perhaps it will be better than the last, perhaps.  One can only hope.  Mother Nature is letting us know how upset she is with us.  Not all the happenings have been on the news.  Did you know that Mt. Etna was erupting?  I haven't seen it on the news.  Only reason I knew about it was because I follow BBC.  What about cracks in a new multi-story apartment building in England?  The news we get is selective.  And, these days, mostly opinion.  Mother Nature is not selective.  Here we have had over a foot above the average rain.  The ditches along side my driveway have white caps.  The ground is so saturated that a good wind storm will take down a lot of trees.  I'd rather have snow.  Yeah, yeah I know, an inch of rain equals a foot of snow.  I can handle that a lot better, and it's prettier.  But hey, who am I?  May this year bring you good health, peace of mind, and, most of all, stability.
Blessed be.

Celebration

While my daughter's family and I celebrate the Solstice (Yule), I hope those who celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, etc. have a wonderful holiday and may next year bring bright blessings, good health, peace and prosperity.

Getting older

It's no fun getting "older".  The time change has my body and brain confused as to when to go to bed and when to wake up.  I wish time would be left alone.  My solution?  Put it in the middle and leave it there!  Animals probably get confused, too.
Getting older means the joints don't work as well as they used to and my hands are giving me a hard time.  I can the feel joints in my fingers getting arthritic.  With cold weather coming in this winter is not going to be fun.  I'm looking forward to my trip to warmth in February.
Getting older also means that some things (like names of people or things) don't just pop up in your brain when you're having a conversation.  My excuse?  I just say that at my age there's so much there it takes longer to find it.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  But it is frustrating when you are having a conversation and you're trying to find a name or a word.  I believe living alone without much social interaction could make it worse so I try to get out and about as much as possible.  Belonging to a quilt guild and being active in a local gallery has kept me nice and busy.
I'm trying to be philosophical about aging.  I've lived longer than I thought I would even though my life was not always a healthy one.  Guess I'm just too damn stubborn.
Y'all have a wonderful day and remember:  Eyes are useless when the mind is blind.

I wonder

I wonder, what with all those promises the politicians are promising voters, if the voters really know what's going on.  All that "free" stuff they're supposed to get "from the government"?  Guess who pays for it.  NOT the government.  Nope.  WE pay for it through the taxes we pay.  And, quite personally, I'm tired of paying taxes so someone can freeload.  Granted, there are those out there who actually deserve help, but I'm talking about those who won't work because they know how to work the system.  A franchise was delayed opening here because they couldn't get any applicants for the jobs!  No one wants to work anymore.  Well, guess what.  The ones who are willing will be the ones to ultimately survive.  I'm talking plumbers, electricians, linemen, mechanics.  All those who are willing to get their hands dirty.  To actually WORK.
And if the voters are ignorant enough to believe the "promises" I feel sorry for them.
Enough rant for today.  Y'all have a good one and remember:  Eyes are useless when the brain is blind.

It's here!

It looks like autumn (fall) is here at last.  The temperature outside this morning at 8:30 was a chilly 46 degrees.  We've  had warm weather up until now which meant I couldn't work outside unless I got up at the crack of dawn.  My medication prevents me from being in the heat/sun for any length of time so my front landscaping looks like crap.  I finally got some of the bigger obnoxious weeds pulled and will be working on the rosemary plants which are trying to take over.  I'd dry the rosemary but the mulch I put down had a warning that plants should not be used as food since there was a weed killer in it.  Won't do that again.
We don't get much in the way of color down here.  Mostly russets, some yellow, very little red although more maples are being planted it seems.
This is not my favorite time of year since it symbolizes an ending.  I prefer Spring since it symbolizes new beginnings.  At least we have seasons here, although some say we only have two...hot and cold.
what's your favorite season?

Politics suck

I am so tired of all the political ads and will be so glad when elections are done and over with.  I know for whom I'm voting and know that the ads on TV contain innuendos (on both sides), some untruths, few actual facts.  Some candidates are backed with outside money, lots of it, and some struggle to pay for air time.  Whenever the ads come on I hit the mute button.  No one is perfect.  We all know that.  I don't discuss politics with friends, or anybody for that matter.  How many friendships have been broken up because both parties were on opposite sides politically?  I care about the person, not how he or she votes.