I'm Halfway Through the Letters

My biography journey has rounded the corner of "M" and am now at "N."  The former was a biography of Delbert McClinton, the latter Sam Neill's memoir.  The Mcclinton book spent a little too much time on the history of Texas for me.  Neill is proving as witty and delightful as you might expect.

Do you refer to Halloween as a holiday?  I can't, because to me a holiday means not having to go to work.  You know: businesses closed, no mail, that type of thing.

I was brought up in a house where my mother actively resented Halloween, and let her opinion be known each October.  She deeply resented having to buy and give candy to anyone who knocked on the door.  Briton, as a wee one, did not like other people not being dressed as themselves, and didn't like costumes for himself very much.  (Oh, the irony of growing into an actor. . .)  Hannah has always  loved dressing up for any reason.  Yearly trick-or-treating plans had to be balanced with extreme care.

Tonight, I am sitting on my heating pad, watching hockey while knitting, and, so far at least, there hasn't been a single knock on the door.

I Am an Old Woman

If you just broke into a rendition of "Angel from Montgomery," we are very friends.

When I took Briton to the oral surgeon, I had on White Shoulders perfume.  When I got home after driving and sitting in one place for three hours, then driving some more, my tailbone/hip was excruciating.  I rattled around in the medicine cabinet, found a topical to follow my Advil Dual Action, and realized I had put on Ben-Gay.  I smelled like a nursing home sunroom.

What Are You Gonna Do?

Sometimes you go in to strip and remake the bed and find that effort has been thwarted.

Everything Went Smoothly, Thank Goodness

No crazy talk, but look at the cute little ice pack holder Briton got today:

He did very well.  The doctor suggested taking both the bottom wisdom teeth, so that's what they did.  The doctor told Briton, and me, that he (Briton) was a very good young man.  He said I had done an excellent job of raising him.  Always good to hear.

Things are going well so far.  He's got an antibiotic, giant Motrin, something for nausea, and, yes, a painkiller.  If he takes one of those, I will be stunned.  He did agree to having the prescription filled, though, which was also a surprise.

In other news, it's  finally pretty consistent boot-wearing weather. 

A Few More Random Questions

 Who decided on "Jack" as a nickname for "John"?  (I think it was Shakespeare that culled "Dick" from " Richard"?)

Why did it take me [an embarrassingly long time] to realize there were thumb holes in this Vanderbilt jersey/shirt?

What are the differences among "maroon," "burgundy," and "wine"?

Does anyone remember boil-in-bag foods?  I feel like I'm alone in this.

The Pain is Now Migrating

It started on the left end of the very end of my tailbone, and now it is radiating out into my left hip.  It's been a week and a half since the falls --- how deep are these "wounds"?

Thinking, obviously, about what Briton's got coming up.  I had my wisdom teeth (all four) taken out when I was in undergraduate school, and my recollection has always been that I got the most sublime painkillers.  I do enjoy feeling drowsy, you know.  The extraction was on a Friday.  I remember being lowered back in the chair, seeing the toes of my boots coming into view (they were ostrich skin), saying "98" after the doctor said to count backward from 100, and that's pretty much it.  No memory of going home.  I do remember ice packs.  I went back to school on Tuesday.

Briton's nervous about being sedated.  He has an intense aversion to medication of almost any kind, plus he's afraid he'll say something embarrassing as he wakes up.  They've heard all kinds of things, I'm sure, but he's still hesitant.

I Get to Go Back

Briton is having one (yes, just one) wisdom tooth extracted on Friday, and he's being sent to the same surgeon I've been seeing.  What are the odds, huh?  I'll be taking him and and driving him home afterward.  I'm interested to see what he's like coming out from under sedation. . .

No, I won't be taping.  No "David after the dentist" here.

I am still in lots of pain when I walk.  Or turn over in the bed.  Nothing's broken, I'm thinking, or it wouldn't have taken over a week to start hurting.  It is making way up for lost time.

What I Did Not Say

Thank you for your good wishes for Briton.  He's rather extraordinary.  I get as mad, super-aggravated and super-exasperated with him (and his sister) as any parent does with a child, but he's a gem. 

The first (and deleted) draft of my "I Fell Putting up the Blinds" story told it in full: I actually fell three times.  After the first tumble, I got right back up (too many years of the "get right back on the horse" credo).  The third fall was from sheer hubris.  ANYway, my landing point in the back is really, really painful.  As in, walking with a cane to alleviate the misery.  Thank goodness Daddy collected walking sticks --- I have so many from which to choose!

And, no, I'm not using the "House" flames cane.  Silly Hugh Laurie signed on the curve, and I don't want to wear the ink off.

During my visit to the oral surgeon, I was given the prescriptions for the antibiotic, the 800 mg (speaking of horses) ibuprofen, and the hydrocodone.  I've taken one of the painkillers today.  The doctor --- and his assistant --- said that placing the abutment is usually easier than the original extraction.  I didn't really need much hydrocodone after that, so I'm taking the chance that I won't miss one pill this time.  Besides, Tap is utterly freaked out by my using a cane.

But the Real Story Today

 Is that this wonderful child came into this world (all 9 lbs., 10 oz. of him) on this day.

Happy Birthday, WBD.

I Can't Have Nice Things

 Over last weekend, I decided to put up some new blinds in my bedroom.  One of the two windows is straightforward, no real issues.  The other, though, is in a sort of tricky corner and in trying to wedge everything into an awkward space, I fell.  My left arm hit the floor first, followed by my back and butt and the back of my head.

Now, these are deep bruises, just coming to the surface in all their purple/green/yellow glory.  They have pained me all week.  And my tailbone, I guess, on the left side is really hurting and causing me to limp a little.

THEN, yesterday, I go to get my flu and latest COVID vaccines.  Every year, I talk here about how, 4 hours almost to the exact minute after getting the flu shot, I start to feel flu-ey.  Yes, that happened again, plus two shots in the same arm (the left one --- what was I thinking) made my arm really, really sore.  Sleeping was misery.  I woke up at one point soaked in sweat.  I didn't feel good today;  couldn't stop shivering this morning.  Even though I know why it happened and that all of it will pass, it's all still painful.

I Left You at "I"

 My last reading project I talked about here was Ishi.  Since then, "J" meant Vernon Can Read! and "K" The Autobiography  of Martin Luther King , Jr.  Today, I've started this

It shouldn't be surprising that the majority of my picks are by/about people I admire/just plain like/ am curious about.  Still, coming across new stories is fun.  I don't recall how I found out about this book, but it happened after my project had begun.  It's almost always intriguing to see how someone you didn't know before weaves words together.

A Middle That Will Hold

Or will be held.  I'm saving the message in the center of this cross-stitch until it's all done.  It's my reason for having bought the kit.

Also, "The center will not/cannot hold" is one of my favorite phrases.  Just thought I'd throw that in.

Ooops. . . I Was Wrong There

Probably should have re-read my treatment plan.  Today wasn't for actually implanting the abutment.  It was for having x-rays and dental scans made so that the dentist can come up with the exact place the abutment needs to go.  There's the possibility that an additional bone graft might have to be done, but apparently, the x-rays and scans will show if it's needed.

So, not much to report.  Both the assistant and the doctor said that placing the abutment ("abutment" is definitely the Drinking Game word here) is usually easier than the initial extraction, so. . .  I don't see it that way, but I'll take their words for it.  This all stretches this whole blasted thing out even longer, but what can you do?

 

Finally at the Next Step

 Tomorrow, I go back to the oral surgeon for the next part of my Tooth Replacement Journey.  It's to insert the rod/pole/base/abutment that the crown will go on.  There's another several months' wait until that can be done.  This should be my last visit to the oral surgeon unless he wants to check the placement along the way.  The crown will be put in by my "regular" dentist.  

Just thinking about it, it seems like this could be a bit painful.  I mean, look:

That doesn't look like acetaminophen and ibuprofen, even together, can handle easily, does it?  What I'm getting at is, I'm not averse to painkillers.

You Know That Thing Where. . .

. . you have a really painful crick in your neck, so when you lie down you adjust your head to reduce the pain, but that position just leads to a second crick without doing anything to the first?

. . .you pour your scone mix into a bowl, add the eggs and salt like you're supposed to, then realize you need heavy cream, which you don't have, so you use chocolate milk instead and it just doesn't work at all?

. . your son's birthday is one week from today, but you have no idea what he wants or what he wants to do?

. . you think the book you're reading is going to get a solid 5-star review on Goodreads, but by the time you finish, you struggle to give it 3 stars?

To Not Feel Entirely Helpless

 Here are a couple of links where you can make donations to help people in Israel:

First, JGive

and 

second, a CauseMatch page to benefit IDF.

Some of you may know that my best friend's little sister lives in Israel, so this is a fraught time.  She (the sister) is the one who recommended these sites.

G-d, let this be over soon.

A Day of Favorite Things

It's cool enough here that I've been able to break out my first hoodie of the season.  Sweatshirt fleece is, exponentially, my favorite fabric.  Keep your silk and satins --- give me some fleece any day.

The slight chill means turning on the heat, which delivers that wonderful smell of dust burning off the coils.  I'm not sure if my love for that scent is it on its own, or whether it registers as a harbinger of Fall and Winter.  Sweatshirt fleece weather, you know.

Though this house is surrounded predominantly by pine trees, on walks with Tap, I'm noticing the occasional fallen red/orange/yellow leaves.  Again, all of these things can be conflated;  not sure which came first.

Naturally, I've spent the weekend watching football.  It was Game Day here yesterday, specifically a night game.  Traffic was moving by the house until crazy late.  Other than bars (!), I don't know what else would have been open to keep people here so long.  I can only think of three restaurants that would usually have been open then.

Easy week on the way.  Next week things will pick up, though.

Just Dropping in to Say

That my son went to a wedding today and looked very handsome doing so.

Burning Questions of the Day

You know what this green spaghetti is, don't you?

The frogged remains of my sweater's first sleeve.  My keeping track of the increase rows got way out of whack, so Start Over Time came.

There's another project possibly in the offing.

If it is started, I'll keep you updated.

And finally, Twinnie asked for scale on the teeny Moon Pie.

Only a little bit bigger than a dollar coin.  Maximum snack shrinkage.

Back When I Was Young

I don't like to be that person, but,

Moon Pies didn't used to be this teensy.

And get off my lawn!

The Sleeve and The Front

So, the front of my green raglan sleeve sweater looks like a raglan sleeve itself.

It's going to take a lot of blocking.  Even though the bottoms of all the pieces are worked in ribbing, they are rolling.  

Next up, a sleeve.

Something I Am Sick Of

Something of which I am sick?  (I've turned into a grammar-and-tone pedant in my dotage.  Pedant, correct thyself.)

Taylor Swift.  I'm over who she may or may not be seeing, where she may or may not be going so she can be seen, and can we just play football, for crying out loud?