One of Those Few Days

Hubby had his second shot and he felt crappy for a few days so I had to make cookies. I knew he wasn't feeling up to par as he didn't snarf all the cookies down in one day.

He said we had a cookie thief and I said I'd get right on it.

Snow is forecast for Sunday night through Monday with up to 6 inches of wet heavy snow for our area with some hard winds. 
Winter keeps knocking at the door reminding as if to tell us ... it isn't over until ... what? The Fat Lady Sings? 

My week included appointments with the dentist [all good there...NO cavities!] The hygenist was a different one and she touched me deeply with her compassion. As I left the office she gently touched the small of my back and said, "See you! Take care!" That touch and comment meant so much more to me than it might have a year ago.

The eye doctor was Friday. I loved this young guy! What a hoot! I went to a new optometrist in town at the clinic. I am SO glad I did. I was told to go and buy my glasses on line...so much cheaper. The doc and tech were awesome. When I went to look at glasses I was even surprised more. 

I told the gal that I needed glasses that FIT my face. We ended up with child frames. Yeah, I am a little person. When she asked me what I thought, I asked her what SHE thought. How did they look? She pointed out that I'd have to be satisfied and I pointed out that she saw faces with glasses more than I did.

I said that the only time I would LOOK at the glasses was when I was in the bathroom. Otherwise the only important thing was to make sure I could see with them.

My old glasses were off for my distance vision. I could see better in the distance without the old glasses!

Enough of that.

Hubby has recovered from his vaccination. 

His mind or memory or perception of things this week has changed so much. I'd told him Monday that I ordered new hiking boots to replace the ones that were falling apart. He freaked out when UPS dropped them off and proceeded to yell at me for ordering unnecessary footwear.

He forgot about it overnight. 

Question or food for thought: Other issues? Or did the vaccine cause issues? Hmm.

Last night I said something about Daylight Savings Time and he told me I was wrong about spring forward. According to him I should move the clocks back so we get more daylight. Back.
Back.

Back.

I even showed him my cell phone clock this morning and he got irate. Everyone was wrong. Wrong. 

He has aphasia so sometimes the language is reversed. So I usually just ignore it and other times it causes real problems in our communications. He is She, Up is Down, and I think you get it.

I know that I will just adjust the clocks when he naps today on the stove and microwave and when he wakes up things will be just fine. Because I relented and just let the subject drop.

I keep forgetting my lessons regarding stroke and communications. And everything I learned while dealing with MIL and her dementia. 

Go with the flow.

I want a stuffed Llama so I can beat it up when I get frustrated. Drama Llama.

The memory and mind are interesting things. It sort of reminds me of a road that you've never taken ... you don't know where you will end up.

Adventures with a tooth

I had two or three cavities when I was in college. They were rather small ones and I also had a larger one on a back molar.

I was 19 when I had those cavities taken care of. I haven't had one since. I thought that was something to really be proud of.

Last week one of those molars started to bother me. I knew I had a check up coming soon so I sort of ignored it. It was a bit painful for a cold drink.
I had an argument with myself for a few days.

"Call your dentist."
"Don't call, you'll be there in two weeks."

I shrugged the thoughts off. Mother in law's problems and the nursing home kept coming up each day. It seemed there was some sort of 'crisis' either with MIL herself or something that had to do with her situation.
I ignored the nagging in the back of my mouth and marched forward, taking care of things one at a time.

However, the irritation kept coming back in waves. By Thursday afternoon when we left the nursing home I looked across the road and could see my dentist's office. I regretted that I hadn't called. I knew they didn't have Friday hours and besides, the next day was Good Friday.

Our whole town shuts down on Good Friday.
And...I our Kenosha Gang was going to be here.

I'd call for sure on Monday.
Yep. Monday.

By Friday morning my lower jaw was aching. I took some Tylenol. We went hiking and actually the distraction of being outside made the ache a bit more dull.

By Saturday I took some prescription strength Tylenol and fought waves of intense pain up and down the side of my face. However, there was not a thing I could do.
We went hiking and exploring in the back valley. Also known as the Lost Valley.
At supper, I took a bite of the incredibly delicious soup Amanda had made and waves of intense and fierce pain hit me. I had to sit still and concentrate on merely breathing.
Saturday night was a nightmare. At midnight I woke up with waves of undulating pain alongside my jaw and into my ear. I got up and sat on the couch. I seriously considered waking one of our guests to take me to Urgent Care. Somehow I muddled through the painful night and met our company with some coffee in the morning.

They went to Black Bottom Creek without me to take morning photos. I was so tired and in a brain pain fog.
Sunday night was no better.

Monday morning I called the dentist office as soon as they opened. I got in fairly quickly.
Dr. Klum and Sarah ... my neighbor from out on the ridge greeted me. They took me into a room in the dental office I'd never been in. After a quick exam and some poking around Dr. Klum showed me the X ray and explained what happened.
The old filling had pushed out against the tooth and cracked it. She surmised that the tooth was now dying. The pain was a symptom of that.
She pointed out the roots of the tooth and that she could see the swelling.


I had some choices. Root canal, --she'd have to send me to another doctor-- and if the tooth was good enough, they could save it. Or.
Pull it.

We talked about choices. I was totally in fear of both the root canal and the pulling. She said she could schedule me for an oral surgeon to sedate me and extract the tooth.

I asked how she did it. She said she'd totally numb me and I'd feel nothing but pressure and hear noises.

The cost difference was huge.

"Extract it," I said. It was a back molar and I could probably do just fine without it. I couldn't bear the thought of setting up multiple appointments for drilling, cleaning and needles in the mouth. I just wanted the pain to end.

Dr. Klum numbed my inner jaw with something. I laid back in the chair.
I could see her approach with this MONSTEROUS needle and then there was a poke and a pinch. Instantly the pain I'd endured for days stopped.

For whatever reason I started to tear up and cry. Tears rolled down my face. Dr. Klum and Sarah grabbed tissues and asked if I was okay.

I nodded and then finally blubbered out, "It is such a relief! You killed the pain!"
Dr. Klum put her hand on my shoulder and smiled.
I lost count of how many shots of Novocain she put in my mouth. But she and Sarah then talked to me about how the procedure would go for a bit.
I imagine it was to make sure the Novocain was working.

Dr. Klum poked around in my mouth asking if I felt this...or that.
"Nope, nope."

And then she started. I could feel her push and pull and wiggle back and forth. I had a soft block in my mouth that held it open. I could appreciate how difficult it was for her to work as I have been told I have a very small mouth.

Soon she declared, "All done! There it is!" It was as though she'd won a prize. She said it came out perfectly. 

She showed me the tooth and I asked if I could have it. I wanted to look at the thing that had caused me so much pain, anguish, and sleepless nights.
We looked at the tooth more closely.

She turned it over and held it under a magnifying glass so I could see the cracks and the dying roots of the tooth. She pointed out that if we'd left it in longer it would have caused and infection.

"Hmmm." She said, "I think we did the right thing. I don't think a root canal would have saved this tooth."
I smiled.
I'm not sure there are many dentists out there that can make you feel good with their words as they are doing such a procedure on you.

I won't ignore tooth pain again. I think I've learned my lesson.

Thank you to Dr. Klum for doing such a great job.
Thank you Sarah for assisting.

I will still thank you when I receive my bill.

I went home and slept all day. I went to bed at 9 pm and Charlie let me sleep in until 6:30 AM.

I feel human again.

Of this and that

When the weather is frightfully cold and we need to let the temps come up to a reasonable reading ... like -5 or maybe even 0 before we feel like starting chores...
I get sidetracked with a cup of coffee and some fractal programs.

The first picture of orange colors is from JWildfire.  I've talked about this program a lot and the newest version allows your to pick your own back round to place your newest flame or flames on.

The second shot was a photo of the frost on the window this morning that I edited with Topaz Glow.  It is all the rage right now and I do like the program although I think it can be used more subtly than most are doing with it.
The above example is the far-out end of the spectrum.

Below, I used it to assist in a 'illustrated' type look for the book I'm ... hopefully finishing soon called The Big Journey.
[At the moment, I've hit a bit of writer's block....]

Turning to the weather aspect.  What else is there to say but that it is typical winter weather.  Harsh winds, blowing snow, and cold temps.  I took this shot through the windshield on my way home from town yesterday with my pocket camera.

Yesterday's snow fall is now whipping around like crazy the sun is shining brightly.
The sun should not deceive us though.  The ambient temp is still below zero.

Hurrah for the over the glasses goggles [nearly typed google!] and face masks that make our lives a bit easier.

After chores are muddled through, I am hoping to take a walk to the ridge to capture some of the wonderful lines or formations that the blowing snow creates.

If it proves to be a bit too brutal I'll come back and work either on the book or some graphic art composites.

I have a few edits I'd like to make on some shots I took the other night for Ariel and our My Little Pony escapades.

I also have some skulls that need another layer of paint and perhaps I can take some artistic photos of them for still life.

Look ma, no cavities!

I know that I am not a big fan of going to the dentist, but I also know that I need a good healthy mouth.

But I skipped going for a while.  I'm not going to say how long.  The lack of insurance just made it easier for me to keep putting things off.

I was able to purchase Dental Insurance through the VA system not too long ago.
So I bit the bullet, so to speak and picked up the phone.

The hygienist did not give me a long nasty lecture, and neither did the dentist.

I'm going to stop here a moment and tell you what a small town it is.  My old dentist sold his practice to this wonderful young lady dentist.  I work with my old dentist's brother.

My new dentist's uncle is one of my supervisors....and one of my ridge neighbors works for her!

Long story short, after scraping and working on my mouth, then a full set of x-rays [wow...the new technology is incredible]. Dr. Klum put the x-rays up on the huge flat screen TV in my cleaning 'room'.  She zoomed in with a mouse click and looked at my roots and around my mouth.  
I was declared cavity free once again.

I do have 2 cavities from when I was 18 yrs old.  Let's just say that was 40 yrs ago.

However, since I put getting a check up and cleaning off for much longer than I should have, I will be going back for deep cleaning and yes it is my own fault and I pretty much had that figured out before I stepped into the office.

I had to have it done in 1998 when I actually had an infection in my gums.  

So the good news was ... no cavities.  The not so great news was the deep cleaning.  
And as I said, it was my own fault.  
So listen up, it is wise not to skip going to the dentist, even if it makes you nervous.

Heck, I sweated right through my clothes and the hygienist never hurt me.  Just something about being in that chair I guess.  I need to get it out of my head.


If I recall when I was a child, one of my first experiences was with a dentist in a dark looking room who had nasty looking picks and things.  He pulled one of my baby teeth.  
I am pretty sure that may be a true memory.
Many years ago when I took my sons to their first dental visit it was so much more different and geared to make the experience much better.

Well, there you go.
No cavities, give this old lady a gold star!