Gee, it's a good thing I didn't wait until tomorrow morning. Yes, LoL. So, I'd woken up really early but convinced myself to just stay in bed. When I finally got up, I was mostly devoid of pain. Aha, the little piggies of the universe finally got their acts together and also delivered on crisp, colourful vision. Yay.

Still, I took it easy in the morning, reading "Albatross" until I'd finished it. Terry Fallis once again left me with a smile on my face. He just exudes sunshine. After that, I had the rest of Brian's cookies for brekkie. Then, I got to work. I ended up just decorating one tree with two sets of lights (one clear, one multicolour, a long roll of translucent holiday ribbon, as well as a few other colourful items around the base.

I was unable to put up the sequinned wall hanging because I couldn't find the special hanger; OTOH, I thought my golden sleight was lost/misplaced, yet it was right in one of the storage boxes. Naturally, I blame the cats! I filled the sleigh with pine cones and set it on the fireplace and also hung my stocking. I still have to add a decorative bejewelled ribbon to the dining table and then I'm calling it done. Decorating while blind is always a challenge and I'm definitely avoiding wearing myself out - for a change.

So I need to climb in the shower now and hydrate. Tired little piggy.
… which remarkably began with another amnesiac sleep and waking up without pain. Four days! Unfortunately, I was tardy in delaying having brekkie and taking my pills until noon which then allowed a micro opening for pain to attack my torso. Sigh. Back to bed, blondie.

I joined the blind group's Zoom observance of Remembrance Day but, no, I did NOT stand for a majestic instrumental rendition of the National Anthem or a sung version of "In Flanders Field" or the two minutes of silence. I was still flat on my back.

Our Prez hosted the gathering with about 20 of us on the line. There were some other touching musical numbers that included one by a popular blind songwriter in TO. Despite my intention to get more involved, I refrained from getting into the discussion. But it did feel good to be connected.

After we adjourned, I watched the news and there were many, many touching stories about observances in the city. So, yeah, I did get more misty-eyed.

Just waiting to take my pills and hope they kick in pronto.
Oh, I really appreciated getting a bit more than two hours of sleep before waking up with searing pain at 4:30 a.m. Definitely a night on which to swallow two more Robax. Only then was I able to sleep all the way to 8:15.

But the pain was a constant companion during the day as I alternated between bed and computer where I actually had a lot to do for the blind group. Otherwise, I just watched endless TV which did little to distract me from the pain. It was only around 9 p.m. when my torso began to feel human again. I'd also replied to church-John's email, bt only after I could type without writhing.

It's such an odd Halloween. There were some marvellous reinterpretations shown during the news. One City Councillor arranged for a drive-through treats distribution of packages that contained not only candy but also a Covide survival kit. I don't know what SuM and S. did … but I didn't hear the doorbell ring even once.

Anyway, I think I need some cookies to cheer me up. And then better sleepn than last night.
I've been busy all day long. Phoning, leaving voicemails, dictating text messages, composing individual emails - to Danny (who loved my dream), to someone I haven't seen or heard from at blind group for months (I'm worried about her), as well as a generic FB post and something personal to the distribution list of the blind group (ro which I've received lots of replies). My last email was to thank the admin of my meals supplier, thanking her and the generous dedicated people who work with her.

It's no wonder I'm exhausted now. I briefly compared today to past holidays, from hosting dinners at church for all of us orphans, to just attending, especially early this decade when I was already weaker. All that work. All that food. It seems overwhelming now. I didn't even feel like making my scalloped potatoes, despite the fact I found a conversion recipe so I could use my microwave instead of an oven. Just as well. I had soup really late and now I'm feeling pain - it seems to be building up, gathering strength,m but I'm trying to last the few minutes until midnight strikes. ::clenches fists::

Watched lots of TV when I wasn't at the computer. Going to stay up to watch the evening news - for better or worse. Nighty-night, all.
Well, on wht I still call Dominion Day (long degraded into lacklustre Canada Day or - in Quebec - Moving Day), I had two naps instead of one. Woo-hoo!

I was feeling wordy, so I sent a long response to a reader who really enjoyed one of my recent stories; I also finally got in touch with one of my oldest church friends who always sends out animated cards. He'd sent me a delightful b-day card and today there was a Canada Day card. Though I couldn't really see what was happening, I loved the rendition of the national anthem.

And that was basically it. I'd had a decent 6 hours of sleep overnight without pain (though I can feel my muscles clenching and will be relieved to take my pills soon). Watched a titch of TV (including one of Jeopardy! James's spectacular wins) and received a pleading email from the meals admin. So I'm considering giving in to the publicity photo … as long as it is taken from my right side! Even better if I can approve it before they run it. I'll email her tomorrow.

And that's a wrap.
So, I took a chance that limiting my Robax to just before bed would work … and it did! Not only that, but I got more than 8 hours of real sleep.

As for the rest of my day, most of it was spent in a quiet, dark room, massaging my pulsating muscles before they achieved lift-off velocity, and healing self-touch. Result: no Robax all day - though lying in bed for most of the day was … boring.

When I felt like it, I was zooming through the next library book. I may finish it tonight. There was also a little TV. I also sent out one groaner of a joke (a knock knock one) to conclude my duties as unofficial morale booster to the blind group. I've received several lovely notes of thanks.

The main downer was the cool and wet weather. I guess it's the result of the storm along the East coast. Mind you, I've heard the stats for Chicago, as well as Michigan and Wisconsin and they're getting slammed. We may still have overnight thunderstorms.

Okay, back to reading and munching on a few toffee chocolate covered almonds. Only a few!
Easter Sunday, 2020, featured a comfort food brekkie, namely Shepherd's Pie; then playing around on the computer; followed by lying in bed; taking my 3:00 PM Robax along with two truffles; back to bed, stroking my skin and drifting off into a nap; waking up and posting my Easter blessing about self-healing touch for everyone else who is living alone.

Okay, okay, so I'm awake now and watching some TV. Watched tonight's The Rookie and discovered there was a first-run remote epi of SNL last night. So, I think I'm going to resume watching and perhaps having a laugh or two.

Until tomorrow, keep sane and entertained with whatever you have around you.
I hope six or seven is reasonable. That's all I seemed to do as well as have vivid dreams.

… paused due to keyboard issues.
The morning after several(!) restarts, the keyboard is obeying me.

Saturday was unusual as I just kept nodding off. The most vivid dream centred around the fact that there was a municipal election (which we never have on a Saturday). I had not intended to vote but was dragged out of the house by SuM and S. who then promptly disappeared(?). I ended up in a socially-distanced line with an anonymous gay guy outside a library. But, by the time we got inside, it was 3 PM, there were only three officials who were packing up and said the polls were closed. So we left and he was helping me down the stone stairs, remarking upon my need to hold his hand. And then I woke up.

At least I'd started the day with a faint memory of what Easter Saturday should have been like with my chosen sisters. I had the institutional version of a Swiss Chalet meal (boneless roast chicken thigh in lots of sauce, crinkle-cut fries, and mixed veggies for brekkie. I sent my sis RS a long email and later texted Jan. She and I went back and forth, joking. She'd actually dreamed we were at the restaurant and was disoriented when she woke up.

I think I goofed with my pill taking, having 3 Robax at 3 p.m. So, as I was not in pain at 8, I didn't take any until it was time for bed.

Beyong the limited TV offerings, I watched Friday's MacGyver which was another sad (sacrificing dad) and terrifying story about the naivete of a grey-hat hacker thinking she's doing the right thing. She thought she was only pointing out security risks but was helping the meltdown of the nuclear plant serving L.A. that would result in the deaths of millions.
It didn't help that I'd woken up at 4:45 a.m. (and stayed up), but at least my vision was crisp so I could read for hours. Then, late night, my computer kept defying me - as it has since the dreaded … update. So I just managed to post the subject line. Sigh. But the rest of the day had been spectacular! I'll just pretend the pain after I got home never happened!

I was the first to arrive at the restaurant at 12:30, I got to arrange the tables and chairs, then order a pot of Earl Grey, hot! This place has packets of raw sugar that I really like. I'd already decided not to drink wine I was ve in the morning and not using my walker. Jan was next to arrive, then RS. I surprised them with the tins of cookies. Yay!

After we were stuffed with our appetizers and chicken (with free chicken dinners to take home, too), we started talking about vacations. Completely independently, RS and I had decided we couldn't do the Alaska Cruise. Mind you, now with Coronavid19 being so scary on board a ship, maybe it's just as well we're taking a pass. I mentioned my dream of going to Northern Ontario by train. Then RS mentioned she's going to Niagara Falls on an escorted trip with power loading buses, attendant care, and 4 days in a suites hotel in April. She then said we should all take a vacay together next year when she turns the big four-oh. A longer more complicated trip seems unrealistic, but we thought the Niagara Falls trip would be terrific. Jan and RS could share the bedroom while I would be a happy camper sleeping on ut couch in the living room. I could bring my wheelchair and have someone push me while sightseeing. I'll finally be able to revel in Falls after a couple decades ago (pre blindness). And the bathroom has both a shower AND a huge tub. Can you see me smiling now?

We were picked up around 4 and I was home in mere minutes due to no traffic. My sight had been invigorated by the social activity, so I watched Picard. I also did some editing for the blind group Prez. Anyway, I'm a tired kitty, so off to bed with sweet dreams of travel.
With plenty of pain in between??? Nooooooo. That's not how the New Year was supposed to start. Wait for it … … Sigh.

I stayed up well past the time SuM's and S's NYE party ended. I was reading. It was quiet. Then, finally, I went to bed around 3:40. I slept until searing pain had woken me up. When? I guess it was around 7 and I'd taken my pills closer to midnight. So I took my Robax and sat at the computer for a while. It had frozen so I had to restart it. When my spine was feeling warmer and looser I went back to bed. Fell asleep, not waking up until … 1:42!!! Holy-moly.

Kept alternating between bed and computer. Was supposed to have sent out New Year's greetings, but there was no way I had the motivation or strength to do those, so I put them on hold for tomorrow. If I'm moving. I refuse to put extra pressure on myself when dealing with this level and instability of pain.

Watched my usual TV shows. Was aggravated that there didn't appear to have been a new Year of the Farce on CBC. Arrgghh. Google just told me it had aired on Monday. I'll try to catch it on the network's site.

Crossing my fingers, gritting my teeth, hoping I can sleep for most of the night.
So, with a glass of virgin eggnog in hand (chocolate, cinnamon, sugar grinder by my elbow), I'll bid 2019 goodbye and say hello - be nice to me - to 2020.
Accurate colour perception and crisp colour contrasts right from the moment I woke up (at 8:16). Yes, Merry Christmas to me! Well, except for the fact that I was in pain, so could ONLY tolerate cookies for brekkie.

The second-best prezzie: an adorable flying pig from church-John along with a story of how she starred in one of the stories he used to tell his pupils when he was teaching (something about the little piggy befriending an eagle). There was also a mama pig with what I thought was ribbons along her side. Well, I had vision, but not that much. So, natch, I sent him a thank-you email which is how I found out about the teaching connection.

After that, I was back in bed, trying to stave off the pain. I dozed off and had a weird dream which, IIRC, contained c-J and later S. who was being very inconsiderate in the dream (she is anything but). I delayed dinner until around 5 when I had roast chicken which I accompanied with several spoons of the cranberry chutney which SuM and S. had brought back from the cranberry bog and I'd saved. Oooooooh, it was so subtle and scrumptious!

I still had my sight after dinner, but the pain prevented me from sitting at the computer and reading. Sigh. So, it was back to bed (which was the coziest place to be) and watching my recorded daytime TV shows.

Now I'm enjoying macadamia nut chocolate clusters while I'm back to fuzzy vision. Well, it was a treat while it lastest. Hoping everyone had a good day.
I don't understand it myself. I slept until nearly 8:30. It really was a miracle. And I did laundry (so is that the reason why I was mostly pain-free for most of the day?). The only aggravation was that I had a runny nose that morphed into a stuffed up nose with excessive sneezing. But I just kept drinking and already feel better. The proof though will be if I can get some good sleep.

What wasn't as good was my takeout chicken as a holiday dinner. They forgot the butter for the bun, the chicken was tough, and I didn't get the fully loaded feature for the potato. I wanted to have a glass of wine so withdrew the 4 bottles I'd picked up on our Niagara trip. Unfortunately, I couldn't read any bit of the label, so I drank "mystery" wine!

Speaking of mysteries, I watched a lot of TV, including Murdoch Mysteries, Frankie Drake Mysteries, Bull, and last night's The Rookir which I'm glad to see is a tiny bit more mature than last season was. Anyway, time for sleep. ::crosses fingers::
Woke up at the pleasantly palindromic time of 9:29. It was acceptable. Did one light load of laundry in the early afternoon. Had an intentional nap. Read another book, even though my vision wasn't good. So I guess it's NOT the brand-name eyedrops. Too bad.

Then my aggravation factor ramped up. The secretary of the blind group is driving me crazy. She had trip tickets to sell. I kept begging her to report names, etc. She didn't. She just kept selling tickets even when we didn't have seats to sell. Now we've got to untangle the mess. Arrgghh. Maybe I should have had a second glass of wine with dinner?

Anyway, I think I'm going to watch a titch of TV to relax and cool off.
Okay, so I exaggerated … a leetle. Back not broken, but the spasms were beyond grotesque until I finally took a muscle relaxant with food in the evening. And the fishes are my delightful summer linens which I'm pairing with my penguin fleece not only for the middle of the night but also earlier this evening as I was hit with the chills of exhaustion. Sigh.

No wonder I'm looking forward to pub night with the blind group tomorrow. There'll be almost twenty of us and it's been a year since I've been in that location way across town.

Between the stupid laundry, looking after the cats, and moaning while lying in bed (a lot), I watched TV and finished reading yet another mystery, I may have been in screaming pain, but my eyes were mostly working. At least I can manage some distraction from the pain.
So, yeah, kinda, sorta, maybe. In the real world, I was staying up until 3:30 a.m. with an SGA fanfic that ate my brain. When I woke up at 9:30 a.m., I continued reading, even foregoing brekkie until I was nearly done at 11:30. Whoa!

I finally watched yesterday's church webcast and then set out to write my review. There was a lot to cover, especially as theologian Rev. Deana was at the helm. I took it easy for most of the day before I posted. Then I caught up on my recorded TV while gorging on a bagel covered with cream cheese and smoked salmon. Washed down by a glass of white wine. Unfortunately, my spine is screaming at me, so I'll have to take a muscle relaxant before bed.

SuM and S. went off to a local park instead of down to the beach for the fireworks tonight. Surprisingly, there had been no homemade noisemakers the past three days in the neighbourhood. Makes me wonder whether more people are reporting acts of individual stupidity.

Even though I'll be getting home late tomorrow, I can't wait for pub night. I was busy answering more RSVPs. It should be a lot of fun. Okay, bring on the painkillers!
helenkacan: (Default)
( May. 20th, 2019 11:13 pm)
Woke up at 7 and couldn't convince my body to do the sensible thing. Sigh. Felt very unsettled with low-grade back pain, so I spent a lot of time in bed just lying there. Exciting, no? Definitely no.

Finally began to form a strategy for writing my church review. Watched the webcast again, mostly for the energetic Queen music. After that, I was all confused. I'd recorded my usual shows but completely forgot about MasterChef Canada so I'm about to catch it on Rewatch. My vision was all confused, too, teetering between good and decrepit. And that's a wrap on my day. ::enters general snooze mode::
Well, once again, I learn of the folly of trying to go to bed before midnight. My body gets all rebellious and then takes it out on me by making me wake up at … 3:56 a.m. I was SO not amused. I forced myself to sleep again. The next time I woke up it was 6:10. I figured that was close enough to my alarm (6:25) and got out of bed.

So glad all the rain happened yesterday. No precip although it was foggy. It was also scary inside the church because it was completely dark inside (to recreate conditions at the end of Friday's service). I could see was the white Altar cloth and the windows. Otherwise I was stumbling about. The service was fabulous (nothing new there). It had everything: adult sensibility mixed with similarities to indigenous representations of the eagle as love, and some real howlers in the joke department! The front of the Sanctuary was filled with so many flower pots just bursting forth with life!

Then church-John and I went off to brunch at one of our fave restaurants: joining us were Brent and John, Ash, Brian, and David. So I still took it easy in the eating department: had the brekkie with lots of fresh fruit, eggs, toast, sausauge, bacon, home fries, grilled tomato and onions. I basically ignored the home fries (too many carbs), but did indulge in a morning glory (their version of a mimosa).

C-John got me home after that. I began watching the service online but lost my internet connection less than an hour later. Help! Even after it was finally restored, I didn't return to watching … so obviously I'm not reporting my experience on FB. Exchanged emails about the trip with Brian. I wish I weren't so zonked, needing to catch up on sleep, because my vision - except for dealing with real fog this morning - was excellent. I could read for hours. So, maybe tomorrow (come on, eyes, behave) after I'm done with my review. Crossing my fingers for energy and a clear mind.
helenkacan: (Default)
( Feb. 18th, 2019 11:25 pm)
Yes, it's a thing if you live in Canada (though not in all provinces IIRC), observed on the first Monday after … ::giggles:: Valentine's Day. So, naturally, I spend it with my chosen sisters, Jan and RS, eating CHICKEN. Today's weather featured loads of brilliant sunshine in clear blue skies … and horrid continuing cold. I've been home for hours and am still wearing my boots and indoor clothing. I'm still frozen. Oh, yeah, speaking of that, I need to remind SuM to borrow the movie from the library; and we'll be having movie night tomorrow evening. Always fun.

Because I was fed up with lugging the walker around, and felt I wouldn't need it in a strickly sitting-down afternoon, I left it at home and tottered down the concrete path supported by my driver. I arrived around 12:30 and both women were already there ahead of me, so I caught up by ordering a pot of Earl Grey tea. Divine. I'd brought a special offer on my phone where, if you ordered three meals, you'd get the fourth for free. So, as I was treating them, I ordered a takeout one for me. We all ate so quickly and then wondered whether chicken has tryptophan, too. We were … sleepy kitties.

As RS works for an independent agency that facilitates supplying private personal caregivers who are paid through the general health system, she has a lot of contacts and a wide database. So I asked her to find the name of the manufacturer/distributor of the electronic pedal machine (with biofeedback) for me to purchase. Even if the price hasn't dropped (from 2 grand), I feel it's still the best option for me, as it loosens up the hips and waist like magic. I can just imagine how easy it'll be to use while wasting time uh, watching TV, lol.

I managed to watch tonight's weird Murdoch Mysteries (to be continued) and will be watching Bull as soon as I've posted. I hope I'm almost warm enough to go to bed. Sigh. Stupid cold. Only 31 days until (calendar) spring!
Well, I sure do enjoy my sleep. The indulgence of smoked salmon and a single-serving bottle of bubbly sure did the trick. With one nasty interruption around 4, I slept until the alarm at 9. I didn't feel like being sociable so S. received my meals just before she and SuM went out for brunch with friends.

I watched a little TV (including last night's 22 Minutes which had all most party leaders sitting on Santa's knee). Had a wee nap in the afternoon, too. Relieved to see an understanding between my vision and my monitor, so I can read stories. And that's what I'm doing right now, along with taking pills, drinking bubbly water and eating a titch of chocolate. Best part, no setting of alarms until Saturday night.
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