Helenka, Queen of Outer Space

Thankfully, two more pills helped and I slept all the way to 7:44. Alas, the morning pills felt disinclined to kick in, so I had to rely on the power of imagination and glorious symphonic music as I watched last night's epi of ST: Disco. I loved the whole Trill thing. I also watched last night's Battle of the Blades even though I didn't really have enough sight to watch figure skating. Sigh. Tonight I watched another compelling rerun epi of Bull though hearing Christmas music was jarring. As is knowing the Ho-Ho season will soon be upon us. I don't want to think about it. Helping me was the fact we're in the middle of another mini heat wave with temps around 70 every day.

I also distracted myself with a couple hours of work for blind group. I just have one thing hanging over my head for the morning.

Okay, back to watching pain-crunching TV.

Seriously. Even after all the ComaSleep yesterday, I still fell asleep easily after my vision abandoned me after 1 AM and slept until 7-somethingteen. Also … NO pain. So I was a pretty happy camper. There were a few flutters of pain trying to seize control, but I kept them at bay.

Despite fluctuating vision (so, now it's not just leeching colour, I seem to have zooming in and out episodes. Just as uncontrollable as the colour thingy. I swear, I am the weirdest vision loss patient in the universe!

Despite the visual inconsistency, I forged ahead with reading the library book. I'm half-way through (yay, me) and have just reached the extremely emotional, heart-wrenching part. But I continue to be curious about the Occupied Channel Islands.

Between the reading, more napping, there was lovely, peaceful music via the TV. I love nature sounds that include lots of running water.

Yeah, there was a shooting described on the 6:00 PM news as well as a collision between a driver and cyclist. But wait, it gets worse. The driver left his car, grabbed a pipe and began beating the cyclist. When the cops arrived, he tried to board a bus across the street but was denied entrance. Idiot.

I did not have a stupid day. I had 8 hours of painless sleep (from nearly 2 to nearly 9). I so needed that. Then I spent most of the day lying flat on my back. Still, the pain took a run at me before 8 p.m.

I did some blind group work, distributing info on a reasonably-priced service if people need rides for medical appointments or grocery shopping.

Caught up on all my recorded Peppa Pig. There was an eclectic mix of music on the French station: The "Love Story" theme for piano and orchestra and birdies; what I believe was "Moscow Nights" sung by the Red Army Chorus; and "When I Fall In Love" by what sounded like an oboe. And other stuff.

I'm about to have soup, then my midnight round of pills, and hope for another good night of sleep.

Playing the French language station scored me seve3ral wonderful memories one of which was "On The Street Where You Live". Alas, I can't remember who whote it but I remember it well. The other highlights were selections from "My Fair Lady", I believe it's a recent rerelease but I'm staying faithful to the original. Mind you, hearing the announcers saying "Higgins" was a hoot.

What differentiates one day from the next? Well, after a weird night, reading until about 3 (at which time the Robax had already worn off, so I had to take two more), I ended up sleeping until 11:54 a.m. Wow! Mind you, the spasms kept trying to reassert themselves which was so wearying.

Couldn't really read too much today because the sight was very fuzzy (though at least the font was pale yellow). Watched last night's The Rookie and tonight's Bull (which just happened to be about Anthrax terrorism! Talk about timing. Also enjoyed my usual game shows.

Some of my friends are doing wonderful things via FB. Brent's husband played Telemann on his recorder. Others are encouraging their friends to "check in" and make daily posts. I just wish I could read more posts on my phone. Sigh. Anyway, I think I'm about to crash after a day of only 12 hours. Until tomorrow....

That's the kind of day it was. Up and down like a seesaw, I'm feeling seasick! First of all, it didn't help that I opened my eyes at 4:33. Managed to stay in bed until 5:55, then got up. At least it was a very warm morning and sunny. Yay. Got to church at 9:45. It was a special service to end Black History Month, with one of our special choirs whose members are from the Caribbean and Africa. I don't think the neighbourhood was used to the lively nature of the singing! Our guest "preacher" was a human rights lawyer from Jamaica and a friend of mine. He also was co-Consecrator at Communion. I didn't get a chance to talk to him, but did to his husband who has a busy and complicated clerical history (in three denominations). I mentioned that the two of them had now shared two new things: preaching and consecrating.

After church, I waited until 1 to take pills. I wasn't picked up until around 1:50. At least I scored a water bottle in our recycling station (which I didn't even know existed). I asked SuM to toss it in the dishwasher. I also met SuM's sister who's come to visit for a few days.

Spent the afternoon reading, then watched yesterday's game show repeats. The SNL was a repeat, so didn't bother. Tried to catch up on old posts on Slog and added comments. There wasn't too much classical music on the French station but right now I'm revelling in Symphony #1 in C by Brahms (which was used extensively in a movie (title ??? from "Aimez-vous Brahms?" by Francoise Sagan) starring Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Hopkins from the early 60s. It's amazing to see how self-deprecating a woman could be, settling for an older lover who neglected her rather than accept the love of a ::horrors:: younger man!

Okay, the symphony is nearly ended and I'm taking my pills. Ahhhhh.

Even more important - see me fix Brita pitcher first thing in the morning! What a relief. I'm lucky that parts merely flew off when it fell twice to the floor, but nothing leaked. So I washed everything and reassembled it.

There was a layer of snow on the ground when I left but no wind. I arrived at church at 9:30, glad to be early. It was a very special day because Brent was the guest preacher, covering the next two lines of the Lord's Prayer. He and John sat in front of me. It was a wonderful service and many people had come because Brent was there. Amazingly enough, our organist needed to keep upping the volume during our singing of the Lord's Prayer because there were so many people present. After the service, Brent was his usual naughty, teasing self with me. Aww, I miss that. What I also missed was the ::growls in frustration:: the traditional accompaniment to my second fave hymn, "It Is Well With My Soul" because our new music director decided to jazz up the piano. Arrgghh. This was written by a man who'd just lost his wife and family in a shipwreck!!!

Had a lot of time to waste after the service. Jan snagged me some truffles from the dessert table. My ride home arrived at 1:23 and we were on our way. Even though I've put off writing my "confession" on FB, I checked in after an absence of many weeks with a very brief description. Then I took it easy for the rest of the day. Watched last night's SNL and have been listening to the French station continuously. Right now, it's playing Schubert's "Unfinished Symphony". I still have mixed feelings about the piece - and him - but I vividly recall playing it … in 1969!!!

I've swallowed all of my pills and am thinking about bed. I'm also thinking of writing at least one short fic for the Romancing McShep communicy (for Valentine's month). Anyway, I'm happy about all the good things that happened today.

Just don't ask about my vision. Well, I'll answer anyway: deplorable fuzzy white against a snowy charcoal background. Sigh. Naturally, I had editing to do for the church. And lots of emails to answer for the blind group.

But no reading and only basic TV (judge and game shows). At least I slept well - with the heat off, 'cuz I don't know how to regulate it. But I slept all the way to 9 AM, so I was pleased.

Especially around 3 a.m. Gulped two Robax and managed to get a few more hours of sleep. So, there was a layer of fluffy wet snow on the ground, but the temps were hovering around freezing, so I didn't even mind waiting for my ride outside before 9. With my crazy schedule, I was dropped off at church at 9:15. So I had plenty of time to sit around and be social.

We had an old friend as our guest performer today. He used to belong to The Nylons (an a cappella group) and he brought the house down with his singing, especially for the start of Black History Month. I was on duty and managed to create a lovely Communion blessing (loved having 2-3 sets of little kids come to me), but I could feel the pain nibbling away at the endges before the service ended. Two pills later - and fortified by leftover Timbits (donut holes for non-Canadians) - I managed to stay sane until my ride showed up at 1:10. I was home quickly and safely in my cocoon. Received a text from my sis RS about Family Day so I sent her a longish email.

The pain continued to torment me, so I spent time in bed,first watching last night's SNL and then listening to beautiful music. Lots of Ravel tonight. Hoping for lovely sleep and not a repetition of last night. ::crosses fingers::

I was sitting outside at 8:10 for an 8:20 pickup. At least it was 34F and no snow yet. My expected bus cancelled on me, but its replacement (with a funny and charming driver who told me he'd driven me before) arrived at 8:38. He got me to the church exactly at 9 a.m. For an 11 a.m. service. Sigh. At least I didn't mind relaxing and chatting with my friends at a table.

There was tons of sun streaming through the windows - perfect for the light-bulb theme (Epiphany Sunday). The choir sang a sublime "Auld Lang Syne" (not the trad. melody) and our musical guest was from "Come From Away". Church-John thought he looked yummy. He also had a lovely voice.

After church, we all drove to the site of one of my fave restos, under new management. We celebrated Ash's and c-J's birthdays along with 5 others - including Brent and John. I almost never see Brent these days (liberally and figuratively). Unfortunately, my lunch did not agree with me. I'd had mulled wine for my drink and a lovely lobster-shrimp bisque with two soft slices of garlic baguette. Then came Eggs Benny with smoked chicken on a croissant. There was also a side salad, home fries, and a slice of cantaloupe and orange on the plate. Well, here's another thing that getting older means I shouldn't eat: raw onion (even though it tasted so good). I didn't even touch the home fries not that I really cared.

Anyway, c-J took me to a bank machine, then drove me home. When we got in, he figured out my fireplace remote batteries were dead and located the controls on the side. Luckily, my hand is small and I can use them easily. After he left, I really began to suffer gastric distress, so crawled into bed for a mostly miserable two-hour nap. When I got up, I knew there was NO way I'd be writing a review of today's service (so there goes my major resolution). I hope I can do it tomorrow. In the meantime, I have pills I have to swallow with the utmost delicacy. Sigh.