In a word....trobbing!

Trobbing' was Ray's word.

My mom's second marriage was to Ray. She was in his first wedding as a bridesmaid and many years later as his bride. After my father and then Ray's wife passed along to whatever is next, the widow and the widower joined forces and were very happy. They were good for each other, and he made her laugh as they shared their 60's and 70's. Flo still misses him and it's been 27 years since he uttered those words...
"My joints are trobbin'!! He had rheumatoid arthritis which has genetic causes. So when I was diagnosed with it, I thought...

Hey! He was my stepfather which is not a blood relative. So how come I got it?

Oh well, just injecting some levity because when I told my mom that 'My tooth is trobbing' it brought her a 'Ray smile' followed by her concern for my pain.

Toothache pain, earaches, and headaches command your attention. It is literally all in your head. Unlike other pain where if you sit down and be still...the pain may cease, at least temporarily.

At 6:30 AM I called my dentist's office expecting to leave a message on their answering machine. Imagine my surprise when a real person answered the phone!! At 11:15 I was sitting in the chair for a diagnosis to check out exactly what tooth problem had become the focal point of my thoughts.

Tap... tap....tap. Does this tooth hurt? No.

Tap...tap...tap. This one? Yowser!

An x-ray later, I have an abscess beneath a crown and I need a ...no-o-o-ooo...

Root Canal! Damn...

Accept the things that I cannot change, change the things that I can, and be smart enough to realize the difference.

I am now on an antibiotic and have two appointments next week to spend somewhere between $600 and $1,000 for a flippin' root canal. But if it stops the 'trobbing' I will happily comply.

And there ya have it. My RA pains have been trumped by a tooth pain....

What a nerve!!! {literally}

Foster Care for the Plants

The cooler weather has arrived along with a mention of the 'F' word...FROST !!! When I look at the beautiful flowers and plants on the deck, I know that it is only a matter of time before they will be gone. Last year I brought my two cedar planters to the school where I taught and 'Green Thumb Marty' nurtured them through the school year. I picked them up around Memorial Day, and they have hung around my house for the spring/summer. This year I am trying to get the green light for more plants to go and winter with the kids. I think it is a win/win situation. The plants brighten up the halls and classrooms, the kids get a sense of 'Mother Nature' , and the plants live longer all the while emitting good vibes into the air. It was on my helper list back in my teaching days. We called it 'The Green Team' and the plants had names, too. 'Shuffle' for the schefalara plant and 'Shakespeare' for the Imperial Palm Tree.

Do you know a teacher who would loan your plants a warm window while you loaned them some plants to observe in the name of Science? It's a teachable moment waiting to happen!!

My mom's gardenia tree and the braided hibiscus will join us on the inside of the house in the hope they may even produce a flower in the darkness of winter.

Yesterday

I spent the tenth anniversary of 9/11 as a regular Sunday for me...taking care of my mom who is now in a sleep mode, and so I watched the tv coverage in my own little corner of the world. There was so much to absorb visually while simultaneously listening to the people reflect about the past. The memorial has several parts...the lone tower standing as high as the twin towers will remind me of the plane flying into it. The two sunken fountains where the World Trade Center Twin Towers originally stood are a perfect memorial in my opinion. Simplistic yet mesmerizing and not ostentatious in any way. As the two reflecting pools are constantly refreshed with the sounds of waterfalls, it is both peaceful and powerful at the same time.

New to me was the documentary about how the waterfront was quickly mobilized as the exit strategy. The 'all call' issued by the US Coast Guard for people with boats was prompt and effective. You can watch this 12 minute movie on You Tube. It is called 'Boatlift' and is narrated by Tom Hanks.

I am truly amazed at the very fact that the whole thing actually happened. It remains incomprehensible to me that there could be such complicated planning to cause this overwhelming devastation that actually resulted in the Twin Towers totally collapsing. The loss of the buildings in no way compared to the human loss and suffering that resulted. How do you move on after that?
We do this together.

Take a Guess!

First day of school, and I am off to the retiree's brunch. Wahoo!
Here's a challenge for now:
This is a ceramic bank [about 8 or 9 inches in height] that I put loose change into whenever I have some. I also have a ceramic piggy bank, too. Not very long after I began to squalor away my spare change, I decided to put the nickels, dimes, and pennies in the piggy bank and the quarters in this blue one. As it built over an unknown period of time, it finally reached the top. I brought the quarter bank into the real bank to 'Show me the money!!'
What is your guess as to what the quarters' grand total was?

The total was.....$175!!!!

Goodbye to August!

August is my least favorite month. It is hot...I hate hot. As a teacher, there was a severe shortage of money in August as the cash flow had been dormant for a couple of months. Perhaps another one or two bad vibes...for me.

In the past few weeks, I attended a wedding, a funeral, a movie, did some couch shopping, read a book, taught a safe driving class, had the winning team on Expedition Impossible, took care of Flo, and wished I would have more energy than I do.

Life goes on and I am happy to welcome September!