October 14, 2004

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  Busy, busy.

  
  

  

  
  

  I have been very busy doing housework and yardwork. My nephew Brian and his girlfriend Sarah will be visiting from NC this weekend, and my brother and sis-in-law will be coming in from York, PA on friday too, just for the day. We haven't seen Brian since Christmas, neither has my brother. Sarah has never been to our house.

  
  

  They have a wedding to go to in the area, and are using this place as a B&B, and getting a visit in as well. They will be staying in my bedroom and I will be sleeping on the daybed in the living room with the dogs. I am looking forward to seeing them, it really makes me sad to have what is left of my family living so far away now, not like when I was growing up, when the whole extended family lived on the same big piece of land, or just up the street.

  
  

  I have been getting the place all spruced up and spiffy for their visit, and in the process, I have finished off a few unfinished projects. I plan on doing a bit of special cooking, too. Still need to do some grocery shopping and more laundry, and pick up my living room rug from the cleaners. A quick clean-through of the house with the vac and the swiffer, and hopefully I will have the time to pull a few fall/Halloween decorations down out of the attic. I re-did the bathroom decor in a Halloweeny theme, well, it's almost done, still have to put on a few finishing touches. I will post some pics and write about that project later. I guess that any outdoor decorations will have to wait, since it is raining now.

  
  

  Other than that, not much going on. I got my permanent crown on the tooth I had the root canal on. Looks and feels just like new. Actually, I think it is better than the original tooth. Glad that chapter is over. I don'thave to think about the dentist now until March when I go back for cleaning. I will probably get the final two silver fillings in my mouth replaced wiht the new white kind then, as a preventive measure. I have already had the rest done.

  
  

  It seems that the silver fillings are a major cause for cracks in teeth, which is why I now have three crowns in my mouth, and lost one molar. Also they tend to get decay around and under them, because over time they pull away from the tooth. Beside that, there is the consideration that the silver amalgam has traces of mercury, and some people believe it may be the root of many other health problems. I would be happy to suffer through the procedure to get these two teeth refilled, and not have that toxic stuff in there, but with no dental insurance, it has to wait a few more months.

  
  

  There has been one new development that has shaken my world up a bit. My dear friend Andrew was just diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis this week. He was having trouble with pain and blurriness in one eye, and then lost the vision in it altogether. So the doctor sent him to the hospital, where he underwent a bunch of tests for three days, and they finally found out he has MS. Now, in retrospect, he is realizing there have been symptoms for quite some time, but he never made the connection, or thought to get them checked out. He is pretty freaked out by the whole thing, but optimistic that he can eventually overcome the disease by holistic means, in conjunction with the treatment the doctors are prescribing for now. Such a nasty disease, and still such a mystery in many ways. But he is too stubborn to let it get him down, I'm sure.

  
  

  Anyways, that's about all that is going on here. I will leave you with a photo Bernie took of September's almost-full moon. He is still getting used to his new digicam, but taking some awesome photos already. He loves to photograph the moon. This is just one of a whole bunch he took that night. Most of them are of the moon through pine branches and stuff, some really nice ones, but this close-up is just awesome, taken just with the camera's zoom and not a telescope or anything.

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

  Go on, howl, you know you want to!

  
  

  

  
  

  update -- evening: ...still working, got most of the house really clean and shiny. Listened to some great music all afternoon, till Bernie came home and turned on the TV. One CD I just listened to for the first time is a new one I picked up on eBay -- Rick Wakeman, playing classical-type music, mostly on piano, with minimalistic accompaniment of acoustic guitar, electric bass and fretless bass. Gorgeous stuff.

  
  

  Now I think I am going to haul these rugs and comforters to the laundromat so I can put them in the big machine...

  
  

  

  • 6:38 pm
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