Staying above water

A winter view of Bellingham Bay

We, here in the Pacific Northwest, are in the midst of a strong atmospheric river, coming up from Hawaii, sometimes called a "Pineapple Express" because of it. We have had several inches of rain already, but we here are not getting the worst of it. Many places south of us have gotten much more rain, with subsequent mudslides and rivers overflowing their banks. Right now we are having a short respite, but tomorrow we are supposed to get many more inches of rain, right here in Bellingham (I started to say, "right here in River City," but considering our wet situation, it didn't seem appropriate.

But mainly I am managing to take everything in stride. Yesterday I got my first massage in six weeks, and it was really helpful. I slept for over nine hours last night, restful and dreamless sleep. Tomorrow I will take a bus to the new Senior Center for a yoga class, which also helps me immeasurably. Both my guy and I signed up again for the same health coverage we had last year; it covers the new medication his doctor will be putting him on, so we are happy about that. Hopefully he will tolerate it with few side effects. It's a monthly shot, rather than daily pills. (It's more expensive, but what isn't?)

A long-time friend has gifted me with a Jacque Lawson Advent Calendar that I access daily and enjoy it tremendously. I spend hours every day with it, playing games, puzzles, and looking for a different elf every day hiding in the landscape. It portrays a winter wonderland in England and is filled with delights.

I still have to get all my bills paid and spend some time doing useful stuff online, but I tend to put that off in order to play on the laptop. I have two blogs I write each week, this one and the Sunday one, so here it is, my Tuesday ruminations. Hope you're having a good time wherever you are living. I think I've almost had my fill of rain, but at least it's warm.

(smile)

Birthday celebration

Threesome at Scotty Brown's

 These two lovely ladies treated me to a wonderful lunch at one of my favorite places to eat in Bellingham, Scotty Brown's. They said I could pick the place and do exactly what I wanted, before and after, and I chose this place because I know it so well. (It's where Lily and I usually end up when we eat out.) I enjoyed the Cowboy Salad and they had (Frankie) veggie burgers and (Michelle) fish tacos. I'm not someone who eats out often, but it seems like I've been doing a lot of it during Thanksgiving and the holidays, and we're just now getting started, with the entire month of December, probably mostly a celebration of food. On Saturday I enjoyed Korean food with my friend Steve, then Sunday and Monday were breakfast and lunch with my friend John. Today was the delightful meal with Frankie and Michelle. I certainly am not feeling hungry right now!

To top off the wonderful meal at Scotty's, we shared a dessert three ways, a super delicious chocolate and coffee ice cream delight. It was so big I wondered how in the world one person could eat so much, and the waitperson said it was a teeny big larger just for us. We were all groaning from the treat, and all of us figured we might have already consumed our day's calories. And then some, I suspect. Good thing this only comes around once a year, right?

Thank you, ladies!

Oh wait.... they have birthdays, too. Hopefully I'll be ready for the next one; Michelle's is at the end of the month. I'll take a deep breath and gird my loins...

(smile)

Thanksgiving is finally here

Such a pretty scene

I am beginning to have more problems writing on my laptop to make these posts work as well as they once did. The problems is that my eyes just don't want to work as well as I need them to. And I am in a bit of a denial about how bad my eyesight is getting. I only drive now in the middle of the day when the weather is perfectly sunny and it makes it possible to see some things more clearly. Grey skies and rain make it almost impossible, so I don't even try.

I forgot about this post until it was time for bed, meaning that my eyes have gotten more tired and everything is fuzzy. It doesn't help, either, when I have to back up and retype words because my fingers don't find the keys as easily, either. At least my eyes might not be working as well, but my brain still seems to be functioning, for the moment at least. My cognition is paramount to my belief that I can weather whatever happens to the rest of me. Isn't what I consider to be the "me" that I care most about?

I will be enjoying my holiday with my partner, and I can make almost anything feel worthwhile if I just keep on keeping on with whatever I have still working. I am going to finish this post early, so I can make my way to sleep.

(smile)

Of all the things that might have happened to me, this is the hardest to deal with: not having my ability to see well, but at least I can still be "me" in my daily life. I don't need a walker or any physical supports, but I do need more time to write and make a sensible post. This might not be what you were expecting, because I want to be positive so that these posts can lift me up, a well as my readers.

A new wrinkle

Another red maple

Almost all these pretty maple leaves are gone, since we have had days and days of rain and wind, with little letup. This picture was taken last week when we had a few hours of sunshine. And then the rain returned, and it hasn't left yet. Oh weil, it's the reason we are not inundated with massive numbers of new residents. No place seems to have everything just right all the time, does it? I'm happy with where we are living, and hope we can remain for as long as we need it.

A few days ago, I was minding my own business and turned in such a manner that I managed to do what we used to call "throw my back out." Just like that, for no reason I could recall, it started to hurt in a familiar spot in my lower back. Last winter, you might remember, I took a flying airborne leap when I slipped on the ice and landed on my back. I was laid up for days, if not weeks, but eventually it got better. This is in the same general area, the sacroiliac joint, and nothing I did this time seemed to make it stop hurting. It wasn't enough to take any medication, but I did stop my usual exercises. The Tibetan Rites, which I do every moorning, had to be modified just to be able to finish them. If you don't remember what they are, here's a little reminder. Most of the time I have no trouble doing them. For the first time in days, I am able to spend several hours without any residual pain. But if I arch my back to feel the spot, yep, it's still there.

I don't know for sure if the pain is serious, or if will get better on its own, or if it will join those little annoying body parts that continue to hurt and eventually force me to change or modify my routine. It's one of the side effects of aging, I suspect, that all of us who are fortunate to reach our eighties need to learn to embrace. Getting older happens, if we are one of the lucky ones. I have learned that keeping moving is important to retaining my mobility. When I first climb out of bed in the morning, I realize that my small initial steps are similar to those of a toddler. My confidence grows as I continue to take up my usual morning routine, and my steps become more like a normal elder takes. Life is quite an adventure, isn't it?

Hope you have a good week, and that you find some way to measure your continuing progress towards health and happiness. That's what I'm doing, too!

:-)

After the storm

Almost all the leaves gone

Yes, that picture I posted last week at this time shows the beautiful maple leaves on my favorite tree were pretty and mostly there. Today, when I went back by the tree, you can see that the windstorm and rain took almost all of them away. It's still looking pretty, but I'll be taking more pictures of the tree in the spring when the next generation of leaves emerges. And we start the annual cycle again.

It's a very pretty day today, with some sun and clouds, but no rain. Tomorrow and for the rest of the week, it starts again to give us lots of rain and a little breeze, too. I don't mind, especially when the temperatures are mild (in the fifties, mostly) and we don't yet need to deal with ice. That's ahead, but for now I had a lovely three-mile walk and enjoyed myself very much.

So far, my hip is behaving and not getting me any problems, so that's a real plus. I deliberated about whether to try the longer walk; I'm glad I did and found everything working properly. In less than a month, I'll be marking the passage of yet another year with a birthday, and being extremely happy that things are still hanging together in my old bones. I do, of course, have days when I'm dealing with discomfort, but as long as I pay attention and don't overdo it, I seem to be doing well.

Yesterday would have been my son Chris' birthday, reminding me that all those years ago (more than sixty) when I was getting ready to become a mother, it was a very different world: no mobile phones or television, just cloth diapers, wringer washers, and a rather rickety apartment where we lived. My husband at the time, Derald, was in the Air Force and we had a place away from the air base, surrounded by mostly Spanish speakers. We were living in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. We lived only a few blocks from the beach, and I remember tying strips of cloth together to make a sort of carrier for Chris. These days you can buy them, but back then they weren't even invented yet. Or, at least, not like the ones you see today. I'm sure I wasn't the first mother to strap an infant to her back, but I felt invincible and clever. I also learned quickly why you need to be able to take it off in a hurry.

It was a gentle time, however, and I have many good memories of those "salad" days when we had so little. We were healthy, happy, and everything we needed. 

And now the world is so chaotic and everything is interconnected. I'm glad I got to experience that life, but I prefer today's advantages. And the internet especially.

(smile)

November is here

Favorite tree in full color

 Yesterday when John dropped me off at Cornwall Park and I took my usual route home, I saw that my favorite maple tree has finally turned color. When I walked past it on October 20 and took a picture, the leaves were lighter but not one had gained any color. Not so yesterday: I was thrilled that I was able to capture the tree now, before we get an expected windstorm with lots of rain. A typical scenario that leads to the loss of many of these beautiful colorful leaves.

Today I also drove the few blocks to my usual hairstylist. It had been almost two months since my last cut, and I was more than a little desperate for relief. I also asked her to cut it a little shorter in the back, since it seems like no time at all before it's hanging off my collars. It's just right, but it sure seems like my hair grows faster in the cooler weather. But maybe it's just that I don't notice it as much. Frankly, I can no longer see what it looks like from the mirror; all I can see it the vague outline of the new cut. Very disappointing to be losing my sight like this, but what can be done about it? I can still see well enough to walk to the bus, write these posts, and basically do my volunteer activities at the Senior Center. For now, I am quite happy with my life and physical condition.

Tomorrow I have my weekly yoga class at the Senior Center. I look forward to it every week and am glad the class is in the morning. I could go to the Monday session, too, but it doesn't even start until 2:00 pm and considering the bus ride, I would be coming home in the dark, now that we are back on Pacific Standard Time.

So, here I am settling into my favorite easy chair and feeling the lack of a beer. Forgot to check whether that little treat would be available; I'll be just fine without it,  but instead I'll find something to enjoy, like lemonade. Life is good right now.

(smile)

Spooky days are here again

My downstairs neighbor awhile ago

I am not sure when the person who lived right downstairs from us moved out, but he was there long enough for me to enjoy his seasonal decorations for a few years. I think he grew those pumpkins in his plot in the community garden some of us shared. I no longer plant anything in it, as I got very tired of all the slugs getting first dibs on the best vegetables. I tried to make them drink beer out of shallow containers, because I learned that they love beer and would drown themselves in it. But it still seemed like a lot of work and frustration, and finally after years of all kinds of tricks, I gave up. I have shared the beer trick with others, some of whom swear by it.

As I am aging, I notice that I am more choosy about how I spend my time, and have given up many activities that I once thought were simply part of me and wouldn't ever stop. Until I began to lose my eyesight, and as it has continued to slip away, I have found other things that give me pleasure. Fortunately, I can still write and read blogs, which will eventually leave me, so I am taking advantage every day that I can see well enough to create and post these missives. Even when I have little to write about. I can still read books on my Kindle, but it's a lot of work to get through a complete novel or memoir (my two favorites), so that also is curtailed. 

I am still able to volunteer in the lunch room at the Senior Center, so that has helped to keep me socially active. Some of my best friends these days work with me, and we share the lunch room duties. I can also take the bus to my yoga class across town, and I've grown familiar with the route and the drivers. I feel a part of my community in ways that I cherish every day.

John, me, Michelle and Gene

This morning's picture was taken at the coffee shop today, when my usual coffee shop partner John invited Michelle and Gene to join us. Gene is in mourning for his long-time girlfriend, Paula, who died this week in her late eighties. He cared for her daily during the last few months, and I had heard that she was dying. I just didn't know her well enough to visit, but it was wonderful to see Gene again and tell stories we remembered about Paula. Michelle flew into Bellingham from her home on the West Coast to support Gene.

The three of them decided to go to a local restaurant for breakfast, but I declined and took the bus home. I'm glad I did, because it began to rain and I wasn't dressed for it. I am once again feel with happiness because of all the wonderful people who surround me with love. Gratitude abounds.

:-)