sassenach

I read a lot today. Just mentally relaxing. Some personal stuff has been getting to me too much so I took a break .

My lower back has been acting up for three days now. It just won't settle down yet. You have my sympathies folks. I have not had back issues for a long time but this one is worse than tylenol can help. Didn't do anything at all to get it like this either that I can figure out. Waiting it out. Tried stretching it out but that has not done anything helpful either. So, moving slower than usual. Hope you all feel better soon and me too!

In my teens I helped a family , where the father and sons worked building houses, so I helped do clean up after they were done and also worked in their home garden because the mother and daughter ( about my age) but disabled, and was able to bring home day packs of produce and quince fruit home every week and quite frankly it was nice for the dinner table. I made great pies that year! It was a great exchange.

Happy birthday!

Happy Birthday! Just saw this today!

New England thriftiness requires 2.19 a dozen here. Or more depending on brand.

my stove and oven just stopped working during part way through my lunch meal prep..... I sure could use even minor win. Be right handy about now. No hot water for a month either. Trying to just relax tonight though politics and Iran are hot buttons tonight , cant watch fb wall much just now. I must say I am showing amazing fortitude and restraint under these continued conditions.

yes and would hire accountant, lawyer and financial advisors with very good reputations right off the bat. If i were to win any good amount from this next drawing. My book I am writing is about this very thing in these trying times. I think I came up with a good plan and fortunately do team up with some very good people to get things done. ( yea, that is why it is fiction! ) .

OH! New beginnings! May it bring you all the happiness and contentment and feeling of safety you so desire!

vaccine immunity, only, Mt Rider from all I ever read about it in the past.

oh, good , WE2! about being able to pet the cat now. Awesome. It just wanted to be sure it felt safe .

If its a him it might just need a good worming from the vet once you can get him to the vet for a good check up. ( round belly) or you might discover its a momma cat soon. Obviously could get that taken care of the sooner the better but it is at least making lots of progress with Mr WE2 .

Maybe when its warmer you could take a chair out and crochet a dishcloth where he likes to sit and just talk to him occasionally and let him come to you. I did alot of that with my cat when I first got her. I take months to do one small step with her, but she is getting better with her ptsd and shy aloofness and loves her belly rubs and massages ,which really shows her trust level is very good, and will now come sit beside me for her treats and hangs out , but because I am a restless sleeper and its a small twin bed, she tends to sleep in her chair and enjoys the window seat idea here a lot. She has one other little table that has nothing on it, I use it to hold the old office chair steady in part of the living room and that all is her other favorite spot. I use her treat times a lot to get her to sit with me a bit. She purrs like crazy too, she doesnt pester me, she doesnt insist on climbing on me, she doesnt rub against my legs when i walk in and thats good cause I would fall down these days probably if she was in that habit, and she does not come to greet me or would do that like many cats but we are working on stuff and she makes progress. She has her moments of gallivanting and will use side table if they are clear of stuff and doesnt get on kitchen counters at least , she does 'talk' and is really cute about it with me, sometimes its definitely easy to understand her meaning. But all in all she is doing well and trusts me deeply and if she gets scared of noises outside I just talk her down in a calm voice and the next time she hears the same noise, shes a little better about it. If I rush around my place she goes to scared mode and will find safe havens , so with anyone new, it would take a lot of effort to introduce her and they need to be very calm and gentle with her. Most cats are sturdier in those ways. They might march right up to any one and greet them, she is content to hang back and wait to see if you really want to interact. Macy is pretty compassionate. She even gets concerned about some sad country songs, and kittens if she hears them, she would go find them and rescue them, but adult cats. huh. I am pretty sure she wouldnt mind the average dog. So, we are figuring it all out over time. I just really try to be mellow moving around her and when i do go give her attention, keep it smooth. and that helps her a lot. But this all has taken years. Teaching her it was ok for me to pick her up, but she likes it now for sure. So I can go put her down somewhere else and such. Teaching her on the subject of there are no monsters on the floor and such .... It takes a lot of calm patience but once she starts reckoning with it , whatever is bugging her, she makes improvements and eventually it gets very easy to do.

Oh good on Ugly realizing he can start to trust again.. might be able to tame him well enough to get vet care and such for him after a while.

Yep, those carbon monoxide detectors are available at hardware stores, wallyworld and even the local drug store in house repair /stuff aisle if it has one, usually. Sorry that the power went out and ice storms are worse than anything else for actual winter conditions.

Looks like a mature cat facially to me. Muahhahaha on the photo with the angle that caught Ugly's eyes just right so they would glow like that. Give Ugly some time. I appreciate that you are making an effort to care for it.

Problem area ,even if it doesn't affect the thyroid itself and is benign, it can grow, sometimes very quickly and can affect swallowing if it impacts the esophagus and all those parts running down inside the neck, can affect windpipe, etc. If you start having any difficulties breathing or swallowing and its from nothing else, go immediately for a a thorough ultrasound and such. I had one friend who has what I have and while mine has remained tame, within a few months of the discovery of hers , it grew into her larynx area and into her swallowing ability and it had to be taken in very fast surgery as a result. So it is different and depends on the make up of the tumor /cyst, as well. Cancer is not the only concern involving this part of our bodies or thyroid behaviors.

All they had to do was a needle biopsy. I get those every five years on my node on my para thyroid. Did they do a needle biopsy yet?

It sure sounds that way.

Agreed Becca Anne. I am blessed to report I am doing really well at Type 2 diabetes, except for an increase this summer in my neuropathy in right foot , leg, which one feels intensely when they actually recline at night, even when they don't do much during the day anymore, but diet is good and I have lost five pounds , almost down to high school weight . maybe six pounds. Of course at my age and not an athlete these days it sure doesn't look the same, but its much much better now. It has improved my blood pressure levels as well and my walking and such is easier and slowly I replace clothing according to budget situation. My eyes are not blurry and fatigue is not really being caused by the diabetes . But the CFS episode in June resulting from my move efforts and stressors from stalkers and nasty ex landlady, that kicked the neuropathy up which was shocking, but it certainly can be stress as a catalyst, not even having higher blood sugars . It was a shock to realize it and pain level when I lay down can be around a 6 , guage 1-10 used, and it can make it very difficult to go to sleep just because of that. It can last hours before it relaxes, so it can be a real chore to just drift off no matter how ready I am to actually sleep. Insomnia is classic. Good sleep patterns are still elusive but somewhat better.. But consistently my blood sugars are definitely in the normal zone, even low normal according to general guidelines and I actually have to watch it more closely so I don't go too low now. Still, it's very stable and that is a blessing. Not all can manage this, many are much more fragile or even with all the applications , whether type 2 or type 1, it just is not usually that simple. So figuring out what is best individually if its possible and it can take a lot of patience to determine that and time, really helps. My mother was type 1 as an adult, gestational onset. She was also quite strict , but she had some kidney issues. She did her best and it was pretty minor in affect compared to how it can be. I try to keep hydrated consistently. My lupus actually can set things off to the point of very quick fatal levels with kidneys and liver so I try to do things more carefully anyway. But others really go through it with their kidneys but I really don't know particulars because I am not actively dealing with it and have terrible recall for such specifics. Honestly I might recommend a national foundation website membership that has forums particular to some of these side affect disorders that result That in itself can be quite disease to manage. So much of this does progress .. I find many helpful posts on the diabetic group on FB, its not just about games and silly social stuff , so I utilize it for a variety of things. Insurance issues and the like, it all gets discussed in detail and yes they definitely warn folks please consult with your doctors but often many of us are finding the doctors are ignorant, or full of head games and it can take a while to develop a good team locally for management. I sure ran into that here, even as simple as my own individual situation is, there was grave negligence from the start with the VA and I have had pancreatitis which had serious potential to develop DKA situation, and they should have at least sat down and explained basics and they just don't. Neither did local ER. That is not right. No more pancreatitis luckily, being concientious about fluid intake has helped. It helps keep the biochemical things important to DKA in balance, for us. You of course do not want to drink way too much water either. That can also be dangerous. To anyone. I have had friends going through kidney issues and ultimately their failure completely. Dialysis and such. I probably have been very lucky. Others may be more susceptible in that area. I wish you good luck in finding accurate, detailed help. What about the American Kidney Foundation ? Is there a website with forums? AS well as the proper specialists necessary , will they sit down with you and give you a decent consult and explain every thing? I just found out a next generation , very young girl in my extended family, she is four years old, was just diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. This is it's own realm , and it looks like my cousin who is her mother is really doing all she can to learn to help her manage it and teach her. I see lots of success stories but its very particular and changes so rapidly, affected by so many factors that as adults, you tend to be much more stable on once you are done growing up. But it does reduce longevity often . So I hope my tiny cousin can have a full life. I hope she responds with a maturity level that is high enough to be able to manage it well as she grows up, and that can be a challenge! Her parents are great parents and it is a Christian household, so I have hopes all this support will help her do so.

Happy Birthday!

Plus, there are events at some of these malls right now, I would be cautious myself when it comes to this. Just caught wind of another situation with a mall , perhaps Atlanta GA , but folks departed calmly so that was good.

sorry no. I stayed in comfy and warm all day. Where it is 'quiet'. Though, I was working part of the time today on writing the scene for christmas shopping at a mall. Insane , rushing crowds bother me immensely. I usually try to shop in the off times anyway.