PNewL PNewS
Volume 24 No. 1 “All the pnews that phits.” March 2016
First Quarter Update
It has been a
bit of a roller coaster start to the year at my house. Roger tore his
dog’s-equivalent-of-an-ACL while romping in the snow as neighbors were building
a snowman. Fun afternoon resulted in a long-term pain in his leg. We are
sleeping on the floor so Roger doesn’t get inspired to jump up on the bed.
Next, the nice crew (and they were nice) of men came to install new flooring.
(I am trying to do some things to the house to enjoy for years rather than home
improving in time to move. I am not moving anywhere that I know of but it’s
time to bang out a few jobs and now this one is done.) It was painless—they
installed the floor around us. The guys were fast and pleasant and yes,
flooring is crazy expensive, but I am very happy.
Next there was surgery and for a couple days, good drugs to keep Roger quiet. The shave job was dramatic. A few days later, I went to
Mexico and Roger recuperated at Puppy Camp with Bonnie, our angel and the one
who makes my travel possible. This was another trip with Grassroots
International who I traveled with to Brazil a few years back. We went to Oaxaca
and Chiapas, travelling around to meet their partners. It was inspiring and
charming. The relationships are deep and meaningful. The respect on both sides
is visible and heart felt. David, who had been on the Brazil trip, said “They
knocked it out of the park again.” Indeed! I was so pleased to be a part of
this delegation and to see these beautiful parts of Mexico too. Then, I went
off on my own for a few days to the Yucatan where I drove! Saw some ruins! And
even better: Flamingos! It was good fun.
When I came
back, Roger had not made much progress towards healing and when I finally
convinced the vet staff that things really weren’t going well, they let me come
back in and the vet said, “I was afraid of this—it didn’t feel quite right at
the two week check-up” and I wish they had let me come in a week or two ago and
we would be a week or two ahead of where we are now which is recovering from
surgery NUMBER 2. For an unexplained reason, the band (whatever that is)
loosened and his drawer movement (whatever that is) was not right. Now we are on
the road to recovery and he is walking a little on his leg (slowly, on a leash)
and I have some hope, though walking slowly on a leash is not something either
one of us is good at.
Then the painters came and they were fine though said they’d be here early and never were. I am pleased with the paint and the clean crispness of the way things look. Everything is still in boxes though I am making progress there, we are still sleeping on the floor, the mess and inability to find anything is annoying to me who has a high tolerance for this sort of thing, and I have moments of self-pity that bore even me. But as the saying goes, this too shall pass and it has and the sun is out, leaves are leafing, flowers are blooming and all is well.
Then the painters came and they were fine though said they’d be here early and never were. I am pleased with the paint and the clean crispness of the way things look. Everything is still in boxes though I am making progress there, we are still sleeping on the floor, the mess and inability to find anything is annoying to me who has a high tolerance for this sort of thing, and I have moments of self-pity that bore even me. But as the saying goes, this too shall pass and it has and the sun is out, leaves are leafing, flowers are blooming and all is well.
Bring it on, 2nd
Quarter!
Diet Update:
Just thought I should report on the time since Day 12 when last I was telling you about the Whole 30 (The people who wrote it are Hartwig and Hartwig, not Hartwick and Hartwick as I wrote in the last issue.)
After Roger trashed his knee, the diet became less of an issue. I wasn’t going anywhere so I wasn’t tempted by much. One of the ideas of the Whole 30 is rebooting habits, eliminating cravings and snacking. It can get confusing because they do allow some energy bars and nuts which to me fall into the snacking category. These are the things one worries about when sleeping on the floor and worrying about a hopping dog.
One of my
favorite parts of this process, along with losing weight and getting my numbers
in the right place was the new recipes. I can get into a rut and now I have two
new cookbooks and a long list of new websites to rely on to eat “clean.”
A couple months
out, I am trying to stick with the restrictions at home. It works pretty well. I find I do better with the restrictions because I am really not good
at saying “when.” Saying No is easier than saying, I’ll just have a few of
those cheese crackers, thanks Robin! I learned that big time. I also learned
that paying attention to what I eat is the key to doing it right—it’s pretty
much the same as what I just said. Being mindful is really a great idea…when I
remember. And the most practical thing I learned is that if I put a bed of
spinach or other greens at the bottom of a bowl of soup or stew or under
protein or well, anywhere, I sneak in another dose of vegetables. Ta-da!
Things I am Learning & Miscellaneous Observations
• As I am waiting for the printer to print out tax-related documents, I
opened up the online guide to the cell phone I’ve had for over a year and learned
a few things I wanted to know. Yippee.
• Don’t you hate it when a recipe says you can get this in most grocery
stores and you can’t get it at any of your usual haunts?
• I often pull out pages from the newspaper to save til
later—the pages I am actually going to read, since there are plenty I won’t or
more accurately don’t need to. Recently I found a page I had pulled out from
October 2015 (hey, that’s nothing. I’m still toting around some NY Times
magazines from 2013…). The main article is about the new Family Justice
Center—a one-stop location for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
It “streamlines services,” bringing together representatives from a bunch of
different organizations to one building so an already traumatized person
doesn’t have to wander all over town, from one office to the next, to get help.
Smart, eh? I am in a giving circle that is focusing on groups working on
everything from sexting to elder abuse, including sexual assault, domestic
violence and human trafficking so we are really excited about the FJC. That’s
the do-gooder part of my story. On the same page in the newspaper, there is the
newspaper poll, which is a daily question and then a pie chart illustrating the
responses. October 2nd’s question was “Would you buy moonshine
locally?” Yes: 74%, No 26%. This was of interest to me: would this question
show up in the paper of any other place I have lived? And the 26% Nos…is it that
they want to go elsewhere to buy moonshine or they would never buy moonshine or
they don’t have to buy it because Bubba is making it out back? The person at
the liquor store told me that moonshine is going to be available in small
bottles starting in May—that’s when they introduce new products at the ABC
stores. Mark your calendars.
• Today, I called the nice man up the road who has heavy
equipment (I don’t know what it’s called—a four year old probably would know).
I left a message that the driveway got bunged up in this winter’s rains and I would
love it if he could come down and straighten it out. He called right back and
said he was on his way. He fixed it up. He kept going down the road and
returning with loads of dirt and gravel—he said it was our tax money that paid
for it when they graded the road and the rain washed it down where no one was
using it. Then he got down for a chat. First he apologized for not calling me
back (wonder which time it was he was referring to). He said he remembered two
weeks later and by then he was kinda embarrassed. His memory isn’t quite what
it used to be. He had all kinds of stories about places he used to grouse hunt
that are now covered in houses and the roads that used to be dirt and are now
busy paved thoroughfares. It was a gorgeous day and neither of us was in much
of a hurry. Another example of why I like where I live.
• I am hunkered down in the sewing room while the painters
rummage around the house. Roger is still recovering from his second knee
surgery. The floors are in (old dog pee carpet is a distant memory)...I believe
we are on the far side of this mostly self-inflicted pain but it couldn't end
soon enough. Yesterday I put the laptop cord somewhere and can't find it.
Laptop's dead. My passport disappeared into some box and I am going to need it
soon. My calendar is MIA—and I really don’t have a brain for dates any more.
(Editor’s note: All of these were found…eventually. The passport was the final
one to reappear and it was just in time. I was getting really nervous.)
• The worst part of dog ownership is not being able
to explain stuff to them. The other worst part is their life expectancy.
Everything else is perfect, well, mostly.
• One of the funny parts of traveling alone is I wind
up listening to a lot of other people's conversations (it's a mixed bag). I
don’t often wish I were part of them.
• When the vet told me that Roger had to have a second surgery I realized
he's afraid of me (the vet, not Roger)--I told him he could just shoot Roger
and I rather than make us go through this all again. I have to remember I can't
say those kinds of things to people who don't know me very well!
• There was a house fire on my road. I know the people whose house it is—or
should I say was? It’s 40-50% damaged—tragic, though thankfully no one was
hurt, not even the cat though the house sitter may be in a world of hurt along
with the homeowners. I can't imagine how they are feeling. Meanwhile, several people heard about it on the news. I realize I may
be missing something by only listening to NPR and not having TV. Didn't hear the fire trucks, smell smoke or see it on the news.
• I had to go to the County Travel Clinic to get a prescription for malaria
meds and to see if I needed any shots. I did. Typhoid expired three months ago,
tetanus too, and while we’re at it, let’s go for flu shot and Hep B. Ouch. But
I have to say, it’s a pretty cheery spot. Everyone there was so friendly to each
other and me. I had some time to listen to the conversations. There was a new
guy who was being introduced to his fellow employees and everyone was so
welcoming. And the woman who talked to me about shots and mosquitos was
hilarious. They don’t move fast but they sure are pleasant to hang with.
Nothing is so common as the wish to be remarkable.
Shakespeare
