Harsh Words, Soft Beehive Hat

Yesterday was a hard day.  I won’t call it a bad day, because in the end we accomplished what was necessary, but it was hard. 
We made some decisions yesterday, as a family, about a direction for our near future.  We set out to put those decisions into action.  In the process, I walked a long [...]

The Count

17 and 1/2 pills.  I hadn’t counted in a while, and I was a little surprised.  It is truly distilled to a minimum: 
1.  Prednisone takes five tablets right now, a 5 mg and four 1 mg, to make up my 9 mg dosage.  I am on a very slow, gradual taper.  In two more weeks [...]

Hiding Bodies

I started a post and stored it away after the first paragraph.  That’s unusual for me.  There are some topics that cannot be approached here.  Recently I had a discussion with a friend who encouraged me to write fiction.  I had mentioned my reluctance to write about one area of my life, and she reminded [...]

Luck and Simple Progress

I am due for another round of rituximab next week and then two weeks later.  I must cancel.  I am not sick.  I mean, there is no indication that a flare is coming soon.  I am cheering very quietly, trying not to disrupt the natural flow of good luck here.  Speaking of luck, it may [...]

Diamonds, Health and Houses

The word is out.  The Congressional Budget Office has scored the complete health care reform bill and it definitely looks affordable, hundreds of billions less than previous estimates.  Ezra Klein has summarized the results for WashingtonPost.com (Ezra Klein – Primary Documents: The Congressional Budget Office’s Score of the HELP Bill).  Definitely worth reading his brief [...]

Riverbend and Early Rising

It is the end of Riverbend Festival week in Chattanooga.  The festival lasts 10 days, and attracts tens of thousands to its varied musical performances.  Even in years when I choose to avoid the heat and crowds, I can feel the excitement in the air.  Traffic patterns change, new faces appear in familiar places, television coverage [...]

Pick Up the Phone

Just when I thought my biggest worry today would be the aches and pains from yesterday’s cleaning, there’s more news from the Senate’s health care struggles. 
A majority of Americans support having a public plan available for folks who cannot get health care insurance through their employers and who cannot afford to buy it on the [...]

Drive-By Blogging

A quick “Hurray” for the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor.  Sandra Day O’Conner was the graduation speaker at my medical school graduation (Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, 1982).  It was exciting even though I wasn’t a huge fan.  Every indication of our country dragging its tired political butt into the next century is to be celebrated.  [...]

Clearing it Out and Taking it Off

It’s another cloudy morning, and I don’t mind.  I have “stuff” to do, and the weather doesn’t matter.  I have bright stuff in my mind, and the overcast sky can’t dampen that.
Yesterday, an organization that handles all sorts of issues relating to homelessness in Chattanooga sent their crew to pick up furniture that I’m donating.  It cleared my [...]

Monday Morning, da da, da da da-ta

A few morning thoughts:
It’s not raining.  Yayyyy.  That will change later in the day, but I am happy for a respite from the extremely wet weather we’ve endured lately.  I can hear birds singing outside my bedroom, probably the robin and her family.  She has been in residence, frequently bumping my windows, for a couple [...]