June 7, 2026 Sunday

Greetings!

Going to be a very brief chat today.  No one has gotten sick since Ian.  (Knock on wood.)  Was a quiet week.  I set up letters owed (11) and worked on those off and on depending on the hand and eye good and bad days.  I think I have five left.  I do love handwriting snail mail so much.  With my cranky hand I have put the claim that fountain pens are easier to write with to the real test.  Yes, they are.  I have also found that writing by hand requires less movement and is much easier than pressing on keys to type.  Good to know.

I have been having troubles getting pictures from my cell phone to my laptop for some reason, so I don't have pictures this week at all.  Not that I would have had much to show--lol!  Made the soup and am still enjoying it.  After a day or so it becomes almost a stew.  So good!

Luckily, I had taken a picture of the next Wild Card before the technical troubles.  A very deep question this week.

Striving to become the best soul I can be while I am here.  Listening to my inner guidance.  The deepest spiritual lessons come from the worst that happens to me.  Be honest.  Especially with myself--be painfully honest.  Spread good energy as much as I can.  Try to live each day like it is my last.  

Obviously hard for me to put my life's path in just one sentence--lol!  These are the things I think about and have since I was a small child.  I will try to link a memory from when I was five from my other blog.  

Teddy Bear On The Bible

Let me know if the link works. If not you can find it on my other stories blog above on the right. 

OMGoodness!  I just now got one picture to come through manually for me that took about an hour to show up!!  I will end with cat bliss--lol!

Till next week.  *love and hugs from Fargo*

May 31, 2026 Sunday

Greetings!

Was a really hot week in the low 90s.  If I opened the window Allie disappeared in a flash!

She did quit hiding in the studio and went to "her" chair to pout.

But I knew that her bottomless love of her new cat couch would beckon to her and I hoped it would win over her unreasonable fear of the wind coming through the screen.  It did.  

But it took her two days until she could actually sleep up there and not be sitting on alert during her precious afternoon naps--lol!  She's okay with the window being open now.  Silly cat.  

Last weekend Dagan and Leah came down and put together the new wall shelf unit.  It is the same as the old one.  But, much like the tall skinny drawer units from Ikea, it is not the same color.  Doesn't matter to me.

We need the long metal brackets to attach it to the wall.  We have the one half on the back of the old one, but the other half is packed away somewhere.  Leah was going to pick up two of them this last week, but I forgot to ask her if she did.  We cancelled any work down here for this weekend.  Well, I did.  Ian had been sick with a fever and it seemed like a good idea for us to isolate (don't want t get sick if I can help it) and Dagan and Leah have been good about coming down every weekend to work on my apartment so I told them they could use a weekend off, too.  We shall continue next weekend.

We'll hang the two shelf units and then move some other things around.  The two paper shelves we got off of Facebook marketplace were just shoved into the bottoms of the hutches.

I want them in the bookcase next to the door.

In the narrower bookcases in the corner of the room...

...I hope to fit all the art, craft and calligraphy books and binders.  Most of them are currently stacked in boxes right outside of my bathroom door.

There's a lot to move around and many shelves to install.  I could use the help, that's for sure.  But this weekend was a weekend off.  :)

Wild Card of the week.

We didn't have a real "hometown" with a main street or a downtown.  I grew up in a sprawling new suburb of Minneapolis called Fridley.  The thing I appreciate now that we had when we were kids was the freedom to roam (run wild) all over the neighborhood.  People didn't lock their doors.  All the moms kept an eye on all the kids.  We didn't have to be home until dusk and knew all the kids in the neighborhood.  We had our favorite TV shows before and after school but when they weren't on we were either outside or in our rooms doing or making something.  In the evenings when you only had the one TV the parents decided what to watch...and there were only 5 channels to pick from--lol!  

By the time I was in senior high that world had changed and my dad had the Vietnam War on the news every night while we were eating dinner.  The world got smaller.  The draft hung over the boys in school.  Yes, in grade school we did the curl up under your desk A-bomb drills, but I was too young to truly realize what they really meant and they just seemed so foolish.  Even I knew if a bomb landed on you being under your desk wasn't going to save you--lol!  I think I liked it better when the world seemed larger and less scary, to be honest.  That's what I appreciate now.

Meanwhile, I will be making some beef, bean, and veggie soup in the crock pot.  Finished laundry.  Ian is feeling better and we're hoping no one else gets it, whatever it was.  Allie has accepted the North Dakota wind.  I am feeling pretty good...at least no worse.  The one eye issue still slows me down in some areas, but I am doing okay.  Won't be too long and I will be deep into unpacking and organizing.  Life is good.  Till next week.  Love and hugs from Fargo!

May 23, 2026 Sunday

Greetings!

Been another R&R week really.  Met my new rheumatologist on Monday.  Really like her!  She asked a ton of good questions, was a good listener, and had a good sense of humor.  Good.  Good.  Good.  Afterwards she sent me to the lab and to x-ray.  Had 18 vials of blood drawn and then x-rays of my lower back.  I go back June 10th.  She said it will probably take a couple of weeks for her to get all the test results back.  She told me many things it could be but until she got the test results back she wouldn't know how to treat it.  I like a doctor in detective mode.  

What we are doing right now is she told me that usually if a person is on the lowest dose of oral steroid (5mg) they usually don't get the side effects.  The low dose doesn't help with a lot of things but it often will help with the kind of hand swelling I have.  She wanted me to try it.  The dose is so low that if I get any side effects at all I can just quit.  So, I have been trying that for several days.  So far no bad reactions and possibly even a tiny bit less pain and swelling.  (I have good and bad days so it could just be my optimism--lol!)  But so far, so good.

Allie in the morning waiting for me to raise the blind.

Looking a big annoyed when it takes me a while to get the touchy app going on my cell phone--lol!

She lives the diva life, eh?

Last weekend Dagan and Leah unearthed the studio furniture that had been in the storage room.  The three drawer units.  Two that live under the taller die-cutting machine table in the corner and the taller skinny drawers right next to it that matches the lighter colored one.  

Those three I purchased years ago and IKEA didn't have the same color anymore but they still had the same size and shape of the taller skinny one for me.  

The wall shelf unit I bought on Amazon maybe 11-12 years ago they set in front of the art table that sits in front of the window.

I was shocked that Amazon still sold the same exact wall shelf unit and bought a second one.  They found the box and set it on the center table that used to be my kitchen table but will now be an additional art table--whoohoo!  The plan is for them to put the second wall shelf together today.

You may have noticed that they brought in a few boxes to put on the two tables on that wall.  I haven't started to unpack them yet, though.  Will start when the wall shelves are hung up either this week or next week...depending on time and energy of D&L  And of myself, of course--lol!

I got food poisoning yesterday.  My own fault for trying to eat something past its prime.  Duh!  The retribution was swift and memorable.  (I don't think I will want to eat hollandaise sauce again any time soon.)  

I ordered another crate pad type bed for Allie that is supposed to self-warm.  My guess is that it actually does--lol!

I got her a couple of new beds so she will have a couple for in the studio--new or old, doesn't matter.  She's a girl who likes her beds.

I drew this Wild Card and have been thinking on it since yesterday.  The only thing I can think if is probably the most typical answer most people have.  Listening to that negative voice in your head.

That voice that tells you you can't do this or that well enough...or that gets you to worrying about things you have no control over that just cause you loss of sleep and don't help anything (like before surgeries--lol!).  What about you? 

Of course not listening to that little voice in my head telling me maybe I shouldn't eat that and just throw it out...well, that got in my way big time yesterday--ROFL!

I'll leave you with happy Allie after I open the blind.

The light still bothers my eyes a bit so I don't open it all the way, but she is happy to watch the leaves dance in the window well.

We are supposed to head into 80s and even 90s!?  Goodness!  

Till next week, my friends.  

May 17, 2026 Sunday

Greetings!

Yes.  Slowly feeling better.

Went back to see Dr. Anderson on Tuesday.  He was pleased with how everything is looking so far.  Just need to heal and we'll find out how much vision I get back over time.  I can already see big shapes that move and shift around.  I couldn't see anything at all before the surgery, so there is hope.  Seeing anything at all seems like a miracle to me.  :)

Been a total R&R week.

Allie is still in love with her cat couch.

I was finally able to hand write again so worked on letters owed all week.  My hand has been a bit more swollen and painful.  Still not up to much typing at all.  Glad I should finally get to see the new-to-me rheumatologist tomorrow.  Hoping she might have some new ideas on how to deal with all this inflammation. 

As you can see, I wasn't up to much this past week.  Still recovering and dealing with headaches, but doing okay. 

Wild card for this week:

I guess I have always assumed the universe is infinite.  The idea of it not being infinite and actually being smaller and more limited sounds scarier to me--lol!  I like the idea that we don't know everything and that the earth itself is just a spec in the vastness of space.  Puts things in perspective for me.  ;)  How about you?

I plan another week of R&R.  Chat again next week, my friends.  :)

May 10, 2026 Sunday

Greetings!

Been a long quiet week.  Surgery Monday was around 4.5 to 5 hours.  Was back to see him Tuesday morning.  He said it took him 3 hours to unfold and uncrinkle my retina.  Oddly, my eye didn't swell shut until Tuesday evening. 

Allie's highlight of the week was getting her new cat couch.  She has spent most of every day up there luxuriating in her new favorite spot.  Unlike the other cat bed she won't step in, she practically jumped into the new cat couch and has spent most of her days and nights there.

I spent my days and nights doing a lot of sleeping.  Bad headache and eye pain...so just enduring and taking it easy.

Saturday Dagan, Leah, and the boys came down to put together the three studio tables!

Sunday--Mother's Day...they brought me flowers!

Normally, I don't like getting cut flowers but they saw how wildly colorful these were, know how much I love color, and picked all of them out for me to cheer me up after such a rough week.

As of last night I am finally able to open my eye partially.

Leah and I go back to see Dr. Anderson on Tuesday.  Sounded like I wouldn't be getting the silicone oil removed for 3-6 months.  He did sound hopeful that I could maybe have some vision returned, but we won't know for some time, I guess.  It's been swollen shut all week, but I can see more light and dark than I could and that is something!  I'll know more how he thinks things are going after Tuesday.  

The headache pain is a bit less by today.  I didn't type or write all week.  When I moved the good eye the other eye moved with it and hurt...a lot.  So I spent days trying not to move my eyes--lol!  Kept them closed a lot...dozed a lot.  But that is gradually improving.  

With all this eye stuff going on I had forgotten about the Wild Cards.

The first vivid smell I remember from when I was a little girl in the early 50s was getting a permanent.  What a horrible, horrible smell!  My dad would complain that the whole house stunk for days.  My google photo with the curly hair was not with a permanent.  That was with my mom setting it in pin curls.  I suppose every little girl with stick-straight hair wishes she had curls.  But I didn't wish it enough to want a permanent--lol!  What smell gives you a vivid memory?

I'll leave you with Allie in her favorite spot in the whole world.

Thinking positive.  Slowly feeling better.  Dagan and Leah even said I finally looked better today.  Thank you for every healing thought, prayer, or good wishes.  I should be feeling a lot better by next week.  Till then....

May 3, 2026 Sunday

Greetings!

Dagan and Leah were down last Sunday and a lot of things got moved into temporary spots.  My shower curtains.

The rust-colored art and craft rollie carts can move back and forth from the studio.

Stacks of moving boxes and trash boxes and boxes full of packing paper went to recycling.

I finally changed my shower curtain!

Moved the rollie chairs in the studio over into the back of the new table.

One paper rack I don't need after all and the tops of the Billy bookcases that don't fit will be taken away soon. 

Just stuck things on shelves to get them off the floor.

It's a whole lot emptier in the studio!

Appliances now stored under the shelves in the laundry room.

Plant pots stored up on the one dresser.

Things cleared out!

In the storage room, too!

I even finally had Leah change my smart watch band, too.

Busy day.

Monday.  Saw Dr. Anderson.  My eye was even worse.  Need surgery ASAP.  Am having it tomorrow.  Monday May4th.  Both eyes.  Going to have the laser surgery to repair the tear in the good eye and then a long complicated surgery on my bad eye to attempt to save the retina.  Will be a long surgery so I am going to be under general anesthesia. 

I can try to explain what I remember and basically understand.  My detached retina has been folding and folding up on itself so it might not be able to be flattened out again.  I have a lot of debris and such floating about in the bad eye that he is going to try to clear out as much as he can.  Might send fluid to be evaluated.  The macular puckers in the back of my eye...I think he is going to try to peel away and/or flatten out somehow.  Then he is going to fill my eye with silicone to hold the shape and maybe flatten retina and puckers?  I will need another surgery to remove the silicone, but I forgot to ask when.  I have a post-op the very next morning and another on the 12th.  

My good eye should be blurry for a day or so and then be fine.

Odds of getting sight back in the bad eye are not very hopeful, but he is going to try.

Had to reschedule the new rheumatologist again for the 18th.

I can't tell you what a relief it was to know he is going to do the retina repair on my good eye!

I'm always nervous before surgeries.  Wish me luck.

April 26, 2026 Sunday

Greetings!

Well, Dagan and Leah were down last Sunday.  Dagan cleaned my bathroom, the floor, vacuumed, and washed the bathroom rugs.  Leah attached the tall furniture to the walls in the living room, put bumper tape on my end tables where my laptop table leg rubs against them, adjusted ceiling vents, and made me dinner.  

I had ordered Allie a new cat bed with a removable cushion.  We were shocked at how small the box was.  

I promised Liam I wouldn't cut it open until he and Ian could be there.

Was pretty funny and not easy to pull out of the bag!

The cushion flew away--lol!

Did Allie like it?

She refused to step in it--lol!

I did moved it on the floor behind her red chair and have caught her smelling it a couple of times.  

Sunday night...sudden rash under one boob.  Google to the rescue.  Some people develop rashes from being on steroids.  My luck, eh?

Monday.  Other boob got involved overnight.  Called the eye center.  My steroid luck had run out.  Phone tag.  Weaning me off of them in six days--by tonight, actually.  

Leah's meeting tomorrow was cancelled, so we are good to go...if my guts are okay to leave here. 

Tuesday.  Red, burning rash now top of legs and in delicate places--lol!  Told me if goes into mouth or eyes go into emergency.  

Allie loving leaves on a windy day.

Wednesday.  87 degrees so cranked open the window.  The whistling wind scared Allie to death and she hid in the studio almost all day.  Such a silly cat.

Started the gut-numbing pills to end the diarrhea.  Fingers crossed they will work.

Planning what I want moved around for temporary storage.  

Friday.  I moved the glass folding tables into the laundry room.

Got Dagan to grab me that taller one, too, from the studio.

Need a place to store the small appliances that belong in the pantry.  Stuff on the red-legged table and from underneath.  Then they can take that table apart.  I love that little red-legged table but no room for it anymore.  

Going to use the top of a dresser in the living room...

...to hold all these plant pots that have been sitting on the floor outside my door all these months.  They are from IKEA and will have fake plants in them just for some greenery.  The two bags on top of the dresser are full of the fake plants, I believe.

And I made a spot in the laundry room to move the stack of shower curtain drawers.

We need to get rid of all those moving boxes stacked here and there...and boxes full of packing paper...and the top pieces that won't fit the bookcases.  Get it all out of here.  Recycling or whatever.  Need to make space so we can even move things around down here.  

Saturday.  Very sad.  Besides the rashes...woke up to my normal looking hand not looking normal again.  Joint swollen, turning red, and more painful again.  Toes stiff, knees swollen, sinuses a bit clogged again, stiffer all over.....and I am not even finished weaning off the steroids until the last one tonight.

I quick took a picture in case the eye doctor wants to see how quickly things change.

So...the strict diet has had nothing to do with anything at all.  Was just the steroids that made any real changes to the inflammation.  Now that is no longer an option.  I am back to square one on testing foods and eliminating foods that might be an issue for me.  

Tomorrow is the appointment with the eye doctor.  If they are going to be able to do surgery it will probably have to be ASAP.  Obviously.  The inflammation appears to be coming back with a vengeance...even adding special touches like burning rashes where the sun don't shine.         

Man!  Do I ever need to see some progress made on the apartment today.  I really, really, really do.  Waking up to my swelling hand hurting more again out of the blue...that is worse than the blind eye, to be honest.  Never expected that.  I am not even off the steroids yet!  To say that took the wind out of my optimism sails is an understatement. 

Sorry.  I am very sad this morning.  

Exhausted.  

I will know more tomorrow...good or bad news.

Will deal with whatever I have to deal with.  As we all do.  

Thanks for every prayer, healing thought, good wishes.  I've always felt your support.  Love you all!  Positive thoughts.