June 7, 2021 Monday--10 am New Planter Boxes Filled!

Good morning! 

The sky teased us with the promise of rain a couple of times but nothing came of it.  We still have a fire watch up here.  So dry the grass is turning brown.

On a trip to my garage (other side of the building that has our parking lot, front door, and the dumpster) I took a picture of all the construction.  That used to be a small field across the street.  Will be more apartment complexes.  That (and the very dry weather) is why I wonder if I will been feeding as many partridges this coming winter...and why I have seen red-winged blackbirds and mallards and geese outside my door this spring.

Anyways, on Wednesday I had another appointment with Elliot Overton via Zoom.  I'm so glad he lets Leah be in the meetings, too...and that he takes his time with me.  Was supposed to be a 40-45 minute meeting and it went about 1 1/2 hours.  He wonders if I don't have both Lymes and Bartonella as they can be companion diseases.  As I forgot about the barn cats being feral, I also remembered that I had the right side of my neck swollen up for maybe two years, Leah thought.

It is difficult for people to understand how much I have disassociated from my body over the last two decades.  The more you focus on the pain the worse it is, you know?  It is the way I have learned to cope with livng in constant pain (and exhaustion).  My way of keeping life as pleasant as possible and not falling into depression.  It's my survival mechanism.  

After all, when you are told by different doctors (even went to the dentist over the swollen neck but my teeth were fine) that there is really nothing they can do and you just have to live with it...and it will probably get worse, if anything...and the pharmaceutical company discontinued the one pain pill many years ago that I could take and not get bad side effects (so long ago I can't remember the name of it--LOL!)...my best route has been to ignore my body as much as possible.  If something new pops up that I can't even ignore (like joints/leg swelling up or any new sharp shooting pains)...well, then I get it checked out if it doesn't go away.  Which I have.  And got some help (swollen leg) but no answers...and the same diagnosis--not sure, nothing to be done, and it will probably get worse.

This is why I am so thrilled to have my new Osteopath, Dr. Kessler, and my Zoom consultations with Elliot.  Between them they are a godsend for me.  They are open-minded, willing to try new ideas, and they listen to me and even make me work to remember more.  (I had forgotten about having psittacosis, mystery bites leaving red circles on my legs when I was young, living in a duplex above a family who let their cats loose outside and the terrible flea infestation that came up the carpet into my apartment and how they bit my legs...many things I never bothered to remember--lol!)  Yes, I have had many opportunities to catch Lymes and/or Bartonella.  More than I thought--LOL!

Anyways, Elliot is investigating more on natural supplements for Bartonella (wants to make sure they won't interfere with my BP medication or the Lymes supplements) and will let me know.  Sounded like he might have a couple of things to add.  I have started out sooo slowly that I was taking about 1/8 to 1/4 of what he wants me to work up to with the tincture, citrate, and thiamine.  That's all on me.  I can have bad reactions, so I add new things slowly and increase slowly.  But that's why I haven't seen much of a reaction yet.  Which is good, though.  Yah--so far so good.

I was extra slow because I had appointments and places to go--but now I don't have anything lined up until my CT scan on the Wednesday the 23rd.  So I have a little over two weeks to increase the doses and not worry about diarrhea or any other bad reaction keeping me from an appointment--LOL!  I'm already taking all three of those without issue now--so I plan to get up to 3/4 of the doses or maybe even full doses (depending on any reactions) by the end of the two weeks.

And Dr. Kessler...she did blood tests and such to check as to how I am doing with the changes and supplements and I will have the CT scan and another urine test...and we'll take it from there.  She thought Lymes and/or Bartonella were a possibilty also.  I think she's more focused right now with finding out why I have blood in my urine.

So, that's what's happening with me and doctors--LOL!  

At least something is happening, right?  ;)

On Thursday Leah showed up with the boys in the later afternoon to drop off the coconut coir packages (for retaining moisture, I guess)...

...and the bags of potting soil.

She came back later that night with a whole bunch of containers of the city compost and filled the planter boxes.  The last of my old soil I had in the garage was used up...layers of compost, potting soil, coconut coir, and a natural fertilizer that Leah stirred all up as she went...and they were ready!  She finished in the dark with the porch light on around 10pm.    

 Oh!  Oh!  Guess what I saw Sunday morning!!

Yes!  A thirteen striped ground squirrel!

I haven't seen one for a couple of years now.  Maybe it got chased out of the field where they are building.  I hope it doesn't go into any of the traps they still have out along the outside walls.  Of course, I put out a little seed later.  I haven't been putting any out since summer seems to have hit us quite violently (in the 90s-100s early June?!).  Other people in the building put out food, so they do get fed.  I am a fall through spring feeder usually...unless the ground squirrels are here!  ;)

Leah picked me up yesterday and we went plant shopping at Baker Nursery.  Was hot!  96?  Around there.  But so nice to be able to be out and about.  First time for me in public (that wasn't a clinic) since long before the pandemic.  Probably a couple of years.  Forgot to take pictures...too busy looking at all the plants and picking out which ones to take home.  :)

Then we stopped by McFamily's to drop off Leah's plants and pick up Ian.  Headed to my place to plant all the babies.

It was hot and Ian was a little grumpy at first, but then he got into it.

Leah did most of the planting.  

What would I do without her!

All my baby plants!

In case anyone is interested (and for me to remember) there are Americana Bright Red geraniums on either end of each planter that Leah picked up for me from Costco weeks ago.  Then left to right: Safari Bolero Marigolds--then an arc of coleus (Colorblaze Royale Alligator Tears, Pineapple Splash, and Kiwi Fern) around the center front purple flower (either a Mini Calbrachon or a Mini Famous Neo--didn't have four of one kind)--and then Bonanza Harmony Marigolds on the right side next to the other Geranium.  

They will fill out and be very bushy!  Will become my wall of plants surrounding my little sanctuary escape!

I have earbuds now for my cell phone so that I can listen to audio books...or can use with my laptop so I can privately listen to anything I want to watch while I am outside.  Whoohoo!  If we ever have a non-windy day I could write letters out there, too.  I have TV trays and clipboards so I could maybe do breezy...which is most days--LOL!   It's the heat that's the issue right now.  Mid 90s now till the weekend when we might get rain.  I sure hope we do!

Anyways, meanwhile...

Ian came in on his own to search for cat toys under the furniture for Annie.  She's delighted today that I left them ALL out so far.  She's already made a few disappear overnight--LOL!  Here she was this morning amoungst her treasures, basking and bathing in the sunlight.

A good snooze is required after all that work cleaning oneself thoroughly.

I don't care how hot it is, I will go sit out today at some point once I have shade.  (They have warnings today about avoiding the sun--UV rays or some such.)  Got to try out those ear buds outside after I water the baby plants this afternoon.  Need to first do a good sweeping of stray dirt, too.  Summer is here for me when I am out on the patio every day tending flowers.  ;)

I haven't been this excited about a patio since Dagan was two years old and we were in a ground floor apartment that looked out to a woods across the parking lot.  I built my own long planter boxes for the sides and bought a couple smaller planters for the front to enclose the patio and then I macramed trellises for both sides that went up to the balcony above us and planted morning glories!  It was so lovely!  And the people who lived above me were happy the morning glories invaded the sides of their balcony, too.

Dagan and I spent a lot of time outside that summer.  Oh, and he also learned how to tame down and feed a skittish chipmunk by hand.  We'd lie down on the carpet by the patio door and crack it open so that Dagan could hold his hand outside--filled with peanuts.  We were very quiet and didn't move.  Took us a long time of doing that every day (after we had given the chipmunk peanuts every day at the same time for a couple of weeks so it expected the peanut delights and was used to us watching from inside).  Must have taken the better part of a week...but finally the chipmunk came and took several peanuts out of his small hand.  I will never forget the silent joy on Dagan's face.  He was so patient for being only about 2 1/2 years old...didn't squeal with delight until the chipmunk had headed across the parking lot back to the woods.  He's always loved animals (like his Mommy).

Well, on June 10th it is my 15 year blogiversary.  Fifteen years!  Goodness!  I may be doing a weekly newsletter these days but I am still blogging.  

Today--increasing dosages, patio time, and some Aleve--LOL!  Thumbs are not too bad so I may get to some letters!  Life is good.  Till next week...

"Bloom where you are planted."

Bishop of Geneva, Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)