July 19, 2026 Sunday

Greetings!

We cleared the path from my front door to the storage room door last weekend.  Still need to remove the orange rug and tape down the round rug, but I plan to keep things clear so that the cart can be pulled out when we need to get to things in the storage room--which will eventually have shelves down the wall on the right side.

TaDa!!  New Breville on the new cart--which didn't fit in the laundry room.

As I had hoped, all my small appliances and Leah's big crock pot fit underneath.  Nice!

My toaster was currently in the kitchen but there's room for that, too.

Have I used it yet?  Nope.  Been reading the manual and I ordered three Breville cookbooks that also explain the various uses.  Two have arrived so far.  The instruction booklet that came with it has no recipes at all.  Reading is very slow for me right now.  Am I ever glad I bought that new magnifying glass!  LOL!

Also busy doing baby step sessions in the studio.  All surface areas come into play--lol!  Even Allie's litter box.

Nine more boxes were hauled in for me last weekend.  

I have only made it through five of the smaller ones so far.  Organizing is even more complicated than I expected.  Less room, haven't seen my supplies for up to four years, and purged while I packed so I don't know what I still have.  So I think I have all the supplies for say pastels or drawing mandalas and find a spot for them.  Later on I open a box and find more supplies that need to be with what has been put away and there's no room for them.  So I have to take things out and reorganize and move the supplies somewhere else...and may have to reorganize a couple of drawers or shelves.  Slow process--lol!  But it will all get organized and put away eventually.

All my brushes and painting tools got moved from the table by the window...

...to the hutch.  (Still having trouble adding photos this week.)

Then I decided to see how it would work to add some lazy susans I have available.  They take up much less room.  I am happy with that.  For now.  Feels like every move I make in there is temporary until I am fully unpacked--lol! (Apparently trouble with text format also now--oh well.) 

There are a few items that have found temporary homes.  

That orangish box has mandala making supplies now--lol!

This was mid-week.

Already using the recently vacated surface area.

This is currently what it looks like.  There actually is over three quarters new stuff on that table.  Hard to tell--lol!

This weekend I need more help getting shelves put up.  We are doing them as needed because I can't do them on my own (can't grip and push in those little metal shelf holders) and I need to know what I think is going in the shelf to have a general idea of how much room I need.  So far we haven't had to reposition any shelves and I am striving not to have to do that to add work for them to do.  That is how the unpacking is going.  Slowly but making progress...and fun to see my trusty supplies for various projects.

Wednesday I had my first virtual appointment with my rheumatologist.  I have been very tired.  Still sleeping crazy long hours and then not much sleep at all--back and forth.  Sleep or no sleep I am always feeling exhausted.  Last couple weeks throat has been sore.  Sinuses worse.  (Before the smoke arrived.)  Coughing more.  Nothing huge or anything I can't live with--but it makes me wonder if my body is working up to rejecting a medication again.  Let's just say I haven't felt that great.  She told me my inflammation markers had increased in the past month.  She had wanted to increase my dosage.  I wanted to wait.  At least she listened to me.  So--bloodwork again in two weeks and then four weeks with a virtual visit with her after that in a month.  If the inflammation markers continue to increase she wants to increase the dosage.  

If my body is gearing up I saw no point in increasing what it is reacting to, you know?  You know what problems I have had with medications.  You'd think I was an alien, for goodness sake!  And this stuff is toxic.  Also used with cancer treatments...which I didn't even want to know until last week when I finally felt crappy enough to research side effects.  (I didn't even subconsciously want to influence my body into a reaction--lol!)  I reacted quickly to chemo (little over a week), but with Keytruda everything was fine the first two or three months.  Once the side effects kicked in it got worse and worse until I had watery diarrhea for six weeks and refused to have any more infusions.  My bad reactions to meds can go fast or slowly.  I am having reactions to this right away.  The sleeping and fatigue were the first week.  I even slept 14 1/2 hours one night!  Good grief!  And have no energy when I wake up no matter if I have slept 12 hours or 4 hours.  Especially the past couple weeks...seems to be increasing.  All over body aches and I am unpacking a lot less than I was, too, because doing anything seems like such an effort. But that could be partially the fibro...who knows?  I can feel like that in a flare, but even in a flare I have not slept 10-12 hours with regularity.  My hand is not worse.  It is also not better.  Just about the same. ??

So, there you have it.  Is methotrexate helping or will I end up with a really bad reaction to it?  Time will tell.  I am sure I will know one way or the other in the coming month since I already have the sleep reaction that is definitely caused by it.  Maybe that will be the only obvious one.  (I could probably live with that...if I actually see some improvement with the inflammation.  Trouble is...this is the medication with the least side effects usually.  I am on a small dose.  In other words, the others may more likely have side effects for me, she said.  Never know till you try, right?  Right now, I am trying the methotrexate.  Time will tell.  Time will tell.

Meanwhile...I plan to try out the Breville this coming week.  Plan to try a recipe for chicken breasts, I think...but do I bake or air fry?  lol!  One more cookbook to go through when it arrives.  Need to read all the instructions again.  Man!  It is complicated!  It's a toaster, air fryer, oven, dehydrator, slow cooker...and I think I forgot something--lol!  Dagan told me this one is more complicated than theirs and has different dials, so he couldn't just tell me what they do.  That's okay.  I will figure it out.  I have my magnifying glass--ROFL!  ;)

Wild Card

Not many stories are told about any of us kids really.  I do remember my mom telling someone how when I was five she had a pattern all laid out on the kitchen table to cut out, got interrupted, left, and I had just learned how to cut with scissors (really well the teacher said) so I decided to help out and cut along all the lines.  She was furious!  Took her a couple days to tape all the little pattern pieces back together.  (I guess I must not have stuck to just the thicker lines?)

As an adult looking back...that's what you get when you leave your little kids alone for a long time--ROFL!  I would bet money she left Blaine and Renee with me, too.  Probably napping.  They were both born three years after me--one in January and one in December--so they would have been around two and one at the time.  I do remember she started leaving us alone with me in charge when I was five.  

I also remember mom showing different people this paper/letter I wrote when I was about eight or nine--because Renee was about four or five at the time.  Mom and Dad were gone bowling.  I was babysitting, of course.  Us three kids were playing about outside which we did until the street lights came on...each with our own friends.  A super windy thunderstorm came rolling in.  When Renee came home she was trying to hold on to the front screen door to close it but the wind was so strong it blew out of her hands, crashed against the house, and broke all the glass out.  I had gone out in the storm to sweep all the glass off the step and into the dirt beside the cement step.  Got the door closed.  Calmed Renee down.  (Mom could get really angry easily and dad could occasionally get angry, too--usually if we broke something or cost money in some way.)  So, I wrote out this story of what happened...was like "on a dark and stormy night type of story about Renee's struggle and the terrible wind--in third person narrative--lol!  Then told how I swept all the glass into the dirt by the step and that it wasn't really her fault.  Drew a picture of the front door and step and where I swept the glass...and said I didn't think she should be punished for just being too little.  Mom and Dad actually found the "note" impressive in some way and didn't punish her.  They kept the story for years.  But then Mom lost it.

I had an interesting childhood.  Leave It To Beaver days where kids ran all over the suburban neighborhood.  Always wished I had a mom and dad like Beaver did.  Loved that show!  Actually just found it on streaming so I can show the boys.

Well--that was the week that was--lol!  I really hope to tackle the Breville now this week.  I know for sure I will be unpacking, sorting, and resorting--lol!  Baby steps do add up.  I am beginning not to worry where things go because of how impossible it is to really know until I have everything unpacked anyways.  Nothing is permanent yet.  Basically want to get everything out of the boxes in some semblance of order.  There are things that will end up on shelves in the laundry room that haven't even been put up yet.  I had a closet full of supplies in the old studio room.  No closet in this room and less storage space.  So there will be boxes that will temporarily go back into the storage room actually.  I know--confusing, eh?  Will take some finagling, some time, and probably some more purging--LOL!  But I will get there.

Stay cool or warm wherever you may be.  Remember to spread some kindness this week somewhere.  The world needs it!  :)  Till next week, my friends.  Love and hugs from Fargo.  :) :)

July 12, 2026 Sunday

Greetings!

Well, let's see...Dagan came home Monday later in the day.  No additional CT scan.  They went by his symptoms and he's been feeling good.  He's done with his oral antibiotics today so we'll see how it goes.  He brought me to the lab for my bloodwork on Friday afternoon for my virtual visit with the rheumatologist this coming Wednesday and he was feeling fine then.  Maybe that will be it, eh?  Time will tell.

I've been feeling kind of draggy and low energy.  Not sure if it is the methotrexate or just my chronic fatigue syndrome that accompanies my fibro--lol!  But I did get some work done on the studio later in the week.

The boys came down to show me what else Ian had just finished putting together that he got for his birthday.  It's a pin ball machine!  Has orange plastic pieces that will "explode" off into the air if they get hit hard enough! 

Trouble is, you have to find them after they shoot off into space--lol!

This looks like another of the very complex wooden puzzles...but with marbles, a metal ball, tiny yellow plastic balls, red marbles, and the orange pieces that can fly off randomly.

It is quite something!  Ian loves putting these intricate puzzles together and he's quite good at it.

Caught a close up of Allie asleep in her cat couch by the window.

Allie wondering what I was doing silently creeping up on her when she was sleeping--lol!

I forgot to add "change the shower curtain" to my bullet journal.  I have added it now.  

I never had trouble remembering before because I had my cleaning girl who came every two weeks.  Such a creature of habit am I, eh?  It is now in my bullet journal.  :)

My week in the studio went like this.  This was when I was about half way on the six boxes.

 I was emptying the boxes little by little. 

The organizing part has been more difficult than I expected.  I had all those containers there on top of Allie's litter box put away in the wide drawers and pulled them all out again.  Couldn't stack them and they took up so much room that way. 

 I think they will end up on the bookcase shelves...which was where they were at the old apartment.  But I need help getting the shelves in.  Dagan and Leah will be down today.  

The plan today...well, I had a chunk of money left from the sale of my furniture, oil painting supplies, etc, when I moved.  I ordered a Breville smart oven and a cart to keep it on (Prime sales!) that I plan to roll back and forth from the laundry room or even the storage room.  Not enough counter space to keep something like that out all the time.  Was Leah's idea to have a sturdy cart for it!  Brilliant!  They plan to put the cart together and unpack the oven today--whoohoo!  I have never owned anything like this.  There will be pictures!

Meanwhile--back in the studio...

I think I have found spots for all the stamp sets for card making, but I'm not positive until I am all unpacked, of course.

Also the acrylic blocks.  Will be fun to make cards again once I get this room in order.  :)

I couldn't even remember if I took a picture of the Chinese brush painting supplies in the wider dresser.

Now have all the watercolor palettes in one of the wide drawers, too.  :)

Plus one huge mess of piles on the table to sort through.

I did get some odd supplies put away for foiling and embossing...

...and pen supplies.  But for some unknown reason Blogger won't let me add it here and keeps adding it at the end of the blog.  Can't copy, move, and paste it, either.  So it is the last photo.  Sorry.

Anyways, the table looks like this at the moment.  I need help getting some shelving put up so most of this will have to wait...but hopefully it will get put away today.  I'll be asking for more boxes to dig into, also, after the table is cleared again.

The heat wave is back.  When they are running the AC it actually gets chilly down here.  We are supposed to be in the 80s and 90s (95 today it says on my phone) for the next two weeks at least.  Good time to be living in a basement--lol!  ;)  Chilly enough I have noticed Allie spending time on her self-warming mat in her carrier in the corner and she's spending more time than usual with me when I am in my comfy big chair--lol!

Wild Card:

Goodness!  Almost everything!  Over the course of my life I have had things happen over and over again to put myself in positions to see life with a different perspective.  Especially after being raped, having a baby they tell you will die soon, becoming disabled over 20 years ago, and recently surviving stage four cancer I wasn't supposed to.  When big things like that happen in your life it changes your perspective.  Things you thought were so important become rather insignificant in a bigger picture, you know?  It has formed me into a mostly present moment type of a person who is grateful to be smelling the roses.  Really does help me to not sweat the small stuff.  Most of the time, anyways--lol!

Also helps you discover what areas can still get under your skin in a big way.  I guess it has helped me learn where my soul weaknesses are.  Helps me to keep working at those things that I allow to bring negatives into my days.  I feel lucky to have had lessons like that from such a young age.  Can teach you empathy, that you can live through all kinds of situations, that life is mysteriously precious, and to trust my inner guidance--not to listen to people in positions of power or authority (like doctors, teachers, bosses) or even friends or family.  To trust being true to myself...and to be brutally honest with myself.  

So, like everything else in life--taking things less seriously has two sides for me.  It makes it easier and yet harder--lol!  But isn't it something!!  

Pen stuff pic Blogger demanded go last.

Until next week... smell those roses!!

Love and hugs from Fargo!  :) 

July 5, 2026 Sunday

Greetings!

What a week!  This turned out to be a long post with lots of pictures so grab a cuppa and sit with me a while.  Lots to cover this week and some of it isn't that good.

Tuesday I had the boys down here all evening.  Dagan and Leah had a date night and went to see a movie.  Nice!  Ian worked on his owl clock and Liam colored on his mandala.

I started emptying the next six boxes Ian had carried in for me from the storage room.  I didn't get too far in the studio this week as you will see.

The boys were down every day.  That small hammer and towel came in handy for Ian with the wooden pieces that were really hard for him to pop into place.  Had luckily unpacked the little hammer used for various craft projects--lol!

While they worked on their projects I sorted things from the boxes.  We were all at the big kitchen table.  (I have settled on "kitchen" table as the best description.)

Liam got to put his mandalas on my frig, of course.

Ian worked away on the owl clock.

Liam signed his name in cursive!  That was a nice surprise!  So proud of him.  :)

Wednesday Dagan took me to the eye doctor's for my second follow-up visit.  Things are going as well as he could expect, he said.  Apparently I could still see some improvement even up until after the silicone oil is removed.  No clue how much, though.  I do still have some inflammation.  He put me on stronger steroid eye drops (thank goodness they have never bothered me as far as bad reactions go) and a new eye drop that is kind of equal to something like Ibuprofen.  I don't go back for six weeks!  Nice!

Liam has colored three mandalas so far!

He colored one for me...

...and wrote my proper name--lol!  In cursive with circles for dots over the "I"s.

Ian has been diligent on his clock.

He actually finished it on Thursday. What a complicated contraption!

Front.

Side.

Back.

Other side.

Ian wanted me to be sure and show you how accurate the clock has been running for a couple of days.

The clock has kept perfect time but the pendulum won't work.  He brought it upstairs for Mama to look at.  If anyone can fix it Mama can.  Leah has that mechanical mind that neither Dagan nor I have--lol! 

Was a really nice week with the boys. 

BUT.....

Friday.....

Leah brought Dagan to the emergency room.  Dagan thought he might have appendicitis.  He was right.  Not anything simple when it's Dagan.  The surgeon here didn't want to do the surgery without talking to his cardiologists in Minneapolis.  (I don't think this surgeon up here really wanted to do the surgery--can be tricky putting Dagan under with his unusual heart and everything that has been done to it.)  Dagan, Leah, and I all agreed (Leah was texting me) that we'd prefer that if he needed surgery we'd rather have it done down in Minneapolis where there are doctors who are familiar with his heart and his history.  In Dagan's CT his appendix wasn't badly enlarged--not ready to burst yet or anything.  So after consultations the plan is to keep Dagan in the hospital so they can pump him full of antibiotics to try to shrink the appendix back down so that he might not need surgery at all.  They think he might be in there for three days, but it all depends on how things go.  Dagan has felt better since he's been getting the antibiotics in the IV.  They give him antibiotics in shots, too, using the IV.  He has less pain and is doing okay.  So far things are looking good.  Thinking positive.

The boys were down with me all day.  We had watched The Princess Bride on Thursday.  I had never seen it.  Friday we started watching The Wonder Years.  (Came to mind after seeing Fred Savage in The Princess Bride--lol!)  Leah popped home for chargers, food, snacks and such.  The boys got to stay up till Mama was finally home at 11pm.  Today (I'm writing this Saturday morning as I won't have a lot of time to myself this weekend) Leah planned to pick them up and bring them to the monthly Home Depot for kids and afterwards to visit Daddy in the hospital.  Then they might be back with me the rest of the day.  Not sure what her plans are.

I made sure they were dressed, teeth brushed, and hair combed so they were ready when Mama called.  Here they were playing games on their phones...waiting.

Leah texted that the doctors here were told by his doctors in Minneapolis that Dagan has to have a specialist anesthesiologist to have any type of surgery at all.  They don't have one up here in Fargo, so if he has to have his appendix out it has to be in Minneapolis.  So, they are giving him all those antibiotics in the hope he won't need his appendix removed.  He will be there overnight again.  Depending on how things are going he may be able to go home tomorrow.  (Which means he will probably be getting another CT scan tomorrow, I would guess.)  But so far, he's doing okay and feeling better.

He has an appointment in August down in Minneapolis to check his heart and pacemaker to see how things are going with the new pacemaker and the old leads. We hope the pacemaker battery isn't draining too fast.  Good to know he was going to be see soon, though.

Leah came to get the boys to go make tiny wooden go-carts this month...and then to visit daddy in the hospital.  

So....it's been quite the busy week!  The boys and I have had a good time together.  Though we've all been worried about Dagan, of course.  Fingers crossed.  If Leah has to drive him down to Minneapolis for surgery I will watch the boys.  Any good wishes, prayers, or positive thoughts would be greatly appreciated.  If there's any more news today I will add it on to this blog before I post for Sunday.  Thanks you guys!!  *love and hugs*

Got photos from Leah!  The boys were with Leah the rest of the day.  (Which gave me time for a little nap as I didn't sleep much last night.  Neither did Leah.  I could hear her up late, too.

Anyways, first a few pictures from a little while back.  The willow tree literally fell in half.  May have had a fungus.  :(  It didn't get hit by lightning--as I first thought.

Ian's birthday in June where he had his first ever sleepover party with two friends.  First they went to the trampoline place.

Then they ate at Space Aliens.

Mama had made his birthday cake.

Birthday song, movies, and breakfast in the morning.  What a fun time!

Later on his actual birthday he opened the owl puzzle clock kit from me.

Dagan and Leah had some friends over to help take down the tree. 

Always good to have a friend who has a chain saw and knows how to use it--lol!

Today--Leah brought the boys to Home Depot for the kids workshop.

This month they made little go carts.

They visited Daddy twice in the hospital.

Made a 4th of July cake with blueberries and cherries in-between visits.

Then fireworks in the evening (they can watch from the driveway).  It is now 11pm and the firecrackers or whatever are still going.  Allie has spent the evening in my lap--lol!

We should know more tomorrow as to how Dagan is doing.  He'll either get a reprieve on the surgery or head to Minneapolis within the next couple days.  Time will tell.  I'll thank you in advance for any healing thoughts because I know what a wonderful group of people are in my blog family.  Thanks for the support you always give.  :) :)  Till next week...