mlerules

Phew for having the worst 2/3 of the recent DDS experience over and down with now. Yesterday's completion of the root-canal redo went fine. The only thing left is a return to my regular DDS for a permanent filling on the crown for the tooth the endodontist (sp) mucked about with successfully.

Took today fairly easy for continued recovery. Did manage to start making various plans for the next few months. Nice having some things to look forward to on the calendar. Had a fine long weekend up in WA: Click for Pics

You know when you thought you'd taken care of something, but then you learn they (insert relevant bureaucratic contact) didn't tell you everything you needed to do, so you get on the phone first thing in the AM (as in over an hour ago), and start making even more phone calls. That's been my morning, complete with time on-hold and at least session of "oh, we (Y) don't do that, X does that," when X had already insisted I'd need to talk to Y, because X doesn't do that. Experienced bonus annoyance from numerous incidents of getting re-routed through various people and #s simply because my phone number starts with a SoCal area code. Apparently nobody has ever moved from CA to OR and kept their cell #, so when they see a (310)#, they assume I'm calling from and about something in CA. WTF?!

Anyway, I'm done for now and've calendared a 30-day follow up w/X, which'll trigger follow ups w/Y and then Z, all so I can get back to X the Right Way.

Off to Common Grounds for coffee next. At least yesterday was full of easy to come by WIN:

Click for Pics

OMG it makes such a huge difference to add hefty pinches of nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, and allspice to my plain non-fat yogurt & chopped apple snack. Much tastier - and far more satisfying.

Going out this evening to hang out w/friends & acquaintances & strangers (to me) for writing & drawing. Well, some of them will draw, I'll stick to writing. What will I write? Whatever strikes my fancy. Glad to expand my social network some.

Back home after early morning visit to the Endodontist (sp). #14 needed a root canal retreat, so DDS specialist drilled through the crown, dug around, took out bad old stuff, packed space full of antibiotics, and put temp filling onto whole thing. Back in two weeks to have that removed and perm stuff put in instead. Then'll visit regular DDS for perm crown filling.

I'm not a fan of dental work. Took pills to help me sleep last night, then again this AM to help lessen anxiety during procedure. BF drove me both ways, and is now fetching soup from Maru nearby. Feeling distinctly out of it. Wobbly when walking. Thoughts not very deep or long. Have pot of tea handy, as well as the remote. Reclining on couch. Taking the day to do nada or whatever. Hopefully the drugs will wear off by tomorrow, but there's a chance they'll stay in my system through the AM, too. Supplementing w/ibuprofen & Tylenol as needed to keep the pain at bay.

I know I'm lucky to have fambily I love and get along with well, who also love me and my friends and get along with us and want to spend time together. Xmas is all about fambily for me, nada to do with anything religious.

Mom & hubby J arrived on 12/20, and leave the afternoon of 12/30. We whisked them away to the coast for a couple of days on 12/21, as our xmas gift to them. The weather cooperated admirably the day we arrived. We ambled through bits of Oswald West State Park to Short Sands Beach for a picnic and beach walkies. We also visited Ecola State Park for the views of the coast, including Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock.

From our rooms, we watched all the surfers try to catch the perfect waves. I've never seen so many surfers out at once before. At one point I counted over three dozen in the water. We had brunch (proudly featuring gluten-free Hollandaise sauce! ;-) at Finn's and explored some of Seaside, OR. Hit the aquarium in time for sea lion feeding and spent a fun chunk o' time watching them, assorted fish, the four (4) resident octopuses, and various other sea creatures.

Saturday night featured a fine dinner at the Irish Table in Cannon Beach (behind Sleepy Monk coffeehouse). Mighty tasty food and a decent wine selection made us all happy campers. That night we all marveled at the massive storm complete with much lightning and thunder. Finally drove home via Astoria where we visited RiverSea art gallery, had lunch at Ft George Brewpub, walked up the Astoria Column, toured the old cannery museum on pier 39, and coffee'd at Coffee Girls (still my fave coffeeshop in Astoria).

Since then, it's been xmas prep, xmas gift-opening w/eggnog, xmas dinner w/friends over, Boxing Day w/fambily over, another afternoon visiting fambily, and then a couple days of rest (yesterday and today). WheeZoomPhew!

Click for Pics: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146112@N06/albums/72157674992959987

Back from a quick coastal getaway (Seaside, OR) before the holiday madness goes up to 11. Went walkies along various trails in Oswald West State Park to Short Sands Beach on the sunny day. Did 95% of my Xmas cards on the rainy day. It's close enough to home that even after sleeping in some this morning and visiting a couple of my fave haunts, I still got back in time to take care of some necessary stuff, do some holiday planning, and organize & upload my photos. Click for pics:

Click for Pics

And the madness has subsided. Nearly a week ago, visitors began arriving. My two houseguests didn't fly in until Wednesday, but I helped amuse other out-of-town guests before then, and organized various meals and activities. Led a small contingent on a nice Columbia Gorge & Voodoo donut outing on Tuesday, then 10 of us went out for dinner that night. Wednesday dinner out for 13. Thursday breakfast out for 9. Hosted 15 for dinner (lasagna &c.) at Hive Magnum on Thursday night. Took a dozen out-of-town'ers to The Amazing Bubble Man & Jade Pearl Black show at Clinton Street Theater on Friday morning (marvelous show), then picked up food for Thanksgiving (belated): we were 18 for dinner at friend's house in NE on Friday night. Juggled schedules and made PDX-runs on Saturday. Had three folks spend the night Saturday night. (Returned for final Bubble Man & Jade Black Pearl show of the weekend Sunday afternoon, solo. FAB time!) Smaller dinner yesterday after a bit more sight-seeing. The final friend from out-of-town flew out this AM. PHEW!

Managed to make it to the gym for Aqua Fitness twice last week: Monday & Wednesday. (Gym cancelled classes on Friday & Saturday.) Went back again yesterday. Attended complementary Personal Trainer session (aka sales pitch) this AM. Have kept to all my weekly Weight Watcher point goals, even with the holiday. PHEW! Down 10 lbs now since I began.

Cravings have kicked in the past few days. I'm less busy, so my mind's not as full of schedules, plans, &c. Evenings seem to be the worst. It feels good not to give into temptation. Well, after the fact it feels good. At the time, it's annoying.

Last night I grabbed an apple and a few mini-carrots when what I wanted was to rip open the bag of leftover croissants from Petite Provence and stuff them info my mouth. Right now I've got the bowl of leftover Halloween candy on the dining room table in an effort to test - and hopefully - strengthen my resolve. Actually, chocolate's not such a big deal to avoid. But there're some cheeses in the my fridge that're singing to me like the Sirens. Must. Not. Give. In. LaLaLaLa...

Back to the pool in the AM.

Saw Bohemian Rhapsody today; liked it very much.

Okay, this'll likely get me posting here regularly, although the inability to post while traveling (when I have only cell phone and not my laptop) will interfere some w/this plan. In short, I've finally started taking action on getting into better shape and thereby regaining my stamina and energy. This two pronged-process involves paying attention to (and reducing) my daily food/drink intake and also to noting (and increasing) my weekly activity levels. I plan to post here about these processes, and hopefully will also post about other things in my life once I'm back in the DW fka LJ habit.

( Cut In Case This Isn't Your Cup o' Tea )

Leaving town Sunday AM for a Fall Colors train ride (hopefully 2 - 2 hour rides) out of Wheeler, OR. It runs along the Nehalem Bay some, then up the Nehalem River. Should be marvelous! https://oregoncoastscenic.org/schedule/

It's been a fine Fall, full of lovely colors and fallen leaves. We had a full weekplus of warm weather, which was delightful. Now the temps have fallen into the 30s at night with highs in the 50s. I do so love living in a city and state with real seasons, even though they're SeasonsLite compared to much of the rest of the country ;-) Here's a link to photos of my recent last-minute jaunt up the Columbia Gorge: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146112@N06/albums/72157700087365132

So, Dad died on 08/20/18. 'Twas unexpected. He'd been out of it a lot of late, but physically in pretty darned good shape (leaving aside serious frailty). Heart finally gave out, or something. Not clear, but it doesn't much matter.

Much sadness, but also a palpable sense of relief. He'd been pretty out of it mentally for quite a while, and getting around was getting harder and harder. (Time before last he'd not been able to stand to come out for lunch and instead we hung out in his room while he lay in bed.) A few years ago he'd worried that he didn't have any cash yet needed to get a taxi out of Damascas, and that's but a small part of matters. Still...

The hardest part is realizing he's no longer there. Even though he'd not been fully here for a while, he was always THERE, if that makes any sense. And now he's...not. He's just...gone.

Words really don't cut it. Emotions're pretty raw. I've been doing practical things, like pulling together photos, which helps a bit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146112@N06/albums/72157698815250151

And I've been sharing stories w/Mom and my step-mom, &c. Learning some things I didn't know; pretty fascinating. Looking forward to his memorial in the Bay Area on Sunday, 10/07/18, where more stories will be shared. It'll be a small affair at my step-mom's house, where he'd not lived for the past few years.

They'd been together for 30 years. My last in-person memory of him is from their 21st Wedding Anniversary which I joined them for this past June 26th (3rd year in a row we celebrated at Chez Panisse, where she'd proposed to him lo these many years ago). Pics in this set: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146112@N06/albums/72157695465294062

Dinner together was delightful, the best I've seen him and them in years: laughing, smiling, sharing stories, spending good moments together, gently touching and enjoying each others' company. I went to the bathroom for a while once we'd taken Dad back to his room in the dementia ward at the assisted living place to give them some time together...it was really sweet and nice...and the last time I saw him alive. It's hard, oh so hard. Even as 'twas time for him to go...

So, those you love and/or appreciate - tell them, hug them, appreciate them. It may not last. You may not get another chance.

It's been a fine day, and it's still light out for another 3 hours. After realizing that I've been gone for 1/2 of each month for the past six months, I canceled my SoCal trip at the end of the month. Rather than being away for another five days, I'm staying local. Just the act of canceling the airline tix made me sigh heavily in relief.

So, after getting up early(ish - around 8am), we headed out to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. Tried yesterday, but there were NO spaces either time we stopped by the parking lot. This AM's earlier arrival nabbed us a spot. Better yet, even though today's not the FREE day (only Mondays this time of year), nobody's around to take your $5 if you arrive before 10am.

'Twas a fine stroll, complete w/flora & fauna galore. Took lotsa pics, and would LOVE to find an easy way to post some here without jumping through hoops. Any suggestions/tips would be greatly appreciated. Mebbe via a phone app? Anyway, I knew the blossoms/flowers would be lovely, as they have been the other two?three? times I've been so far this year. It's awesome how there's always something coming, in full bloom, and going.

Today's main goal was to see baby waterfowl. I knew there'd be some after yesterday's Make Way For Ducklings experience. Driving past the parking lot, I noticed a mama mallard leading a half-dozen or so tiny ducklings towards Crystal Springs. I stopped and blocked my lane, flagged the cars going the other direction, and we all waited patiently until they got across the street. Urban wildlife for the win!

Anyway, we got to see some very tiny, fluffy yellow goslings w/their Canada Geese 'rents. Later on, we spotted another member of the bird family also happy that it's baby waterfowl season. The bald eagle circled around before landing way up in a tall tree. It seemed to be feeding on something, but luckily was too far away to tell for sure. Still, very cool seeing one in town! Pics: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146112@N06/albums/72157690378453020

After that, we watched soccer at 442, which was fun. Since then, it's been cooking (big batches of pasta sauce and chili) and gardening. Green waste bin filled and put out curbside for tomorrow AM's pick-up. Mixed in with all this was making plans to see a couple friends I've not seen in a while. Nice filling in the being local scheduling with catching up with some local peoples and making Hive Magnum more livable.