Hello Frustration My Old Friend

I have recently entered into a number of fronts of dealing with service providers and I becoming totally frustrated with my catheter provider which is Edgepark Medical. I've been working with Edgepark for a couple years now they been excellent to work with. We made order said okay subscription and every month I would get a load of catheters just like clockwork. We are not sure what is happened except a lot of this issue has been at the same time I started Medicare. I sure hope it's not Medicare and all their rules and regulations but I have a suspicion that this might be the case. I also started new urologist and internist and I think this is also caused some major issues of confusion. So now it's just phone call after phone call to the same people who say they have done at least be done and the folks that control the spigot of what I mean refuse to turn it on. Dianne has counseled me to be patient and go slow and stay friendly which becomes difficult times – – I am running out of Catheters. I need to have a new order shipped.

I'm also waging a great battle of patients with my durable medical provider, again who I just changed in the last couple months, add to this the labyrinth Of Medicare and the confusion just increases the Waits take longer still. We been trying to get my new/old power chair repaired. This is included one physical therapist, one occupational therapist and a new durable medical salesperson. At one point it seemed good progress was being made then, it seems to me, my insurance ran out so that all the “good progress”. So now I'm trying to make contact with all the sources get some closure on whether or not I can get my chair repaired and how soon. Luckily I have been able to get by with what is left of my front end. Now, it's almost like I do not want to rock the boat for fear of how much longer I might need to wait and if Must wait will I have access to my power chair during that wait? I suppose I could get along in my manual chair which is pretty intimidating to think about. Going to my manual chair could not heard as I struggle to reach 98 kg of weight.

So far for me retirement has been inpatient stays, major surgical intervention and an ongoing struggle to make sure my benefits stay intact and that I am able to use those benefits. What is zoo! I'm going to have to go back to self advocacy 101 and make my representative at Medicare be my new best friend and make sure he/she is always thinking of me. I saw so far beyond that at this point my life to find out that once again I am at the beginning… Perhaps that's the way it should be.

Take Me Back

My brother and I at bath-time.

What is it with images more specifically photographs that can take you back to the moment that images taken. Sort of like the sense of smell you know like sometimes when you're prepared and all of a sudden you run into a fragrance that immediately teleports you to a timely have not been decades. Sometimes wet cement catapult me back to my house on Latah Street invoice you in the mid-50s. I would be down in the basement of my dad finish out the basement and our bedroom downstairs. He had to mix the cement and then poured on the floor later finish out the wall plaster. Although smells are triggered when I scored a poor water on cement and I smelled a result. Images do the same sometime. I see a look on my face and I know exactly what I was thinking that images take.

Back in July on the anniversary of my accident Dianne posted an image of me taken of me and they are transporting me right off the street into the ambulance. Ended up in the newspaper was quite graphic. Anyway, people have been interested in images of my youth since then. A couple years ago I was even doing “Flash back Friday” and I went uploaded image of my youth. It was quite favorably received by I got bored and only kept it going for a couple of months. However, I have once again been prompted to load images from my photo albums onto the hard drive. I don't know how wise that is sense hard drives can corrupt and mine usually do at some point. In fact my laptop is going through something currently which has me a little worried that since I have all kinds of capabilities i.e. the cloud and other backup scenarios I'm not too concerned. The major problem is having to go through my stock of images most of which are still anchored to pages in albums and afterwards the images turning to free radicals. It becomes an overwhelming challenge. Still, I think it's important and not to be too redundant of last week's posting about images of just say I am sneaking up on the project again.

What I'd like to do is develop a line of greeting cards made with images I have come across. A lot of them are kind of cute and would make great greeting cards if nothing more than just for family members. Because start off with five or 10 and see where I go to from their.

Every Picture Tells I Story

The other night I had a dream About all the images I have in my picture box. The picture box is a receptacle of all the images of my history before the rise of digital cameras. The dream woke me up really got me thinking. My mom is the one who put together what picture albums I have. And I'm totally indebted to her for this monumental work – – monumental not because she put together such a focused image album for me but she did this for all the kids in the family. There 10 of us in near as I can tell she's done the same for all. This is not one album I have two or three some in different states of disrepair and some that I've dismantled on purpose in order to retrieve images to scan onto the hard drive that I could use for posting and other bits of writing that I do. It's even more incredible is that on many of the images or pictures she is actually handwritten comments that describe the event. Some are somewhat silly but others I think are extremely valuable to try to cobble together a narrative of our family.

As I lay in bed trying to chase down just a little more sleep I kept thinking, there are a lot of images that are specific just to me. What is in the other kids albums? I would really be interested in seeing what's in their albums. There's gotta be a host of images I've never seen that's from the older kids early life before mom and dad married. The same is true with my younger brothers and sisters I wonder what images were taken them in their different school, church, athletic activities that I've never seen. I put together all kinds of thought projects that would establish a family center for all the images would be kept preferably online to where these images could be checked out, copied and used to their full potential's for whatever family members might want to do that.

Of course in the light of day dreams fade and perhaps that's best. There are a lot of undertones in my family's history – – mythology. However, I'm still fascinated when I come across images I've never seen before. As I looked in this last album that I got for my mother before she died, she had done a monumental not work together images of my dad and his family as well as her family and many of the kids especially older ones had never seen before. I wish I'd been able to access the trove of images that my mother worked from or at least the negatives before they're thrown away. That's truly what happened to all those images were tossed.

Rod Stewart sings “Every Picture Tells I Story” that's so true and what's also true is the story that area picture doesn't tell…

Lunch With My Buddy Frank

It's hard to believe that I've been separated from work for about two years now maybe a little bit longer. But I still feel close to the folks I work with at the DD Council. Actually are sort of felt close and I still sort of feel close to a lot of the folks I'd worked with in my career. Not that I think they feel as close as I do but I still like think of them as friends. Back in June 2008 I wrote a post about the new guy at work Frank. Frank was in the office next to mine and he was a guy or is a guy. This is important since I was the only guy at the office for a long time to have an Frank there was great support. We actually became quite close over the time I worked at the office. Frank is significantly older than I sort of looked towards him as a role model. Frank had been a Fedally(I'm taking on guess at that spelling). Frank's a solid guy plus he's got good hair and remember several days even better than I.

I like Frank. And I've kept contact with Frank over the years since I've separated or retired from the office. I also do with the other staff Frank and I sort of just go together. He is wailed to be working actually. He should be retired and joined his life but things haven't gone the way that they would should of for the guy and so is working is working okay taking care of the people at the same time. But he is getting older than his age is beginning to show itself has to take it easy a little bit. I try to get together with Frank as often as I can or go to and as often as I dare. I don't want to wear out the friendship. They usually stop by the office perhaps once a quarter after one of my meetings downtown we wander over to the mall and grab something to eat and then just talk. I should insert that Frank gets to the office early and I always used to get to the office early so we always had 45 minutes to an hour to speak before work or other staff got to the office. We got to know each other pretty good. Frank is a good direction. He's well-versed in money matters where I am not. Gets me to think about things I need to think about and encourages me to be better than I am. He seems to care for me and I appreciate that. I wish him well. But he like the rest of the staff and some of my other friends, who were older than I, are really begin to experience the effects of old age. I wish that were not the case but it is. Our old boss has some sort of her thing going on and she's getting to the point where she's a bit touch and go – – doing less than having to probably make some decisions in the near future regarding her employment. She's real close to my age.

Going back to the office in many ways feels like going home sometimes. Whether it's wise I don't know but many times the people at my office that felt like family and you always hate to see family go. But until then I'm going to continue having lunch with Frank even if he doesn't pick up the tab – – but he usually does. Frank has style much more style than I do. So hang in there Frank you the best meal ticket I've got.

Gift Card Dilemma

One of the constants that I rely on is that one of my kids will give me a gift card to Amazon whatever the holiday might be. Christmas, birthday, Father's Day whatever holiday I can look forward to a gift card. This Father's Day was no exception Mark A came through with a gift card. 20 bucks! Not a windfall but enough to have a couple books are memory card or something. It usually comes as an electronic card and that's cool. I just hold on to it when I need is there. This year about the same time I was notified by Amazon that I had received eight or nine dollars as being part of a class-action lawsuit against Apple Inc. and their conspiracy trial. Amazon just informed me that the dollars have been put into my account which I can spend any time I wished. In the meantime of course I inadvertently deleted marks email with the gift card and more importantly the gift card number. Things are busy of course that the big couple weeks to get together the point of calling Mark and asking him to resend the card which he did. So I had $20 on the gift card plus the money I had on the refund from Apple that came to about $33. Inadvertently again I just added one card to the other gift card and in the meantime somehow lost the numbers or the numbers wouldn't work. This was a frustration I tried to download a number of books but I just couldn't get Amazon to recognize my credits. Finally I figured I just better get to the bottom of the whole thing called customer support. This is where I realized Amazon does not make it easy to find their customer support number it literally took me days and emails but finally I got a number and I called. Of course I got a hold of some third world call room and an operator who had fairly good English skills but still it was a challenge conveying to that person but my needs were. In fact at one point I lost contact with the individual entirely and I thought he'd hung up and this is after about 30 minutes of conversation. I really just figured it had enough and broke the connection. I can't say that I was angry or even frustrated figuring this was par for the course and I would have to deal with this again on another day. Imagine my surprise when my phone rang and I saw that it was a call from Washington state and I grabbed the call and it was the operator who actually called me back! I couldn't believe it. I was so impressed I was beside myself so we continued the call and basically he was passing me off to somebody a Kindle phone central. But he cared enough to call back to call me at my home I did not know he had my number.

The operator Kindle was also great and prematurely for the most part. He at least figured out how I could access my balance to use on further Kindle or Amazon purchases this was great. He also assisted me with the purchase of the volume I was interested in. The only problem was she did not download the volume directly to my tablet but placed it in the online library of mine which I figured I could go back and access and download the volume to where I wanted but that is not been the case. I cannot find my on line library. Which I am frightened the mean another call to Kindle to have them talk me through or maybe just drop down to Best Buy and ask one of their techs to help me find my book. It shouldn't be this hard but I'm just happy to have I am just happy to have 30 more dollars to spend and a way to spend it.

A Dirty Rotten Shame

I miss sleeping outside. I miss sleeping outside during the summer. I used to love digging out the old sleeping bag and strapping it to the back of my JC Higgins bicycle, one speed, and then pumping over to the best friends place in sleeping out under the giant willow tree of his grandparents. They were one of those families, originally from the South, where the extended family all live together – – not the same house but on the same property. I thought that was so cool that they had their grandparents living right next door and they were just part of the family. Anyway, this was all situated on a small farm. It was fairly rural area but the city or urban creep is fastly taking over that part of the town. We live to further south and our farm was a little more rural than John Tom's.

We would go over to their house after our chores were done: the cows watered,Cows milked and equipment washed in milk put away. Then we were free. You watch TV at that place – – they had the only color TV I had ever seen and I was totally amazed. We would go back to the camp when the news that start around 10 o'clock in bed down for the night at least that's what we told their parents. July and August of course were hot not only the days but the nights as well. Afterward given sufficient time to have the parents believe that we were sleeping we would get up and walk out on the road in front of their house. The road was asphalt in the tar would be spongy from the heat of the day. If you stood in one place you would actually sink a little bit into the asphalt. On the newer asphalt further up from the house we would lay down on the street and feel the warmth of the day this was great. We often wandered a couple hours then it was back to the campsite Where we would turn in for the night. At the crack of dawn we were up and on lucky days we are allowed to make a fire. And Mrs. C would provide us with bacon and eggs in a cooked our own breakfast it was great. On alternate weekends we would have the same adventure but on our farm. We had a standard live in trees on the far end of our property very often pitched our camp. It was fun but nothing is elegant as camping at the Cantrell's.

As I roll back and forth to the bus or the train to pass all these homes that would have wonderful places to spend the night, or have asleep out. I don't think kids can do that anymore at least like we used to. I don't see kids pack and sleeping bags back and forth in the evenings going to a friends house to spend the night. That's shame a dirty rotten shame

Busy Busy

Not that It's been a busy week, really just two days that I had to be out on the tarmac but it feels like it's been a busy week as I close in on Friday. Yesterday I had to do some power chair rehab. Don't know why but my front casters Have gotten quite chewed up recently and I figured I'd better get them changed out before they completely disintegrated. I had hoped that my physical therapist and occupational therapist would have put the pressure on my DME to fet the repairs done on my chair which included new casters but of course that did not happen.

It set the appointment for 10 o'clock which I know is early but I figured I could get up early enough to figure out the bus situation gets there in time for my appointment. I was pleased at how well my transit went. Unlike day before yesterday which I took the long way around this time I took the train up to four S. then migrated over to the bus stop which took me straight into Cheyenne about a block and a half for where I need to go. So I got there with about 45 minutes to spare.

CREATE is one of those weird quasi-state institutions. It's a program which was developed out of a think tank in northern Utah at Utah State University. The attached the program to a state facility: Vocational Rehabilitation. I use them as much like can. When is working with the State I got a lot more perks that I get now but I had a closer friend running the program. So let's call them still do the deal. The program is not ran by a guy named Tom. Tom is okay just a little anxious to get his program off the ground. He's actually done a good job with the program that he inherited. You really want to talk to me about my old program Access Utah Network. He really wanted to know about the program and if some format of that project could get started again with a focus Toward assistive technology are A T. It would be a very complicated project and he is thinking it might be able to be accomplished with part-time staff and or volunteer. I was a little bit disenchanted I was hoping for more involvement. I suppose I could volunteer to volunteer, boy that would be working to close to the enemy. But again something needs to be done there really needs to be some sort of information base that people can call: consumers, professionals and medical professionals. Because right now everyone is just out there twisting in the wind.

On the phone Tom quoted me $30 for the job to be done. I was really hoping that with all the talking Tom did and then all the information I gave that he would give me some server break on the Castor replacement but that was not to be. In fact was 30 bucks ended up being 60. And then he invoiced me because they don't do credit cards. Totally amazing. So it turned out that he replaced all four casters at $15 a piece and I suppose that's a deal. Hopefully, if the repairs on the chair ever do get approved I'll go ahead and get new casters and put these on back shelf for backup. Like I said even though I'm it does not look like I've done a lot it feels like it's been a busy week.

Genuine

I have a board meeting every week at Assist Inc. I know I've talked about this group many times over the years. But it's a good thing that I do even though it's a bit lightweight gets me out, gets On public transit gets me downtown it's a win-win for everyone.

My meetings at 11 o'clock which means that I need to focus on getting ready and out the door really as quick as I can. Oh, it's really not that desperate but I like to have some breathing room. Fire leaves the house about 9:30 AM I can get to the train station by 10 o'clock and sometimes even earlier than that. That really only gives me an hour before my meeting. Today for example I think I left around 8:30 AM.I got down town about 930 because the used book person at the library had not yet opened up. So To kill Some time I went over to Dunkin' Donuts and got some coffee And two doughnut holes. I'm kind of fascinated with all the marginal downtown people. Especially around the library, the Salt Lake public library. I would not say the library is huge But the library is big enough. It's got water, restrooms, and a hell of a air-conditioning system plus electric outlets and of course computers hooked to the Internet. It is a homeless/hobo magnet. So course not so much at the library itself but on the corners across the street from the library are great places for panhandlers to situate themselves. The images have at the top of the page is this guy I've watched for a couple months now that I've been getting back into some of my volunteering. He's got the place in front of Dunkin' Donuts staked out. Anyone getting off the train and coming to Dunkin' Donuts has to pass this guy. He looks okay, he's fairly clean got some teeth issues I guess they call it picket fence teeth were lots of teeth are gone but he still has a great smile. Every time I pass him going in our coming out of the coffee shop he calls me box. I don't know why but this just tickles the hell out of me. This morning I watched them for about an hour. He doesn't really approach you and ask you directly for money. Just ask how you doing and I think he's genuine at least I feel he is genuine when he asks me how I am feeling. I feel it's kind of interesting that people who just brushed past him when they come in and sit and have their coffee and watch him often stop on the way out and give him some money. This morning I saw people by him breakfast sandwich and coffee. I went out on the street and took a couple pictures of him. I don't know if he noticed, I don't think so. I engaged him in a brief conversation when I told him he lucked out and got a great sandwich. He beamed and said “yeah it is great you want a bite?”. I chuckled and quickly said no no that's okay but thanks. And I could tell he was 100% genuine. I gave him a dollar. Not so much because he was panhandling the because I took his image. I should've paid him more but I am cheap. Maybe next week I will.

Possibilities

I've spoken before about the CREATE program, the Utah reutilization project which I was part of at the creation. Well the program has pretty much sustained itself all things considered and I like to use them as much as I can not only from the support standpoint but from the fact it's just a great deal. These guys sell me used equipment that really is just as good as new at much lower fraction of what the cost would be if I do go through a regular DME provider.The only drawback to using these guys is that there really way the heck out on the west side, maybe not so much out just sort of hard to get to. I c,an do it but it's number of bus transfers and I guess what else might do with my time. Anyway, my chair continues to debilitate around is probably not the right way to say that but still it's falling apart. In defense of the chair, I must say, It is done pretty well considering who I am. Now supposedly the fixes are coming but either my new sales guy is dragging its feet are my insurance Medicare is having a hard time either way my equipment is falling apart. Right now real problems are of my front casters, and my back casters to but the front ones are much worse shape. I don't know what I've done but major hunks and chunks are missing from the front tires and I'm afraid if I write on each wheel/casters but longer the whole device is good shred apart and disintegrate leaving me stranded. So following the great advice of my wonderful wife Dianne I made an appointment with Tom who is the Manager over there at CREATE.. It took a little finagling but we finally settled on a date this coming Wednesday.

In the course of the conversation I was a bit surprised and Tom asked me if he could speak with me a little bit about developing call support program similar to what I managed for the State called Access Utah Network. Tom said you'd be interested in establishing a similar program out of his office. I really don't know what he has in mind I don't know if he's really talking about a real program like I ran. But his correctives feelings that they should be some source of information for disability questions not only from individuals, parents and professionals who service folks with disabilities. There's a host of other folks that could profit from such a project even clergy. So just a discussion left my head kind of spinning about reopening such a project and how I might be able be part of something like that. I don't know for talking a job, a board position, or just sitting on some sort directional committee. Either way it might be fun and it be fun to get myself back in the some form of information and referral in the area disability area sure needs it.

The Bus Not Taken

This month is Fastly drawing to a close and once again I have way fewer posts that I would like. No excuse except I just got not done but I want to which is to write hopefully with the advent of August I can renew my posts on a daily commitment. Quite frankly a lot of those days I didn't write I was home and really didn't experience anything to write about. This is kind of sad in that do I have to have experiential opportunities to write? Why can I not take events stored in my head and write meaningful Cancel thatand have meaning still wish I could write just stored experience. Who knows maybe someday.

For example yesterday I think I had a great concept thought for a poem. I was writing UTA to one of my meetings over on the west side just off Redwood Road around fifth South.This meant I had to public transit for Murray about 5300 S. to Redwood Road and then take the bus up Redwood Road to 500 S. It's a bit of a journey but I don't mind long as I get there in time for needed to. I was needed at home because the appraiser was coming out today to do the walk-through. I just didn't feel comfortable leaving Dianne along when I could easily stay home and be there for the walk-through. I checked with UTA trip planner it seem like I can make the connections and be there on time or close to on time just a few minutes late. This is a state meeting and lunch is provided so I know the first 20 minutes at least is taken up with just visiting and waiting for latecomers. So I dashed off as soon as the appraiser was finished and got to Murray Central Station where I could link up with Route 47 which is the bus that would take me to a transfer point where pickup Route 217 which is Redwood Road and would take me to a block by destination. Of course Route 217 was not in it station when I got there to make matters worse UTA's renovating the station and the buses are now stationed in another area of the boarding areas causing more than a little confusion. This is waiting for Route 47I noticed another route that I knew crossed Redwood Road. There are a number of routes that go east and west which cross Redwood Road which for me any one of those routes work because I just need that link up with 217 headed North. In fact there was a bus idling and I knew the answer but I asked him anyway if he crossed Redwood Road and of course he said yes. I told him that I was just going to Redwood Road he said that's great he could drop me off. He also indicated he be leaving in five minutes which is fine with me I did mine waiting inside the air-conditioned bus now we've talked about this before, but all drivers are mandated to strap wheelchair users in our down which he did. He is just finishing this when I noticed route 47, roaring in to the station. I sent slumped in my chair choosing not to change buses.But a few seconds later one of the UTA Associates who had visited with asking about number 47 came on board to let me know that 47 was in station and I could certainly switch buses. But I told her I was strapped in, enjoying the air-conditioning and decided just to go with the vehicle I was in. She looked at me sideways and let it go.

Of course the Bus did not leaveIn the five minutes and route 47 team boarded and left As I sat in my seat In a chilled down bus.I was okay I knew as well within my time-frame to make my meeting. We eventually did take off and then I remembered, as the bus took off on a side street to meander around, that some routes are more direct and others and that is probably fought the computer had figured out when it advised me to take Route 47. But I wondered as I cruised around the west side making my way to Redwood Road about the bus not taken and instantly thought of Robert Frost of a similar decision on a snowy evening.

Saturdays Business

When things happen they tend to happen fast and that's good all things considered. Today I found out that the haulers were coming over sometime this morning. They of course were folks that we contracted with Takeaway the junk in the back i.e. the things I wrote about yesterday. Most significant to me were the lathes. I tend to hang on the things long past their time of value to me. I did that with these lathes I should let go long ago in fact I should never have gotten I should never gotten rid of my first lathe.I really want to use the stands the lathe was mounted to. One was extremely strong and it was okay but both I could've mounted devices on particular views to make my sticks. Well snooze you lose and I was snoozing. I never got around to taking the hardware off the lathes – – actually I didn't have a way to do that. Perhaps this is the lesson I should just get stuff that I can handle not have to rely on other people. I don't mean this obnoxiously I just mean it doesn't do me any good to get equipment that I have to rely on other people to use. Who knows maybe once things calm down a little bit if they ever do maybe I can get a Lathe that really works. My come back to the question of what my doing with the lathe anyway? It's just a recipe for danger with me anyway. I fantasized I don't know how many different ways I can miss myself up using a lathe. When I make my sticks I really don't need a way I just need a way to secure the stick on my work bench that I can then use my Sanders to knock be edges off smooth up the stick for the hook. I don't need no lathe.

I also looked at my hand bike go. I must've got this hand bike 10 or 15 years ago. I really a plan to use it daily both as a cardio tool and just for fun. The bike was not as slick, fancy are sophisticated as many of the bikes that the paras use. The para bikes are sleek and low to the ground. There is no way I would ever be able to independently getting out of a vehicle like that. So I got this hand bike which is I guess sort of grandpa hand bike. It took everything I had to transfer into that bike. One of the biggest issues I had was the seat. The seat was kind of a bucket seat and the seat back tilted back which made me have great difficulty trying to pump the handcrank. I really needed the seat that was straight up and down. It really was a disservice. But I didn't realize was just how hard it was to pump the bike. I really needed a long terrain a flat surface on which to pump my bike. I could not even negotiate the hills of our neighborhood which are very slight.I stopped using the bike after the first year. I put on weight and I couldn't even transfer – – this was the deathknell for the poor bike. It became relegated to a place under the deck. In fact when the haulers came the bike had been totally compromised the some kind of vine which had totally wound itself around all three wheels, handcrank and seat. Took quite a bit for the haulers to free the poor bike from the vines. They eventually did the bike when in the back of the dump truck junk.

There are other things the haulers took away – – husband-and-wife team and a nice 1 ton truck. I suppose these two are living the dream that looks like hard work to me. I was surprised how well I let these things go. In fact I'm kind of excited now that they are gone to see what the next step will be. I sure hope we get the refinance. Still have lots of work to do, going through this process but you know what it's like the weight that I'm losing it's all right by me.

Cleaning Up The Mess

We are in the process of refinancing our home. To me this is a frightening task but one I suppose has to be done we are going to have any hope of keeping our property. In order to refinance we have to jump through a number of hoops which I suppose is expected for this kind of thing. So I was not all that surprised when my beautiful wife informed me this morning that I was going to have to figure out a way of getting rid of some of the things I've been holding onto for some time. This is a problem I have is I suppose you have noted over the years of reading this blog.

In order to complete the refinancing we have to have an inspection inside and outside of the property, which means clean up. On the side of the house is a stretch of concrete that goes to the back patio which is basically be come my domain. I've acquired a number of items over the years that I have fantasized and help with my stick project. I got these two Lathes soon after I gave my working laith away. I did not have a place for these machines and actually I needed To have some work done on the machines to make them more accessible to my needs. This of course never happened and now I suppose never while. That's okay I probably shouldn't be turning things anyway. I have been able to have the effect I want on the sticks I work on using either a belt sander, palm sander or just sand paper. I sure love the effect of turning one but I certainly don't need that for making my sticks especially the long sticks that don't fit a sander anyway at least not sander that I can afford.There are other items that need to be looked at as well. A couple Christmases ago actually a bunch of Christmases ago Dianne gave me this great device that has a number of workstations on it. Kind of like a Shop Smith just not mechanized. I have been used as a great deal, when I work on my wide, and it works pretty well. I think I would try to finagle a way to keep this because I do use it and I value it as a tool that fits my needs. Then there are the things inside the garage. I have to get in there and look around. However I'm not too threatened. I am ready to get rid of a lot of stuff if I need to in fact at all to come to this decision with my occupational therapist, Kasey.

My big issue is I am going to need help.I kind of would like to keep one of the lathes I could get it Accessible. This would take a lot of work basically transporting here to there and there to back. Then I still have to have a place to keep the equipment. But now one step at a time just have to start cleaning up the mess.

With Time To Spare

Once I finished the writing, I went back and searched some files and there it was the image  I call Stiletto A

Turned out to be a full day for me which is good. I've been feeling so ill lately that in the got ever get back to doing what. I really want to to doAnd that is to be out experiencing what life I can. But whatever illness I've been going through sure has limited me. I been feeling a little bit better last couple days I even got some sleep last night – – not as much light of light but enough to not make me feel like an rolling around in the fog. There been easier to stay home and mope around the house. I cannot stay in bed lesson just totally sick so I be moping around. But I had an appointment With my new urologist today and I really did not want to miss it. Dianne is still ill with the same thing that I've got in fact I believe that is where I got my illness.. So I was on my own, Dianne needed to stay home and rest.

I made an awfully late appointment for me, 2:15 PM, in the afternoon– – I know redundant but what the heck I thought was cute – – so I really had all morning and for early afternoon just to mess around. I water my plants filled up the water bottle and then hung around, visiting Dianne little bit. She put together a great talking sheet for the urologist. I took off a little bit after 12 because I wanted to stop at a fast food before my appointment. I eventually caved in and when and McDonald's. Don't tell anyone but I got a big Mac (540 cal) that is a third of my daily allotment. I told him I did not want the burger with cheese but that's what I got – – I ate it anyway. I was hoping I could wait for the bus which you take me right to the hospital/Dr.'s office but that would've been another 30 minutes so I just cited motor on down which I did without incident. WhoaI beg your pardon I just realized I was giving a blow-by-blow documentation of my day that's not what I wanted. I'm on the road that is all. The point is as I was rolling down the road I once again came across the perils footwear, this day is a pair of sandals sitting on the sidewalk or the grass next to the sidewalk under a bus stop. I would buy it at first and then chided myself because I was going to document all the footwear I see on the side of the road because they're so much. So stopped and took this image.

When I got my new tablet couple weeks ago and I transferred images from my old tablet I was a little miffed that only part of the images transferred over and then I realized those images weren't on this tablet – – I don't know where they are. I have noted things tend to disappear off my electronic equipment. Especially, my cell phone. This is kind of freaky. I really want to find one of my favorite images of all time a stiletto I found on the side of the sidewalk. I was enamored by the item. I took great care to get its image and now I cannot find it. If the images around I'll find it and if it's not that's fine too lesson learned: take care the things that are precious to Me. So to that end, I've taken all my images of footwear put them in a single album. Hope that helps me track of the images.

I met with my new urologist, I think you can be a great guy. I even went to my durable medical provider spoke with my sales guy – – who still is not come through with repairs to my chair. But I got some intermediate work done and then I still made a home with power to spare. It was in the 90s today I felt just fine.

Summer Time: Cold

I'm suffering. I really thought that I was immune to the disease process that is floating around our family right now once again I am faced with just how mortal I am. I've got some sort of just congestion as well as runny nose. I'm blessed that so far I have been spared the sore throat that Dianne suffered with. So I'm coughing right now – – not as bad as I think Dianne has coughed but we do has medication, antihistamines and such that can really drive me up should I need that. I took some last night and it seemed to help. I thought I didn't sleep very well but I've been doing okay today. I was supposed to go to lunch with Duane B. But as I generated into coughing fits I figured it was best to cancel the event which I did last night around 1115 1130 with messenger. Bums me out because I really want to meet with Duane and go over some of the things that's happened the last month or so. I sure appreciate Duane making time for me he's a bit of a Merry widow I suspect I'm sure he's got his plateful.

I've listed or posted an image of the clothing article I found on the road. I found this on the way to my assist meeting yesterday on Tuesday. What's really interesting is that I took the pictures of the one article and then a few yards down I found the second glove. Kind of weird the way that these items presented themselves. Even more weird that the wind is blowing in such a way that the gloves seem to move on their own. You can see how the glove is inflated like the hand of the invisible man was inside. They didn't take an image of the second glove that figure 1 was enough to get the idea things found in the road. I found a couple pretty interesting finds. One of the best is an image of a high-heeled shoe I found one morning on the way to work. I would sure like to know the story behind that particular item but it's a good one. Bums me out I can't find the image on my drives yet but I know I have one. Today I actually open day album that I'm going to categorize or quantify All like items together. This is seen a lot of hassle when I want to find one or two show a specific image to somebody.

Minor Miracle Sunday

I continue to marvel at how well I am taking care of both physically and metaphysically. Dianne has been ill for the last couple days. She began earlier in the week she had a sore throat and coughed more and more. Dianne has had trouble sleeping and today she's barely been up. She's coughing and sneezing and really I'm quite concerned. I cannot attend to her needs as I used to when I can get back and forth to her bedside. Now is out of the question with me living upstairs and she taken over the downstairs I can get down there at all anymore. So I was excited when she requested some salt-based tater chips – – vinegar and salt chips without be able to go get at the market. So I finished my morning chores and took off.

The market that I can reach from my house is about four blocks away and remember those are Salt Lake blocks. I can go up by State Street but the sidewalks really are the best and if I can avoid the traffic I would do that. So third west is just west of our house over the railroad tracks is a straight shot up to 6400 S. where I can then turn East and travel up to State Street To Sprouts Market. This is an industrial area not traveled a lot on the weekend so it's fairly safe. It's a little out of my way but not too bad the chair does not seem to mind. The trip itself to the market was essentially uneventful. When I go this background there is a street I like to go up State Street then over to the market but the railroad crews were working on the intersection today and I cannot get through. As I was traveling up third last I pass an industrial section of the city. I was impressed by seeing about 100 or so motorcycles i.e. bikers in one of the garages. Actually it was a garage that had a banner hanging down indicating it was the chapel! These are full-blown bikers you know choppers, vests and radical helmets sissy bars biker chicks and lots of boots. Looks like they were having a service of some sort along with breakfast. I was mildly impressed as I rolled by. I have heard of such events where these radical folks find Jesus but rarely have I witnessed such an event.

Sprouts market is one of my favorite places in the neighborhood. They're good people, sort of like second or third generation hippies, the produces great prices are high and meat is spectacular I'm sure. I have really purchased protein like that from this market but when I have it's always been good. Anyway I was pleased to find potato chips we needed for Dianne's throat and I wanted to get a watermelon as well. The picked up a couple bags of chips just to make sure we were covered and then I found the righteous watermelon with the help of one of the checkers. I was concerned how I was going to carry this all home. So I talked to the checker and told her to double bagger watermelon and I would put it over my headrest. She didn't understand shinned up just put in the watermelon into bags and then just rest and it been trained my headrest and part of the chair which sort of wedged the melon.And I had the chips in a bag that is holding on and took off her home. I just barely gotten out the door halfway through the parking lot and I heard a “thud” and sure enough watermelon had fallen from the chair and broke. I gathered up the melon the bags rolled back into the market and they gave me another. This time I had the gentleman used for bags and then hung that off my chair controls. And I headed off again.

I decide to come back on third west this time so I just passed the industrial area and look like the biker service was over. And all of a sudden I heard a thump and sure enough my watermelon at fallen out of the bags suspended from my chair control. There was no way I was going to be able to pick up the melon without assistance. So I rolled back to biker-Ville rolled up to the guy scraping the gas stove. He was great and informative what I needed and he just jumped to the task. He walked out to the street picked up the melon they had me come back to see if there is a bags they had that would meet my needs and taking the watermelon for the rest of the trip. While he was in looking for some bags another one of the bikers and interesting guy baldheaded walking with a cane but not old am sure there is a good story for his need for a cane. Anyway he asked if I would like some breakfast burritos of course I said yes. And in a minute he had four good-sized breakfast burritos wrapped in aluminum foil looking great. Then the stove scraper came back was found to polyethylene bag stronger than the bags that have been supplied by the market. And as on my way safely in food secure to the home front.

I'm not to get all emotional about how I could have misjudged the folks at the “the chapel”. I feel fortunate that I did not judge at all. They're good people sometimes they look little rough but I understand them. It's nice to have so many people at your back.

Thanks 10.1 You Were The Best!

It's kind of funny but when I went out this morning to water the plants I took my old Samsung galaxy tab 10.1 with me. I took measures last night to make sure that the tablet was plugged in and charged. The net a couple times which is not such a big deal before I got 9.7 but I been doing it even more so since I got the new technology. Even with all its problems cracked screen, very slow processor and having a problem loading new items either for the net are just new programs the tab is saying “let me go”. I took it with me this morning because I thought well I really do like the camera of the old 10.1. But I like the new camera on the 9.7 just as much probably even better because the compact size and lighter weight makes machine easier to work with but I just couldn't let the 10.1 go just yet. Realizing that then I justified carrying with me that I can use it as a radio receiver. Which it works fairly well granted it's a little slow on the uptake but once the program is in place and starts receiving the feed it's pretty good little radio– – I envision using the 10.1 in the shop when the shop becomes available.In the back my mind I know that I may do this once or twice but really I have a radio in the shop. I have a radio my cell phone and a camera but shall use should a need to – – best of all I have a new tablet the 9.7 and does everything quicker and better.

Truth is the tab 10.1 is an old friend. In honesty I must admit that really for the first time I was ready to about turn my back on the 10.1 the second the 9.7 arrived.I was kind surprised that I left alone until the cover Dianne order came in yesterday's mail. In fact I've been working on the garden and noticed the postman had placed two of the items that came under the mat in front of the steps going to the front door. It was a couple hours later I got to thinking that pay the tablet cover might come soon that I realized that that's probably what was under the the mat. And sure enough after I finagled my book long enough to pull the package up beside my will where I can reach over and pick it up, sure enough it was the cover. I opted up put it on the tablet and then displayed in the side. Today I messed with the 9.7 a little bit and I can tell and getting ready to sort of dive in, nd use the machine the way that Dianne says that I do use a tablet. I'm feeling and excitement with the new machine that I haven't really felt with the other tablets I've owned. I really lucky guy

I Think I Like It

I finally did it. I've been talking about it ever since I rolled over my other tablet and broke the screen. Actually I just cracked the screen significantly the tablet work just fine at least it did up until about a year a go and then it just began to run slower and slower. If the system still ran the decent speed I would gladly kept using the device. I took the system in a couple times to Best Buy to see if they could speeded up or find out what was wrong clear that for whatever. After they got over there repulsion of seeing the tablet in the condition it was in the basely told me that the system was just old. That a lot of the new software apps and such probably wouldn't even run on this tablet platform. It was just years old I really needed to upgrade.

Still I had a tough time giving up the Galaxy 10.1. I really like the camera and I really like the way the galaxy treated me over the years. However, the last three or four months the speed of the system was greatly slowed and I've been thinking more and more just how nice a newer system would be. Then I dragged my feet because I wasn't sure if I could live with a 9.7 scanning rather than a 10.1. Really it's not that big a difference and now that I do have the some 9.7 think I really do like it. I think I will like the size and slimness but we'll see when my new tablet cover arrives just how slim the unit is but I think I will be able to get the tablet into my man bag.

I had a little bit of difficulty moving data from the old system to the new but tenacity came through. I still think something may be wrong because it did not bring all the information across but enough of the apps and widgets came across and that was good. When I pulled the small drive and installed into this new system that brought a lot of images and music that had been downloaded to the smaller chip. I still might enlarge the chip as far as capacity goes but we'll see. I also think the new tablet has a better speech to text capability. I can actually see myself if I need to I could really use the 9.7 as a main writing tool. Nothing matches my Dragon system on my laptop but having a portable like the 9.7 could be a game changer for me.

So I brought it home and Dianne got it on the charger. I spent some time out with the plants working on the patio little bit and after couple hours came back in and there was enough of a charge let me start the transfer process. Took about an hour to get all the kinks out of the process and the data from the old system to the new. I was little worried in the beginning thinking that it had lost some information and data but I think most of us around I still have a lot of it around on the laptop and I think I have a lot in dropbox that I can bring down when the time is right. The only issues I'm having now is that some of the tabs are applications won't work as I think they should. So I may have to see if I can spend some time and get the right application. Thinking specifically of ThinkPad notepad I cannot get the item to load from the screen – – I have to go out to the Ink pad/notepad on the net. I somehow think the app that I downloaded this for a cell phone and not for tablet – – there must be a special device or application for the tablet.

So no buyers remorse – – this is very rare I'm so happy. And I do think I'll be happy with this Tab A 9.7.So

Hot Days – Vacs– Patios Becoming Clean!

It's July 5 and the outdoors temperature is finally hot, or Kind of hot depending on how you like your summer days. I'm finally beginning to enjoy my summer days. I don't know I am done with therapy but I sure didn't go today and I have not heard back from anyone at the rehab clinic. I'm sure the “the man” has stopped paying for my therapy. So I guess I'll get more therapy during another billing cycle for Medicare but at this point I must be done. Therefore it's up to me to continue my physical regimen of working out. I have set the rickshaw up on the back patio. The patio where I keep my little garden of tomato plants and onions. The patio has been a mess and I've just been getting around back there the best that I can. Now that the raccoons gone it seems like I've develop a whole new relationship with the patio. I have decided for whatever reason I'm cleaning up the back as well as I can. Today I dug an old broom out of the garage and began sweeping the debris and garbage on the patio off. That's great that sure doesn't take much to make even a humble place like the patio begin to look great. I wish I had access to the indoor outdoor vac – – I hope we still have it. And in one of my tantrums I may have gotten rid of the vacuum. We even have a smaller vac that would work I think if we still have it. Hopefully, when Casey gets back or decides to come over and help clean the garage I'll find some of these devices. Still I'm going to clean up as much as I can in the back. I'm finding out again how much occupational therapy can make a difference. All the things I'm doing is OT stuff. I even noticed this morning I was moving some cinderblocks and how heavy they were and that by just going through the motions I am really working out. So just cleaning up the patio is given me a cardio workout. I'm even thinking I should make it part of my regimen to lift up cinderblocks certain number of times a day. I understand this is not like using real weights but it be like lifting weights in the Third World: you do with what you got. I can understand that now Third World countries, ghettos and even prisons when I've got a cinderblocks you lift cinderblocks. It all makes sense. But since I'm not Third World country I have a rickshaw, I have other weights and an Upper something machine. I have my arm bike and I have my gloves is no reason I can't actively lift myself into losing much more weight. It all makes sense the baby some reason that's what I'm going to do. When I worked my brains out this summer lifting and be in physical just see how much weight I can lose.

This post was supposed be about me cleaning up the Patio and sort of turned into something about my physical regimen oh well they actually seen to work out together.

Best Summer Of My Life

How did it get to be the third of July? I cannot believe I don't have a posting for July as yet . Space actually have been kind of busy, nothing really important but just as he things running up and back from ShopKo, 711 and the neighborhood. I've been paying a lot of attention to my plants in the back into the different families of quail that seem to be taken over the backyard. I'm reading a little bit but basically enjoying retirement! I cannot believe I'm saying that but perhaps it's true. Oh there are a number of small issues simmering on the background which occasionally reach a boil but so far we been able to turn the heat down and get the various pots back to simmer if not out completely.

I have felt some pressure to get my home gym back up to snuff. I've got the rickshaw to the side of the house with I don't know 50 pounds weight but actually gives me a decent workout if I do enough reps. I've also done a recommitment to using the colored exercise bands. I used to think they're pretty dorky but actually I think if you do them within Commitment that got a be helpful. And why's it so important? It's because I think I'm going to lose funding that I have enjoyed from Medicare at the rehab facility I have been using. That's okay I guess as long as I can keep myself focused here on the home front and possibly use some of their Wellness programming.

As the hot time now , tomorrow is the Fourth of July which even though it probably is not the case ,feels like it's the dead center of summer. The summer is gone too fast it always does especially at my age. I've gone to exclusively be an outside without my shirt and as little clothing as possible. A truly pine for somewhere I could be totally natural if the world or the heat of summer at least. As it is now I love just cruising around in my chair and loving the sun. This year I sort of got a slow start the gardening when I just on a lark purchased some throwaway tomato plants. I brought them home and planted them and they're on their way now. I am completely immersed in their grooming and upkeep. I even feed them weekly and water of them at least once a day sometimes twice. I also have onions green onions we've purchased for cooking, cutting off the greens and then planting the bulbs we have about 12 plants I kind of wish now I had like 20 or 30 planted different intervals so they can be harvested at regular basis all coming to age at different but usable times. This is intelligence I can use this next year.

A couple of projects I would like to do in July is repair the ramp and get the carpet tacked down in our wheelchair van. I would be happy right to accomplish this by August 1.So here I am smack dab in the middle of a holiday weekend. I am losing weight – – even though that means not eating any of my holiday foods like potato chips, cookies, barbecued ribs, sloppy Joe's, potato salad, barbecued beans etc. etc. – – I'm loving losing the weight even with the sacrifice of holiday food, I'm probably 90% independent and I have a book, a novel and a collection of short memoirs of survivors of the Holocaust that I am reading to Dianne. We have earned a connection, cable and infinity. I don't have to be a job, I can cook I can help with the house this just may be the best summer of my life.

Snoods Anonymous

Snood: Merriam Webster

Definition of snood. 1a Scottish : a fillet or band for a woman's hairb : a net or fabric bag pinned or tied on at the back of a woman's head for holding the hair.

I put the Webster's definition Snood in here just so that people realize that snood is a real thing and not just a name for a videogame – – not that that's important, but it's just interesting to note. I first became acquainted with the game Snood back in the days when I was working and I was chained to a PC computer all day long which I used to look up information to answer questions that I would get on the phone. One day a trip to cost the round face of Snood and thought it was intriguing. Up until that point the only video games that I had really ever really played was the initial version of Tetris that my buddy Kim exposed me to back in the old days of computers. Tetris was okay and certainly addictive and I certainly burned away many good hours watching the blocks fall and was even more intrigued when I inherited Kim's color monitor and realized that Tetris actually had colors on the blocks. But I realized I was a week soul and therefore kept my distance from all videogames until I came across the blue round face of Snood. The face looked harmless enough and I clicked on the innocent looking icon and downloaded the game.

I was soon playing the game much more than I intended. I particularly like the little cannon that launch the snood's. It gave me a rush I suppose is akin to the first-person shooter games that have engulfed the Internet of late. Side note: I did try first-person shooter games but they are way too complicated for an old guy like me to really get into. I suppose that's best all things considered. I wiled away with way too many hours between phone calls. I did take the calls will nobody ever suffered because of my addiction. But it was amazing how fast the morning could evaporate playing game after game after game. Such a simple game perhaps that's the addiction. You can win enough, you can keep firing that little cannon and the little guy keeps loading snood after snood after snood. Finally had enough guilt though never couple months slough the game away… Well not all the way I kept the icon on my computer screen and every once in a while but fire the cannon up and shoot away. But that was that so long ago when I was working.

A few days ago, I don't know what made me think of it. I was looking back on a lot of my old files and screens had saved from decades ago and suddenly there was the blue face of snood patiently waiting for me to weaken and press the download button. It seems forever that I've downloaded anything other than images from my cell phone are from one of the handhelds that I use. But it was simple couple clicks on my mouse and almost immediately download arrow showed on my screen. I got to the files for my downloads live the snood package was there. A quick double-click on it and before I knew it the software was being unloaded zipped on to my system. There was the blue face with big eyes and startled mouth nicely tucked in my icon tray the right-hand corner of my screen.

I couldn't wait for drug to snood icon onto my desktop and click and there was the choices of games to play, all snood all the time. I have had better mouse is to use for firing the snoods, but the one I have works just fine.I have to admit I was pretty rusty to spend a while but the little guy just keeps on loading snoods and I keep firingand I'm doing just fine. Already I'm probably hundreds of games into the program. I'm older now and I think better at allocating my time to this silly pastime. I don't know how long I will continue but for now I'm doing okay. I have not amassed scores that I had at one time but what the heck now I have the time not to guilt. Well actually I do have some guilt time is the only thing I have that I don't have much of it left. I've got a make every score count.

Rocky I Hardly Knew You

I think I worried about what to do with the remains of the little beast out in my potters cabinet all night long. I had weird dreams some bordering on nightmares. I had to figure out something to do with the fella. So after I'd gotten all my morning chores out-of-the-way I settled in on my day. I figured I had better get busy on operation Removal.

I of course turned to the Internet and typed in “dead animal removal”in my city and I was amazed at how many hits came up. So I picked the first gave them a call. I really did not think it through when I made the call. I didn't think there were organizations/businesses whose sole occupation was picking up and removing dead animals. So I got Marge on the phone – –, had that Utah twang in her voice – – and when I explained to her what I needed she just chuckled and said sure we can take care of that. It'll probably cost you between $50 and $100. I wondered if there'd be a charge and then figured these people are probably used to picking up dead cows, horses, buffaloes and other bizarre beasts that regular folk never think of… Of course there would be a charge. At actually already considered calling Murray Animal Control and seeing if they would do such a thing. It seemed only natural they would animal control and everything.

So I called Murray city and after five minutes of being transferred from one office to the next I finally got a hold of Animal Control. I explained to them my situation and though they had not jump into action they seems somewhat interested especially after I explained the dead beast was easy access and not under the house or something like that. Once they heard that Animal Control became much more cordial. They didn't even put me on hold, the girl who answered the phone just cover the receiver with her hand and you get here the muffled discussion going on in the background. After the discussion and a laugh or two I heard she came back to our conversation and said somebody would be out, she was not sure when, today at some point. I was relieved immensely.

I spent the next two hours out on my deck/ramp taking care of some business I could do from my cell phone and reading and waiting for the A/C guy. And sure enough officer B. White drove up in his little white pickup with Murray City emblazoned on the side. A very nice young man, we immediately went to the cupboard. He is relieved at how accessible the body was. It wasn't quite sure on how to approach the situation but he prodded and poked and realized the animal was “glued” to the floor of the Cabinet. He thought he might have to go back to the station and get a shovel but first we tried a prybar he had in the back of the unit. Sure enough scraping pushing and gouging at the little beast soon had him loose. Officer White then put on his black gloves got the black garbage bag and showed, but he claimed and I certainly believed was a raccoon which I immediately named Rocky. I never got a good view of Rocky, I didn't want a view of Rocky, I just wanted Rocky gone. And now he was. I asked officer White if I needed to do anything special to the death area and he said nah. He suggested if I was worried I could hose out the cupboard and then maybe shoot some bleach in there. It's all good it should be all right.

I'm just glad to have Rocky gone. I'm sure he's been in there since the cold time probably deep winter. He crawled in their probably to get away from the storm and just froze to death – – or maybe he was ill who knows probably rabid when in their and just died. Didn't realize we had raccoon problems this far away from the mountains but we do. Kind of spooky. Anyway just so you know it's taking care of and didn't cost no 50 bucks.

I See Dead Things

I don't do dead things well. Simple as that I just have a problem with dead animals. I'm sure dead human beings are just as bad for me, but luckily exposure to those objects are somewhat limited and usually when you do have to confront the corpse its under pretty controlled circumstances dressed up, made as pretty as possible and usually surrounded by a lot of living folk one way or the other. Animals that are dead on the side of the street, packed away in a garageort between the fence slats in the backyard that's another thing altogether.

I'm not sure what the etiology for my fear of things gone is all about. I mean I was raised on a farm more or less there dead things everywhere. One of my jobs was feeding the new calves, the ones we purchase from the auction,in the winter these poor little beasts were kept in the shed. Many times they were sickly when they bought them and many times they died in the shed. I fed them in the mornings for school and their carcasses which stay in the shed till dad was able to cart them out to a place where they would stay until the dead animal guy would come and take my way. Sadly when the temperatures dropped the poor little guys refrozen to the floor and would stay there till spring and I would have to step over the calf popsicles to get to the live beasts to feed them. Or maybe it was my older brother who seem to take great joy in finding dead cats around the farm and chasing me around with their bodies and the eyeless heads frozen in deaths rictus grin. I shudder just thinking of it. Whatever the reason I have almost the phobic reaction to these poor beasts.

We have a number of cupboards and closets in the back of the house on the patio. We keep a lot of our gardening supplies like plant food and bags of fertilizer and stuff. This is where I have my little pot garden – – vegetables I have in pots I guess I should clarify – – and where I keep the plant food that I supplement my tomatoes with every week. It was last week when I first realized there is something in the back of the one set of drawers but I keep the plant food in. Actually not in the drawers but in the space beneath the drawers certain like small closets. One of the doors is open ours off and we have a couple bags of plant stuff additives .  I noticed for the first time last week but look like a tuft of fur. I didn't really pay much attention to it and it was so far back in the closet I thought it was some sort of a jacket or something I got stuffed back there. It's so dark I can't make out hardly anything but on closer inspection when I look I could see there was what looked like a pile of fur. That is when I realized there is something dead, very dead in the back of my potters closet. I was still in denial thinking that maybe it's just some sort of fur-lined garment that was all. But when my son-in-law, Gabe, was over tonight I had Him  check and sure enough There was something or somebody in there. He thinks it may not be a cat all, but a raccoon but that doesn't make it any better dead is dead.So now I don't know what to do. I was hoping Gabe would just scoop up the remains put them in the dumpster But that didn't happen. And I can't blame him for not want to get involved I sure didn't. . So tomorrow I will call animal control and see if they'll come out pick up the remains and get them out of my Pottercabinet . If they won't do such a thing I am not sure what I'm going to do. Either way it's okay The little beast is long dead and on its way to being mummified… I hope.

Summer Sunday

There is a ShopKo round the corner from my house – – actually, it's a bit farther than around the corner let's say a couple blocks easily reachable by my power chair. In fact it's kind of on the way my physical therapy place so often when I'm done with therapy I will stop by ShopKo particularly this time year. In the spring they have a large canvas Quonset hut type of content which acts as a greenhouse. They also have all kinds of starter plants i.e. vegetables, fruit, flowers the usual stuff but it's fun to see what they've got and makes you think that maybe you can do something with what they've got. I think I wrote a couple weeks ago about purchasing some tomato plants. I got six of and planted them in the back and sure enough it seems like they have all taken on. I feed them once a week a lot of them daily and they seem to be growing. I've detect the new leaves and that's good sign. Some of the old ways of dying dropping way that bugs me a little bit but I think they're making they've grown a bit and I'm excited.

The other day I think I was on the way home from the dentists when I had my tooth repaired. This time of year the greenhouse is getting pretty hammered their ShopKo. They reduced the plants a third and last time and I think if a person doesn't act fast now they're out of luck till next year. So that in mind I looked at the plants once more and found the small but hopeful looking butternut squash. Butternut's and don't know I've grown them in the past, or we have groaned in the past and it's something I don't know if I can do from a raised garden. It's something almost needs to be in the ground good old terra firma. However, at $.99 a plant that actually had a bit of growth on it I thought why not it's worth the risk. There's probably 8 inches of plant emanating from the small round cup it'd obviously been started in. I thought if I soaked the cup good enough that I would have a day or two figure out where to place it. I actually have a fairly large flowerpot, really large flowerpot, you could actually stick a tree in and it would probably be just fine. I was thinking about it but whatever I did I didn't do it that day and like I said I soaked the cup, I thought fairly well, but when I went back there yesterday morning to check on everyone little Butternut was gone. There are still green left on the stock but I think I was just hoping for the best. I soak the plant and water and just hoped it would take but when I went back later in the afternoon the plant was crisp. I had hoped I was in time but nope I think it was gone I touched the green leaves and they were brittle and crumbled under my touch it was time. I grabbed the plant or what was left of it rolled over and put it in the garbage can. Probably just as well and don't think squash would of done well in the big pot and they didn't really have a way to get it in the ground where we had a plant/squash last year. So I will have to be happy with my tomatoes. I'm a bit worried because they have not yet shown any blossoms or buds for that matter. I'll just have to be patient make sure I have fed and well watered as we go into the heat up of summer.

Teeth Are Not TOOLS

One of the many challenges I face of the daily level is just mechanics of life, how do I do stuff? I'm usually okay in figuring things out and usually there is a way to do what I need to do that's not harmful/dangerous to me or others. But as I age I think that is becoming another one of the things of the past. I'm trying my hardest to stay min assist in always. One of the things that is been drilled into me over and over since early rehab days – – back in the 60s is that “your teeth are not tools”. I mean of course I always use my teeth (it's in other semi hard things. I've been blessed with strong teeth, hard teeth, as the dentist to said over time. When you're quadriplegic you got to use your teeth. You use your teeth teeth to open things, to hold things, tear things and of course chew. For years I have been closing the door to wherever I lived by biting down the cord that I have typed with doorknob and driving my chair forward I let go of the cord just before the door closes save my teeth but shutting the door. This is always worked and it still does fairly well.

Last week I bit down on something I don't remember exactly what. Is that a meal of some sort and my left front tooth sheared off are the fascia sheared off. I've course of traumatized but immediately thankful that, but what felt like a huge piece of tooth shearing off, did not have any pain associated with the shear off.. I immediately called my dentist who got me in a couple of days which kind of frightened because I did not know what other trauma might result from a huge to hang out there as I had. I just didn't seem to worry so I tried not to ensure enough everything worked out fine in fact he didn't even use anesthetic to do the job. Post a quite proud of myself. Like everything else I was thankful for the repair but the repair was not as good as the original tooth and I miss that.

Fast-forward one week, a couple days ago, and I was leaving the house with my string in my mouth closing the door behind me and somehow the string caught the new feeling/tooth repairand sure enough popped the repair right off. Which once again necessitated another call. I was fortunate and was able to get in to see my dentist Friday. He fixed me up and got me out. Now I have a decent smile again but the build up on the back of the tooth repair seem somewhat large in my lower teeth bite into it every time I chew. I hope this is survivable maybe when my dentist gets back from Alaska in a couple weeks he can do something by grinding some of that bulk on the back side of the front tooth off. If not I learned to live with it

So now I am forcing myself to close the door, when I exit the house, holding the cord in my hand. It's hard to do, kind of scares me but I got a do it I don't have the time, money or pride to keep showing up at my doctor's office to have repair my mistakes.