Birthday weekend

This past weekend was my birthday weekend. My birthday was actually on Sunday. However, we celebrated it on Saturday, with presents at breakfast and a nice dinner with cake that evening. Sunday just looked to be too busy to squeeze anything else into. {Smile}

Of course, once Sunday came around, every single event that made it looked busy fell thru. So my actual birthday ended up very relaxing indeed. {REALLY BIG GRIN}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

chit chat

Hi Tia! It's good to see you here. {wave, REALLY BIG GRIN}

It's good to see you, too Monkey. You've been AWOL quite a while. {Smile}

I haven't mentioned it much, but I've been working on a story to share with my on-line friends. {Smile} I finished it last week, and just finished copying it into the computer (with initial revisions) tonight. Well, I sort of finished it. It ground to a halt right where I expected it to... with nothing resembling a satisfying ending in the vicinity. So it's now officially looking for further revisions and a decent ending. I'm suspicious that I'm going to end up sharing it with a warning about the lack of an ending. Of course, if it's really a fragment of something longer that I need to work up some day, I'll feel freer to post it in the open. So maybe it works out this way. {Smile}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

Interdependance

I was talking to my friend Liz when the subject of interdependence came up. My feelings on the subject are strong enough, they surprise me when I remember them. They're certainly strong enough to share more widely. {smile}

In my experience, interdependence is absolutely terrifying if I let myself think about it. I am relying on others to support me... and sooner or later they will let me down. It's not a question of whether they'll let me down. They will. No matter how much they want to avoid doing so, they will sooner or later. When they do, I will get hurt. All I can do then is trust in my own ability to heal... if not perfectly, then well enough to carry on. {smile}

{pause}

It's worth it. I can't doubt that. I tried independence when I was younger... boy, that was a bleak and empty time! {rueful smile}

Interdependence may be scary and painful, but it fills my life with the family members and dear friends who make life worth living. Yes, there's pain and fear this way, but there's also joy and love in measures independence could never, ever provide. {WARM SMILE, BIG WARM SMILE}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

Update

Sorry to fall quiet again just when I wanted to do better. {worn smile}

I didn't mention one problem in my last post. I didn't think it was big enough. Dad was on his third day of some quite itchy hives. However, he'd stopped the lettuce that he suspects was chopped by the same equipment that chops spinach. (Yes, he's that allergic to spinach!) Plus he was seeing the doctor in a couple of days about them. So he didn't anticipate much more trouble from them.

He had a lot more trouble anyway. He and his doctor must have tried half a dozen antihistamines on the things. The hives finally faded late last week. {SIGH} The doctor suspects spinach juice in the lettuce too. Apparently once hives get going, they can perpetuate themselves for up to a year. Three weeks... is more than bad enough. {sigh}

At least he seems to be over them now. Also, he doesn't need the elastic bandage on his knee anymore. A taped-on pad is good enough now. {Smile} So Dad's feeling better, tho he's frustrated with how quickly he tires.

I'm feeling much relieved, myself. It's taking a while for life to get back to normal, but it's gradually getting there. {Smile}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

Dad yet again

Dad saw the doctor again. He still should keep his leg up, but he does not have to go back. Also, he may now drive. {pause, sigh}

Thank god. Now maybe life can begin to return to normal. {pause} I hate to complain when Dad has been hurting, and Mom busy keeping everything going, but this pretty totally wrecked what little off-line social life I have. It got bad enough, it was hard not to withdraw online as well. (I do hate when that happens.) I don't think I entirely avoided doing that. {small smile}

I'm hoping things will return to normal soon. {cross fingers, small smile}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

Dad saw the doctor

Yes, Dad saw the doctor early this afternoon. The doctor took a look at the knee, and promptly numbed it up. Then he took out a great big clot. He did not close it up; he wants it to be able to drain if necessary. Apparently the knee has been hurting so much this weekend because it has been continuing to hemorrhage very slowly this weekend.

Anyway, the doctor put on a pressure bandage. He will look at the knee again Thursday afternoon. Dad is resting in his bedroom now. It hurts, but the pressure that he felt isn't there. He's counting that in improvement. {worn smile} What I count as an improvement is the relief I see when I look at Dad. He was pretty tense yesterday, and that's gone. I hope we're past the worst now. {another worn smile}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

General update

Early this month, the bees were gone from the woodpile. So were over half the termites. So was two thirds of the wood. A couple of days ago, the rest of the termites and most of the rest of the wood followed them. No, we haven't had any bonfires. Dad faced up to reality, and asked our yardman to haul the wood to the dump in his truck. Dad insisted on paying twenty bucks for gas per trip. {smile} The only wood left now is a few old mamani logs. They aren't going to the dump. They seem to be insect free, so the yardman wants them for his woodcarving. Dad's happy to do it. He's {Smile}

Dad fell down in church last Sunday. He saw the doctor Monday, because the left knee was really swollen. He has a hematoma there. It probably needs surgery. Due to a severe doctor shortage in Hawai'i, the surgeon can't see him until Monday. He saw his main doctor again today (Friday), and complained about all the pain. He's been laid up all week. His doctor sent him to a semi-retired orthopedist who doesn't do surgery any more. He was able to remove an ounce of fluid, but the rest of the swelling is a big clot that will have to be removed surgically. Dad's in marginally less pain now. At this point we're hoping that when he finally sees the surgeon on Monday, the fellow won't insist on waiting another week or two to operate. {disgusted look}

I keep praying for Dad. Unfortunately, my prayers have yet to be answered the way I'd like. {small smile}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

Church musings

I've been thinking about church. There's something... I'm not comfortable there, and I really should be. I've been there all my life. {pause}

I think I need a change. Not a major one, but... I feel restless.

I'm toying with becoming a deacon. the Diaconate has fascinated me since I learned that some deacons never become priests. {pause} I'm not sure it's right for me, tho. I'd have some trouble reading the gospel without falling over, more getting to the pulpit to take a turn at preaching, and yet more trying to get up to the altar to assist the priest in the Eucharist. {pause} I know there's much more to being a deacon than helping in the service. They study the bible in depth, and reach out to the community in various ways. However, do I need to be ordained for that? Some form of lay ministry may suit my abilities and my congregation's needs better. I really don't think they need to add ramps all over the sanctuary so I can get around. {Smile}

I just wish I knew what was the right choice for me. {Smile}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

Good news

Well, my computer seems to be behaving itself since it realized it does have a keyboard after all. {Smile}

That's not the good news of the title. {bite lips} I've been trying to figure out how to tell you without sounding like I'm bragging. After about three weeks, I give up. So here goes. {smile}

A few weeks ago, I got three volumes collectively titled Storytelling: An Encyclopedia of Mythology and Folklore. {pause} In the middle volume are four short articles I wrote myself about gods and creatures popular in Hawaiian legends. (Pele, her sister Hi'iaka, Maui, and the Menehune, if you're curious.) {Smile, pause}

The encyclopedia was edited by Josepha Sherman, and she did a great job on it. The articles are both well-written and well-chosen. {Smile} I don't say that because my articles are in it; I was taught how to evaluate an encyclopedia in library school, and this one passes the tests. {Smile} That isn't easy to pull off either; a lot of encyclopedias have problems.

Dad says this makes me a published author. {bite lips} I guess it does, but I know too many published authors not to realize it's only one step on a long road. I'd like to follow up with something else sometime, but at least I've made a start. {Smile}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

Well...

Yesterday afternoon (Thursday), Dad announced that the Computer Store had called. My computer was already fixed. We could go pick it up any time. So we went down pretty quickly. {smile} We picked it up. The gal who fixed it said the only problem that she could find was the modem was switched off. She turned it back on, and all seemed fine. She said this could be a virus, so I should watch it for more trouble, but she really thought it was fixed.

So we loaded it up and took it home. Dad set it up as quickly as feasible. I turned it on, and checked my email to make sure it was working. My email downloaded fine. {smile}

Then I shut it down so I could tag along while Dad got groceries. KTA, the supermarket he was going to, has picnic tables out front, on a wide, shaded patio. I like to sit at them and think and write. It's a change of scenery, and a pleasant arrangement. {Smile}

Then we went back home. After a while, I turned on my computer again. As I began to log into my usual sites (LJ and Blogger), my computer stopped responding to my keyboard. {bite lips} No matter how many buttons, I pushed, nothing. I figured out which cable connected the keyboard to my computer, and checked it. It was slightly loose. I pushed it in firmly, and checked again. Still no keyboard. I told Dad what happened. He came to look at it. I took a bathroom break to calm down. (No, I was no calm. {half-smile}) When I came back out, Dad said he'd turned off my computer, waited for a bit, and turned it back on. It seemed to work after that. {bite lips}

It has continued to work since then. {bite lips} However, with the repair technician at The Computer Store's words about viruses, I've been watching it very carefully for further stunts. I hope it's working now, but I don't trust it, even after over a day. {small smile}

I really hope it's working now, but... {bite lips, cross fingers}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin