A Few Notes

Well, a lot has happened the last few months. We moved (no more stairs, and I love the central air!), my in-laws came for a visit, lots of drama and trauma and all sorts of stuff I don't wanna get into for the time being.

Health-wise, I am hanging in there. Summer is always tough for me, and this summer has been no fun thus far. The Methadone is working out well for me. The latest challenge has been the heat-induced nausea. It causes this vicious cycle: I get sick, which causes my face to hurt, which means I have to take meds, which then make me get sick again. Twice now, I've had to go to the doctor to get a shot. I'm trying a new anti-nausea pill now, so I have hopes it will help break the cycle. I am not giving up on the Methadone; all in all, my pain is much improved this summer over last summer's. I'm still counting it as a success.

My legs are becoming more and more of an issue. I don't think I can put off getting a scooter much longer. It's quickly becoming a necessity. I'm not sure why I've been so stubborn about it, except that I hate to spend that much money on myself. I'm much better at shopping for others. The only things I'm willing to spend big money on for myself are tattoos, footwear, music and books. And always in moderation. I'm frugal, so sue me.

It's the legacy of having once been very poor: you are always worried about money, even if you do in fact realize that you don't have to be so worried anymore. I have three hold-outs from my early rez years: the frugality, the inability to drink tap water and always, always, always eating meat well-done. I have tried, over the years, to get over all three, but I did not meet with much success. Some things you learn early, it's damn near impossible to un-learn.

I love the new house. It's great having a ranch again...no more stairs! And my kitchen and bathroom are so HUGE compared to the old house. I truly believe I would be much sicker this summer, had we not moved to this house with its glorious central air-conditioning. Ah, what a fantastic invention. There are a few downsides: one, the neighbors here do not appear to be as friendly and neighborhood-oriented as the old house. We did have great neighbors there. There's a block party coming up, and I hope to get to know some of the new neighbors then. Two, we are on a major road now, and there is much more traffic than before. The last downside is only a temporary one: the front and back yards are a disaster. Overgrown with weeds and somebody's half-assed attempt to make a rock garden out of discarded chunks of cinder blocks. Anything that might have been growing and flourishing in the yards, the previous occupants literally ripped up and took with them. There are holes and stumps everywhere.

To divert for a moment: the previous occupants must have been some strange people. They took all the rose bushes and flowers, but left behind: three or four dozen paper Chinese Zodiac placemats, 10 identical ladels, 4 soup spoons, an entire drawer of plastic bags, four two-by-fours, two retainers (yes, I am serious: dental retainers, the kind you wear in junior high), about a dozen or so used Q-tips, three pizza pans, two bathtowels (left actually IN the oven), one broken lawnmower, a vanity mirror with SpongeBob stickers attached and seven POUNDS of mothballs. That last one required us to air out and burn scented candles to get rid of the smell in every single closet and cupboard. I don't know how they lived with the stench.

Now, they left all this stuff behind....and took the grate from the fireplace. I mean, literally ripped the bitch from the wall. You can see the holes where they did it. Why on Earth they had to take the grate and left the retainers, I have no idea.

Anyhoo, getting back to the yardwork. Jonathan has been out there on his days off, dutifully attempting to put the yard out of its misery. Jonathan has quite the green thumb, and is at least enjoying the hours of grunt work. Personally, I can't wait until next year...when the yard has completely transformed itself. I'm thinking of taking some "before and after" photos to share with my ZPT fans. Damn, am I old. I am actually excited about showing off lawn photos. Ay yee, I need a Cosmo....

Speaking of Cosmos, another plus to this house is that Jonathan and I have discovered a local watering hole that we really enjoy. It's been nice, being able to get out for a drink every now and again. I think we kind of forgot what it was like to go on dates there for a while. Not a good thing.

The kids are doing well. They love the new house, especially the huge back yard. Wren goes off to day camp in a few weeks, and as she's never done it before, she's pretty nervous. We're going to take Eden to her first movie soon: "The Simpsons." She's a fan of the show, so we're hoping she'll handle the movie-going experience well. She's a good one for new experiences: we went out for Chinese while the in-laws were here, and she tried a little of everything everyone was eating. As a result, I have a toddler who loves "posh icks" (pot stickers). Phoenix likes that the new house is close enough to a wall that he and his best friend can go and "hang out." Jeez, I have a kid old enough to "hang out at the mall." I AM old.

Well, that's enough of an update for now. I really only intended to write a short paragraph, and ended up with a novel, lol. I didn't realize how very much I missed blogging.

It's good to be back...