We went to church on Christmas Eve afternoon with Jeff’s mom, and it was a simple, lovely, musical service. There was a band, maybe five musicians, and the service began with everyone standing to sing a few well-known hymns. Then everyone sat down, there was another song or two, and…
News & notes: books, housecleaning, fixing the PC, Black Friday
I took today off work to get some things done that I hadn’t gotten done last weekend, since I was fighting a cold and not sleeping well (due to stuffiness, etc.), and though I got some extra rest in the morning after the boys left for school, the rest of…
Super-short update on books & reading
Over Saturday and Sunday, I managed to do some amount of cleaning in every room of our house. I was listening to the audio version of The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and it was fabulous. While dusting bookshelves, I started pulling out books to remove from my collection — but…
This is your life. And THIS is your life on Coumadin.
For about three weeks, I’ve been taking the drug warfarin (approximate pronunciation WORF-uh-rin), the generic version of Coumadin. Coumadin is an anticoagulant, meaning it thins your blood to relieve blood clots in the body, and/or to prevent them from forming. It’s a powerful medicine, salvation for some people, but dangerous…
What we learned in Kansas City (from the handsome doctor)
Jeff and I went to Kansas City on Wednesday, to consult with an interventional radiology specialist about my condition. The neurologist I’ve been seeing here in Topeka referred me to KC to review my case, and my various X-rays, to determine whether more films need to be taken (and if…
A video & picture of me, & more info about Horner Syndrome
Jeff recorded this video of me about a week ago. It’s my introduction to the uncommon condition called Horner Syndrome. I didn’t say anything in my video about the third symptom that’s usually mentioned, an absence of sweating on some areas of the affected side of the face, because unless…
My long-delayed review of Great House by Nicole Krauss
(I really love the way the words dominate the cover. I always hear them in my head when I look at the book: “Nicole. KRAUSS. Great. HOUSE.” It reinforces the rhyme.) Thank you to W. W. Norton & Company, and to LibraryThing, for the advance reader’s copy of the novel…
S.A.D. = Seasonal Affective Disaster
Yes, late October this year is about the same as late October every other year, when I’m ready to sob nearly every day, and usually for reasons insignificant or unclear. Crying jag last Monday evening, crying jag again last night, angry and moody moments today. But this year is different…
I wish I had time to review books…
I have books on my bedside table that I’ve read and had hoped to review, or at least babble about briefly, here on my blog. Now, I’m trying to put a few things in better order (mostly paperwork that needs our attention, or just needs to be sorted out, examined,…
Short health update, in longhand
I recently decided to keep an old notebook (actually a cool “blank book” I’ve had for quite a while) close by me, and hope to jot down activities and thoughts as they happen. I wrote these pages yesterday morning before my radiology tests, and early this morning. More to follow,…