steady stream

The constant trickle of faucets that has been this week is now ramped up to a steady stream of water to keep the whole thing from shutting down in this arctic weather.  It will be near zero tonight which is pretty much a disaster waiting to happen in the South.  At least there's no precip in the forecast.  That would be horrific on amateur night.

I'm hurting again and having to work into mobility each morning stretching and myofascial releasing.  I've been reflecting on this year and all the changes it brought both in and out of the workplace.  I have a beautiful new granddaughter who holds my heart in her tiny little hands.  It was a six week long 3 surgery test of endurance for her Mama that began with a section and ended with a lap to repair the uterine tear from #2 which was a D and C.  Lauren is healthy and back to work.  Reaves is a wonder.  For this, I am thankful.

In May of this year  I left the keys in the console of my ratty ass Camry at work.  When I went out to smoke later, said Camry was missing.  After contacting police, reviewing video surveillance with IT and catching a ride home I was called from the DPD around 6PM to tell me the car was abandoned at the Mall.  The thief had left a bicycle in the spot where my car was parked and it was taken into evidence and returned.  When I went to get the car from impound the next day I found ANOTHER bicycle in the back seat along with dude's backpack and the hoodie he was wearing.  Think Jessie Pinkman on a bike.  He went to trial and jail where I presume he's still residing.  

A lot of folks have had loss and tragedy this past year and I feel blessed not to have been personally affected this time around the globe.  My friend Judy had surgery a week after me for colon cancer.  She faces a new year with the challenge of cancer treatment.  Jane's husband Steve has been in and out for multiple health problems.  People have died that were cared for deeply.  It's the cycle of life, I suppose.

Folks have retired and found new jobs.  The faces of work change quickly these days.  With a lab full of techs nearing retirement it will be a real challenge to replace us as we continue the march out the door.  Nobody wants to be a lab tech.  We are invisible to the patients except when we take their blood and everybody thinks we're nurses.  Which we almost are!

This surgery has shown me the physical limitations of my body.  As my friend Gay says, we all expect a "fix" when we go to the OR.  Sometimes, that's not possible which was my case.  It was made better which is all I expected.  Tears that old turn into atrophy and shrunken up blobs.  MFR will be my PT along with gradual strength training on my own.  

I have dreams for the new year.  I'm excited about watching Reaves grow and Lauren going in a new direction.  I'm slowly but surely coming to the point where I can either "use it or lose it" with my talents and I intend to manifest that with all I've got.  

Y'all be careful out there ~ Hill Street Blues

low maintenance

It wouldn't take much for me to become a complete hermit because I despise shopping.  I plan trips where I can get it all at once and not have to get out for days.  Last night the battery went out on my cordless mouse and I couldn't get the cover off to replace it.  Three of us tried and it wouldn't budge.  Even though I have a touch pad on the laptop I do much better with a mouse.  The gentral had none so I was facing a trip to Wallyhell which is my worst nightmare.  When I got home from the dolla' store I tried it one more time and voila~  Battery replaced and no walmart.  See how little it takes to make me happy?

I've had my morning chat with Lauren and Reaves which is always a pleasure.  She has found those feetsies and gives them a good workout.  I have roman candles and sparklers left from the 4th so I don't even have to go to the fireworks tent. 

No news here.  Just trying to keep the water flowing and stay warm which will be an ordeal for the next week.  I can't tell you how many times I've let it freeze and had to wait for the thaw, so to speak.  Once it happened on a Sunday and I put out an SOS on Facebook.  Greg Collier came to my rescue, torch and all.   Call him for all your plumbing and electrical needs.  Tell him Janie sent you!

Over and out from the lane ~

in the flats

Highway 78 is lined with tiny towns all the way up to the Kentucky border.  As I passed through on my way to the funeral home I mentally noted the spots that I've driven by a hundred times.....Nauvoo, Bogota, Broadmoor, Ridgely and finally Tiptonville.  There's a huge bluff leading from Nauvoo to Bogota where the road (finally) straightens out from that curvy bunch of mess in the hills.  Bikini Bottoms on the right by the Obion River.  A post office in each little town. I had never been to this particular funeral home so I had to stop twice to find out where I was going.  Turns out I drove smooth past it the first time.  

Lake county is home to the legendary Reelfoot which was formed in ummm...1812? from an earthquake where the Mississippi flowed backwards, or so I'm told.  It used to be a thriving tourist attraction but now there's a giant port there which has taken over much of the quaintness.  Still...if you want to catch fish OR eat them, that's the place to be. There is a state park there and a building named after Lorna's dad who was himself a legend.  There is water standing everywhere along the Obion/Lake part of the highway which is almost exclusively devoted to crops.  I saw one little patch of winter wheat which was a welcome sight among all those corn stalks.  

My arm was pretty achey after the drive so I took an exit and headed home slowly thinking about how beautiful Hazen looked and how heartbroken her family is.  And finally, I've met everybody in the family except for Annabelle and her tribe.  The final song for her funeral will be the one I talked about yesterday.  

Coming off the pain meds may be more of a challenge than I thought but I'll work through it with ibuprofen and whatnot.  I've used the pain med VERY sparingly to get through the worst of it.  Which is how it should be used.  Not sold on the street.  For the "crisis" that is opioid addiction there is no simple answer but it definitely starts with front line providers like nurse practitioners and physicians.  That won't stop the heroin but it would sure put a whoa ho on the pills.  Just saying.

I'm preparing to say goodbye to 2017 and don't let the door hit you in the ass.  There have been good things and bad things but I'm always one to embrace a new calendar and all the possibilities.  Especially now.

^j^

counting blessings

I had totally forgotten about a song that I shared with Hazen during the summer when she was in Pompano.  Lorna found and liked it while going through the memories on her late daughter's page.  That led me to listen again and of course.  I cried like a baby.  What is so ethereal about the whole thing is that the friend who introduced me to it did an MFR treatment on me shortly after that. When I told her about the song she teared up too.  We are kindred spirits like that.  

Lauren and I had a decent talk this morning since she was off.  Baby Reaves was eating like the big girl she is who holds the bottle herself.  We talked about the sad things and good things and all things in between.  She is working like a warrior woman these days and caring for a baby.  I know that feeling!

So today is Thursday, right?  Oh crap.  Garbage day.....gotta run.  

at a loss

I am not my usual smartass chatty self today for several reasons.  The life and death situations I mentioned yesterday morphed into the deaths of two young adults.  Hazen Flatt, the daughter and sister of my dear friends, passed away yesterday.  She was the mother of two small children, Gracie and Jasper.  She was a sweetheart and loved her family like a mama bear.  Their family is straight up right on Lake county to the core even though they've lived just about everywhere.  She is a beautiful  woman whose spirit will shine on forever.   

Jon's death was a shock as well.  I came to know him through BabyMan and Shannah.  He was her nephew and visited often with his cousins Austin and Tori.  Ironically they were in a horrible wreck rushing to where he had been hospitalized and were sent to The Med.  I just found out yesterday that my friend Tracy who cared for Mama is their aunt.  Small world.

It takes a special person to give comfort with words at a time like this and I'm not one of them.  In grief, we are united to where  "i'm sorry" is unspoken with each hug or call or FB post.  It's perfectly normal to wonder why when the real reasons will probably never be known.  It is what it is and it's heartbreaking.  While death is a part of life, only God knows the timing.  

Keep your faucets running kids.  It's arctic out there ^j^

the piano

My aunt and uncle were both piano and voice teachers so guess who started tickling the ivories before school?  I can still remember that from their St John days.  They taught me until sixth grade where I was handed over to Mrs. Charlene Fisher and failed miserably.  Hey...I was a teenager.  

So I quit taking lessons and practicing until the opportunity came around to buy one for 200 bucks.  Jason had learned to play on it and Uncle Jim said it was a great deal so there we went.  Jason died as a young teen with leukemia.  I remember visiting him once at St. Jude.  

So the piano got tuned and I played my little heart out for years, dusting and rearranging things on the top with the mirror.  I played some of the old classical sheet music and remembered how I learned from them.  And I wore out the United Methodist hymnal.  Spirit Song is my favorite.  

Eventually with new flooring came a need to move the giant thing OUT of Casa Poops to a new home and I found just the one, Ms Nancy.  Her family hauled it out, Cooper tuned it and she practiced for her gigs at the evening services.  There have been many times I've sat at that piano in the sanctury down by the family room.  Only there wasn't a family room then.  I froze at the keyboard while the organ played on at that particular service where Ms Charlene told me "you can do this."  I did not.

I should play again.  I'd think it would be good therapy, hmm?

tragedy knows no holiday

I will spare details out of respect for privacy but my heart is very heavy at the moment.  Two families that are like my own are dealing with life and death situations and it sucks.  From experience with Lauren's three surgeries in a month, I know that prayers will keep folks going.  Please send them up for these families.  

I talked with my boss this morning who has had his own medical problems and he said that they finally got his heart back in rhythm on Friday of last week.  Said he feels like a new person except for where he chewed his tongue!  

I'm loading up on the arnica gel and ibuprofen and slowly but surely the pain is waning somewhat.  Enough about that.  I'm blessed to be otherwise healthy and healing.  It will be a very sad day when I have to put on a bra again.

I started taking down decorations yesterday because well..I can't wait until Epiphany and I've got the time.  All y'all out there cleaning up the messes from yesterday, remember how lucky you were not to be touched by the dark side of life and hold those babies close.  

Namaste ~