Right now, life is very messy. I’ve got anemia and it needs treatment. Garry’s glaucoma seems to be acting up — OR he’s got some problem with migraines OR both are connected. The problem is, he can’t see properly and that means, since I’ve got to get to the hospital and he has got to get to the eye doctor (and I have a funny feeling he isn’t going to make it to the dentist on Monday) — I think I’m going to have to remember how to drive.
Meanwhile, our Roku is behaving weirdly and in the worst possible way — it has become intermittent. Sometimes, it works and we get sound AND picture. The rest of the time, we get sound, but NO picture. It’s completely unpredictable.
I was going to buy a new one, but I bought a camera this month and I don’t need another $75 expense right now. Also, I urgently need to recover my driving because if Garry can’t see, we are going to be in deep sh!t.
Just to make things a wee bit more complicated, my leg — the one that got twisted under me when I fell yesterday — is sore and the trick knee is even trickier. It will get better if I can stay off it another day or two.
One of the things I dislike about winter is all the falling down. Snow always seems to mean I fall. I can’t remember a winter when I haven’t fallen. I keep thinking there must be something that will keep my feet from sliding on the snow and slush, but so far, I can pretty much count on my feet sliding right out from under me usually just when I think I’ve finally found a safe spot. The wood deck gets particularly slippery and you can’t salt a wood deck.
Overall, life’s being a bit of a bugger. So if I’m not on all the time, no one’s dead or dying, but there’s a lot of stuff going. Neither of us is in “peak form” either, so we need to push through the mess and come out in better order.
It is bound to get better. If not better, at least less frenetic. My head is spinning!
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Categories: #News, #Photography, Anecdote, Family, Life, UPDATE!
SERENDIPITY: SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
We do encounter problems from time to time. You know what they say. It is better than the alternative.
My upstairs neighbor will shovel the snow. He will also throw a lot of salt on the stairs because he is afraid of falling down them. He is a lot younger. Another neighbor will help me dig out the car if needed. We have no snow right now.
The retina doc said I am good for another year after checking out cataracts. The regular doc still hates my cholesterol number which seems to hover around 200. Various aches and pains come and go. I guess you know that well. The important thing is we are still here.
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I hope you get things sorted. Driving again may sound daunting but I suspect it will all come back to you once you start. As for the falls, have you tried detachable crampons? They just pull over your shoes or boots and I found them really helpful when we were in Norway one winter. The pavements were really icy in places but I felt pretty secure – and I normally really struggle on slippery surfaces!
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I know I can. It has just been a while since I drove more then a few minutes here and there. But if Garry can’t, then I will have to.
The crampons I had actually were worse and ROLLED like mini-rollerskates. Maybe I need a different kind because the ones I bought actually caused me to fall. I can’t use ones with spikes because of the wood deck. And none of my boots seems to have a good sole for slippery conditions. I might need to find different boots with a more aggressive sole.
We will get through this, but there’s just an awful lot happening. No one is dying of anything, but everything needs to be addressed. And I don’t think Garry is getting the best possible care for his glaucoma. The one thing we do NOT have around here is a good eye clinic. All of the really good ones are in Boston and that may be where we have to go, long drive though it is.
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Well, good luck with it all 🤗
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It’s going to take a while. I’m hoping we can get it wrapped up before the end of February, though both of us have chronic issues so they are never entirely wrapped up.
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I’m sorry to hear that you and Garry are having all these difficulties. I know you have no public transport where you are so it’s difficult to get around if you can’t drive.
Over here the Red Cross and some other organisation have a service that people can use to get to medical appointments. I had to use it a couple of times when David was sick and was glad of it as it was much cheaper than a taxi. The volunteer drivers were very helpful too. I don’t suppose you have anything similar near you?
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There is such a service, but it requires a lot of appointments and they will only take you to places that are local — within 25 miles of home. I think Garry needs to get into Boston to the eye hospital there. I don’t think his eyes are being dealt with well. This appointment next week is with a new doctor, so I’m hoping she is better than the last one.
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Sending you healing thoughts and prayers
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Thanks Sadje. I finally realized yesterday that I’m pretty deep in the mud and I have to deal with it. It’s not going away by itself — no matter how much I wish it would.
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Yes, when it all depends on us, we do find the courage and resources to do it. Perhaps your son can step in too?
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I hope it all sorts itself out and you can enjoy the rest of the year in peace
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ME TOO! Thanks for your good wishes. We just have to keep on keeping on.
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That is true
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Try to concentrate, one at a time on the important stuff and don’t worry about the rest.
Also, when its slippery, take small steps. I have to do this, or I would spend more time on my butt!
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The irony is that I didn’t fall ON the deck. I fell when I got back in the kitchen. The slush and ice must have congealed on the sole of the shoe and I just slid on that slippery-when-wet floor.
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Maybe don’t do that again?
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The problem is we need a new floor in the kitchen. It’s in surprisingly good condition for its age, but it’s more than 50 years old. It has no tread left. It’s very slick when wet. I’m never intending to slide, but it feels like ice even if it was just mopped.
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We had a floor like that once, very dangerous when wet!
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Sorry about your fall, your Roku, Garry’s glaucoma and the other maladies of the day. But as my wife told me when I was in agony a week and a half ago due to lower back spasms, “This, too, shall pass.”
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It WILL pass — but if we don’t deal with it, it will end up with Garry blind and me dead. Despite it being messy and complicated, we’ll have to push through. Maybe the rest of the year will be easier. We’ve actually had a few (medically) easy years, so I suppose this is everything catching up with us.
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Good luck with all that! 💗
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Thanks. I’m working on it.
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I hope things get less messy for you. For what it’s worth, I bought some gadgets a few years ago that are something like chains for your shoes. Don’t remember what they’re called, but they work. You work them over your shoes, and then you can pretty much walk on ice.
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I bought some, but they didn’t work well for me. I may need something a little different. The problem is I can’t use spikes because the deck is wood. The spikes would work otherwise.
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Yes, regarding the spikes. I almost mentioned something about the spikes because you do have to be careful regarding the underlying surface.
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And there’s the problem in a nutshell.
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