Take a Look, It's in a Book, A Reading Rainbow!

Well, Happy New Year to you all! I'm going to try and slip in a couple of end of 2022 posts here in the next day or two. The first one being the books I read in 2022. It's not the best books written in 2022, but the best books I read during the year. Soooo, here we go!

I read 39 books in 2022. Some I absolutely loved, and some were just okay. 

I read plenty of non-fiction this year. The best five non-fiction books look like this:

5.) "Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty", by Anderson Cooper. Anderson Cooper takes a look at his family history, and how they came to gain and lose their fortune. It was well written, very interesting, and he didn't sugar coat anything as far as how money corrupts, and generally, you don't make that much money unless you are corrupt.

4.) "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI", by David Grann. This book will break your heart in a million ways. It's also about how money will corrupt, and this time it was a whole community of white people preying on Native Americans (again). It also is one of the few things I've read or watched about J. Edgar Hoover that didn't make him seem entirely terrible. So, there's that...

3.) "Dreams of My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance", by Barack Obama. As I've said before, he most certainly didn't write this book thinking he was going to run for president. It was a very open look at his life growing up in two different worlds, and trying to make a difference in a world full of challenges and contradictions.

2.) "Crying in H Mart" by Michelle Zauner. It's a memoir about a woman who is mourning the loss of her mother. It's so beautiful and sad, and self-reflective of her confusing and tumultuous relationship with her Korean mother. It is also about growing up in two different worlds with a white father, and a Korean mother, and trying to figure out how to live in both cultures, with food as the language of her mother's love for her.

1.) In my opinion, the best non-fiction book I read this year was "Just Kids", by Patti Smith. Many people have recommended this book to me, and I bought it a few years ago, but my reading list is long, and I am moody when it comes to books...and really everything in my life. Anyway, this book is a poem, it's a feeling, it's a love song to Patti Smith's youth and her relationship to Robert Mapplethorpe. The writing is brilliant, and their story, and Patti Smith's story of that time is pretty incredible. It took me a while to start another book after this, because of the lingering hang over from "Just Kids".

I read two children's novels in 2022. They were both amazing. One was a reread, and one was a book I have been meaning to read for a very long time:

2.) The second best children's book I read in 2022 was "Bridge to Terabithia", by Katherine Paterson. I cried and cried at the end of this book. It's about two children who don't really conform to their gender norms, and who build a beautiful friendship where they are both comfortable being themselves. I wish it had been written when I was a kid.

1.) The best children's book that I read in 2022 WAS around when I was a kid and I loved, loved it. "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwieler, by E.L. Konigsburg is a wonderfully bizarre story about a brother and sister who run away to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the mystery that they try to solve. It is a sweet, and quirky, and fun adventure.

I only read one Young Adult book this year, and if you have to only read one Young Adult book in a year, this was the one to read.

My top one through five Young adult books that I read in 2022 was "The Hate U Give", by Angie Thomas. I actually read it in less than 24 hours, THAT'S how engrossed I was. It takes place in Mississippi, and it looks at racial injustice from every angle. It is funny, and heartbreaking, and loving, and I wish I could read it again for the first time.

I read a few detective/mystery books this year, all by women authors. What can I say? I love a plucky female detective story.

5.) The fifth best detective novel I read was "More Than You'll Ever Know", by Katie Gutierrez. It's not going to win the Pulitzer Prize anytime soon, but it was a fun read, and I'm never too fancy for Summer fun books.

4.) The fourth best detective/mystery book was part of the Maisie Dobbs series of books I've been reading lately. "Birds of a Feather", by Jacqueline Winspear takes place after WWI. A group of women friends are being killed, and thank GAWD Maisie Dobbs is there to figure it all out. I like about 20 cups of escapism fed to me with my detective novels, and the Maisie Dobbs series delivers on that so far.

3.) My third favorite detective novel that I read in 2022 is "The Likeness", by Tana French. Yes, you have to spend some time suspending your disbelief while reading this one, but if you can do that, the story is kind of fun...Or my idea of fun, which involves murder and mayhem in a novel.

2.) The second best detective novel I read this year was "Maisie Dobbs", by Jacqueline Winspear. This is the origin story of Maisie Dobbs and it takes place before, during, and just after WWI. 

1.) The best mystery/detective novel I read in 2022 was another Tana French novel, called "The Faithful Place." It takes place in Dublin. A detective has to go back to where he grew up and face his demons when a suitcase shows up. It is full of dysfunctional families and alcoholism, and working through (or not) your issues. What's not to love?

I reread two books that weren't children's novels this year. I can't say which one was better than the other, because I loved them both, and that's why I reread them both thirty some years after I read them the first time.

1.) The best reread that I reread was "Song of Solomon", by Toni Morrison. Jaysus! What to say about this novel. It is tragic, and difficult, and lush, and so, so well written. It is the story of Milkman Dead trying and failing to fly.

2.) The OTHER best reread of 2022 is Octavia Butler's "Kindred". I originally read this book in the late 80's, and loved it so much that it accompanied me through however many moves into my current house. It takes place in 1976. A young Black woman starts getting transported back in time during slavery to save her White ancestor, while also trying to teach him to be a better person, and trying not to get killed in the process. If you haven't read it yet...Or even if you have, I HIGHLY recommend it.

The Only horror novel I read this year would probably still be my favorite, even if I had read hundreds of scary books. "The Only Good Indians", by Stephen Graham Jones is about a group of Native American friends who are being hunted down by something bad they did in the past. It is suspenseful, and gory, and there is a lesson to be learned. It had everything.

 Okay, now we are down to the best five current novels (that aren't detective/Scifi/horror/or rereads) I read in 2022.

It's a little tough ranking them, because most of them are even stevens as far as what I liked, but I'm going to try and rank them anyway.

5.) "Detransition, Baby", by Torry Peters tells the story of a trans woman dealing with relationships, and her issues, and society's issues with her. It's sad, but also self-aware and saucy and fun. It's also written by someone from the Iowa Writer's Workshop, so that's an extra added bonus.I haven't read a novel written by a trans person before, so I was glad to read that perspective in literature. I hope to read many more.

4.) My fourth favorite current novel I read in 2022 was "Hell of  a Book", by Jason Mott. It was about an African American author running from his past, and his experiences, and the experiences of so many others. It is funny, and weird, and engaging. It was a very different read than most novels, and I like that about it. I wasn't sure where we were going until close to the end.

3.) My third favorite current novel of 2022 was "The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse", by Louis Erdrich. This was written in 2001, so it was strange that I hadn't read it before, but when I thought about it, that was a weird and busy time in my life when I had two young kids and no time to read novels. ANYWAY, this book is amazing. About a woman who transitions into a priest named Father Damien, on a reservation for over 50 years.

2.) My second favorite novel of 2022 is "Great Circle", by Maggie Shipstead. I had read great reviews of this book, but I was hesitant because I tried to read another novel she wrote called, "Seating Arrangements". I got through about 50 pages of that, and had to put it down. It was all about horrible rich people at a wedding on the East Coast, and I was bored by the other thousands of books about the exact same thing, and that book didn't seem to add anything new to that topic. So, if that was the case or you too, don't worry. This book was a MILLION times better than that one. It was long, but the story was interesting enough and full of adventures, and a few twists that I wasn't bored at all. AND I have horrible ADHD. So,  if I could read a book that long, most people won't bat an eye.

1.) The best current fiction book I read in 2022 was "The Vanishing Half", by Brit Bennett. It's about two sisters who grew up in Louisiana. One leaves home and passes for white. The other marries a very dark skinned African American man. Their daughters meet as adults, not knowing they are related. It's a very well written, compelling story.

Looking back at the books I did read, I'm always aware of the types of books I didn't read. Except for "Kindred", I didn't read any science fiction/fantasy books, I didn't read any classic novels either, or comic books/graphic novels. All things to rectify next year. As always, happy reading everyone out there for 2023?

A Very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year, Let's Hope It's a Good One, Without Any Fear

Oh, kids. We're so close to the end of 2023. It's been a hard year in many ways and a great year in others. I definitely learned one hell of a lot, though. As always, I'm going to try and write more in the future. It's been tough lately adjusting to my hyperthyroid meds. They make me crazy tired and stooopid a lot. All I want to do is watch the dumbest TV, and I've had a low grade migraine pretty much every day until a couple of weeks ago. I'm hoping it means that my body is starting to adjust to them better. Everything I've read says it takes a few months to adjust and then some of the worst side effects should ease up. Sadly, I think the weight gain part of it might be here to stay, but it's not like I'll be losing all of my super model contracts because of it, it just makes running more of a challenge. There are worse things...

Oh yeah, I was going to write about my holiday. First I want to say that I do love a lot of parts of Christmas traditions. As a single mom, it used to be a lot harder when my kids were young, but now I just do the parts I like, and say screw it to anything that doesn't interest me ,or takes too much work. Mostly, I love to hang all of the photos and Christmas cards on our refrigerator, I love having Christmas lights all over, and a real tree. I LOVE the smell. John does tend to roll his eyes a little about my holiday preparations, but I just like to think that eye rolling and scowling are John's love languages, and I keep on doing what I want to do.

This year the holiday started with a bang. The weather went and got all blustery and snowy and ridiculously cold. We weren't going anywhere, so it wasn't the biggest deal to us, but our car battery died on Christmas Eve, which was kind of annoying. Luckily, we have a good friend and teammate who was nice enough to come over and help out. We have a Honda Fit, which they don't make anymore, and their batteries are pretty small. We found a few auto parts stores that were open on Christmas Eve. One didn't have a battery, one said he was the only person there and it might take all day for him to get to our car, and one said they had the battery, but that it was too cold for them to install it. John and his friend drove out there, got the battery, and after watching a Youtube video, John was able to install the battery himself in the below zero temperatures. My hero!

One of my new favorite Christmas day traditions is taking a bath and drinking some hot tea. I make the water as hot as I can stand and I add too much stinky bubble bath, and I soak. It is my own special gift to myself, and I guarantee you I will never get tired of it.

The kids and their partners came over at about 11 and we opened gifts. A few years ago, we thought we might do away with the gift giving, and just give the kids what my brother likes to call, "the gift that keeps on giving", cash. But both the girls said they like to actually exchange gifts, and I'm fine with that. So, we each buy a few simple gifts. I always say if it ever devolves into us just exchanging gift cards we'll end the practice, but for now it is kind of nice. I always think I'm easy to buy for because I will take fun tea accoutrements, and books, and I like an actual, physical calendar that I can write on, preferably filled with pictures of adorable baby animals. I just can't shake my 1970's junior high girls sensibilities. Nor do I want to.

Besides my morning tub soak, my favorite Christmas tradition is going out for sushi for lunch. The history behind this comes from when the girls were younger. Their dad's birthday is on Christmas day, and so it used to be that I would have the girls on Christmas Eve, and their dad would pick them up on Christmas morning after they opened  their gifts. One year their dad decided that he wanted to go to a party instead, and didn't want to take the girls on Christmas day after all. Of course, I didn't have much food in my house because I didn't think I had to worry about feeding the girls, and so I drove around trying to find a place that was open where we could eat dinner that wasn't Walgreens, when we came across a Chinese restaurant. For years after that, we always got Chinese take-out for Christmas dinner...Until we realized our favorite sushi place was also open on Christmas, and we quickly switched. Now we are pretty much the first people in the restaurant when they open on Christmas. Which I'm sure is annoying to them, until they realize how much we tip. I have worked on Christmas day before, and it sucks, so I am all about compensating people for it.

After lunch, the kids went to spend time with their dad. I started getting a bit of a migraine, so I did some hard resting before I started making dinner. The last few years, the kids have asked that I make pasta for Christmas dinner. In particular, cheese tortellini covered in a creamy pesto sauce, and then I saute' veggies in oil and tamari and ground pepper, and I saute' chicken in garlic butter and white wine sauce, I cook linguine and finally, I make their favorite, Alfredo sauce from scratch. It's all pretty easy to make, and John works as my prep cook and cleans up after me. 

A lot of years we'll play Cards Against Humanity after dinner, but this year it was snowing, and the kids wanted to get home before the drive became too treacherous, so they finished watching the first Harry Potter movie and headed home.

Archie wasn't too upset about it. After all of the dogs and people, and since he didn't get to have any of the chicken I made, he just wanted a little alone time in his safe space. Poor guy.

Because Christmas was on a Sunday, John got Monday off at his job, and I get Monday and today off at mine. 

I have really been slacking off of working out. After my doctor told me I could run again in November, I tried hard to start back up slowly. I just did a slow two miles every other day. I thought that would be good. I even graduated up to a 3.5 mile route...And then the shin splints hit. I used to get them every year at the beginning of track season. Back then my coaches just told me to keep running, and they'd go away eventually. I guess, now doctors know that they could develop into a stress fracture, so I stopped running the last couple of weeks. Of course, I didn't do anything else either, except eat too much. So, when I saw it was going to get all the way up to 14 degrees outside. I asked John if he'd go to Hickory Hill and do a snow hike with me.

Lucky for me, he was all for it. So, we walked a little over 3 miles in the woods and talked, and I made a snow angel, because I'm always 10 years old.

 It was just what I needed, and a perfect end to our long holiday weekend.

I hope you all had a lovely long weekend, and were able to spend it exactly how you wanted, and I wish you all a wonderful week ahead.

Home is Whenever I'm With You

The photos of our house on the realty site.

Well, kids. It's the lucky number 13th anniversary of me closing on our house. I honestly never thought I would be able to afford a house, but because of President Obama's $8,000 for a first time home buyer deal, an FHA loan, and my brother fronting me the $8,000 that I paid back once the government sent me the check, it actually happened, Soooo, thanks Obama!...No, really. Thank you so much.

Of course, I could barely afford to pay my mortgage, my insurance, my taxes, and my mortgage insurance (basically a poor tax) when I was single and both my girls were in high school. On top of my full-time job, I mowed lawns, and donated plasma, and squeaked by every month.

Our house now.

About a year and a half later, John bought into the mortgage, and helped put down more money, so we could refinance and stop having to pay the stupid mortgage insurance.

We also spent about $10,000 to get our crawl space encapsulated, so we don't have any moisture down there, and we haven't seen any termites since then either.  Whew! That was basically the reason our house was on the market for two years before I bought it.

The photo of our kitchen on the realty site.

Our house was built in 1950, and in addition to the crawl space work, everything else needed love too. Even with both mine and John's contributions, we haven't been able to take care of everything at once. We've already done two different remodels on the kitchen. The first was new countertops, painting the walls and the cupboards, and removing the upper cupboard doors.

Our remodeled kitchen.

The second remodel was a couple of years ago. We (meaning John and our friend, Seaghan) had to rip up part of our kitchen floor to replace some joists that were damaged when we had all of that moisture in our crawlspace, or when something leaked, or both.

We also repainted the walls, scraped off the popcorn ceiling and painted it, replaced the ceiling fans, replaced the floor tile, replaced all of the appliances, and my brother put in a hood vent for us. It's almost a whole new kitchen, and we'll probably have to do a few other things to it eventually.

Like I always say, I'm glad everyone is different and has their own tastes, or the world would be a very boring place.I love our older house, and I like to have decor according to that period, but also a little more updated. I like chrome, and checkered floors, and our gigantic porcelain sink in the kitchen. At some point, we'll do a backsplash, but that will take some more money savings and time. For now, I love our kitchen. It's huge and funky, and colorful...And you KNOW how much I love color...

Last year in December, my brother gave us the wonderful gift of staying with us for 10 days and fixing up our bathroom. It had been really disgusting before that. He changed out the sink, retiled the floor, and took out the surround and replaced it with white subway tile in the shower, put in a new faucet in the tub and sink, and painted our wainscoting. John installed new lights, and sealed everything, and I scraped, sanded and painted our window and the ceiling and the walls. It's still very small, but it looks like a dream to me. Thanks, Uncle Bill! We stuck with the black and white tile for the floor and used a green and rust color scheme for the paint and towels and bathmats.

Our living room when we first moved in. I painted it a camel color because it's such a dark room and I wanted it to feel warmer

Back when I bought our house, we had very little money for furniture. Our old apartment just had a futon couch and a Papasan chair. What some people would call dorm furniture, but I would call poor people furniture. I wanted something better than that, and there used to be a Kalona Furniture Store place on the Coralville strip. I was able to buy a couch, a loveseat, and a big chair for a little over $300. One of my co-worker's gave me her old 1970's style coffee and side table, and I bought a rug from Target.

For $300, those couches and chair sure held up well, but they were definitely not my style, they were too big for the space, and after 13 years, they were really starting to show their age (something I totally understand). So, last year I looked at a sectional from Ashley furniture. They were having a big sale, and I almost pulled the trigger, but I'm glad I didn't. I went home and read reviews and they all said that after a few months the fabric pilled and looked gross and it was cheaply made. 

We kept saving, and about a month ago, I started looking online and pricing furniture, and reading reviews, and I settled on Albany Park for our couches, and Burrow for our coffee and side table. I would have bought the couches from Burrow too, but they were a lot more expensive, and the reviews said they were more narrow and not very comfortable. They also didn't have an olive green color, which I think looks great in our mid-century house. We still have an ottoman, and a swivel chair coming from Albany Park, but it's taking WAAAYYYY longer for them to deliver those.

Our new TV console, and yes, we do still have DVD's and CD's. We're old like that.

 The last thing we wanted for our living room was a TV console. We wanted a walnut color to match our living room tables, we didn't want it to be too bulky, and ideally, we would love for it to have covered storage. Looking for a TV console under $1000 sucks! We wanted real wood. I bought our last TV stand at Best Buy when I first bought the house and it was made of particle board, and looked like crap, but it was all I could afford. John and I both looked online and read reviews, but anything we could afford was not going to be made of real wood, or if it was, it was going to be all cheap and janky looking.

Last weekend, John and I decided to go shopping in real stores, so we could see what things looked like up close and personal. We both HATE to shop, and when I told The Youngest our plan for last Saturday, she asked, "Who ARE you?'

We drove all the way to a furniture store in Williamsburg. It wasn't really our style, and it was all so BIG. So, we went to Ashley in the mall (lord help me) and that was the same. The sh*t there was all pretty heinous, and too expensive for "manufactured" wood. So, we went to the rich people store called Dwell. They had a few things we liked, but I wasn't trying to spend my life's savings to buy it.

Then we headed to Amish country, where there are about a bazillion antique stores. That was all way more our style. There was a lot of really cool stuff, and it was all pretty affordable. I did find a cute little cupboard that would have worked had it been twice as big, or there had been two of them and I could have smooshed them together.

We tried one last stop on our way home, and went to Restore. It's the Habitat for Humanity store and they have all kinds of furniture and old doors and windows. Most of it is donated.We got our super swank front door there for $25 a few years ago.

There are two parts to the Restore venue. One is mostly doors and sinks and old bathtubs, and we thought we'd check it out in case there were some old cupboards we could use. There was not. Then we went to the furniture store part, and the minute we walked in, we saw a guy moving a TV console in on a dolly. We rushed right over and checked it out. It was all wood, and not too bulky or wide, and it was a dark color, just not walnut. It didn't have much covered storage, and it needs to be sanded and refinished on the top, but we bought a runner for it for now, and I'll sand and refinish it when it warms up outside. The best part of all, was that it was $38. FOR. REAL.

I like that we didn't have to buy something new, and I love the price. Now, all we have to do is get our ottoman and swivel chair, and our living room will be set for now.

I'm hoping to paint our tiny hallway and work on our laundry room this Winter. I know people like to buy new houses, because they're less work and all, but they don't stay new forever, and our 1950's house really is built like a tank. 

 

 

 

So, happy 13th anniversary to our homeownership! We've had so many memories, both good and bad here. Of course, my favorite memory is when we got married in our upstairs dormer room with our daughters and their partners as witnesses. I hope to be able to live here until I die...Or until they carry me away to the old folks home, whichever comes first. I'm pretty sure we'll still be working on this place until that time as well, and I'm good with that.

 

I Don't Know Where I'm Running Now, I'm Just Running On

Handing off my baton at The State Track Meet when I was 15.

Well, I finally got some good news...Or at least better news. I had a follow-up appointment last Friday for my Grave's disease and to see how my meds were working.They ran a bunch of blood tests, and most of them were good. He said my thyroid numbers were still almost non-existent (I went from a .001 to a .01), but my free T numbers were getting much better. I guess the meds can take up to six months to get to where they need to be. So, the doctor said I can just keep on keeping on with it, and come back in another few months to reassess.

The best news was that he said I could start getting my heart rate up to 160. I'm a big heart rate spiker. Which means I'm still going to have to be careful, but I can start running again as long as I gradually ease into longer and faster runs. I know a lot of people who would go searching for a second opinion, if their doctor told them they could start running again, but when my doctor told me, I almost kissed him.

I was still running at least 35 miles a week in my early 40's here.

 

 I know I always say this, but running has been one of the true great loves of my life. Not to be overly dramatic, but it pretty much saved my life during the worst parts of it.

I got into running in 1975, the year my mom died, and I was heartbroken, and we moved to a suburb on the South side of Chicago. My parents weren't into sports, and I went to one of those "Free to be You and Me" schools in the 70;'s in Arizona where we didn't do things that were all that competitive. But it seemed like everyone in the Midwest played team sports. I've never had the attention span for most team sports, and I was never very good at them. Then we had a little school track meet in 5th grade, and shocker of all shocks, I found that I could run. Not only that, but I LIKED to run. 

The first real benefit I got from running, was finally being able to sleep at night. I used to have a horrible time sleeping when I was a kid (my poor mother), and when I got into running I was suddenly sleeping through the night. It was amazing.

Of course, when I started running, no one I knew had ever heard of running shoes. We all ran in our cheap, gym shoes that we got from Venture. There also was no such thing as a sports bra. We all just wore regular bras. Once during the state track meet, my bra strap broke at the beginning of my split of the 4 x 400 relay, and I had to hold my bra strap with my hand the entire rest of the race. I was so embarrassed. 

The first time I ever saw women wearing sports bras was in 1983. The rich girls from Valley High in Des Moines showed up wearing them at districts, and we all kept asking each other, "What's wrong with their boobs?"

Of course, now there is a ridiculous amount of gear for runners, and it's a million times nicer to run when it's below zero out, and you aren't wearing big, cotton sweat pants that are so drenched with your own sweat that they freeze hard while while you run.

I got really into trail running in my 50's. It helps my foot pain to run on softer surfaces.

 Running has always been my sanctuary. People didn't own their own personal treadmills to run on for years after I got into the sport, so I've never really used one. I run outside, and that combination of moving outside, and a free high has helped me through the worst times of my life. 

After a few years of finding out who the hell I was and what the hell worked for me to be a happy human in my late teens, where I was only running sporadically, I found an article in Runner's World magazine about how to get into the habit of running. It said to just start doing a short distance. I chose a mile. They said to run or run/walk that almost every day, until it felt easy, then bump it up to two miles. When I was 22 I tried that. After about a month of gradually increasing the distance, I could run almost any distance. 

From then on, I ran at least six miles a day, close to every day until I hit my late 40's. I started having really bad problems with metatarsalgia, where the balls of my feet would feel like they were being stabbed with ice picks if I ran more than six miles. Then that distance shortened to five miles, and now it's closer to three. When I was around 50, I needed to wear a patella strap on my left knee when I ran. I sometimes feel like I'm being held together with band-aids now. Thank jeebus my husband works at an orthopedic clinic...

I've always known I wouldn't be able to run forever. When I was about 25 I thought that if I was lucky, I'd be able to run until I was 40, and that seemed so old that I was satisfied with the prognosis. Now, I'm 57 and I'm still limping along. I had to take three months off while we sorted out my hyperthryroidism this Fall. But last Friday I was given the green light to start again. I "ran" 2 miles that day, and every other day since then. Of course, I'm running those two miles slower than I thought it was possible to go and still call it running, but it feels SO. DAMN. GOOD. to be shuffling along outside, and that runner's high after the first mile is still as as lovely as ever. I once told a friend of mine that the reason I never got into doing drugs was that a runner's high was so perfect and there were no side-effects. To which she responded, "Well, the side-effect is that you have to run to get that high." Touche'!

So, if you happen to see me out limping on down the road with my very distinctive gait, and you wave at me, and I don't seem to recognize you, just know that I am as high as hell, and don't take it personally. I may not be able to keep it up much longer, but I feel so lucky to have found the thing that I love to do that has helped me physically, mentally, and emotionally at such a young age. Some people never find that.

Well, kids. I was able to make it to Moab. A lot of times when it seems like things aren't working out easily, I wonder if the universe is trying to tell me that whatever I'm trying to do just isn't the best idea. This time, after my sister-in-law had to drop out of the trip because their dog is very old and they didn't want to leave her with anyone else, and then I wasn't sure I could make it after finding out I had Grave's disease and wasn't supposed to get my heart rate up on a trip that was all about strenuous hikes and hilly mountain bike rides, the trip was actually almost perfect. 

My brother showed up to our house with his tricked-out van around noon on Friday. He had a three hour Zoom meeting, so John and I went to lunch, and bought groceries and finished the last little bit of packing. We probably got on the road at around 4 pm. 

We stopped in Des Moines to eat dinner, and then drove the thirteen hours left overnight. I say "we", but I really mean John and Bill. I wasn't comfortable driving at night because I have terrible night blindness, and also my Graves disease can give me double vision. I just couldn't imagine driving an unwieldy vehicle, and suddenly seeing two of everything. Yikes!

We made it to Grand Junction, Colorado at around 10 the next morning. I had never been there before. It is a cute little town with a lot of mountain bike trails and a bike path that goes on for 20 miles. 

I'm having a hard time sleeping in general with this stupid Hyperthyroidism, but it was even harder trying to sleep in a van on VERY bumpy roads in Colorado, so I was exhausted when we finally got to Grand Junction. So, the boys went mountain biking while I got a few more desperately needed hours of sleep.

Since I'm not able to get my heart rate up, John had the brilliant idea that we could just rent an e-mountain bike for a few days while we were in Moab. Of course, I didn't have that e-mountain bike in Colorado yet, so I asked the guys if they were okay with riding around on the flat bike path, and getting dinner and a beer while we played. I heard there were cool murals and sculptures along the path, but since it was almost dark when we got to it, and we were starving, we didn't get to see them. Next time!

We went to Taco Party for dinner and the food was really great. I also had a delicious margarita. It was just what the doctor ordered...So to speak. We rode to a brew pub after dinner and sat on a rooftop deck for one more drink before we headed to our Motel 6 for the night.

The next morning we drove straight to the Bar M Ranch trails in Moab. I didn't remember them being so hilly, but then I didn't have to worry about getting my heart rate up too high the last time we were there, so it's not like I was very aware of the hills back then.

I tried to go slowly, but you have to have some momentum to ride the rocks. I rode a little longer, and then decided to let the boys ride the harder trails while I chilled out in the van. I was getting out of breath on the climbs, and I didn't have to look at my sports watch stats to know I had gone way over the 140 beats per minute, my doctor told me I had to stay under in order not to die of a heart attack or stroke.

When they finished mountain biking, John suggested that we ride the bike trail back to where we found the giant dinosaurs. If you've ever met me, you probably know that I love all of the cheesy things: Dinosaurs, aliens, Big Foots (feet?), Bat Boys... They all amuse me. So, when we were driving to the trails, I saw the giant dinosaurs, and I wanted to get closer.

 I was very happy to meet the fake dinosaurs. We looked at buying tickets to get even closer and see even more, but they were $18 a person, and even I couldn't reconcile that cost to hang around with some sculptures. I did buy a "Philosraptor" t-shirt from the gift shop, though.

We finally got to our campsite by around three in the afternoon. I'll write more tomorrow, hopefully, but the first day and a half of our trip was fun and very educational. It was instructional for me to figure out how I was going to navigate this stupid Hyperthyroidism/Grave's Disease. It was annoying to see how many things it affected. I found myself talking about it way too much, but I was learning about it as I went, and limited by it and I had to remind my traveling companions why I was so tired, and irritable, and anxious, and all the other annoying things my body was doing to me. Believe me, I felt VERY lucky to get to go to Moab, I just had a lot to figure out with my new condition while I was there.

Doctor, Doctor, Can't You See I'm Burning, Burning

 Well, okay. I finally got a treatment plan for my hyperthyroidism. I got my most recent blood work back a week and a half ago, but since my doctor was at a conference in Scotland, I never had anyone let me know what any of this meant. I looked online at the numbers, so I was pretty sure I had Graves Disease, but I still wasn't sure exactly what that meant for me. So, I messaged the doctor who was filling in for my physician, and told him I would love to have more information about everything. All I knew about my new disease was what I had read online, and some of it was confusing. 

I sent the new guy a bunch of questions, so he would have time to find the answers before he wrote back: Could I go on vacation? Was there a certain heart rate I should try not to go above? Did I read the latest result right, and do I have Graves Disease? If so, what was my treatment? If they weren't able to start treatment right away, could they give me something for the insane anxiety I suddenly started having the last few days? One of the things I read when I was doing my scary internet searches was that if my disease wasn't treated, I could have this thing called "Thyroid Storm". Contrary to what you might think, it isn't just a great name for a classic rock cover band, it's a life threatening situation. Imagine me reading all of the possible issues, and not having any medical professional to talk to about them, and being a spaz to begin with, but then having severe anxiety on top of that. Oh, the scenario storms I can create in my head...

Anyway, the substitute doctor messaged me back and said he would text Endocrinology and get back to me as soon as he heard back from them. Then he called me at work and was very kind and patient and answered every question I had. He told me they were going to start me on Methimazole. I told him that I am pretty sensitive to any drug or alcohol (they don't call me two beer Churly for nothin'!), so he might want to start me on a fairly low dose to see how I reacted. He told me that my thyroid levels were so high they would have to start me on a big dose, but that he'd use the lower tier of it. Most importantly, he said that I could go on vacation, but just to really watch my heart rate, not to ride or hike alone, and to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. So, we leave this weekend, and Jaysus, Mary and Joseph! do I need a vacation.

 I started taking my new meds on Saturday morning. They can take up to 4 - 6 weeks to really start working, but I have noticed a slight change or two already, and some side-effects too. I've been having some joint pain now, but my anxiety has calmed down a bit. I actually woke up cold last night. Between hot flashes and the hyperthryroidism, I can't remember when the last time the whole world didn't seem to be burning up. I also had a horrible nightmare for the first time in years, and I'm hoping that's not some kind of awful side-effect too.

So it is that I have a treatment plan finally. I've read that there could be a lot of medicine dose adjustments in the first year, but sometime after being on the drugs, the symptoms go away, so I am crossing my fingers, and my eyes,and my legs and whatever else I can, that that is the case for me. I have a follow-up appointment in October, and when we get back from vacation, I have to swallow irradiated dye, so they can scan my thyroid. I have so many things to look forward to. Sigh.

We have excellent house and cat sitters at the ready, and I will get to go to my beloved Southwest. Don't worry...Or do, depending if you want to be inundated with pictures, I will take a million photos and obsessively document that whole trip. Most importantly, I will be careful and keep any storms (thyroid or anxious scenarios) at bay.

It's Another Day, Another Chance. I Wake Up, I Wanna Dance

 Well, kids. It's been a challenging Summer. I know listening to people talk about their health problems is about as interesting as listening to someone go into great deal about their dreams or complain about their jobs, but I'm sure I've already subjected you all to that before, and now I'm going to subject you to having to read about my health problems. I promise that if you want to go into great deal about your health problems or how much you hate your job, I'll be there to listen. If, however, you want to go into great detail about the dream you had last night, I may only pretend to listen while my eyes glaze over. Fair warning.

Sooooo, anyway. In late June I started having migraines too often again. Then on July 10th I got more of a period than I've had for a couple of years. Like, I didn't bleed a bunch, but it went on for six days, and there were more migraines, and lots of feelings, and I hated everything and everyone, but wanted to eat the whole world. Then it was over and I had more migraines.

Then John and I took a week of vacation where we stayed in town but rode bikes, and JUST as my migraines were finally starting to dissipate, I lost like seven pounds in about a week. Which wasn't a bad thing for me, since my doctor says I need to try and lose about 20 pounds to get to some kind of "ideal" weight which may not be all that realistic for me. It was also really hot and humid, so I figured it was just water weight from not having air conditioning and sweating for 24 hours of every day. I started doing this thing where we'd go on bike rides, and I would get to some point where I was suddenly overheated and I felt dizzy and I'd have to either turn around and go straight back, or one time I got a ride halfway through our bike ride when we met friends for lunch in Kalona. Then last Friday I woke up with really bad dry eye and scratched my cornea just by opening my eye when I woke up. I have had all of these symptoms before (except for the easy weight loss) and so I just figured they were all from the lovely perimenopause I have been going through for the last 700 years, (or at least that's what it feels like).

Lucky for me, my annual doctor's appointment had originally been scheduled for December, but my doctor had a cancellation and so it was rescheduled to last Monday. I went in and told her my usual complaints. I talked about the dry eye and asked if there was some shot of lubricant they could give me in my arm, that would help with my dry eye, my peeling skin, and horrible muscle cramps, or at least some kind of HRT (hormone replacement therapy) that I could use, but she said no on account of my stupid breast cancer. Oh, I almost forgot, my blood pressure was up, just the systolic, but I'm a spaz, so I didn't think that much of it. 

My doctor decided to do a little blood work. They did a TSH and free T4, just to make sure my thyroid was doing what it should. I was like, "whatever". I'm sure it's fine. But I was wrong. My TSH level was .01, which in laywomen's terms means I have hyperthyroidism. As if I needed to be any more hyper...Since the symptoms are almost exactly the same as those of perimenopause, I wouldn't have even thought anything about them, and just be glad I was finally losing a little weight. Apparently, that would have been dangerous. The biggest issues for untreated hyperthyroidism is heart attack and stroke risk. Awesome. I already have a HUGE genetic disadvantage there. 

My next step is getting my blood drawn again on Tuesdays to check for antibodies that will let me know if this is caused by Grave's Disease - an autoimmune disorder that is one of the main causes for hyperthyroidism. It also causes eye issues (think Marty Feldman). They will probably do a scan of my thyroid too. There are some treatment options. One is a beta blocker. There are also meds. If neither of those work, then they do the radioactive iodine thing, and if that doesn't work, then they just take the damn thing out. No matter what, it probably means I'll be on meds for the rest of my life. I suppose most people get there with blood pressure meds, HRT, cholesterol meds, blood thinners, anti-anxiety/anti-depressants, or what have you. I've been lucky so far, is how I look at it.

Because this is usually easily treatable, the biggest drag is just for the immediate future. Until we get this thing figured out and started on a treatment plan, I'm not allowed to get my heart rate up - no running, no swimming, no biking (except I'm allowed to bike to work and back as long as I don't go too fast. Which means I can't be late for work ever), and no lifting weights. Of course, we had this great, fun, vacation planned at the end of September to go hiking, white water rafting, and mountain biking in Moab, and we might have to reschedule it. I'm waiting until at least next week to pull the plug on it. We'll see what they say after the antibody test. The reality is, that it could take four months for the thyroid meds to kick in. Can you imagine how hard I will be to live with if I can't play outside for FOUR WHOLE MONTHS? I can go for walks, and hikes, so that's at least something. But you may want to send love and your best wishes to John in his time of need.

Soooo, that's how my week went, how about yours? I hope you all have good health, and any issues you do have are easily treatable.

How's it Feel to be at the Center of Magic, to Linger in Tones and Words?

Okay. Well, Since it's the end of June and I'm already two months behind, I thought I would finally write a post about the books I read in April and May.

I read six books in April. Since it was still pretty chilly this April, I wasn't yet in Summer reading mode. Which means I actually read things other than escapist, beach books, and lady detective novels.

1.) The first book I read, was "Matrix", by Lauren Groff. It told the story of a young girl who was cast out of the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine, and sent to a poverty stricken nunnery, where most of the women were starving. She uses her smarts and creativity to make the convent prosper, and to protect the women under her charge. I did like this book, I just didn't love it. It was uneven for me. I was really engrossed in some parts, and others, I found myself a little bored. 

2.) "The Consequences of Fear", by Jacqueline Winspear was my second book for April. It was on the new books shelf at Prairie Lights, and it had a plucky woman detective in it, and you know how I feel about books with plucky woman detectives. It takes place in 1941, and it follows Maisie Dobbs. What I didn't know until after I read it, is that it is the 16th book in a series of Maisie Dobbs stories. So, I did what any intelligent person would do, and bought the first six books in the series, that I will try and stretch out for the next several months. Believe me, I know this book is unrealistic and cheesy, but that's the fun in reading them for me. ESCAPISM!

3.) Because April is Earth Day month, I finally read Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring". It was getting passed around to all of my co-workers when I was in the California Conservation Corps in 1985, but I moved to Big Bear Lake to work at a ski resort before my turn came. It is depressing, and scary, and all of that stuff. but it was also one of the reasons people started thinking about the dangers of pesticides and DDT. Too bad people aren't smart enough to stop the wide spread use of pesticides altogether, but at least it got DDT banned, and that is why we get to see so many eagles again.

4.) My fourth book is a reread from a book I LOVED as a kid. I texted my sister to tell her I bought it, in case she hadn't thought of the book in a while, and of course she said she already owned a copy. Duh. "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler", by E. L. Konigburg is a book I hadn't read since I was a kid, and it didn't really lose anything for me when I read it as an adult. A brother and sister runaway to live in an art museum? There's a little mystery to solve? Whats not to like?

5.) I read Barack Obama's memoir, "Dreams of My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance" as my fifth book. It was a very honest look at his issues (and America's issues) growing up as a biracial man in the USA. I really enjoyed this book. I also thought, "Man, he wasn't thinking he was going to run for president when he wrote it." There was no bullshit about not inhaling anywhere in it. I also had a couple of things in common with him. His father left him IN Hawaii, and my father left us FOR Hawaii. I didn't realize that he went to Occidental College either. I lived in Eagle Rock for a little while when I was in Los Angeles, and house sat for the head of the theater department on the Occidental College Campus. Anyway, I thought it was a great book, if not a little long in spots, much to my ADHD's chagrin.

6.) The last book I read in April, was Jhumpa Lahiri's "Whereabouts". It was a short book, about a woman living in Italy, and her musings and experiences and anxiety and isolation. Of course, it was well written, and each chapter was a different experience. The big deal with this book, is that it was the first book that she wrote in Italian and then translated into English. I thought it was beautiful, and sad, and thoughtful.

 

With May comes my Summer reading attention span...Or lack thereof. Like I said, lots of escapist reading. 

1.) The first book I read in May was "The Last Report of the Miracles of Little No Horse", by Louise Erdrich. I will just say this, I love Louise Erdrich. I have read almost everything she has ever written. This book is about a white woman who changes her gender, and becomes a priest on a reservation. He is being interviewed by another priest about whether one of the nun's of his congregation should be considered for sainthood. There is magic, and amazing storytelling, and everything you could want in a Louise Erdrich novel. 

2.) I read the first Maisie Dobbs book for my second book for May. It starts before World War I, and you get to read her origin story, and meet all of her friends, and find out their relationships. All of those things I was clueless about when I read the 16th book in the series in April. Again, it's not in any way believable, but who the hell cares? It's a fun Summer read, and I have no eff's to give if you want to try and judge me for reading crap.

3.) The last book I read in May was Michelle Zauner's "Crying in H Mart". If you want to know what I thought about it? I loved it. It was a memoir about her relationship with her mother (and her father too) that she wrote after her mother died of cancer. He mother was from Korea, so there were cultural, as well as generational differences between them, There was also anger, and guilt, and finally, some understanding, and cutting both herself and her mother some slack. 

Okay, since I have about two hours until July, I can already say that I only read two books in June. It's okay. They were fun books, and I will tell you all about how I felt about them in another post. But now, I want to wish you all good reading, and tell anyone to f*ck off who judges you for reading escapist books in the Summer...Or any other time of the year for that matter.

Well, I Wish I Was In New Orleans, I Can See It In My Dreams

 

 

I sure suck as a Blogger these days. I keep trying to be better, and then I end up doing a bunch of other stuff and not getting around to it. Jeanne Parsons, one of my favorite teachers in high school told me, "you always make time for the things you love." So, I am doing my damnedest to try and make time to write more. Sorry to all of you who have to read my babbling.

Okay, so anyway. I'm still writing about our vacation in May. On Saturday, Stinky's husband was there to hang out with us as well. He flew in the night before, and after delays, he finally made it to new Orleans around 12:00 that night.

After getting some fuel at our favorite neighborhood coffee shop, we walked the Crescent Park Trail to the French Quarter. It's about a mile and a half walk, and it takes you right to the French Market.

It has a dog park, beautiful gardens, and sculptures. If it hadn't been so hot and humid, it would have been the perfect little jaunt.

We even found some Happy Birthday graffiti for our special girl.

We wandered around the French Market, and I ended up buying an African mask and a little carved sculpture of three people all entwined. The guy who sold it to me told me it meant UNITY. Which I thought sounded cool, until my son-in-law said, "So, you bought a statue of an orgy?" Um, I honestly didn't see that. I guess if it really is an orgy, that could be some kind of unity too, right? As long as everyone is consenting and having fun? Whatever. So, I bought a carving of an orgy. So what. I'm sure the guy who sold it to me is still laughing at the old, white, Midwestern, mom who bought an orgy sculpture from him. I'm here to amuse people, apparently.

After buying all of our touristy stuff, we had a great lunch together, before we went our separate ways. Stinky and her husband went back to the house to secretly decorate the outdoor space with black balloons and streamers for The Oldest's birthday, and we went with The Oldest and her boyfriend to the WWII museum.

Let me say this, I would probably not have gone to the World War II Museum on my own volition, BUT holy hell, it was really cool and well done, and I'm so glad that Coadster asked us to join her there.

Coadster is a history nerd. She loves to research and read all about different times. She would also love to argue with you until she proves to you how RIGHT she is, and that is why I think she should be a lawyer, but anyway...She loves reading about World War II, on the battle front, and the home front. I have learned so much from her.

Sooooo, we went to the World War II museum, and really, everyone should check it out. They talk about all of the different theaters of it, and have testimonies by the people who were involved, and each area is set up like it was from the view of the soldiers. For instance, the Pacific theater starts in a room that feels like being on a ship, and then you walk into the next room that feels like you are on a tropical island, and meanwhile there are TV's with videos playing around each area. It was pretty damn cool and interesting.

They talked about the prejudice that happened for people of color, and there were three current soldiers in army fatigues walking through it at the same time we did. Two of them were white and one was black. It was great to hear them discussing and asking questions of the black soldier about his current experiences in the military. And that's what I mean about this museum. It really makes you think and ask questions and relate it all to how things are now.

At the beginning of our museum tour, a woman told us that we really needed 6 to 8 hours to see everything, and my poor, minuscule, attention span almost hightailed it out of my brain at the thought. Lucky for us, we saw a lot of what we wanted to see in just a few hours.

We made it back to our place, and The Oldest loved the birthday decorations her sister put up for her. We all rested at least a couple of minutes before we headed out again for the evening. 

We had all heard that if we wanted to eat BBQ in New Orleans, we needed to hit up The Joint. we were very lucky that it was just a few blocks away from where we were staying. I got chicken, and coleslaw, and mac and cheese, and it was delicious and made me very, very happy.

The Bywater neighborhood is also where they have all of the murals. If you know me at all, you know how much I love murals, and the one in the photo above was probably my favorite from our trip.

After dinner, we walked toward the French Quarter. My brother-in-law messaged us from Ottumwa to tell us that a band called Tuba Skinny was playing at a bar for free that night and we decided to check them out. Boy, were we glad we did. They play kind of 1920's style jazz, and there were tons of people dancing to it. I LOVE to watch people dance like they know what they're doing, and that's what we had there. All of these people swinging their partners and practically jitterbugging. I was in heaven.

We finally made it back to the French Quarter again. John and Stinky and I didn't last too long, because we had been there the night before, and Bourbon Street is fun to check out and people watch, but once every ten years is probably enough for me. Stinky's husband, however, wasn't with us the night before, so we went with him to see it. He wanted to go to some bar that was on the show, "Fix My Bar". Is that really the name of the show? Oh, well. It's something like that. So, we checked that out, and Stinky wanted to go to Channing Tatum's bar, which was fine. It just would have been a lot more appealing to me if Channing Tatum had actually been there, instead of just his cut-out.

Anyway, the whole trip was lovely. We had a few instances where one or all of us got cranky, and a couple of times where I disappointed my kids by not being able to read their minds, or maybe they told me they wanted to do something, and I didn't listen to them, or whatever. We had the whole family trapped in a car for a long time, and then hanging out in a house together for a long time, and we all have our own PERSONALITIES, and yes, I'm yelling that word at you, because that's what all of our personalities would do to you if you met us in person. So, we all spent a LOT of time together and we didn't kill each other, and we're all still talking to each other, and we all had a lot of fun together. So, Coadster's 30th birthday trip to New Orleans was a smashing success. Seriously, if I were rich, and there weren't scary hurricanes, or climate change raising the ocean levels, I would move to New Orleans in a minute, I loved it so much.