Blood Mandala

I made art in the sink during one of my nosebleeds. Sheeeesh. Hope you don't find it too gross.

Well, the hits keep a comin'. Today I saw my ENT doctor, after my naturopath told me to have her check out a lesion on the back of my tongue, on the side. The ENT doc said, "I don't like the way that looks," and I'm scheduled for a biopsy Feb. 8, the same day my sis is having her knee surgery. I've been so good with my diet lately, and now this. My naturopath thinks this lesion is related to an overgrowth of yeast in my body, but we'll see.

I'm currently reading The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. So glad I can get into it.

Was too tired to check out the community chorus last night, but hope to next week.

Critters are well. Bindi loves her stuffed squeaky lamb that she got for her birthday. We play tug of war with it and we both growl at one another. Very satisfying.

Birthday Kak

Remember Martin Short as the wedding planner in "Father of the Bride," with Steve Martin and Diane Keaton? Short's character had some really bad accent, and pronounced cake "kak." Martin's character would screwed up his face perplexed and annoyed, having no idea what the wedding planner just said. Very funny movie.

Anyhoo, this is the photo of the kak I had for Bindi's birthday party. I think it's hysterical. It came out beautifully, although the cake part itself was not the tastiest. And here's a photo of the poster I had made for "pin the tail on the chihuahua."


















I took to the appropriate government offfice yesterday my rebuttle to their response to my original complaint. My rebuttle consisted of a seven page cover letter/narrative, and thirteen exhibits attached. I do not feel attached to the outcome. I am just very glad that everything is documented officially. Have to deliver a copy to the university general counsel's office today.

Have gone almost a week with no sugar except for the tiniest amounts in some granola and some muffins someone gave me. But no binging on Haagen Daz Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Extra Rich Light. Yeah, sure. Those binges make me so sick.

Found a salon near me that will give a decent haircut for $20. Closer than the other place that charged $18. Still, both are better than the $50 I would pay when I lived on the shoreline. That's nuts for someone with hair as short as mine. And horrors! Yesterday morning when I looked in the mirror I had a grey eyebrow hair sticking straight out from my brow. Man, did that make me feel old. Time to get them trimmed.

The squirrels completely distroyed the suet feeder I had hung from a tree outside. Those rascals are unbelievable. I'm sitting in my bed as I write this, watching through my big window the birds and squirrels cavorting outside. It's supposed to be warm today, in the 40s. I'll take Bindi for a walk soon.

Shoutout to Mihaela: here's a photo of my dining room:

Dr. King

Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.
Martin Luther King Jr.
US black civil rights leader & clergyman (1929 - 1968)

I fear that if a liberal Black man is elected president, he will be assassinated. And I'm sure Obama has considered that.

Bindi's party on Saturday was a success, and fun was had by all. I of course was not as ready as I would have liked, but it didn't seem to matter. I was so happy to have my friends come over, as my leave has officially been extended to June 12, and I won't see them as often as before, at least the university ones.

Found this phrase in a movie review in The New Yorker: [she] ". . . exudes malevolence swathed in good cheer and family feeling." That's exactly what my supervisor does. Uck.

My poor sis is having her knees operated on this Friday. She was having a great deal of pain, and after an MRI and a diagnosis of torn miniscus (minisci?) in both knees, immediate surgery was the treatment prescribed. And I thought I would be the first one of us to go under the knife for bad knees. Although I believe her problem is treatable thru this surgery, unlike mine, which will require knee replacement in the not too distant future. Note to family members reading this: Send her cards, flowers, chocolates, and good healing love and energy. I love her. I will never be able to thank her enough for the years that she kept in touch with me even when I would not return phone calls, or write back, or visit. She was constant, and that is a precious gift.

My beloved house plants are struggling in the new place. They were very stressed by the move, and while the house has many windows, there is not a lot of direct sunlight coming in thru them, and many of the plants are weak and infested with little critters. If I can get them through six more weeks, I'll be able to put them outside during the day when it is warm and they should recover.

Watched Evening on dvd this evening. A good chick flick, mostly women, about dying and family, and choices made in youth, that sort of thing. Vanessa Redgrave, Toni Collette, Natasha Richardson, Clare Danes, Meryl Streep, Glen Close, and a bunch of guys. Great cast.

Fascinating case on Nip/Tuck last night. I know I know, the show is absolutely depraved and I rarely watch it anymore, but did yesterday. A woman survivor of a suicide bomber explosion who was having her face reconstructed from being so badly burned began to feel that the anger and hatred of the bomber had gotten inside her body, and had been told by previous doctors that schrapnel consisting of human bone fragments from the bomber himself had lodged itself in various parts of her body, and they weren't removed at the time of her injury as her doctors told her the schrapnel would work itself to the surface of the skin and then be easier to extract. She demanded that the plastic surgeons working on her face remove them, and they did. One doctor wanted to consider the bits medical waste, but the other one said it was human remains and the family should be contacted. Bizarre. I have never heard of such a thing, and maybe it's completely made up, but what a premise.

It is horribly cold here. I don't like it.

Bindi's Day

Why do I plan these things? Seven hours till party time and the house is still a mess. AARRGGHHH! And I still have to make the food! Double aarrgghh aarrgghh!
But here's a nice photo Bluebird took of Bindi at Thanksgiving.

GAs on Duty Again

So I'm driving to the consignment shop after the therapist and the acupuncturist and dropping off the leave extension papers, and I get to the intersection where I am to turn left, but the light is green, with no left turn arrow. The car in front of me turns left anyway and gets hit head on by the car in the other lane. BANG!! I am horrified watching these two smallish cars crumple in front of me while hoping they don't swerve out of control and hit me, but I put on my parking break and rush out of my car to see how I can help. The engine of the car that made the turn was either steaming or smoking, I don't know which, and one of the young women could not get out of the car. I'm rushing around trying to help her, another guy shows up on the scene who has called 911, these two young women are hysterical, and I'm in crisis mode trying to get everybody onto the curb and warm. One woman is bleeding from her mouth, but miraculously no one was seriously hurt. The cops came right away, and I had to tell him what I saw. The young woman bleeding from her mouth said she had no medical insurance so didn't want to go to the hospital and was crying that it was her sister's birthday, apparently the woman driving the car. The birthday girl was scared that her father would be very angry, and I said, he'll just be relieved that you are both ok, but she said, no, he will be very angry. The woman in the other car said her knees hurt. She seemed tall and was likely pushed into the dashboard, but said she wasn't hurt badly. My car is still parked in the middle of the four lane road with Bindi inside. After I was sure everyone was relatively ok, and the EMTs had arrived, I moved my car, and went on to the consignment shop, where I bought a red raincoat I had my eye on since last weekend, and some tops for my niece in Paris.

This is another push for me to get a new car. My 1990 Toyota Corolla has no airbags, and it could have easily been me in that car crash.

Then I'm driving back home and hear on NPR a story about a canine cop named Striker, who was killed in the line of duty, in California, when he apprehended a perp on a bridge, and the perp, in an effort to get away, jumped off the bridge, Striker still hanging on, doing his job. The perp survived the 200 foot fall; Striker did not.

Water Feature

When I moved here, there was a dry stream bed about a block down the road from my house. With all the rain and snow, the stream is full and flowing and very lovely. Bindi and I always visit it on our walks, and when the weather gets warm, I hope to be able to take Bindi down to the water for a refreshing dip. I miss the shoreline terribly, but at least I have my water feature very nearby . . .

I take the paperwork in today to have my leave extended another four months. A great relief, although I am feeling much sadness about all that has transpired. I saw in the local paper yesterday that a local animal shelter needs volunteers to help with the kitties and doggies, so I will check that out and try to work for them a couple of days a week. In their ad they said they especially need volunteers to play with the cats to help socialize them. Now that's a job I could love! Enough with helping the university save nickels and dimes, when it's endowment is so huge! Being a micromanaged business manager is so NOT what I am about. It goes against everything I value.

I'm supposed to have a draft of a letter ready today to send to senior faculty explaining why I am on leave (an idea I think is important so that incorrect rumors don't circulate), but I couldn't do it. My therapist is helping me with it, but I don't want to deal with anything about this crash. I just want to forget about all of them and their wicked ways.

I've started the three times a week acupuncture on my knees. It is so good to see my acupuncturist/naturopath that often, as she is the embodiment of caring and positivity and gentleness. Is positivity a word? She wants me to do the anti-inflammation diet, but it is so strict: no wheat, no dairy, no coffee, no tomatoes/potatoes (the nightshades), no sugar or artificial sweetener. The nutritionist I saw last year said the same thing. That my body is "inflammed." I think it's just cause I'm a double Sagittarius. But with these months off, perhaps I can really get into my health care in a different way. Or not.

Bindi's birthday is Saturday and I'm having some folks over to celebrate. I'm going to have a cake made with her picture on it, and we'll play pin the tail on the Chihuahua. How cute is that? I said I would have a light supper prepared, but have no idea what to prepare. Any suggestions? I plan these things and then resent the work involved. Resent. Should be spelled rezent. Resent is like re-sent, as in resending something. Whatever.

Found a pair of red wire rim glasses frames finally. Have ordered the frames from one optician, and will take them to my long time opticion to have the lenses made. Have been looking for red wire rims for years. And they have matching magnetic sunshades to go with.

Watched "Phenomenon" on the telly last night. Have seen it many times, but it is such a sweet sweet movie, one of Travolta's best. Want to see the new Johnny Depp movie, although it will be bloody, but I just have to see everything he does.

It's cold, there's snow on the ground, and I can't wait for spring. March 15 those peas go in!

Garbage Pickup Tomorrow

I like taking the whole morning to water the plants. I want to be part of the "slow" movement, not everyone else who is going faster and faster and faster. Do more, be more, see more. This leave is exactly what I needed and now I have to get it extended to see what I can really discover about what I need to do long term.