Interesting, Varied Day Here

We've had the motor home up for sale and today we were flooded with calls about it. Had lowered the price the evening before and here we sit, a few dollars in our pockets and space in the driveway. The couple who bought it are homeless. Will live in it in a campground owned by his folks. Come winter I don't know what their plans are.

The doctor called today with my ultrasound results. Have a huge stone caught in my bile duct. Has caused inflamation of my liver and intestine. Meet with the surgeon next week unless he has an opening for a consult earlier.

We're under a tornado watch. Sirens have been going off for an hour, with hail to the north of us. The northern skies darken and the tree tops swirl. Then dead silence. Then it begins again. I'm not bothered by it much because what can I do? Crawl in a ditch? Hide in a shower? The school is supposed to be a shelter but a neighbor called and said the place is locked up solid. I figure if it's my time, so be it.

I do get a bit spooked when darkness falls. But, again, nothing we can do but wait it out.

I see Donald Trump's not happy about Charles Krauthammer comparing Trump to Al Sharpton. What's the problem? Their both showmen. Ones' just richer than the other. And both have silly hair.

Take care everyone. Treesong.

Health Update

Had blood work yesterday and ultrasound today. The technician sure has a firm hand and every time she pressed down I yelped. Doc had ordered ultrasound of gallbladder, liver, kidney, spleen in hopes of getting "an overall picture." I sure hope something is discovered because I feel like I'm bruised.

We planted 24 blue spruce yesterday because the rain had finally quit. Driveway's a mud hole again; no point in mopping floors and we're both aching from the dampness and cold.

Have our motor home up for sale. Several lookers and calls but no greenbacks have come our way yet. We were high bidder in an online repo auction and came home with 26 4x8 sheets of T-1-11 primed siding. There were six extra sheets in the two bundles so that's even more of a savings!

I should know by Wednesday what my ultrasound results are. In the meantime, I'm eating and drinking lots of apple juice. The pain has lessened but the bloating remains. Also discovered what gall stones look like but either there are more in me or something else is going on.

Oh well, one day at a time.

Have a nice weekend everyone and thanks for your suggestions and concern. Treesong

Life Ain't Peachy Right Now

I am one of millions of uninsured people in the U.S. and now find myself in need of gallbladder surgery.

It's been a rough week of being sick, no energy, not being able to eat anything other than herbal tea and trying to find a doctor who will then enlist a surgeon and put me on the operating table.

As my stools are now white, my skin developing a pale yellow color and my strength ebbing I may just arrive at ER and start screaming.

My diagnosis is actually based on a visit with a clinic PA who felt my abdomen, listened to bowel sounds, took my vitals and my medical history. "I'm 99.9% confident you need your gall bladder removed. However, we need blood work and an ultra sound to confirm this," he said.

I agreed and said, "Then let's get started."

"Well, I'll have to find you a doctor in the hospital willing to take your case and hook you up with another person who will help you figure out how to pay for this," he said.

That was this morning.

Meanwhile, the swelling continues, I'm weaker and the pain has lessened. No wonder! I don't have any nourishment in me!

Tomorrow I call the clinic to see where "we're at."

It's not a matter of not being able to pay for it. It's the fact that the monthly payments probably don't satisfy the hospital, etc. I understand that. I really do. So, I'll deteriorate a bit more until my liver and pancreas are affected.

Remodeling Lessons

After owning/remodeling eight homes, there are lessons I should have learned by now. My excuse is, hope springs eternal and I have a short memory!

A couple weeks ago we bought five more windows, the largest being 5' wide by 4' high. It took us two days to install and now we actually sit at our kitchen table and enjoy the view! That's progress - which also brings adjustments!

My visions of herb filled pots sitting on the windowsill hasn't materialized and Kitty Kitty protects the area as though she had kittens stashed nearby. Of the few objects I have on the windowsill, at least one is knocked over every morning.

We ran out of steam before finishing the interior wall but our dinner guests yesterday didn't mind and neither does Kitty Kitty.

As the photos show, the old small window gave little light, was in the wrong location thanks to our earlier remodeling, and blocked our view of the yard.

The lesson revisited from this experience is: every remodeling project reveals new challenges or requirements. Now we need either an awning, a roof over the deck or room darkening blinds. Temps broke a 71 year record here yesterday and were it not for the wind, we would have been cooked!

Oh well, we're still making progress!

The View From Here

At times I'm so disgusted with waste, ignorance, neglect and apathy that I want to scream from the mountain tops: "Wake Up! Wake Up! Look around you; inside you; beside you! Question. Contemplate. Dare to explore. For your sake; for every one's sake. Wake Up."

As if knocked over by a whisper, I'm reminded the majority of our world is led by the same action. Only the words are different.

Charlatans with quick solutions designed to coddle a captive audience and maintain the status quo provide all manner of options to attain their example of "the good life."

In reality their philosophy perpetuates waste, fraud, duplicity, poverty, ignorance and the wealth of a few at the expense of many.

The status quo's example is easily followed due to its prominence in every aspect of our lives. Access to its promises appears easily duplicated and its constant infusion of pseudo variety and options holds our attention.

Multi-media displays, flashy pronouncements and conspicuous consumption capture an audience dependent on increasing doses of the same.

Meanwhile, alternative lifestyles are demonized by the majority. Weirdo, survivalist, terrorist, outcast, reject, loner and other descriptions serve to repel inquiring minds while insuring the mainstream survival.

Those who've woke up enough to realize their lives are empty, their aspirations futile and their lives aren't truly their own, risk everything by changing. Therein lies the greatest threat.

Dare to abstain and you're denigrated, ignored, abandoned, excluded, ostracized.

Rejection from your peers is painful but so is ignoring your awakened conscience.

Personally, I think the status quo is so well ingrained in most of the world that there's little point in actively fighting it.

The better path is to step off the treadmill, create your own life - which you are wholly capable of - and influence people by your example.

On the rare occasion someone asks "how" or "why" of our lifestyle and principles, I provide simple, clear responses. Provide too many details and their eyes eventually glaze over. A calm, contented countenance eventually gets noticed. Those who've grown weary of incessant noise, distraction and racing on a treadmill to oblivion will find their way to your door.

When someone "gets it" my hope in humanity is rekindled.

Along this same vein, here are a few ways we "live" a rich, rewarding life.

1. Give of your time, talent and resources. It does come back to you.

2. Lead by example.

3. Accept others where they are instead of overtly trying to change or convert them.

4. Buying something new is seldom the solution to anything.

5. An abundance of most things complicates life.

6. Reuse, recycle and re-purpose your resources.

7. Learn new skills.

8. Vary routines and you'll discover what you've been missing.

9. Laugh and love every day.

10. Smile at strangers and enemies. All of you will be changed by this.

My tip for the day is...

Wash your hair in diluted baking soda. It's effective, allergy free and inexpensive.