Category: My So-Called Life

Meeses

~ susie ~ 4 Comments

Longtime readers know of my love affair with mice, the diabolical disease-carrying rodents that periodically inflict themselves on my living space. (I didn’t see any last year. Guess it’s going to be another cold winter.)

Anyway, late last night I was finishing up a post when I heard a loud SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!!! and the sound of claws scratching against glass. Judging from the location of the sound, I figured out what happened: The little bastard took a nosedive off my microwave into one of the flower vases I store in the corner.

It continued to SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!!! and to be honest, it was a little nervewracking. So I went to bed. Like Scarlett O’Hara, I said, “I’ll think about it tomorrow.”

Well, it’s gone. I don’t know if a specially-trained team of mice lowered a rope and pulled it out, but it’s gone. On the other hand, I see that the trays of poison I put out two days ago are almost empty. Yay!

Ugh

~ susie

Sick again. Back to the old broth and Jello routine! I slept most of yesterday afternoon and night, waiting for the antibiotics to kick in. I did manage to wake up for the season premiere of “30 Rock,” though.

Birthday food jackpot

~ susie ~ 5 Comments

First, one of my friends took me to breakfast at the Hinge Cafe on Saturday and I ordered oatmeal. I wasn’t expecting anything great — to me, oatmeal is a healthy food that’s okay, but no great treat. So I looked at this BIG bowl of oatmeal and thought, “I’m never going to finish all that.”

Well! This oatmeal was amazing. It tasted like a creamy bowl of Cinnabon. “This isn’t oatmeal. This is a bowl of happiness and sunshine,” I said. And I ate every last drop.

Then my brother and SIL took me out to Johnny Brenda’s, where I had Cajun fish stew with andouille sausage, and then a pumpkin tart for dessert. Fish stew is one of those things I just love, because it has all my favorites in one bowl: shrimp, clams, and potatoes in a spicy red broth. Mmm!

But wait, there’s more!

My best friend Paulette took me back to the Hinge Cafe for Sunday brunch, where I weaseled an approximation of the oatmeal recipe out of the owner. (She was reluctant, but I played the birthday card. I still think she left something out, though.) Then I had eggs Benedict with applewood smoked bacon. I just love eggs Benedict.

Last night, I had dinner with Paulette and Cos at Silk City, where I had this hand-rolled pasta with short ribs in cream sauce. We split some caramel-apple pie a la mode for dessert. Rarely have I had such a string of superb meals.

It’s funny, though; I really do have a much diminished taste for sugar now. It’ll be interesting to see how that develops.

Tired

~ susie ~ 7 Comments

I work hard, I can’t find a real job or make this one pay in any reliable way, despite my grueling schedule. It’s my birthday Sunday and I’m no better off than I was a year ago.

Think I’ll go eat worms.

Injury of the week

~ susie ~ 3 Comments

I was painting a piece of furniture in my bedroom while sitting on a stepladder. I kind of slid off the ladder, it folded and I landed on my butt. Result? What appears to be a minor tear in the ligament under my kneecap. So between that and the broken toe, I’m still hobbling around.

My sister said she has accidents like this all the time, and reminded me that our mother did, as well. Apparently we’re a cohort of klutzes! (In other news, it turns out that completely independent of each other, my sister and I purchased the exact same bedroom curtains. We really are turning into our mother.)

Solving the puzzle

~ susie

(Medical stuff is boring to a lot of people, so if you’re one of them, skip this post.)

I saw the physiatrist yesterday, and I mentioned that my GP thinks the pain in my upper arms — the same pain the physiatrist thought was a rotator cuff tear – is from a herniated disk in my neck. “Hmm,” he said.

He made me push back from varying positions and said, “It’s not an unreasonable conclusion, but you have no weakness in your arms,” he said. “I don’t know that we can rule it out completely, but it doesn’t seem likely.” He said an MRI would probably help — except that even if I did have a herniated disk, it didn’t really prove anything. “Just about everyone 40 and older has at least one herniated disk,” he said.

But he thought it might be helpful to try some deep acupuncture in my neck and upper back, so we did. A couple of the spots ALMOST SENT ME THROUGH THE ROOF when he stuck in the needles, but he said that indicated we were on the right track. He said if I had arthritis, or a herniated disk, it was likely that my muscles spasmed to protect the area — and since my upper back and neck are always as hard as a rock, even after myofascial work, that seemed to confirm his theory.

I have to say, my neck feels really good right now. Much looser than usual! That’s the thing I love about acupuncture: If it’s going to work, you feel better right away. Stay tuned!

Recycling

~ susie ~ 7 Comments

Everything I have is either trash-picked or bought used – even my TV. The only new things I have are a couple of IKEA shelves and my mattress.

I actually prefer buying used stuff. I like things to be broken in when I get them, and I can afford better quality things if I buy them used. I have some friends who think buying someone else’s stuff is quite disgusting. I tell them to me, paying full price for crappy plastic things is disgusting.

What’s your preference?