Yo

Beth alerts me that I have been unusually quiet, even for me. So I reckon I best give a holler before people grow concerned. I’m OK, just feeling unsociable. Which probably means I need to work on that before it gets worse. So, Beth, thanks for prodding me.

Let’s see, what’s been going on….Saw my parents on Father’s Day. Got to meet my sister’s boyfriend at last. Nice guy, but can’t barbecue worth a damn. Not that I said that. Even I know better than to insult a man’s barbecuing skills.

Summer has been nice so far. I’ve been able to get wonderful local tomatoes and squash and yard eggs from the produce stand a few blocks away. The onions are about spent, but the melons are up, and so is the okra and soon will be the beans. Oh, and there are lots of cucumbers. I wish there were greens. Maybe if I get there earlier.

Summer is also kinder to my joints than the other seasons. And I at least have the chance to go to the river and fool around in the water. I’m trying to do it once a week, because water exercise is easier on my joints. Carapace and I went to the old mill dam this past week, and think we will go there the next time, since it is fairly close (only 15 miles away) and the water is warmish and not too fast.

Another thing that has been helpful is going off Red Yeast Rice. My doctor wanted me to take it because I wouldn’t take prescription statins after reading about side effects. You know, horrible muscle pain (especially in the legs) and even liver damage? Hey, turns out, Red Yeast Rice has the exact same side effects. I stopped taking it, and now I just have the usual joint pain from arthritis and instability instead of the really frightening pain I had in March and April.

I’ll never dig out from under

Is there a rescue service for the hopelessly cluttered? Right now, every room in my house is a mess filled with things that I have no particular place for. Part of the problem is that I am in the midst of changing the designation of two rooms. The office is now a bedroom and the bedroom is turning into a studio and there is no office but there are still bookcases and files and a printer that have to go somewhere. A person who had that mysterious something something called stamina would finish such an undertaking in one weekend, but this is going to take me at least 2 more weekends to finish, what with needing to recruit man-in-a-can and fit everything into my busy whirlwind lifestyle. Then there’s the problem that, even if everything was moved already, it isn’t like I keep up with household chores. I go to work. I come home. I sit in the recliner and fall asleep. For financial reasons, it would be good if I had full-time employment. But I really have doubts that I could manage one for more than a few months before having a complete health breakdown. But then, if I had full-time employment, with all the benefits and income that would bring, maybe I could hire some help.