Nearly Normal

Progress

compan

Closet - done, 3 big garbage bags of clothes and a couple of pair of shoes to Goodwill.  Another 2 bags of clothes to friends.  My closet is pretty empty but what a waste letting all the stuff I didn't and wouldn't ever wear to sit for another year.

Bedroom bookshelves - done, with the living room, stairway and bedroom shelves that make 1 cartoon, 2 big bags and three grocery bags of books gone.  Now I know what I've got that I haven't yet read.  No more new books except for bookclub and Rachel Maddow's book Drift until those are gone.

Tomatoes - planted.  They arrived yesterday.  I always get my plants from the Natural Gardening Company.  This year I got a San Marzano, Black cherry tomato, Amish paste, Costoluto Gevonese, Carmelo and Rampao.  I hope they all grow and prosper this year.  Last year was a sucky year for tomatoes. 

Seeds - most are growing, some so fast you can see them.  More tomatoes, mini bell peppers, 3 kinds of asian egg plant, lemon cucumbers and lots of flowers.

Purged

I've been on a purging streak the last couple of weeks - the pantry, the spice cabinet, the stairway bookshelves and the living room bookshelves.  It's been very cleansing.  Kitchen stuff and duplicate spices given away, a carton of books to go to the used bookstore and a large bag to go to the friends of the library.  Left in the house to tackle the bedroom bookshelf and the huge pile of books on the floor in front of it and my closet.  I've lost almost 30 pounds so I know there's stuff that will no longer fit YEAH.  

Then comes the big tackle outside.  The great wall of Mill Creek is covered in wild blackberries yummy to eat but not pleasing on my gardener eye.  In fact the entire area around the house is full of blackberries.  That's what comes of living in the forest.  Any time you rest the blackberries invade.  Little does Larry know that he's going to weed eat the hill so I can Round Up the lovely berries.

I'm able to do all this because I've spent the last four years on Dr. Sanity's couch reclaiming my life after the nasty depression.  Yes for talk therapy and psych drugs.

I suck at math

specifically at multiplication and division.  Yes me a former budget analyst can't do 3rd grade math in my head anymore.  Thank you American Express.  It's a long story and I'm not going there.

I've discovered two new wonderful sites lumocity and kahn academy that have pointed out to me that I can no longer do simple math.  Lumocity is more fun, their slogan is "reclaim your brain".  Kahn academy is more like having a tutor.

Oh, I also had reinforced that I can't spell my way out of a paper bag.  I already knew that.  Spoken language is not a problem ask Larry but spelling that's an entirely different country.  Thank goodness for spell check.

Depression

or the blessed lack there of.  I've battled it for years now, to the edge of suicide more than once and back.  I never want to hear anyone say "oh you can just snap out of it".  No, you can't trust me I tried my very best to snap out of it.  With the help of a wonderful therapist and drugs depression is at bay.  I won't say it's behind me because I don't think that's true.  But it doesn't control my life like it has in the past.  It's nice to see color again, worry about my garden again, want to participate in life again.

Bless you Dr. Sanity and Abilify without the 2 of you I wouldn't be here. 

Well we'll have to see about that.

I'm been meaning to start some seeds for a few weeks now.  I have this cool little green house that I found at Big Lots and lots of seeds I got from the Seedbank.

Today I finally got them in the seed starter.  Lemon cucumbers, asian trio eggplant, san Marzano tomatoes and white tomatoes.  Also flowers, lots and lots of different flowers to spice up the yard in a few months.  I have no clue where I'm going to plant all the veggies once they spring up as my raised beds have long since been invaded by wild berry bushes.  I guess they'll end up tucked among the flowers.  What an interesting looking garden that will make.

My poor garden has suffered greatly since I was diagnosed with cancer - 6 years ago tomorrow - as I said the blackberries have invaded almost everywhere.  It is disheartening to work on one section of the great wall of Mill Creek only to look down it's 140ft length and see endless berries in front of you.  But one of these days I WILL get them all out and reclaim my beloved garden.

Thanks for the inspiration mfamama.  Here's to gardening with dirt under your nails.

Dear Typepad

I am still waiting somewhat less patiently now for you to correct my email link.  It's very annoying.

Just what is normal?

That's what Dr. Sanity and I explored this week.  After cancer, perforated bowel,  Larry's gator trick and Mason's death  I feel that I'm finally getting myself back, you know, nearly normal.  Whatever that means.

Dr. Sanity suggested that normal is an ever changing thing.  I decided that normal means whatever you decide it means and can only belong to you.   No one else can decide what your normal is, they just need to worry about getting their own normal.  

 

ear drum - one

Me - teeny, tiny tube in my ear.  You know the kind they put in toddler's ears so they don't keep getting infected.  Yes the ear drum that has ruptured twice since January still has fluid behind it, fluid with air bubbles no less.  This is even after a cycle of Prednisone to try and quell the inflammation.  So today I opted to have a tube put in to help.  My other option was wait, as in it might clear up on it's own.  I'm tired of waiting for it to clear up on it's own.  I decided it needed a bit of aid and assistance.  Hopefully this will restore my already imperfect hearing to it's former less imperfect level.

Excellent advice by way of facebook

While reading my facebook page this morning I came across this article .  Very sound advice but number 7 did make me pause.  Oh well too late to accomplish number 7.

Thank you Julie

Late to the game

But what the hey?  I just discovered this.  Very witty.