Yesterday we drove an hour and a half to Washington's Tri-Cities, Richland, to the Apex Spine Institute, for a test procedure to see about addressing Jon's neck pain. His x-rays show the discs between his vertebrae entirely corroded, and the bones are rubbing against each other without any "cushion"... It's been a long road---especially because … Continue reading A Pain in the Neck
Tag: Life
If the Present is a Gift, so is the Past
Writing Prompt: "Do you spend more time thinking about the past or the future? Why?" Truth be told, I tend to shy away from the future. I'm uncomfortable with unknowns, and the future is nothing-but. Oh sure, I always seem to have A Plan---but I've also come to realize how seldom my "Plan" is what … Continue reading If the Present is a Gift, so is the Past
Firefighter Bob
I was in high school when I had an odd encounter at my dentist's office. I'd had my teeth cleaned, and I stopped at the receptionist's desk to schedule my next appointment and confirm my insurance information, and to confirm that the remaining bill should go to my dad. There was an older lady there … Continue reading Firefighter Bob
The “Year in Books”
The first kiss of the New Year tasted like coffee! We didn't stay up to usher in the New Year at midnight---we go to bed much earlier than that. We turned on our "white noise" machine, with its sound of ocean waves, to filter out the sound of people's fireworks, which are distressing to my … Continue reading The “Year in Books”
My Natural State, and Damnable Nature
Two days ago we woke up to palm trees. Yesterday and today Jon left for his morning walk with layers of clothing between his long-johns and his parka, the Fahrenheit thermometer whining nineteen degrees. Or perhaps the whining was coming from us. It's always a pleasure to come back to our comfortable home, after being … Continue reading My Natural State, and Damnable Nature
Technology & the SickBed-Nest
I've been down with a cold, which was mercifully a fairly brief one. Mercifully, I say particularly, because being sick colors my mental and emotional life rather bleakly. The world seems overwhelming, somehow---and even if I have the luxury of not dealing with the world immediately, putting-off-dealing-with-it always feels ominous too. Dramatic language, when the … Continue reading Technology & the SickBed-Nest
“There’s No Place Like Home”
It's a sign of a happy vacation, I think, when you have to seriously reacclimate, on reaching home. We had our heads thoroughly Hawai'i-fied for a week and a half---living in our swimsuits (and my bare feet), accumulating layers of sunscreen on our skin and salt-water in our hair, eating our way across the landscape … Continue reading “There’s No Place Like Home”





