The Blackburn Digest

* “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies” -1960 - lyrics by By Dunham.

Today has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride! I had an appointment with our family doctor this morning…… although I had scheduled this before breaking my toe and had planned on discussing other issues, I knew The Foot (which won’t fit into a shoe or slipper) was going to garner attention the most attention. Oh yeah! Dear, sweet Dr. R sort of skimmed through my other questions and concerns, focused on the obviously broken and misaligned toe, ordered x-rays and went just slightly ballistic. Vocal alarms were sounded - “very bad break”, “must see surgeon immediately!” (Aw, come on. . . .all of the toes are dislocated; what’s the big deal?) Um, yes - that’s when my “ticket” for the ride was issued!

When you think you have a handle on things, that handle is going to break off! (I’m sure this observation appears somewhere in “Murphy’s Laws” - LOL!)

I haven’t been able to wear a shoe, slipper or ACE elastic bandage on my right foot since my July 9th encounter with the vicious & anti-social dining room chair, but frequent cleaning, salt water soaks and triple-antibiotic ointment had allowed the deep split to close without any sign of infection. I’m beginning to suspect that the fourth toe (neighbor to the “baby toe”) was & is just badly sprained, but the fifth/baby toe is definitely broken. I suspect it isn’t a nice, clean, non-displaced fracture, either. Still. . . .with every toe dislocated prior to this injury (thank you, RA), there’s little point in seeing an orthopedic surgeon! The overall swelling was nearly gone. . . .the deep blue/purple purple band under all five toes was fading. . .I just needed to be patient. Right? Um- - -wrong!

Confucius say “Never celebrate success of journey until destination is reached”. (He probably didn’t, but . . . . . .)

Poor DH got a 4 am wake-up call - - - well, more of a wake-up whimper, actually. The story began at 1 am; I’d been courting sleep for over an hour and gave it up as a futile enterprise. There were just too many unhappy joints sending pain messages*, and my brain insisted on a detailed & repetitive review of the many steps remaining on my current miniature project. (*Although the renewed Enbrel therapy does seem to be making a difference, we’ve had unstable weather & bouncing air pressure for several days. Happily, it has brought a bit of welcome rain along with the discomfort!)

The “personal computer” age started fairly early in the Blackburn household; Radio Shack introduced their TRS 80 in the late 1970’s, and DH adopted one in 1977-1978. Several upgrades later, DD adopted one of his retired computers (a Packard Bell, I think), and industriously launched what became one of the longest operating local BB’s (Bulletin Boards…… pre-Internet, verrrrrry sloooow connection on dial-up modems….if you remember BB’s, you’re over 30!). Not long after, DS adopted another computer from the ’stock-pile’ in the loft, and began teaching it new graphics tricks. There were now three lovable “geeks” in the my household. . .each adding to the ever-growing collection of cast-off motherboards, monitors and cable tangles in the stash as they upgraded to newer, more powerful systems! Meanwhile, other than a rudimentary grasp of the terminology (gained simply by osmosis), I remained computer-illiterate; my function was to identify creative ways to fund the new systems and peripherals constantly appearing on Wish Lists Learning to use a PC was waaaay down my personal to-do list! Well, think about it: there was a huge Embarrassment Factor involved in trying to master the mysteries of computer operation while surrounded by three in-house experts! Yikes!

I took one of my favorite T-shirts out of the closet a few days ago, looked at it, and then put it back on its hanger. The shirt is black, with white lettering proclaiming “I’m Blogging This”. I haven’t written a blog entry since late-March, and need to re-earn that T-shirt! (So much for “Blog 365″!)

A passing glance at what has been happening in my world since the last post:

- I have *started the ball rolling* on the hideously expensive dental surgery which will (I hope!) end my on-going war with my upper dentures! Oh, it fits fine - it’s just that the palate plate and my over-developed gag reflex (coupled with the ever-present Texas allergens) are making making me miserable:( This will be a long-term project, since it involves consultations, scans, impressions, more scans, evaluations and more consultations before the actual surgery.

It has been a good day, all in all, but I’ve sort of drifted through it in a sleepy fog. I’m just not getting enough sleep to “stay sharp”. (It’s making me cranky, too!)

DD & DS are both trying to cut back on their caffeine intake, so I made a quick dash to the market for Arizona Green Tea & a proper dinner. (Still have to get back into the habit of writing a 2-week menu & getting the main shopping done all at once!) I found an “Easter cactus”, loaded with bright pink blooms and buds, and brought it home for DD.

DD, DGD & DS all got mired in heavy traffic trying to reach Casa Blackburn this afternoon; a combination of early rush-hour and Spring Break drivers. I should have grabbed a nap while waiting - instead, I painted one half-inch scale chair and built another.

[If I forget to spell-check before posting this, forgive me; I’ve been awake for over 20 hours and am absolutely foggy brained!]

I suppose I should not expect a day which began at 3:30 AM to be “normal”, should I? DS was ticketed out on an early flight back to “Sand City, TX”. On ‘airport duty’ days, I need time to 1)actually wake up before driving and 2) reach his apartment on time while obeying the posted speed limits. (During daylight hours, I tend to add 5-7 mph over the limit. . .at 5 AM, I can’t spot the local police, sheriff’s, constables, state troopers!) This morning, I also had to add a stop at the first gas station I encountered (sadly, not the one with the lowest prices)!