April Agonies

THE LONELY GOOSE

We have a lot of geese from our friends in Canada.  But the white goose in our immediate neighborhood is a bit unique.  Rebecca has penned a short story about it.  The editor has more comments about health below.

Goosey Goosey Gander

Whither shall I wander

Upstairs downstairs

Or in my lady's chamber

There met an old man

Who wouldn't say his prayers

So I took him by the left leg

And threw him down the stairs 

They say that geese mate for life.  So I was not much surprised when we saw a  pair wandering  around together in a field near us inspecting mud puddles.  I supposed that they were looking for a likely nesting site.  But after a few days one of them disappeared.  Oh dear!  The other goose wandered about disconsolately for several days.  But then she found a friend - sort of.  This goose found a cement goose that has been hanging around decorating a pond for years.   In a strange case of unrequited love the goose hangs hopefully around its lifeless friend, honking at it and even cuddling with it.  Heaven only knows what it might be thinking.  The cement goose could be having odd thoughts too for that matter! A couple of times I saw the goose waddling slowly up the road, looking, I suppose for a life mate.  But the next day she is back again hoping for the best! (We don't  know if it is the female or male. -dt)

When we have not been watching geese we have been entertaining doctors.  Dan especially has been providing various symptoms that the medical staff here abouts seem unwilling or unable to figure out.  After talking funny for quite a while, the final diagnosis seems to be thyroid cancer. (Actually a paralyzed vocal cord. -dt) Did I say final, I should have said semifinal. We are still waiting for a stress test,  And some kind of scan. I think he has had every part of his anatomy either scanned or scoped or tested. All the tests seem to wait on other tests.  If all goes as planned this may result in surgery in August.  So keep your fingers crossed and pray.  I wish Dan would stop showing off and just have an ordinary gallbladder operation.(I apparently have a gallstone. -dt)  I had a few medical issues myself but compared to Dan I am a piker.  After the thyroid we still have the two arthritic knees, the sciatica, and the anemic blood. Not to mention myasthenia gravis. Not to mention chronic grumpiness. I guess when you see all this the grumpiness is understandable but so is my depression.

----------------

This is the editor; I am going to amplify and fill in the remarks by Mrs.T.  This is all rather personal and we do not know if you care. But we know many of you are interested in what is going on with us.  April started a bad summer of health issues.  Not only for the Editor but also for the Muse.  She has had some mobility issues of her own.  She has been going to rehab and that is slowly helping.  She has been a major help around the house with the daily chores.

One or two of the health items that Mrs.T mentioned would have been sufficient to derail normal activities for the Editor.  Having so many things at the same time has been the challenge: severely arthritic knees, anemia, paralyzed vocal cord, sciatica, general weakness, and finally thyroid cancer.  This newsletter has been slightly delayed in order to bring you the latest news as of the beginning of August. So here goes.

The myasthenia gravis is stable and has not advanced beyond ocular. The cause of the anemia has not been determined but a couple of infusions of iron improved my blood enough to allow a stress test which is necessary for any operation.  The paralyzed vocal cord - which may or may not be the result of the thyroid condition - quite probably will stay that way.  Hence, my new voice.  I was scheduled for a knee replacement but that has been put on hold pending resolution of the thyroid problem.  I did receive a shot in each knee that helped a bit.  But walking is painful and difficult.  Still working on the sciatica.  Resolution of the thyroid cancer is pending more tests and another biopsy.  Thyroid cancer is generally not as deadly as most and is usually cured by surgery.  However, the location of mine precludes surgery and another method will be used.  I am working with the JAMES at OSU, one of the best places in the country for cancer treatment.  That is about it as of the start of August.

Only one photo this month.  Can you tell which is real?

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBC9au

Many thanks to our neighbor HLM who has been a big help.  And her girls are cute.

Hope all of you are staying cool and hydrated.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

Sent from Outlook

Back in Philo

HOME AND HEALTH

We knew we would have some problems with our heating when wee returned to Philo.  Our wonderful neighbors who had been watching the house for us had been informing us that the heating was not up-to-par.   Fortunately our house is well-built and there was no worry of freezing.  But it was not quite warm.  Our kind neighbors provided us with some space heaters to make the place habitable.

We did not realize the cause would be the gas well going dry.  That cascaded into a whole series of repairs.  As our appliances were too old to convert from natural gas to propane, all new ones were in order, including a heat pump and furnace.  Perhaps we could have converted to all-electric instead of propane, but our previous experience told us that would be expensive operationally, especially in the winter.  We will need to see how much propane costs, but we have a 500 gallon tank in the back now that should be more than sufficient.

Here is Mrs.T's take on things:

We came home earlier than usual so that I could see the eclipse.  And it was a very nice eclipse and did not disappoint.  My brother Drew and his wife Sharon live in Cleveland which was a place with full viewing so we got to do two very nice things at once.  We ate one of Sharon's lovely home cooked meals and then we watched the eclipse.  I admit it is slightly brazen to call someone up and say, "We are coming to your house to watch the eclipse, okay?"  But you know  me and so do they and we all had a wonderful time. (Thanks Brenda for getting us glasses. -dt)

Unfortunately,  we came home to some very bad news.  My little gas well, which I made fun of a lot, was running dry.  I used to mock my fortune when I would get checks for $27 or $32 for a quarter. (Our royalty checks. -dt)  Little did I know.  The thing was,  we got free gas for the furnace, the stove, the hot water heater, and the clothes dryer.  Now I have to go out back and pull out a little thingy with pliers and if mother nature is kind we will get enough gas to run one of our appliances for a while.  So we are in the process of getting all new appliances, rewiring electrics, and plumbing for propane.  Not to mention getting a big fat propane tank.  (And a new HVAC system. -dt) I was using the Royal We.  Really Dan had to do all this because I am not good at telephoning.  All of this as you can imagine was a great pain and further complicated by the fact that many service people are wimps and are afraid to come down our hill with their trucks.  (It is a sizable hill. -dt)

This is in addition a great expense for all this stuff at once and it was not even broken!  Needless to say Dan and I are extremely annoyed.   And neither one of us is that patient to start with.  I am firmly convinced the companies involved could make this all work smoothly and efficiently at very low cost if they wanted to.  I also wonder what happens to our old appliances.  I asked if we could donate them but was told "no" we had to pay a fee to have them removed.  Seems fishy to me! (Mrs.T does not understand corporate America very well. -dt)

So we have the new appliances picked out and delivered. (That was an ordeal of incompetent delivery people. -dt) And now we are ready to get electric and  propane.  (Finally installed. -dt)  At which point we will have three weeks worth of laundry to do (more actually. -dt) and can finally begin eating normally.  Now having a functional washer and dryer,  we are much relieved not to worry about diminishing piles of clean underwear.

When we came home I made a few orders from my favorite catalogs.  When I was modeling a new dress Dan said it looked like a nightgown.  I was quite concerned and disappointed.  I have never had much faith in Dan's fashion sense but then I never had much faith in mine either.  What to do?  I bravely wore it to an art opening.  It was a triumph!   At least half of the people I ran into, both acquaintances and strangers complimented me on my new dress.   I decided that Dan might know more than I about every subject under the sun - just ask him - but I knew more about women's clothes.  I also bought some new shoes.  If I tried a bit I could get into clothes shopping.  (Heaven forbid. -dt)

In addition to all of our householders' woes, we have our regular old people doctor problems. (And some new ones. -dt)  I swear between us, Dan and I have specialist doctors for all of our body parts.  We do not have a leg doctor; we have a knee doctor and an ankle doctor.  How silly is that? (The US healthcare system is not designed for maximum efficiency. -dt) In fact we have discovered parts that we did not know we had let alone what they are good for.  For example, I found out that I am low in magnesium.  I did not know I had any!  Well evidently I don't have enough.  Next week I have a stress test.  I think I should pass that, I have lots of stress. (She did get a passing score; her heart is okay. -dt)  We now have done about ½ of our doctor's appointments. But as each appointment yields two more we are no further ahead.   In fact we will probably keep on making appointments until we molder in dust.

Dan is getting a pretend right knee in July.  (Probably get the left one next April; mobility is currently impaired. -dt)  I have two.  They hurt a lot when I got them but then I felt better.  This is because of arthritis.  (The editor's arthritis is worse. -dt)  I try to hold firm on two things:  1) No more strokes;  2) No more cancer.  I do not feel real strongly about dying one way or the other.

I would like to clean up my office first which does make me practically immortal.  In fact I would like to give away a lot of my useless junk.  There is some of my useless junk I need to keep for no particular reason. So if anyone needs junk see me maybe we can work something out. (We will meet you at the top of the hill. -dt)

Dan plans to stay alive to take care of me because for one thing I am a trifle forgetful and would probably have our bank accounts messed up without him.  (Understatements. -dt) That is fine but I wish he was not so grumpy!

Now I have to concentrate on reclaiming Serena the Mermaid for possible performances and trying to locate a big friendly horse.  

The Muse neglected to mention the other major celestial event: the aurora borealis or Northern Lights.  Rarely have they been visible in Ohio as we are rather too far south.  Many of you probably heard about the extreme sun activity which made them visible to the far south of the US.  And we did have a show here.  Of course we were asleep.  We probably could not have seen much as our trees obscure our sky view.  But our neighbors who live well above us took some great pictures, some over our house.  In fact, due to some unknown technical glitches, they are the only photos this month.  Thank you, C and H.  Great people!  https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBrcha

Hope you all are planning a great summer.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

Sent from Outlook

Everyday

ROUTINE LIFE

As we have said many times, we are not on vacation.  Our winter life in Mexico is just a relocation to sunnier, warmer weather - normally.  It takes several days to edit the newsletter but today is not one of those sunnier, warmer ones.  It is a rainy, cold - for us - dreary day.  It happens once or twice during the winter; we will not complain much.

Our life here is essentially the same as in Philo - routine.  Some special activities now and then, e.g., chalk art on the street next week.  But mostly just the normal enjoyment of life.  So sometimes there is not a lot of interesting material for a newsletter.  The Muse has done well to describe a bit of the day, although she may have exaggerated some.

We did have one event of note.  I had some small surgery on my eyelids.  It was to help the drooping caused by my ocular myasthenia gravis .  The medication I have been taking has been less and less effective.  It seems that my eyes are a little better; we need to wait several weeks for complete healing.  And I will continue with the same meds.  It looks like my glasses will cover most scars.  My well-known bump was also removed.  The operation was done at Clinica Santa Rosa; Dr. Victor and his staff did a great job as usual.  Thank you!

Over our many issues we have avoided any political commentary.  It is not because we do not have our own ideas and opinions.  But we have not wanted to upset our readers who come from many backgrounds with their own slants on things in that arena. Nonetheless, Mrs.T slipped a bit of commentary in this issue.  The editor is certain you will understand. 

Our days are concentrated (Too strong a word; too much for sure. -dt) on television.  In the morning I watch the news and shout, "You are an idiot", to pictures of Donald Trump.  I personally will be glad when this election is over.  Later in the day Dan spends hours shouting advice or insults at various sports athletes and coaches.  It matters not the sport or the team, Dan has a strong opinion and expresses it loudly. (The Editor is interested in many sports. -dt)  You might wonder if two supposedly intelligent adults could not find a better way to spend their time.  In actual fact you might wonder if someone who shouts at an inanimate box of technology is an idiot.  But that is neither here nor there.  Evidently not!  My friend, Judy, tells her husband, "They cannot hear you!" This behavior seems to occur especially often in husbands.  Evidently it is endemic in Canadian husbands also.  

Dan has been watching chess tournaments on TV.  Sometimes he gets mad at me because I don't know who's winning or losing, not to mention why.(Not true, just annoyed perhaps. -dt)  I like the one commentator named Peter (Peter Leko -dt) who says things like, "He moved his knight, which was quite annoying."  Or, "The player missed a cheapoleeto". (Peter has his own vocabulary -dt)  Years ago I did know a little about chess but now they are doing it a lot differently.(Just using technology. -dt)  Not only that, but a lot of the players have very long names so they use nicknames and I have no idea who they are talking about. (Foreign languages are not Mrs.T's strong point. -dt) I try to keep track of a little bit of Dan's many interests.  Chess is hard for me.  I hate it when he treats me like a fool. (NO! Not true. Rebecca actually follows things fairly well. -dt) Sigh! The world champion is Chinese and his name is Ding (Ding Liren -dt); that is easy to remember.

There have been several small earthquakes in our neighborhood recently.  But I did not feel them.  Judy saw their swimming pool swishing back and forth but she did not feel it either.   

I have personally seen whales jumping in the bay twice.  There are reports many mothers (Cows -dt) calved in the bay this year.  (Undoubtedly the main reason the bay is important to the humpbacks. -dt)

So we are enjoying our usual peaceful winter.  Reading in the shade of our courtyard and working together with our friends on 1000 piece puzzles. (The puzzle crew has been putting them together quite rapidly this season. -dt)

I have been collecting little woven animals (Willow? -dt) that open on their backs or tummies (or back ends -dt) to become purses.  One Sunday I dumped out my discrete little leather purse and carried a plump, jolly, striped piggy to church.  I did get a couple of compliments not to mention several looks.  I told Dan it was 'carry-your-piggy-to-church' day.  I would have loaned him a nice conservative piggy but he did not seem inclined to participate.

I, alas, have stopped SCUBA diving.  My breathing was badly affected when I got COVID.  And I am very low on energy.  I am still able to ride Johnny for a couple of hours every Thursday. (Our neighbor Serah has begun to ride with Mrs.T -dt) After a couple of people shove me up onto the Mexican saddle I am good to go.  Sometimes Johnny turns his head around and looks at me as if to say, "Quit messing around and sit down!" My right side still doesn't work right because of the strokes. (COVID accentuated the effects of her strokes.  -dt)

My Aunt Winkie has died.  She was 98 and was the last of that generation   of the MacDonalds. (Or McDonald -dt)  She told me several years ago that she was ready to go.  An ardent Christian, she died quite confidently.  I figured that God had all the angels sweeping under all the beds in heaven, cleaning the celestial dust bunnies in preparation for her ascent.

A few representative pictures:  https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBeeFj

Thanks to George for a couple of pictures.

We hope you are well and enjoying the winter.

Best wishes.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

Sent from Outlook

Winter relocation

SUN!

It has been a while since you have heard from us.  I have been trying to get the Muse up-to-speed.  Summer was rather routine.  As noted in our last newsletter, Serena was quite a hit at the Y-Bridge arts festival and is now in a gallery window.  The good news is that we are at our sunny winter residence in Bucerias.  What a relief.

I attended the Nature Printing Society Conference at the beginning of October and had a wonderfully productive time.  However, upon our return, Rebecca had one of her October surprises.  Those of you who have followed our journeys know that just before we are ready to move to warmer climes, Rebecca oftimes is struck by some illness.  This time it unfortunately was COVID and she was relegated to the hospital for about a week; she gives a synopsis below:

Alas I was feeling very bad. When Dan stuck a thingy (Swab; COVID test kit - dt) up my nose it said I had COVID!  Dan took me to the ER. (This was after the PAXLOVID did not work for Mrs.T. - dt) I heard the nurse say, "We are going to admit her!"  I guess my blood pressure was very low.  I thought they wanted you to have low blood pressure!  I waited in the ER all day until they got a room in the COVID wing.  A nurse carried a bell walking in front ringing and shouting, "Unclean. Unclean".  Everyone who came to my room had to wear a yellow gown and a mask.  Just kidding about the bell.

Well they ran lots of tests.  My breathing was unsatisfactory. (It is much of the time.  -dt)  So I got lots of breathing treatments.  I had an IV and another machine attached to me that would beep whenever I was beginning to sleep. (Oxygen low -dt)  Every four hours they drained quite a bit of blood.  In a few days I was feeling a little better and was ready to leave.  No such luck.  Dan talked to the doctor who wanted me to finish my IV antibiotics.  Okay I could stay til Saturday.  We had tickets to fly to Mexico on Tuesday.  I wanted to vote.  Couldn't vote in the hospital.  Dan was a hero.  He got me out of the hospital and took me to vote.  Dan helped me pack. (Fortunately I had packed most things before the NPS conference. -dt)

Dan dragged me to the airport and our plane was not there.  It was delayed and delayed.  It was so late it wasn't there at all.  Finally we flew to San Francisco.  The next day we got to Mexico.  We were surprised to find that our luggage had already gotten there and was patiently waiting for us. (First time we have had problems getting to PV.  The details could make another story. -dt)

It was a great relief to get to Mexico.  I was totally exhausted but with Dan's remaining energy we disembarked and began to unload our luggage and possessions, both the necessary and the frivolous.  I am not sure which was which. The first few weeks were very hot. (Mostly high humidity. -dt)  I mostly lolled about in the pool with Brenda.  Dan took care of me and periodically gave me a little jab to try and get me going.  I felt very tired.  I started taking magnesium because in the hospital they said I was very low in magnesium.  That COVID is no joke!  

I started riding Johnny, the horse. (Same horse Mrs.T rode last season -dt)   Once George - the horse person - managed to shove me on top of Johnny, we did fairly well.   I was totally exhausted by the heat but I still enjoyed riding along the beach and watching the waves rolling in and thinking of nothing at all.  George thinks I will do well riding earlier when it is cooler.  He probably is right.  Tomorrow I will start an hour earlier at 8:oo am.  This is good except I am not an early riser. (Yes, some more prodding required. -dt)

Last week I gave George some money to get supplies, mandarinas, i.e., tangerines, apples - red only, Johnny will not eat green ones - two cokes, and various and sundry.  The sundry included coconut cookies.  I found out when I noticed Johnny nodding his head contentedly.  "Here, try one of these,"  George said as he handed me a coconut butter cookie.  It was delicious. " It is Johnny's favorite kind, " George reported.  I wondered what kind of cookies was second with Johnny.  Did he like OREOs?  We ambled down the back streets of Bucerias a contented threesome: a man, a woman, and a horse all munching on coconut butter cookies.

It is night in Mexico.  Dan and I look like space travelers lying peacefully on our bed in our CPAP masks.  I, alas, given the deterioration of my lungs every night plug myself into two machines.  I have the oxygen machine which is connected to the CPAP which is connected to me.  So, every evening, in the dark, I push the button on the oxygen with my shaky hands.  I think it is easy to understand how I by mistake push the button that gives me three liters of oxygen instead of two.  I fail to notice this little error and am happily getting an extra little kick. Having successfully plugged myself into both machines I snuggle down peacefully and begin to take my nights repose.  Unfortunately, the oxygen machine. which is a trifle lazy, realizes that it is having to work harder than usual.  It begins to emit angry little beeps of protest.  I am feeling fine and totally ignore it.  However Dan, who takes every technological problem seriously, awakes instantly. (Sounded like an alarm clock. -dt) He inquires as to the problem.  I, not hearing very well, sleep on.  Dan turns on the light and corrects the problem.  I sleep on.  Of course in the morning Dan will explain my error in great detail.  Sigh!

"O vanity thy name is woman."  I am not sure exactly who made up this little saying: Shakespeare,  Pope, or Rebecca - but I will not claim that it is totally untrue. (Actually: "Fraility, thy name is woman."  Hamlet.  -dt) With my well rounded stature, and my wrinkly old face you might think that I have nothing to brag about but you are wrong. I am quite proud of my hair.  It is thick, and sleek, and after I wash it with purple shampoo, white and shiney.  Unfortunately, purple shampoo is hard to find and when you do locate it sometimes the results are less than satisfactory.  In fact I have on occasion ended up with purple hair.  But after assiduous shopping the purple shampoo is found.  And as long as I use it cautiously and don't stay in the pool too long, which has a tendency to turn my hair green, I have lovely tresses. (Lady Godiva? -dt)

Last week when we were riding the horses we went to see the piggies.

The sows are enclosed in a large field with muddy wallows.  There are large trees with lots of shade and several small enclosures for piggy privacy.  Sows seemed to be quite content and mostly lolled about.  The piggies all squeezed under the fence and explored the surrounding  forest.  If something alarmed them the piggies would squeal loudly and run and squeeze back under the fence and return to mama.   Although we tried to be stealthy, two people on large horses were quite alarming!  I love to watch the piggies.  Suddenly my Appalachian heritage kicked in.  "HERE PIG, PIG, PIG," I yelled loudly.  These pigs evidently shared the same heritage. They stopped running around and gathered in a line about ten feet away from me and stared at me expectantly waiting for me to dispense food.  George was quite amazed.  I find my life full of wonderful moments.

As you can see, we are into our routine.  Sunlight has a curative effect.  Sadly, Mrs.T is not yet scuba diving, and it might not happen.  Her mobility issues and lack of stamina lower the probability of a return to her underwater activities.  Two strokes and COVID have had their effects.  But she is slowly improving.

Construction in our section of paradise - or at least it was a corner - is moving apace.  As we mentioned in previous issues, we have condos or apartments, literally hundreds, being built everywhere.  We presume they will mostly be rented, not having residents, even seasonal ones like us.

A special shout out and thanks to JG; we are blessed to have such a friend.

And the sunsets are mostly beautiful.

A few pictures:

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB6cww

Have a great winter.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

Sent from Outlook

Summer fun

THE GIANT MERMAID

It has been a fairly normal, but busy, summer.  Essentially we have had a continuation of activities from our last newsletter.  Rebecca and her sisters did have their planned get together the first week of June.  At the end of June we went to Touchstone for the sixth time; we had a good time there as usual.  The highlight thus far has been The Muse's participation in the Y-Bridge Arts Festival. You will read about that below.

Several years ago Dan and I traveled to the Mexican city of Oaxaca (We highly recommend it! -dt) and while we were there saw the giant puppets called los altos - the tall ones.  I was  enchanted.  This summer I had the opportunity to take a class at Touchstone Center for Crafts to make a giant puppet.  Thus was born Serena the Mermaid.  After two strokes I am not as adept as I once was but I am still quite enthusiastic!  Everyone from the incredibly talented instructor to my classmates were very helpful and supportive.  We shaped the frame with cardboard.  We formed the face and hands with paper mache .  We painted.  We sawed.  We pasted.  We cut.  We sewed.  And VOILA!! Serena took on a life of her own.  Perhaps I should mention that everybody made different puppets.  We had a bird, a wolf, a hamburger, a dragon, William Shakespeare, and several examples provided by our instructor.  Of course Serena was the most beautiful.  After we all made our puppets we learned a puppet dance.  Everyone except me was concerned that I might topple over because Serena has a large head and the dance was rather vigorous and I am, I might as well admit it, a bit clumsy.  I was not particularly worried  but the others convinced me to dance sitting in a chair waving Serena's arms about.  

Well that was quite satisfying.  Now I had an 8ft tall mermaid. What was I to do with her?  Serena reclined unconcerned on the chaise in my office.  Wherever we had guests they peeked in to admire her.  Dan suggested we ship her to our condo in Mexico to amaze and/or amuse our southern friends.  I decided Serena should visit the local arts festival.  Dan, who tends to be traditional and law abiding, pointed out that the deadline for entries was past.  My friend gave me the phone number of the director who thought an 8ft tall mermaid would be just the thing.  Saturday at 11:30 I paraded around the festival singing "I am a happy mermaid", having my picture taken with people.  My friend Tori held one of my arms and guided me because I do not always see well in the costume.  We had a great time.  One odd thing was that the dogs who were walking by did not like Serena.  They either growled or slunk away. When there was a breeze Serena's long purple hair floated behind her on the wind.  The festival director has requested the loan of Serena for her gallery window, after that who knows. (By the time you read this Serena will be on display.  -dt)

A month or so ago I went with my sisters Ruth and Rita to see the wild ponies that live on the barrier islands in Virginia (Assateague and Chincoteague islands -dt).  We had a good time taking a boat and seeing them grazing about.  In the fall the fire department guys herd them to the mainland and sell the yearlings and use the money to buy fire trucks.  This way the islands do not get overgrown with ponies.  They give all the ponies vaccinations and let them loose.  We thought this was lovely but didn't buy any ponies.  We all bought souvenirs with horse pictures and lighthouse pictures.  Rita and Ruth went into a little museum to see the lighthouse light but I rested in the car.  I had to rest up so I had plenty of energy to eat homemade ice cream at the emporium.  We spent a lot of time talking about the good old days and the bad new days. We talked about all of our relatives.  We talked about religion and politics.  And then totally exhausted, we played Scrabble.  Rita won.  I guess I didn't cheat hard enough.  Alas after all this cavorting Ruth recently had a stroke but is now recovering at home with Rita's support not to mention the help of her children and grandchildren. (There are many. -dt)   I talked to Ruth and she seems to be doing well.

This has been a long hot summer.  For one thing the dam broke.  After the dam broke the top half of the pond flowed willy-nilly wherever it pleased.  And then rapidly receded likewise.  Fortunately most of the fish, turtles, and salamanders retreated to the bottom  and were safe.    The frogs hopped where they pleased and as for the snake I am not too concerned. The pond man has righted the dam and connected it to two sturdy posts which are probably serviceable but not really attractive.  I am considering planting some cover, flags perhaps or pickerel or horseweeds but that will wait until next year.  

This summer July felt like August. (Hot and humid -dt) Not only that but we received a lot of smoke from Canadian forest fires. This made it hard to breathe and hard to see.  I didn't know they had forest fires in Canada, except that last year one almost burned Don and Judy's place at the lake.  It makes me wonder if we are safe in our house in the woods.  Every so often a tree falls in the woods.  You hear a humongous thunk.  A sycamore tree branch squashed Dan's little car like a bug a few years ago.  And more recently a different tree chopped our shed in half.  Wherever you live there are problems I suppose.  I have been chopping little trees and shrubs, and branches with my new tiny chainsaw.  I was too enthusiastic chopping away without stopping to stash the dead wood out of the way and so now I have stopped to clean up after myself.  Sadly I encountered quite a bit of poison ivy in the process.  I mostly spray it with Roundup which is bad ecologically, but I don't care!  If you think I am bad, I'll bet you never had a bad case of poison ivy.  Judge not that you be not itchy, I say.

This summer has been a rather disappointing one in terms of the sky.  There has been a lot going on in the universe.  But I seem to have missed at least most of it. I have always loved watching the night sky.  When I was very young my father taught me how to navigate by the north star. He showed me some of the constellations and explained how they travel around by different times of the year. I don't know if I really understood then but I think I can still find the North Star.  First you find the Big Dipper - well anyway.  I do enjoy looking at the stars and there are three or four constellations I can recognize even if I can't remember their names.  Orion; I think one is called Orion.  In the beginning of summer there was a meteor shower and I saw a few shooting stars.  Then things went downhill, so to speak.  There were supposed to be two days when the northern lights would be visible in Muskingum County.  I had seen them once when I was a child and was very eager to see them again.  Alas no!  It was cloudy both nights.  Then we were supposed to view a super moon which came as close to the earth as the moon ever comes.  Once again, clouds.  There is scheduled to be, at the end of the month, a rare blue moon.  If I miss that I will be blue! (Still cloudy and the trees blocked the view. -dt)

This has been a summer of diminishing returns.   We have been saddened by the passing of several old friends and relatives.  As we age the loss of contemporaries with whom we can share memories and points of view makes our very existence seem less relevant.  The idea of a bucket list  - things you want to do before you kick the bucket - appealed to me.  I decided I wanted to go to Madagascar to see the Baobab trees. So being a modern woman (Hahaha -dt) I got on the internet and found many tours to Madagascar.  I picked out two listed among the best tours and filled out applications.  I explained that I wasn't interested in adventure tours.  I did not want trekking - whatever that may be -  hiking, or cycling tours either.  I wanted a low key tour to look at the baobab trees.  We both are over 70 and like to take our time.  Can you believe neither of the tour companies even bothered to respond!  Dan said I should accept the fact that I am old. (Just lacking stamina and mobility impaired -dt) Humph!!  So I am trying to think of something interesting that I am not too old to do.  It boggles the mind or what is left of it. (Plenty of things, like walking around as a mermaid -dt)

Here are a few pictures.  The Amaryllis Belladonna have been particularly nice this year.  And something for math and/or car people:

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAQzet

Hope you all are keeping cool.

Dan and Rebecca

www.Casa-de-Terrible.blogspot.com

Sent from Outlook

Spring time

Northern Spring 2023

No, we have not disappeared.  Many of you know we are back at our northern home.  As is getting to be more normal, we have spent the better part of a month visiting several medical people, mostly regarding Rebecca's various conditions.  She is still cancer free but the risks of fixing her other problems outweigh the benefits.  In between those visits we have managed to get the household up and running.  And we have reconnected with several friends in Zanesville and Columbus.

And each year when we return The Muse is keenly interested in the flora.  She wants to see what is in bloom and get her hands dirty putting more plants in the ground.  Unfortunately she tires rather quickly these days and the planting goes rather slowly.  But she finishes it eventually if she has not overbought plants and bulbs.  And the yard demands some other tending to bring it to a more-or-less civilized look.  On to her short commentary.

It is high spring.  The ephemeral wildflowers are fading or gone.  I still can immerse my senses in the last of the lilacs.  The flowering trees enchant me now.  I have a maroon colored calycanthus - a sweet spice I think they are called - which is quite interesting.  I have a white one also but I prefer the red.  My rather spindly mock orange which is has a light entrancing scent and is sometimes included in wedding bouquets.  I have a red buckeye that I bought at Dawes Arboretum which grows larger and lovelier every year. Great flowers but very little scent.  Dan's large-leaf magnolia is not blooming yet; sometimes it doesn't, so we will have to wait and see.  The white dogwood are past their prime but still making a valiant comeback from the fungus which decimated them a few years ago.  And throughout the woodland there are little streams of the subtle perfume of the black locust.  A thorny tree, yet when it is in bloom I can forgive its stickers.  I understand that in olden days they planted locusts in fence rows to keep the cows in.  

We just passed the cut off date when serious gardeners believe it is safe to plant things around here.  Of course I am not very serious but I am planting nonetheless.  I have ordered some moonflowers like my Grandmother used to have planted on arbors around the patio.  We used to watch them open in the evenings.  Do you remember?  I am a little disconcerted to find that the flowers which I remember from my childhood are now heirlooms.  Humph!  You are supposed to scarify the seeds before you plant them.  I tried it twice with no results so this time I am ordering plants.  I hope to have them creeping up around the posts of  our front porch. Dan is against this plan. (We'll see if they attract bugs or other critters. -dt)  I also have the tall orange oriental poppies, some yellow woodland poppies, a green dragon - this is the same family as Jack-in-the-pulpits - some Siberian Iris and other flowers I don't really know but they were on sale at Ollie's. I planted the poppies today. I wonder if you can make narcotics from them?  (Wrong kind. -dt) Just a thought. I bought ten large bags of garden dirt. Dan was appalled but I hope it is enough; our soil is mostly clay and stones.  (Mrs.T bought ten bags of an expensive brand, not a generic type. -dt)

I bought a new mini chainsaw, marketed for women and elderly persons.  (Rebecca qualifies as both. dt) My small chainsaw was becoming too heavy for me. (And she did not fix it the last time the chain fell off. -dt) This works pretty well but it does not quite fit my hand.  I can recommend it for people whose spouses took away their chainsaws for their own protection; you know who you are! (It wasn't me!! -dt) The machine cuts very fast.  It is supposed to cut limbs up to 6 inches.  It has a dead man switch so hopefully you cannot injure yourself too badly.  I have used it very carefully and have not injured myself and the chain has not fallen off.  I hate it when that happens.  I cut down a dead peach tree and a bunch of small encroaching volunteers.  Everywhere I look I see branches that need trimming.  The thing is I can only work 15 or 20 minutes and then it takes another 15 or 20 minutes to drag the limbs and push them over the hill. (And then a nap. -dt) Still it does look nice in the places I have chopped away.  I am kind of like a beaver.

   

Dan has taken to baking potato chips.  He got this slicing machine (A mandoline -dt), but at any rate they are quite tasty.  Now if I could only get him to stop dumping the ashes from his grill on my flowers everything would be copacetic. (I did not make the chips on the grill. -dt)

I love funny words and the spell check is so convenient, especially to the spelling challenged. (Sometimes her mangled spelling is beyond the program's ability. -dt)  I don't understand how his brain works but Dan can spell just about any word.  And if he is not sure he writes it down and then he looks at it and knows.  This makes him a great help with my crossword puzzles at least until he gets tired of me and tells me to look it up.  How can I look it up if I can not spell it?  I am doing crossword puzzles as therapy for my stroke brain.  I think maybe I am getting better.  Of course I am not in the same league with Ruth who has been doing them for years just for fun. (And let's not talk about playing Scrabble with Mrs.T. -dt)

Speaking of which, Ruth, Rita, and I are planning a little sortie to a barrier island in Virginia to see the resident wild ponies and the lighthouses.  Ruth is a great fan of lighthouses.  Some people seem to like them.  I can't see the attraction myself but I like oceans.  So there will be something for everyone.  Rita and I can pick up little pink shells on the beach.  I am not climbing up a million steps to the top of the lighthouse like I did when I was younger.  When we get tired we can loll about by the beach.   Nothing is better than lolling. (Virginia should be warned. The three R's may be lolling by the time you see this. -dt)

Very few pictures in this issue.  We are particularly pleased our budding artist next door, Emory, received a prize for best kindergartener in a recent show of student art.  https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAFsiy

Please send positive energy to our friend PD; he is facing significant health challenges.

Heat wave coming to Philo.  Hope you all are staying cool.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

Sent from Outlook

Happenings

MUSINGS

Don't be surprised if you should find this newsletter a bit disjointed.  Mrs. T worked on this over several sessions and things are not totally connected.  And the timeframe is also a bit out of whack; these events are actually over a couple of months.  That is mostly due to our usual visitors - Nick and Rita.  No fault is assigned; they just diverted the Muse's attention while writing.  We greatly enjoyed their visits as always.  Also, Rebecca has been living at the dentist lately for crown work.

Dan has been watching an international chess tournament in the Netherlands.  (In January; It is the first big tournament each year. -dt) He says he understands the commentary;  usually it is too fast for me. (But she really likes Peter Leko. -dt)  Every so often he takes a day off to watch professional football. (We are obviously well past that. -dt) Sometimes Dan and I listen to OSU basketball on the radio.  I am severely reprimanded ('admonished' is a better word -dt) if I fall asleep. (A common occurrence -dt)  At any rate this is an enjoyable time of watching many things for Dan, the Monday morning quarterback. 

Nick and I have been going to the beach to check on the ocean.  This makes us both happy for no particular reason.   We sit at Karen's drinking - watching the waves and talking of desultory things.  Sometimes  I think we both could be beach bums without a lot of effort. (Mrs.T is already rather close. -dt)

The people along the sand

All turn and look one way.

They turn their back on the land.

They look at the sea all day.

As long as it takes to pass

A ship keeps raising its hull;

The wetter ground like glass

Reflects a standing gull.

The land may vary more;

But wherever the truth may be---

The water comes ashore,

And the people look at the sea.

They cannot look out far.

They cannot look in deep.

But when was that ever a bar

To any watch they keep?

"Neither Out Far Nor In Deep"  Robert Frost

I am also enjoying a book of happy poems Nick brought me.  Sometimes Nick and I puzzle together.

We have all been working on a complicated puzzle about a beach.  Judy and Gord are making some progress but it is slow.  We miss Barry (and Helen -dt) who could not come this year.  Not only for puzzling , he was especially good at borders, but also for his quiet good humor.  There are several holes in our company this year and we miss you all.  Gord chose some different puzzles for us to do next.   They are called rompecabezas in Spanish which translates literally as hit your head.  We hope his choices are not quite so tough on our skulls.   (They will have completed many more puzzles by the time you receive this. -dt)  Lucy, the dog, has taken to laying under the palapa near whoever is working on the puzzle. She seems to like the company.  Lucy is getting old like the rest of us.  (Yes, her hair is gray, and she does not see or hear so well. -dt)

I have been reading a collection of short stories by  Louis L'Amour.  I find a reality in his work somewhat reminiscent of Jack London.  There seems to be more believability in adventure stories written by true adventurers.  

In Ohio we have a little Roomba robot that sweeps the floor.  Dan has been talking about getting one for our condo in Mexico.  The thing fascinates me.  In fact I thought getting one for Mexico was a fine idea until I found out how much they cost. Made me wonder how much we paid for the one in Ohio.  When I inquired Dan said he got a really good deal on it!  (We have an inexpensive basic model in Philo. -dt)  That kind of answer makes me really nervous!  Dan likes to have anything technological.  Every so often the Roomba disappears.  I always look under the bed.  It is never there but that is where I look.  Then I look under the furniture and behind the trash cans.  I was telling my friend about this problem.  

"You will never guess where I found the thing!"  I told her.  

"In your closet," she promptly replied!

It turns out she has one and it always gets lost in her closet also.  I wonder if it is the shoes on the floor that confuse it.  

Anyway in Mexico we have a maid who comes in once a week and sweeps and mops the floors, cleans the bathrooms, and changes the sheets.  This is nice except we have spent the time before she comes picking up everything and putting it away.  We wouldn't want the maid to think we are messy.   Dan who has neatness tendencies sweeps up little pieces of dirt and sand and stuff off the floor on non-maid days. (White tiles show everything. -dt)  Sometimes he sweeps the floor on days the maid is coming, we don't want the maid to think we have dirty floors. (She gets the tough stuff. -dt)

One day Dan was sweeping away in our bedroom. "OH!" he said.  He was trying to sweep something up and it scampered under the dirty clothes basket.  Carefully lifting the basket we discovered that Dan was trying to sweep up a teeny, tiny gecko.  The next day Dan was cleaning in the bathroom and he found the gecko - or possibly its brother - under the bath mat.  "Leave it alone, maybe it eats mosquitoes,"  I advised. (Hoped -dt)  Be that as it may I don't think we need a robot sweeper harassing the tiny wildlife.  

One night walking home I looked up and saw clouds making a rainbow around the moon, or actually half a moon.  I suppose I could be scientific and speak about the prismatic effects of water droplets in the clouds but NO that is wrong! It was magic!  Sometimes I see magic everywhere.  I speak to animals and plants and they reply. (Mrs. Doolittle? -dt)  I feel a great sadness for those who can not or will not hear and see.  I might have fit more easily into the world of Wordsworth:

The world is too much with us; late and soon

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers -

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!  

(From "The World Is Too Much With Us " -dt) 

My poor horse Johnny has been sadly abused.  His lip on the right right side has been badly torn;  I can only assume by someone jerking on the reins.  I am sure it was not George, his owner, who really loves Johnny.  Maybe it happened before George got him.  At any rate George has put some medicine on Johnny and I have been riding him with only a halter.  This is not a problem because Johnny is really well trained and I can guide him with my legs and feet and by making smoochey noises.  But I do have to pay attention.  Mostly I let him go at his own speed.  Anyway he is healing well.  I cannot imagine why anyone would do this to such a nice horse.

Johnny has become quite fond of me especially because I give him a red apple after each ride.  Johnny does not want green apples.  As soon as I dismount Johnny has his nose out looking for his apple. 

I ride about 1 ½ hours every Thursday. (George has been very conscientious about coming regularly on time. -dt) When Rita was here she rode with me one time but she was pretty tired.  We mostly ride through the Mexican side of town and around the countryside and sometimes on the beach.   George doesn't worry about me not handling Johnny but he does know I might well get lost especially in the Mexican side of town which is something of a warren.   George is worried because I don't always know where I am. (Geography is not Mrs.T's strong point. -dt)  But I told him I could always tell Johnny to take me home and he would.  I can always tell when we are getting near their home because Johnny speeds up looking forward to a nice cool drink.  I really like my rides but I am very tired at the end and I do tend to walk like a cowgirl for the rest of the day. (Maria, a neighbor, also rode once. -dt)

A funny thing has happened.  I have been getting emails (Text messages -dt) from the Democrats asking me to run for office.  They have never specified what exactly I should run for - dogcatcher perhaps?  I would never have known about this except that Dan admitted he had been deleting the emails. (MrsT does not quite understand the difference between emails and texts. - dt)  I guess he was afraid that I would take these inquiries seriously.   Alas, no.  For one thing I can not abide committees and meetings and for another my memory is notoriously unreliable.  Still I took the question as a compliment.  I honestly believe it was  a reflection of two relevant facts.  First, Democrats are rare to nonexistent in Muskingum County.  The second fact is that from time to time I contribute to various Democratic political campaigns  (They want more. -dt); they almost always lose.  I might add that I once wrote a letter of encouragement to President Obama and I got a very nice reply. (Form letter 42. -dt)  Of course some people mock my political efforts but they also delete my emails which is probably illegal or at least it should be.  (Her name is in them but sent to me.  Undoubtedly she gave them my number.  -dt)

Lest you wonder, Rebecca is still scuba diving once a week.  She and Alex visit marine friends every Saturday.  They have seen some more whales, butterfly rays, eels, founder, and sorts of other critters.  They have caught a few fish as well.

Here are a few pictures of recent happenings:

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAus3k

Hope you all are enjoying whatever whacky weather you are having.  Here it is a normal nice, warm winter.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

Sent from Outlook