Rebuilding

 A lot of renovation is going on after the storm last year. I saw this work last week when I went to pick up my lunch. Actually the workers announce themselves by blaring their radio music over the neighborhood!

It rained the next day, but the following one, they were back.

I wish I'd seen them put in the roof beam! Bet that was heavy! It looks like an open ceiling rather than pre-built truss-work, but I may be wrong.

I should have taken flower photos on my way into exercise last week...by the time I left it was sprinkling and I was pretty washed out myself! Exercise class is held at a local church, since the Lakeview Center was damaged by the storm.

Today's quote:

When we pause, we are able to observe our interdependence—from a harvest taken from the soil by a stranger’s hands to the electrician who keeps the lights and Wi-Fi on. We are surrounded by the abundance we create for each other.

JOE PRIMO

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And as everyone is thinking sometime today, I remember the awful events of September 11, 2001.

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Writing On Wednesday night from my hospital bed with a view of Pisgah Mountain off in the distance -

Where there is a very nice little restaurant which I plan to visit in a few weeks with my friends. Our plan is to have a picnic and then go to the restaurant for dessert with coffee. It’s too early in the season for the color changes of the leaves so it will just be nice to see our pretty green mountains From the Blue Ridge Parkway. It has only been opened from Asheville down to there fairly recently. (Note I’m dictating on the iPad so there are some punctuation spelling problems sorry)

I may be the kind of patient the doctors want to get out and gone soon because I know what things are going to help and what things aren’t in a lot of ways – because I’ve already Tried a lot of of them.

 I don’t like having heavy duty steroids and so I haven’t slept very well. The people are wonderful as far as offering help and caring about each patient, so I’m not complaining. I just don’t like to be sick, especially with bronchiectasis- Which means my cough needs to be treated differently than other peoples - By encouraging Frequent Coughing to clear the mucus rather than drying it up. So I have a flutter valve, which I blow into and it kind of triggers my lungs to cough. As well as chemicals that I use in a nebulizer at least twice a day when I go home, I will also need to start. Using the little Therapeutic vest which also jiggles my chest so that I cough up stuff.

An amazing thing just happened. Wednesday night I was given a consultation with an infectious Doctor. Specialty Is Infections. So she’s changed a lot of the things that I’ve been prescribed. She was sent by the pulmonologist and is now in charge of what I’m going to be doing. She’s testing for whole new things, but they don’t have to be done in the hospital.

Tuesday's treasures

 

From the internet

Elizabeth, Mary and John on a lunch trip with the Lakeview Center van..."Van Clan"

More seniors on Van Clan trip.

So glad someone posted these on Facebook. I do miss sitting at a big round table for lunch in the Lakeview Center's dining room...the downstairs was damaged in Hurricane Helene so it's now just a pick-up site for boxed lunches daily...until there's a trip to a restaurant.

Not many Seniors doing the local slide near Brevard...and it's really cold water these days. But just wait...there will soon be many people in line to go down Sliding Rock into the pool below.

Do you know your oaks? The bark is also helpful for some of these...and I admit to only knowing a few myself.

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Meanwhile, the YouTube capture of the hostage taking of 12 demonstrators in the Mediterranean  Sea outside of Gaza by Israeli forces.

Toward the end of the video is this posting, probably by Israeli press since all the 12 had thrown their phones overboard and there were details of a soldier handing everyone sandwiches and water bottles.

Greta Thunberg receiving a sandwich after her capture by Israeli forces.

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In my life, I discovered something interesting. While panting after the first minute of cardio exercise (marching in place to a video) I stuck the pulse-oximeter on my finger, to see my heart rate. Surprised to see it was only 81, no where near the 90s that I'd had several months ago. I was panting away, but my heart was beating at a pretty normal rate, not strained.

I'll have a question about that for pulmonology soon...I did just turn in 2 lab cups of spit to be examined to see if any more (or the same) bugs are in my lungs. So for now I'll try to get up to 5 minutes of cardio no matter how much I'm puffing away. (I'm still at around 3 minutes after just a few tries.) It's a long way to 30 minutes, isn't it?

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Today's quote:

When small men begin to cast big shadows, it means that the sun is about to set. -Lin Yutang, writer and translator (1895-1976)

Today's pottery

Yellow and blue (and green)

The sweet orchid is  kind of backlit from all the sunshine in the window. I've had to close blinds and curtains some days in order to work on laptop...I've already increased the screen to higher lighting since moving over here also.  I do like looking above the screen to see birds, or sky...but once the sun comes directly inside, oops, can't focus on screen worth a hoot.

An earlier nighttime shot as the orchid was opening.

Not my photo! Just reminding me in a month we shall be inundated with blooming everywhere. Ah, to just be patient!

On March first I captured these lovelies by our entrance to the apartment complex. And no wonder nobody ever can  find the place with that well camouflaged sign!!

In the meantime, I've got blue skies to enjoy! When writing this on Feb. 27th I went to wash off my car from the bird droppings. I hadn't seen any robins that morning, so perhaps they had finally traveled elsewhere.

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This is the exercise video I follow that I got after my Ornish program of cardiac rehab. I do it at least once a week, and usually have some aches from it the next day. But last week I actually made the whole 30 minutes, with one break for drinking water and catching my breath. So now I know what the last exercises are at least! 

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 Current events:

Another place where yellow and blue are to be remembered, since it's now 3 years since Russia invaded the Ukraine. Silly US politicians think they can just get some benefits by giving Ukraine over to the Big Bear...without a care about our long term allies in Europe.

Don't miss the ghost image behind these two!

And another thing to remember,

On February 24, 2025, the U.S. delegation to the United Nations voted against a resolution condemning Russia for its aggression in Ukraine and calling for it to end its occupation. That is, the U.S. voted against a resolution that reiterated one of the founding principles of the United Nations itself: that one nation must not invade another. The U.S. voted with Russia, Israel, North Korea, Belarus, and fourteen other countries friendly to Russia against the measure, which nonetheless passed overwhelmingly.

Just added, FYI: a tracker of the status of suits filed against the Executive orders - Litigation Tracker.

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And the Good News from Katharine Hayhoe this week about trees!

A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, which means heavy rainfall events are increasing around the globe, which in turn can increase the risk of flooding. That’s bad news, obviously.

 
But the good news is that trees are a strong natural defense against flooding! They help soil absorb water by soaking up rainfall through their roots. The roots also reduce erosion and runoff while leafy canopies slow rain down, reducing flash flood risk.
 
In the UK, researchers at the University of Plymouth are planting native trees in Dartmoor, in hopes of reviving the area's ancient woodland pastures and helping with local flood control. They're planting these native trees using the “tiny forest” Miyawaki Method I’ve written about before here. By planting many different native species closely together, planted trees can rapidly mimic a multi-layered forest ecosystem.
 
In cities, green roofs don’t just keep buildings cool. They also absorb rainwater and reduce surface runoff. In India, for example, one study found that installing green roofs across an urban area could reduce flood volume between 10 and 60 percent.
 
Trees already filter the air, keep us cool, provide habitat for species and so much more. Now we know they’re essential to protecting us from floods as well!

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And my  personal note for today, my family photo sharing time.

My oldest son, Marty, when he was 2 years old, in Hartford, CT.

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Today's quote: 

We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure, but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of the world.

JACK GILBERT  Today's art: Voyageurs At Dawn is an 1871 oil painting by Frances Anne Hopkins.

Hodge Podge and update on exercise

 Sometimes I scroll through some saved photos, and scratch my head, when will I ever be able to post these? So here are some of them, without much relation to one another.

Today (Saturday writing this while snowbound) it's cold still here. I've been doing cardio workouts with a video, as well as a strength training video. As well as my physical therapy exercises from last spring...as I have the written pages for the PT. 

I woke up this morning with my limbs feeling much more flexible! Wow. My torso is also responding with some muscles working, rather than letting the flab take over. I will keep doing these indoor exercises in the living room! Having immediate (one week) results gives me such a personal boost. I'm also saving the money it would cost to drive to Asheville to the gym. Now I know why people go to closer ones, and if I decide to do that, I'll consider the local YMCA first. 

Louisiana-Purchase

Royal Canadian Navy

A very wise man there.

Separated by 66 years.

I'm in awe of all that aviation has achieved in the 19th-21st centuries (remember hot air balloons?)

Steven Hawking - Star Child - his birth anniversary is January 8 

Great aerial view of the Statue of Liberty and Twin Towers...no date given.

Mimi Fariña, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, David Crosby and Arlo Guthrie at Big Sur Folk Festival, 1968

Joan Baez' birthday was January 9.

From CBS Sunday Morning, January 5, 2025 (above and below)

Today's quote:

A hard day can sometimes be a great teacher if we stop for reflection.

Today's art:

Bronze sculpture by Andrea Roggi from FB Art and Artist page

Goodbye November 2024

 So the pulmonologist wanted to do some more extensive tests to see if my intermittent fevers could be related to some kind of micro-infection. That meant taking little samples of what I cough up, spitting into labeled little jars, then return in to his office to be sent off to the lab. It will take a while to get results. In the meantime he prescribed another antibiotic. Since I take several a year, I hope this will help me have more energy, and not cause major side effects! I couldn't take the antibiotic until I finished making 3 samples over 3 days. To you all fellow bloggers who recommended more tests, we're finally going that direction.

November of '24 has been an interesting month.

I learned that setting a goal and working toward it with my best efforts doesn't always work. I tried exercise to extend my stamina, and found it set me back instead, with the fever occurring twice this month. Hadn't had it during any of my evacuation time of 16 days, so it's kind of related to my home and my own practices.

My goal that I didn't reach was to drive to Ohio for Thanksgiving with my family. I still tear up when writing this, because of course it hurts that I missed being with them. But I figured I wasn't becoming more fit in the stamina of breathing than I was failing at it. The body has spoken. 

Me and my three granddaughters and my son at his Thanksgiving table in 2018. The girls have sure grown, and I've lost weight, but Russ looks much the same! 

Here's the version from this year at their house.

My friend and medical care coordinator, Rob, said I should just consider this as a postponed trip. So maybe I can look at it as a positive in that way, though I am invited for Chirstmas as well. Not sure if a month from now (or less) will change things.

This month has also been one of acceptance of the dregs of the hurricane that are all around us still, while efforts for retails and restaurants to become normal are happening. A strange juxtaposition.

Having Thanksgiving late in the month did feel strange also.

But I've been starting Christmas shopping too, at the local stores. I gifted myself some beautiful pottery made by a friend.

Mmm, I also got a few little things for granddaughters in OH. Easy to ship. Will look at local shops Saturday to see what else I might send them, since I can't count on seeing them for Christmas.

And of course there's the depressed feelings and fears as a result of the  election. No more need to be said. Except that it came on top of the survival dealings following catastrophic flooding and winds in my part of North Carolina...individuals certainly lost more than I did, but I didn't feel all that great getting through the month of October and into November.

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A good report from a Charlotte TV station. I hadn't heard or seen many of the clips that came out the first week, because of living with no electricity or wi-fi.

The Day the Lights went Out

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And for more philosophical interest, Wendell Berry interviewed by Bill Moyers.

 

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And just to record the strange dream I had Thanksgiving morning...there were 6 little hand blown amber glass dishes, with squared off edges...maybe about 2-3 inches on a side. They were very rare, and I was going to smuggle them through some guarded situation. So I wore some tight elastic undies and put all 6 dishes against my rather bountiful belly...with the bow of the dishes such that the edges were against my body. Of course in the dream several of them broke, and the pieces cut me...such that doctors were called to do surgery to remove the glass. 

I think this was the first night I took my new antibiotic. My gut was sending me a message that it's about to be attacked. Poor ole gut. I hope it doesn't have any glass edges while it survives this necessary medication. Enough, you're screaming! Enough of this personal stuff!

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Today's quote:

Stephen Jay Gould, naturalist, said, “Homo sapiens [are] a tiny twig on an improbable branch of a contingent limb on a fortunate tree.”

Asheville trip (with my own photos!)

 

Blue Ridge Rd bridge over the Swannanoa River is built, but not yet open as of Mon. 11.4.24. Then I went to Asheville... (Later I took more photos of Swannanoa, when I was actually looking for a free lunch, but never spotted one.)

Mon, Wed, and Fri I am going to be doing what these people are doing...for my pulmonary rehab maintenance exercise. I started this week.

A gingko tree on a cloudy day in Asheville, last Mon.

Driving through the worst hit area, Biltmore Village. Much has already been cleaned up, but the repairs continue.

McDonalds has huge piles of debris at the entrance to it's parking lot (over to the left which I didn't catch as I drove by.)

Was this the Wendy's where I went often for lunch following doctor's appointments in Asheville?

Hwy  81 runs parallel to the Swannanoa River, which flooded at 26.5 feet. (I think that's still below the roof line of these buildings,  so they must count starting at the bottom of the river.)

Today's quote:

[Film and theater critic John] Simon has simply discovered the trick used with great effectiveness by certain comedians, talk show hosts and punk rock musicians: people of modest talent can attract attention, at least for a while, by being unrelentingly offensive. 

-Steven Pinker, author and psychology professor (b. 18 Sep 1954)

Working against the clock and a disturbing dream

To avoid strokes...which are more fatal in older women, especially those with various conditions which I have, ie past heart attack, sleep apnea, over weight. I don't know a relationship to COPD, which they didn't mention.

•  Eating five or more servings of fruits or vegetables every day may reduce the risk of stroke. The Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes olive oil, fruit, nuts, vegetables and whole grains, may be helpful.
• Exercise regularly. Aerobic exercise reduces the risk of stroke in many ways. Exercise can lower blood pressure, increase the levels of good cholesterol, and improve the overall health of the blood vessels and heart. Gradually work up to at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most or all days of the week. The American Heart association recommends getting 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week. Moderate intensity activities can include walking, jogging, swimming and bicycling.

SOURCE: Mayo Clinic on Strokes

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I woke up Monday morning with a dream floating close to my reality. 

I dreamed I was preparing to have an interview with Trump. Not as a journalist, but as a chance for a "common woman" to talk with him, ask some questions, and get a photograph taken.

Remember I am totally against all he is, stands for, and spews out of his mouth!

So I had a lot of anxiety built up about this interview, and that was the majority of the dream...I felt the cold sweat of anticipation, the constant thoughts about how I would shake his hand possibly...what was I wearing - was it appropriate, etc.

Then the next instant I was looking at my photo of having stood by his side. 

I kind of skipped the entire interview. I was discussing it with someone, how did I do, etc. The photo showed me in a red outfit, that was all I remember about it. Or was it a video on a phone? It was strange, because even in the dream I tried to figure out what had happened. But the interview obviously had taken place and I must have said my piece, whatever it had been.

Upon waking that dream was really striking to me.

In no way do I wish to meet or talk to the man. 

But dreams are messages of our sub-conscious to ourselves, so what I brought away was: 

1. my high anxiety if he were to be elected President in 2024

2. my high anxiety to confront some Trump people I know with some true facts, in the face of their believing his lies.

3. my ongoing use of visual information to give me reality checks, thus the photo/video

4. reminder of seeing a huge Trump sign on a house nearby which gave me chills (see no. 1 above.)

5. reminder of relatives who tend to repeat misinformation that is published and echoes the Tea Party/GOP line of rhetoric. The language is always trying to prove its misinformation with some round-about statistics that don't mean a thing. I had recently read through some of this.

Another member of my family says it's a good idea to know what the thinking of the other team might be. Not for me. I apparently absorb it into an emotional place which created this dream.

Just thought I'd share an interesting experience that kind of knocked me for a loop. So glad it was just a dream.

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Today's quote:

Man can be the most affectionate and altruistic of creatures, yet he's potentially more vicious than any other. He is the only one who can be persuaded to hate millions of his own kind whom he has never seen and to kill as many as he can lay his hands on in the name of his tribe or his God. 

-Benjamin Spock, pediatrician and author (1903-1998)

Being 81 isn't so bad!

I was just sharing with a friend how important it is at our time of life to get out and be with other people. It's how we can fight the blue meanies. And I found this year it doesn't even have to be people I already know, when going daily to the senior lunch reduced-rate program. I was making new friends who I wouldn't have run into otherwise, since many of them had polar opposite views on things. Good for me, good for everyone! 

Plus once I started attending lunch at the Lakeview Center for Active Aging, I was more interested in  some of their other programs, and now attend weekly sit-n-b-fit and chair yoga sessions. Lunch costs $1.50 with the Council on Aging subsidizing it, and exercise and other programs are free. Incidentally, our lunches are catered by a local Asheville restaurant, The Moose Café.

And then there's Lake Tomahawk with water fowl and a path to walk around...as well as people walking dogs of every imaginable breed. I have loved taking photos of the lake in different seasons too.

December 2022

Spring 2024 Canada Goose and Cherry Tree at slightly drained Lake for construction work on dam

Summer 2023 looking south from the gazebo

Autumn looking at the lake, 2023

Last week with a crane helping the dam repairs in the distance. But notice the lake is full of water again!

I often plan a lunch outing with friends who don't go to the Lakeview Center at least once a week. I'm so glad to have made some close friends from my church and from the Clay studio. My interests are always given a boost by seeing and sharing with them. 

I admit to not attending church as often these days, since I've lived here almost 17 years and that used to be more important for my socialization. I remember well how I'd look forward to coffee hour after the service (was that the main reason I went?) Then the pandemic gave us the double-whammy of virtual church services, and we lost the chance to mingle and discuss whatever was on our minds afterward.

I hope my friends who are higher than me on the ladder of life, one just turned 90 and the other best friend is 84...will continue to share their insights and humor with us. Gosh, their humor is certainly something to be around! Maybe that's a lesson to us all.

My message to folks in their 60s is to take advantage of everything you can and want to do. It gets harder to keep doing everything you want in your 70s, or to recuperate from injuries or illness. Enough said. 

Today's quote:

Every living being is an engine geared to the wheelwork of the universe. Though seemingly affected only by its immediate surrounding, the sphere of external influence extends to infinite distance.

—Nikola Tesla