While Rome Burns, I Play in my own Little World

I'm going to write a post that ignores what went on over the weekend---ignores the 45 million dollar military/president's birthday parade, ignores the thousands of 'No Kings' protests, ignores the inhumane tactics used by ICE, ignores that the president is illegally sending federal troops in where governors don't want or need them, ignores the so-called "Big Beautiful [ugly] Bill" working its way though the Senate and will end up bankrupting us if it passes, ignores the political assassinations in Minnesota. I'm even going to ignore how smart and courageous the new pope was with his live stream message on parade day that surely irked 45/47. Instead of writing about any of those topics I'm going to be Miss Merry Sunshine and share details about all the fun stuff, frivolous stuff and mundane stuff going on in my little corner of the world. In other words, while our seat of government metaphorically burns I'm taking a mental health day.

Let's start with the customized paint-by-number I recently finished to the left. This one is of my oldest niece's oldest grandson and by the time this post goes live another customized paint-by-number kit should arrive from Amazon of my youngest niece's youngest granddaughter. I had hoped to eventually do all of my great-great nieces and nephews but my arthritic hands aren't going to last that long. So I cut the list down by eliminate my nephew's seven grandchildren and will just concentrate of those of my niece's which puts me at four done and three to go before hanging up my paint-by-number brushes. I still hold out hope that I'll be able to find a painting style that works in my old age---one where fine details are not required. If I ever get the time! They keep us so busy here on my continuum care campus that blocking out a chunk of time to experiment is hard to do. On the day this post goes live, for example, this is my schedule: Chinese restaurant lunch off campus with fellow residents from 11:30 to 1:30, Teaching Kitchen back here from 2:30 to 3:00, Mahjong from 3:00 to 4:30, a Magic Show from 4:30 to 5:30 and from 5:30 to 7:00 is a cookout in our park featuring their mouth watering ribs. In the morning and after 7:00 PM I'll catch up on publishing any comments that come in on this post. No one is forcing us to sign up for everything offered and believe it or not, I could have taken a couple exercises classes before the bus picked us up for lunch.

Also in the somewhat fun department is I'm getting a new computer. My current one won't expand enough to get Windows 11 and Windows 10 won't be supported after October 14th. The IT guy here on campus is also a shirt-tail relative on my husband's side who has taken to calling me Auntie Jean and he helped me pick out a reliable HP machine. (We're both worried about tariffs and a higher than normal demand causing shortages if I wait until fall to make the change.) When the new computer gets here he'll help me move my files and photos over to it, hook up Wi-Fi and my printer. I've also made the decision that it's time to join the mouseless community. So I've been practicing using the touchpad. I find it frustrating but already I can tell that it's a good decision for my arthritic wrist.

Speaking of my wrist, I saw my orthopedic doctor this week for a follow up on the Synvisc gel he put in my wrist and to get the results on my yearly bone density test. The day after I got the shot the top of my hand swelled up and I thought it wasn't going to work but he said that it takes time for it to seep in where it needed to go which turned out to be true. Anyway, as I told him it helped 80%. I can once again pick up things without dropping them, put my earrings in and all motions from the wrist to my finger tips is usually pain-free. 

I still have a great deal of pain in my forearm. For that the doctor did some more tests and I got a final and firm diagnosis on what is causing it. My theory from day one has been proven right, that the forearm pain is not coming from the crushed vertebrae in my neck or my arthritic wrist. It is 100% caused by the surgical mess in my elbow from a long-ago break---something he wasn't willing to assume on face value until he'd ruled out everything else. The only real cure is another elbow replacement surgery but at my age I don't think that's a wise choice, so he's recommending a daily steroid pill for life for the pain and inflammation and for me to quit doing anything that causes the sharp pains. That means---among other things---I need to rethink the bras in my life. Eventually he may have to remove the screw that he can feel poking out the surgical site but we'll cross that bridge if it looks like it will actually break through the skin.

And last but not least I'm four days into using the Pink Salt Trick. If you don't know what that is, I'll explain in my next post when I have more data to know if it helps or not. It sounds crazy, but I've done crazier things. Spoiler alert! One thing I've have learned: there are two Pink Salt Tricks going around the internet and a Pink Salt Hack. One is practically free and the other two are not. I'm doing the free version. ©

Until Next Wednesday... 

Bored and Getting Angry at You Know Who

Once again I’m sitting here ready to write but I haven’t been doing anything write-worthy. I told myself I could start working on that Great American Novel that once-a-upon-a-time I thought was in me. Ruling that out---again---I thought about adding another chapter to one of the family history books I wrote and self-published since my husband died. As most people who’ve dug into family history know, writing about family is a never ending project as you dig deeper into the past and at the other end of the spectrum new generations come into the picture. For me, though, I was sitting on decades worth of my mom’s, mine and my great-great aunt’s research and I feared if I didn’t pull it all together into an easily read format, it would be lost forever when I’m gone. (I’m talking boxes of handwritten notes and documents.) After I finished the book on my mom’s side of the family and had five copies printed so that all of her grandkids would eventually inherit one of the godawful costly books, I did the same for my dad’s side. 

Researching my mom’s family revealed the fact that writing is in my genes. During the American Revolution War one of my ancestors wrote the first history book of that war. There’s lots of material out there on her life. Her letter exchanges with famous people---the signers of The Declaration of Independence---are in print. I have a book of selected passages from her journals, and she ghost wrote a lot of the rebel rousing pamphlets that whipped the citizens up against the King of England. I’ve tried to read some her essays but, my God, her writing style was so full of flowery phrases and words that I didn’t know how to pronounce that my brain couldn’t wrap itself around the content. I’d need it translated into 21 century speak. 

Mercy Otis Warren wasn’t my only ancestor who had writer’s ink running through her veins. Three of my mom’s aunts ran a hometown newspaper after their father died and they worked there writing and setting type their entire lives. One of the aunts---Edna---also wrote three local history books and when the last sister died she bequeathed to a northern Michigan college a collection of 100 bound books containing a 100 years of newspapers printed by the family. They’d been courting the ladies for years to get those books. Edna used to give lectures on local history well into her late 90s. I never heard her speak but some of the reviews I’ve read say she was spell-bounding. She was a Republican and wasn’t afraid to challenge people’s set-in-stone opinions and I hear tales that she could do it with Mark Twain-like humor. 

Speaking of humor, have you noticed I haven’t written a single funny line in this blog post? I could poke fun of myself for sitting here at 11 AM still in my bathrobe. I had a shower at bedtime last night so at least I’m not smelly even though my hair is spiky and weird from sleeping on it wet. Or I could admit that my house is such a mess that if I had to call an ambulance I’d want to meet the EMTs out of the front sidewalk. My dining room table is piled high with boxes of stuff I have listed on e-Bay and the rest of the house is dusty and dog toys are littered everywhere. My cleaning service hasn’t been here because of the stay-at-home lock down and I’ve forgotten how to turn on the vacuum. I’m worry about the girl who is assigned to clean my house, though. She was living on the edge of poverty as it was, an OCD person with low self-esteem and a basket full of childhood trauma that she’s still working through. I can’t imagine how she’s faring with no money or work coming in. Scratch that, I can imagine. Her boyfriend works at a medical marijuana farm so I imagine the two of them are smoking joints or whatever it is that people do with pot these days.

Our governor ---Grechen Whitmer---is a democrat and is taking a lot of organized flack from Trump fans since he pinned the “that woman” sign on her back. A few days before Easter, however, she got in even more stupid trouble for giving an exemption for the Easter bunny to keep on working through the stay-at-home lock down "even though he might not be able to bring as much as in past years due to shortages." People are funny; while I thought it was sweet to reassure little kids about the Easter bunny, the usual suspects on Facebook aka the Trump fans were criticizing her for making light of the pandemic blab, blab, blab. 

Then in their next breath the same Trump supporters were promoting what turned out to be huge demonstration at our state capital this past Wednesday, saying Whitmer over-stepped her authority by imposing the stay-at-home orders. Sponsors of the protest, the MI Conservative Coalition, started a recall petition at the rally/protest while President Trump tweeted his encouragement with, "LIBERATE MICHIGAN!" When asked by a reporter on Thursday if he'd urge protesters in my state to listen to local authorities, Trump refused to answer, saying instead "I think they're listening, I think they listen to me, They seem to be protesters that like me and respect this opinion and my opinion is the same as just about all of the governors. They all want to open. Nobody wants to stay shut." Protests are popping up in other states with Trump tweeting his support to them as well, like it's a popularity contest rather than a deadly virus on the line. So much for science. So much for common sense and setting ego aside for the greater good. Am I angry? You bet I am! ©
  

As of 4/17/20 3PM 

Michigan has had 2,227 deaths from Covid-19

 and 

30,023 confirmed cases