My Chaotic Realm

As I look back now on 2024, using the post from an art group I am in as well as my blog posts here,  I can see that 2023 was the year of "NOT according to plan" and 2024 was spent "Regrouping". The recent art group post asked 5 things:  1) What were our plans for 2024, 2) What did we want to do artistically, 3) What did we learn about ourselves in 2023, 4) What was our art focus for 2024? and 5) What was our word for 2024? My plan for 2024 was to protect my peace, which might mean finding a different job.    And I did that, and I am glad, even though it meant taking a severe pay cut. I was approved for an ACA health plan and SNAP so both of those things are helping bridge the income gap. Artistically speaking, in 2024 I planned to continue de-stashing so probably just making greeting cards and journaling.   I did journal most every day (I do so to remain sane) and I made greeting cards. Still behind on the de-stash but not as overwhelmed as I was. Did I learn...

On August 14th, after a full day of work, we set off on our trip—a lesson learned: always take the day off before leaving! Our journey started on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, taking us through Louisiana, then up through Texas to visit family in Plano. From there, we continued to Moore, Oklahoma, for more family time, and then ventured through Kansas and Nebraska into South Dakota. We explored Wall, The Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Mammoth Park, Crazy Horse, and Custer State Park over several days. Our adventure then led us into Wyoming, where we hit a snag in Casper—a flat tire. Thankfully, Les Schwab fixed it for free! We managed to cross Highway 26/287 just before it was closed due to the Fish Creek Fire and arrived at our campsite in the Grand Tetons with plenty of time to relax. We sat back, enjoyed some adult beverages, and watched the sunset—perfect ending to the day. We explored Yellowstone and stopped by the Elk Horn Archway in Afton, where our dog had his stitches removed, and...

Well, life has certainly not been boring since we returned from the Total Eclipse trip!! Tori's eye has healed, thankfully. Has had no further issues with the uveitis, which we were told might reoccur as it is an inflammation, not an infection. Binx & Tres are still coming by regularly for kibble and pate. Sadly, Midnight injured his ACL and ended up having to surgically repair it ($2500!!) but is now in his 2nd week post-op and recovering nicely. Hard to keep him on "bed rest" as he is still quite active, in spite of coming up on 9 years of age.  My health has significantly improved, likely due to reduced stress and better sleep. I completed all my annual check-ups, and everything is as expected. Working freight at my job has also given me some strength training, which is a nice bonus. Thankfully, none of last year's issues have returned! All tests, including Hem/Onc, came back with great results—no diseases, including connective tissue disease, and no genetic pr...

Guess what? We made it! We drove all the way to Texas to witness the Total Eclipse this time. Remember back in October 2023 when we chased the Annular Eclipse? We were fortunate enough to catch that one in Bandera at my Dad's place, despite some challenging weather. This time around, the weather gave us a run for our money on April 8th. But with a mix of map-reading prowess and a touch of weather magic, we managed to stay a step ahead of the clouds. We ended up southeast of Mason, TX, where we had a perfect, uninterrupted view from the beginning of totality until just after it ended. We arrived home late Tuesday afternoon to a warm welcome from all four kitties. After touching base with Tom to arrange Midnight's release from summer camp, we quickly unpacked before hitting the road again bound for Bracken Fen Kennels. Wednesday saw us back at our respective jobs, slipping back into the familiar rhythms of daily life. However, Saturday evening, following the Farmer's Market a...

     And boy, have I ever leaped! So, it has been quite some time since I last posted to this blog. That, in and of itself, says a lot about how these last 32 weeks have been. As many of you know, DaVita and I parted ways in early April of last year. Then there was my health crisis the end of May.       I was not in a hurry to seek employment as we had our annual 32-day long "Big Trip" planned for July 15-August 15th. Since it did not happen, I went to work for a different dialysis company (Fresenius, DaVita's competitor) the end of July, and spent the rest of last year working in a clinic that was chronically understaffed. We did get away in October to see the annular solar eclipse in Texas at my childhood home, but that was it.      After a few months in that fast-paced clinical job, it became evident to me that I had returned to work too early after the 4 simultaneous arterial dissections. I either overestimated the speed with which I...

We were taking 32 days to go to Portland (via family and friends in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Portland, New Mexico & Texas) and back, seeing several state and national parks (including Great Basin, Crater Lake, Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Wind Cave, and Palo Duro Canyon). On Day 1, a mere eleven miles south of the Arkansas state line, our truck broke down. We called Good Sam & they called Michael from A to Z Towing.  We spent most of 7/15 at Firestone. At 2:30pm they had a verdict, which was that the repairs were outside their scope of practice. We called Good Sam & they again called Michael from A to Z Towing, who towed us to the shop attached to the wrecker company, EZ Automotive. As the shop was closed until Monday, Michael called the owner. After explaining our dilemma permission was given to bring our camper as well as the truck. Michael set our camper down in the parking lot and ran an extension cord so we had power. We also had running water. Thank...