I woke this morning with something like a mosquito bite on my left thigh. There had actually been a mosquito flying around in here (dangit) so I was somewhat expecting a bite, but not on my thigh. That would take a pretty dedicated mosquito. So I looked at it and thought I saw a little spot. Figuring what it was, I picked at it and got the spot and put it on the kitchen counter. I got a flashlight and looked closely; the spot had legs and they were moving.
So I clapped it in a sealable plastic bag. It's a second or maybe third instar deer tick, less than 2mm across all told. A dangerous citizen indeed. I've been taking Facebook advice all morning ranging from "get it and yourself tested immediately!" to "just ignore it." The clinic that I used back when I was a more dedicated hypochondriac no longer has an ask-a-nurse line outside office hours, nor any answering service whatever unless you have an emergency and want to page the resident. I wasn't feeling very emergencyish, so I'll call Monday. My friend who had such a miserable time with Lyme disease says testing is seldom accurate anyway and my best move is to find a doctor I can browbeat into giving me the doxycycline just in case. It could happen, but as SC isn't a Lyme hot spot and as I'm not as hypochondriac as I used to be, I'm not too worried.
The subject line is from famous advice to hikers. After you get home, take your clothes off and check yourself over carefully. Any freckles that move, those are ticks: get them off! I seldom bother checking anymore; I never was much good at spotting damned things, and have too many freckles.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Friday, May 30, 2014
Right eye trouble
As I mentioned at the time, the other day (Tuesday), I had flashes in the vision of my right eye while out on a walk, which I thought was precursor to a migraine. Last night at a movie, I had them again. I don't have much experience with migraines, but I don't think they hang around for two days without ever actually breaking out.
The other thing going on in my right eye is floaters. They've been floating around in my vision since Tuesday, too. I assume they'll go away by themselves like they always have in the past, but they're starting to get on my nerves. (The optic one, especially.) It looks like an eyelash or eyelashes, but then it always does. No idea what is in in fact. Looking at my eye in the mirror doesn't reveal anything. I don't know if the floaters and flashing are connected. If either persist until Monday, I'll see a doctor if I can get an appointment.
Last night, outside cat never showed up to eat his cat food at all. I'm hoping that this is somebody's cat and they just developed the good sense to keep him inside. I'm not too worried, but I miss the little booger. I'll just change the blog name to Writing When The Invisible Cat Lets Me.
The other thing going on in my right eye is floaters. They've been floating around in my vision since Tuesday, too. I assume they'll go away by themselves like they always have in the past, but they're starting to get on my nerves. (The optic one, especially.) It looks like an eyelash or eyelashes, but then it always does. No idea what is in in fact. Looking at my eye in the mirror doesn't reveal anything. I don't know if the floaters and flashing are connected. If either persist until Monday, I'll see a doctor if I can get an appointment.
Last night, outside cat never showed up to eat his cat food at all. I'm hoping that this is somebody's cat and they just developed the good sense to keep him inside. I'm not too worried, but I miss the little booger. I'll just change the blog name to Writing When The Invisible Cat Lets Me.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
The ladder stayed with me
I had many weird dreams last night. Mostly I was solving murders, not surprisingly since I was playing old-time radio mysteries all night. But there was also a novel. Or a business document. It kept changing back and forth. I wanted to drop it off to some kind of authority figure, a boss or an editor. But I had a cover note to explain it, and a cover note to explain the cover note, and a cover note to explain that and another one to explain why the first cover note didn't apply anymore, and I was having a lot of difficulty getting all this and the manuscript in order. Apparently, the Marx Brothers are writing novels in my dreams.
There was also some business, perhaps connected with solving a murder, with a loft that I was trying to get up to. A loft like a hay loft, not a loft apartment, though I think it was more like an attic. It was reached by a red rope ladder, but not the usual rope ladder. This was just a red rope with rungs every foot or so; the rope was running down the middle of the rungs. Somehow, the whole thing stayed rigid if you just stretched it out. But the weird thing is that the thing sort of imprinted on my brain. When I dozed a little this afternoon, I found myself picturing it again. Maybe it's because I never made it up to the loft.
Meanwhile in real life, I'm still waiting for my kitty to turn up. He appears in the night and eats his cat food and vanishes. Or maybe it's an opossum. Well at least the wildlife is well-fed!
There was also some business, perhaps connected with solving a murder, with a loft that I was trying to get up to. A loft like a hay loft, not a loft apartment, though I think it was more like an attic. It was reached by a red rope ladder, but not the usual rope ladder. This was just a red rope with rungs every foot or so; the rope was running down the middle of the rungs. Somehow, the whole thing stayed rigid if you just stretched it out. But the weird thing is that the thing sort of imprinted on my brain. When I dozed a little this afternoon, I found myself picturing it again. Maybe it's because I never made it up to the loft.
Meanwhile in real life, I'm still waiting for my kitty to turn up. He appears in the night and eats his cat food and vanishes. Or maybe it's an opossum. Well at least the wildlife is well-fed!
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
New cat anticipation
This cat has an intuitive grasp of what days I can and cannot take him to the vet, and shows up only on the latter. I'm all in on adopting him, assuming he's cleared by the vet. And I'm no longer that concerned about getting him into the cat carrier. Yesterday evening when I was headed to Drinking Liberally, he followed me out to the car and when I got in he hopped on my lap and crawled around for a while. So I think he's pretty comfortable with me and I can probably sucker him into letting me throw him in the carrier. Knock on wood.
I'm so charged that I went to the pet supply store twice to pick out a new kitty condo, kitty bed, etc. All I need is the cat. Darned smart cats!
I'm glad to say that I never did have a migraine yesterday. The birthday edition of Drinking Liberally was at a pho place. I had hot tea as well as pho; both probably helped. And it was joyous, though they ate all my cookies again. Darned smart liberals!
I'm so charged that I went to the pet supply store twice to pick out a new kitty condo, kitty bed, etc. All I need is the cat. Darned smart cats!
I'm glad to say that I never did have a migraine yesterday. The birthday edition of Drinking Liberally was at a pho place. I had hot tea as well as pho; both probably helped. And it was joyous, though they ate all my cookies again. Darned smart liberals!
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Again with the water moccasins
I will be brief. I will explain why momentarily.
Today I went out to walk the Timmerman Trail. I had a clever plan; I would stay on Old State Road rather than picking up the trail where it crosses the road the first time, instead jumping on when it crosses the second time, thus making a longer, still pleasant walk. Unfortunately, shortly after I got on the trail, the vision in my right eye started flashing, probably a sign of incipient migraine. (That's what the one migraine I ever had was like, decades ago, anyway.)
So I cut the walk short at half a circuit and returned to the car. I still had some errands to run so I ran them quickly, and went home to lie in the dark. That is what I will return to doing if I can come to the point quickly here. (Bets?)
Unfortunately (this still isn't the point) an amazing thunderstorm came through, knocking out the power and knocking over a largish tree in my yard. Then it was time to go get Dad and the longest train I've ever seen came along just before I reached the tracks on Huger Street, slowed and slowed and ground to a stop. I persuaded the people in the next lane to let me out and was able to pick up Dad with only a slight delay, although for once he actually had to wait for me. It looked like we were driving right into the storm, but it had passed and Margaret's house was totally clear, even though she said the yard had been flooded minutes before.
But that still isn't the point. When I got to Old State Road again on Timmerman Trail, I met a couple of SCE&G employees who had recently laid down their large packs which looked to be power leaf blowers. Also I had been hearing something like power leaf blowers. They told me to watch out for that snake, that it was a copperhead, not to let it bite me and that they were about to kill it. It was a water moccasin, quite small and just basking. And I really wish I had told them so and suggested that they just go blow their leaves somewhere else and the snake would go away in good time. But I can see their point of view. If somebody did get bitten, SCE&G (the power company building the park) would get sued. And if they got bitten, they would be very very unhappy themselves. So sure, I understand their position. But it still was sad. OK, back to my sleep mask!
Today I went out to walk the Timmerman Trail. I had a clever plan; I would stay on Old State Road rather than picking up the trail where it crosses the road the first time, instead jumping on when it crosses the second time, thus making a longer, still pleasant walk. Unfortunately, shortly after I got on the trail, the vision in my right eye started flashing, probably a sign of incipient migraine. (That's what the one migraine I ever had was like, decades ago, anyway.)
So I cut the walk short at half a circuit and returned to the car. I still had some errands to run so I ran them quickly, and went home to lie in the dark. That is what I will return to doing if I can come to the point quickly here. (Bets?)
Unfortunately (this still isn't the point) an amazing thunderstorm came through, knocking out the power and knocking over a largish tree in my yard. Then it was time to go get Dad and the longest train I've ever seen came along just before I reached the tracks on Huger Street, slowed and slowed and ground to a stop. I persuaded the people in the next lane to let me out and was able to pick up Dad with only a slight delay, although for once he actually had to wait for me. It looked like we were driving right into the storm, but it had passed and Margaret's house was totally clear, even though she said the yard had been flooded minutes before.
But that still isn't the point. When I got to Old State Road again on Timmerman Trail, I met a couple of SCE&G employees who had recently laid down their large packs which looked to be power leaf blowers. Also I had been hearing something like power leaf blowers. They told me to watch out for that snake, that it was a copperhead, not to let it bite me and that they were about to kill it. It was a water moccasin, quite small and just basking. And I really wish I had told them so and suggested that they just go blow their leaves somewhere else and the snake would go away in good time. But I can see their point of view. If somebody did get bitten, SCE&G (the power company building the park) would get sued. And if they got bitten, they would be very very unhappy themselves. So sure, I understand their position. But it still was sad. OK, back to my sleep mask!
Monday, May 26, 2014
What's a word for "bloviate" that rhymes with "cry"?
My blog entry for my birthday should be "It's my party and I'll (something that means bloviate but rhymes with cry) if I want to," but I'm stumped. Ah well, I didn't have that much to bloviate about anyway. I woke up so brainless that breakfast nearly defeated me, to such an extent that I started thinking that senile dementia hits like clockwork at the EXACT age of 52. But I've been functioning a little better since, and the yawns suggest that I might be a little tired. Also the little cat visited again and ate and drank and crawled all over me, and this was big fun. I still don't know if I'll ever be able to adopt him, but if he wants to be my outside cat, he can. Tonight I'm going out with the family for my birthday, which will also be fun I hope. So maybe not the most productive day in history, but a nice one.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
English sucks
I was on my way to Sumter on, not surprisingly, the Sumter Highway, also known as Garners Ferry Road. I passed an intersection with Old Garners Ferry Road. And it occurred to me that that is an unbelievable quantity of ambiguity to pack into just four words. Is this the old road to Garner's (the correct spelling, except on road signs) Ferry? Is it the road to the old ferry of Garner? Is it the road to the ferry of Old Garner, whereas Young Garner has a different ferry? Because I'm an English speaker (more or less) who lives around here (more or less), I'm reasonably sure that it's an old stretch of the road to Garner's Ferry, replaced by the road I was riding on. But can you really know?
I was going to Sumter because the irises at Swan Lake/ Iris Gardens always peak around the time of my birthday. Also they have an Iris Festival. I dig that Goo Goo Dolls number, too, but I'm not sure I would have a whole festival for it! Anyway, the irises were very lovely and the swans were okay as well.
Later, just to pile it on with the English sucks theme, I would see banners advertising a sidewalk sale and a parking lot sale. I wonder if I could get a combo deal going?
I was going to Sumter because the irises at Swan Lake/ Iris Gardens always peak around the time of my birthday. Also they have an Iris Festival. I dig that Goo Goo Dolls number, too, but I'm not sure I would have a whole festival for it! Anyway, the irises were very lovely and the swans were okay as well.
Later, just to pile it on with the English sucks theme, I would see banners advertising a sidewalk sale and a parking lot sale. I wonder if I could get a combo deal going?
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