A Full Summer

Yes, it's been a while since I've written an entry. Yes, we are all still alive. Yes, we still miss our Shadow cat.

We did get a new kitten, who is absolutely adorable. We initially named her "Sweetie," and she is; she's a kitten--into discovering everything, so I have taken to calling her "Stinky." Her breath stinks awful, and when I've held her like a baby and massage her aching gums, well, she's just so "stinkin' cute." She has grown a lot since we got her. At her first vet appointment, she weighed in at 1.3 pounds. :-) She fit into one of my bra cups. . . with room to spare. So incredibly tiny. Hubby gets completely mooshy when he watches and plays with her. She is a very, very cuddly little thing, and enjoys cuddling with all of us (in particular, with Hubby & Girl).

Summer was full for all of us. Hubby & the kids took a trip out of state to visit his side of the family and they had a blast. I think they made fantastic memories, and they've talked about that trip so much. A positive growth occurred in both of my "kids."

Speaking of "kids," both are now in high school. Hard to believe how the time has flown. Boy is hating school, already, because academics are so difficult for him. We hope the upcoming outside testing will show us how his brain works, and where he may have learning deficiencies/disability, so that we can help him complete high school (and not hate it so much). Girl is trying out "Honor" classes-- she gets to have 30 days to try out the more intensive courses, and can drop out (without penalty) to a "normal" class if it turns out the load is too much. I think the challenge will be good for her, and maybe keep her from becoming utterly bored.

Hubby completed two college courses this summer, while still keeping his full time job. He's in-between quarters right now, and then he'll be getting back at it. He gets very . . . obsessive about college, which may be a good thing as it serves to motivate him to complete at least his Associate's (which should be relatively soon).

I have continued trying to get better from "adrenal insufficiency," which has been a pain in the butt. I've watched the "to do" list grow exponentially as I've been unable to keep up my previous pace, much less being able to keep up in general. The concept of taking "months to heal, and only if you rest," has been hard. MONTHS??? Yes, at a minimum, months. It could actually take up to 2 years, and that is if this isn't already a permanent condition. I was supposed to get in to see an endocronologist, but given it's VA. . . that hasn't happened, yet. While I did put back on all the weight I'd lost when my thyroid had started working better (2012), and a little extra, given that I'm on 2 steroids, I'm counting my blessings that I haven't ballooned more than I have. By early next month I should be able to start doing some "light exercise." Hahahahahah, I've not known to not go "all out."

Other than the big trip the family took, we've kept this summer very low-key. Each of us has needed it for various reasons.

I guess I should probably mention that this summer has been a huge struggle (besides my physical health problems) for me personally, stripping down to my very core. As such, I exercised some liberties, which are normally taken to mean that someone is "losing it," but in my case, it's more like I might be "going sane."

First, on June 11th I got my very first tattoo (16 years after getting out of the Navy!). I'd found a great tattoo artist, and she helped me realize the concepts. Originally I was going to get a phoenix on my left arm, but was incredibly pressed with everything I was going through to get something very simple-- a reminder for myself, a tattoo really "just for me." Thus, the phoenix for my left arm is on hold, as there are still design concepts to be worked out before I'm ready to have it inked (Girl is helping with that, using her incredible drawing talent). So, I got an "awareness ribbon," the basic concept of which the artist helped (okay, she did most of the work, really) to bring it to what I couldn't express with words. See below pic. "What does it mean?" For me, it is a reminder of all I have overcome (survived), and I no longer need to "survive," but am a victor. Some of the coloring represent important issues, for myself and also a bit in there for my children.

My first tattoo, on my right forearm  2014; originally rcvd tattoo 11 June 2014

While the family was gone, I buzzed my already short hair mostly off (see the pic)-- part of my expression of grief and of liberty. What surprised me was people's stronger reaction to my hair buzzing than to my tattoo. Tattoos are permanent! My hair grows at least twice as fast as the average person's hair (so basically, it was back to my normal shortness by the end of August!).

Buzzed hair; 19 June 2014

Of course, when Hubby and Kids got home, they were shocked. They weren't the only ones-- I got a lot of strange looks. Hubby said it's because, "It's a bold look." While I did get a lot of strange looks, after only two weeks of growth, I started getting compliments on it!

I wasn't lying about how quickly my hair grows. This pic is from the "day after" an annual Pig Roast I attend-- I hadn't taken off my make up, but it didn't look too bad, even after sleeping in it.

Hair back to normal in 2 months; 1 Sep 2014

I have NO regrets of either decision. I love my tattoo and it has served the purpose for which I intended, and I'm sure will continue to do so.

And for the final pic, to show how far behind I am in work around the property (not to mention the house), it's close to time to needed our wood stove, and I have yet to get this "little" problem fixed. I climbed through the skylight--before I knew I was "life threateningly ill"-- to find why the wood burning to keep warm wasn't working "right." This is what I found. I counted my blessings, and was grateful I'd stopped the family from wood burning and that we went to using a portable electric heater. This pic shows a burn through a double-walled chimney, above the house near the cap; most of the chimney length is inside the house (20-some feet). Creosote was also clogging the cap area, thus the reason I couldn't get a proper draft, which in turned stopped the wood burning. We got lucky.

Top of the house chimney-- Glad I stopped the family from wood burning.

Maybe now my family will listen to me when I say, "The wood stove is not a disposal unit!" and adhere to my restrictions of what can go in for burning. In the meanwhile, I gotta get this 2-foot piece (which is actually on the deck right now, because I couldn't finish the job-- was too sick before knowing it) in to the fire place in town and see how much it's going to cost to get a replacement; then I gotta get back on the roof, reattach the new one, and get the wood stove all hooked up again so we can use wood heat when winter rolls in this season. I've got the feeling we're going to have a difficult winter, and we definitely don't have enough wood to get us through, which is a total bummer (again, this "life threatening" illness has presented multiple problems).

Well, that's all I can manage for an update right now. I need more coffee and then try to get some housework accomplished (and try to make it into town to run errands :-P ). I doubt the latter will happen.

We're alive and busy and getting back into school routine. We enjoyed having a sunny summer and relax time.

~Cedeham~