More Ups Than Downs

 

an illustration of my week

When we finish our morning bike ride, we both get some water (sometimes with added electrolytes) and sit on the front porch to cool off. From my perspective I see two palms in our yard, and more down the street that extends out perpendicular in front of us. 

As I sat there this morning, I gazed upward and thought those spiky palm branches illustrate my past week: beauty and purpose all its own but not without sharp points.

Don't worry, this won't be a cryin' in my beer tea post (I don't drink alcohol), but I will share the ups and downs of recent days. As our Lord said:

"Tribulation" may be too strong of a word 🙄, but you get the idea: adversity finds all of us. I will begin with the most troubling problem:

Augghast!!!

You may remember my post in August regarding a serious nose bleed that took me to the ER in the middle of the night. I came home a few hours later with very uncomfortable but entirely necessary packing in the left nostril. In an effort to inject a little humor into the problem, I sketched out the above self-portrait (the drawing is not entirely accurate). 

In the process of all that last month, I had to go to the ER again because my blood pressure had shot above 200, which (I learned) is a potential for a stroke, heart attack, and other very undesirable conditions. 

Some 36 hours after the packing party, my ENT (ear, nose, throat doctor) removed the stuffing, said all looked good and I was released without having the nasal passage cauterized. The next several weeks went well in spite of learning to adapt to blood pressure medication and learning to eat less sodium.

 

Then early this week I sprung a strong leak again, seemingly in the same part of my nose from the previous episode. Wiser from the previous experience and with desperate prayer, I was able to stop this bleed within 20 minutes, so no medical intervention was required. 

But a day or two later I had two more bleeds, both arrested in 15 minutes, necessitating stain removal from clothing and towels (i.e. a load of laundry). By this time I realized a call to the ENT was necessary. They got me in the next day, but not before yet a 4th bleed all in one week. 

Let me just clear my name here, for those of you who are silently thinking it: no, I have not been picking my nose! 

The skin on older adults thins and does not recover as easily, so when things like this happen, it's not as easy to recuperate. I could elaborate on that with a really tough experience my mother had a few years ago when her hand was lacerated when she fell out of an aluminum lawn chair. The doctors at that time explained to Sister and me some of the facts of aged skin and so forth. It's scary!!

Anyway, this time the ENT cauterized my nose and now, a little over 48 hours later, I am very hopeful that problem is behind me. I am happy to report the procedure did not hurt at all as my doctor did an excellent job of numbing my nose beforehand. An antibiotic prescription ointment was given to me to apply (CAREFULLY!!) at the very entrance to the nostrils (no deeper) and I was told to not lift or strain for 2 weeks while this problem heals.

lunch at Bob Evans

Because the ENT secretary had to work me into their busy schedule that day, we ended up waiting for a very long time in both the waiting room and then in the treatment room, both of which were freezing cold. On our way home, we stopped for lunch and then didn't do much of anything with the remains of the day except lay around and nap in front of the TV.

Steve Martin and Rick Moranis
dance the merengue

For many years (since about 1990), there's been a movie I like to watch when I need to just "get off the bus" so to speak, forget my troubles and laugh. "My Blue Heaven" with Steve Martin does it for me. I had not watched it in over 3 years, so it was just what I needed.

Here's the link to the movie trailer on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flx9YKnnl6Y

one of our many neighborhood fountains

Happily, that's the worst of my news and it does appear the ending is good (no repeats of the problem). 

Chimmi the Mule

You may remember reading in another post this past summer about the birthday celebration of my daughter-in-law's mule. That was a happy day, as you can see, with the party hat and loving strokes from her people. 

my son, the mule and cat in edifying conversation

However, the mule has learned a very bad habit this past week: she can jump the fence at the ranch where she is currently stabled. The last I heard, she had done this twice. None of my three children ever climbed out of their cribs but having a mule (a large one, at that) repeatedly jump to freedom is quite a problem. I have not heard what they plan to do about that!

2 cords of fire wood

There's been a lot of sharing on blogs lately about the change from summer to fall with descriptions of pumpkin-spiced beverages, candles, warm sweaters, and pies along with cozy fires inside the home, quilts, and so forth. Here in Florida where we usher in the new season with our sleeveless tops, shorts, and flipflop sandals, I can't contribute much to the traditions of Autumn. But the same son who has the mule did text me this photo he took of the fire wood recently delivered to his mountain home out west. So there's that.

from my kitchen this week

I baked some brownies using Ovaltine powder that was tucked at the very back of our pantry. The way they rise so nicely in the cast iron wedge pan pleases me greatly. 

Sister's Basset Hounds

Before I get too far from talk about animals, you need to see Daisy and Maggie. This week they've been very happy and busy entertaining Sister's visiting family, a very tiring but no doubt very enjoyable job for both of them. 

family waits for the parade

One of the Rites of Fall in Sister's town is the annual Pumpkin Festival, complete with carnival rides, food, and a parade. (I'm pretty sure the dogs stayed home for this activity.)

from Shawna on FB

We have been very blessed this year (thus far) with unusually good weather with respect to hurricanes. But the season is not over until November 30th, so we keep up with the forecasts and staying prepared.

Edith's keyboard

This past week a new home has been found for the Yamaha keyboard. Neither of us know how to play it, so it was time to release it (in excellent condition) to a church school of music here in town. I wish I knew how to play it, but at this season of my life, I'm doing good to keep up with the requirements of daily life without learning this. 

current books

When I gave up my needleworks a few years ago for simpler things (i.e. no longer have a sewing room, etc), I decided reading would be one of my primary occupations. With age and life experiences, I've amassed questions demanding answers. Also, as a hobby, reading does not require equipment and is easily carried along wherever I want to go. 

In the Presence of Jesus
(click on title to order)

The two books pictured above are my current reads. In the Presence of Jesus is what I've been using for my morning quiet times with the Lord. It's got 40 chapters to read, one a day. I completed Day 30 this morning. It's really good for private, quality alone-with-God time.

How Can I Know?
(click on title to order)

The other book is also very good as it discusses questions I've confronted as life events have unfolded before me. More than once these pages have led me to scriptural conclusions about issues that I, before now, have not necessarily handled in the best way. The chapter headings are:

 

How can I know there is a God?

How can I know the Bible is true?

How can I know Christianity is the right religion?

How can I know God is good with all the suffering in the world?

How can I know I'm going to Heaven when I die?

How can I know how to forgive someone who has hurt me?

How can I know how to start over when I've blown it?

Ending up this week was a new ladies' Bible study that started up in my retirement community. The leader was expecting around 20 to show up, but the final count was 50 or 60! It was good to see so many women wanting to be in fellowship with others in a study of the Psalms. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

from my camera

Illustrating life with random snapshots is another hobby I've picked up with blogging. As I draw this post to a close, perhaps you can understand why I chose the snapshot of the spiked-leaved palm tree to illustrate my experiences over the past week. 

I hope your week has gone well; but however it was, this is a closing thought that we all would do well to ponder:

Until next time, grace and peace.