March began with Carnival. Once again it has been a non-event for us. I was able to share some beautiful photos of the river parade someone else had posted on Facebook.
It is held Saturday afternoon in the heat of the day, so we have not ventured out to it. Ruben's family went up one late afternoon after it was beginning to cool off. They invited me to go with them, but I did not feel comfortable leaving mom here alone.
We had a brief spell of normal temperatures in the mid to upper 80s during Carnival. Otherwise, it has been a very cool summer for us. Mom loves it here. The year-round temperature in the 80s allows us to keep the house open. It tickles me that mom gets cold in this weather.
You really feel more part of your environment here. The breezes are wonderful even though they bring a considerable amount of dust. The dry season will soon be ending and she will once again enjoy watching everything grow. The rainy season does not have oppressive humidity.
I received a number of suggestions about what to do with mom. Nothing strikes her fancy so I try to find things for her to do. Usually, she gets distracted and starts piddling. Mom is a world-class piddler.
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Got mom a few flowers to piddle with on her porch.
Anyone know what this one is?
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Ants are a bigger problem during the dry season. They come into the house in search of water. Mom had ants in her bed a couple of times.
There are a surprising variety of ants here. It is amazing all the places they then can get into. We have found them in the microwave, in the refrigerator and in unexpected foods. They got into two different boxes of macaroni and cheese to eat the pasta. They go after her coffee with creamer in it when she leaves it in the microwave.
The biggest surprise was when we found a nest in Chaney’s wedding photo. There are a couple of places slightly darkened, but fortunately it is not really damaged. It is a beautiful photo of mom, my sister Deborah, my niece Chaney, her new husband DJ, my other niece Kacy and her husband Craig.
I have tried a number of different natural methods to control them and occasionally resort to chemicals to control them. Unfortunately, mom is the biggest problem. She does not think about the ants when she leaves things sitting out.
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Last night we lost a member of the household. Negro, Ruben’s black dog has always been a roamer. He was hit and killed by a car on the other side of the river sometime during the night. I liked him. He and Layla were the same age. They still have three other dogs with the uninspired names Chocolate, the brown dog, Blanco, the white dog, and Niña, their only female dog.
Layla and Ariana’s cat, Missy Foo have learned to get along together. Though Layla still eats her food.
Tahina has begun her classes at Latina University. She’s going to pursue a degree in pharmacy.
Ariana is back in preschool. School is fine but she hates mornings. She does not like to get up early, she does not want to shower in the morning and she hates to have her hair fixed. By the time she is ready to leave all the wailing is over and she is happy.
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Now that I have found my 800 mg ibuprofen my wrist and shoulders are getting better. I’ve used a full bottle of Absorbine Jr. liniment and it helps, though not near as much as the ibuprofen. It has been costing the $10 a week where I was paying $10 a year for generic ibuprofen in Georgia. My cousin has been able to obtain a bottle of generic ibuprofen for me. I’m just waiting for her package.
It is not all good news. The injury to my tendon may be worse than I had thought. It does not appear to be healing, I fear it is not a strain but a tear. Possibly it is time to look into getting an MRI and seeing an orthopedist.
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MEMORIES:
On the road back to independence I had a problem. The triceps in my left arm were not fully functional. To get the function I needed I got an experimental surgery in the spring of 1980, a deltoid-tricep transfer. The posterior deltoid was cut into two separate muscles. The tendon from my elbow was attached to the new muscle on the backside of my shoulder.
Dr. Graham-Smith came up with the modification on existing surgery and I was his Guinea pig. He was an asshole, but the surgery worked. It gave me the function necessary to catch myself and keep from falling.
In August I moved out all my own. My first night in my new home I went to the bathroom and promptly fell. It was devastating. Not being able to get safely off and on the toilet would end any dream of independence.
The next day I returned to the scene of the crime. Trying to discover what happened I leaned over with my hand on the back of the toilet. The damn thing leaned over about 3 inches! It was not fastened down on one side. A simple repair eliminated that hazard
There were many more misadventures on the road to independence. Perseverance has got me a long way in my life. Sometimes I got through on strength and stubbornness. Slowly I began to learn better. My friend Deborah taught me a valuable lesson. At Peer Support meeting she was talking about her stubborn phase. Trying to do everything herself was wearing her out. So she got help.
The way she described it was brilliant. Roughly translated she said, “I only have a certain amount of energy. If I waste it doing things someone else could help me do, then it is no longer available to allow me to do the things I want to do.” I began to look at where I was wasting my energy and what I could do about it.
Another important lesson I learned about accepting help from others is a matter of perspective. When people help others the experience makes them feel good about themselves. By refusing to accept help from someone you’re denying them an opportunity to feel good about themselves. Try it, let someone help you and see for yourself.
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BUSINESS:
Things are still slow. I have one more article waiting to be published. Editing the two Merlin books continues. Grammerly, my grammar and spell checking program provides a weekly report. For two weeks I’ve checked over 300,000 words. I decided to begin writing on a new book rather than start to rewrite on book three in the Merlin series.
The new book is fun. At just over 20,000 words I am about 1/3 way finished. My lead character has experienced the first two major twists in the story. The main storyline leading to the happily ever after ending is about to begin. Though there are few more twists in the journey ahead.
International Living has given me my own page on their website. They are missing one article. https://internationalliving.com/author/tboatrigh/
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^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ RANDOM OBSERVATIONS ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
The end of the dry season is approaching. The yard is a brown desert of dead grass. The constant breeze sends a myriad of brown leaves swirling across the yard. Every minor obstacle soon accumulates a pile till the chickens come scratching for insects and seeds.
There is a beauty to the dry season. The change from the lush green is radical. Something about it reminds me he also my visits to the western US. Still, some things are blooming and there is an abundance of green. A shrub in our courtyard has small white blossoms on it literally 365 days a year. The bougainvilleas love the dry season. Their blossoms just explode. You never know where you will see splashes of color amid the browns and greens.
The fruit trees are all marked by a circle of green from their every other day watering. The banana trees are pitiful green stalks. Their magnificent broad green leaves have been reduced to shredded strands of green, brown and yellow. The plantain trees have all fell victim to the wind. They will have to sprout again from the ground.
Many of mother’s flowers in the yard have been cut down for the season. One small patch outside my bathroom has been left for the chickens. The yellow-brown stalks offer some protection, especially for the small chicks. The shrubs and small trees droop with a weary appearance. On the back of the house, the strong breezes coming up from the river push all the leaves to the east side of the shrub. They lack the vigor to recover until they receive their every other day watering.
The trees are a mixture of bare trees, semi-bare trees, trees with a full canopy of leaves and ironically our huge rosewood tree and ironically another large tree beside it are just beginning to sprout new leaves.
The wind ranges from pleasant breezes to fierce gusty winds that noisily thrash the trees. Clothes dry rapidly on the line and need to be taken down promptly before the gusty winds deposit them on the floor. The constantly changing tunes from the wind chimes are converted into a bunch of bangs and clangs when the winds begin to howl.
On Sunday we had a brush fire in the empty lot next door. It started by the road and managed to slowly progress against the wind all day. Rubin monitored it and kept away from the fence all day. The fire department came out and hosed down in mid-afternoon. The wind revived it and it continued to creep around into the night before finally dying.
We have already clearer our property with a couple of controlled burns. With it cleared out Ruben can replace our fence. A dead tree has been removed and is being used for fence posts. This is good preparation for the rains to return next month when we have a few more fruit trees to plant.
The river has changed considerably over this last year. Now that the level is at its lowest point the field of rocks is greatly expanded this year. The channel our side is flowing with crystal clear water. We are surrounded by ever-changing beauty. This really is our piece of paradise.
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