Gratitude - 1/8/2018

1. I had another PT appointment today. I go to several appointments to try and fix one particular joint and then they move onto another one. Today's appointment was for my left ankle. Out of all my bothersome joints, the left ankle is the biggest problem. So today I got to sit down with Jacques and look at pictures of my ankle when I damaged it three years ago. Then we scanned through x-rays and notes and then we got to work. I am so grateful that I have health insurance that will cover the therapies I need to try and get my ligaments and tendons strong enough to hold the joints in. I am not sure what I would do without it.

2. I love Brock's hamster. She is named 'Duck' and she is just the sweetest, most kindly soul I have ever seen in a hamster. She reminds me of a hamster I had when Bug was born names Adonis. She takes good care of herself and won't over eat even though Bug WAY overfeeds her. She will sit in your hand and look into your eyes and I lose myself in their depths. Watching her is restful and peaceful. She is a very old lady at almost two years old, but I am grateful to have her in my life.

3. I am so grateful I got caught up on CPR paperwork. I have been avoiding that like the plague, but it's done and ready for the mail tomorrow! I will have more to do in a few days, but at least I am caught up now.

4. Several years ago, my Uncle Rick gave me a huge stack of DVD's. Once in a while I will open the package up and pop one in the player and either enjoy something I've seen before or discover something new that I probably would not have seen if he hadn't given me a copy. Tonight I enjoyed an oldie but goodie (My Cousin Vinny) and a new one (Lake Placid). I was able to do my paperwork, eat a decent dinner, and enjoy some really silly films at the same time.

5. As part of #4, I am grateful I do not live anywhere where I could go to a large and be eaten by a 28 foot long crocodile. Even if the film was set in Maine. :)

6. I have extra days at work this week and while my legs will whine, my bank account will smile.

7. My plants are still alive even though the winter is cold and they are by the windows... and even though my cats sit on them and squash them flat. The root systems should help keep them going until the summer comes so I can watch them bloom again. I love indoor plants for so many reasons, but one reason is that I love their resiliency.

8. I was able to take several bags of donations that I sorted out from volunteering on Saturday and take it to a cool place called the Community Closet. They were thrilled to get the clothing and I was glad someone wanted it.

9. I feel warm and have lots of warm clothing to hang out in at home. I have a roof over my head and good food to eat. My car keeps limping along and gets me to were I need to go. That's always a good start to every day.

What are you thankful for today?

Horror Movie Quote Quiz :)

I am not a big fan of the Horror film genre, but for fun I participated in a quiz where I was given well known quotes from horror films and then had to figure out which films they can from. It was fun - even if it took ages for me to figure out the answers. I think a few of them might have been wrong so please let me know if you attribute any of these quotes to a different film. I listed the film and release date for each quote.

Welcome to the dark side – Tales from the Darkside (1983-1988)

Wanna play a game? Here’s Johnny – The Shining (1980)

Shhh, I see dead people.- The Sixth Sense (1999)

I’m sick of people who don’t appreciate their blessings – Saw (2004)

Clear your mind... I know what scares you – Poltergeist (1982)

Attention Kmart shoppers – Beetle juice (1988)

Gonna need a bigger boat – Jaws (1975)

What ever you do, don’t fall asleep – Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Puts lotion in the basket – Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Never drink wine – Dracula (1992)

They’re here – Bettlejuice (1988)

The power of Christ compels you – the Exorcist (1973)

They’re coming to get you – Night of the Living Dead (1968)

We take off and nuke the entire site from orbit – Aliens (1986)

I'm not going to be ignored – Fatal Attraction (1987)

Don't let them get away with this – Friday the Thirteenth (1980)

A boy’s best friend is his mother – Psycho (1960)

Never trust the living – Beetlejuice (1988)

There’s just some things you got to do – Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Must be on the dark side – Tales from the Dark Side (1983-1988)

You can check in, but you can’t check out – Nightmare on Elm Street 4 (1988)

We’re friends until the end – Child’s Play (1988)

Ghost with the most – Beetlejuice (1988)

No screaming – Scream (1996)

While the snake is in motion – Snakes on a plane (2006)

Never Say his name – Candyman (1992)

Three times – Beetlejuice (1998)

I promise that it is not a fun ride – It (1990)

Walk through the place where nightmares are made – Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

A place I like to call the further – Insidious (2010)

It’s show time – Beetlejuice (1988)

Go ahead and make my millennium – Beetlejuice (1988)

Why are you screaming? - Kicking and Screaming (2005)

I absolutely love games – Coraline (2009)

Baseball bats and boogie men – Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

I love to laugh – Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

The Dark side has a twisted sense of humor – Tales from the Darkside (1983-1988)

Who ya gonna call – Ghostbusters (1984)

What ever you do don’t fall asleep – Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

I’ll get you my pretties and your little souls too – Freddy’s dead: the final nightmare (1991)

So, would you have a particular quote you would be interested in adding to the list? If you love horror films, which film is your favorite? Why?

Service Day

I love Saturdays. Every Saturday I head to my local non-profit clothing store and work in the back to sort clothing. I grab the bags from the special bin and then dump the contents onto the table and then sort. I have a few different choices as to where I put clothing depending on how I judge its condition. Great or better clothing is hung up to go out onto the sales floor or set up to be steamed or pressed before going out. Then clothing can be placed in the free boxes for locals, bagged up for the Emmaus Shelter (a local homeless shelter),or into bags to be hauled off to Goodwill. Reusable bags that are not in good enough condition to sell can be donated to the free bag bin at the local supermarket and household items are sorted and donated to the local non profit thrift store to earn money to help the local animal shelter. The plastic bags that the clothing come in are gathered together and then recycled. There really isn't a lot of waste if we can help it. So I spent the day in the routine and organized assembly line of sorting and packing. There are not many volunteers on Saturdays and some weeks, I listen to audiobooks on my phone while I work the table. It's a lot of work and sometimes I feel almost too tired to go in, but I still do because I know that I am really needed there. Today I got some time to chat and joke with a few other volunteers and that was a nice addition to the day today. It actually felt a little bit sad to head off and teach my CPR class.

I enjoyed time with a friend tonight as we chatted while her husband did a little home repair for me and I am so thankful to end the day with a great book. When I went to Bangor the other day and swapped some books with Bull Moose I got some great books to goof of with. They have these large miscellaneous book bins and I made a great finds the other day. Now I just need to decide which of these ones I'm going to tackle. :)

Snow Day

Today was a day of fun and work. The work started at 7 am when I got dressed and headed outside to shovel the walk and get the car out of the drifts. I'm terrible at shoveling- my shoulders are torn up and my knees are a pain, but I turned on some music and got it done. I have developed a list of music that is my 'work/ exercise music and it made the shoveling feel less burdensome. Most of the songs on my list I have discovered either in classes or discussing totalitarian regimes so this is an odd list, but here was my working music this morning. If you do not understand the German language, you may struggle to understand the lyrics to about half of the following list.

Die Toten Hosen - Tage Wie Diese
- Traurig einen Sommer Lang
- Altes Fieber
- Zwei Drittel Liebe
- Reiß Dich los
- Alles hat seinen Grund

Bon Jovi - We Weren't Born to Follow

Green Day - Warning
- Boulevard of Broken Dreams
- American Idiot
- 21 Guns

The rest of the day was spent with Rob and Bug in Bangor doing a little bit of shopping and then back home to spent almost two hours on the phone with my ex health insurer. I head to sleep tired, but the day started with a loud scream of music and got my body moving fast enough to push past the joint pain that clings to my every movement like a sweater. So if you are interested, I linked a video to every song listed above. I highly recommend the full album by Die Toten Hosen titled Ballast der Republik- it's a lovely listen almost any time if you enjoy punk rock. I sometimes fall asleep listening to "Tage Wie Diese" and feel my lips miming the now familiar syllables as my consciousness fades away.

What music puts you in the mood or at least gives you the energy for significant physical labor? What do you listen to when shoveling snow?

Lazy Day at Home

I've been fighting a migraine most of the day. They are always the same. Smells and light feel to strong and to bright... I feel painfully aware of them. The smell of something I would usually find pleasant now hurts and makes me wince and makes my breathing hitch because the more I smell the worse it gets. The pressure builds around my left septum and up through the left side of my head and as it feels like everything is swelling, I feel the vision fade. As the pressure builds up, I watch my vision in my left eye fade and more towards my nasal cavity ... so that looking straight ahead can make seeing anything on the left side impossible with only a little visual help from my right eye. I haven't used Relpax in awhile, but I eagerly sought it out today. In two hours I decided I needed another tablet and my vision was so screwy and the tablet so well protected in its tight sheath that I was unable to open it. I was able to have the second dose only after using scissors to try and break it out and when that failed, the small child I was watching opened it for me. (It is a bizarre testament to the strength of the packaging that nothing I could do opened it, but a six year old child with nails opened it with ease.... and yes, I showered her with gifts afterwards.)

I am so grateful that I was able to stay home today. If I had gone and had to drive back in the storm I am not sure I would have made it home safely. The opportunity to end this day sitting in the dark watching the blizzard outside from the warmth of the couch. The words 'bomb cyclone' sounded really scary... and I think it would have been if I had been out it in... but I feel safe and warm inside my home. I have so much in my thoughts right now, but I have much to be grateful for too. I hope for all to be warm and safe tonight.