It's Me, Back Again.

Yes, it has been awhile since I wrote a blog. Once school gets going, I get too busy to do many fun things. But today I somehow had a "day off." Yesterday I went in to school and planned out the next three weeks - including making all the copies. I left a little undone when at six pm I wanted to go home. We have a teacher inservice day on Monday, so I'll finish up then. I'm trying to switch off weeks with one week planning and the next grading, so even with papers to grade I left them for next week. So I did a little cleaning, but otherwise have had a very restful day. Lots of Words with Friends and Hay Day, and a little knitting, and old movies on TCM.

Went back to the surgeon on Oct 2, expecting it to be the last visit. He had a whole group of medical students with him, and one came in to take my history and do a preliminary check up. Since he was new, he asked lots of questions. I talked about the difficulty swallowing, wheezing, and the fact my voice has not yet returned. When the doctor came in he decided to do another test, an endoscopy. Since I'll need tobe anesthetized, it's another trip to the hospital. It was supposed to be this Friday, but I've had a cold, so it will probably be postponed.

And guess how much fun it was trying to talk with a cold on top of my already horse voice? Yeah, about that much fun.

Cheerios Undead

Need a laugh? Go here, and watch this: http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/429130/september-17-2013/soul-rending-cheerios-ad

Two Weeks

Went in to school today to get ready for next week. After two weeks basically indoors, I was surprised to see the seasons had changed from late summer to early fall.

I plan to go back to work Monday, even though I still can hardly talk. I wonder how that will work. Today it felt like someone had jabbed me in the neck with their elbow. But mostly there is very little pain.

The worst part is not being able to sing. I wonder how long it will be before I can join the choir again.

"To the Moon, Alice!"

A e-mail from Theresa prompted me to stay up late last night to see if I could spot the rocket LADEE as it took off from Virginia for the moon. I walked out to my street where I had a pretty good view east and there it was! It was so cool! Of course it didn't look rocket-like from where I stood. More like a bright red light. It lasted about two minutes, disappearing once, maybe that was a stage burning away? It was much better than I expected, having watched satellites with Matt that were just distant moving dots.

I'll use my kids favorite word - Awesome!

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

It's been a week since my surgery. I'm doing ok, except I still can't talk much. I just took a phone call during which I wheezed and coughed all the way through it. And I've about gone through every shirt with a neckline that doesn't rub against the suture area. It was a relief to get the staples out.

So no cancer, but what I have is Hashimoto's thyroiditis. You can read more about it here. Basically it causes both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. The best of both worlds! Sensitivity to heat and cold! Muscle cramps and weakness! Anxiety and depression! And on and on. I'll have to be on meds, but no one has prescribed them yet. Have to see about getting that done.

Mary left her hat making looms with me. When I went to get the staples out, we also went to Walmart and I got all kinds of yarn. So I'm making hats. If you have a request, let me know. Merry Christmas - you are getting a hat.

Halloween

I know everyone else is celebrating Labor Day, but it feel more like Halloween to me. And I'm dressed as Frankenstein's monster.

I have a seam around my neck, complete with staples. I have bruises everywhere. Now I can't turn my head much, so I even move like Frankenstein's monster. My voice is raspy and hoarse, and I have a cough like an old man. I just need the green skin to make it complete.

The surgery went well. In fact, they found no cancer, just an inflamed area. So the surgeon didn't even remove the whole lobe of the thyroid. We'll have to wait and see if I need to be on thyroid medicine now.

This Thursday is:

The liturgical commemoration of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist is almost as old as that commemorating his Nativity, which is one of the oldest feasts, if not the oldest, introduced into both the Eastern and Western liturgies to honor a saint.
The Roman Catholic Church celebrates the feast on August 29, as does the Lutheran Church and the Church of England, including many other national provinces of the Anglican Communion.(Wikipedia)

It is also the day I get my throat cut open. OK, you can call it "thyroid surgery" if that makes you happier. I think it is funny the two things are on the same day. That's my sense of humor for you.

I realized I didn't get my throat blessed on the Feast of St. Blaze this year. Let that be a lesson to you all!