A small treat

It's always good to find a seed catalog waiting in the mailbox! Today I got the first one of 2025. Time to start planning next summer's garden...

Flare

After a long and grueling week, I'm grateful that the weekend is finally here. Outside my window, the sky is deep blue and the fall color in the trees is about as good as it gets. There's a sharp chill in the air this morning, and the hot cup of coffee I'm sipping really hits the spot. 

Monday night I had another extremely nasty eczema flare, one of the worst ones I've ever experienced. I'd just spent the whole day at work trying to function while pretty much having low key panic attacks all day. I had to close my office door to cry over and over, that's how bad it was. I've been under loads of stress, and it seemed to reach a boiling point that day. So then...that night I woke up just after midnight with painful, swollen, hot-to-the-touch skin in patches all over my body. My fingers were maybe the worst, so swollen with small hard blisters breaking out that I could barely bend my fingers. Large red welts had appeared around both elbows, and all the places where I normally have eczema (ankles and tops/sides of feet) were on fire. It was really, really bad.

 I did go in to work despite all this but called my allergist's office as soon as they opened. They weren't able to squeeze me in for an appointment until the next morning, but they immediately called in a prescription for prednisone to the drug store for me. I was able to start it that afternoon. 

When I finally saw the doctor the next morning, something good came of all this: he said he was pretty sure he finally had enough evidence to get my insurance company to cover Dupixent injections for me. It's a new and incredibly expensive biologic treatment that's supposed to be a total game changer for uncontrolled eczema. He took pictures of my skin to use as evidence and did all the paperwork necessary to send to the insurance company, and it worked! I was approved two days later! And since he was so sure he could get it approved for me, he gave me two sample injections to get me started. I'll be getting the refrigerated shots in the mail from an online pharmacy by the time I need to take my next shot, which will be in two weeks. 

It seems that a majority of people who use this drug have outstanding results, with over 75% achieving at least a 75% decrease in symptoms. Lots of people seem to be totally cured while taking it. After all these years of suffering through these skin problems, that's going to seem like a dream come true.

So at least one good thing happened this week.

Just coping

Just a short post today to say that no, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. Writing anything for the past week has felt nearly impossible. I tried to sit down and write something once or twice but had to give it up; I deleted everything I typed almost immediately.

Obviously, the election results were a shock and very distressing. I've had to totally disengage with the news and the political podcasts I've followed so closely for months now. I'm also cutting way back on social media consumption (not counting blogs and blogging) and have removed some apps from my phone, like Facebook and Reddit. 

The morning of the election, right after we had voted, Gregg had an appointment with his oncologist to go over the results of his yearly chest scan. When he got back home, I asked him if everything was okay. He replied, "Some complications have come up." 

My heart dropped.

Since 2018 they've been monitoring a small, slow growing mass in his right lung. Which is his only lung, having lost the left one to cancer 12 years ago. Last year they had him do a PET scan out of an abundance of caution, and nothing lit up as cancerous. Well, at last week's oncology appointment the recent scan revealed that the mass has grown faster than usual this year. Dr. Smith is sending him for another PET scan next week, followed by appointments with both him and with Vinod, our pulmonologist friend. They're not screwing around or wasting time, and while I'm grateful for their sense of urgency, it scares me.

There are several good, positive signs: his bloodwork looks good and mostly unchanged from the last few years, there's been no weight loss, he feels good physically, etc. Also, since he had a PET scan just over a year ago that was fine, chances are if there's a problem it's in early stages and will be more treatable...

I can tell myself these things all day long, though, and it doesn't do much to quell the sick anxiety that keeps rising up in my chest. I'm so worried. Knowing we'll have to wait two weeks for more information feels almost intolerable to me.

Gregg is worried, of course, but seems to be handling it all okay. I'm doing my best to be okay around him, and carry on as normally as possible. Yesterday was his birthday, and despite everything we had a pretty good day. I made him the meal he requested: meatloaf and mashed potatoes and I bought a small strawberry pound cake and ice cream for dessert. 

So that's where I am at the moment. Trying to carry on each day like everything's normal when everything is emphatically not. Between the election, and now this worry about Gregg, and everything else that's been going on this year, sometimes I feel like I'm barely hanging on.

Kids

Happy Halloween!!

We had several neighborhood kids show up trick or treating tonight, which was really nice to see. Every child that came to our door got a double handful of treats!

Marla brought Carsen over as usual, along with Carsen's little friend Ella. They were both really cute.

The young couple who live across the street brought their baby girl out dressed in a monkey costume! Little Georgia just turned a year old. They're a sweet little family. 

Dressed as a monkey, or as her mama said, "Curious Georgia"! 

It's almost Halloween!

 Spotted at the vet's office yesterday.

Poor George suddenly developed a painful ear infection a couple of days ago, which is what we were there for. This seasonal display in the lobby made me smile.

Also yesterday, I finally bought Halloween treats for this year. I dare not buy them too far ahead of time. Years ago, I bought chocolate and candy early in October, ate the whole lot, gained 4 pounds, and still had to buy more to replace what I'd eaten! I won't be making that mistake again.

I only bought one kind of chocolate this year, given how expensive it seems to be at the moment. I chose Reese's cups, which usually go over well (and I love them!) along with an assortment of Halloween themed lollipops and small snack sized bags of mini–Cheese Balls. And when they say "mini", they aren't joking! 

Happy Halloween Eve!

Updates

Just a few short updates on everything going on this month:

We did it! My friends helped me complete 400 Postcards to Swing States this past Sunday afternoon! We had a little postcard party over at Barbara's house. Out of the 400 postcards I committed to, I had already finished 275 (!!) ahead of time, so I only brought the remaining 125. Karen H. brought an additional 100 postcards she needed help completing (for down ballot races in the non-swing state of Ohio). We made short work of those 225 postcards, and had a little time left over for talking and eating the potluck snacks we'd brought. 

It's a relief to have it done.

Left to right, clockwise: Maggi, Marian, Barbara, Paulette, Karen, and Yours Truly, struggling to get a selfie that included everyone.

I may or may not have mentioned that I'd planned to have the Postcard Party at my house. Obviously, that didn't happen. Barbara was kind enough to offer to host because our small renovation project is still not done. Yep. Still not done! Our house remains in disarray with one room emptied out and being worked on.

This is what happened. The guy took longer than he expected, and at the end of the week he'd allotted for us, he was only about 70% done. He had other job commitments starting that Monday that he couldn't get out of. It's meant some delay in the finishing work, and he's been coming over for an hour or two here and there when he can. It's been dragging on a lot longer than I expected, though.

To be fair, Rick's doing really good, careful work. He's taking his time and every part that he finishes looks great. He pays attention to detail. We're also getting an absolute steal on the price of his labor. Since he'd never tried coffered ceilings before, he wanted to get some experience with them, and I think he lowballed the price a little bit because he was unsure of how it would go. Well, it looks terrific! So, if it takes him a little bit longer than we expected, so be it....

but DAMN I'm tired of all the furniture from that room being crammed into the rest of the house! We can barely move! It's okay for a week, but when it's stretching into the third week, it gets old, fast.

Then to add insult to injury, day before yesterday we discovered an ant infestation in our pantry and kitchen shelves. We had to move all the food out, and everything stored in the kitchen cabinets where we saw ants, because the exterminator guy is coming later today...my house is a shambles. Seriously.

The only other thing I wanted to mention is that my skin is almost healed (and much, much better). Thank you all for the kind words and encouragement on my last post! Once I got started on antibiotics and prednisone I started to feel better, fast. That's a relief, at least.

I'll sign off with a picture of the front porch that I've been getting ready for Halloween. Several of our neighbors have been decorating, too, which is fun. As soon as I buy some candy, we'll be ready for trick or treaters. 

Feeling sorry for myself

I went back to work today. I had a lot to catch up on after being off for a week, and I was glad of it because the hours passed quickly. I wasn't feeling well and it's a relief to be back at home. 

Last week I had a really bad eczema flare on the tops and ankles of both my feet. It's nearly impossible not to scratch or at least rub the intensely itchy skin, and I've used steroid ointments for so many years that said itchy skin is paper thin. It tears easily, bleeds easily, and of course it gets infected easily.

 That's what's going on right now. My skin is angry red, painful, and weeping clear fluid. Even more alarming, last night I developed small red streaks climbing up my right leg...it's a little bit scary. Not to mention disgusting looking.

Of course I called my doctor first thing this morning and he immediately called in prescriptions for antibiotics (oral and topical) and a round of prednisone.  And he didn't make me come in for it, bless him. He knows how much I've struggled with this skin problem and he does his best to help. The last time I saw him he told me I have the most stubborn case of treatment-resistant eczema/dermatitis that he's ever seen. 

Anyway, I feel bad. I hate the way this feels and I REALLY hate the way it looks. It's disappointing that with all the changes I've made this year to take better care of my health, this keeps happening. I get mad at myself when I can't stop scratching. It's my own fault that things have gotten this bad.

At least I've started on antibiotics now. I picked them up on my way home from work. Maybe by tomorrow I'll start feeling a little better. 

Busy October

This week has been filled with the sounds of sawing, drilling, nail guns, and hammering. All of the furniture from the room being worked on is crowded together in the rest of the house, which makes me feel a little stir crazy. Other than that, the renovation is going really well and will be done either this afternoon or tomorrow. * There's no way we'll be able to paint before I go back to work. We plan to pick a couple of paint colors we're interested in and buy small samples to try on a wall before we commit to one. Then there's the pre painting prep work, then the actual painting, etc. If we're lucky we may be able to finish by the end of next weekend. 

The timing of all this isn't the best, because my sister-in-law and niece will be visiting for a few hours on Thursday afternoon. Our niece Melissa will be flying in from across the country to visit family next week, and Thursday is the only day that works for them to drive down from North Carolina to see us. The house will still be in some disarray, but it can't be helped. They of course understand, and I don't feel too bad about it, but it isn't ideal. 

Then on the Sunday after that (the 20th) I'm having a postcard writing party. (It's been planned for over a month now, since before I knew about the room remodel). Luckily, one of the friends who's coming offered to move it to her house when she heard about all this work we're having done. We should be finished painting by then, but if not it's good to know I have that option. 

Speaking of postcards! I ordered 400 total, 200 to the swing state of Michigan and 200 to the swing state of Georgia. That's a lot of postcards. Especially since the three suggested scripts are somewhat lengthy to print out (they recommend printing everything so it's easily readable). Here are the three scripts they recommend as being the most effective in getting out the vote: 

1. Hi (voter's first name),

Thank you for being a voter! Who you vote for is private, but whether you vote is public record. Please vote in the Tues, Nov 5th election!

-- (first name)

2. Hi (voter's first name),

Thank you for being a voter! Your friends and family may need your reminder to vote. Please ask them to vote in the Tues, Nov 5th election!

-- (first name)

3. Hi (voter's first name), 

Thank you for being a voter! When will you vote in the Tues, Nov 5th election? Please plan ahead!

--(first name)

As you can see, any of these is a lot to print out on 400 postcards! To make it so that my friends don't have a mountain of work in front of them, I've been chipping away at the lists a little bit each day. So far, I've managed to complete over 250! My goal is to get to 300 by the time we meet up. With four friends and me, that will only leave 20 for each of us. I'm grateful that they're willing to help me write them, and also that they're chipping in for half the postage costs. I bought the first 200 postcard stamps, and it came to well over $100. 

October is turning out to be really busy with all this going on. When I get back to work on Monday it's going to be really busy there, too. It's just one of those times in the school year. The great thing this year is that since Gregg's (mostly) retired now, he'll be home a lot and can continue with painting while I'm at work. 

Maybe November will be a little more relaxing!

* The work so far looks really good. I thought about sharing a picture of the progress, but decided to wait until it's done. We're really pleased.