DENTAL ADVENTURES

I have reached the age where my more than 50 year old fillings have begun to fail.  

A few weeks ago the nice little gold cap on molar #19 snapped off in mid chew.  I scheduled a quick check up, they very nicely fit me in and Dr. D smoothed off the remaining snag and I was scheduled for removal of the remaining two roots.  Grrr.

That was quite a tussle.  He gave me the maximum number of shots, ten I think and then told me that we might have to reschedule to try again.  Ugh.  I slurped, "Please hurry!". He persevered and got them both out.  Whew!  That vacant spot that started out mushy remains has firmed into a respectable gap.  

I told him that I had a similar episode of none numbing in Barrow years ago and he told me that local anesthesia processes faster in patients who are fasting. It actually lasts LONGER if you have a hearty meal before doing all dental. Well, goodness I wish I had learned that a few years earlier.  

Then last week I was chewing on lunch and something felt a little extra chewy and probing with tongue I was able to determine that number 29 had literally bitten the dust.  Again the office crew squeezed me into see Dr. D and he pried out the piece that had separated and looked it over and said there were three options; cap, patch or pull.  I chose patch.  So next week I shall EAT A HEARTY BREAKFAST and go get a tooth patched.  

I will also tell him the joke about the drunk who keeps walking back into the same bar and getting refused until he say, "Hey, just how many bars to you work in?"  

If I ever win the lottery I will consider a 30k mouth full of those insert metal rod/ tooth things and I shall blind everyone with my dazzling smile.

FATHER'S DAY

Today I was thinking about Dad.  His personal philosophy was "live a good life" and that came directly from his father, Charlie Berglund.  And to clarify it a bit, live a good life meant to work hard, play fair, meet your obligations.  

He did that very well.  As children, we were never aware of money worries.  Dad was always working or knew someone who needed work done.  

Every once in a while he would come home and say that he had been "Two checked", which meant that he was no longer working for that particular entity and we would therefore be moving the entire household (conveniently held within  a trailer house) to another location where Dad would work.

Food would appear on the table cooked by Mom.  We were fed, clothed, kept clean, kept disciplined (or got caught doing something) and lived a fairly secure blue collar life. 

Dad like to read Louis L'amour books.  I got into the habit of scouting around for a new book each year for his birthday.  Louis died in 1988 and there were no more books.  I was left to give silly things.  

Eventually I discovered Tony Hillerman but unfortunately this was well after Dad died in 1995.  Tony Hillerman wrote his first book in 1970.  I do wish I had known that but my own reading tastes would have completely precluded any interest in stories about reservation cops on the Navajo reservation.  I was deeply committed to Science fiction.  

I had been devoted to SciFi for a good 20 years and had a very large collection by the time I was recruited to Barrow, Alaska.   I had to sell off most of them and had a yard sale.  I advertised and had hordes descend to pick the books over.  Most of them were sold.  I kept a few favorites such as Anna McCaffrey etc. 

I purchased and read all of the Tony Hillerman books and absolutely loved all of them except one.  He wrote one called "Finding Moon" and it was not set on the Rez.  I didn't even finish it.  

I always discovered fascinating cultural things in those stories.  When Tony  died I felt very mournful.  However his daughter has written a few books set on the rez. Joe Leaphorn lives!!  The most recent fascinating cultural thing I learned was that Navajo do not eat fish.  Fish are the messengers of their gods.  So no fish.  I think Dad would have enjoyed getting these books for father's day.  

Happy Father's Day, all you Dads!!

DREAM WITH COLOR AND SOUND

While I often have colorful dreams, I never had sound in them.  Last night I was able to bargain with someone at a very large swap meet.

But first, I had to get off the small plane that landed and taxied neatly into a small hangar.  Then I couldn't remember if I had any luggage and finally decided that I did not.

There was a nice swap meet thing going on and I looked around.  I spotted the cutest baby buggy with a fluffy kitty sitting in it. The fur was made of feathers.  Very cute.  I asked who was selling this item.  Someone pointed out an elderly man and said, "Go talk to him, he is 98 years old."  I thought that I should hurry.

I couldn't find the gentleman for a little bit and finally spotted him sitting inside an older sedan.  By the time I got there to ask him about the kitten I was apparently bargaining to purchase three older Look magazines.  He said that he thought they were worth 17 dollars each.  I was wondering if I had 60 bucks squirreled away in my purse. And then I was listing to NRP and it was time to get up.

So I did and had one of the Crack and Egg cup things.  It comes with three little packages of cheese, meat and veggie.  Stir in an egg, stir in the packets and microwave 40 seconds, stir and then another 30 seconds.  These are quite tasty.  Add a little pepper and yummy!  

I am reading a book called "Alpha Girls" it is written by Julian Guthrie who wrote for 20 years for SF Chronicle etc.  She became interested in the Alpha boys of silicon valley and decided to see how many women were in the capital investment business of Silicon Valley. Fascinating stuff.  I am enjoying this very much.  These ladies all have various high end degrees; electrical, MBA etc.

One ladies early experiences involved going to some sort of company sponsored event that included for dinner mind you, women who took off everything then danced and performed suggestive highly inappropriate simulated sex acts on each other.  She went to her boss and told him firmly that she felt that she had been disrespected and expected him to fix the problem.  This was in the early 80's!

The book follows four different woman, their backgrounds, how they got into the top 4% and  she didn't even mention Hewlett Packard.

OUR FAMILY REUNION AND THE SWEDISH CONNECTION

This is all about out our big fat family reunion, the comings the goings etc.

First of all it all started at the previous reunion.  We all planned in gathering in Emmett and a good time was had by all including t-shirts.  We were also contacted by someone asking if we were descendants of Charlie Berglund.  Uh, yup. Anders was from Sweden and a grandson of Per who came here in 1900 with Charlie, Albert and Dorothy. For some reason Per returned to Sweden and had a second family.  Emails and friending on Facebook ensued.

Foreward ten years.  A Boise cousin messengered that Anders was coming to visit in June, could we have another reunion?  Yep with enthusiastic agreement.

My story of the travel and encounter follows.

We decided to rent a car as our Oldsmobile in no longer in its prime.  The Hertz rental place is located at the airport in Northbend.  Away we go to pick up the car.  As we approached the turn things looked very different.  We parked at what I remembered as the terminal and went inside.  Um, nope this is now a private lobby for plane owners, small business etc.  Just follow the airport signs, go up the hill, turn right and there ya go.

And there is was, one of the ugliest forest green quasi military air hangar air terminal you have ever seen.  We went in and got the car rental thing going.  I asked the young lady about the ugly terminal.  She laughed and said that it started out much prettier.  It used to have fish scales on the outside that turned gorgeous blue, green tints and shades.  That lasted about two years before the salt water corroded the fish scales and it was painted the ugly green.  Erp.

So this brand new Ford Escort 2019 had most of all the bells and whistles.  It did not come with onboard GPS so we rented one which turned out to be useless.  Fortunately Gale came with her Smart phone loaded with Google maps and it talked to us and got us to the little park in Boise.  I liked the back up camera, Tim not so much.  But the car felt like the size of an aircraft carrier.

The drive over was a bit different in that it has been five years since the last drive.  The first thing I noticed on the drive other than summer road work was just past Umatilla a ways is a very large FedEx terminal with dozens of trailer boxes waiting to be freighted hither and yon.  

Boardman has grown impressively in the past few years.  All sorts of building going on there.  I kept an eye out for the Potash tree farm. Kept looking and kept looking.  All I saw was a huge field of two foot high corn.  That corn was gorgeous but where were those nice trees. I always liked driving by them, it was hypotic.  It became apparent as we approached Pendleton that the trees were gone, every last one of them.  I am sad, I really liked those trees.
Another very interesting new thing is on the hillside just where the airport is located there are what looks like a hundred or more solar panels.  Very progressive and might even light up a household or two.  

Going to we overnighted in The Dalles and ordered supper in from The Sahara Pizza.  The menu has chicken fettuccini Alfredo and I had the shrimp version.  The portions were astoundingly generous and the humongous serving of breadsticks with marina sauce was free.  Yum!  The left overs went on the road.

So continuing on over the Blues and stopped briefly here and there for gas and pit stops.  Ladd Canyon is being revamped. Uncle Paul would be impressed. There had been some fairly severe mudslides.  As part of the fix they have dug up tons of very large boulders and are rebuilding the curvy roads into gradual curves that are posted 60 mph with flashing lights.  The finished parts are a dream to drive on.  Hopefully this will improve the winter drive for truckers and all other mankind.

I kept an eye out for the sign that says "Turn back your clocks one hour, you have entered Mountain Standard Time".  Never saw it.  I had expected the GPS thingie on the car to change the time but it never did.  Tim's phone change to Mountain Standard Time.

Speaking of time, Oregon is very close to passing a law banning the change to Daylight Savings Time.   Thank you!!  

We stopped at the Chevron in Ontario to gas up but no one ever came.  We saw people pumping their gas.  Weird, we ain't supposed to pump our gas in Oregon, so we left.  

Drove towards Emmett and completely missed the turn off to Letha because of a huge forest of trees.  I noticed that there a lot more trees in the valley than previously.  We recognized Tom's Cabin but missed the little house where Mom and Dad lived for a few years. 

The story about all the trees involves a developer in Horse Shoe Bend who was granted permit to build a canal to his project.  In exchange for this the State required that a wetlands area be developed.  That wetlands turned to be 80 acres west of my brothers house.  They left ten acres in grassland and planted trees in the remaining land.  The trees have grown to the point that the little forest provides shade from the western sun, a wind block and traffic noise block.  Very nice. They see deer and elk and other smaller critters all the time.

We got to the motel and checked in and Tim got us unloaded and I went to go visit Ollie and Gale.  Ollie has a nice room at Apple Valley and we visited a bit.  I went to Gales house to mix up the salads I had brought with for the reunion.  That was the first day. 
Next day Gale rode in front with her magic talking phone and Tim rode in the next row of seats and thanked her several times as he shuddered at the traffic.

There were about 40 people at the park.  We met Anders almost immediately, he is very personable, in his 50's, very short hair, about 5'10 or so.  After everyone had eaten, rested, talked their heads off, played cornhole and so on, Phil got out his guitar and he and Anders played together.  Anders plays the hormonica.  They talked Glynnis into singing "House of the Rising Sun". She has a gorgeous voice and a powerful instrument.  Check out facebook for the video of that.

Her brother, Carl, had brought product from his goats.  I purchased six beautiful soaps and five lotions and he threw in a free lip balm.  Lovely things.  The rest of the crowd were shoving and pushing and stuff.

Anders went home with Richard and Cathy. They were going to take a look at the old Berglund farm.  The next day they were going for a ride on the Harley.  We visited and he told of some of his travels. He went to Cuba in 1998 and met lots of lovely Cuban women.  He is very well traveled.  

We were invited for burgers the next day in Letha and we stopped in after we packed up getting ready to drive back to Coquille.  Oh, and Gale generously offered to help get us spoiled rotten Oregon folk get the car gassed up.  Thank you pump, lady!!

We stayed long enough to visit and Richard decided that I needed to bring home some of Mom and Dad's stuff.  There was a small metal jewelry box in the shape of a mini grand piano.  It is stamped "made in occupied Japan on the bottom.  I will have to Google that and see if there is any value.  Also some other items.  Kathy gifted me with a puzzle box made of beautiful different woods, pull up this thing, slide that thing and lift off the box in the shape of an angel.  Thank you!!

We decided against having burgers as full stomachs do not travel well long distance.  We took off and  headed for the coast.  The drive back was uneventful.  We decided to overnight in Albany and found the Hilton something or other.  Wow Very nice room.  The bathroom was so big that you would be advised to grab the toilet paper before you sit down.  That big.  The beds were firm unlike the beds in Emmett that were so soft it was difficult to climb in without sliding out.  Running leap worked ok.  Er actually it was more of an enthusiastic lean with committmet. 

We got home about noonish.  Charlie was curled up on the chair and didn't even notice us right away, so his plaintive meow wasn't all that convincing.  I had left big band music on the TV for entertainment.  

We got the car returned the next day and because I told the nice lady that we could never figure out the GPS thing she took that charge off.  Thank you very much.

My new Kindle came while we were gone and the neighbor brought it over.  I have it registered but it does not recognize my library.  Going to have to call somebody.

Lastly, Richard told a couple funny stories.  I liked this one best.
A bartender shows up for his usual shift.  A customer comes in and consumed several drinks.  He motioned for a refill and the bartender could see that he was a little too lubricated and told him he was not going to sell him any more drinks.  The drunk got up and left the bar.  About 20 minutes later the same guy walks back in using the side entrance.  Sits at the bar and orders.  The bartender told him that he will not sell him anything.  The guy walks out.  Another 20 minutes went by and the same guy walks in the back door.  He sits down at the bar and orders a drink.  The bartender tells him, "I'm sorry, you cannot have another drink."  The guy at the bar looks hard at him and replies, "Hey, Mister, just how many bars do you work in!?"

Morning Radio

I was listening to NPR this morning.  They covered a fascinating story about a project being done in some VA hospitals.   They have been experimenting with writing a personal history to be included in the patient's medical record.

They began initially with a poet who was sort of drafted into the project.  The effort is known as My Life, My History.  The net effect has been improved patient/doctor relationships.  More empathy and understanding.  

We hear so many unhappy things about the VA services that this was very refreshing.  

I think such a project would be a wonderful thing to do locally. I would even volunteer to interview and/or write the patient history.  I enjoy writing.  This might even extend to family members of patients with dementia.  Nurses see the patient more intimately but in many instances there is not enough time for interaction.  The nurses would also have a pretty good idea of what they would like such a history to include.

I would suggest involving the medical staff and administration to get it all started.  Some sort of bylaw might have to be written to cover any liability.  There would of course be a signed nondisclosure agreement.

I would also suggest that initially the interviewer submit the history for review.  I also would avoid using the dictation system at first, maybe offer its use after a period depending on the load of patients. 

There should also be a format to follow to ask questions and to be followed by the interviewer to keep content organized.  It is very annoying for the  physician or caregiver wade through a document that meanders.  The reader should be informed with salient details. The might be questions such as who influenced you most, what has been the most significant event in your life.  What is the funniest joke you ever heard?  What is your favorite color?  What is your favorite memory?  

Yeah, let's get moving on this.  

I will gladly pay you Thursday for a hamburger today...

Ah me, I have been daydreaming about peaches.  Big old juicy dripping down your chin peaches.

Like the ones that a majority of Berglund women went to pick sometime back in the 70's.  I was a newly displaced housewife.  It was summer.  And Mom suggested that we get some ripe peaches.  She had the number of a little old lady who lived further down the valley on a gently aging orchard.  

She called her and yes the peaches were ripe come on out and pick them.  So we loaded up and went there and picked about a bushel of absolutely dead ripe improved Elberta peaches.

I can't remember exactly what we did with them but eating them was definitely on the agenda.  I am certain that this particular pick was what has fueled Ellen's life long love of fresh peach cobbler.

With all of that in mind I went searching locally.  The first place I looked was at the fruit stand out on Hwy 42.  The peaches were small and hard as rocks.  Lots of small ripe looking extremely firm peach like rocks.

Next I looked at McStore in town and they had peaches. They were small but looked much riper than the other ones. I brought them home and let them ripen up a bit more for a couple of days.  I didn't let them get to the fruit fly stage.

I decided to cut them and sugar them.  I did not even peel them.  I cut them in half along the seam and the pits were very stubbornly attached to the interior even when they were split in half. Come out darned peach pit!  It took me a while to very carefully avoid cutting my palm to get them winkled out of there.  I then sliced them up and sprinkled on some sugar with a bit of cinnamon.

Well, they were edible but not as nearly as the memory of those lovely summer warmed improved Elberta perches.  Drool.

The only other truly reliable source for such lovely fruit is by Harry and David, and I just might do that next time I need a peach fix.

A long day, minor annoyances and a couple small victories

Thursday was the long day.  I had an appointment with the vascular surgeon, Dr. Schumacher at RiverBend in Eugene at 1 pm.  That meant we left about 8:30 am and got there about a hour early.   I like to arrive early in case we get into traffic jams, go the wrong way or other disasters.

We did get a little lost it has been several years since we drove over there.  So we found the parking garage and schlepped over the sky bridge to suite 300.  And filled out paper work.

The nice sonographer lady did an ultrasound of the arm veins and neck veins.

Then we saw the doctor.  He explained the my forearm veins are too small, so that right upper arm will do nicely.  Basically they route blood into a vein and keep an eye on it as this used to expand the vein.  This takes about 3 to 6 months.  Then if and when dialysis is required the needles go in and out via this big enlarged vein. 

For some weird reason I was expecting a rather elaborate metal cyborg fixture things, But nope it is all interior. I like that better.  Smaller chance for infection.    So hope I don't have to use this but a person should be prepared.  I am scheduled for July 8 for outpatient.  Don't know the time yet.  But did mange to convey to the scheduler that we have to drive three hours, please do not give us an early morning appointment.  If that were the case we would just go a day early and overnight.  Also have to squeeze in an interview with anesthesia.  Erk.

We have our choice of Outback, Elmer's, IHOP etc.  Yay.

I wonder if anyone has thought of printing a kidney from one of those special printers?  Might work who knows.

The next day was one of minor annoyances.  I had to go pick up some meds, went shopping and the low fuel level flashed on.  I went for gas and it was the slow day, new kid, lots of cars lined up.  Mostly because this is Gay Nineties weekend and there was lots of traffic in town.  

Got that done and drove the highway 42 loop to the next turn  and as I drove in on Central I noticed a brand new building going up.  Now a new building is fairly rare in Coquille.  A local financial institute is adding on.  But the sign on this build said Winter Lake School  I'm not sure but I think it is the Methodist Church folk as the have a school attached to their church just across the street from the County Jail.

The small victories were a successful lunch special at the Colonial House.  I had the special chicken enchilada and chicken taco.  It was much better than the steak taco I had at Outback.  I also found the tattoo ladies shop closed but nail lady next door gave me her number.  I left a message. Call me! I want a Tat!!