Tag Archives: Russel

Lois Lane..

I remember a line in one of the first Superman movies, where after Clark took away her memory, she comes into work and asks “What’s happening in the world?” There’s a feeling I get from that line, not that I am not aware of what’s happening in the world, but that my life has been so busy and full, that I sometimes wonder just where I am at.

That said, still trying to learn my way around my new computer system, see Zippadeedodah!. Going to load Mozilla this week end, need to hook up the new Canon i960 printer and the new Canon LiDE 80 scanner.
I haven’t even transferred the email or favorites as I want to wade through a lot of stuff and keep it off this machine.

We just got back from the bay (SF-VA) again seeing Russel’s doctor. He gave us a sort of diagnosis, it still is not a for sure.

“Eosinophilic bronchitis is a recently described syndrome. Subjects with eosinophilic bronchitis have cough with eosinophilic airway inflammation characteristic of that seen in asthma; however, these patients have normal lung function, negative methacholine challenges, and no evidence of variable airflow obstruction. The cough in this condition responds nicely to inhaled corticosteroids.”

We need to do more research on this, but at least at this point he feels a lot better and hasn’t taken pain killers for 3 weeks. The chest congestion is still there and the inhalers make his voice sound hoarse and weird.

The Garberville farmers market started today, to my surprise.. but i am glad. The Catching Cactus and Succulent folks were there once again with just wonderful displays. Next week I will take my camera and try to get better shots than i did last year.

We are working on the house, more painting, I will scan new colors when i get the new scanner hooked up. I hope to put the garden in next weekend. We are having some problems with all aspects of our water system which has Russel stressed, we will get it fixed, it’s all just part of homesteading.

Spring Cleaning

I mentioned here about getting a new computer. It has been ordered but not built yet. Which is a good thing in a way, see the small (tiny) town house we live in is filled to the max and one 15′ wall is an assortment of shelves with tapes,books,cds, misc junk, pictures, baskets etc… well the whole thing has to come down and be reformed to fit a small computer desk in the back corner so this old computer can go there for Russel to use, and I can use it for testing sites and such.

Any way almost some of every day in the last week has been spent unloading shelves and vacumning (ugh… places that haven’t seen the light of day in 8-10 years!). To do this also meant that the house on the land needed to have certain areas painted so that storage out there could start with a clean slate so to speak.

We ended up buying a 6′ x4′ chrome rack for some hallway storage at the land, after I spent hours looking for some kind of pre-fab pantry or closet unit I could use in this particular place. There is really nothing like what I wanted out there at a price I was will to spend.

Yesterday I finally started to put things back in place in town. I have several tubs full of stuff yet that was intended to come back in here, but I am having my doubts as too just what will fit and leave room for future storage needs..now that I am getting a cd burner… I will have lots more of those!!

Tomorrow we go to Eureka again, lots of little errands. The greenhouse is coming together, out garden beds have been built but not planted. We transplanted into a larger pot one of 6 peach trees, only 5 to go 🙂

I have a friend talking to me about the wonders of XanG0, as a cure all for most that ails ya. It’s expensive, but maybe worth it. I am still thinking about it.

On another note, the last round of Prednisone that Russel used, along with 3 different inhalers, seems to have knocked the severe pain out of his chest. He still feels a slight congestion feeling there, and the cough is getting better with the inhalers, so that is a good thing. He has been much more his good ole self the last week or so. It’s really nice to not have him in agony all the time.
But I feel it is just symptoms that have been repressed and we still know nothing about the cause or how to really cure it.

Watched a feel good movie and had a good laugh Something’s Gotta Give. Especially could relate to the glasses things.. I hate that I can’t see what I used to be able too!

Busy Planning New Computer!

I am really here !

I have been busy.
It’s no excuse for not blogging, but that’s the one I am using 🙂
After the Bruce Cockburn show, I was tied up in getting the report up for the
Cockburn Project, then I had more pictures to get to, then there was a let down of it all being over.

I had a ton of work to do and often was not any where near my computer. We also had over 2 weeks of sunny 80 degree weather in March, and that long streak just ended a few days ago when we got a good supply of rain…now it’s sunny and 80 and the wild flowers are peaking.

But the really big thing that happened in these silents days,
I was gifted enough money from my Dad to buy a new computer!
So I was no longer just wondering what would I get if I could,
but spending days comparing and figuring out what I wanted and could afford.

I am having a local Eureka business build it for me, they built our first (this one) over 5 years ago, and we trust and like them. Yes I will pay more than at Dell, or if I knew how to put one together myself, but customer support and supporting the local economy is a big deal to me.

I have spent hours reading and comparing between LCD and CRT monitors. I guess I will just have to make the jump and hope for the best. I am going for a 19″ LCD, (more specs later) this will be interesting getting used to for web design. Not to mention I will finally have XP Pro, (which I don’t really know if that’s a good thing?) I’ll be going from a W98 233 to P4 3.2 🙂
Lots of learning curves in here.

I will also finally have a cd burner, in the Sony DVD burner,
and all the learning how to’s that go along with that. So I expect that once the system is here, I will be spending lots of hours just finding my way around it. Too bad there is still no high speed here, unless you count satellite.

And because we live in a very small one room home while our house in the hills is being built, we have to take apart a wall of shelves (15′) worth, and reconfigure, so the old computer can go into that corner and Russel will have his own space.

This is a major undertaking as the house in the hills is not yet fully painted or ready to ‘store’ things in without having to move everything later. So I am busily trying to get certain spaces done out there to put up/ buy shelving for.

In case you wonder, Russel is about the same. He had 2 really bad feeling weeks, but the last 2 days he has felt somewhat better, not that ‘it’ is gone, just not dominating all. I spoke with his SF VA doctor over 2 weeks ago, who was supposed to send different meds (mostly allergy stuff and prednisone) again, and he was supposed to set up a pain clinic appointment, none of which has happened.
We are frustrated. We are getting a copy of his records from the VA, and I hope he decides to see some one else, who will be willing to look them over and not ask that ALL THOSE TESTS BE DONE AGAIN!

This and That

Bruce Cockburn at the Mateel

Tonight’s the show. Very excited. Hope to make sound check, get some photos signed and tonight get some great shots. Wish me luck.

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On other things, this should go in new post, but.. Russel has an appointment for a bone scan, the final test in the saga of trying to find out what the hell is wrong with him. This is on Friday again in SF, but this time I am not going. More on that later.

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I updated the Portfolio page on my business website. Added a few new sites, and took a couple off.

I am very close to launching Russel’s Aikido For Kids, he just needs to give me some CONTENT! [still waiting!]

Much more tomorrow.. the after the show review.

MRI Results – Nothing

There’s nothing wrong. The VA and AMA cannot find the source of Russel’s pain. There are no real indicators for any more tests, although we may get a bone scan. I think his doctor can’t think outside his little box, something is wrong, and it’s not in his head… the next step according to this guy is for ‘pain managment clinic’ which is bull shit.

We are frustrated. He is hurting. We have to find yet another avenue to go down. I am thinking .. just maybe… allergies? Or still something to do with his bronchials, although mentioning that to the doctor brought “there are no indicators for those kinds of tests” … what? coughing and chest pain, and a feeling of congestion in the bronchials doesn’t indicate a broncostomy or something??

Good news…we know his heart and lungs are good, if we believe what the test results have been.

Sorry to have taken so long to post back here. Life has just been busy, and the no news thing ..no real answers and there for no real plan of attack to fix this pain have really taken us down.

Finally…going to get the MRI

We leave for the city (SF) very early on Thursday morning. Russel has a stress treadmill test at 1pm. The following day he finally gets the MRI. I am only hoping that this gives us a diagnosis. His pain has gotten worse, the pain killers less helpful, and the stress of it all is really getting us down.

I am trying not to play the ‘What if’ game. He is so strong and healthy in every other way that it seems this should be a treatable thing. I mean look at this smile.

He has to be ok. Just give us something we can fix. Please.

Citizen of the Year – Day to Day

Estelle Fennell – Citizen of the Year

Last fall we had fires. We also had our intrepid reporter and news manager at KMUD, Estelle Fennel, who 24/7 kept us informed, went into the fire zone, and won great respect for her efforts from CDF and other locals.

Estelle Fennel has been named Citizen of the Year, by a strong vote. There will be a party in her honer on Valentines Day at the Mateel Community Center in Redway.

I am really glad to see this honor go to her. She has been the lifeline through many El Nino storms, keeps a level head and perspective to an often diverse population at odds with each other. She is fair, honest and we, are very lucky to have her.

Day to Day

In other news, Russel got a chest cold on top of what he was already dealing with. He has been home in bed most of the time since last Thursday. Poor baby,
this is so not him.

I have no Holiday Spirit.

We are going to Eureka, if he can make it, tomorrow to buy tires for the Toyota, as they are bald and we need to drive about 200 miles over hill and dale to Sacramento on Saturday to catch our flight to Michigan on Sunday.

Michigan where it was 10 degrees and snowing the last time I looked. brrrr

Give me wet windy 50’s in northern California any time.

I miss working on sites. My host (Hosting Matters) just added some new software within CPanel that is gonna be great to start playing with. I need to redo my www.creationdreams.net site. [Still needs to be done 3/15/2010 !]
And I am still waiting on content for the client site i started almost 2 months ago.
When I return from Michigan, I hope to start in earnest these web projects.

More Health Updates

Really, I am still here!

Been to busy to think. Have spent many days and nights away from the computer, with many more to come, so I thought a quick update would be nice. ;-p

On the VA-Russel illness front, all tests are good. No GERDs, but the pain and congestion in and around his broncials persists. He hasn’t felt well now for over 5 months, not a happy camper for sure. The whole thing is stressing us to the max, just trying to keep on keepin on, ya know? Maybe more tests after the years end.

We leave for Michigan to visit Dad, and the rest of the family, on the 20th. We have e-tickets, which I have never used, so hope all goes well.
I am not a great traveler any more. Used to be, but now the thought of sitting on a plane for hours is just dreadful and will be painful.

The rare smile:

On My Beat

Living in the hills of southern Humboldt