Ups and Downs, excitement

Well Thanksgiving and the holidays have come and gone with all the preparations and excitement. Thank goodness, I was able to carry on our tradition of hosting the feasts. Perhaps I cut a few corners, such as serve Thanksgiving at the kitchen table. I have a large kitchen. For Christmas we actually ate in the dining room but the menu was curtailed of some its many courses and the guest list was much shorter. Still, it was decent. No one complained.

This is not to say that they were not difficulties for me. I still had to force my sluggish and painful right side into submission in order to carry out my tasks.  Then, there was the issue of tiredness and the usual blood pressure control. But I carry it all out.

As far as the blood pressure is concerned, I believe I finally have it all controlled without pharmaceuticals! I do not recommend this to people who do not understand herbs and supplements and meditation. It takes a fair amount of experimentation and research. Most doctors are totally opposed. But now, I am free of those nasty side effects that caused so much loopiness and so much discomfort that it actually made my blood pressure rise! 

I still have a fair amount of vertigo and lots of pain on my right side due to spasticity. It remains to be seen how much repairwork the brain can do. Things are getting better, but man it's not a piece a cake.

Slava continues to come to my studio to instruct me in dancing. I am very pleased with the progress but still unable to practice by myself due to lack of contrabalance. I do go downstairs every day to run, or let's say attempt to run.  At times, I feel like my whole right leg weighs a ton. Is a great effort to push a little more each time, but I am up to four times around without stopping. In the old days, it would've been comical to think I could only run four times around. Believe me it's quite an achievement these days.

Our son Darren has a new friend. This relationship is working very well. We are extremely happy about it and we love Kendra who is kind and patient.

Another bit of news is that we had to put our little Cleo to sleep. She was 17 years old, very arthritic. It turns out she also had a mass around her heart. She walked into her life one day as I was working in the garden. Someone had dropped her off, as many other animals had been since we had a barn and horses. Peter and I were about to go to a competition and figured she would be gone upon our return. No, she was waiting at the door for us. We open the door and she walked right in as she had always lived there. Our other cat and our Jack Russell accepted her immediately.She was so thin, shaved under the belly to the neck, revealing some recent surgery. She was very clean. No parasites whatsoever. So she became ours for the next 13 or 14 years. We will miss her.

Yes, these past few weeks certainly contained a lot of excitement for us. and on top of that, one of our greatest friends suffered a heart attack in the middle of her showcase with her instructor! Thank goodness three physicians were present. With hard work they kept her alive until the paramedic came to revive her with the paddles. Yes, she had flatlined. Unbelievably so, she has come through gloriously, even after quadruple bypass. The problem is that she is already going to be dismissed from rehab after only two weeks! I would have liked to be able to help her more but I'm not strong enough yet. Peter and I have visited her and seen her progress. I asked several of our friends and hers for a contribution to buy her an air iPad. Peter's has helped me so much in my recovery that I was certain it would be useful to hers. Most people came through. A couple however, showed their true colors by completely ignoring my request for a small donation. Amazingly, it was ignored by those who should be at the forefront. No more said. Yes, all this excitement did not suit my blood pressure too well, but I managed.

Then there's the issue of my dress maker who has owed me money for a dress she sold nearly a year ago. Tune in later for the latest news.