Hope and the One Eyed Rascal in Everyday Ramblings

This is a spot I know in a front yard across town where the daffodils have been known to show up early, harbingers of moderate temperatures and light. To me this photo I took last Saturday contains both the reality of the season just past here, fall, the dry barren difficulty of the winter we are in and the hopeful notes of spring.

There is just the slightest subtle sensation out there in the air that even though much weather is yet to come, including lots more rain, that the worst is over, the apex has been reached and we are on our way towards bright and blooming days.

Of course yesterday there were signs everywhere of the aftermath of the ice storm earlier in the week. Yes, there were the discreetly placed decorative patches of “snice” but also the big curvy pedestrian bridge that is right under the tramline and spans all the freeways into town had signs about falling ice all over it.

The tram was able to continue operations even with lines that iced up and then thawed and dropped in chunks on the bridge below. There was evidence of ice splat all over the bridge. But at the same time it was sunny (if not warm) and one’s attention was drawn towards the mountains we have only barely glimpsed in months, startling white with more snow than in years up and out of the fog and smog at their bases.

I walked over that bridge four times yesterday to get down to the new school of dentistry building near the river for two appointments with enough of a break to come home and work a little. It was an effortful schedule and I hope not to repeat that anytime soon.

I met the Periodontist. He spent a lot of time with me. A lot. And now we have the start of a four-year plan. The next step is to meet with the professor of dentistry again and get his perspective and to get a CT scan. But it looks like I will only need to have two teeth out and two implants this coming year. As well as bone grafts and a sinus lift and some general dentistry. It is going to wipe out my savings over the period but as long as I can stay employed I can pay a chunk of it out of current income. I do have insurance but it only covers a small fraction of this kind of work.

Then I had my teeth deep cleaned. I was so relieved to find that all the work they did last year was helpful and for once the cleaning wasn’t fun, but at least I don’t have the super sensitivity I had before that lasted for months.

The Periodontist, who I will get to know quite well, is Sikh and I noticed a definite sort of cultural authority and yet a remarkable respect for the hygienists, which you don’t often see in this type of setting. He is a professor and teaches what he does and he is relaxed and communicates easily. He has a deep respect for yoga and has an open mind about the whole mind body connection thing so this bodes well.

I am relieved on many levels. While not happy about the work ahead I am pleased I will be able to keep most of my teeth and that if I do the daily work of maintaining them I can hope for a time of resolved issues before new ones appear. He is going to work with timing so I shouldn’t have to miss teaching more than maybe two classes and that only if I take on a second class on Wednesdays.

The weather reports say that we are in for another week of rain.

Rain I can deal with! I can totally deal with.

Lets just keep that temperature above freezing, shall we?

On Wednesday morning I had the doors to my laundry area open for a time and Diego got back behind the dryer and disconnected the venting tube from the dryer this time (last time he disconnected it from the wall where the vent is). It is kind of like living with a wild man toddler, living with Diego.

Getting back there and fixing it last night took all my dexterity and upper body strength and this time, duct tape. I now know more than I ever wanted to know about how these things work.

The short answer to any future question is I need to just not let Diego get behind there anymore if I can help it. No problem, right? Ha.

Last updated January 10, 2016