Girl Power!

I have a couple of friends that were laid off last year, both female and both architects. They weren't planning on having to "go out on their own" but under the current economic circumstances that is what they are doing. They joint ventured on a Knox Housing Authority "Request for Proposal" recently and came in second in the selection. There were four firms short listed(my current firm did not make the short list)and all of the other firms were ones that have been established for years. They came in above all but one! I am very proud of them. I know they worked hard on the RFP and learned a lot in the process. It is encouraging to see people exceed their own expectations.

The Pink Eye of Doom is upon you!

Easter 2010 will go down in the record books for me but not for some Eastery reason but instead as one of the most painful days I have had in my life. For the past week and a half I have been under the weather so to speak. I have told this story to a lot of doctors and have it pretty much down to the bare facts. Sunday before Easter I came down with a cold that included sore throat, headache, body aches and low fever. I picked up various symptoms on the way like sneezing, runny nose, congestion and the like. I woke up mid week with pink eye. I made an appointment with the doctor and did a little online research on pink eye/conjunctivitis. I figured it was probably viral due to the preceding cold but decided a trip to the doctor would still be good just in case...wrong.

The doctor's visit was a downward spiral in my ocular health. I was given antibacterial drops which worsened my eyesight and sent me home Thursday afternoon. Friday I was doing worse and could only keep my eyes open for a second or two before I had to close them. I headed back to my doctor (their emergency clinic anyway) at 5pm on Friday. There the doctor went with the same diagnosis as the one on Thursday which was bacterial conjunctivitis. They gave me a shot of antibiotics, new antibacterial eye drops and a neosporin-type steroid cream to put in my eyes.

I should pause here and explain that I am HORRIBLE about anything going into my eyes and drops are hard for me to deal with much less a salve. I did it though, all on my own. The trick I was taught was to pull my lower eyelid out a little to form a pocket and put the drops in there and then blink. I did the best I could. The second set of drops were milky and my eyes felt gritty.

I suffered through all of that on Saturday but when I woke up Sunday morning I couldn't open my eyes enough to even get the drops in. My eyes were in constant pain and felt as if coated in sand. I squinted and concentrated hard enough to redial the doctor's phone line (seeing had been nearly impossible since waking up Friday). The recording on the doctor's line said they would be open in the clinic at 1pm. Bear in mind, this is Easter. I tried waiting but was in too much pain and resorted to calling my friend Donna who had driven me to the doctor on Friday. It was around 9am, I think, when I broke down and begged for a hospital.

We went to Parkwest ER and it was great because it was small and not many people were there so I was seen in less time than it takes at the regular doctor's office. They numbed my eyes and it was the best thing I could have hoped for...no more pain. They then stained my eyes and looked at them with different light/colored lenses. There were 2 “chunks” missing from the center of my corneas. The doctor said they were symmetrical and oval and directly centered. He had never seen anything like it. He figured the drops were doing more harm than good but couldn't figure out the injury. I thought it was because the only relief I could get from the "sand in my eye" feeling was to pull my eyelid away from my eye ball. I know, it sounds odd and gross but I was desperate and didn't do it for very long. I figure that is what caused the tear though. I asked how long the numbness would last and was disappointed to learn it would only be for 30 minutes. You can't keep numbing your eyes either because it will burn them. The doctors at the ER said to stop the current drops and salve and go back to the first drops and see an ophthalmologist in the morning. They gave me a prescription for percocet to get me through the pain.

After a comedy of errors with the prescription we got the drugs and I was dropped off at home again. I am losing trust in doctors. I couldn't see anything and one doctor gave me a medication meant for another person and the ER didn't sign theirs so we had to go back for a signature. Really people, be more careful! I couldn't double check anything....I couldn't see.

Somehow I was able to get “wait wait don't tell me” podcasts going on my computer and listened to them for hours over a course of days. I also found out that one percocet does nothing for me but 1.5 (which the perscrption was for 1 to 1.5 pills every 4 to 6 hours) does at least keep me in bed, although it didn't make me drowsy which was a bummer. So there I stayed on Easter. I also just ignored all the drops since the ER thought it was viral as well which meant the drops weren't going to do any good anyway. I woke up Monday without much pain. I could see a little better too. Donna took me to the ophthalmologist and my tears were healing up ok. He said I should be much better by Wednesday night. He agreed with not using the drops and said to just keep my eyes lubricated really well and they would heal. I didn't have any signs of pink eye and just needed to mend.

Not having eyesight made my head spin. There was nothing I could do. I couldn't watch movies, I couldn't do anything that involved reading. Monday people from work emailed and tweeted to me but I couldn't read it. People I spoke with while things were going on didn't seem to get the severity of the situation. I was feeling for corners of walls and openings to get around. I ate more bologna sandwiches than I can remember because it was the easiest thing for me to make and eat blindly. I didn't get to do anything with John all week, including camping.

The last thing I did before the whole pink eye thing was put the tent up in the back yard. We were going to camp in the back yard for a few days. It was sort of a dry run of camping for me. Could I put the tent up by myself? What was I missing from my camping arsenal? I did at least find out I can put the tent up by myself and that it is a much calmer event if I just do it alone and take my time.

John was disappointed that I couldn't pick him up and camp, go to Easter egg hunts, dye eggs and make cookies like we had planned and so was I. I was even chastised a bit for telling John throughout the ordeal that I would hopefully get better enough to pick him up. I was told that he would be hopeful and then disappointed. Talk about adding insult to injury.

It was a horrible week. I am happy to have non-painful, although blurry sight back. As for Easter? I am thinking of egg dying and Easter dinner on Sunday with John and friends since I missed out last week.

Take that ,Earthfare

I tried signing up for Earth Fare's cooking class this week but it was full. I was too slow but that is ok because they were making zucchini muffins and both John and I think they sound icky even though we have nothing to really base our opinion on. We were gong to try them anyway.

I like having plan B's...they make me happy. So plan B was to have our own cooking class. By the way, the chef's hat was all John's idea. We settled on chocolate chip cookies after watching a Food Network Challenge about cookies. John picked out his utensils from his play kitchen that were applicable to use (I washed them well) and we got started.

I had him read through the directions so he would know what we were doing. I then helped him mise en place. He read off the ingredients and amounts and I retrieved the correct measuring device and bowls. He measured things out (sometimes with a little assistance) and we had everything ready to go. He read the directions again and put everything in the mixer. He wanted to taste the brown sugar and the white sugar to see how they tasted on their own. He liked the white sugar best. He wanted to taste the vanilla and I said he could but warned him that he probably wouldn't like it straight. He chose to inhale deeply instead and said it smelled like how eating chocolate tastes. Interesting.

Everything in the bowl, mixed and ready for the cookie sheet. He had his special scoop which gave a great amount of dough for the perfect sized cookie but was a pain to use. Most cookies came from my little scooper that you squeeze the handle and the little scraper slides behind and pops out the dough. We made a lot of little cookies and gave about half to neighbors doing yard work that helped us out too.

John thought the whole process of baking was cool. I think he liked the taste testing of dough at the end best of all. I know I did.

Huh, what did you say? ...hearing aids

John received hearing aids about 3 weeks ago. They are great and he is great with them. He helped pick out the colors for all of the pieces and you can hardly tell they are there. When kids ask him about them he just states it like this... "Well, you know how people have glasses to help them see better? I have hearing aids to help me hear better. It is just the same." He took the hearing aids for share. Ok, so he was wearing the hearing aids anyway but he took the care kit and accessories for share. The kids in his class had all sorts of questions and the teacher was very impressed with both John and the kids. No one has teased him about it and I have been working with him on a "look" he can give kids if they start.

On the night he got the hearing aids we celebrated with a trip to McDonald's and a doughnut at Krispy Kreme. We went to the Krispy Kreme by my office where you can look in the window and watch them being made. It was his first time seeing the process and he was intrigued. We eventually went inside and ate one. He had one right off the line and thoroughly enjoyed it as you can see by the picture. If you look really close, you can see one of the hearing aids.

Mini Mental Vacation

This week I took a mini vacation. I rented a cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains and took my dog, alcohol and art supplies. I only took from Monday late afternoon to Thursday morning off but it was needed.

I ventured to Gatlinburg Tuesday morning for breakfast at The Pancake Pantry and to Pigeon Forge for dinner on Wednesday evening at The Old Mill. Both were excellent meals and had portions big enough to share if so desired. I had been to the Nashville Pancake Pantry forever ago with my friend LaDonna. I had been meaning to get to the one in Gatlinburg for a while but alas, no. The Carribean pancakes were my downfall in Nashville and so I had to indulge in the same this time. They were yummy and I couldn't even eat half of what they served me. Sad.

I did not get as much painting done as I had hoped but really I just needed some time away more than any real goal or accomplishment. I did manage to get one painting 98% complete. I needed a silver paint pen to finish it and I picked that up tonight. I managed to keep messing up the one painting I had sketched out before I went. It is now in a repaired state and should be complete before the weekend is over.

I had one painting that John commissioned from me. I can't say too much about it because I have already painted one for my friends, the Covert's (see KSO posting below). Let's just say that when I saw the painting subject, it has stuck with me for years and I "covertly" snuck a picture to paint by.

So, after the trip I feel mentally repaired although inexplicably exhausted. Maybe it was the hot tub, pool table, fireplace and jacuzzi tub distractions that made me so tired? I don't think it was just me either; Lucy seems equally worn out from the trip. Good thing there is Saturday to recuperate.

A Childhood Memory

I was trying to figure out recently where my "early bird" tendencies originated from and it sparked a memory from decades past to resurface. I remember waking up around the time my Mom would wake up. Most of the time she would beat me to waking but more often than not her moving around would wake me too. I remember she would get up between 5:30 and 6:00am to enjoy a cup (or two if she could sneak it in) of coffee before the rest of the house started stirring. She would sit in the dark, or near dark, and just relax and sip. Occasionally I would encroach on this solitude and sit in an adjacent chair and talk. I have no recollection of any of the specific conversations but the overall memory and mood are worth savoring.

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra - Shakespeare in Love

Due to lack of date and general moodiness I chose to pass along the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra tickets to Shakespeare in Love to my dear friends Todd and Donna Covert. Below is Todd's account of the performance.

Hippity hop, bippity bop, we’re off to see the show. Which show? Why Shakespeare with the KSO, don’t you know.

We were told to expect McDowell, but would it be Andie or Malcolm? Sadly, ‘twas a sesquicentennial of a composer unheard for 149 of those 150 years. Seems his specialty was music lacking tension or melody or interest. It was like being trapped in the world’s largest, slowest elevator. Perhaps in another 150 years, no one will still be listening to MacDowell.

The music improved when they whipped out the Tchaikovsky. The orchestra laid the wood(s) to that crazy jazz sound. Unlike MacDowell, who we shall call the Sleeping Composer, the big T actually had a great sense of dynamics, drama and purpose. It really was the highlight of the evening. The KSO sounded fantastic. Donna particularly loved the bass and double bass players. Several of them sat on stools in order to finger their instruments. Due to being perched high up, they were forced into frantic attacks on the pages of the score. Hop, grab, page, turn, leap, finger, bow, bow, bow!!! She was right. It was riveting. Ye gods! What if they missed the page? Or the stool? They were pros. Never once did they miss, not even a beat. But all things come to an end and Tchaikovsky’s music did as well.

At the intermission, we chatted with Frank and Jere Murphy. Frank has managed to regain three, possibly four pounds and no longer appears emaciated. Jere was as lovely as always. Donna and I looked around and were thrilled to be amongst the youngest in attendance. Then, the second act began and the actors made their appearance.

For reasons shrouded in the mists of theatre, it was decided to have be-tuxedoed actors read from A Midsummer Night’s Dream whilst the KSO played Mendelssohn’s music to accompany the play. The actors were seated facing the audience and with their backs to the KSO. This very confrontational arrangement distracted greatly from the music. Further, the readings themselves were odd as the actors played various characters from the play. It wasn’t exactly clear who was whom. And while they gave a game effort, the staging just did not work and wasn’t helped by the actors acting while seated and waiting to read.

The musicianship was excellent and Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky sounded fantastic. Hippity hop, bippity bop. We went to see the show. Shakespeare we love, MacDowell we dread. Home we went and so to bed.

Todd