Itchy Bones

Five months after I broke my neck, I suffered serious head trauma in an accident.  After the accident, I knew my name, and I knew my home address, but I couldn't remember anything else.  It took several days for me to remember phone numbers, and I kept "losing time" for six months after that.  I broke my neck falling off a horse, and I had a concussion then, also.  I'm a klutz, but I usually bounce back after a fall, or a blow to the head, pretty quickly.  But I also have proof via X-rays, MRIs and CAT scans that I've caused a lot of weird damage and, I call it "cross-wiring," to my brain.
   I suffer from migraine headaches more frequently; I have become/am addicted to caffeine; I lost part of my sense of smell, and part of my taste; and my body reacts to certain things oddly.  For instance, if I see a spot on my leg, and scratch at it with my fingernails, I'll frequently feel as if I'm scratching my back, or my ribs, on the other side of my body.  Or, I'll scratch a spot on my arm, and my foot reacts as if I've scratched it.
   The last couple of months, I've had itchy bones.  I woke up two weeks ago, and the bottom of my left big toe itched.  I rubbed it with my right foot and heel.  The itch intensified, and moved slightly up the body to include the joint to my foot.  I scratched it with my fingernails, but the itch felt as if it were deeper.  I rubbed my toe against the corner of the bed post, but that didn't help, either.  I grabbed an old hard plastic bristled hair brush that I use on horses' manes and tails, and I scratched the itch, rather savagely.  It didn't go deep enough.  I finally just laid in bed and twitched for about an hour, until the itch subsided.  What was so frightening to me was the fact, that if I had a certain object within my household, I'd have used it to scratch the itch.  I am so very happy that I no  longer own, or have easy access to, a wire brush - the kind one uses to remove rust and scale from exposed metal.  My toe itched so badly, that if I'd had a wire brush available, I would have scoured the flesh down to the bone to get rid of the itch.
   This morning I woke up and realized that I had been scratching the tops of two fingers on my left hand - the fingers were pink and swollen, and I could see scratch marks from my fingernails on the tops of the fingers and down about an inch onto the back of my hand.  This afternoon, my right thigh started to itch.  I pounded on it with a hair brush for 30 minutes before the itch slowly left....
   Thank goodness I see my doctor the first full week of December - don't know if I need to see a neurologist, or go back to the psychiatrist about this....

Czech Republic Landscape Photos

Romania Landscape Photos

Snow and Books

So after more than fourteen hours of snow fall, the sun is shining, and most of the sky is bright blue.  But it's 23 degrees outside - not the 80 degrees we had two days ago.  There is snow on our balcony, and on top of Bertrando's telephone pole.  The parking lot and street are almost entirely clear of snow.  There is a small amount of snow scattered across the grasses and bushes  in the little area between our apartment and the restaurant next door, but the community building across the creek looks to have two to three inches of snow on their large yard.
   I had to turn the heat on this morning when I got up.  We'd had the air conditioning turned on Wednesday, but my legs were chilly under my blanket when I awoke this morning, so I turned the heat on.  We have eight biscuits left from last night, and a large amount of soup - that's all in the refrigerator at the moment.  And I had two raspberry muffins for breakfast today - yum!  Waiting to hear from various clients as to whether they want their dogs walked today...  I'm very happy to do so, but a few will want their dogs to stay home because of the cold, and a few because of the snow and ice on the ground.  Winter day walks are always a toss-up.
   I finished reading The Rest I Shall Kill, a very good, but incomplete, biography of William Tillman.  It's incomplete because we really have no history of the man before the incident that made him a "Northern hero," and because, like today's 15 minutes of fame, he disappeared into obscurity a month or so later.  It's really a shame that a man can have so little known about him, even after he's been acclaimed a hero of the Civil War.  -  I also just finished reading the new Jack Reacher novel,Night School, by Lee Child.  I also find it funny that Lee Child, an Englishman, is the author of a series of books that introduce and maintain the idea of the iconic American ex-GI....  But I thoroughly enjoy each and every one of them!
    Going back to read a few more Eight Countries books by Elizabeth Moon that I haven't seen before...  Should be a snug reading and sewing weekend.

Landscapes in Bulgaria

Cold and Rain

I just added a pound of diced ham to the crock pot of beans simmering away, and I also added another two cups of water to the mix.  The beans have been simmering for two hours, with a good sprinkle of coarsely ground pepper and a dash of lemon zest.  Can't wait for this evening!   I'll have a left-over slice of pizza for lunch, along with a salad.   And I'll be sewing tablecloths today, also.
   The forecast for today was cloudy and cool, with a high of 40 (cold, compared to yesterday's high of 80).  They said the rain and/or possible snow wouldn't arrive until after 4 this evening.  It was 38 when I got up this morning; an hour ago it was 35 and misting rain.  I think our high temperature was at midnight.  The clouds were hovering just on the tops of Bear, Green, and Flagstaff mountains this morning, then dropped down to the tops of the Flatirons.  Now the Flatirons are invisible, and I can see 2 to 3 blocks away from my balcony, but no more.  We're getting socked in.  (And this kind of weather makes me want to curl up and sleep...)
   I've "rescued" the ivy from the balcony, but think I'll let the honeysuckle stay out overnight.  If it continues to be extremely cold, I'll bring that in, also.  Nedi wanted to go out this morning, but didn't stay long.  Now that the balcony is wet, he wants out again.  I was mean and said he couldn't go out. With the weather cold and damp, Rosie's walk was cancelled this morning, which I pretty much expected.  I might not walk her tomorrow, either, depending on the weather and how she feels, but I do have a date with her tomorrow night, so her parents (owners) can go out and relax.
   Originally, I was to pick up some clients from the airport on Saturday, but they've been delayed, and will return on Monday, so I have vehicle access until then.  Which means that Beatrice and I might go up into Rocky Mountain National Park this weekend...  We'll have to see what driving conditions and weather are like.
   I hope your Thursday is great!

Abandoned Farm Equipment - Photos