blinded by the light

OMG! The sun is shining and it's been 3 days without rain! Of course we're having a late season freeze, down to 29˚ last night and supposed to do the same tonight. It's barely above freezing out there now. I covered a few things...the ground orchids which are in full bloom 

and the pink angel trumpet which has yet to ever bloom and the climbing jasmine that's over here coming into full bloom but not the one in the shop yard or the yellow angel trumpets as they are just too tall to make it worth the effort and even if they freeze to the ground, they'll come back. Nor did I cover the ponytail palm across the street which takes two tarps and two people if it's windy which it always seems to be when it needs to be covered. But, yay the sun!

I have two posts written, one about the further adventures of having a crazy person owning the lot next to me (it's a great title and would be a shame to waste it) and one which is just headlines on FB from last Sunday that show how fucked up Republicans are. Can't decide if I want to post either one.

I haven't been on social media much lately as it's either boring, seeing the same stuff even when I select 'most recent' or just flat out depressing. Not even people's art or sweet videos are engaging me and nothing of my own to post about as I'm not doing any art work at all. Instead I'm delving back into Hurricane Harvey. The Texas General Land Office has money they are going to dole out to people who spent some of their own money to repair the damage and so I'm trying to fill out the 22 page application and I'm to the part (page 12) where I have to list all the materials I paid for (as opposed to the ones Rocky paid for) and provide copies of the receipts and charge card statements and bank statements so now I have to rummage through two years of financial records and then I have to list all the payments to Rocky and submit copies of invoices (which we never bothered with so I have to organize it all and then get him to make out invoices and back date them for me). I've had this application for a month and couldn't decide if I wanted to bother with it as dealing with FEMA was a huge and continuing headache but...free money, right? Then I got a notice that they were going to start processing applications Feb. 28 and first come first served to the limited amount of money so I thought, oh what the hell, I'm not doing any art work anyway.

So, I guess the goldfinches have finally migrated through as I haven't seen them the last several days except maybe a few (at least two since I've seen two at the same time). She has the wing markings of a goldfinch but no hint of yellow, just a sweet little grayish bird or maybe it's a warbler but which kind I have no idea but it sits on the teacup tossing sunflower seeds out left and right. 

We do get warblers that winter over though they are usually gone by now too. The last several mornings I've also seen a pair of house finches, male and female along with the horde of sparrows, white wing doves and a mourning dove, male and female cardinals, chickadees, a pair of blue jays, a titmouse.

titmouse waiting it's turn on the teacup

I'm halfway through my month before I go see the cardiologist again. I was keeping a list of days and times and length of times for the afib episodes but it was too hard to visualize so I printed out some calendar sheets and transcribed the info to them. The meds are helping but they haven't stopped yet. I want her to increase my dose of the beta blocker first which she is hesitant to do fearful it will drop my pulse rate below 60 (60 – 100 is normal) though I'm willing to take the chance. If it does all I have to do is go back to the lower dose. She wants me to have an ablation which means a hospital visit and anesthesia while they send a catheter through one of my veins into my heart and zap the part that is giving off the errant signal that is causing the rapid and or irregular heartbeat. From what I've read so far, that only lasts for a year or so so it's not even a permanent solution. But neither are the drugs as I gather eventually they won't control it either for some people. Gonna read up on it again and this time take notes and write down questions. I'm beginning to consider the option, especially as what I've read so far indicates that ablation is more effective for people my age but I'm not ready to give up on the drugs yet for an expensive invasive procedure which will have to be done repeatedly over the years. There are triggers... alcohol, caffeine, stress, sugar, some medications, high blood pressure, dehydration, lack of certain minerals...so starting last night I'm giving up my evening cocktail or glass of wine and reducing my coffee from two cups to one starting tomorrow and see if that makes an impact.

Fucking afib.