Spring may be playing hard to get but Easter Sunday arrived today. A couple of weeks ago I managed to remember that Easter was imminent. At that time, faulty calculations (calendar math) on my part led me to believe time for mailing surprises to friends and family was plentiful. By now you've figured out that I ran out of time.

Better late than never, right? That's what I thought. At least they'll know I was thinking about them. They may even be more surprised this way.

When I was growing up, our family's Easter traditions included an indoor egg hunt.** Small foil-covered solid chocolate eggs were hidden in various spots around the house by an adult and the children hunted them down. In my case, we were four and competition added another level of fun to the game.

When I introduced the hunt to my own children, I enjoyed the event twice as much. Hiding the eggs was almost as entertaining as watching the hunt. The hiding spots had to be challenging but not discouragingly so. Each year the hunters' skills improved, their height increased and new strategies were needed.

A great time was usually had by all. Most amusing to me were the playfully desperate requests for tips when a few sneaky eggs remained. These were as often as not followed by groans of disbelief upon their eventual discovery - almost in plain sight. Some years eggs were discovered long after the season had passed.

Another tradition was the dyeing of egg shells which required the insides to be blown out through a small hole in the shell. Having done this more times than I can count, I have great appreciation for the gentleman who creates art from empty egg shells by drilling hundreds (or thousands) of tiny holes into them. Sounds simple, but the results are stunning:



His name is Franc Grom and he lives in Slovenia. I hadn't heard of him until today when I happened upon this mention of his patient craftsmanship. Some of his eggs are definitely Easter themed (such as the one above), but these less fancy ones are my favourites:



More examples of his art can be seen here (non-English site) and over here.









** Also sickeningly sweet Laura Secord eggs and attending Mass. I don't know how we managed to survive all of this in one twenty-four hour period.

I've been anxiously awaiting the next specialist's appointment re: The Neck Problem as patiently as I could muster. Yesterday I remarked to the cats and myself that I was almost there: 6 weeks left of an initial 4+ month wait. At the same time as I was pleased to have survived living in this state of limbo for as long as I have, I was also thinking 6 more weeks sounded pretty long.

Today the surgeon's office called to reschedule the appointment. Most times this means later, but not today!

Oh, no! In about a week's time I will have my second surgical consult.** Yay!

Stay tuned. Think good surgical thoughts for me. (That's what I'm after - again. :-)








** An even earlier date was available but I want to wean myself off the brain- and pain-dulling medications before seeing the surgeon. A week gives time for the slow-accumulating one to dissipate.

Browsing through shops in West Vancouver killing time between ferry sailings, I happened into a shop for gardeners. Not only were their wares interesting and at times amusing, the music playing sounded heavenly. Great background for reading or relaxing. All women as far as I could tell.

The next track was just as wonderful. Wondering whether it was piped in from elsewhere or not and then what she could tell me about the group, I asked the clerk. The result was the discovery of a local vocal group called Pandora's Vox. The quality of the sound engineering had misled me; I anticipated these were professionals, but no. At least as far as I can gather from their site.

Wanting to support this not-for-profit amateur endeavour, but having missed a recent concert date, I settled for purchasing a copy of the CD that was playing.

You can sample some of whisper of angels (the one I snapped up) and other CD's on their site: www.pandorasvox.ca.

As promised in the last post, a trek into 'town' really did take place. The day following that was a not-doing-much recovery period. Frustrating but somewhat predictable these days.

Perhaps due to continuing adjustment of levels of meds, or other mysterious reasons, yesterday I was the victim of a serious Nap Attack. Conked out unintentionally and came to seven hours later. At midnight. Unhandy.

The upside was going outside with the cats for a bit. The stars were beautiful. So peaceful and quiet at that hour.

The not-so-upside was having half a brain today. And being multiple-levels of cranky.

This too has come to an end, though. Tomorrow has to be better. Really. I insist.

I was commenting on a friend's blog this am after which I aimlessly checked my son's blog for the first in a very very long time, I admit, and noticed I'd been tagged in a blog meme. Also tagged in a Facebook meme recently. I might bring that to the blog, too. Evil? Maybe. Then, I checked the Twitters I follow to find that another of the circle of geeks has purchased a toy much like one of my latest.

Anyway, I don't have time to do anything but mention these and promise to respond in more excruciating detail soonishly. Why's that, you ponder? Because I will be on the noon ferry to the mainland to return some toys that didn't do what I wanted as well as I wanted them to.

And today, I mean it.

Figured out how to make recorded videos less fuzzy. I think. It's daylight here now so that might have something to do with it, but I'm betting on the choice of HD 'size' of the video file. (Guessing at what the UI is trying to convey.)



On to other chores. See ya. (Only realized how punny that was after I typed it. Sorry.)

Got me a new toy to replace the other toy that was cheaper for a reason. Took most of the afternoon to figure out how to get my OS (Windows Vista) to let the webcam (Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000) record audio along with the video.

The web delivered up the secret.

Again. Where would we be without other people posting what worked for them? Back at the drawing board.

The trick is a 'clean' boot of Vista (see the link) before the webcam installation procedure. Not that the wizard or the Quick Start Guide that came with mentioned it.

By the time I created my first ever video, it was getting kind of dark. Hence the fuzzy result. But it works. It really works.

Wallpapers from Schtickers. Maybe.

Vista and HP's printer software don't play as well together as XP and the same printer did. HP's "Solution Center" kept claiming there were no HP devices on my network. Damned lies, I say.

The printer worked (after I figured out that IP address changing after a reset on the router thing). Basically at least. But scanning to a document not so much.

HP's official site (from whence the Vista drivers were downloaded) was of no help. But searching that awesome web turned up this extremely helpful blog post: No HP Devices have been detected. HP Solution Center will close now. on a Blogger blog yet already.

I just finished executing the general approach to the problem for my printer (different model but same problem). Et voilą!

The secret seems to be omitting the handily offered (and reoffered throughout the installation) HP Update portion of the package. So, thank you web and thank you anonymous blogger!

(And thank you server tech for today's very fast response. ;-)

Got a computer and a cat? Give it a try. The animation is fun to play with even if you don't have cats.

It's been pretty quiet here lately. Being snowed in does that. Today started with another dumping of the white stuff. I haven't ventured down the thirty or so barely discernible steps to the drive, but I'll wager even my trusty 4x4 would have difficulty getting in and out of it today. So I'll just stay here, thankyouverymuch, and post a picture or two for my buddies in Ontario and more eastern parts of Canada to enjoy - in the 'misery loves company' sense.

First up are two shots of a visitor.

A couple of days ago I, too, heard a noise and went to see what it might be. A red nose he did not have, but he did remind me of the sled-pulling reindeer that many children will be anticipating tonight.



Yes, well, a deer can hope, I guess.


And these of today's (continuing as I post this) snow event. A white Christmas it most definitely will be!





Have a happy, safe and warm (if you can) holiday, everyone!

A couple of days ago we were enjoying a typical, if slightly milder than 'normal', fall here on the Left Coast of BC. Since then we've been enjoying typical East Coast winter weather - high winds, snow and falling temperatures. (-11c with the windchill today)

I'd been thinking 'one of these days' I'd have to locate the winter gear and now I'm on the hunt. The brain (and body) freeze that the (over?) abundance of Rx's just received creates isn't helping. Now, I know I lived through a whole winter here last year. I am fairly certain I didn't toss them during the move over the summer. That would have been just plain silly. So, in some box or storage container they must be.

Until I find them, though, venturing out in this blustery, cold weather won't be happening. Today looks like a 'find that stuff' day, since there are things I must do next week.

One thing is to ready for pickup the wood burning cook stove that was freecycled to me. I was very excited to have received it, because I had plans back then that included such an appliance. It's a good one. Used well, of course, but sturdy and with lots more years of use in it.

Recently I accepted the fact that this project probably wasn't going anywhere soon and thought I'd see if someone else on freecycle might be looking for one. I got more responses than I'd hoped and one person in particular has become the giftee. They have arranged for a local freight company to move it to their location on the mainland.

To make the move easier at the time I made it, I removed all parts that were able to be. I'd like to bundle what I can up to make sure no small bits are left behind by accident. Of course, the place that the stove's being stored is not heated, so warm gear will be required that day.

Right. Getting my head back out of chemical overload is starting to help. While the GP did say it was okay to take both the old and new Rx's for pain, I wasn't told that they would have an additive effect. A third Rx also adds to the sedative effects. Something I found out the hard way - slept for 14 hours for a couple of days. Have now reduced my intake of the pain Rx's. So far, so good as they say.

Really.

Loads o' pain overnight = no sleep.
Loads o' pain during day = few brain cells operational.
Driving to/around the city to visit GP taxing.
Discouraging predictions and multiple Rx received from same.


High points:
Missed rush hour both ways.
Very little rain followed by brilliant sun for an hour or so.
Explanation of new and old Rx compatibility. (Loss of sleep preventable, if info available earlier.)
Prediction that new Rx might work.
Price of gas. (82.3 cents/litre)

The anticipated Interim Medical Regrouping did not go exactly as hoped. In fact it rather undermined (to put it very mildly) my faith in several of my medical care handlers. Severely. I think it all got started with a poor choice for the very first specialist referral. This turned out to be a "spine specialist" whose official training and permitted areas of practice are (according to the BC College of Physicians & Surgeons' web site) Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

If you check, there's no such specialization in the list of such to search upon on that site. At the first appointment there was a request for me to fill out an authorization for this doctor to monitor my prescription drugs. I balked, stating that I wasn't there for drugs, I was there for a solution to the problem. Which is pain. 24/7 pain. Can't sleep productively without pain killers and sedatives. Can't do much with my right arm without the nerves involved screaming - either the same day or (guaranteed) the day after. Can't work in this catch-22: tasks of daily routine (not to mention keyboarding and mouse driving) irritate the nerve and drugs to dampen that render the brain a non-working pile of jello.

Yes, after many long months of diagnostics and discussions with various doctors I did give in on the pain killers. But as mentioned, the side-effects render me fairly non-functional. And I did so because I finally had an appointment scheduled with someone who might have been able to do a real "fix" - an orthopedic surgeon. So I didn't think I was looking at a long run of ingesting chemicals.

That surgeon didn't think the diagnostics showed anything that warranted surgery. In fact, the suspicion was voiced (and reported to both the "spine specialist" and my GP) that it might just be a problem with my shoulder. So, in a short while, an ultrasound will be done to confirm (or not) a rotator cuff problem.

To which I shake my head, given I've got first hand experience with my symptoms. I'll grant the rotator cuff is not happy right now, but I believe, as my physiotherapist stated back when I was giving that a shot, the root of the rotator cuff issue is the spine problem. For a few months, the gentle traction and massage of tight muscles in the area provided a couple of days worth of relatively pain-free living. Without drugs back then. When that stopped being the case, I stopped spending money on that treatment.

That recent surgical consult was perfunctory, to say the least, and the pain suppressing drugs I'd started taking by that time didn't help me answer the questions asked regarding the location and possible triggers of my pain as well as I might have otherwise. Another catch-22.

But it was discussing this with the "spine specialist" that finally turned on the light bulb regarding our differing approaches and expectations regarding my symptoms. Mine is to get a surgeon to remove what now has been determined to be at least one bone spur that's very likely causing this problem. The specialist's focus is non-surgical, leaning towards "pain management" through drug therapy.

During the relating of the encounter with the orthopedic surgeon, I asked how well this doctor knew the other. "Not very well." Huh? But the referral to the surgeon was from the person I was talking to. Hmmm. We had a lot to discuss and I pushed for another referral, to an orthopedic surgeon I'd singled out as possibly appropriate. Another astounding statement from my doctor followed in which it was disclosed that the person I'd named "wouldn't accept a referral from me" because of personal/philosophical differences and "won't accept referrals for a second opinion" and that my current residential address is not within the right area for that surgeon.

[ I have a lot of trouble with all of that, because I don't recall ever being told that a doctor would - or could - refuse a referral based on any one of these reasons. I'm going to have a lot of questions for my GP tomorrow! ]

When I insisted on a second opinion anyway, I was told this doctor would refer me to a neurosurgeon in New Westminster. I forgot to ask how that worked with my address being definitely not in that area. I remembered to ask how long the wait would be. The reply: "4 - 5 months". I was hoping this was incorrect, but today I received a phone call telling me I have an appointment with the neurosurgeon - in late April 2009.

But before the granting of the referral, this non-surgeon expressed the opinion that the bone spur was too small for a surgeon to remove and even if I did get surgery, I might wind up taking pain killers anyway. So I reminded this doctor that the last surgery was 100% successful (something I keep having to remind the specialists I see) and that, even if the outcome was as predicted, at least I would have given the non-drug route a shot first.

[ And ... what does the size of the bone spur matter to a surgeon who's mucking around in the spine, anyway? Too small? It is reportedly responsible for "moderate encroachment" into the nerve root's space. At least that's what the MRI report had to say about it. I'd shake my head again, but it might hurt this time. ]

I accepted a couple of packets of samples of an alternative pain relieving drug to try after I complained that the rx my GP had provided was making me too "brain dead". Pain reduced, but brain reduced as well. Not good. The sample drug is for nerve pain in particular rather than the other which is for just plain pain. (Morphine, in case you're interested.)

By the time I'd returned to my apartment I was totally without faith in the competence of anyone the "spine specialist" might refer me to and, generally, in the whole long line of technologists and medical staff I've been dealing with for almost a year now. Definitely not a good feeling. Coincidentally, my wonderful daughter decided to contact me that same evening. Talking to her helped, even through the tears of my frustration and disillusionment. At least for the beginning of the conversation. [Thanks, Sweetie!]

Four more months of this limbo seems like an eternity. Maybe my GP can help tomorrow, huh?