Crawling Out of the Hole

Checking in to say that since the last week I've been on a roller coaster.  The medication Nexium only takes the edge off and I've still been feeling very crappy from my ulcer.  I haven't been eating enough as every single thing I eat or drink comes back to haunt me, no matter what it is including camomile tea and rice.  I am trying to get my health back in order but have a feeling it is going to take a while.  I had exactly one good health day - that was on Friday. 

 I actually felt well enough to go for a walk so we took Buddy to a nearby park that has lots of trails including one down to the ocean.  It really does look like Jurassic park there, with lots of massive ferns that are between 2-4 feet high.  It is very green right now as we have  been blessed with rain every few days unlike other years where things have been super dry from draught conditions.  Buddy absolutely loves this park.  There were a few other people but everyone was very good about making way so you could social distance as you passed one another.  That sometimes meant going off trail to accomodate people.  

So many thing to sniff.  You can see from the picture above how tall the ferns are.  

In winter you can come here when it is raining and hardly get wet as the forest is so thick with trees and moss that soak it up, a true Pacific Northwest Rainforest.  

Finally you get down to a rocky beach.  Again, only a couple other people and you all had tons of privacy.  I really want to bring a picnic down here this summer and have supper on the beach one night.  It is so peaceful.  This water is known as the Georgia Straight part of the Salish Sea.

Buddy actually looks like he is smiling in the picture above, he had a great day.  The sand crabs are out.  This little guy was on guard. He was about the size of a quarter and ready to take us on.

On our walk back to the truck we encountered one of these banana slugs.  This one was about 4 inches long.  Buddy didn't see him fortunately (he probably would have licked him - yuck).

Other than that I've spent a lot of time trying to get well.  My energy level is about 30 percent of where it normally is and I need to eat more but it is a vicious circle of eat, stomach upset, nausea and tiredness.  I am taking tons of OTCs to try and combat it but am talking to the Dr again tomorrow to see if there is anything more powerful than Nexium that they can give me.  

I did the first pickup of the year from our local farm market - they are doing online ordering with curbside pickup only.  Here is my first haul - about $25 - and worth every penny.  Unlike so many other things their prices have not increased this year.  Seriously they gave me the largest head of romaine lettuce, monstrously huge for $1.95.  We also got new potatoes, small cucumbers, carrots, beets and from one of their fellow farmers in Washington some apples.  These small farmers help each other out.  They also sell peppers from a nearby farmer but we didn't need any of those.  Mom got a massive bunch of spinach for about $2.  So happy we have them as a local option this summer as everything else seems to have gone up in terms of groceries. 

Even so, I stayed under our grocery budget of $525 in May ending up at $452.  This was mostly due to the fact that I felt terrible and wasn't shopping.  Fortunately I had full cupboards and freezer to pull from.  I am really really trying to be choosey what I buy now to try and stay on budget.  The one time I went to the store this week  I needed bleach but it got left on the shelf at $7.99 for 2 litres.  I can live without it until I find some cheaper.

Buddy went to the vet yesterday and got his full checkup.  The vet said he looked like he was in great condition and us treating him so carefully after his hip dislocation in September really paid off.  We also brush his teeth twice a week and she noticed.  

I got my root canal done yesterday.  It was extremely difficult as I woke up very nauseous and had to down some gravol just to make it there. They took my temperature then the dental assistant aka Space Lady came to get me.   It was my dentist's first day back on the job.  He was very sorry he was unable to work on my during the closure.  They were wearing full white bodysuits, face masks with shields and N95 masks and hairnets.  I can only imagine what it must be like to work in that.  He actually had to take a 1-minute break partway through as his mask was hurting him.  We are unsure if the root canal will work or not, as the infection is in the bone and may not heal.  If that is the case the tooth will have to be ripped out, the bone scraped and I will need a bridge.  A specialist would do all of that.  Only time will tell.  My abscess has come back in force and hopefully, now that is gone for good.  All this poison in my body I am sure caused my ulcer but who knows.  The dentist said honestly he'd never treated anyone who had an abscess for 3 months (because we tried to fix the tooth right before the office closure) so it is possible.  Either way, I just need to try and heal up now.  If it wasn't my rear molar I would have probably just requested they pull the tooth at this point, but it is one of the most important teeth you chew with. 

Between the root canal and vet visit, I spent $1300 yesterday.  Now I need to build the health fund back up as either will be getting a crown or a bridge down the road.  I was in a great deal of pain last night and resorted to using some of the Tylenol 3 with codeine I got a few months ago.  I generally don't take codeine as it whacks me out - but I ended up taking 2 then 1 more just to make it through the evening.  Fortunately, today I am just very tired from being drugged out and don't have any pain.

So yes, I am trying to slowly crawl out of the hole, mentally and physically.  I am heartbroken by all that is taking place in the USA right now.  This is what happens when you hand over the reins of a country to the worst possible person.  Then others think it is ok to behave in terrible ways and be racist because the President is so it must be OK.   Enough for today, I need to reserve some energy to go water my flowers and make my hubby a nice supper as it is his 58th birthday today.  Stay safe everyone.