August Journaling
1. I sold $45 in stuffies to the kids at
the camp, plus $50 from selling indirectly at the hair salon, so $100 more for
Uganda. I’ve made a grinch, a leggy froggy, a pumpkin, a hippo, a cat, and two
mushie pops. I also worked on my lemon peel grey sweater. My cousin Sari and
her husband Harry came to visit and have dinner with us and they brought gifts
for the kids including a Twister game. She also brought wine, more sausages,
and everything needed for potato sandwiches. Gave them one of the fish.
2. Final full day at camp. They hiked
over to see a popular waterfall. Packing up then heading over to Desbarats
(Debra) Lake to visit with family and friends. They took the pontoon boat over
to a giant tarzan swing that the kids loved. I also sold another $40 in toys.
3. Travel day; stopped at Sudbury again
for corn and a larger package of blueberries. Made another pumpkin and leggy
froggy on the way home.
4. Church. Went to J and E’s for dinner
again with other families. They are so hospitable. Made nine mushie pops.
5. Civic holiday. Crocheted a letter D
and a grinch legs and feet scarf. Repackaged and froze the
sausages and blueberries.
6. Started a Squid fidget toy. Botox.
7. I’m still so tired for some reason. I
spoke to my doctor today and she ordered bloodwork and an ultrasound. Got our
alarm system updated with a proper camera. Eating the delicious fish my husband
caught. Edited some testimonies for two new members. Prayer meeting. Met with
the new members.
8. Drove to H-town to visit a friend in
hospital who had a stroke, then attended our youngest granddaughter’s daycare
graduation. So cute to see her in her little graduation gown. Then my cousin
brought my mom back from her two week visit to my aunt in London while we were
away, and then we drove home. I made a pumpkin while I was a passenger
princess. Watching the Olympics.
9. Drove up to Muskoka area to visit my
husband’s brother and his wife. We brought sausages. Made ten maple leaves for
a garland on the way. Our daughter and future son-in-law and dog came for the
weekend to finalize some wedding plans and do some social things like a
baseball game and Shrek the Musical with the bridesmaids.
10. Baked cherry mini cupcakes for
church tomorrow. We have a service, communion, two baptisms and two new member
testimonies, followed by a luncheon to celebrate.
11. Long morning at church, but it’s
been really encouraging to see what’s been happening since our recent trouble.
New young families attending too.
12. The Olympics are over.
13. Pain clinic. My Botox last week at
the other pain clinic has already stopped working because he didn’t put it in
the right spot, so it will be a long three months. Isn’t the point of paying
$200 the fact that I’d get relief where I needed it? Frustrating.
14. Chiro, prayer meeting. Made more
maple leaves, a corn on the cob, a carrot and a large gold pumpkin.
15. Still recovering from last month. I
went for an ultrasound and bloodwork. Our other daughter’s family came to stay
for the night.
16. Watching the kids in the morning so
the parents can get some work done. They’re on the way to a friend’s farm for
the weekend.
17. Learned how to make wind spinners so
I made four along with tassels for them.
18. Woke up to find our upright deep
freezer door open, and everything thawed but still cold, so after church we had
to cook all the meat and throw out mostly everything else, but we’ve got food
prepared for a month. Taking my mom for an MRI.
19. Got called to speak to my doctor
about my test results, so I looked them up online. My pelvic ultrasound is
fine, but my bloodwork is crazy abnormal, especially my thyroid function. Nine
results were abnormal, most significantly my TSH, or thyroid stimulating
hormone. It measures how hard my thyroid is working to make the thyroid
hormone. Normal is .35-5.0, mine is 76.8! It’s like a hamster wheel, nothing is
accomplished despite the effort. What should be produced is T4, or the free
circulating thyroid hormone which controls energy, metabolism, and heart and
liver function. Normal T4 is 11-23, mine is <1. My doctor said she didn’t
know how I was functioning without a thyroid. I have extreme exhaustion, I can
hardly wake up from my nap, then I’m groggy all evening. I have brain fog,
visual disturbances, heart palpitations, muscle cramps, hoarse voice, no
appetite, low metabolism, which is why I keep gaining weight no matter what I
do. Yet she didn’t order any thyroid medicine. She did give me an urgent
referral to an endocrinologist and a thyroid ultrasound requisition, so I did
it today. An annoying thing she said, I guess to ‘comfort’ me was, “This is not
in your head, this is real.” First of all, I never thought it was in my head. I
live at 25% energy level every day, and have for ten years, so when I say it’s
worse, it’s worse. Secondly, that implied that it was real since there was a
blood test for it, unlike my ME and fibromyalgia, which she probably thinks are
in my head. Gaslighting me even though she has known me for 25 years.
20. Trying not to feel too anxious as I
wait for results. Crocheted a penguin and a lime green snake, and a plant pot
holder using $2 t-shirt material I got at Dollarama.
21. Beginning a basket out of the
t-shirt material. Prayer meeting.
22. Ultrasound report came in and I
opened it nervously. Good news and more questions. No nodules on thyroid or
parotid glands, so no thyroid cancer causing my non-functioning thyroid
symptoms. Yet we still need to know the cause. Also the lymph node in the right
side of my neck is enlarged. We need to find out why.
23. House guests from New York City for
the weekend to help out friends from church whose mom died.
24. Attended the funeral today. She was
a believer.
25. Church. Nap. Made a gold coloured
chicken and an apricot pumpkin and more maple leaves for garland. My doctor
started me on thyroid medicine. I also started calcium gummies because of my
palpitations and leg cramps.
26. Our guests left today. They bought a
big mushie boy. Our youngest is 32 today. She is getting married next month.
27. One appointment today. Beautiful
weather to finish up the summer.
28. Eye appointment today, my vision is
suddenly worse. No problems, but I ordered new glasses anyway; my prescription
changed a bit. Crocheted some larger mushrooms.
29. Crocheted a cream coloured pumpkin, an orange snake, and a light blue pumpkin.
30. Siesta, then fiesta. Words to live
by, except by fiesta I mean sitting on the couch crocheting.
31. Made a tear drop key chain and a
large blue pumpkin.
