Holed Up

I've had many office windows in my thirty years of running small businesses but this is one of my favorite views.  I have a desk in a guest room on the second floor of our Aloha home and this is where I will be spending the next several weeks furiously trying to catch up on being six months behind with the rental business paperwork.  A Quickbooks sanctuary as the Oregon March sun begs the flowers to bloom.

CoVid 19 is rolling in and I am trying to keep my fear at bay.  Last weekend I fought off a sore throat and head cold - no fever - no.......not coronavirus.  A pancreatic tumor in 1996 took part of my pancreas and all of my precious spleen, the organ that works hard to fight off infections.  So, I'm on my own with defense.  Mostly I do okay but I have to admit, I'm scared. I keep antibiotics on tap in my medicine cabinet, thanks to my perceptive doctors over the years but I didn't need them last weekend.  I have a little trick that often works.  I'll share it.  It's a combination of tinctures that I put into a shot glass with a few drops of water and then quickly follow with a handful of raisins to help with the horrendous taste.  Echinacea, Ginkgo, Horehound and Elderberry - works like a charm.  Sore throat and nasal issues gone!  I visualize the dark drops of liquid jump starting my willowed immune system and then the power of the miserable redhead triumphs over illness.  I don't have stock in those tincture products but I'm here to tell ya, they work for me.  Just sayin'.

Coronavirus - well, that's another story.

Segway into Jolynn's update.  Today is Day Plus 32.  As you may remember, that means that she is 32 days (over a month) after her stem cell transplant, a milestone in the medical world.  Surprising to all, Jolynn has not had any fevers, she has not been readmitted in the hospital, she has not had any rashes or sores and she is able to eat small meals throughout the day (and even through the night sometimes).  She is a tad nauseous sometimes and the staff is working hard to adjust her medicine.  She still struggles with having to swallow pills so the OHSU pharmacy is working to convert yet even more of her pills into liquid forms.  She complains about the taste of food but is really good at eating consistent meals and snacks and she is drinking enough fluids.  They did give her a bag of Magnesium yesterday and they want her to take her Magnesium pills now.   And, she gained a fraction of a pound.  Yay.  I'm hoping that the upcoming sunny weather will entice her to go outside and walk but for now, she spends a great deal of her day resting and eating in her bed.  

Because Mary took her mom to the doctor appointment, I drove out to the farmhouse yesterday and watched the dogs run around after I did my errands. I laid on a bench under a grape vine and centered myself with the sounds and smells of the boonies.  It's hard to know what the future will bring.  I took some pictures of the property, talked with an 80 year old neighbor, and took the long way back to Aloha on the country roads. 

I don't have a song today.  Can't muster up the energy, for so many reasons.  

But, here's a picture of the farmhouse on a bright March afternoon, just days away from the Ides.