Saturday, October 17, 2009

Ghostly Visions of Sleep

I just woke from an hour of blissful sleep. We had a 4-H fundraiser at the Farmer's Market this morning, and it was COLD! I did wear my long socks, a winter coat, and my scarf, but my blood hasn't adjusted yet. So after a bowl of soup for lunch, I burrowed under a blanket on the couch for an hour and tried to recover from the week.

One of the events of the week was a doctor's appointment. I don't know why I don't go more often; it's such a pick-me-up kind of place. The doctor told me I'm old and fat. Thank goodness he didn't add forgetful when I said aloud that I thought it had been two years instead of three since my last visit.

He started by asking if there is anything I think they should know that I didn't already list. I imagine if I thought that it was relevant, I would have listed it. Anyway, I chose not to tell him about my ankle that I think I broke this summer. It's been long enough that it is close to healing on its own. If I can handle a broken ankle, I think I can manage about anything.

He told me I am very healthy, blood pressure at 110 over 70. I'm not sure how that could be when I feel like I am about to explode from stress, but maybe nights out with the girls are better than I realize. I went out that night for several hours with the girls. We enjoyed visiting and laughing, as well as bringing a new woman up on all of the important events in her new hometown.

The last six weeks have been a little more stressful because we have been trying to figure out if #1 is allergic to apples and red dye 40. It is a very difficult thing to keep those out of his diet. I managed to keep the apples out until yesterday, the last day of the apple-free-time. I gave a visual demonstration for the Envirothon team, and afterward gave out apple slices to the members. Without thinking I passed him a piece, and he ate it.

He did seem a little wired afterward, but that was hard to determine if it had more to do with being with a bunch of guys playing football, or if it was a reaction. Today at the Farmer's Market, he bought a cup of apple cider right before we left. When we got back home, I gave him a cup of applesauce and told him to wait 20 minutes before I would give him a test of concentration.

He came back in 20 minutes saying he had laid down, but was too jittery to rest, so he drew for a while. I gave him a math test, and he talked about a myriad of topics while he tried to complete the test. He started scratching as well.

After the test, I looked him over and sure enough, he was covered with a rash. So he took Benadryl, and we now have to wait 24 hours to test the red dye. I had hoped that one of the items is the problem, because I really, really don't want to put the boy on Ritalyn, but I was hoping for dye more than apples. Apples are actually a difficult thing to be allergic to. They are fairly inexpensive at any time of the year, travel well, and are convenient. Applesauce is great for sick tummies too. At least I know now and can try to think ahead before I need the apples.

These pictures have been of our cat, Luke. He showed up in the window a couple of weeks ago to say, "Hi." We opened the window to talk to him a bit, but he cried so pitifully we had to close it back. He reminded me of a ghost, which I thought was an appropriate picture series for today. The boys have been discussing Halloween, and what they want to be, for several weeks. Why don't ghosts come up anymore? Their friends talk about dressing as people I have never heard of, and mine talk about things like hunting ninjas with baseball bats. I was a butterfly when I was 12. Geesh.

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