A long week is over

Beautiful clouds

 We've had some interesting weather this week: incredible cold and an unremitting frigid blast from the Canadian Frasier Gap, where often in the winter we get this long period of strong northwesterly winds that just keep howling, until some of us feel like we're ready to move away, to anywhere that isn't blowing like this. 

And then, like magic, it stops. One day it all stops and we return to placid days with sunshine and I tend to forget pretty quickly how much I hated the wind. By and large, I am very fortunate to live somewhere that the weather takes care of itself, and I can begin to think of spring, not too far away now. But what do we have coming, after a lovely day with high overcast skies?

Front porch watering can (with a previous year's snow)

Snow is forecast for the entire area, pretty much, but we might luck out and have temperatures warm enough to give us rain instead. We, however, have not seen anything approaching freezing for well over a week. (That did change overnight.) Even with plentiful sunshine, it was still very cold. It has helped me to develop a grumpy attitude. I decided midweek that I needed to do something about it.

I called my acupuncturist for an emergency session, since he can help get me back on track more quickly than anything else I have found. And sure enough, it did help a great deal. Then on Friday, I had a pre-scheduled massage session, and that was enough to help me over the edge of my ill temper towards a little bit of cheerfulness, even feeling a smile spread across my face as I drove home from her studio.

Two good things happened this week: first of all, we got our taxes prepared and mailed off to the IRS, with help from the Senior Center's AARP volunteers. For the first time, we won't get anything back and had to pay a small amount. I've been withholding a small percentage from my annuities, and it always has given us a couple hundred dollars in return. But this year, with the Social Security increase, we had to pay. So I'll make sure that next year's amount to be withheld will be sufficient to give us a small return. It's amazing what a psychological difference it makes to get something back instead of having to pay.

The other good thing is that I went to my hearing provider's office to be fitted with hearing aids. I had the results from the tests, and all I had to do was decide whether I wanted to order the "advanced" version or the "premium" ones. My co-pay ended up being $2000, for two top of the line devices. I asked what the difference is between them, and she told me mostly is how much she, the professional, could tweak them to mimic natural hearing. They are bluetooth enabled, meaning I will be able to control them with my iPhone and listen to phone calls, TV programs, music or podcasts through my hearing aids. I know that is what John has, because sometimes he begins to talk to nobody (it seems to me) when he answers a phone call (which I never heard) with a quick tap on his ear. I also learned that if I had to buy them myself, I would have had to pay $6000 for them. You can rest assured that I wouldn't have gotten them at that price!

I don't know if I will have them yet when I write this post next week, but you will know exactly what I think of this investment. I have a 60-day return window and a three-year warranty. I also chose to pay a little more for rechargeable batteries. Once these are paid for, my next purchase will be a new laptop. I've grown accustomed to the one I have and know there is always a learning curve when I get a new one. So that is in the future, after I have grown accustomed to my new ears.

Once you appreciate one of your blessings, one of your senses, your sense of hearing, then you begin to respect the sense of seeing and touching and tasting, you learn to respect all the senses. —Maya Angelou

Christine, my hearing specialist, carefully entered all the information she got from my hearing evaluation into a spreadsheet showing my own particular pattern of hearing loss. She told me she thought I would be very happy with my hearing aids, once I get used to them. I am a little ambivalent; I really hoped she would tell me my hearing was not that bad. But trying to differentiate the words deft, death, deck, or debt from each other is impossible. I realize I often use context to determine words, and that should all change once my new ears are familiar to me.

On my other blog I asked the question of whether most people think of Sunday as the last day of the week, or the first. I asked because I am confused by how I feel about this day, but finally with help, I decided to think of it as the last day of the week, with Monday being the first. Even long into retirement, I need to remember what day of the week it is, since I do have appointments and classes to attend. 

I've decided to take up knitting again, starting with making a warm hat for my friend Melanie. It came to me as something I need to do while I was soaking in the ministrations from my massage therapist. Realizing that there was a time when I enjoyed creating things from yarn, and that I need to move away from constantly being tied to my computer, it seems like just the perfect thing to take up as I begin my journey into becoming an octogenarian. Long ago, I made sweaters, socks (I didn't like making those at all), hats, and vests. I remember learning how to make complicated cable stitches, and I figure it will all come back to me fairly quickly. 

And then, as the spring flowers begin to emerge from the ground, I will once again enjoy the beautiful environment that surrounds me. I also enjoy seeing what others who have grown old along with me find to do with their time. And I will again pick up my Kindle and finish the book I started about quantum mechanics. Who ever thought that would be such an interesting concept? Not exactly a page-turner, but it stimulates my thoughts about what is real, who we are, gives my mind something interesting to contemplate, and helps to expand my sense of the universe. Moving from the esoteric to digging in the dirt should help me to regain some balance in my life, don't you think?

Pretty primroses

My dear partner still sleeps quietly next to me as I compose this, and I can feel myself beginning to emerge from the cocoon of my bed and think of how much I will enjoy the day ahead. I do truly hope that the coming week will surround you with lots of love and joy, and I wish the same for myself. Until we meet again next week, dear friends, be well.