The one puzzle I can't solve

I did not hear Chris get up for his 5 am conference call. And I assume he went running because there was a wet t-shirt draped over the hamper. The head pains did not start immediately upon waking, but soon after I opened my eyes. But they were not bad or frequent. I noticed a patch of my scalp hurt, as though I had the flu. So I doused my head with a mixture of castor and coconut oil. I wanted to wrap my head to keep the oil in, but a towel seemed too bulky and I couldn’t think of anything else. I put hydrogen peroxide in each ear, but there was no fizzing. I sat down at my laptop to drink water and clear e-mail. I put on a video which was a collection of interviews. It was not nearly as informative as the one yesterday. I worked today's puzzle. I made a to-do list and wasn’t able to think of much. I paused the interviews and watered the plants. I found a reddish tomato, so I picked it. I put my home made salves in a bowl on a pot of water on the stove. I softened each one enough to add the missing lemon oil, then put each one back in its container to solidify again. I started a Swanson’s order, but needed one more item to get the special offer. Chris came home for lunch while I was making up supplements for the week. I stopped long enough for him to make his lunch. I was feeling dizzy so I did just enough to get the special offer.
I submitted the order – or thought I did. I took a break, then finished assembling the supplements. I put the bottles away, and cleaned some stuff off the dining room table. I cleaned up the kitchen counters, then made and ate breakfast. I listened to one of the songs for Sunday on Youtube. That led to videos on making things from plastic bottles (downspout, netting, magnifying bubble, vacuum cleaner attachment, mousetrap, self-watering planter, etc.) Then I watched him make a blade sharpener from his old hard drive. I laid down to listen to an audio, and fell asleep. When I got up, I read more e-mail. Then I put on another audio and worked on my dress. I picked up all the cut out pieces lying around and put them together so I could baste the solid pieces to the lacy pieces to make one piece of each. But the matching was really hard because the solid pieces were so stretchy. I matched and basted the back piece, but the side pieces were still a problem. Chris came home from work. My back started to hurt so I laid down and did some stretches. Chris made and ate his usual supper. I washed up some lettuce and added cucumber. I cleared more e-mail. I made an on-line donation to Childreach for the children in Haiti. I went to start a new Swanson's order and it showed that I hadn't submitted the first one, but the offer had expired. I put on an audio and examined the dress pieces to see if I could identify side front panels from side back panels. Not well enough. Chris was ready, so we sat down to watch two episodes of Castle. I spotted a large centipede crawling under one of the livingroom chairs. I called out to Chris and he slapped it with a shoe. Then I put the food waste in the container for tomorrow’s pick-up. I posted to my blog with the intention of going to bed.
* The ball is one week from today and the dress is still in pieces. *

Our 26th anniversary

Last night Firefox crashed and I had to reboot to get it restarted. I had to restart the video as well. It was over an hour long so I did not have time to listen to all of it. I paused it, put the laptop in ‘sleep’ mode and went to bed.
I got up in the morning with pains in my head, but fewer and less intense than before. I got dressed and drank water, hurrying to be ready by 8 for a session with my tapping buddy. But Skype never delivered my rescheduling message. Then Myra called to go walking. I got ready and met her outside. We went down the trail to see the spot she thought would make a good dog park. We walked back down Cherry Blossom Lane, and went up the hill behind my house. The dump site was all cleaned up. As we walked up the road, we spotted tiny persimmons by the side. Myra picked one up and gave it to me. We turned around then because crews were out cleaning up the debris from the storm. Then we walked by Kathy’s house because she texted me about shortening her dress. She put it on and stood on a stool. We pinned it up in the front. Then we took it to Myra’s house. She got out her cutting board and I marked it with a ruler and chalk all the way around. Then I cut it with a rotary cutter. Then we packed it all back in Kathy’s bag. I went home to make and eat breakfast. I took an anti-inflammatory. Chris came home for lunch and handed me an anniversary card. It is our 26th! I finished the interview from last night and started today’s puzzle. I met Myra again. We dropped the bag at Kathy’s house, then walked off post, heading to the tower. We walked up the steps, going over halfway. (There are 365 steps) Then we stopped to rest and stretch. There was a team of Koreans cleaning the steps, so we waited a bit, then came back down. It was harder than going up. My legs felt a little sore. We walked to the nearby market and ran into Sook. As we wandered and talked, we found an unusual fruit. We could not identify it. The seller insisted that we try some. It wasn’t sweet, but was otherwise ok. I bought some. I also bought apples at a nearby stand, and some lettuce. Sook left then and we went back. We stopped at the Chinese massage place. Myra left with my apples but I stayed. I ordered the head to foot massage and paid beforehand. He indicated that I should put on a set of oversized shirt and shorts. I changed and came out for the foot massage. He and I watched a movie on the large screen. I did not understand much, but it involved Korean military, female nurses and a doctor, some famous military leader needing emergency care. Then it was time for the body massage so we went into a small room. Although it was a bit intense at times, he did not push the limit when I winced. It was a really good massage, especially in the shoulders. Myra would have liked it. Maybe if I had taken the muscle relaxer today, it would have been easier? I walked back to base. When I got home, I found the apples on my porch. I called Myra, then met her for some banana leaf wraps that Anna had given her. We met other people walking down to a Hail and Farewell somewhere off post. I picked some dandelion and put it in vinegar water with the lettuce I bought. I raked the side yard and watered impatiens. I rinsed the lettuce and ate it. I also ate an apple. Chris came home from work. I started a loaf of bread. I showed him the unusual fruit. He ate one, and liked it except for the seeds. He also ate a banana wrap, but did not like it. I ate several of them. He made his own supper. I jotted notes for my blog. We watched one episode of Castle. Chris stayed up for a few more minutes until his loaf of bread was done. He put it in the fridge for tomorrow, then set his alarm for 4am and went to bed. I finished my audio, drank some salt water, and went to bed.
* What kind of fruit is this? *

Chaba

I woke up before 7, hearing the wind gusting like giant waves and feeling the pains in my head start up, but infrequently. I got up to pee and check the time. I looked out the windows and things were relatively in place. I drank some water and went back to bed. Chris cuddled with me because the wind was scary. Later we got up to check e-mail for weather updates. There was nothing on our community Facebook page. Chris was not going to work, so I texted my skype buddy to reschedule. I worked on Monday’s puzzle. I looked at multiple diagrams and videos on pressure points on the back of the head for healing. I used a tennis ball and laid down with it under my head in different spots. The electric shocks quieted and I fell asleep. When I woke up the storm was over and the sun was shining. I went back to reading e-mail, trying to clear it out. I did the Tuesday and Wednesday puzzles while listening to audios. I made and ate breakfast. I watched way too many videos on life hacks – loved the one on peeling hard-boiled eggs, and rubbing shoes with a candle to make them waterproof. Denee came over to borrow a stick of hot glue, but I did not have her size so she borrowed my gun as well. I really needed some fresh air, so I asked Chris to walk with me. I got dressed and took an anti-inflammatory. We walked around the base, took pics of storm damage, We saw the area mentioned as a possible site for a dog park. I looked at my flower beds. They were ok, but a little battered. The spider webs on the clothes line were still there, amazingly. I put my potted plants back where they came from. I watered some of them. I raked up all the debris in the front yard. I came in and ate something. I made hand sanitizer. I watched House with Chris. He took a break to listen in on a group call, then rejoined me for the rest of a second episode. Then he went to bed. I stayed up to blog and listened to part of a video which was a series of interviews on auto immune issues.

Prep for wind and rain

I woke up while Chris was getting ready for work. When I was fully awake, the nerve pains started up again. I went outside to water the plants and get some early sunshine. I walked up to the dump but it was all gone. I drank a quart of water. I read e-mail holding a warm washcloth with essential oils on the side of my head. Then I tried ice. I played a few phrases on my flute to warm up. I took a shower, and then cleaned it. I got dressed in yoga clothes. I listened to an audio while I did warm-up yoga moves. I finished the audio which gave recipes for all-purpose cleaner and hand sanitizer. I grabbed my flute and walked to Anna’s house. Her neck was hurting so we did not do any yoga but we watched videos of people doing acro-yoga so we could get some ideas for a routine. It was evident to me that the most important thing we need is more leg and arm strength. When her alarm rang, she had to go pick up her kids. So I put on my shoes and walked home. Chris came home for lunch with a bag of rice from the commissary. He gave me an old sock. I sewed across the toe to close up the holes. Then I held the top open as Chris poured the rice in. I tied the end shut and microwaved it. I placed it on my neck as I read e-mail. We opened and read the anniversary card from my dad. I made my chocolate shake, then read e-mail. I realized I had a text from Denee: she wanted to borrow a broom. So I went next door with a broom. Myra tried to call me but I did not have my phone so she stopped by to see if I wanted to go out in town. Denee wanted to go, too. I took an anti-inflammatory, then grabbed my purse and got in the car. She drove it over to Security and parked. We walked out into the market, looking for lettuce and pomegranates. When we were at the dollar store, Jane called. She said she’d meet us at Daiso. We went to Daiso to find coffee cups. I wanted to get a glass spray bottle for making hand sanitizer. Jane showed up and helped us ask for glass rather than plastic bottles. We walked back passing the watch shop. Denee got her husband’s watch fixed. When we got to the corner market, Jane spotted some lettuce that was on sale. I told the others to go ahead. When Jane was done, we went to the visitor center and I signed her on post. We walked to the ATM. She got American cash. Then I signed her off again. As I was walking up the hill toward home, I ran into a bunch of ladies having a doggie play date. I stopped to talk to Carolyn and Amber. When I continued on, I ran into Akia with her dog and child. She promised to come to sewing tomorrow. I went home and made breakfast. I read about a typhoon coming here tomorrow, so I called Myra about possibly canceling classes. Chris called to ask me to turn on the oven but by then I was on my way to Myra’s house. I was taking emergency rations to her (home made chocolate). She and I talked until Scott came home. When I got home, I moved pots of flowers and seedlings from various places to the front porch for protection, or under the shrubs or along the wall in the flowerbed. Then I read more e-mail. I posted cancellation of the classes, since CYP was closed and so were all MWR activities. I felt a pain in my head and realized it was the first one since the watch shop, so the anti-inflammatory helped. I ate some onion soup while Chris ate his pizza. I jotted notes for my blog. We called my dad to thank him for the anniversary card. He did not seem to understand that it was 10pm here. I took a muscle relaxer. We watched the last episode of Bones season 11. Chris went to bed and I stayed up to watch an episode of House with the rice sock on my neck. Then I posted to my blog and went to bed.
* My plants are huddling on the porch against the on-coming storm. The deer and the pigs and the slugs may be having a party. *

The diagnosis

I heard Chris shower and leave for work. I got up and realized it was not yet 8am. The pains started again, shooting up in a vertical line in front of my right ear. I started my coffee morning with a quart of water, and exercise. When I poured the coffee out of the bag, it had small pieces of plastic in it, probably from the lining of the bag. I was not able to get out the smallest ones. I hoped they would be filtered in the decanting of the coffee. I also made green tea. When I drank the hot tea, I noticed that the right side of my throat hurt. But when the tea cooled down, it did not hurt. I had hoped the caffeine in the coffee and tea would increase blood flow in my head and stop the pains, but it did not work. I called Myra and she said she was out planting flowers but I could join her later for a trip to the ROK base. I waited for her to call. I mowed the lawn, here and next door. I could not mow our back yard because the pigs had ripped it up so badly it seemed like they used a rototiller. Chris came home for lunch with packages. I opened my three and put the items away. Some were a month old. I read e-mail, then made and ate breakfast. I laid down to try to relax the pains away. When I got up, I called Myra who was almost ready to go. So I headed out. On the way, Deron stopped and handed me a typhoon check list. He was putting one on every door. I went to Myra’s place. When she noticed the pain I was in, she decided I should go to Medical. So we walked over there. I had to fill out forms. The lady registered me online with the info from the forms and some questions that she asked me. I chatted with Myra as I waited. Then the lady took me back for vitals, which were normal. Then I was told to wait in room 104. I found it way down the hall. As I waited, I counted seconds between pains. Some were only a second apart, but I got as far as 68 when the doctor came in. He checked my ears, nose and throat. I had to follow his finger with my eyes. He checked muscle strength in my limbs. Everything was normal. He suggested a muscle relaxer and an anti-inflammatory. As he went to dispense the meds, I filled out a form stating that he washed his hands before and after the exam. Then I waited in the front room with Myra. We talked for some time before the doctor leaned out and said he’d be with me in 3 minutes. When he came back, he said he looked up my symptoms and came up with trigeminal neuralgia. He handed me two prescription bottles. He said he looked around and called pharmacies to get an anti-spasmodic. I admitted that I would not have taken it anyway. We thanked him and left. Scott came by and took us home. I took one pill from each bottle and swallowed them, then ate some kimchi. I removed the bones from the crock pot as Chris had asked earlier. Then I went outside, heading for the chapel for the FRG meeting. Carolyn offered me a ride, but I thought I was going with Myra. I called when I got to her place, but she wasn’t ready so I kept walking. But then Ray and Mandi picked me up and took me to the chapel. I sat between Elizabeth and Akia. Kelly called the meeting to order exactly on time, then asked for volunteers to run for the vacant offices. Amber volunteered for President, and Carolyn for VP. Neither Akia nor I wanted to be secretary, but she gave in first. I publicly thanked Kelly for all her hard work as President. I headed home. Kelly offered me a ride, which I accepted. On the way, she told me of a nearby hospital that was clean, spoke English and required payment up front. But she did not know the name, having gone there in an ambulance. She dropped me off at home. I read e-mail until Chris came home. Then I put some essential oil drops on a wet wash cloth. I put it on a heating pad under my neck. It felt good. The pains mostly quit. I thought the massage on Thursday might have contributed since the lady was digging in a spot under my ear with her knuckle. After a good rest, I got up. I read e-mail while holding a warm washcloth to my right ear area. I showed Chris the kimchi in the jar and he said it smelled bad (well, gee, it IS kimchi after all), but no, he thought it smelled like bad kimchi. So I ran it through the garbage disposal, washed out the jar with hot water and soap, then put the new batch of kimchi in it. I ate some of that, and took my supplements with coconut water. We watched two episodes of Bones. We looked up a movie mentioned in one episode called Rififi but the movie was not on Netflix. We continued to read e-mail as weather alerts came in. I posted to my blog and went to bed.
* Not having taken any pics today, I offer you Amber and her pumpkin. *

Progress on the dress

I got up around 8, noticing the pains were still there. It was a dreary-looking day. I exercised and rebounded, hoping that would increase blood flow and stop the pains. I read e-mail. Chris went to church. I worked on my Swansons order until 9:30 and then took a shower and got dressed for church. I listened to an audio until Chris came home. Then he drove me to church. The sermon was about Jacob’s daughter being assaulted and everyone in the story responding inappropriately. Chris picked me up and we went home to change clothes. Then we went to commissary for groceries. I ran into Kelly and we chatted. Then Chris and I walked home with the food. We ran into our neighbors coming home with bags of groceries too. I went over there to talk to them. She asked me to sew a scarf into a circle. But then she had to leave to go to furniture store. So I went home, totally forgetting the scarf. I had a bite to eat and put on an audio. Chris had put soup bones in the crock pot for me. I covered them with water and added salt and vinegar. He took the shower head down for me. I scrubbed it and put it in a bag of vinegar to soak. I spread the blue fabric on the floor and taped it down. I arranged the pattern pieces on it, weighing them down with rotary rulers and notebooks, etc, so the shifty fabric would not move while I cut. I took a break, then cut out three pieces. It was tough to cut straight. I took another break, then finished the cutting and picked up all the left over fabric. Myra called and said she would like to go exercise tomorrow morning. I laid down on the couch because being still and calm stops or slows down the shooting pains. Holding my breath helped, too. I fell asleep. When I woke up, I put the sheer fabric down. I laid all of the pattern pieces except the front on it. I cut them out, remembering to flip the side panels for reverse cuts. But I did not realize until later that I had arranged them on the crosswise grain. I paused cutting at one point because Chris got an alert on his phone. We could not read it, but I went to the community Facebook page and within a few minutes, someone posted the translation. It was an earthquake in another part of Korea. Then we watched two episodes of Bones. I took the shower head out and sprinkled baking soda on it. I scrubbed again and rinsed it. I posted to my blog before going to bed.

A pain in my brain

I got up at 8:30 to take out the food waste. I went back to bed and Chris rolled over to cuddle. After a while he got up to go running. I got up to take a shower and get dressed. I fired up my laptop and squeezed lemon into a quart of water. I drank while listening to the next interview in the Alzheimers summit. Chris came back from running and laid on the floor to recover. I learned that phthalates in paper receipts get more absorbed when you crumple it in your hand. ME3: probiotic from Regactiv to raise glutathione. Bluenesse (made from lemon balm) goes with alpha GPC. Take 25 to 600mg. No side effects. Take pycnogenol for vascular dementia, coco bioflavonoids for aging brains. Lion’s mane mushrooms for inflammation (I think). I played Free Cell with my left hand while listening. After it was over, I cut packing paper into notepaper sheets. I filled two 3ml jars with beeswax salve. I made my chocolate shake with oil. I made my decision on the wedding registry page and completed the order. I unloaded and loaded the dishwasher. I cleaned the countertops, the stove top, and the microwave. I made and ate breakfast while reading e-mail. I mopped the floor in the living room. I spread out the blue gown fabric and laid the pattern pieces on it to determine if I had enough fabric. Yes. I rolled up the pieces and put away the fabric. I walked to Amber’s house. I was in full niacin flush from breakfast when I got there. Carolyn came too. The three of us sat down to talk about how we would proceed if elected as the new FRG board. After three hours, Carolyn had to leave, so I went, too. Amber did not have a copy of the by-laws so I went home and made a copy. I ran into our next door neighbors and they needed a copy too, but were on their way out. I delivered a copy to Amber and came back. I made another copy but realized that a page was missing. I called Amber to see if I gave her two copies of a page and she was missing the page, too. So I went through the original folder and found two extra pages. I copied them and stuck the sheaf on the porch next door. Amber said she did not need them. There was some question about whether civilian spouses could have a position on the board. Then another issue came up about which positions were open, meaning newly elected people would serve with previous board members. I did not want to work with anyone who had not been doing their job correctly. I noticed stabbing pains in my right hemisphere, but no headache. It worried me but given the experiences of people here with Korean hospitals, I decided to not to seek medical attention. I tried to put back the sod that the pigs dug up. I moved the laundry from the washer to the dryer. I put on an audio and listened while I ironed. Chris came home. When the audio was over, I turned off the iron and talked to Chris about my concerns. I took the rest of my supplements. I told Chris about the pains in my head. He put clean sheets on the bed and suggested I lay down. But I did not want the annoying thoughts drifting around in my head as I lay there. So I suggested watching TV. We watched three episodes of Bones. I sat down to write my blog. I took two breaks to work on yesterday’s puzzle. Then I posted to my blog with the intention of going to bed.