Sorry gals, Its been a bit cray cray here. Let's see... I had 3 violin lessons on the week of the fourth. One with my normal teacher, and two with two other teachers. My violin school gave me those other two lessons to see if another teacher would be beneficial to me. I'm getting a little disheartened with the rhythm training she is giving and all. I found the second teacher to be fun and engaging so I have a lesson with her next week. We'll see--I might change teachers.

Besides feeling down. discouraged and what-have-you with my violin progress/lessons, I've also been working on my stamina, which is greatly depleted with so many times that i have been in the damn cast. It wears me out to walk a long way....

Which brings me to my doctor's office calling and telling me (over a month later) that my bloodwork showed markers for either arthritis, lupis, immune disorder or inflammation. Well we know I have inflammation and I would not be surprised with arthritis at all. In fact I've been told to expect it and already thought I have it in my wrist. But I have to follow up with a doctor on that and see which of these I have and what they can do with it. Certainly some of my walking pains maybe included in one of these. IDK

Dad needed to go to the er the other day with a gushing nose bleed. Of course it was during a downpour that had rain coming in sheets... and naturally it got my cast wet. But the doctor's office told me to wait for my appointment the following day as it was almost closing time. It did dry out lol eventually. I did, however, get my cast off yesterday!!! WEEEE!!! And I'm celebrating in a week or so with a nice bubble bath. I am still adjusting to the cast being off and it's hard to walk for awhile but I'm still working on staminia. so yeah, lots of things at once lol.

sometimes a change of teacher can work really well, especially if one is more into the kind of technical stuff and you'd rather be learning a new tune! ;)

Hopefully the doc can pin it down a little more, as that's quite a wide range of possibilities they gave you there! And also, hopefully it's something that can be treated so that could help with the pains you're getting squishes

And that's awesome getting the cast off! :D :D :D I can imagine that's really odd now trying to walk without it (how long have you had the cast on for this time round?), but at least you'll be able to sit and lie down more comfortably too ;) :D

Frozen-food tetris sounds about right. :P I am happy with my fridge/freezer combo still, since the freezer does not form layers of ice. I have not had to remove ice from it, even though I had it for quite some time already. :D

I do love buying craft supplies, books, collectibles and stuff for the kitchen. The last one is a bit strange, since I don't enjoy cooking. :P For books I limit myself to what I can fit into my book shelves. Which is not a ton.

It is important to have a teacher you can vibe with and feel comfortable. Fun and engaging sounds good to me. Hope it works out for the best. :)

It must feel good to get rid of that pesky cast. I can imagine building up your strength again can be tiring. I hope they can figure out what is really going on with those markers from the blood tests so that they can help you better. :hugs:

that's a massive plus point to never have to get ice out from it! Our old fridge freezer was meant to be like that, but we had to scrape ice off the base of the freezer section, as something obviously wasn't working properly o.O The freezer in the new one has fans at the back so you can actually see the cloud of cold air being blown out when you open the door o.O I'm hoping that'll mean the 'no ice' thing will actually work! :P

I had a clear out of books last year, as I had them stacked a bit too precariously on my bookshelf 😊 but that's one advantage to ebooks - they don't take up shelf space 😇 Any particular collectables you tend to go for?

what a lovely ha :) Yeah that's my thinking too. Or perhaps they can kinda pair the technical and the learning something new together in a way that's not so...er...off-putting.

No kidding lol. And several of those possibilities over lap so it's hard to guess. But I am kinda thinking it's a combination of arthritis and inflammation. However, if I can get some pain management or therapy that will lessen the pain, then that will help my A1C. I don't exactly know the science behind it, but I do know pain and inflammation affects the A1C in a negative way.

It's finally feeling more like a normal foot. Though it's still pretty scally lol all those dead skin cells are really er... well gross to me lol. He did tape the toes up to try to straighten them a bit. I have hammer toe and he was trying to avoid surgery. He told me it should be good in a week. So I plan on taking the tape off on Tuesday and soaking the foot in some Empson salts. Then it's my lovely bubble bath time 😀 I'm greatly looking forward to that. I believe I had that stupid cast for over 16 weeks. I am having a little problem crossing my former cast leg over my other side--it's not comfortable at all. But that might just be down to getting comfortable without the cast again.

I agree. I do feel a little guilty and I do like my other teacher, but I also have to be able to do what I feel is best for me moving forward. Thanks :)

Oh yes, it really does! Right? Going to the mailbox has been a challenge on some days. Its like, come on body, it's not that far. Body: so you say. I am deciding to hurt now.

Me too. If it's down to pain management and/or therapy, that still might be enough to help lower the pain and thus lower my A1C (sugar levels) which has been nearly impossible to get under control!

thanks :D I had to play with the :D

I enjoyed learning to play music that had interesting rhythms (like kind of calypso beat style where you find yourself jigging along to the beat), but any technical aspects have to be fun, otherwise you're likely to lose interest / your eyes glaze over and you don't take any of it in! :P

That would be great if it could help the A1C be at a more suitable level! :D

laughs I can imagine it's looking rather unusual right now ;) I've got the makings of hammer toe by the look of things (it's something Gran had for a long time, so I kind of recognise the appearance), so hopefully yours will straighten out and not need any further attention ;) :D

I guess that crossing your legs like that will lightly stretch / pull on tendons & muscles in a way that doesn't happen when you're walking maybe?

Removing ice from a freezer has always been a much hated chore, so I love my fridge/freezer for it. .P It was not an expensive fridge/freezer combo either, so I guess I picked well. ;) It is always aggrevating when appliciances doesn't work as advertised. Fingers crossed modern technology will mean your new one is better.

Ebooks are very convenient, but I prefer reading paper books or listening to audiobooks. :) My collections are mostly zelda merch/gaming (consoles/games), neopets merch, some HP knickknacks etc. :)

No reason to feel bad, some people just work together better than others. :) I am sure different teachers have different strengths too, so you can learn different things from them in the end. I am impressed with how dedicated you are to learning the violin (and other things too). Good on ya!

I suppose pains and needing to build your strength back up, is not making keeping your sugar levels under control easier either. :hugs: I hope your doc(s) can work with you to figure out a path forward. Onwards and upwards!

that was definitely a good choice! It probably doesn't help with our new one that the floor isn't entirely level (so the fridge freezer is at a slight angle), but that's no reason why the no-ice thing in the old one should've been so rubbish :P

I've never got into audio books, but I will admit that ebooks aren't the same as holding a book in your hand and actually turning the pages ;)

The only trouble with collectables is when you run out of shelf space to display them! I used to collect dog ornaments, but they were a nightmare to dust the shelves 😊

(Sorry this seemed to take so long to reply - I was sure I'd replied already! o.O)

Any chance you can make it stand a bit more level? My floor seem to be fairly level thank goodness. But I heard from neighbours that they have had issues with their flat, hope that won't come back to bite me later. O_O

I certainly don't have the space to display everything, so sadly a lot of it is in storage. Dog ornaments sounds like such a cute collection. :D I have of course have some cat trinkets, but hardly a collection (yet 👼 )

So Saturday was interesting lol, and by that I mean not :P See, the cat tower beside my door swells sometimes in the summer. Last year it actually blocked my entry to my room so I had no choice but to get an axe and make a hole in order to get my hand in and shift the cat tower enough. After that, I taped a clipboard on each side so the cat's can't hurt themselves on the splinters of the door. (fun times, right?) Well it's been happening with such regularity now that I get ticked off when the cats wouldn't let me sleep until 6am and dad tried to open my room to let them out at 7 and I was woken up.
So I decided to pull back some of the carpeting covering the wood and saw off the corner, hoping that would let my door swing open correctly. All went well until I was stapling the carpeting back on--I had the staple gun the wrong direction and I stapled my hand--yes it really blood well hurt. In fact, I have two holes and a deep purple bruise. But sadly my Tetanus booster was exceptionally out of date by nearly 20 years. unfortunately, the last time I had the booster, my arm had an allergic reaction so that left little choice but to go to the er. So They gave me two shots, one in each arm. One was the Tetanus booster, the other was a steroid to help prevent an allergic reaction. Both arms were feeling it pretty nicely :/

And my work didn't even help--the bottom base was also blocking the door. So I decided to try turning the cat tower--that worked. Now my door swings open and closed freely-- which means I can push for a new door after we pay for the violin LOL.

PinkPanther--yeah my first teacher hasn't gotten back in touch with me so I'm pretty sure she's angry with me. But at the end of the day I have to do what's right for me. aww thank you :)

thanks I hope so too. I got an appointment for the 12th of August in ATL to speak with a doctor. We'll see how that goes--but I also need to fill out forms with Emory because if I can get that program everything will be free, minus the drive up there. It takes 45 business days to get approved so we'll see.

Paddy-I know i replied o.0
exactly, if there's no fun, it's just work and hard to pick up. I'm walking a lot better without the cast though my stamina still needs improvement I think overall I'm doing better :D

When the new fridge freezer was put in, they did try adjusting it to make it level, but apparently that's as much as they could achieve.... when the kitchen is (eventually) redone, I think we'll have the floor looked as as well, just to make sure that doesn't end up being a problem in the future!

Certainly in my flat, there's one room that you feel you're walking slightly down a slope as you go in.... so when I have the carpet done, I'll get that looked at as well 😊

That's a big disadvantage when it all has to be stored.... but I suppose at least it's then not at so much risk of getting damaged / fading in the sunlight!

Urgh that sounds like a nightmare! Tetanus boosters are a bit weird - when I was bitten by a dog I was walking for the local rescue, I was told I didn't need a booster any more (as my original shot & booster were after a certain date) o.O But on the positive side at least you can get the door open now you've turned the tower around! :D

Hopefully you can take it easy for the next few days though, as with that and having had your cast off, it sounds like it's been pretty intense! ;) squishes

Ouchies! Sorry you hurt yourself and ended up with an allergic reaction on top of it all. Hope it heals nicely. :hugs: P

You are paying them for a service, so it is up to you to decide what works best for you. :) You have not done anything wrong. :)Paperwork is never a good time, but I hope things work out with Emory so that you will get the cost covered. That would make things a lot easier I am sure.

Replacing the kitchen and flooring would be a big job, so probably not a bad idea to work with what you have for now. I want to replace my hardwood floors, since they are a bit damaged from use, but it is way down the road.

Everything is neatly packed into plastic storage bins, so hopefully they should hold up well. :)

parents' place kitchen definitely needs redoing soon(ish) as when the washing machine finally stops working (it's been repaired numerous times!), they no longer make anything that's small enough to fit in the space! 😊

I want to at least find out what state the flooring is under the carpet in my flat, as that could be quite pricey in the future if I just get new carpet put down and realise there's a problem with the floorboards at a later date! :P

I guess you can't really put rugs over the damaged sections, as no doubt Pusur would want to claw away at the rug pile? ;)

That sounds like the perfect way to store them :D

[edit] Mum came across this knitting pattern (link) and thought you might be interested :)

At some point it gets cheaper to buy a new washing machine, but not so much when you have to remodel your whole kitchen! At least they will get a nice upgrade.

:nods: I think I would do the same. It can give you some peace of mind too knowing everything is in order. And yes, Pusur would def. want to claw and any rug pile. That is one of biggest downsides of having a cat, their need to scratch things. He does like to use his scratching tower too, thankfully.

Thank you! :D I love that pattern! I was very tempted to buy a set of those lego flowers too. So pretty. ;)

It would've been cheaper to buy a new one a while ago laughs but yeah, at the bare minimum it would need the sink unit reworking, so there's space for the washing machine, and a 'proper' sized oven ;)

I know there was a problem with the bathroom floor in my flat a couple of years ago, as the previous owner had some work done on the floor and a new bathroom put in.... but hopefully that floor problem was just down to poor plumbing on the bath itself, and not something that would end up being a problem in other rooms in the future ;)

You're welcome :D Those lego flowers do look surprisingly realistic! :D

Hopefully they can find a workable solution that does not break the bank. :) My washer is in the bathroom, there is more than enough space for one thankfully. Not sure if moving it to another room would be an option for them.

As long as they did a proper job, it should hopefully last you a long time. Fingers, toes and talons crossed!

I saw some lego flowers displayed at the store, and was impressed by how nice they looked. It took some willpower not to buy a set or two knowing I would not have much space to actually display the flowers. I already have a bunch of real plants. ;)

it's bad enough getting a delivery person to come up the 12 steps to get into the front door - there'd be no way they'd agree to do another 12 steps upstairs for the bathroom laughs (and there's not really space anywhere other than the kitchen, frustratingly!)

nods they did rehang the bathroom door so it opens out (that was to make space for a heated towel rail), but for some reason they never actually put a door handle on the door o.O so at the moment I've got a makeshift one from a loop of fabric :P The previous owner did leave two brand new boxes door handles , so I'm hoping they'll be easy to fit!

At least the lego ones wouldn't need watering (although admittedly they'd end up needing dusting!) ;) what kind of plants do you have?

I went looking at sofas this morning - found one in clearance (ex-display) which could work, but it's down to whether or not I feel comfortable with one that's been sat on by everyone already (and there's a couple of marks on it that may not come off - it's quite a pale colour, so the marks show up).... I hate making decisions like that!! :P

I can see why the 12 steps would be an issue. I paid extra to have my appliances delivered (the washer installed too). Was totally worth it since it would have to be carried up one flight of stairs.

Weird they never bothered to put the handle on the door, seems very unpractical to me. Maybe it was one of those "I will get to it sometime" things. Hopefully the door handles they let you will fit fine. I have one damaged door (dents), might start looking into how much a new door would cost. :) I would not get a light coloured sofa personally, as it is so easy to get stains. Maybe you could find a good sale for a brand new one?

What types of plants I have? Good question. :P I have 3 orchids, 3 succulents, and few others that I don't know the name of. lol

we always go with the delivery option, but when we had a gas boiler delivered, they sent one chap (despite being warned about the steps in advance).... Dad had to help him carry it up the steps & into the house o.O

There's also no latch on the door (the bit that closes it properly), so I don't know if that's part of the handle, or if there's something else that should've been left! I'll have a look once I've got the sofa thing sorted (no door handle means the hallway is slightly wider laughs)

A new door could be pricey, but it would be a great improvement on a dented one!

That's true on the staining.... they do have some new ones (currently on special offer), but they're still ridiculously pricey (I need one with a high back so I can rest my head against the sofa back)! I asked the manufacturer a question about the ex-display one (as the manager of the shop didn't know the answer), and had two different responses that both contradict each other o.O so I'm still none the wiser :K

Orchid look stunning, although I've never got the hang of those!

Man do i suck at replying here. Sorry. Went to Atlanta on Monday to the rheumatologist. Man was that a long appointment. She wants an xray of my wrist and some more labs but so far I believe she agrees with arthritis. So once we do that we’ll see what we can do for treatment.