The Dyslexic Typist

04/27/2026

I am in love with tree peonies. I’d have a yard full but they draw ants….

04/26/2026

I love this time.of year. When we moved from Snider to Thornview I couldn’t dig up the lilac that was my Mom’s on Adams. We went to Natorp’s and bought one that flowers twice a year. When I got in the car with it I was transported back in time to cutting lilacs to put on the kitchen table for my Mom. I had a love/hate relationship with that bush. Doing dishes brought the smell of lilac through the kitchen window. But when I was bad (hardly ever) Mom would send me out to get my “own switch” from the lilac and gave me a few smacks on the legs! Even the switches are good memories now. I will never smell a lilac without thinking of my Mom. Today was my parents wedding anniversary.. They would have been married about 83ish years.

04/10/2026

I am so enjoying Spring this year. These were taken from three trips to the zoo (we have a membership), Spring Gove and Costco. The yellow flowers were in front of us on line and I had to take a shot. Do it. Folks understand and they love to share what they think is gorgeous. This has just been an outstanding time of flowers. I NEED flowers. This time of year has made my soul happy. Find what makes you happy and indulge.

04/03/2026

It is seventy degrees on this Good Friday morning. I am sitting here smelling Tom cutting the grass. Yes, I said smelling. New mown grass is a scent memory from my childhood. I was allowed to sit on the back steps and watch - and smell - my Daddy cut the grass. It is a scent that I associate not only with my Father, but with a near perfect world and the safety of a happy childhood.

01/20/2026

This is the story of the war of 2025-2026. It is my personal war with my funky back. I ruptured my first disc when I was in my early 30’s. I was bent over brushing my teeth and I coughed. I had immediate sciatic pain down my left leg. Once it was diagnosed I had my first back surgery - a laminectomy to free the nerve. Two weeks later I stood up and was in incredible pain - ended up having surgery the next morning to free the nerve root that had gotten trapped in the hole in my spinal cord. The years went by and I ruptured more discs but chose to rest them instead of surgery. I had never been able to go back to my job of following up to 40 patients up and down the hall at a busy on/gyn office. I had an appointment at Mayfield but they told me they had no idea if they could help the pain. I started seeing a pain doc and got relief from injections, spinal cord stimulator (a surgery) and spacers, at least two surgeries. Then I ruptured a disc big time. It would not resolve. I had a new primary care doc at that time and he sent me to a neurosurgeon, Dr. Adogwa, who I love. He showed me on my x-rays why I needed a complete lumbar fusion. I was in so much pain I agreed. It was the first time in 30+ years that I wasn’t in pain! After a while I did what ever I wanted to do. When we moved last year I was lifting and carrying for days. The old nemesis returned and I was experiencing back pain. I went to see Dr. Adogwa and had x-rays done. My screws were coming loose (I know, don’t say it). Long story short I ended up with a fusion of my entire lumbar spine up to my thoracic 10 vertebrae. If that doesn’t mean anything to you I had Tom measure my incision and it is 1 foot long. It has been the most painful surgery that I have ever had. I was in the hospital for about 5 days. When I came home on heavy duty drugs I started therapy with my at home therapist. Lynda got me from walking with a walker, to a cane to upright. It wasn’t easy. I had a large scab at the top of my foot long incision so I needed to see a wound doc. Kavita introduced us to the healing power of honey. Medical honey that comes from New Zealand. I have been doing this for about 5 weeks now and hope that my appointment next week will be the end. Today I had a young lady here to introduce me to my very own bone growth stimulator. It goes onto my spine for 30 minutes a day for several months to encourage the cadaver tissue used during surgery to form good bone. If you are having a medical issue take advantage of all that medical science has to offer. To get your independence back buy a grabber for every room. I drop everything and am not allowed to bend over for 6 months. Sketchers slip ins. I remember thinking these were so funny when they were first marketed for folks taking planes that didn’t want to take a lot of time at airports. They are awesome for being able to put your own shoes on. For ladies I bought bras that closed in the front so I wouldn’t drag anything on my incision. I’m sure everybody has their own tricks for surviving medical issues without losing too much of your independence - or your mind. You can list them in the comments. This is one of my abstracts and it kind of reminds me of a spinal cord.

11/20/2024

Thanksgiving is almost upon us. Most of us have some sort of game plan, and yes football is a lot of what happens at my house, for how the day will unfold. My pre stuff is done. I’ve been to all of the grocery stores to cross all of the food items off of my list. I’m going to begin to do what I can today so that the day itself goes off without a hitch - but there is always a hitch.

Tom and I are pretty good at turkey and dressing, even if I do say so myself. It is our go to meal all year round for company. Dad taught me to make my Mom’s sage dressing and he told us how to do the turkey breast for maximum juiciness - one breast plus one stick of butter right up the butt and roasted upside down in a bag. Dressing is lots of stale bread broken into cubes, sage, salt, pepper and onions and celery with a couple of eggs and broth and taste until it’s good.

Family is coming home and I can’t wait to hug all of the folks that i love, and I really do love every soul that will be around the table with us. The dogs are excited, even if they don’t know why, and they will be ready to pick up all crumbs from the floor, they are just good like that.

So, be thankful. Make room at the table. Give out lots of hugs and don’t talk about politics, it’s bad for digestion. Just remember that you love the faces that are smiling back at you. Be thankful. See less

11/17/2024

The Holiday Season is upon us, earlier and earlier each year. I believe that age has a lot to do with how we view this season. The child that lives within me will be forever waiting in anticipation of Christmas morning presents. It was a magical time when Santa still ate the cookies and left the presents for this child who ran down the steps on Christmas morning. The older I got the more I realized that, as a Christian, I was awaiting the birth of the baby Jesus in the manger and celebrating the birth of the Messiah year after year. As a young parent I remember shopping and wrapping and hoping to stretch the budget to make Santa appear again in the lives of my sons. It was Thanksgiving at Mom and Dad's house and Christmas eve with the family. We went to church at 11pm to welcome the birth of the baby and opened presents at some ridiculous hour on Christmas day.

My Mother's catastrophic stroke followed by the loss of my Father changed everything. I became acquainted with the grief that can overshadow all of the family traditions when the family unit changes. Those first years I hated the holidays. Grief overshadowed everything. It has taken years to be able to celebrate once again. However, that celebration will be forever changed by times like these. Seeing my Mother's handwriting on holiday recipes is enough to bring tears to my eyes. It is also the time that I realize just how much love was shared in this family of mine. I have been forever blessed that I have been gifted with the memories of love that surround these holiday traditions - and I need to go to the grocery!

11/12/2024

11/12/2024

As it gets colder I have more time to sit and think. The shot below is from my 52 Frames Project. It was for "Baked." I get an entire week to take the shot, but it came down to the last minute so the play on words, In case you don't know what you are seeing it is a vial of ma*****na tincture. I have an Ohio Medical Card that allows me to purchase this. My primary care doc, my neurosurgeon and my gynecologist all think it is a good idea. The funny part is I got the card after it was legal in the state of Ohio to buy anything you wanted.

I went back today to see my dealer! A very nice young man in green scrubs - the Bud Tender at UpLift - recommended a new tincture for pain. Old hands ache, especially after holding a camera for a length of time. I'll be interested to see how it works.

09/28/2024

I am doing a new fun thing with my camera. I am taking a shot a week that has a subject and extra credit for shooting the subject in a new way. I don't think we are going anywhere today with the downed trees around here. And it is still raining. So, I sat in my garage and, using a recipe that I looked up on almighty google, sat there and "panned" modes of transportation. I had to fool with the original recipe (sounds like chicken) but I finally achieved something that I could at least post on my 52 Frames project. Right now I have 11 in a row so I had to keep my streak alive even if I was only sitting in my garage panning traffic.