![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
This morning we were awakened by four noisy geese honking up and down the river. I'm not sure why they were honking so long and so loud, but it was certainly preferable to the way we were awakened yesterday.
Yesterday morning, a little after 8, we were awakened by knocking at our door. Actually Molly woke up and I noticed her getting up and then heard her say "Oh, no." and close the front door. I got up, put on my new glasses (I got them on Tuesday), and went downstairs to see what was happening. Molly and the neighbors were looking at the smashed in back window of my car. The neighbor's daughter had noticed it when she was dropping her son off at her parents' house. My station wagon's rear window was shattered and there was lots of the safety glass. Nothing seems to be missing from the vehicle, though we had all our camping gear (sleeping bags, tent, chairs, air mattress) in the back. Nothing from the rest of the car was missing. It appears to be a random act of violence. Molly's car next to mine wasn't completely locked up, but was undisturbed. Another car down the block had it's window partly down, but it hadn't been disturbed either. So I was in shock. We called the cops and filed a report with the officer who came over. I called the insurance company, and the glass repair people came over and replaced the window by early afternoon. The window had defrost lines and curved edges, so it was expensive (over $650), but I only had to pay the deductible of $250. But that still is a setback as we wait to see how much I'll owe in medical bills. Molly called the apartment complex office, and they sent the maintenance guys over to help us clean up the glass (remove the rest of it from the window frame, vacuum up the bits, and tape bags over the window since it was threatening to rain).
The night before we were up late on the computers, and we had the windows open. Sometime after 12 or 12:30 we heard a loud noise outside. It startled me a lot because I tend to be really jumpy anyway. Molly went downstairs and stuck her head out the door but saw nothing and came back in. A bit later we heard another louder sound. Again we went downstairs, and Molly went out to see if she could see anything. She didn't see anything, partly because the yard light by our apartment has been burned out for months, and the light on the maintenance shed on the corner had been broken. The maintenance guys said the light bulb cost $30, so they hadn't replaced it. They said they keep putting bulbs in the yard light, but there must be a short in it or something wrong underground, but they don't know what to do. So it was too dark to see anything. Because the window was safety glass it didn't sound like glass shattering. We thought about calling the police to do a drive through just to check things out but decided to wait until we heard another sound. We'd been noticing in the last month or so a lot of trash and beer containers in the little ravine or drainage ditch that separates our complex from the next one. We'd heard teenage boys (their voices crack) laughing and talking in the overgrowth at night. There was also a burned out mattress in there. We'd reported this to our apartment manager, but they didn't really care. They said it wasn't their property, but belonged to the next complex. They said that the drinking wasn't a big problem. We know that underage drinking can lead to other things and problems can escalate. The apartment manager said they had off duty police do drive-throughs. They didn't have the most caring attitude.
We think maybe this is what happened, based on what we heard and what we found the next day: kids from the bushes were goofing around. They threw some biscuit dough at Molly's car's back windshield (we found a doughy mark on it and the doughy biscuit thing on the ground). We heard this sound and poked our heads out. The guys saw our light, and then decided to hit my car which is parked right in front of our apartment. They threw a rock at my window. We found the rock, and it has marks and matches a mark on the rubber seal of the window. So it is a somewhat random act of violence and vandalism. Definitely NOT what I needed. The added trauma has only added to my post-surgery/medical stress and anxiety. I am jumpier than ever. Being suddenly awakened after not much sleep (insomnia kept me awake until after 3 am) to find a window broken is very traumatic. I know it is not a big deal in the whole scheme of things, but it is a personal violation and is scary. I feel un-secure and worried. I was very glad nothing happened last night. I'm glad nothing worse happened: No home break in or personal injury or assault, but I do hope the apartment manager and the police will do something to keep the problem from happened or growing. The maintenance guys have NOT yet fixed the burned out bulbs and the darkness on our corner.
In other news . . .
Sorry I haven't been in touch much lately. Most days I don't have a lot of energy for too much, like answering emails or posting in LJ. My mood is rather
up and down most days, and I have a lot of anxiety. It makes it hard. Some days I get very discouraged and depressed. My medical events have changed a lot of my life, and I am trying to sift through and reconstruct. I dropped all my classes and lost my jobs this semester. I am registered for fall semester though. I am enjoying the time to read the books I want to read for fun! I also got out my spinning wheel again, and I have knitting projects and art supplies.
In health news, we are still waiting to hear when our oncologist appointment will be. We are hopeful that I won't need chemo. It is still very likely that I will need to have a complete hysterectomy, so I need to make decisions about childbearing soon. My incision is healing up quite well. Almost 4 inches at the top and 1 at the bottom are closed. I still have pain from time to time, but nothing too serious. I've been to the ER twice with severe pain since the
surgery, but I seem to be past that now, I hope!!! Molly changes my bandages every day, and the home health nurses discharged me from their care on Wednesday. I see the surgeon again for follow-up on the 24th.
I am getting my strength and energy back, so I am able to enjoy outings more. Molly and I went to The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium on Monday. It was a nice change of pace and place. We saw wolves, moose, cougar, bobcats, bears, prairie dogs, bison, antelope, swans, geese, ducks, otters, squirrels, penguins, flamingos, chipmunks, turtles, goats, chickens, frogs, and many other birds. We saw two penguins both gripping a stick that they each wanted for their nests. We saw lots of tropical coral reef fish, including jelly fish, sharks, and an un-puffed puffer fish (or an un-blown blow fish). We saw two fish who had laid eggs on a piece of coral. We saw the three manatees and some rays. I got a lot of exercise walking around the zoo. It was sunny and such a beautiful day to be out.
When we got home, we planted some sunflower seeds in a pot in the house to start them growing before we put them outside. An eleven-year-old girl from the neighborhood, Alex, helped us. Then we swept the leaves off our patio and started planning what we would plant there. We have a bunch of flower seeds we'd like to try, including some morning glories to climb up the fences between patios. We swept the leaves of the steps that go down to the river. We looked at the tree that had fallen into the water; it is still attached to the land by its roots which are entertwined with another tree's roots. I picked up lots of pieces of broken glass along the river. Over the weekend when the water was up in the river, a blue plastic wading pool had floated down the river and gotten stuck on the rocks. Someone must have come to get it, because it isn't there now.
On Tuesday we picked up my glasses. While we were picking up a few other things at Walmart, a live band was launching its tour. The band is Saving Jane. The music was interesting; it just seems odd to have a live band or a tour launch at a Walmart, even if you are from this area. We also went to Highbanks Park, which is quite large and lovely. We walked on a trail a little bit, but I didn't have much stamina. There is a wonderful nature station with exhibits about the geology, wildlife, ecology, and archeology of the park. There are Indian mounds and earthworks at the park, so I hope to go back when I am a bit stronger.
I hope you all are well. I will try to keep in touch a little better, and hopefully there will be updates more often. Happy Spring!!!
Yesterday morning, a little after 8, we were awakened by knocking at our door. Actually Molly woke up and I noticed her getting up and then heard her say "Oh, no." and close the front door. I got up, put on my new glasses (I got them on Tuesday), and went downstairs to see what was happening. Molly and the neighbors were looking at the smashed in back window of my car. The neighbor's daughter had noticed it when she was dropping her son off at her parents' house. My station wagon's rear window was shattered and there was lots of the safety glass. Nothing seems to be missing from the vehicle, though we had all our camping gear (sleeping bags, tent, chairs, air mattress) in the back. Nothing from the rest of the car was missing. It appears to be a random act of violence. Molly's car next to mine wasn't completely locked up, but was undisturbed. Another car down the block had it's window partly down, but it hadn't been disturbed either. So I was in shock. We called the cops and filed a report with the officer who came over. I called the insurance company, and the glass repair people came over and replaced the window by early afternoon. The window had defrost lines and curved edges, so it was expensive (over $650), but I only had to pay the deductible of $250. But that still is a setback as we wait to see how much I'll owe in medical bills. Molly called the apartment complex office, and they sent the maintenance guys over to help us clean up the glass (remove the rest of it from the window frame, vacuum up the bits, and tape bags over the window since it was threatening to rain).
The night before we were up late on the computers, and we had the windows open. Sometime after 12 or 12:30 we heard a loud noise outside. It startled me a lot because I tend to be really jumpy anyway. Molly went downstairs and stuck her head out the door but saw nothing and came back in. A bit later we heard another louder sound. Again we went downstairs, and Molly went out to see if she could see anything. She didn't see anything, partly because the yard light by our apartment has been burned out for months, and the light on the maintenance shed on the corner had been broken. The maintenance guys said the light bulb cost $30, so they hadn't replaced it. They said they keep putting bulbs in the yard light, but there must be a short in it or something wrong underground, but they don't know what to do. So it was too dark to see anything. Because the window was safety glass it didn't sound like glass shattering. We thought about calling the police to do a drive through just to check things out but decided to wait until we heard another sound. We'd been noticing in the last month or so a lot of trash and beer containers in the little ravine or drainage ditch that separates our complex from the next one. We'd heard teenage boys (their voices crack) laughing and talking in the overgrowth at night. There was also a burned out mattress in there. We'd reported this to our apartment manager, but they didn't really care. They said it wasn't their property, but belonged to the next complex. They said that the drinking wasn't a big problem. We know that underage drinking can lead to other things and problems can escalate. The apartment manager said they had off duty police do drive-throughs. They didn't have the most caring attitude.
We think maybe this is what happened, based on what we heard and what we found the next day: kids from the bushes were goofing around. They threw some biscuit dough at Molly's car's back windshield (we found a doughy mark on it and the doughy biscuit thing on the ground). We heard this sound and poked our heads out. The guys saw our light, and then decided to hit my car which is parked right in front of our apartment. They threw a rock at my window. We found the rock, and it has marks and matches a mark on the rubber seal of the window. So it is a somewhat random act of violence and vandalism. Definitely NOT what I needed. The added trauma has only added to my post-surgery/medical stress and anxiety. I am jumpier than ever. Being suddenly awakened after not much sleep (insomnia kept me awake until after 3 am) to find a window broken is very traumatic. I know it is not a big deal in the whole scheme of things, but it is a personal violation and is scary. I feel un-secure and worried. I was very glad nothing happened last night. I'm glad nothing worse happened: No home break in or personal injury or assault, but I do hope the apartment manager and the police will do something to keep the problem from happened or growing. The maintenance guys have NOT yet fixed the burned out bulbs and the darkness on our corner.
In other news . . .
Sorry I haven't been in touch much lately. Most days I don't have a lot of energy for too much, like answering emails or posting in LJ. My mood is rather
up and down most days, and I have a lot of anxiety. It makes it hard. Some days I get very discouraged and depressed. My medical events have changed a lot of my life, and I am trying to sift through and reconstruct. I dropped all my classes and lost my jobs this semester. I am registered for fall semester though. I am enjoying the time to read the books I want to read for fun! I also got out my spinning wheel again, and I have knitting projects and art supplies.
In health news, we are still waiting to hear when our oncologist appointment will be. We are hopeful that I won't need chemo. It is still very likely that I will need to have a complete hysterectomy, so I need to make decisions about childbearing soon. My incision is healing up quite well. Almost 4 inches at the top and 1 at the bottom are closed. I still have pain from time to time, but nothing too serious. I've been to the ER twice with severe pain since the
surgery, but I seem to be past that now, I hope!!! Molly changes my bandages every day, and the home health nurses discharged me from their care on Wednesday. I see the surgeon again for follow-up on the 24th.
I am getting my strength and energy back, so I am able to enjoy outings more. Molly and I went to The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium on Monday. It was a nice change of pace and place. We saw wolves, moose, cougar, bobcats, bears, prairie dogs, bison, antelope, swans, geese, ducks, otters, squirrels, penguins, flamingos, chipmunks, turtles, goats, chickens, frogs, and many other birds. We saw two penguins both gripping a stick that they each wanted for their nests. We saw lots of tropical coral reef fish, including jelly fish, sharks, and an un-puffed puffer fish (or an un-blown blow fish). We saw two fish who had laid eggs on a piece of coral. We saw the three manatees and some rays. I got a lot of exercise walking around the zoo. It was sunny and such a beautiful day to be out.
When we got home, we planted some sunflower seeds in a pot in the house to start them growing before we put them outside. An eleven-year-old girl from the neighborhood, Alex, helped us. Then we swept the leaves off our patio and started planning what we would plant there. We have a bunch of flower seeds we'd like to try, including some morning glories to climb up the fences between patios. We swept the leaves of the steps that go down to the river. We looked at the tree that had fallen into the water; it is still attached to the land by its roots which are entertwined with another tree's roots. I picked up lots of pieces of broken glass along the river. Over the weekend when the water was up in the river, a blue plastic wading pool had floated down the river and gotten stuck on the rocks. Someone must have come to get it, because it isn't there now.
On Tuesday we picked up my glasses. While we were picking up a few other things at Walmart, a live band was launching its tour. The band is Saving Jane. The music was interesting; it just seems odd to have a live band or a tour launch at a Walmart, even if you are from this area. We also went to Highbanks Park, which is quite large and lovely. We walked on a trail a little bit, but I didn't have much stamina. There is a wonderful nature station with exhibits about the geology, wildlife, ecology, and archeology of the park. There are Indian mounds and earthworks at the park, so I hope to go back when I am a bit stronger.
I hope you all are well. I will try to keep in touch a little better, and hopefully there will be updates more often. Happy Spring!!!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
Thank you for the mmmm. . . muffins -- yummy!
Congratulations on your first draft -- what an undertaking! I can't wait to read it :)