Bits and pieces

Bleah. Sitting around the house with a head cold is seventeen kinds of Not Fun. I have been trying all the standard stuff one should do against head colds -- hot showers, chicken soup, neti pot, decongestants, and as much sleep as I can get before Roxy-cat demands to be fed again -- but this one is clinging tenaciously to my sinuses, and shows no sign of letting go. Next on the list: attempting to exorcise the Demons of Rhinovirus by pouring Tabasco sauce straight into a nostril. DIE VIRUS DIE.

Or, Father Time gets a sinus headache.

Happily there is better news to report. One of the best: my mom's nephrologist checked things out and said that Mom's new vegan diet has improved her kidney function to the point that she won't need to start dialysis for a while. It may not seem like a big deal to many, but I am thrilled by this news. They did surgery on Mom and installed a port and everything, and now she's up above 15%. Go Mom! And go all the rest of you who sent prayers and well-wishes and vegan cookbooks and so forth her way.

Yesterday was Miss V's birthday, and the first in many years that I didn't spend with her. Sadly, even if I'd been healthy enough to visit, we're in different time zones now... so we had to be content with telephone greetings and a few gifties in the mail. She did get to spend the afternoon with her mom and grandma. I hope she had a good birthday celebration.

If you haven't read my latest rant... no, I'm not on Facebook any more. It kind of sucks, since I'll be out of the loop on 6th Grade Updates from my sister Jenny (who really, REALLY needs to write a book), general life updates from family members, and all sorts of interesting information from my friends. But I was dead set on keeping my pseudonym, and the FB Powers That Be were just as adamant about attempting to force me to use my real name. So that's over. (The good news on this front? Productivity ahoy!)

Off to steam my face. My sinuses may still be wonky, but I'll have the world's dewiest complexion.