My escape from quarantine wasn’t for anything fun, though.  A couple of months ago my dentist told me that a molar with a root canal and crown had fractured over the years and would need to be removed. I’d hoped that it’d happen later rather than sooner, but two weeks ago my tooth, with crown attached, fell out. Good thing I neva wen swallow um, yeah?  So the next morning I called my dentist, and he said I needed to get in right away so as to avoid an infection. Which I certainly don’t need right now. So I ventured out for the first time in awhile.

My dentist’s office staff is being fastidious about sanitation. I washed my hands the minute I get there. They’re constantly sanitizing everything, of course. When I called, I’d jokingly asked if I should wear a mask. Ha ha.

I adore my dentist and he’s well aware of my dental trauma history. He’s gentle and caring and wonderful. It was a pretty grueling experience but I wasn’t in pain; it was the sound and memories that did it. I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn’t a kid and that it wasn’t hurting. Even so, I had tears running down my cheeks at one point, and when it was all done my dentist took both of his hands and held my hand for comfort, knowing why, and then we both washed our hands thoroughly right there and then.

He did several sutures and I put pressure on it because it bled for awhile, which was normal. I used gauze pads and tea bags on it, which worked really well.  I was pretty well been pain free unless I forget and bit down there, but then it started to ache, so I went back for a checkup.   He did give me some clove oil-soaked gauze da kines and they really helped; he said that it’s all healing very well. The clove oil has been wonderful to help with a maybe dry socket.

On the way home from the extraction I saw this field full of dandelions.

I was so happy that I saw our wonderful mail lady coming up the driveway. I wanted to thank her for taking the time to come all the way up to the house with our packages. We had a really nice, but brief, talk, and she seemed grateful for my gratitude. She gave me permission to take her photo and put it here.

And especially for AFK, some pīpī  photos. One night I heard a cow bawling and bawling almost all night long. Now I know why. See the pīpī   keiki next to her? And the cow on the right; she’s about the prettiest pīpī  I’ve ever seen. I adore her ears!

These are some things that I’ve been doing during this quarantine:

• Making yarn on my spinning wheel
• Getting going using sourdough for baking again
• Knitting
• Keeping a daily gratitude list (10 things every day)
• Watching streaming webcams, like the Monterey Bay Aquarium one. I love the Moon Jellyfish and seeing the ocean.
• Taking lots of photos
• Zoom meetings with friends
• Keeping in touch with friends on FB
• Getting out my sewing machine again after years away and making masks for special friends

One of the girls we’ve been sponsoring through Compassion International left the program to a town where Compassion isn’t. I was really sad to lose her; it’s hard not to be able to know how she’s doing. I chose her because she has some serious medical issues and Compassion was able to get her the help she needed. I will continue to pray for her, wherever she is. Because we’ve been committed to sponsoring four girls, I immediately began searching for a new girl to “adopt”. It didn’t take long; Estrella’s photo called to me, and Nolemana and I agreed that she was the one. She’s six years old and I hope this is the start of a long relationship.

We’ve had rainy/cloudy/sunny weather, and all the flowers around here are blooming so beautifully. I do love springtime in Oregon.

I finally got my wonderful, whimsical clock from Allen Studios fixed and ordered a new pendulum since I couldn’t find the original one. I’ve been procrastinating doing this for months and months, and now I’m so happy it’s pau.

K’den, I’m going to stop here. I should have tons of time to keep this bloggie updated and can’t believe how busy I’ve been. Gonna try do moa bettah.