Posting Again, I Think

Cranky and Skip a couple weeks back

Lately, I've been thinking about this blog and how I read lots of other folks' blogs (mostly about poker), so maybe I should bring my Musings back from the dead. I enjoyed it before -- it gave me a good way to organize my thoughts, it connected me with the larger world and I managed to make some friends through it.

So, let's give this a try. First, let's update everyone (all 3 or 4 of you) on our current status:

• We still live in our Worcester, MA condo. We moved here 4 years ago this July. Still loving the place and the location. 
• Skip just turned 60 and I'll hit that milestone this summer. Yikes! Around about the time I turn 60, we'll celebrate 35 years of fun and fireworks together. 
• We are supported in our lives by some great aides. HM has been with us almost 3 years and has most of the caregiving hours. We even take her on trips with us. AI just joined us a few months back, but she is caring, does good work and, best of all, is incredibly reliable. MW, who I've spoken of in posts long ago, still joins Skip 2 afternoons a week. I think she's been with us for almost 10 years. 
• Skip is still a quad but retains some use of her right hand, though not a ton. At least she can operate her computer on her own, but tv remotes and telephones are exceedingly difficult. Forks and spoons are out of the question. Voice operated devices are becoming more and more common, so I suspect we're not too far from a tv remote that she'll be able to control with her voice.
• In an effort to improve our health, we have dramatically changed our diets. There is evidence that eating "clean" can help reduce inflammation and disease for people with MS and it's just plain healthier for me. I lost a bunch of weight changing my diet, got a bit lazy and put most of it back on, but am now back on track. No dairy, gluten or added sugar. Lots of vegies, protein and healthy fat. 
• We are joined in our home by 3 dogs. Ruby is 12, Dakini is 11 and Addy is 6. Dakini is a Shih Tzu and the other 2 are mini-dachshunds, though actually not too mini. I'm sure I'll bore everyone to tears with stories of them going forward. 
• Skip has been a bit bored of late, which isn't surprising, considering she spends most of her days at home, stuck in the same routine. We've been getting out to the movies a lot, so that is a help for her spirits. With the coming warm weather, I'm hoping I can convince her to get outside just to enjoy the air and maybe take a walk around our neighborhood.
• I'm fairly content in my life. I do a lot of cooking, read obsessively and generally enjoy myself. So, probably not too many cranky rantings in the future, but I'm sure I'll come up with a few.
• We still have our Honda Element (aka the Toaster) with the modifications for Skip to get in and out with her wheelchair. It has 126,000 miles on it but has had very few problems during it's 11 years with us. A few years back, we needed to have some rust taken care of on the modifications, but that looks to be under control for now. Fortunately for us, there is an auto mechanic/body shop 2 blocks from us run by a guy that I love and absolutely trust. He takes care of everything on that car since I discovered him 2 years ago and I think he wants it to last forever just as much as I do. I'm hoping we'll get to at least 200k miles with it.

So that's the current state here in the Cranky and Skip household. I look forward to writing posts and reconnecting with those in the blogosphere. Be well!