This Was My July -Sigh

I can hardly believe how quickly this month has rushed by. It was a hot one. Our A/C was running around the clock, only to be interrupted by a few power outages when severe thunderstorms came through our area.

Online Time

I have been on a mission and have managed to reduce my phone time dramatically, I am mighty proud of it, considering that my cell phone is also used for my business, because let’s face it, who still pays for a landline, right?

I have successfully downgraded my phone to A PHONE. I use it to communicate privately and (if I have to) with existing customers. I have stubbornly ignored and blocked all new potential clients because, in my old-fashioned way, texting is not the right way to start a business relationship.

I have deleted all APPS besides bank, fitness, email, weather, and audiobooks.

What made me do it? In the waiting room at a doctor’s office, everybody stared at their phone and nobody even bothered to look at each other. I am so over this. Why are we doing this to each other? Someone could have run naked through the building that day and nobody would have even noticed it. That day I left my phone in the car and ended up entertaining the waiting room with my mumbled comments about the house-make-over show, the TV was showing that day.

My husband is more and more glued to his phone screen and started to hardly look up when I spoke, which I have nipped in the butt right away. I complained loudly and dramatically about him to the dogs…he got the message. No more cell phone overuse around me. I am on a mission.

TV

I started watching “Baby Reindeer” the week when my husband worked in Texas. It seemed like an odd series at first. “Why does he do that?” was replaced by “This can’t be?” When I debated if I wanted to continue watching, I read about the Emmy nomination and wondered about it. “Who in the right state of mind would …?” I couldn’t finish my question. I found out it’s a true story, a documentary almost and the main actor is the ‘real’ guy who lived through all this. All of a sudden it wasn’t just a TV series anymore but a compelling true story. Funny, how we don’t judge a true story by content, but by performance only. The acting in this series is superb. Jessica Gunning “Martha” and Richard Gadd “Donny” have a sickening bond between them. Both are victims, one becomes the abuser, while the other becomes the victim -again.

It’s one of the toughest TV series I ever watched, and I am glad I did. The episode when the young man breaks down on stage, falls to pieces, and reveals the dark moments of his life is heartbreaking.  

It is a brutally honest masterpiece about two very broken individuals, one who is destructive to others and one who is hell-bent on self distrusting, and how they form a bizarre and thoroughly toxic connection. The vulnerability it took to make this show is admirable and should be rewarded. It was done with such elegance and rawness. It’s harsh at times but if you are willing to sit through the brutality, you will see the breathtaking beauty in this show.

The conversation with his parents and his father’s question, made me gasp. “Am I a lesser man?”

Martha’s identity is not revealed, which I like. I hope the show gets all the awards it deserves.

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Health

My ultrasound revealed I have three nodules on my thyroid (2, 3, and 4 centimeters) one on the left, one in the middle, and one on the right (See I am all balanced!)

Two nodules are ‘mildly’ suspicious. I have to have an FNA (Fine Needle Aspiration) scheduled in October. A biopsy will hopefully inform us that the nodules are ‘normal’ considering that I have RA. I am taking another pill (sigh) now, because my thyroid doesn’t work the way it should, also it’s supposed to shrink the nodules. We’ll see!

My husband had a colonoscopy done. One polyp could be removed during the procedure, the other one is too large (4 centimeters) and will require surgery on his colon. A biopsy was taken, and the result confirmed what the doctor had suspected. The polyps removed were tubular adenomas, which can convert to cancer, but are low risk to do so. “They don’t need to come out right away, but it would be best to get them out before a year.” I will make sure of it. The recovery time will be between two and six weeks. It looks like we will be scheduling another surgery around Christmas, so the deductible won’t kill us all the way. (Don’t you love the American unhealthy system? Money first, then health!)

Guess, what? My husband thanked me for nagging! Yep, I am officially the good wife again. And if you read this, nag and make sure your husband gets a colon test done. It’s worth the battle.

Books

I didn’t read anything for entertainment but amused myself with books about AUTOMOBILE UPHOLSTERY. I have a new student who wants to restore his classic car in the future -after he learned how to sew and how to upholster. I see a challenge for both of us.

I listened to a book and it was good. “The Housemaid” by Freida Fadden. A crime story that unfolds in the first chapters and then, when you feel it’s predictable and you have it all figured out, it all gets turned upside down, which is brilliantly written. Very entertaining up to the last surprising statement.

Work

Sigh. After rejuvenating eighty-six barstools this year, the golf club has decided to ‘let me’ do their dining chairs as well. Same style, same amount of chairs, just smaller chairs. Nice money, but it’s a bit boring. I am not complaining, but it feels a bit like factory work. And while it wasn’t dull enough, an office asked me to redo eighty cushion tops for their rolling filling cabinets. Again, the money is excellent but it’s the same work, every day. I find myself in a routine, mindlessly doing the same task over and over. I am grateful for it and enjoy it as much as I can, but it’s not creative.

Cooking

For health reasons, I have agreed to live an oil-free diet for thirty days, and it has been kicking my behind. BUT…I haven’t felt that good in a very long time. Cutting the oil out for a month hasn’t been easy, and has challenged my cooking skills. BUT…I have hardly any pain. It does seem that even the ‘good’ oil causes inflammation in my body and without it, there is less pain, and less stiffness and I sleep like a rock. Autoimmune disorders are a tricky beast to tame.

Cooking and eating without oil is doable and I consider doing it for longer. I have used my old Roman pot that has been sitting in the very back of the pantry. Turns out this old clay pot is genius. You soak it in water before you put it in the oven. It cooks the vegetables and the roasts, but no oil is needed. An ancient cooking method that many in Europe still use. Who would have thought? I paid $5 in a resale shop for the ROEMERTOPF (Roman pot) years ago and never used it, until now.

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The GOOD NEWS from around the globe:

★ Electricity from wind, solar energy, biomass, and hydropower covered around 58 percent of electricity consumption in Germany in the first half of 2024. This is a new record.
★ Deforestation and destruction of the rainforest in Colombia at its lowest level in 23 years. Deforestation fell by another 38 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year.
★ Around the world, more and more activists are successfully suing oil companies and governments for climate protection, forcing companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and governments to take more climate action.
★ South Africa has passed its first comprehensive climate change law with measures to comply with the Paris Climate Agreement. 
★ After California, Oregon, and Washington, Hawaii has now also decided to ban deep-sea mining.
★ Researchers at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark have discovered a possible cause of migraine attacks with aura. This discovery could open up new therapies for migraines.
★ A study shows that children in the UK have halved their sugar consumption since the sugar tax on soft drinks was announced in 2016. Experts are therefore calling for the tax to be extended to other sugar-rich foods. When will that come to the US, please?
★ At the Charité hospital in Berlin, Germany, an HIV patient is considered cured after a stem cell transplant – the second case of its kind in Europe.
★ Swiss researchers have now developed an implant (which can be inserted and removed without surgery) that could prevent the development of endometriosis.
★ USA: In the future, an amendment to the Pregnancy Conflict Act will protect pregnant women from intrusive sidewalk harassment by abortion opponents in front of doctors’ offices or counseling centers. Anyone who harasses women there or even wants to prevent them from entering institutions must expect a fine in the future… hopefully a crisp one.
★ South Korea strengthens rights of same-sex couples

What else?

The Olympic games started in July and we are watching and counting the medals just like everybody else. My husband’s focus is on the US while mine is on the US, Austria, and Germany, as well as on Italy. I can’t help it. The European in me can’t be shut up.

We were busy, we were sweating -in more than one way- we laughed and cried a little.  As I write this blog post, I realize how good July was to us. How much we have experienced and how often we have spent our time together and with loved ones. I see why I write this column every month… Because it’s just good to recapitulate and be grateful. Not to forget how well we are doing.

It’s already August. I better get this post on my blog!