My September-A bit crooked

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A monthly review, late as usual. September, a month full of surprises, life just the way it’s supposed to be. “My wife will divorce me,” a statement made by my husband at an eye exam. It’s so typical for him, but he meant it.

I had to laugh, shook my head, and took a deep breath. “If that’s all there is, then we are fine.”

He had gone for his yearly eye exam; this time, it was brief, and he didn’t receive a new prescription. Instead, he was scheduled for double cataract surgery immediately. The right eye first, the other one a week later. Whenever he goes outside, he now wears heavy sunglasses. “Roy Orbison is in the building,” I can’t help but joke when he comes home. The recovery wasn’t hard, but a bit more complicated because he (we?) decided that it was the right time to get his remaining teeth pulled—six needed to come out—as well.

Dentures: the funny things we saw swimming in glasses when we were kids. Back then, when we told ourselves this would never happen to us, guess what? It’s happening. We are at the teeth-in-the-glass stage of our lives. Who would have thought? Implants, of course, are an option, but a pricey one. He (we!) decided against it.

I didn’t file for divorce. It was just another surgery. Piece of cake!

A toothless Roy Orbison! Oh, bless me.

His dental procedure was a bit more complicated; he didn’t stop bleeding (dah he is taking baby aspirin every day, did you not read that). Of course, it was Friday afternoon when, because smart people like us, we schedule these things toward the weekend, so he can rest (assured) at home, which also means there are no doctors available if (or when) an emergency takes place. The bleeding stopped! We are now on a ‘mush food’ diet, well, he is, I am still on my diet.

He is suffering a bit, complaining about everything food and teeth-related. All of a sudden, I have developed selective hearing. Funny how this works.

Karma hit back!

I had too much fun, I needed punishment. I looked in the mirror in the morning and saw the left side of my mouth hanging down; one side didn’t move when I opened my mouth. I am still fascinated by the fact that I didn’t panic, but instead I did the stroke test at 5 am in the bathroom. Pointer fingers together…check! What date is it….check. Name and Birthday….check. So not a stroke! Good news!

Bell’s Palsy, a sudden weakness of a facial muscle, is often caused by an inflammation. I could close my left eye, but barely. Main difference between a stroke and Bell’s Palsy? The forehead is mostly spared during a stroke, while the whole side is weak when it’s only Bell’s Palsy.

I got eyedrops for the dry eye (not that easy to put those in, it’s an entertaining hit-and-miss-game) and I wore an eyepatch at night (borrowed from my Roy Orbison), and all was well. I continued working, but didn’t give classes. I drank with a straw; turns out you need your whole mouth to take a sip from a cup.

This must be an age thing; we don’t panic anymore. We just take it. Another surgery? “Alright, when?” Mouth crooked! “Alright, for how long?”

Now, a couple of weeks later, our small bubble in this world is almost back to normal. The rest of the world? Still going mad, nothing new here.

Work

I had some interesting pieces to work on in September. An old chaise, a real antique, and a pain in the buttocks if I may add. Two harmless-looking cane chairs also gave me a bit of a headache. How do you attach something when there is nothing to attach it to? I am good at this. I seem to blossom with every challenge. It leaves me humble. Still so much to learn.

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TV

I watched “Pernille,” a Norwegian TV series, and I want to thank Netflix for the opportunity to watch this in English (also, please fix episode 2 in season 2). Pernille, the character played by Henriette Steenstrup, a normal woman, a bit flawed and overworked, Henriette, a normal actor with hanging boobs and wrinkles (her words, not mine). It was refreshing how normal it felt to watch something so normal. Great acting—besides the daughters. It’s one of the best family series I have ever watched. It’s down-to-earth normal. Godness, did I need that.

My Book “Losing it All”

My editor Ann and I are getting along fine. She is making me work hard, and I learn something new every day. Guess what, now I am almost a writer. Now would be a good time to write a book. Oh, wait, I already did that. Now, with her as my editor, I seriously wonder how I dared to complete a manuscript. “The flow of the story”, abrupt topic changes between two paragraphs, too many MANYs and very many VERYs, phrases overused, to name just a few. I am a grateful student and will be forever thankful for this experience.

I approached a literary agent, haven’t heard back yet, but I thought I would do it right away to get the first ‘rejection letter’ under my belt. 🙂 I learned to write a synopsis, in third person, about my own life. It’s all so interesting and a wonderful experience—so far.

My editor and I made a deal. She made me promise I would approach at least three literary agents before self-publishing. This is all fun!

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Still not retired

My Roy Orbison (my poor husband will have to live with his new nickname for a very long time, because his wife—me—thinks it’s funny) now 67, and I (soon 62) have decided we will continue working because our lives have gotten very expensive. We didn’t have a steak this summer; the beef prices are now like the egg prices. Coffee is now a luxury item, soda cans cost three times what I paid only one year ago, and fabric and supply prices have almost doubled. So no, we will not stop working. Our gas (on a budget agreement) has gone up $50 a month, and electric by 0.4 per ccf. around $40 per month. Streaming has become a luxury…where is our old cable???? Is it just us? Are we doing something wrong?

Books

I read and enjoyed The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. It’s a beautiful book, an epic love story, a family saga that takes place in India. The book is magical (and yes, I am a feminist, now I know for sure because I would be a bad Indian wife).

I also listened to 107 Days by Kamal Harris, which was voted down with 1-star ratings before the book release (mega shitty), and it angered me because it shows human ignorance. It’s a good book about a very dirty business. Politics, I would not survive in this field of ‘work’. The amount of dirt we, as a society, throw, especially at women who run for public office, is shameful. Every woman who runs for public office has my deepest respect.

And the last one, by Rob Hopkins, How to fall in love with the future, which begins with a report on his recent journey to the year 2030. A time traveler’s guide to change the world. I wish I could buy a hundred books and send one to each one of you.

Good news

Europe is becoming greener: 14 million hectares of forest have been added in the last 30 years, and more mixed forests are expected to make them even more resilient in the future.

India exceeds expectations in the energy transition: Five years ahead of schedule, more than half of its electricity capacity comes from renewable energies.

166 WTO states have decided to end harmful fisheries subsidies—a worldwide victory for the protection of the oceans. A historic step.

The European Parliament declares war on food and textile waste. By 2030, food and textile waste are to be reduced by up to 30%.

China is presenting its own climate targets for the first time and wants to expand wind and solar capacity to a gigantic 3,600 gigawatts by 2035.

Hopes in medicine: A new HIV drug protects with only two injections a year, a possible heart attack vaccination is under development, and for the first time there is an approved drug for postpartum depression.

And when it comes to digital responsibility, Italy is setting an example: The distribution of fake AI content and deep fakes will be severely punished in the future. (Brava, Italia!)

Also, something I’ve wanted to write here for so long, have you ever heard of the Great Green Wall across Africa? No? Then it’s about time. Because it’s so easy to forget that gigantic good things are happening in the world.

It’s October already. The heat is gone and I am glad,the heater run last night for the first time.

Three months countdown for Christmas. This year I will not be overrun by the Holidays but will go with the (my/our) flow. That’s the plan, I suppose it won’t work, because it never does.