Flower Friday. : : Iris

There was frost on the roof this morning and the temperature hasn't risen above 49F degrees today, but the sun is shining and it was warm enough to sit outside and throw Spike's Kong. It was new territory for him and it is amazing to watch how he approaches his favorite activity despite not being able to see. 

Today's flower is an iris which has unseasonally and persistently bloomed for weeks. We had a large bed of them which we rescued form a few pots we found thrown into the drainage swale when we moved here. They thrived so well that they outgrew the raised bed John built for them, so he dug them out, separated them and planted them along the stairs as a replacement for the rosemary which we took out after the fire. There were other colors in the bed. It remains to be seen whether any of the ones that John planted are burgundy or yellow, as he had no way of telling what color they are.

My friend Gail loaned me a t.e.n.s. unit which I have just stuck on my back. It administers a vibrating massage something like the massage chairs in the nail salon only more focused. It certainly seems to be helping. Later today I'm going down to the imaging center in hopes of picking up my x-rays from yesterday. I hope the technician was right and that they will be there for me. My neighbor has said he would be happy to look at them and is eminently qualified as he was an orthopedic surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic for many years. I don't expect that he will find anything other than 'sprain/strain'.

I am finding out how much we have to be our own advocates to make our medical system work for us. And when it is a good idea to step outside it for solutions. I won't go into the near disaster of yesterday because it worked out pretty well in the end. Kudos to the nurse (an RN not a Nurse Practitioner, as promised when I made the appointment. .....the difference being that RNs can't prescribe medication or even order an x-ray.) who managed to think outside the box and get me a referral for an x-ray and an appointment with the doctor on Tuesday. I told her that someone should talk to the appointment service because they had put us in a situation that wasn't fair to either of us. 

We have one or two more days of sun before the next rain arrives. It is still welcome and much needed, but it is nice to have intervals of sun.

Happy birthday , Will. I'm sorry I won't make your birthday dinner tonight.