Flower Friday. : : Manzanita

I love the flowers on our manzanita. They are similar to the related but larger Arbutus which we used to have in more or less the place. It burned in the fire and the manzanita seemed a more appropriate size. Both are native to California and grow all over the hills here.

I had my pre-op health check this morning which included an EKG. I'm pleased to say that my heart is still beating although with some premature extra beats thrown in. I'm assured that this is quite common and nothing to worry about, especially since it has been noted before. I also have another pre-op visit with the knee surgeon, or perhaps one of his 'gatekeepers' in a week or two. The only thing nobody ever seems to look at in all this lead up to the main event is my knee!

It started raining again as I was on my way home, listening to a program on the medical uses of AI. It was interesting because it was an example of mostly positive uses....doing things like reading X-rays and MRI's or even, in some cases, making diagnoses. There's been so much alarming press about it, and I took a class a few years ago in which the professor warned of the technology getting ahead of our ability to control it. It's good to see something positive about it, because whether we like it or not, I think it's here to stay, and has the capacity to change everything.

I think I've had enough of health, good or bad, for now. I'm glad it's Friday, although it's sounding like we're going to get more rain, including an atmospheric river for the next few days. I've seen estimates of anywhere from 1 to 8 inches of rain, which renders the whole thing pretty useless.

Thanks as always to Anni for hosting. IT's always nice to see flowers here when there aren't many outside!