Weekend post

Well, it is the weekend and I am going to chill a bunch. I have been suffering the last 2-3 days with "shingles". This causes lots of blisters on one side of your body, lots of itching / burning / pain. It is caused by left over virus from chickenpox from YEARS ago that has been sitting dormant in an area of your spine. It becomes active from any number of medical problems ... i.e. - flu, etc. Mine was caused by a bite from a Black Widow spider. I have been hit by Black Widows several times in my life, electricians are always running across them in the desert. I have 'somewhat' of a tolerance for their venom after many treatments for their bites. Didn't kill me or anything, but it did activate the dormant virus from chickenpox from decades ago. I am really bothered by this more than other odd occurances that have come my way because there is basically nothing that can alliviate the pain, itching, et al. But my problems are minor.

My mom has been diagnosed with cancer again ... this time in her lung (she has had two masectomies ..[sp]). She is going in for the biopsy next Wednesday. She says that she is uncertain that she will accept chemo-therapy again. There are so many health risks from it at her age that she is fairly certain that she would rather die of cancer than pneumonia or some other complication from chemo.

Now that the depressing news is out of the way ... my brother Steve in Danville is fairly certain of getting a great job (that will send him to Poland for a few months). It pays really well, (for Danville), and he and his lady have both been laid off for some time due to the closure of Dan River Mills. I wish him tons of luck.

We here in the desert southwest are enjoying daily temperatures in the high 90's but have stayed away from triple digits for several days.

Hilda and I watched "Happy Feet" last evening. It was a cute movie. I took her home about 2000... I didn't want her sleeping with me as she has never had Chickenpox, and I can give it to people right now. I am really burning and itching right now but I hope it gets better during the day.

I am perusing the TV magazine (comes with the Sunday paper) for something interesting on the tube today, I don't feel like going anywhere. I had a fitful night of sleep last night because of the itching/pain. I got up and felt like writing poetry for the first time in a long time. I actually filled up a couple of sheets of legal paper with various words, phrases, poems etc. So, perhaps something good will come of my malady.

Our weather here is typical Tucson .... lows in the hi 60s low 70s and highs in the mid to high 90s. I wish that I felt like going out and enjoying it more. But ... it'll be warm until November or so.

I hope that everyone out there is having fun in their life and getting and giving love.
PEACE