Apply the following to facing dialysis challenges:
When you’re up against a trouble, Meet it squarely, face to face; Lift your chin and set your shoulders, Plant your feet and take a brace. When it’s vain to try to dodge it, Do the best that you can do; You may fail, but you may conquer, See it through!
Black may be the clouds about you And your future may seem grim, But don’t let your nerve desert you; Keep yourself in fighting trim. If the worst is bound to happen, Spite of all that you can do, Running from it will not save you, See it through!
Spent about an hour on my replacement computer and pretty much made it mine. The computer is a decent mini-PC with 16 gigs of memory, Windows 11 Pro, and a half a gig drive. It was NOT loaded with bloatware, and setup was straightforward. I loaded PCMATIC up on it and ran a scan, which came out OK. I subscribe to Office 365 so that was also not a challenge. I loaded up CCleaner, aka CrapCleaner, and had to update 5 drivers. So far, so good, and now I have audio!
On the second front, I also worked on transferring settings, et,c from my wife’s former iPhone SE second generation to her new Google Pixel 8a, which also went along easily. I had to bother her for her fingerprint and facial regonition, but other than that, her new phone is up and running.
Tomorrow, Thursday, I have scheduled another go with the dermatologist at 1000. I’ m there with a modest truck load of “stuff” for out son up in Palo Pinto. Friday, we should be back to something normal for us.
BTW, the thornless roses are in full bloom and look nice!
Back in the day, when I was in high school, I attended frequent weekly dances where we either slow danced or did some form of what was then (1954-1956) the boogie woogie. All of us had our moves, some better than others. I was at the lower end of the dance spectrum due to lack of practice. For don’t you see, my mother was an avid Seventh Day Adventist and their faith, frowned on such activities especially those held between sundown on Friday and sundown on Saturday. Since the biggest open dance was held on Friday night at the YMCA, I was by default deprived of this form of enjoyment. So this leads me to today’s story, a dance called “Walk of Life” that is really neat by Sven Otten.
Sven Otten, born in 1988, is a German dancer and web video producer who gained international recognition through his YouTube channel1. He became famous for his unique dance style, which he calls “Neoswing,” a combination of swing elements and modern dance moves12.
Otten’s journey to fame began in December 2012 when he published his first YouTube video1. His second video, featuring him dancing to Parov Stelar’s “All Night,” became his breakthrough hit, amassing around 50 million views14. What makes Otten’s story remarkable is that he learned to dance by watching YouTube tutorials in his room.34
Otten made his first TV appearance on “Got to Dance” in 2015 and has since been featured in several TV commercials1. He has become particularly popular in Italy, where he is known as “il ballerino de la TIM” for his role as a brand ambassador3.
Otten’s YouTube channel, where he is known as JustSomeMotion (JSM), has continued to grow. He created a Dance-Academy on his channel to teach his style to others35.
Beyond his success in Germany and Italy, Otten has also gained popularity in Brazil as an ambassador for Telecom Brasil and has been making waves in the United States3.
Sven Otten’s unique blend of dance styles, combining elements of UK House Shuffle, Electro Dance (Tektonik), and Charleston, has inspired many imitators worldwide23. His success story serves as an inspiring example of how passion, combined with the power of social media, can lead to a successful career in dance and entertainment.
I’ve been busy working on the trellis in our backyard. See below for what it looks like in a finished form. Yes, 86-year-old dialysis patients can achieve goals involving work.
As I sit here in Pecan Plantation on this crisp February morning, I can’t help but feel a sense of renewal wash over me. The Daffodils, those bright harbingers of spring, have begun to bloom. Their cheerful yellow petals push through the earth, a vibrant reminder that life continues to unfold, even in the most challenging times.
Having served in Vietnam, I carry memories that are both heavy and profound. The experiences I lived through, particularly my exposure to Agent Orange, have shaped my journey in ways I never anticipated. Today, I find myself on peritoneal dialysis, navigating the complexities that come with it. Yet, each morning, I wake to the promise of a new day, much like those Daffodils awakening from their winter slumber.
Seeing these flowers bloom inspires me to reflect on resilience and hope. Just as the Daffodils bravely emerge despite the cold and dark months, we too have the strength to rise above our circumstances. Each blossom is a testament to the power of nature to heal and rejuvenate. It reminds me that beauty can flourish even in the face of adversity.
In my journey, I find parallels with the Daffodils. They remind me that, much like our lives, growth often follows struggle. The process of blooming is not instantaneous; it requires patience and perseverance. There are days when I feel weighed down by my health struggles, but then I step outside and see those flowers, and I am reminded that life is a cycle of challenges and triumphs.
As we move into spring, I encourage everyone to take a moment to appreciate the small joys around us. Whether it’s the first bloom of your garden or a simple moment of connection with a loved one, these are the things that lift our spirits. Let’s draw inspiration from nature’s resilience and allow it to motivate us in our own lives.
Today, as I watch the Daffodils sway gently in the breeze, I am filled with gratitude for the moments of beauty that punctuate our lives. They serve as a reminder that hope is always within reach, and with it, we can face whatever challenges lie ahead.
So, let us embrace the blooms, both in nature and in our hearts, and carry that spirit of renewal forward into our lives. Together, we can cultivate a garden of resilience and hope, one bloom at a time. God knows in the times I have been facing, I certainly needed to see the first blooms of Spring today. I hope that readers of this blog are so lucky!
I was aided and abetted in writing the above by Poe in response to the following Prompt: “I am a Vietnam vet on peritoneal dialysis as a result of exposure to Agent Orange. Today is Feb 18, 2025. We live in Pecan Plantation and this morning I noticed our Daffodils are starting to bloom. Write a blog along the lines of drawing inspiration from this.”
Every morning, as part of our dialysis routine, we must enter several biometrics into the Liberty Cycler dialysis machine. These include blood pressure, pulse rate, and glucose level. These readings, along with a host of associated data, are sent up into a cloud via a modem attached to the Cycler, where they are available to your dialysis team for review.
Yesterday morning my recorded pulse rate was 53 which caused my dialysis nurse alarm. She called and reported the same to the doctor/nephrologist, who directed that my cardiologist be made aware. Here we go in this circle again. So I did call the NP who is the gatekeeper to the actual cardiologist and reported stopping metropol etc which she said she would report to the cardiologist. We’ll see how all of this turns out once again. Patient in the middle one more time.
I watched the Super Bowl with my family yesterday. Our son came early, about 1400, and we worked on installing the stingers for the trellis we are constructing across the long back flower bed for our property. It was in the forties temp-wise, but we worked awhile then went inside to warm up. We completed the job just in time to cook kabobs on the grill for SB treats and watch the game, if you can even call the disaster that. We have 40-8-foot and 45-6-foot cedar fence slats on the back of our truck waiting for the weather to break so I can rip them into thirds for the trellis slats. I’ll install these at a 45-degree angle to finish off the trellis.
We have had a love-hate relationship with the drug Metropol that two doctors insist I take, my cardiologist and nephrologist. The cardiologist’s position is that it is good for my heart and my nephrologist for control of blood pressure. They both blow off the fact that it is driving my pulse through the floor to the point I have passed out and is not doing all that much for my blood pressure. After my last fainting spell a couple of days ago where I was sitting in my chair watching TV and slid out to the floor partially on top of our golden retriever, my wife and I together decided I’m not taking the meds anymore.
Over the weekend I worked on getting our indoor “greenhouse” up and running. We are closing off a closet section of our main garage with a door, window, and power access to accommodate a cheap greenhouse, for which we are only using the shelving. We have it in front of the window, with 8 heating mats to accommodate tons of plants. I transplanted 5 tomato plants that we started indoors and they appear to be doing well. I bought a wall heater that is completely automatic and is wife enabled from Amazon so I can be anywhere in the world where my phone is on wifi and adjust the heater or see what temperature is bing maintained. Sunday morning I planted forty tomato seeds and have about the same number of pepper seeds to go. I moved our Google interface to the area so I have toons there also. When I get it cleaned up a bit later in the week I’ll post a video of it.
Recall it is my goal to have tomatoes in the ground by mid-February, granted probably under cloches, but still in the ground.
Bright and early yesterday morning I used Perplexity to put together a two-page treatise on Heads Up Display windshields in preparation for my visit to the shop that installed the incorrect windshield in my wife’s BMW. I could have saved my time. When I arrived at the shop and explained the situation, the owner went out and confirmed the installed windshield was NOT Heads Up compatible and assumed all responsibility for replacement, stating it was his error, that he quoted a price to fix the windshield and that price was the price. He would cover the cost of the correct windshield and labor to install it. We have an appointment to have the proper windshield installed next Tuesday.
My visit to the dermatologist is a different story. I went in with a list of 6 places I wanted him to look at which he did. Along the way, he used what seemed to be a gallon of nitrogen squirting her and there and everywhere. Then the fun really began. With a marker, he outlined seven, yes seven areas from which another dude took samples to send to the lab for analysis, ie, is cancer present? The female attendant informed me in private that five is the usual maximum usually taken and that I was special in getting seven. Take that on board, seven. Just wait for the lab results to come back and we have seven areas that the dermatologists digs into to remove cancer.
As a sidelight, I’m taking the wife’s BMW in at 1000 this morning to have a chip installed. I’ll let you know what, if anything it does for performance. Her car has the software programming to let us know how it affects performance.
