the_rck | (no subject)

Cordelia has had three dental appointments in the last month and a half, the cleaning and then two separate appointments for fillings and sealing her six year molars. The last appointment was nearly two weeks ago, but I don't think I've mentioned it before.

The cavities have been filled and, as much as is possible given the cavities, her six year molars have been sealed. The cavities were small and only on one face of the two affected teeth, so the dentist sealed the other surfaces. I was disappointed that there were any cavities. We've been trying hard to get Cordelia to take good care of her teeth. I wanted to be able to seal those molars fully in hopes that she'll keep them longer and not end up with a mouth full of fillings (like me) or dentures (like my father).

Cordelia screamed when she got the shots. It was horrible, necessary but horrible. Even worse, she's old enough to dread it for hours in advance, building it up into something worse. I wish I had some idea of how to make the whole thing easier for her. On the plus side, she's really taking brushing more seriously now.

I saw the neurologist last Monday about my migraines. It was a fast appointment and actually started on time which surprised me. We're not fiddling with any medications this time. I was glad that he understood that one medication change (the Geodon) at a time is more than enough.

I saw the psychiatrist on Tuesday. She wants me to increase the Geodon soon. I'm currently taking 20 mg at night, and she'd like me to be taking 40 mg, either all at once, in the evening, or 20 mg twice a day. Right now, she's leaning more toward 40 mg once a day, but it will depend on what I seem to tolerate best.

She suggested that taking the Geodon earlier in the evening might help the morning exhaustion. I'm currently trying to remember to take the Geodon about an hour before my normal bedtime. That does seem to help. Well, either it helps or I'm getting used to the medication. Either is possible.

I'm drinking about the same amount of water, I think. I'm just drinking small amounts more frequently while I used to have larger amounts two or three times a day. (Our big glasses hold about 24 oz. If I use one of those, I have to leave it on the counter in the kitchen if I don't finish it quickly. There's simply no safe place to put a glass down in the living room.)

I still don't know if the medication is helping my anxiety at all. The week has gone by too rapidly, and there's been too much upheaval.

And I still haven't written any of the fic. That may happen tonight. That may happen tomorrow night. That may not happen at all. I don't know. I didn't get more than about four hours of sleep last night. I was too busy worrying about Scott, listening to him sleep, and wishing that the supplementary medication I'd taken for reflux would kick in. I don't know if the heartburn was due to dinner or due to stress. I suspect a combination. I had a sauceless pizza, and that's usually moderately safe, but....

::looks out the window:: I wish it would rain. Then I could stop thinking that I need to water my outdoor plants. I've put dill in my three empty planters, and the dirt in there dries out very, very rapidly. I almost think I need to water them more than once a day. Twenty-four hours is long enough to produce fissures in the soil.

After Tuesday, I'm going to work on my closet and my to-be-read shelves and stacks. I have clothes that I'll never wear again and could use the space getting rid of them would produce. I also have so many books waiting to be read that I don't know what I've got. Sorting them by size works well for stability of the piles but not so well for me knowing what I have when I'm in a particular mood.

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I'm sorry to hear that Cordelia had such a terrible time at the dentist. :( I wish I knew a way of soothing her to help you out. I guess I would stress that it's over soon and it would hurt worse if it didn't happen? But those reasons (as logical as they are) don't make *me* feel any better, so they may not hold much water with her...

Hope you get some fic writing time soon!

*hugs*

I felt terrible. We've been fighting her on the brushing, but we didn't push it as hard as we could have.

I let her clutch my hand during the shot. I think she did better when one of the hygienists held her hand, but that could just be me thinking it due to being able to stand more at a distance.

I bought a bag of powdered gel that mixes in with soil in my outdoor planters, to retain water for longer. It only takes a little powder in each pot; my bag says it has enough for something like 125 (or was it 500?) flowerpots. If you'd like me to pop by with some powder to help keep the dill's soil moister, I'd be happy to.

(You may already know this, but: Another option would be to put a mulch, such as wood chips, on top of the soil. That would help conserve moisture, plus also as the wood chips break down they enrich the soil.)

**hugs** about Cordelia's dentist visit.

Is the gel something I can sprinkle on the top or does it have to be worked into the soil? If the former, then yes, I'm interested. If the latter, I'd like to know the name of the stuff so that I can buy it next year.

I think that mulch would hurt the dill seedlings. Dill's not dreadfully robust. It makes up for that by spreading wildly with lots and lots of seeds.

The instructions on the gel say that for a plant that is already planted, you use something (I used a chopstick) to poke some holes far away from where you think the plant's roots are, and then pour equal amounts of gel down into the bottom part of each hole. Then you cover it up again with dirt. I bought this gel powder because I had two hanging baskets that needed watering every 1-2 days, and I figured that if they were doing that now, in May, then they would need watering easily twice a day when the summer really heats up. They do seem to be going longer between waterings now that I added the gel, so I think it is working. For whatever that's worth.

I grow dill (that reseeds itself each year) too, so I know what you mean about the seedlings being fragile. I don't mulch around mine, so I'm not speaking from experience, but I'd think that one of those really light mulches, where the wood chips are shredded into wisps, could be applied pretty gently, especially if it's only on a small bed of soil. But I'm not sure that I'd mulch dill either, so I agree with you that I'm not sure it's a good idea.

Hm. I'd like to try it. The boxes are drying out dreadfully. Well, they were before we hit these days of chilly, damp weather, and I'm sure they will again soon.

I suppose I could replant the dill if it doesn't survive. It grows fairly fast. I just want to have a lot of plants for Cordelia. She doesn't like dill in her food, but she loves picking bits off to eat while she's outside. I brought some small bits in last night, and she devoured them.

I just wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday. :) Hope it is a good one.

Thanks!

I had a grand birthday, apart from my dental appointment. It was very laid back.

Oh my goodness -- I have fallen off the birthday clue bus. Happy Birthday!!!

Thanks!

I don't expect people to track my birthday. Goodness knows, I forget about everyone else's.