I've taken zero pictures today so here's one Jessie sent the group of some of her biddies. Their heat lamp is red because it's supposed to be less stressful on the babies and allows them to follow a more natural routine than a white light. Also, some say that it prevents the chicks from pecking at each other. I have no idea if that is true.
She sent me a little video last night wherein August says that he named one of them "Buffalo" and then he says, "Wait. I mean, I named him Chicken Wing."
Oh my.
I hear that Sophie is probably the most excited member of the family about the chicks.
Jessie says that when she's in the room with them, she shakes all over with her excitement and when they take her out of the room, she cries by the door. Now whether she wants to mother them or kill them is up for debate. Vergil says she wants to play with them and I'm sure she does. That will be another element to figure in to the equation of chick-raising at their house.
I have not felt like the same person I was yesterday, so filled with determination and energy. I just could not force myself to do anything, either inside or out but instead, spent most of the day looking at stupid videos and wasting my time and hating myself for it. I finally got out my sewing machine to hem two pairs of overalls that are just way too long and ended up doing one pair, badly, and instead of feeling that I've accomplished something, I feel as if I've fucked something up.
Glen and Vergil went out to put up trail cams where they hunt so they can see what's going on. The cameras have to be programed and batteries have to be put in. Ladders are involved and all kinds of discomforts like hiking through the hot mosquito- and tick-filled woods. I found a tick on myself the other day and my husband had to pull it off for me. Little bastards.
Glen and Vergil went out to put up trail cams where they hunt so they can see what's going on. The cameras have to be programed and batteries have to be put in. Ladders are involved and all kinds of discomforts like hiking through the hot mosquito- and tick-filled woods. I found a tick on myself the other day and my husband had to pull it off for me. Little bastards.
Anyway, they didn't get back until almost five and Glen, at least, is exhausted. Vergil took home a Pack'n'Play I've had in my closet since Levon was a baby, some field peas, and some brownies. I got a wild hair last night and made some. The Pack'n'Play is for the chicks who will need a bigger space soon. For those of you who do not know, a Pack'n'Play is a portable crib for babies and toddlers and a must for grandmothers who keep young grandchildren sometimes. They work well, being deep and having netting to keep the babies inside, both human and avian.
I've recently cut down on my dose of hormone replacement therapy and I'm thinking that may have something to do with my wildly swinging moods, my tendency to cry, my feelings of despair and thoughts of mortality. I could be wrong. I frequently am. But I do know that hormones have a great deal to do with emotions and not just in women, either. I'd like to get off of them completely as I've been on them for a very long time and also, I have a love-hate relationship with the gynecologist whom I need to prescribe them. I don't really hate him, he's a very pleasant person and is absolutely the most skilled person I've ever had do a lady exam, completely eliminating embarrassment and pain for me, but I resent the fact that I'm still having to get these dang things after a lifetime of lying on my back with my legs in stirrups and my most private of privates examined and scraped. My womanly parts have always been so very good to me with hardly ever any problems beyond the most mundane and I'd love to reward them by never having to expose them to light or little cell-collectors or speculums ever again.
You men have no idea although yes, I know you have to go through your own version of the same, but it's not quite the same, I think.
You men have no idea although yes, I know you have to go through your own version of the same, but it's not quite the same, I think.
I went on hormone replacement therapy originally for various reasons including debilitating hot flashes that went on for years, depression, and anxiety. It is a quality-of-life situation but I'd like to think by now that I can live without the HRT.
I will tell you though- if the hot flashes return along with any of the other symptoms, I'll just be on this shit until I die. Unless you've ever experienced hot flashes, you cannot know the thermonuclear force with which they hit, multiple times during the day and night, turning your face beet red, scrambling your thoughts, causing profuse sweating, and basically interfering with life and with sleep. And for me, sleep IS life. Most women pass through these demon possessions eventually but mine, as I said, lasted for years and my then-doctor told me that 20% of women never stop having them. Since I've been tapering off the HRT, I've been experiencing some very mild ones that I can live with and that's okay.
So this is an experiment and I guess I need to be kind to myself as I go through this transition.
I will tell you though- if the hot flashes return along with any of the other symptoms, I'll just be on this shit until I die. Unless you've ever experienced hot flashes, you cannot know the thermonuclear force with which they hit, multiple times during the day and night, turning your face beet red, scrambling your thoughts, causing profuse sweating, and basically interfering with life and with sleep. And for me, sleep IS life. Most women pass through these demon possessions eventually but mine, as I said, lasted for years and my then-doctor told me that 20% of women never stop having them. Since I've been tapering off the HRT, I've been experiencing some very mild ones that I can live with and that's okay.
So this is an experiment and I guess I need to be kind to myself as I go through this transition.
Mr. Moon just got invited to go mullet-gigging on the Wacissa tonight.
Sigh.
Despite the fact that I know he's exhausted, already having leg cramps, and that standing in a boat in order to gig mullet is not going to be easy, he desperately wants to go and so he will. He's thought it out and come up with a way he can sit when they're not gigging and lean on a railing when they are.
Funny. I used to be married to a man for whom the word "gig" had a very different meaning than it does to Mr. Moon. And again, for those of you who may not know, gigging for fish is not unlike spearfishing although that is done while diving. A fishing gig is more like a pole with multiple sharp prongs on it that you can use from the shore or a boat. You can gig for fish, gators, and frogs.
Yes. Frogs. Frog legs are a delicacy. Not one that I'd ever try.
Sigh.
Despite the fact that I know he's exhausted, already having leg cramps, and that standing in a boat in order to gig mullet is not going to be easy, he desperately wants to go and so he will. He's thought it out and come up with a way he can sit when they're not gigging and lean on a railing when they are.
Funny. I used to be married to a man for whom the word "gig" had a very different meaning than it does to Mr. Moon. And again, for those of you who may not know, gigging for fish is not unlike spearfishing although that is done while diving. A fishing gig is more like a pole with multiple sharp prongs on it that you can use from the shore or a boat. You can gig for fish, gators, and frogs.
Yes. Frogs. Frog legs are a delicacy. Not one that I'd ever try.
How in the world did this man and I ever decide to get married, much less stay married for forty years? I won't even go out for dinner anymore because leaving the house at night is way too stressful for me while he'll get on a small boat, go out on a river in the dark, and try to stab fish with a tool not unlike Neptune's trident.
At least I know he'll come home when that gigging is over and perhaps with some delicious mullet instead of showing up at dawn-thirty with a hangover and a story that no one in their right mind would believe.
Boy. I'm not mincing words tonight, am I? Let's blame it on a lack of estrogen and progesterone, i.e., me being my real true self at the age of seventy.
Next thing you know, I'll be cursing like a sailor.
Oh wait. I already do.
Oh wait. I already do.
Love...Ms. Moon
I still have hot flashes, although nothing like I did when I was fifty. Those fucked me up big time. The only estrogen I have left is in a tiny little tablet that I insert into my vagina twice a week, so that the poor thing doesn't shrivel up and turn into a dusty little cave, complete with bats:) TMI, I know.
ReplyDeleteThe change is your hormones could definitely being messing with your brain. Right now I have vertigo and that's messing with my brain and my tummy. Sigh. Getting old hey?
NOT TMI and until we women can shed our shame and whatever-the-fuck-it-is causing us to be ladylike and not discuss things like vaginas and what can happen to them as we age, nothing's going to change. Thank you, woman!
DeleteThanks to HRT I sailed through menopause but my doctor took me off because she thought it caused my high blood pressure. I have pledged to my lady parts to Let them alone. I am taking a risk but at 79 how much time do I have Right now I am dealing with eye problems and an eye doctor I can't stand. Anything that involves the phone like finding a new doctor leaves me wilted. Carol
ReplyDeleteCarol- I feel the same way about anything involving speaking on a phone. Ugh. Your female parts are probably just fine and I hope you can steel yourself to call around and find a new eye doctor that you like and trust because eyes are so important.
DeleteI was on hrt for years, starting when I had a complete hysterectomy, because heart problems run in my family. At that time it was believed hrt protected the heart. . After a couple of years they found that it wasn't the hrt, it was their sample of women, who typically exercised, ate well, didn't smoke etc, not the hrt! So I stopped. Felt fine. No hot flashing.
ReplyDeleteIt was great, as good as being a man. Stable moods, mostly good ones, no anxious calendar watching.
Right? First it was supposed to protect us from heart disease, then it was going to give us cancer, and now- well, it's probably fine! But I am glad to hear that you were able to get off of your HRT without a problem.
DeleteI, too, am glad not to bleed every month but I still have mood swings. I think that's just me though.
"Oh Hell, just skip this one"? Hah! As if we would. I hope Glen does bring home some nice mullet. The baby chicks are beautiful and I hope they all become good layers. The pack'n'play is a good idea for them.
ReplyDeleteI also remember those hot flashes where I spent days shedding clothing and putting it back on only to tear it all off again a few minutes later. Several years ago a new-to-me doctor discovered my blood pressure was WAY too high and could be part of the reason I was still having the flashes, so we stopped the HRT and I got blood pressure pills instead, along with the high cholesterol pills and took notice of when the flashes were happening. Ten minutes after eating chocolate, I'd be sweating, ditto coffee, and icecream was the one thing that had me sweating through the night. So I cut back on all those things and there's a decent improvement. So that's what worked for me. I still need to lose forty pounds though. I hope you can find a solution too.
The power of those early hot flashes was immense, wasn't it? I can remember running to the frozen food section of the store and grabbing a bag of peas to put on my chest. I did buy them so- why not? But it was insane. I kept those folding fans everywhere. I had one fan that was made of feathers and it was the best one. Glen would grab it and fan me with it.
DeleteI'm glad you've gotten better. I could lose thirty or forty pounds and it wouldn't hurt anything and sure would help a lot of things.
I do miss chocolate and icecream though, so treat myself a couple of times a year, knowing I'll get hot but feeling it will be worth it just this once or twice.
DeleteI was at the plant nursery a week or so ago and had a raging hot flash. The saleswoman came over and asked if I was okay and if I wanted water and then told me SHE WAS 78 AND STILL HAVING HOT FLASHES. No thank you very much. My own mother tells me she "can't remember" going through menopause, but she also told me labor pains were just like bad menstrual cramps. Anyway, my blood pressure pills have helped my hot flashes, and not drinking also helps, but they ain't gone completely. And I'm not giving up my once a week martini, goddamn it.
ReplyDeleteMy mother said the same damn thing about menopause. She didn't lie about childbirth though. Good for you for mostly giving up alcohol. You are a strong woman. And yeah- if I was still having hot flashes at 78, I'd be back on HRT and that's all there is to it. Fuck it. We're all going to die but we don't have to die by internal incineration.
DeleteMy mother had a very easy menopause and so did I, my sister had a hell of a time and my older daughter has just started hrt because she is not having fun. Luck of the draw. Margaret
DeleteI was having some "down there" problems and had to go to the gynae every three months for a year. Then when that was resolved he pushed the appointments back to every six months. Now I've got another "down there" problem and will be going twice in 10 days, so yeah I hear ya! I'm not at all worried but what you say about lying there like a beached whale while some guy has his nose up your fanny just doesn't do it for me either. And I think you're right, if coming off HRT doesn't work for you I would go right back on it. Quality of life is everything. Hell I was on them for about five years and was as horny as hell - I loved them and was really sorry to come off them, but I feel for women going through that crap!
ReplyDeleteI can't say I've been horny as hell on them but at least sex still interests me.
DeleteI'm sorry you're going through it with your lady parts. I hope you get it all resolved soon.
I curse like a sailor, too. Am I lacking estrogen and progesterone? When you said Mr. Moon was going mullet gigging, I imagine a group of guys performing in a band and all sporting mullets. The things I learn here. I’ve seen so many friends suffer through those “power surges” and know it has to be awful. I’ve never had my legs in stirrups.
ReplyDeleteYes. It's because you have no estrogen or progesterone that makes you curse so bad.
DeleteI had to laugh at the image of the mullet-gigging band. That would be SO north Florida in every way.
I've heard women refer to hot flashes as power surges and I'm sorry, I sort of want to smack them. Any name that has the slightest positive connotation is just wrong.
Feet in stirrups is bad enough and then they always say, "Scoot down farther, please," and there you are with your ass almost hanging off into space and it's just quite unpleasant.
You may want to investigate fezolinetant (brand name veoza over here) for dealing with those hot flashes. This is no recommendation and I am not a medical practitioner, however.
ReplyDeleteGood luck
a
I have never even heard of that medication but it sure does look intriguing! I'm going to try and remember that. Thank you.
DeleteI can't remember the last time I had a gyno exam. my current PC tells me I don't need them which suits me fine. there is no dignity in getting probed around down there. I never took any kind of HRT. I had hot flashes, seems like for years but they did eventually stop. and then they were replaced by sweating, rolling off my face sweating. I never used to sweat, just perspire, until I went through menopause. now I can be standing in the shade on a hot day doing nothing or talking with Robin and sweat will start dripping off me. but at least it's not that roiling burn that starts in your groin and spreads outward to every part of your body. I also lost my sweet tooth though I've cursed like a sailor my whole life.
ReplyDeleteI have the same sweating issue! It literally rolls off my face. It's just miserable. But you're right, not quite as bad as hot flashes.
DeleteI don't have nearly the sweet tooth I used to either.
You and I both just love to fucking cuss. That's all there is to it.
That's an interesting possibility -- a hormonal link to your moods. Of course I know nothing about this from personal experience, but my mom eventually stopped her HRT and she wasn't too bothered.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I would be the first to agree that our exam is not quite like your exam. It's extremely fast, for one thing.
Thank you for the chicken update! Fish-gigging sounds like hell to me.
Every woman on earth knows that there is a direct hormonal link to our moods. It is blatantly obvious to us.
DeleteWhat? You guys don't have to get a speculum inserted and screwed open? You don't know what you're missing.
Fish gigging sounds like hell to me too but my god, eating that mullet is heaven.
The chicks are adorable and eventually having fresh eggs will be great.
ReplyDeleteHRT changes can cause all kinds of symptoms. Some friends had mood swings. Some went back on HRT, others went through the transition and eventually felt themselves again. I stopped HRT without much issue. Everybody is so different.
Everybody and every body- different. So much of medicine is trial and error, isn't it?
DeleteOh, that might explain why your moods have been up and down. I haven't had to have that exam for several years now and have never been on HRT. I hope you find the right balance and your "female trouble" will be gone for good. Thanks for explaining mullet gigging as I had no idea what it was.
ReplyDeleteI don't really have female trouble so much as I have doctor trouble. I am deeply troubled whenever I have to go to a doctor's office.
DeleteYou are welcome for the mullet gigging education.