Where've You Been

Male Gambel's Quail on Fence in Sycamore Canyon 3-2-09 by Kathiesbirds

As I sit here writing this post today a male Gambel’s quail is watching me as I watch him out my den window. The sun is shining brightly and I have the windows open to the warmth of the day. Our current temperature is running 20 degrees above normal. If it hits 91 today, we will break another record. The title for today’s post comes from a song I vaguely remember from my youth. I went searching on the internet and found the lyrics, but could only find it sung by Kathy Mattea. Does anyone out there know who sang it originally?

It’s been two years since Gus started at his new job down here in Tucson. He came about 3 weeks ahead of me as I stayed behind to help sell the house. With all the excitement of moving to a new place there is also the frustration of finding new doctors, dentists, and hairdressers. Gus and I put off this task for as long as possible, but finally we succumbed and started our search. For me, the dentist is always an anxiety ridden search. Having grown up poor during the 1960’s, my experience with dentists has been unpleasant to say the least. Most of my memories of dental work from my youth involve drills and lots of pain coupled with a distinct memory of being slapped in the face by a dentist. That would never happen now, but it did happen back then. As an adult I have had much better experiences with dentist and slowly my fear and anxiety have subsided. I loved my Utah dentist, and learned to trust him with my teeth. However, since moving to Tucson, the search for a new dentist has been a bit difficult and after trying one, I deiced to try another that Gus had gone to and liked.

On February 12th I went in for the replacement of 3 crowns. I knew it would be a long day, but I was looking forward to getting all the work over and done with in one visit. This dentist has a new procedure where they make Cerec crowns on premise with no temporary crown or return visits required. Sounded good to me! (Note: The dentist mentioned in the link is not the dentist I went to and had nothing to do with my experience!) However, my ordeal quickly degraded into a nightmare. The dentist who worked on me was just training on how to make these computer generated crowns. He, like most dentists, did not understand how quickly the Lidocaine wears off of me. Plus, he had another dentist training him on how to make these new fangled crowns. This so called “expert” was the one who jammed the new crown up into my exposed tooth pulp causing me such intense pain. After he left, my dentist continued to work on my other teeth. The end result was that I spent 8 ½ hours in the dentist chair in intense pain. By the end of the day my mouth was so sore I felt like I had spent 8 hours in a boxing match. I would have walked out, but they had 3 of my teeth out and I could only wait for them to be replaced. I left the dentist that day vowing to never go to another dentist in my life! Since then I have been in constant pain for over 2 ½ weeks. Anyone who knows me knows I do not like to take drugs of any sort, but I have not been able to get through a day without Advil. I did not know where to turn for help, but finally spoke with a friend whose husband is a dentist. He told me that in spite of my anger and fear, I needed to let this dentist repair the damage he had done. So, I swallowed my pride and fear and called them up and made an appointment. I took Gus with me as my advocate. The dentist readjusted my bite and wrote me a prescription for Ibuprofen. After being on that medication for 3 days I finally woke up feeling better yesterday. Though I am not pain free without the medication yet, I finally have hope that I will be soon. My new crowns look beautiful, but I paid for them with the most intense pain I have ever felt in my life.

My grandson, Xavier 10 months old 2-21-09 by Kathiesbirds

The last 2 weeks have been a blur of pain and other activities. I did babysit my new grandson for two days, during which we had long walks and lots of cuddles, but I couldn’t get anything done. Now I am playing catch up on house work and other necessary activities. The warm weather makes me want to garden. And the birds are starting to migrate. I saw my first Turkey Vulture of the year here in Sycamore Canyon yesterday, which means it just missed making it to my February yard count. It may have been here the day before, but I was not as Gus and I have spent the last 3 days of February running errands. My final count for the month was only 17 bird species, but I must say I was a bit distracted towards the end.

Gus points to the new light he installed 3-1-09 by Kathiesbirds

After living in this house for two years, we are finally making a few fixes that we wanted to. In the last two weeks Gus installed a new Ceiling fan in the den, and on Saturday evening he and I installed a new light over the dining room table. My next big project is to start landscaping the backyard and possibly the front yard. I hope this will provide more cover for the birds when the hawks come hunting. I hope to add plant species that will attract the birds and perhaps even entice a few to nest in my yard.

I will be writing my new MY World post right after this and hopefully I will be around to visit all my favorite blogs in between loads of laundry, washing the floor, and doing dishes! Oh, and I am also watching that Big Snow Storm on the East Coast and being grateful that I am wearing shorts and a tank top instead of snow boots and a parka today!