I know I've been neglecting you all...I get the notices about new messages and do finally come to read, maybe comment, but posting has been at a bit of a standstill. And truly, I'm not ignoring you! or the evolution narrative, which I do plan on picking up again.

I've just been extremely busy and writing so many articles on recent topics that the thought of posting here  makes me tired. I'm extremely behind on a number of other writing-related things as well...I just can't seem to get everything done.

Some highlights you may be interested in:

Medical Update - I've been back and forth to the doctor/hospital/pharmacy to follow-up on my health issues. All of the previous testing came back negative, including the lupus and thyroid tests. We're still not sure what's causing my facial flushing/rash/coloration issues, but we think we've pinpointed the pain and mobility issues on my left side. Untreated plantar fasciitis. The tendon in my foot is all inflamed and the way it has me walking is affecting my side all the way up to my hip. So I have physical therapy at home, high dose naproxen (anti-inflammatory), and am awaiting X-ray results regarding a possible bone spur. If there isn't one, then I must've damaged it somehow and we'll be keeping an eye on it to see if it heals (with the hopes that surgery isn't needed). As for the facial thing...we're still not sure but we're dealing with the pain thing first since all of the big systemic things have been ruled out.

On top of that, we've been dealing with a schedule shift with some sewage/water line problems that our landlady is currently dealing with. She and her husband are good people, and I know they weren't expecting a drain issue in the house down the hill to cause so much trouble, but now they're excavating the driveway to put in a new line, we had no water for a bit the other day, and we're just trying to stay out of their way lol It's interesting to say the least. But she had to come in the other day to help get the water heater shut off and our house was a mess because we're organizing and sorting to put some unused things in storage (or get rid of them). So I was embarrassed that our landlady saw the house on a day that would make me cringe if I owned it and didn't know what it looks like normally. Ugh

More interesting though, and quite nostalgic, is that I've been helping my sister with a genealogy paper for college. I used to delve into the family history and tree regularly, but it's been a few years, so going through the old papers was fun. But several hours on the phone at a time really eats into blogging time.

I've also been working on a throw for my mother-in-law for Mother's Day. She (well, they) bought me a snazzy new sewing machine for Christmas, so I thought my first major project should be something for her. Plus, I don't know the last time my boyfriend actually gave her anything for Mother's Day....she's due.

And then finally, just the past day or so, my mother took a hard fall and doesn't have full use of her arms and hands for the time being. I live too far away to help out and my sister has one more week of the semester before she can be home to help out. She's lucky she didn't break both wrists! She bowed one of her arm bones (the ulna) so much the doctor specifically remarked on it. *sigh* My mother is where I get my grace lol I have the scarred knees to prove it. Luckily my aunt lives just a couple blocks away and she has some friends who are coming by to help make tea and food. She also is able to take the week off work to recuperate, with her poor bandaged hands and lame arm. As far as they can tell she didn't break anything (the last time she fell like that she broke her shoulder!), but a radiologist is giving her films a good once over before fully writing it off as sprains/pulls/contusions. At least we know she doesn't have osteoporosis.

 So that's been me the last few weeks...and why it may appear I've been awol. I still try to keep up with your messages, but I'm not sure when I'll be back on a normal schedule with it all.

Now I'll go back to staring at the nearly foot of snow we got last night (yep, in April...just one more wrench in the works).