Connie's Corner

Pills, trees, and lizards....

We got the results of Jim's labs from last Thursday and the good news is, I think, we have conquered the high potassium problem with the rice milk, no potatoes, and no cantalope or honeydew. His results were normal. The bad news is his uric acid level is high and he is being prescribed two more pills. What it comes down to is that to keep his potassium normal, his acidity will rise because he cannot eat enough high alkaline foods. That old catch 22 again. He hates to take more medicine, but I guess it can't be avoided, and I hope the minimum doses work.

Last week I received four little trees (very little, like around a foot tall) from the Arbor Day Foundation, a dogwood, a redbud, a crepe myrtle, and a raintree. They were in a plastic bag and were left, folded up, in my mailbox. When I took them out, I thought no way are these things going to live...but, surprise, surprise. I put them in a bucket of water for a couple of days, planted them, and they all have little teeny green leaves up and down their stems, trunks, whatever you would call them at that size. Isn't that amazing? I have to admit, at first, I thought I would not even plant them. Can you imagine how long it will take for them to be real trees? Too long for me, I think, but I couldn't let them die without a chance, and they surprised me...worth every bit of the work involved. And raintrees...have you seen how beautiful they become? In the spring they are covered in gorgeous yellow flowers, and in fall, they form seed pods that make them appear to be covered in pink blooms. Maybe I'll just have to live to be 100!

Somehow a little lizard got into the backporch this morning, and of course, Mopsy had to find him, immediately biting off his tail, cat that she is. And wouldn't you know it, he speedily made his way (the tailless lizard, that is) into where I sit before this computer with Mopsy hot on his trail. He scurried under a small bookcase that sets to my left, and Mopsy tried to dig her way to China to get at him. He stayed put, and Mopsy finally gave up to go take her 3 P.M. nap. Then I saw the deformed poor little thing crawling out, so I got the broom and dustpan, trapped him as tenderly as a broom and dustpan will trap something, and released him into the wild outside the porch door. It is my understanding lizards can grow new tails. Don't tell Mopsy.

until next time...c