TGIF

Have you ever heard of a 'chemical stress test' for the heart?  I had one this morning at the hospital in Sacramento.  They are checking out my heart to make sure that my current issues are not related to some kind of blockage.  Doc ordered the chemical test as opposed to the treadmill.  I was treated well, fully briefed on the procedure (it's pretty complex with several steps and caveats), set up in the PET scan room, hooked up with IV and heart monitors and then shoved through a tube with my arms above my head for about 30 minutes.  Despite my fears about what my physical reactions might be, I got through it with relative ease.  When they put the chemical in that would stress my heart, I became warm, felt pretty jacked up and developed a moderate headache.  

My days of snorting cocaine came to mind....the late 1970s were a tad careless and wild.  

I also used self-hypnosis to keep me calm and take my mind away from my body's sensations and the sounds in the lab.  I imagined I was in my old hammock under the sycamore trees, feeling the breezes blow across my face and listening to bird song.  It allowed time to sail by and I was actually a little surprised when the test came to an end.

Now, of course, I have to wait to find out the results.  During the procedure, I did hear some comments between the techs and the nurses which indicated that they were -- I don't know the right word -- impressed by the wacky electrical activity they were seeing.  I imagine that if a blockage had been found they would have admitted me to the hospital then and there.  Then again...mistakes  have been known to happen.

In happier news, my grandson turned seven years old yesterday.  We had a nice chat on Facetime and he was devouring jelly beans the entire time.  I reminded him that I was there in the room with everybody when he was born.  He knows the whole story: he was born in the bathtub, he was blue when he came out, and he had a cone shaped head.  He thinks it's all very funny.  He popped another jelly bean into his gob and laughed loudly.

This photo was taken a couple of years ago, in my beloved Brazilian hammock that hung in my front yard.  I left it for the buyer of the house since we don't have anywhere to hang it.  Sigh.  I spent many, many happy hours in that hammock.

Northern California continues to burn and our skies are pretty smoky.  The morning sun today was a bright red/orange fireball straight out of a science fiction movie.    The Carr fire near Redding has caused 6 deaths, including 2 fire fighters.  Something like 1300 structures (mostly residences) have been destroyed.  So, I'm not going to complain about a little smoke.  

My husband took this photo when we were driving east on I-80 into Sacramento at 7:00 a.m.  for the stress test.

There are many other fires currently in California.  This is just one.  The phrase often heard is, "this is the new normal."

Maybe next summer we hop a ship and spend a month at sea.  Somewhere, anywhere.  I'll take a stack of novels to read.  

If you'd like to join us, give me a holler.  The more the merrier.  You'd like to get away, wouldn't  you?

Have a lovely weekend!