… of life, the universe, and everything…
Next Sunday at dawn, my daughter and I will hit the road to Iowa City. Waze says it’s a 3 hour and 15 minute drive. I’m thinking I’ll force her to listen to my audio books, and we’ll pull into somebody’s drive-thru at 8am or so. The trunk will be weighted down with books and stuff from the last event I participated in, and my car will still desperately need cleaning.
What I’m Reading
I’m re-reading the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I first read it as a tween and absolutely loved it. I so wanted to be Laura and have her life. I learned how to cook and sew and make quilts and cheese and butter. I hadn’t quite figured out how to handle the livestock interaction so I’m sure I just ignored that part of her life. I wanted to live in a little house in the big woods, and on the banks of Plum Creek, and by the shores of Silver lake. I even thought living in a little town on the prairie and going to a one room school would be fun.
Well… reading it now some nearly fifty years later I’m shook! I have absolutely no recollection of storms or fires or aggressive Indians. I remember the scene when Mr. Scott was overcome by gas at the bottom of the well, but I certainly don’t remember Ma being forced to cook by Indians wearing smelly skunk skins, or other Indians robbing the house or threatening war! I don’t remember the government driving the Ingalls’ off of their homestead or them camping for months under the stars.
These books are full of fun and laughter and family love, but there’s also drama and tension and danger. In these modern times, the stories of the Ingalls family might not hold the interest of today’s savvy tweens, but perhaps, with early reading as bedtime stories for seven and eight year olds, an interest in and love for the lives and lands of the early American frontier might grow. In reading these again, I didn’t realize how much I missed the little girl who wanted to be Laura. I’m really glad to know her again.
Health Update
Back in January, to start off the new year, my blood pressure went sky high for no discernible reason. I was immediately hospitalized, referred to a cardiologist, and put on seven blood pressure meds. I had a procedure on my kidneys to hopefully lower my bp. It didn’t work. So I have diastolic heart failure and stage 3 chronic kidney disease. I also have an endocrinologist and guess what she found… guess…! After many tests and a CT scan with contrast, there’s a nodule on my left adrenal gland! It’s benign (in terms of cancer) but these things tend to over produce aldosterone which is known to cause… now get this… hypertension, low potassium, depression, weight gain, and type 2 diabetes! YES, I’ve got ‘em all! And the treatment is an adrenalectomy… and I’m totally down with that. But yeah… I hafta fight with my HMO to get to the doctor that can do the final testing.
Writing and Book News
I’m writing again! My characters are talking to me and I’m getting in a groove. I don’t have any theme music yet, but I’m sure it’ll come. This story is hard cuz I haven’t written like this since high school (no it’s not porn!). It’s set in a dystopian near-future and I have a co-author. We work well together, but life be lifin’.
In other news, if you scroll way back up to the top to the menu (or just hit the menu button on your phone) you’ll see a link for Books by Deborah L. King – Writer. Clicking that will take you to a page with links to order eBooks, paperbacks, audio-books, and signed paperback copies with a little gift (shipping included).
Anyhoo… that’s all folks!
