I have not been able to sleep much lately. It’s as if the zzzz’s are eluding me. The problem is that since I had my second tooth pulled, I have been pain, which intensifies, particularly at night. I wake up thinking, oh, I’m in pain. Sometimes I have a headache, other times pressure behind the eyeballs, and at other times sharper pain under my cheek bone. Sometimes a combination thereof.

Last night was the first night in two weeks in which I wasn’t awoken by pain. Today I had a dentist appointment. The dentist, Dr. Gurr, did a fairly quick examination. He said that the wound site is slow to heel. He added that I should give it two weeks, and if I still am in pain, he’ll take an x-ray and figure out what to do next. Then he said that perhaps he will have to go back into the tooth cavity and perhaps drill out what’s left. That’s my translation. He was actually vague. I was just supposed to understand.

Reading at the Senior Center

I didn’t ask Dr. Gurr to elaborate. Undoubtedly, he’ll have to remove the bone graft and check out area that he drilled out. This is not good. This is bad. I am imagining the unimaginable. Undoubtedly, I will lose sleep wondering what is going on. Fingers are crossed that the area is healing. I do wonder, though, if those who are vegetarians have a harder time with animal bone grafts. It is asking the body a lot, to take on this kind of thing.

Well, if you hit bottom, or in my case see the ocean floor, there is no place else to go but up. And I went up fast, so fast that I almost got a case of the bends. I sorted through the books that came in on Saturday – this process was made easier by my having bins to put the books in. Then Mabel appeared and said that she could use more goat milk. I knew that this bit of information would make Pete, who hates to make goat cheese, very happy.

I next went to the Alaska Pioneer Home and on a whim asked them if they wanted a bookcase and books. Jane, who was in charge, said I needed to ask the activities director, but she seemed psyched about this. I said that I’d fill it with military history books. I later thought that I’d also put in books for women.

I, who was beginning to feel like I was on a roll, next went to the Palmer Senior Center and talked with Brandi, the new CEO, about acquiring land that the senior center owns. She was extremely enthused about our partnering with the senior center – so perhaps we will acquire the land. Fingers are crossed that I might be asked to meet with the Palmer Senior Center Board.

I do believe that if things are going well, to keep going. I proceeded in the direction of the Mat-Su School District Warehouse, and yes, James said, we can keep the books we sorted there until the sale on June 6. Yee haw. And he too mentioned a place in which there was a building and land available. However, I didn’t go and check it out. Hopes are high that we’ll get the senior center land and that we’ll be able to put the borough building on it.

I’ll lose sleep thinking about this.

Next: 142. 5/24/22: The Best Laid Plans