So, I totally forgot to take advantage of early voting here in TX and will have to do it in person Tuesday. Finally found my polling place, and it’s not far from my house, so that’s good. Hoping the lines aren’t long as I can’t stand in one place very long. Sigh…
I also forgot to get a blog post ready, so this is going to be a random collection of things. Some just for fun… like this quilt… and some more serious. Bear with me.
Over the weekend, I finished piecing the top of this quilt, and it’s ready for a back, filling, and to be quilted. Just need to plan out a quilting pattern to use. Hmmm. If any quilters read this post, I’m open to suggestions.
There wasn’t much work to be done to finish the piecing, which was good because I spent the bulk of Saturday and Sunday attending a virtual conference hosted by the Facial Pain Association. Specialists in neurology, dentistry, and psychology presented workshops covering everything from diagnosis to treatment options.
The organization has been in existence since 1990, and I’ve been a member for almost ten years, attending the conference for the last five years. It is always beneficial for finding out the latest in research about the various types and causes of facial pain and new approaches to medications and other treatments. This year I learned about some new medications that I will talk to my neurologist about in an upcoming visit.
It would be such a relief to have the pain go away, even for a day. It’s tolerable if I can keep it below level 4, but too often is above that, especially if I want to be social at all.
My condition is complex and not easy to treat, and I’m not a good candidate for any more surgery, so any new advancement in medical treatment is welcome. Thankful that my neurologist is open to a real collaborative approach and we can have a good discussion. I’m looking forward to our visit as there are a couple of medications that are having good results in some patients who also have the chronic 24/7 type of pain that I do.
It was good to interact with the presenters via questions they’d answer, as well as share with other attendees, some who have had facial pain conditions for years, like me, and some who are newly experiencing the “joy.”
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If you’re a regular visitor to my blog, you might be wondering how I’ve managed to get this far in the post without commentary on the war in the Middle East. I just don’t have words adequate enough to express my dismay. I just worry about how much worse it is going to get and how many people will have to die. My sincere condolences to families who have lost loved ones.
Could we just have war no more?
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I’ve been excited about The Year of the Horse. Maybe because I love horses so much and have always considered them strong, bold creatures who can also be gentle and affectionate. In a recent Substack essay, Dr. Jennifer Reed equated that to women and offered tips on how woman can embrace this special year by being bold without sacrificing dignity, follow what feels sacred, not merely urgent, and speak truth without rancor.
She included the following in her article:
Fire is not inherently destructive.
It clarifies.
It purifies.
It reveals what cannot survive the truth.
The Fire Horse year is not asking us to become louder.
It is asking us to become truer.
To speak without excess.
To act with compassionate conviction.
To create without dilution.
This is the year to refine passion into purpose —
and instinct into form.
The women once feared in Fire Horse lore were not dangerous because of excess emotion.
They were dangerous because they could not be contained.
2026 invites that same uncapturable integrity.
The rest of her article is well worth a read if you have a few more minutes.
This year of the Fire Horse has captured my attention so much, I just had to one of these awesome shirts from The Heritage Collective and if you’re a horse-lover like me, you will get lost in the options at that site. This is my second shirt from them, and I suspect not my last. The shirts are good quality and the customer service is terrific.
That’s all from me for today, folks. Take care and be safe. Be happy.