A side effect of having flares is their random quality. One day a person with RA may be out dancing with the girls. The next week she may not able to join them because she is not well. Repeat. And then repeat. Is she neurotic? Her friends may be thinking. They stop asking her to go with them. Another young mother with RA  may ask her husband or her mother to help more with the children when she is having a flare that puts her flat. She was able to explain the severe and random nature of rheumatoid arthritis flares. Her husband and her mother had come to understand the severe and random na ..read more

I watched the last night of the Democratic convention. Vice-President Harris is a surprise.  For the last three years she has been the quiet figure standing near President Biden when he speaks. No more. She is a breath of fresh air. She is strong. There is no doubt what her agenda will be. This is my summer of learning about baseball. They do have a lot of little rules and it is about the numbers. We are Phillies fans. Through thick and thin. My favorites are Straum, a toe tapping relief pitcher, Castellanos, right fielder and dependable hitter, and Stubbs, relief catcher, energized team ..read more

I am in the process of writing my first novel. It is called Matilda and her Alien. Matilda owns a bookstore. One day a man mysteriously appears in her store to say that he is an alien,  she is an alien, and they are at risk of being murdered, by men from another planet. It is fairly easy to believe him. Bertrand. Handsome. Charming. Twinkling blue eyes. Then , of course, she had met him years ago.  Their adventures span the globe as well as nearby planets. There are many colorful characters. Ahmed, Baghdad interpreter, Dr John, a South African trauma surgeon, Isabella, the Santa ..read more

One of the worst things about rheumatoid arthritis(RA) is the inconsistency of flares. You may be working on a project either a  home or work project. You feel good. You think maybe your RA is on the mend. Could you possibly be cured?  Could your biologic be working so well? How about your weed? Then you find out. You are hit like a hammer. You wake up in the morning. You start to move for another good day. Then you are whacked. Pain in your joints is sharp when you move. I have more than twenty joints inflamed. Probably closer to thirty screaming at me when I move. We move to the ne ..read more

About six months ago I fell into a writer’s block. I could not read another article on rheumatoid arthritis or write another article about living with it  I continued to read my Danial Silva novels, and as time passed I let Bob, my sourdough starter, pass into sourdough heaven. Who knows why what did happen. But I changed. Yes, I did. I watched the world series with my son. I was totally amazed at how unpredictable a game of baseball played out. It was fun. I love the Phillies. I joined my son and became a Phillies fan. We watch all the Phillies games that we can. I know all the players ..read more

Last year I was found to have a large patch of melanoma on my back. After the biopsy, I had a long two incision surgery.  Shortly after that discovery I learned that my right eye had a dry macular degeneration. That quickly degraded into a wet macular degeneration. Previously,  my left eye had a hole in the macula. Surgery was no help. A preview of what will happen to the right eye. My RA continued to be painful despite inflammation relief I have from cannabis. There is no more relief from the biologics. They no longer work for me. S o here I am in the next year. It took me eight mon ..read more

Philadelphia Phillies. I have joined my son and am now a Phillies fan. He has his red hat. Francis has his Harper, 1st base, shirt. I will get a hat soon. We watch all the games that are not blacked out or are at an odd hour. Amazing how unpredictable the games are. A team will play well one day and poorly the next. Harper was out to have a baby and no one seemed to be able to play 1st Base like he could. Sickle Cell disease Sickle cell disease is a devastating disease associated with extreme relentless pain. There are about 100,000 people in the United States with sickle cell disease. The new ..read more

Nothing like tulips to remind us that warmer weather is on its way. Albuquerque is warming up and once we reach May, we will be hot for the summer. Yesterday we watched the second Phillies’ game. The day before we watched the first. Both games were with the Atlanta Braves. The Phillies lost both games. I attribute the first loss to wind. The second was just being out matched. We are loyal Phillie fans. We are hopeful that we will win today. Cannabis continues to work for me. I take a combination of THC, CBD, and CBN. I am looking for inflammation reduction and pain relief. I still need the Tra ..read more

Amazing how  opinions slowly adjust and change over a long and meandering length of time until the whole community has reversed its posture. I’m  thinking of cannabis,  of course.  Cannabis is legal in about 33 states. My state, New Mexico, has  made cannabis legal  both medically and recreationally. I have a medical card. My primary doctor signed the  digital paperwork. I have rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica and several cancers (5 now). Next day, my cannabis card arrived via email. It is good for three years.  I do not pay the 20% in tax, 1 ..read more

Today I am making a Pain de Mie, a sandwich loaf made in a pullman loaf pan. It comes with a lid so the bread will have the same sides all around. It is a soft, dense bread just right for sandwiches. I made it once before. The lid popped off in the oven. The sides were even and yes, it was a good bread. I am making it again to see if I have the same luck. It has taken a while to recover from the melanoma surgery. I spent four hours in nuclear med while doctors and techs looked for lymph glands. Next was a two phase surgery: one incision under my arm while I was on my back  and the second ..read more