Roger O Green

The EOY health report for 2023

The benefits of root canal

Here’s the EOY health report for 2023:

Vision: I went for my eye exam on December 7. My doctor noted that, eventually, I’m going to need cataract surgery for both eyes, especially the left one. I’m going to get a diabetic eye exam in six months. Why not at the time of my last visit? Because my eye insurance paid for one service, and my medical insurance will cover the other, I couldn’t do both simultaneously.

Meanwhile, I recognize I need more illumination. I couldn’t read the name of the third movie playing at the Madison Theatre from the Mobil station, which was far away. But it was after 4 pm, and the sun was on its descent.

Likewise, I was ordering a watch for my wife for Christmas because her extant timepiece ceased working. I could read the word TIMEX on her current item but not Indiglo below it. Well, not until morning, when the natural light from outdoors aided me.

My wife told me that the last time she ordered glasses for our daughter at the same optometrist’s office, the spectacles were ready that day. Mine didn’t even start to be processed until the 13th, and it wasn’t ready on the 22nd when I called. I did not get them until after Christmas.

Heart: that thing is okay for another six months. No open-heart surgery THIS year. Yay.

No children were harmed.

Knees: My always achy left knee has been particularly aggravating me. At church a couple of weeks ago, I was heading towards the loo when some small human unexpectedly zigzagged toward me. It was all I could do to avoid falling on top of said small human. That would have a headline: “Fat old man falls, crushes small child in front of church bathroom.” But not falling, I pulled something, not only in my knee but my left ankle.

I actively avoid falls. My insane cat, Midnight, runs in front of me into the kitchen two hours before he is scheduled to be fed. I don’t want a dead feline on my conscience, either.

Last week, my neighbors allowed a garbage can to be filled with water. Then they tipped it over, with some water puddling in front of our house, and then freezing. Fortunately, my wife put down rock salt.

I’ve avoided getting a cortisone shot, determining that it only masks pain rather than truly treating it. But masking the pain may be the way to go if the discomfort continues into the new year.

Teeth: I had a cavity filled in November. When I went to the appointment, I misremembered it and thought it was just for a cleaning. The oddly comforting thing is that it didn’t hurt much after having a root canal in the area a few years ago.

Thus endeth the report.

Lydster: a family tradition

dinner before noon?

Our daughter is following a family tradition.

She was home for the Thanksgiving break. It was too short. We went to her college in western Massachusetts on Tuesday evening, stayed at a hotel overnight, and then returned to Albany on Wednesday morning.

Thanksgiving dinner was at a restaurant for the first time in memory, for complicated reasons too tedious to recap. It was the three of us, my MIL, one BIL, his wife, and one of their daughters. It was nice, but 11:30 is really early for something called “dinner.” The place was closing at 2 p.m. so the employees could have part of Turkey Day with their families.

Sunday after church, we loaded the car and headed east. While there were a couple of slowdowns for construction and because of a couple of smokies pulling over drivers on the Massachusetts Turnpike, we got to the college in decent time.

My, her suitcase is heavy, and it’s a two-floor walkup. Our daughter showed us some improvements she had made in the room, and then my wife and I returned home.

MIA

Early the next afternoon, she texted me that she could not find her wallet. “Did I leave it in the car?” I messaged her mother, who that evening and again the next morning thoroughly checked the vehicle.

I knew that no one had tried to use her Discover card because I had frozen it.

Friday afternoon, she called. Her mother had wondered whether she had left the wallet on the car’s roof since it was clearly not in her room. So, she called me to ask about our route leaving the campus, which I explained.

It WAS on the roof because she sent this picture at 3 pm, less than 15 minutes after she started walking from her dorm. The light blue item was the wallet. Below is her CDTA Navigator bus pass holder, which must have spilled out. While there were tire treads on the wallet, everything was intact, five full days after it was lost.

This was a far better outcome than MY lost wallet. The three of us were relieved.

Merry Christmas 2023

Every valley shall be exhalted

Merry Christmas 2023. Peace on earth: that would be nice. Goodwill to all: an admirable goal.

Gloria by John Rutter. Our choir performed this a few years ago.

The Dream Isaiah Saw by Glenn Rudolph, text by Thomas Troeger. I’ve used this before. The choir has sung this as well.

Little Drummer Boy (African Tribal Version) – Alex Boye’ ft. Genesis Choir

Every Valley – Handel’s Messiah, A Soulful Celebration

Handel’s Messiah – the Christmas portion. The New York Philharmonic, conducted by Leonard Bernstein. Theoretically, these should play in order. The last piece is Hallelujah, traditionally more of an Easter piece, but I’m no purist. I’ve had the joy of singing this at least four times.

Sunday Stealing looks back at 2023

not for the last time

This Sunday Stealing looks back at 2023. But it has very little overlap with my annual reflection which I stole from Kelly.

1. Who did you spend time with this year?

In sheer number of hours: my wife, my church choir, my daughter.

2. Anything change with the pets in your life?

Midnight went to the vet for the first time in nine years. After his previous visit, the old vet refused to see him again. The new vet was convinced that the office could examine him by combining a mild tranquilizer in the cat’s food and a better-trained staff. This proved not to be the case. the new vet concluded, “Your cat is crazy!” We knew that.

3. What was your job like this year? What do you do? Did any roles or assignments change? If you aren’t employed, base this question on your work at home or volunteering

For more than a decade, I was in charge of the Black History Month activities at my church, save for the luncheon. The February 2023 season was particularly difficult to book for various reasons., though it took place. The Anti-Racism Task Force at my church became a continuing committee and will be taking over the event, much to my delight.

4. What was the best book you read this year? How many did you read?

Not many. I really liked The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green

How terribly strange

5. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? Did you feel differently?

I was 70. Three score and ten. Yeah, it was a big deal.

6. What political or social issue stirred you the most?

The risk of the end of democracy in America.

7. Who was the most interesting new person you met?

They know who they are.

8. What changed in your home?

The nob to the basement came off. A whole bunch of little things need to be fixed in our old house.

9. What have you learned throughout the year? (Other than crafts) Can be a new skill or a life lesson.

How did I ever work for a living? I STILL don’t have enough hours in the day!

10. What was your favourite outfit for warm weather? Cooler weather? What do you wear when you dress up? Any new clothes or accessories you really love?

Clothes don’t tend to make a marked difference for me. The only clothes I bought were three DFTBA T-shirts during Pizzamas. No, I’m not going to explain that.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

11. Did you make or give up on any efforts to be healthier? Diet, water, exercise etc?

In the main, no. Pretty status quo, except in December, when my wife makes Christmas cookies.

12. Fave meals, snacks, desserts, restaurants etc? Eat out or eat in?

Early on, my wife and I used to have lunaversary dinners. Then, it went by the wayside. We have attempted to reinstate it. When we do takeout, it’s usually one of the places on the last block of Madison Avenue: Junior’s (bar food), the Curry House (Indian food), and the new pizzeria, the Pizza Lab, which has other foods as well.

13. Did you learn any new crafts or techniques? What was your favourite thing you made?

Nope.

14. What are your hopes and dreams for the new year? (Some suggestions-family, travel, work, lifestyle, hobbies, pets, appearance)

More genealogy. I have plenty of leads I need to follow up on.

15. What was the best new/new-to-you thing you a) bought b) made c) acquired in some other way?

The Reacher Grabber Tool, 32″ Grabbers for Elderly, Lightweight Extra Long Handy Trash Claw Grabber, Mobility Aid Reaching Assist Tool for Trash Pick Up, Nabber, Litter Picker, Arm Extension. It’s great for getting that spice jar that falls between the stove and the kitchen counter. We had one before, but it broke from overuse.

The day before Christmas Eve

Johnny Cash AND Neil Young?

It’s the day before Christmas Eve. Finally! When the seasonal ads start the day after Halloween, whatever joy I might have gotten when I first saw them has dissipated.

Tomorrow is a Sunday, which means church. But tomorrow evening is the night before Christmas, which means church. It reminds me of going to some churches with very long services back in the day.

The Wexford Carol – Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Krauss -My wife has a lot of Alison Krauss CDs. We saw her perform with Union Station in Albany back in 2003. Krauss is one of my wife’s “K girls,” along with Diana Krall. But this song is on a Yo-Yo Ma album, on which he performs with about two dozen other musicians.

Star Carol – Simon and Garfunkel. This song appears on the S&G box set.

Getting Ready for Christmas Day – Paul Simon. Simon is sampling a sermon from 1941, the year he was born.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing -King’s 2021. The descant is by David Willcocks. I’ve been singing from the carol books with his arrangements for about four decades.

Un flambeau, Jeanette Isabella – Loreena McKennitt. I’ll bring a torch for this rendition.

The inverse what?

The Shepherd’s Farewell by Hector Berlioz -Royal Choral Society. I’m a sucker for the inverse pedal point.

Shchedryk (Carol of the Bells) – Bel Canto Choir Vilnius. I like the slower version of this tune.

O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles) at Westminster Abbey. Joyful AND triumphant!

Little Drummer Boy – Johnny Cash and Neil Young. This is a fascinating pairing. I know a LOT of people who HATE this song and/or Neil’s voice, which I suppose is why I embrace it.

E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come. My choir sings this almost every Advent.

Silent Night (Oíche Chiúin) – Enya. It’s one of my absolutely favorite versions of this song. It’s stunning.

I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day – fillyjonk writes about this Civil War-era piece based on a Longfellow poem.

New York Times

The Times has a column called The Amplifier by Lindsay Zoladz. A piece earlier in the month pondered: “They’re great songs. Are they Christmas songs?” Here are a few of them.

White Winter Hymnal -Fleet Foxes. “When a non-holiday song is suddenly reclassified in the cultural imagination as a holiday song, often, one must blame Pentatonix.”

So Much Wine – The Handsome Family. It was “Phoebe Bridgers’ pick last year in her annual Christmas covers series… Her version of this ballad of seasonal alcoholism is an out-and-out tear-jerker, but the Handsome Family manages to tell the same story with some dark comic relief.”

‘Tis The Damn Season -Taylor Swift. Zoladz attributes her colleague Joe Coscarelli… “with one of [her] favorite Taylor Swift conspiracy theories: That ‘Evermore,’ her second and decidedly more wintry 2020 album, was originally supposed to be a Christmas-themed release. This finely wrought ode to hometown what-ifs and temporarily rekindled romance is probably the strongest argument for that case.”

Wintering – The 1975. “Here’s another song about regressing at one’s parents’ house for a long weekend, a curiously season-specific track on the 1975’s excellent 2022 album ‘Being Funny in a Foreign Language.’ I often appreciate the details in Matty Healy’s writing, and there are some particularly vivid ones here: a precocious, vegan sister; a fleece that doesn’t warm as well as advertised; a mother with a sore back who objects to being mentioned in the song. ‘I just came for the stuffing, not to argue about nothing,’ Healy sings. ‘But mark my words, I’ll be home on the 23rd.'”

Also – Now I Know: Why Would You Name a Snowman “Parson Brown”?