tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48913150611380697362024-03-14T04:53:53.449-04:00The Glitter GlobeThe musings of writer S.R. Karfelt. S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.comBlogger495125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-16831973348714546722024-03-11T23:10:00.002-04:002024-03-11T23:10:46.207-04:00My Legs vs. A Long Haul Flight<p style="text-align: center;"> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-xV0Gndz3LR0gUvOKjYHtnfkwt3fh549yav9ZF6wBLmoosS0N9VeINBV1wltKOraUBt6x8mFiLFTG3lQXI4f2d2M6epXod3DBQ3VM6Os7JFW4LFH-cjdJAMFidWEjyseK5U4Hr9DnZBlcvHUZoR4OEXTkcdXe6DNiqgEs_jV2hJOZJGBkfSyj4FfeA4yZ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-xV0Gndz3LR0gUvOKjYHtnfkwt3fh549yav9ZF6wBLmoosS0N9VeINBV1wltKOraUBt6x8mFiLFTG3lQXI4f2d2M6epXod3DBQ3VM6Os7JFW4LFH-cjdJAMFidWEjyseK5U4Hr9DnZBlcvHUZoR4OEXTkcdXe6DNiqgEs_jV2hJOZJGBkfSyj4FfeA4yZ=w377-h251" width="377" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>As much as I plot and plan to pack light, somehow it doesn't quite work out like that. I saw a woman on a ferry in Greece carrying only her backpack and thought, <i>she is my spirit animal. I'm going to learn to pack like that, someday</i>. Fact is, I've never HAD to pack like that. I'm strong, with legs that can carry a suitcase, a big crazy dog pulling on his leash, and a couple of kids up a steep hill. Or so I always thought.</p><p>Thing is, bodies aren't always cooperative. If they start acting up, you'll get no notice. It's been months since my body decided enough is enough and I'm still surprised by it. WE HAD A DEAL. My entire life I've had two functional legs that I could count on to hike me anywhere but that look terrible in dresses. I never let that bother me because they worked and that's what counts. At least that's what I told myself as I covered them in jeans and long dresses. </p><p>My hubby wears a brace on one of his legs—has since high school. He’s had many surgeries on them. His legs are the uncooperative kind that you can't count on. It was all good, I always thought, <i>I’ve got you there, sweet hubby. These hunk o chunk legs can carry two, and our luggage if need be.</i> </p><p>Until last summer on my annual long haul flight New York to Athens when something happened. I stood to get off the flight and my legs felt wooden. Painful. Uncooperative. Weird, I thought, but it had been a long haul. It had taken twenty-four hours as I traipsed from home to an airport, flew to a second airport, then a third. Then Athens. Even weirder. after I forced my legs off the airplane and through customs and then to baggage claim and into a taxi, when I tried to get out of the taxi at my hotel, I barely could. I had to use my hands to lift my legs and put them out of the car and then kind of jump onto them. </p><p>Getting up the stairs to my room was tough, especially with luggage. I called a friend who’s a doctor. “Did you wear compression stockings?” She asked. “That’s a thing?” I said. I could practically hear the eye roll. “Elevate your legs. Ice them. And walk. Even if it hurts, walk. It’s not likely to be Deep Vein Thrombosis in both legs, but you HAVE to wear compression stockings on long haul flights.”</p><p>I froze water bottles in my mini-fridge. I old-lady without a walker walked the mile to the cold sea. When I got there, I rolled up my pants and trotted into the icy water. It felt wonderful. I step-together, step-together-ed my legs the mile back to my room and iced my knees. They throbbed. When I coughed they screamed. It wasn't just the knees, it was hip to toe, both legs, sobbing. They felt loose here and there, and tight there and here, and stiff, and they howled with every step. </p><p>Yes, I debated going to the hospital in Athens. I debated getting on a flight and going back home instead of continuing another two days of travel to my summer destination. Memories of going to the ER surfaced. They're not fond memories and I was considering going to the ER in Greece which seemed worse. My Greek has not advanced to a hospital vocabulary. Even though I'm sure we could have spoken in English too, I’d long ago decided not to go to the ER unless the problem was obvious and there was a bone sticking out. I decided to stick by that decision and that I couldn’t fly home until I found some sort of chunko compression socks anyway. I didn't want to double my problem by flying home without them too.</p><p>For the next two days I traveled deeper into Greece. Another plane. Ferry. Walking miles. Taxis. Moving slow, slower, slowest, hauling my luggage. Possibly cussing under my breath. Anytime I passed the sea and could get there I walked straight into it. Cold. Salt. Thank. God.</p><p>My final destination was covered in stairs. I went up and down them, stumped my way to the grocery store, pharmacy, cafes. Every day I stood in the cold sea. May. June. July. By then I’d acquired compression socks and I reverse traveled my way back home. Ow ow ow. </p><p>At home I went to the doctor, and again, and again, and again. It’s post Covid. You don’t just up and go to the doctor. You can get in in three weeks, four, next month. July. August. September. October. November. Schlump schlump, baby steps. Singing my ow ow ow refrain. December and January were blood tests and physical therapy. X-rays. By February I rated other testing. An MRI. Come March I had graduated to an Orthopedic surgeon. </p><p>Right now I'm taking meds that are definitely helping. It's very exciting. I was so happy that I did everything I couldn't do the past nine months and threw my back out. I guess I shouldn't have done everything in a twenty-four timeframe. Now I'm taking those leg meds and icing my back and eyeing flights to Greece because it's time to plan that trip again. Right? Right? </p><p><br /></p><p> </p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-34162527000224093492024-02-09T18:03:00.100-05:002024-02-15T19:30:19.709-05:00Typewriters and Fun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaIFYhlHBgYUAn4r2jtpBE0i6uUuXzjkmzlPYQ_fjal-Ez9ok1xfEPrUZS4KaLjSAl6NE1L2whMb-UTGN3sG6EHdasQaJpUsfRc0eDjv0OPYQASv4HGyRqtH_24g05g0pmrMD3lA2ploWFgmVboCGMRKq2MUqoq-Q8St-Lh6jc8V-Fz0fR3EiHl-VOyyxv/s4032/IMG_9213.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaIFYhlHBgYUAn4r2jtpBE0i6uUuXzjkmzlPYQ_fjal-Ez9ok1xfEPrUZS4KaLjSAl6NE1L2whMb-UTGN3sG6EHdasQaJpUsfRc0eDjv0OPYQASv4HGyRqtH_24g05g0pmrMD3lA2ploWFgmVboCGMRKq2MUqoq-Q8St-Lh6jc8V-Fz0fR3EiHl-VOyyxv/s320/IMG_9213.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Recently one of my kids asked if I had any edible googly eyes at my house. Of course I did. Designer things and fancy things aren’t my style. Fun is. There are glow sticks, rock collections, and buckets of slime to be had here. I was pleased they thought to ask!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPNO0CQnIxcMwkmT5sfFYAUfZ17UIxDwj8EPcwp9ShlCDzy03tfe_4ttkHNpKxVNfpvipzXCOXcvBv_jhcT6vI4pynbJ9jjVUowmlnKBDMkXuMVVyUQpyFDPil5Goj8CTzSQIOaeWL440j8xox1x_xCdxVfmD0IF9FhuQy73FReP7wYLdiVUG6rflacj2/s4032/IMG_3269.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPNO0CQnIxcMwkmT5sfFYAUfZ17UIxDwj8EPcwp9ShlCDzy03tfe_4ttkHNpKxVNfpvipzXCOXcvBv_jhcT6vI4pynbJ9jjVUowmlnKBDMkXuMVVyUQpyFDPil5Goj8CTzSQIOaeWL440j8xox1x_xCdxVfmD0IF9FhuQy73FReP7wYLdiVUG6rflacj2/s320/IMG_3269.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">During a visit my favorite six year old, elbow deep in slime the color of the sea, asked, “Do you have a typewriter laying around here somewhere?” It surprised me that a six year old today knows about typewriters. I’ve long ago embraced technology but in some corner of the attic I did have a typewriter. It’s so heavy I couldn’t lift it out of the attic myself. It’s an ancient Burroughs typewriter. The kind with hard to push keys that force an old metal arm with the letter onto the page—it even has an old ribbon on it. I think it’s from the 1930’s. Driving past a yard sale ages ago I happened to spot it and stopped. It cost me $5. My husband insisted I was over paying by $5. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiby02OmoZl6dYjIx2O0i_OOib1B0rkk4eCuIupi3Bkf7-UZkLm-othqB_7AQVMdVqXi1wkIswp0lu-d5wDj6iA_9QLZQ_YpkLOrPPTeq5AZ3yECOlyJvkyijoSXhoLcZ23iFcEoloxptpDf-mvN2lCe3jSm1tUVYhgJxL2ewFizESr2ATsldjJpzcyX1gS/s800/IMG_8990.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiby02OmoZl6dYjIx2O0i_OOib1B0rkk4eCuIupi3Bkf7-UZkLm-othqB_7AQVMdVqXi1wkIswp0lu-d5wDj6iA_9QLZQ_YpkLOrPPTeq5AZ3yECOlyJvkyijoSXhoLcZ23iFcEoloxptpDf-mvN2lCe3jSm1tUVYhgJxL2ewFizESr2ATsldjJpzcyX1gS/s320/IMG_8990.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">I’ve yet to find someone to clean it up and restore it. I did what I could with cotton swabs and some rubbing alcohol. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">When Six visited, she tried to use it but the keys stick and clump together. She’s having a birthday soon and I decided to invest in one for her very own. It took some serious hunting to find such an archaic beast as a typewriter—but I can hardly wait to give it to her. I can barely resist opening it up and using it myself! Look at this baby!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrWFqT6WX64OsFux05AReX_pk76MwYXMfdVAlQxHmoQKBF2IuL-I_kV3uuykrXenKclXP8WswmAQQY10A2YcoT3wCOj4CZr3f8bwzYxRCuj13PdhhzDSpIVNSzHKEBa5Lo708ZTIC4Vc6pZDbd1dVoYu0OIRnbN-ESGcdZLqP2PnKohbGCBaEWSK5csFkH/s1460/IMG_8988.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1460" data-original-width="1284" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrWFqT6WX64OsFux05AReX_pk76MwYXMfdVAlQxHmoQKBF2IuL-I_kV3uuykrXenKclXP8WswmAQQY10A2YcoT3wCOj4CZr3f8bwzYxRCuj13PdhhzDSpIVNSzHKEBa5Lo708ZTIC4Vc6pZDbd1dVoYu0OIRnbN-ESGcdZLqP2PnKohbGCBaEWSK5csFkH/s320/IMG_8988.jpeg" width="281" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p style="text-align: left;">Old fashioned yes, but a purple typewriter? I love it! Six’s interest in typewriters reminded me of the satisfaction of a good typewriter keyboard. IBM’s Selectric with the ball was a love of mine. I wonder if there’s a computer keyboard with the satisfying push of that old wonder of technology? It might be fun to find out!</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-86618971433751992022023-12-09T00:04:00.003-05:002024-02-15T19:34:28.218-05:00Winter is Coming! Let’s Enjoy it!<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9jyVKXxuKPAcAGYbMWebVZHZx3DVzAnvnYfj5naeLtYdUX2SGBtMv1Uojn4D5ObqIB43GCYUc_InVHy_cdKNK7tHiuSs-D4coEd00erPoX4_hPxR1y6hbV92GNZXRAURNoMzzVKDJcRaCIbf4ZmFbpasDgGRqCiYeDe8avFZbmr1ijZmZA2hajTp3CVd/s4032/IMG_1371.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9jyVKXxuKPAcAGYbMWebVZHZx3DVzAnvnYfj5naeLtYdUX2SGBtMv1Uojn4D5ObqIB43GCYUc_InVHy_cdKNK7tHiuSs-D4coEd00erPoX4_hPxR1y6hbV92GNZXRAURNoMzzVKDJcRaCIbf4ZmFbpasDgGRqCiYeDe8avFZbmr1ijZmZA2hajTp3CVd/s320/IMG_1371.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Last winter and again this one, I made a pledge with a friend. Every day from the winter solstice until the spring solstice (the 21st of December until the 21st of March), we’ll each go outside no matter the weather and do something fun. We don’t live near each other so we make this pledge as support buddies and for accountability. Each day we report in to each other, sharing what we did.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Usually I walk in the woods, or sled ride. There’s a hill right off my driveway and I’ve accumulated a variety of sleds to use. The weather doesn’t always cooperate and accommodate me with the needed snow—but it doesn’t matter what I do as long as I go outside. Minimum time is fifteen minutes. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Most days I start to have fun and stay much longer!</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Some days it’s a simple walk up and down the street, and on a few brutally cold days with howling winds, I have hung around right outside the house and counted the minutes! </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">The idea is to go out into the cold season and find something to enjoy instead of huddling inside. I’ve begun to accumulate good coats and gear for the season, snow pants, warm boots, hats that are for function. I’m always on the lookout for gloves that can withstand sustained cold! I’ve not had much success there! </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Who’s with me? Does anyone else want to find reasons to like winter? It’s easier than I thought! </p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-90238574754425503002023-08-13T02:08:00.003-04:002024-02-15T20:18:42.251-05:00The Acropolis Museum and A Cancelled Flight<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoxVjWk4B4kVRanTv8Iw5WNma_Ywn_MuoZsbWifEtYTrL51wqjbddYXsDaWx78vlaNsuEnBn5SIJWfpJZ8puHxeBaTLTbtXf9rItwN-sFR3Od_ODEC3AVEW6W-Thd3zM7gcwk4wL_qIAK01tyQkDLLpzLZBHrTdnXEJigg96ryQlC_3f71jfqbYpNigYn_/s4032/IMG_3625.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoxVjWk4B4kVRanTv8Iw5WNma_Ywn_MuoZsbWifEtYTrL51wqjbddYXsDaWx78vlaNsuEnBn5SIJWfpJZ8puHxeBaTLTbtXf9rItwN-sFR3Od_ODEC3AVEW6W-Thd3zM7gcwk4wL_qIAK01tyQkDLLpzLZBHrTdnXEJigg96ryQlC_3f71jfqbYpNigYn_/s320/IMG_3625.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>My absolute favorite museum is The Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece. This year I had time to visit it thanks to Delta Airlines cancelling my flight home. </p><p>The thing with cancelled flights is they happen after you’ve hauled yourself to the airport. No small task. Then plans change and you haul yourself wherever and spend hours on the phone trying to find another flight home. THEN, if you’re lucky like I was, you have another afternoon in Greece! </p><p>Technically, I never did get another flight home and eventually took one to New York City instead and rented a car and drove there. That doubled the journey. Fortunately, I do buy trip insurance and now that I’ve been home a month and spent hours of that time submitting paperwork and arguing, I got reimbursed! Woo hoo! Isn’t it great when insurance works? </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMxEOnj0H40Ywf_m3MjXaZHknlKrJC6O5YWKfdan2VcrjgpEq2Gum4-TmDgTLjpeinfmcRpMQE2Ak0ymZpRiV5j7XTk5KrF6Hkuj8vtqea3Uxsyf8V2GWmRgkov6DZ_iFtaqjdoY2lKQYPaeVv0jtnU77BByAXQ3_-CyAkvdNeJGNc4XJ-TQf9G7vfO8ks/s4032/IMG_3607.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMxEOnj0H40Ywf_m3MjXaZHknlKrJC6O5YWKfdan2VcrjgpEq2Gum4-TmDgTLjpeinfmcRpMQE2Ak0ymZpRiV5j7XTk5KrF6Hkuj8vtqea3Uxsyf8V2GWmRgkov6DZ_iFtaqjdoY2lKQYPaeVv0jtnU77BByAXQ3_-CyAkvdNeJGNc4XJ-TQf9G7vfO8ks/s320/IMG_3607.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p>Athena in owl form stands outside the Acropolis Museum. I knew this for years. Not because I ever remembered to look up when I was there, but because I bought a journal at the gift shop there with the picture on it. So it was very exciting when I finally spotted her this year. (Someone reminded me to look!)</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLEzSZxnIgqmVs9pOZNqL6kW_MmCMIAdGmyWsEHboWYcewG84Hs8q-mPCbSHNOgEx7RcUev5E5yQZ79M-jCrkWnZiC0WLL1acYZg3TAJfMs7a9_36oT-gnX_ZyfJAz6N_ISJcnFxlFZVw5GIHhq_R3GIjx2TKLpjN-BBC2cOQjVvXWcMFhf_2zLkO5tI6o/s4032/IMG_3701.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLEzSZxnIgqmVs9pOZNqL6kW_MmCMIAdGmyWsEHboWYcewG84Hs8q-mPCbSHNOgEx7RcUev5E5yQZ79M-jCrkWnZiC0WLL1acYZg3TAJfMs7a9_36oT-gnX_ZyfJAz6N_ISJcnFxlFZVw5GIHhq_R3GIjx2TKLpjN-BBC2cOQjVvXWcMFhf_2zLkO5tI6o/s320/IMG_3701.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Another bonus of the cancelled flight was flying home through Amsterdam. I bought a bunch of tulips at an airport shop. Can you believe these aren’t real? I crammed them into my backpack and flew out of AMS in what turned out to be a massive storm. They arrived home looking stellar. My luggage arrived half full of rain from The Netherlands.</p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-41842771924763337192023-06-28T01:36:00.002-04:002024-02-15T20:37:25.608-05:00Greek Food<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJStX9UzgZauhDn9Bl2ozYgl_jhsHQ8m1vVN-UNntvGBZH-dttQWI6GEYyOcj_Ywml9eJT_s9mEnDFdosAQ-PCJ9qdetSmb5CJ3DOlXzWMkGHVjPx7q3gXejQRdwsLq3xxO-Z0Y0kOyst8gUexmNCr2b_YjK0u9kEAc31lBo2KAtkbUEGucDjI546R3WfI/s4032/IMG_2532.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJStX9UzgZauhDn9Bl2ozYgl_jhsHQ8m1vVN-UNntvGBZH-dttQWI6GEYyOcj_Ywml9eJT_s9mEnDFdosAQ-PCJ9qdetSmb5CJ3DOlXzWMkGHVjPx7q3gXejQRdwsLq3xxO-Z0Y0kOyst8gUexmNCr2b_YjK0u9kEAc31lBo2KAtkbUEGucDjI546R3WfI/s320/IMG_2532.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Omelet</p><p style="text-align: left;">Since I’m coming to you via the Blogger app on my phone, in Greece, I have absolutely no idea what’s going to show up on The Glitter Globe when I hit post. Sometimes it’s nothing, a post swallowed by an internet glitch or a the app. Sometimes it’s part of a post. So let’s keep it light and hope for the best! </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4cySMhfntVm2Lhc588GKD_rOGN4yMb-wfIYxgNU-pOkA5HonNK02jLcX_Dur02KRUuIMKUpZrVVS8yMIrMdoayGHyQc9w7rTvkpFIN1VVPwDwjdcJ9vL8DL_GDviCfdGffhPylXaHq6IK6SGENcDSnJWViWGdKV9BNq0DSW2mL_VC6OPFTeisp6kIL_e/s4032/IMG_6518.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4cySMhfntVm2Lhc588GKD_rOGN4yMb-wfIYxgNU-pOkA5HonNK02jLcX_Dur02KRUuIMKUpZrVVS8yMIrMdoayGHyQc9w7rTvkpFIN1VVPwDwjdcJ9vL8DL_GDviCfdGffhPylXaHq6IK6SGENcDSnJWViWGdKV9BNq0DSW2mL_VC6OPFTeisp6kIL_e/s320/IMG_6518.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br />All things watermelon! Καρπυζι<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Fresh watermelon juice is my favorite! But watermelon salad with feta and mint is amazing too! I even bought a quarter piece of a watermelon and hauled it up and down hills and stairs to my room to have for breakfast in my room!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV83OcwlQu6xiR8-2ENemci3jEiWAdkvrr9Na48pkTWIY7l0f3Edst9-JaK1xDtIrxEnab55mv6RK34dSvwW_Dt376jO6nVX0q6A62NeeDKz77-Zch8TYjMPuAXmKVjarQjJ-rqz9EWD1trm8Ou-MDlULCceE3cYKWKQ0nluxgp6jzJAy4S2ecyv-SEFsK/s4032/IMG_7620.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV83OcwlQu6xiR8-2ENemci3jEiWAdkvrr9Na48pkTWIY7l0f3Edst9-JaK1xDtIrxEnab55mv6RK34dSvwW_Dt376jO6nVX0q6A62NeeDKz77-Zch8TYjMPuAXmKVjarQjJ-rqz9EWD1trm8Ou-MDlULCceE3cYKWKQ0nluxgp6jzJAy4S2ecyv-SEFsK/s320/IMG_7620.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: center;">Anything seafood</p><p style="text-align: left;">Despite things I’ve read online, it is tough to get gluten free food here. Yes, the Mediterranean diet is clean and naturally gluten free, but it’s common to get some lovely dish like my lobster salad here, with a pile of decorative crackers or bread plopped right on top. That’s what happened with this lobster. Yes, there was a long conversation about gluten during ordering (in English and Greek). It still happens. More often than not. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQC2-YGV9OooAxVxQ6fm69r4_jVxCzj8OJq5hes9nUULQb9-H5c4DlGXLLOHE3T2l76ezg9_aPkx9OWQh5REOK0okHCWkZBg2pKxfcFwvBYCZeEvD9DAtRL9XmwUeJfqXXKJ3rXByjjMZm5QbBYEub3_5gtGQQYntdMA0WxvqOdj0aSmuvsskdk9eKhEy/s4032/IMG_4790.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQC2-YGV9OooAxVxQ6fm69r4_jVxCzj8OJq5hes9nUULQb9-H5c4DlGXLLOHE3T2l76ezg9_aPkx9OWQh5REOK0okHCWkZBg2pKxfcFwvBYCZeEvD9DAtRL9XmwUeJfqXXKJ3rXByjjMZm5QbBYEub3_5gtGQQYntdMA0WxvqOdj0aSmuvsskdk9eKhEy/s320/IMG_4790.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br />Capuucino decaf<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Coffee is not my thing, yet I have an absurd amount of photos of me sitting with a cup of it in front of me in Greece. It’s meditative! I only drink it here! </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-87954668516770738252023-06-26T01:52:00.002-04:002024-02-15T20:39:31.739-05:00A Month<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMWxANExMcfrQnc9yViUA18C7qYyG6NEPBWmX23eF-r-d6TNsA_r1pIgZ312AGC-LKU1BmTESyOuOYV2-N-2cBZA4w58CdwaTA7hl7jiGBw55DYWR6Z9O1AlLqPlgbC2sBu5hwygBWb8e2YRB0PlydthAZMfNz-fxe88lq8A6hOwxMO5FvVBsTX5MXZSV/s800/IMG_2008.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMWxANExMcfrQnc9yViUA18C7qYyG6NEPBWmX23eF-r-d6TNsA_r1pIgZ312AGC-LKU1BmTESyOuOYV2-N-2cBZA4w58CdwaTA7hl7jiGBw55DYWR6Z9O1AlLqPlgbC2sBu5hwygBWb8e2YRB0PlydthAZMfNz-fxe88lq8A6hOwxMO5FvVBsTX5MXZSV/w300-h400/IMG_2008.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">And so it ends,</p><p style="text-align: center;">As it always does,</p><p style="text-align: center;">The women leave,</p><p style="text-align: center;">Their words linger.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-23785805772703274372023-05-26T16:14:00.002-04:002024-02-15T20:57:57.664-05:00Artemida, Greece<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcAmRUTk1hf8MassaF_gJfuriNqA6iSnWveeoFMdZ8rSyAxGmuKt8PCKBDHtWsj624V5X5ANBowENbnBbndJOBQapxTI9GArzRhutix3K4oP9e4ngo7t_JkpIRsXX-2SBnT2lsXuaIupHoiqcVjQP1SiuAbFk_EiVK1d3c6b_7UEGKnLMgaUSuAeL7_N9d/s4032/IMG_0608.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcAmRUTk1hf8MassaF_gJfuriNqA6iSnWveeoFMdZ8rSyAxGmuKt8PCKBDHtWsj624V5X5ANBowENbnBbndJOBQapxTI9GArzRhutix3K4oP9e4ngo7t_JkpIRsXX-2SBnT2lsXuaIupHoiqcVjQP1SiuAbFk_EiVK1d3c6b_7UEGKnLMgaUSuAeL7_N9d/w300-h400/IMG_0608.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>This morning I arrived in Greece after a long day and night of flying. Lately long flights give me what I’ve come to call Flyers Knee, because that’s when I get it. A painful stiffness from sitting in one spot for so long—though I did get up and walk around as much as possible. I wasn’t the only one stretching my knees out.</p><p><br /></p><p>This year I stayed at a family run hotel in Artimeda, about a mile walk to the sea. I decided to walk it despite the knee. I got a chance to try out my sad Greek when I wasn’t sure which fork in the road to take. One of the teenagers chuckled and answered me in perfect English (as most Greeks seem to do), pointing the way.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zyRhI5ZCH3wg1Kr2cjvQYINg6YdCKxjwET4B0m3WPgdZRvW-gKgiYhyXmRE5kblECCloqsy8Fk81zT0XxhL7sq22dV23iMlsiLoIxvStqtkD8hpDO7Xs1_2QfVR7tNJu9JHHY1_mCN6xni8PKtE__DVNEEtsc3jFRE_6-F92-GEfQeE5uFB21h-iJepq/s4032/IMG_0641.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zyRhI5ZCH3wg1Kr2cjvQYINg6YdCKxjwET4B0m3WPgdZRvW-gKgiYhyXmRE5kblECCloqsy8Fk81zT0XxhL7sq22dV23iMlsiLoIxvStqtkD8hpDO7Xs1_2QfVR7tNJu9JHHY1_mCN6xni8PKtE__DVNEEtsc3jFRE_6-F92-GEfQeE5uFB21h-iJepq/s320/IMG_0641.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br />It was a perfect evening for a walk. The sky a bit hazy. The sea busy. I sat on the Rocky shore, I think it was marble. <p></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdbSVIASBt7kgFNfoene9Fj5w0sfR1qqHmH6H0fTtHIxNwk7CVcptHEgHCBPeqWaW9XG9X9xZEkZBwSlgYiDHUq8uxscFexn4SqgTIskSWF3D7DN9Z8zUnLL7mbP6jJgjiXzjph_uzvN_bqSCciuTFSiskxjAIKO2lWO3xtE4Z4n2Qe2N8hQv2wrvFaXA/s4032/IMG_0602.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdbSVIASBt7kgFNfoene9Fj5w0sfR1qqHmH6H0fTtHIxNwk7CVcptHEgHCBPeqWaW9XG9X9xZEkZBwSlgYiDHUq8uxscFexn4SqgTIskSWF3D7DN9Z8zUnLL7mbP6jJgjiXzjph_uzvN_bqSCciuTFSiskxjAIKO2lWO3xtE4Z4n2Qe2N8hQv2wrvFaXA/s320/IMG_0602.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br />Kritamo grows wild along the shore!<p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA7a9N4NNlKAnNIN0dA9NZ_DYpNFpgHZ7jF4b65e9cVCzSpl2eKGqx1jW7hWQMYru3I4_l13BZi0LX6ijinxRcfJUlmSQF5CHXaLARO8qDEeEY6Wuxc0Cfb6rmd7dypWzS8Wn9pg8_NVWyZJZaIDqgeW8vuiBf0s2OZMXlvDl9YUPRolGozbD0H6OaJ2WW/s4032/IMG_9998.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA7a9N4NNlKAnNIN0dA9NZ_DYpNFpgHZ7jF4b65e9cVCzSpl2eKGqx1jW7hWQMYru3I4_l13BZi0LX6ijinxRcfJUlmSQF5CHXaLARO8qDEeEY6Wuxc0Cfb6rmd7dypWzS8Wn9pg8_NVWyZJZaIDqgeW8vuiBf0s2OZMXlvDl9YUPRolGozbD0H6OaJ2WW/s320/IMG_9998.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br />It’s delicious with lemon and olive oil! <p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZa6Tuyr555OOnhBLSLg8DiZZKoicJepOfIURUsSn5VS553GhBQ-2AsoJ9RrEHPVyl00fTF9QmNW0k_ccqW4YqxtheNoQ4gjKyBCuIzd_u33HLclhIk-txtJEDzVKw2LdTAn5ipqUd09Mft5S1UEXWp_GErZehxFbwGRZIFT54VBFIYiwVOfvIN1ca2vDT/s3088/IMG_0613.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2316" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZa6Tuyr555OOnhBLSLg8DiZZKoicJepOfIURUsSn5VS553GhBQ-2AsoJ9RrEHPVyl00fTF9QmNW0k_ccqW4YqxtheNoQ4gjKyBCuIzd_u33HLclhIk-txtJEDzVKw2LdTAn5ipqUd09Mft5S1UEXWp_GErZehxFbwGRZIFT54VBFIYiwVOfvIN1ca2vDT/w150-h200/IMG_0613.jpeg" width="150" /></a></div><br />The perfect start to my adventure—despite my flyers knee!<p></p><p><br /></p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-86751463839525299562023-05-07T23:05:00.003-04:002023-05-07T23:16:53.813-04:00My Dandelion Sea<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAU4xcbKVj_1F_iJXYtvqGIIVS1_e5PQQsqgJyshCt6IsF2XPlzee_fTHyKU-aL3uVcX2NCRasr_d3ktWZKI23wPr7jV30GoQy4axJRgYDGLnNpc7plBudqd8VSrxjZqNE_Ha9Kh1dWtcfkFZkoMlFssCA5wK42r9k1J034gCn1ciFlwzS2tZhEzvnGg/s4032/IMG-9775%20Dandelion%20Roper.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="481" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAU4xcbKVj_1F_iJXYtvqGIIVS1_e5PQQsqgJyshCt6IsF2XPlzee_fTHyKU-aL3uVcX2NCRasr_d3ktWZKI23wPr7jV30GoQy4axJRgYDGLnNpc7plBudqd8VSrxjZqNE_Ha9Kh1dWtcfkFZkoMlFssCA5wK42r9k1J034gCn1ciFlwzS2tZhEzvnGg/w360-h481/IMG-9775%20Dandelion%20Roper.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><p></p></blockquote><p>This time of year my yard is a sea of dandelions. I've taught Roper to eat them. Yes, they're edible. On sunny days when they open wide. I pick them and holding tightly to the stem, I use my thumb to flick the head off. The yellow bud flies through the air and doggo jumps to nab it. The first time his owner saw me do it she wasn't too thrilled.</p><p>"It's safe," I promised. "Google it."</p><p>Roper's Mom calls my yard a Golden Retriever yard. He can run run run. We spend hours playing frisbee with an <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H5S9K72/ref=twister_B0B813MB41?_encoding=UTF8&th=1" target="_blank">Aerobie</a>. It's a round disc with a wide hole in the middle. I toss it on its side so it rolls away. Roper chases it like it's purposely running away from him—every Retriever instinct in high-gear. This is only one of the things I love to do instead of writing, or cleaning, or doing paperwork of any sort. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0A0xHr6q94TDhE_sErIzTsN6a6QSWp7nwkAmCitJyt9MHg00afaCCHEmjRsgh-eYT9x58r5vuIKrdVaWVuODUYhu7xnl2Zphsnun86PGB2wNB0vJpQtfmaVpTL1FllNS4cOH-vSD6N8a2vgujeQK3e_5kJ648UK95nP5yMNQC_aWOUwC3B1RzfZnhw/s4032/IMG-9637%20Roper%20and%20frisbee.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0A0xHr6q94TDhE_sErIzTsN6a6QSWp7nwkAmCitJyt9MHg00afaCCHEmjRsgh-eYT9x58r5vuIKrdVaWVuODUYhu7xnl2Zphsnun86PGB2wNB0vJpQtfmaVpTL1FllNS4cOH-vSD6N8a2vgujeQK3e_5kJ648UK95nP5yMNQC_aWOUwC3B1RzfZnhw/s320/IMG-9637%20Roper%20and%20frisbee.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Foam-Ring-Blue-Green-Dog/dp/B01MYE2CX3/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1HKO5EGYNAN9C&keywords=Nerf+dog+super+soaker&qid=1683513438&sprefix=nerf+dog+super+soaker%2Caps%2C128&sr=8-4" target="_blank">Nerf Dog Super Soaker</a></p><p style="text-align: left;">The Aerobie isn't for dogs. If I look away for a moment he'll chomp on it and break its little bird bones and it won't roll so well after. Sometimes we use the heavy duty <a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/385285273760?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=385285273760&targetid=1263104805766&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=9005776&poi=&campaignid=14859008593&mkgroupid=130497710760&rlsatarget=pla-1263104805766&abcId=9300678&merchantid=6296724&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmN2iBhCrARIsAG_G2i5IOC0pi43WiTyE_dqfMyGv3oPeiwoO1AQEP9t89qTIKWb6JEcwbc0aAjUaEALw_wcB" target="_blank">Nerf Dog Super Soaker</a>. Golden's are easy to please doggos. All you have to do to make them happy is never look away and never stop playing with them. Whereas kids are just waiting for you to look away so they can get your scissors and scotch tape without any adult supervision. </p><p style="text-align: left;">When you look up, your sparest of spare rooms looks like this.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA1JO_2s78XSvfnXi15v-IpXh7x0-1mTaRwE-0r5JzGrhWJUGTN92KyPt59BkZ7Vw8vKqpvjqjsGdTfsiPnXdFnI8MvtjYClliVFtzTElCy_ZB9H1F5yENWBZqRmUJObHmgeHMWxq5krDJNikx8D035Z7JL_y4JC3yL4T9WQPjNSHDrPgD7y_B8LtzvQ/s4032/IMG-9056%20spare%20room%20mess.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA1JO_2s78XSvfnXi15v-IpXh7x0-1mTaRwE-0r5JzGrhWJUGTN92KyPt59BkZ7Vw8vKqpvjqjsGdTfsiPnXdFnI8MvtjYClliVFtzTElCy_ZB9H1F5yENWBZqRmUJObHmgeHMWxq5krDJNikx8D035Z7JL_y4JC3yL4T9WQPjNSHDrPgD7y_B8LtzvQ/s320/IMG-9056%20spare%20room%20mess.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Fortunately that room has a door that you can just close while you play frisbee with Roper in your dandelion sea. <div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiR5jR53TQrJKhjh8Hz6rgEO63D_HOz0PETdvyhAsQ7mNfFC-D7H4-5gEjyrM4MqIhqQM7PWi6ma2QWgzkv4Mkd0i-XYSDgueWUn-G636uMZ_Lo5ACCd9sLRMOFaoLlIIAdy_nEbGlUQw_1iWYYv54TBDeLZWPp-0BiL6o_3V6BEUJauZxKFmyScuTDQ/s4032/IMG-0048%20dandelion%20sea.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiR5jR53TQrJKhjh8Hz6rgEO63D_HOz0PETdvyhAsQ7mNfFC-D7H4-5gEjyrM4MqIhqQM7PWi6ma2QWgzkv4Mkd0i-XYSDgueWUn-G636uMZ_Lo5ACCd9sLRMOFaoLlIIAdy_nEbGlUQw_1iWYYv54TBDeLZWPp-0BiL6o_3V6BEUJauZxKFmyScuTDQ/w274-h365/IMG-0048%20dandelion%20sea.jpg" width="274" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><br /></blockquote><p> </p><p><br /></p><p> </p></div>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-57663098016989351152022-12-27T22:48:00.000-05:002022-12-27T22:48:20.998-05:00Pathetic Dreams of a Chronically Stressed Out Woman<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnY-IvucrFuBeXA9T6kiPcv7_aCDIv6hf8u7Y1jCnkc2one_tGMrPsYeYvkLQFtyBq62ENMQSDcF62aK26uDLjuv-e-CNvS8C9M-6_21HNmJkFeP9xj22RI_3eUtP2OeUz1as44xOtHV59edFTxpJiR6-ODqoh1Qz_3Nm4nB7hKSVUwB9fcRJHdVtQ_g" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnY-IvucrFuBeXA9T6kiPcv7_aCDIv6hf8u7Y1jCnkc2one_tGMrPsYeYvkLQFtyBq62ENMQSDcF62aK26uDLjuv-e-CNvS8C9M-6_21HNmJkFeP9xj22RI_3eUtP2OeUz1as44xOtHV59edFTxpJiR6-ODqoh1Qz_3Nm4nB7hKSVUwB9fcRJHdVtQ_g=w288-h384" width="288" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">We were talking about flying dreams today, friends who'd had them or never have. It got me to thinking about dreams, especially those repeating ones you have for years or throughout your life, and how I learned to stop the worst of them.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">My flying dreams had been wasted as I'd purposely never flown higher than the treetops. It's cold up there. After developing chronic vertigo, I begged my subconscious to stop them altogether because more often than not my spinning started while I slept. My flying dreams began to take a turn for the worse and I'd wake up spinning. They stopped one day, after dreaming I ran across a field and took to the air only to wake up to the dreaded swooping and swirling of one wicked case of vertigo. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Long ago out of sheer desperation I found a way to stop dreams. A friend lost her little girl in a drowning accident, and I'd dream that I found my own daughter floating face down in the pond in the back yard. I'd wake shaking and I still remember sitting up and saying, "No, no I will never do this to myself again. I won't have this dream ever again." Somehow it worked. When that dream would start, and I'd be walking toward the pond with cattails waving and skirting fire ant mounds, I'd say to myself in my dream, "I'm dreaming. I'm not having this dream again." And I wouldn't. I'd go on to another dream. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Since then I can almost always choose not to have a dream. Though I have recurring ones that I apparently don't mind enough to fight. You know, the one where you're getting ready for work? You wake up and make your bed. Take a shower. Dry your hair. Get dressed. Drive to work, wake up and have to do that all over again in the real world? I hate that dream. There's a grocery shopping version too. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">After I had kids I'd be at work with them. One in a cradle by my desk. Another getting into things as I tried to juggle amusing the child and getting my work done. I had that dream for decades. The most ironic thing about it was that when my kids were that little I'd taken those years off of working. I didn't have to juggle both. Go figure.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Those variations of work dreams plagued me long after I changed careers and no longer had to race the clock with daily drudgery while I banged away on a computer and in my dream job the office slowly filled with water. I had to finish before I drowned. I never finished but happily woke up before the water got completely over my head.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yet the most pathetic dream was my telekinesis dream. I've had this one since I was a kid and I still have it sometimes. In it I know exactly how to move things with my mind. It takes a concerted effort to do it, requiring a near painful focus. What do I do with this amazing talent in my dreams? Why, I flip light switches on and off as I walk through the house or office. After a night of that I always have a headache. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The best part of these kinds of dreams is bringing them up in a group when you're struggling for conversation. Suddenly we all have something in common and something to say. One of my favorite early morning texts is from someone saying, "You will not believe what I dreamed last night!" At least I know it's not just me!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-4502868965187044562022-09-14T00:00:00.001-04:002022-09-14T00:00:00.148-04:00The Thrill of Learning Greek—and why I work on it every day<p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivynZLOM2i9Ke64k_PtI0iWJlSiD147Fdrd02nal-7kgQ7MJVbwNcmlRwvloBR25C5-0kcZ5Tswzlfh_AjyCLCWK_G8TfTRdQgzuqduI87RrtB8P07InTwXfNODIr4DlIB-RqyVl7-s9n84A-PWN2ApCahYCiv3AZCKc5c-enDlL1dSHj4Rbi-ROS3PA/s4032/IMG-6873.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivynZLOM2i9Ke64k_PtI0iWJlSiD147Fdrd02nal-7kgQ7MJVbwNcmlRwvloBR25C5-0kcZ5Tswzlfh_AjyCLCWK_G8TfTRdQgzuqduI87RrtB8P07InTwXfNODIr4DlIB-RqyVl7-s9n84A-PWN2ApCahYCiv3AZCKc5c-enDlL1dSHj4Rbi-ROS3PA/w296-h395/IMG-6873.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greek tavernas are not to be missed!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>One of the things that inspires me to stick with learning Greek is my food allergies. Failing to communicate what's safe has left me eating eggs and fruit in my room more often than going out. Most Greeks speak English but I find that going off script when ordering food can lead to a variety of complications. It's the same thing when ordering in the USA, so it's not so much a language issue.</p><p>Despite my food allergy spiel in any language, more often than not my food will arrive with a big hunk of bread plopped right on top or worse, hidden gluten. I have a severe gluten allergy. It happened again right after I got home from my annual trip to Greece. At that point I was so sick of the hassle that vowed never to eat out again and to always carry a tin of beans in my purse with me. I was more serious than not. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGpgwjHFH1660aAplH2fqeqIPFy6PP6XhKkDsuNDBAeTUuKOk_xefc8CcuQatzpTA8mmHVOwzktJ-MoBez7wRf-YbM_zBR1VbEt97rlh_iBNEBinbW3eLrGy34dZ-I7n_uQwsLMaL9q7eEwUDsADyvQgB-plx2yJ3jE0_2EYEBU5VjYGiZuXbyZ6qlAQ/s4032/IMG-7084.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGpgwjHFH1660aAplH2fqeqIPFy6PP6XhKkDsuNDBAeTUuKOk_xefc8CcuQatzpTA8mmHVOwzktJ-MoBez7wRf-YbM_zBR1VbEt97rlh_iBNEBinbW3eLrGy34dZ-I7n_uQwsLMaL9q7eEwUDsADyvQgB-plx2yJ3jE0_2EYEBU5VjYGiZuXbyZ6qlAQ/s320/IMG-7084.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fruit and cheese on my balcony works too!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>My first few years of trying to learn Greek was with <a href="https://offers.pimsleur.com/free-trial-1402-brand?gclid=CjwKCAjw1ICZBhAzEiwAFfvFhKeLckkq7Bu8QP4lCNyi1w3c8XyZfxbzVuH9_-oqjcRR2lck6jVi6BoCzQsQAvD_BwE" target="_blank">Pimsleur</a>, a conversational language program. It helped me learn basic words but I am a very visual learner and it wasn't until I added <a href="https://www.duolingo.com/learn" target="_blank">Duolingo</a> to the mix that I really began to understand. Plus being able to read Greek has been so empowering. In Greece this year I found myself listening to people speaking, trying to understand them, watching the news, and reading signs and menus. It was a delight. Plus I found gluten free bread and crackers in the supermarket! I couldn't wait to tell my celiac friend when she arrived.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIGpbvTBhKhLKH6zDaJKvhONqWwk8CqH1AV7fG6c8seiZgOjR2ZJgWy-lqLPrL-6-gttnLow7CA6nydPbQaOS-Sg9R0ha4zHU46iEzKO5j64qsw99Je3M62DxWn0AVXdWHzYURxGJauTk5CmTjSeU4SOMTqs1z4UOHR3-xsYv0XPtsVE0fDmqX5rFDww/s4032/IMG-6356.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIGpbvTBhKhLKH6zDaJKvhONqWwk8CqH1AV7fG6c8seiZgOjR2ZJgWy-lqLPrL-6-gttnLow7CA6nydPbQaOS-Sg9R0ha4zHU46iEzKO5j64qsw99Je3M62DxWn0AVXdWHzYURxGJauTk5CmTjSeU4SOMTqs1z4UOHR3-xsYv0XPtsVE0fDmqX5rFDww/s320/IMG-6356.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Gluten-free bread falls apart in any language but toast!</div><p>An <a href="https://youtu.be/PGYLJd8J9PM" target="_blank">online polyglot</a> said speaking languages isn't something some of us can do and others not. She told me you get out of it what you put into it. That's when I started putting a couple hours into it daily. It quickly made a huge difference. I'd also read somewhere that after a certain age we can't really learn another language. I may not be inherently gifted at learning languages but I am an incredibly tenacious human being. I'm learning Greek the same way I write books, always working on it and never giving up. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiraD7gqX5PgljGsx_UZPMXj_zk4_epNMbav2d9I1WNhceDwW8Ia-IV3N3wtu2qJfzm-juFTn0smvMNIVUZ11IFP7D7cqdiaoo24U3BQFO0SVRGNlVYn382J6AV7ObCUP8Pf6pngmsttB4jSgALKnlhRvqkHyZCvbpW-X-wd63wjX0XMKUyQeEKOa5fuw/s4032/IMG-8353.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiraD7gqX5PgljGsx_UZPMXj_zk4_epNMbav2d9I1WNhceDwW8Ia-IV3N3wtu2qJfzm-juFTn0smvMNIVUZ11IFP7D7cqdiaoo24U3BQFO0SVRGNlVYn382J6AV7ObCUP8Pf6pngmsttB4jSgALKnlhRvqkHyZCvbpW-X-wd63wjX0XMKUyQeEKOa5fuw/s320/IMG-8353.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Why does cappuccino taste better in Greece? </div><p>This summer I could greet people, find where I wanted to go, order at restaurants, and hunt for things in supermarkets in Greek. It was a thrill. I'm not good at it. And here's the thing about trying to speak in a new language, you look like an idiot and you make mistakes and people really laugh when you mess up. But even when they laughed they would usually engage, correct my pronunciation, suggest clearer phrases, ask me to repeat it to their friend so they could laugh too, and at restaurants if they didn't know what had gluten or what didn't, they'd have me talk to someone who would. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZ-bOnEin-dSXsYTpVD0O_8VfEuCNzDJ5TzfgaQV3QfjdoOHFAKf8VJA_UfeSgPblDW9QB3PwxWhIdTGHEM024CXkl3vyAQP7e9OHro3cHWtMd5d3JphshBBjnjrW1tvkvLqQqyNCNqc-Pgwjj6hrO7hcMBXVz5yDtMFZA_qF5n7bYiNyv--ZhUi2DQ/s4032/IMG-8185.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZ-bOnEin-dSXsYTpVD0O_8VfEuCNzDJ5TzfgaQV3QfjdoOHFAKf8VJA_UfeSgPblDW9QB3PwxWhIdTGHEM024CXkl3vyAQP7e9OHro3cHWtMd5d3JphshBBjnjrW1tvkvLqQqyNCNqc-Pgwjj6hrO7hcMBXVz5yDtMFZA_qF5n7bYiNyv--ZhUi2DQ/s320/IMG-8185.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Watermelon Juice & Salad!</div><p>Several people took the time to write things down for me, or tested me insisting I speak only in Greek to them. This year I didn't even get glutened in Greece once. I was so pleased. The Mediterranean diet has a lot of naturally gluten free foods, vegetables and seafood galore. I've still a long way to go but I'm slowly beginning to reap the rewards and already thinking about what language to attempt after this! Though I attended Duocon online and they've got a math app coming out that has my attention too!</p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-61994193412987458612022-08-31T23:05:00.001-04:002022-08-31T23:05:50.047-04:00Twenty-Five Years of Monarch Butterflies<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmyFcLVh3V18r4TwY_v-4El8mSYFvKKYsX1hLdo0lmVZ9Ft4kOhxN3KzXnTCNv6nN38BZ194Eed9v7vW89RlspGq4XYrXMn7hjz-M5F45zvJ92IzAe4bdA2gDAwbdF4KDd2d8-QV8Sz7hbgAGydS8g9nauaTwhHilSYTNcBE6krGJ0lI8V62BtacwnA/s640/Monarch%20Butterfly%20blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmyFcLVh3V18r4TwY_v-4El8mSYFvKKYsX1hLdo0lmVZ9Ft4kOhxN3KzXnTCNv6nN38BZ194Eed9v7vW89RlspGq4XYrXMn7hjz-M5F45zvJ92IzAe4bdA2gDAwbdF4KDd2d8-QV8Sz7hbgAGydS8g9nauaTwhHilSYTNcBE6krGJ0lI8V62BtacwnA/s320/Monarch%20Butterfly%20blog.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It started as a kindergarten project for my son. I volunteered to find milkweed and butterfly eggs. With no idea how to do that, I did what I always did, found a book about it. Then I searched parks, edges of the roadway, and examined weeds anywhere I could find them. Unsure if any of my weeds were milkweed or had an egg on it (it's amazing how many little dots of stuff are on weeds), I put the plants I had the most hope for into jars (with holes in the lids) and put them above the kitchen sink. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then I promptly forgot about them.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A couple weeks later my husband said, "There's a butterfly in one of your jars of dead weeds." I jumped out of bed and ran to check. I was much more excited than my five-year-old. Now I knew exactly what milkweed looked like and I had a better idea about the eggs too. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4RUN4RERbkP3tmTqeylViVs4BvZDrBjwkCEo76M8PZUij99p8RA6lobxTijLpaxtORkj-cLNuogk_LlSd9XNBWJ6wgibe3raKqiYXcWnop2xdnDvBHv0n5-puAcNZKUzDX8JYwgpnLdVCXUX3dGDk_tiw64cdE87oL_4NWq0NgfONCViK00hz4_vkw/s4032/IMG-1624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4RUN4RERbkP3tmTqeylViVs4BvZDrBjwkCEo76M8PZUij99p8RA6lobxTijLpaxtORkj-cLNuogk_LlSd9XNBWJ6wgibe3raKqiYXcWnop2xdnDvBHv0n5-puAcNZKUzDX8JYwgpnLdVCXUX3dGDk_tiw64cdE87oL_4NWq0NgfONCViK00hz4_vkw/s320/IMG-1624.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Milkweed is the tall tree-like plant</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;">What I didn't know was how far this little hobby would go. In Texas I started to find butterfly eggs on the plants about April. As soon as milkweed started to pop out of the ground there were butterflies laying eggs on it. In New York I found Monarch eggs late in the summer. I've found them as late as October too.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The eggs are tough to photograph. They're a pinprick of creamy white. Oval shaped and miniscule. Milkweed bleeds a sticky white substance that will ooze out of the plant if it's scratched or broken. The drops are flat. Eggs are much smaller. But there are aphids and other things on the plants. You'll have to figure it out if you want to raise them. A magnifying glass could help.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSieS8F6FAu6mqXMCOwgt8zQTQZKKSNSVVawvDHbz-6hllEYo_24IQEsIwm_HTx6Dnzfjya0MhKac7DNGcdzADV5ZDDBCgGPXsNB_3MRxJtOsV0QrtmtTsOY0ntN3-2qNcbxO1whxXYiazQ4LcwEq8qGbPl4Sb-4NjnGhmWzGOGxOiC9Ac7P-ZmjuSw/s800/IMG-1627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSieS8F6FAu6mqXMCOwgt8zQTQZKKSNSVVawvDHbz-6hllEYo_24IQEsIwm_HTx6Dnzfjya0MhKac7DNGcdzADV5ZDDBCgGPXsNB_3MRxJtOsV0QrtmtTsOY0ntN3-2qNcbxO1whxXYiazQ4LcwEq8qGbPl4Sb-4NjnGhmWzGOGxOiC9Ac7P-ZmjuSw/s320/IMG-1627.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Monarch Caterpillars</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>It can be a big job. The caterpillars eat a lot. They also poo a lot. I used plastic shoeboxes, cut a large rectangle out of the top, and hot glued in window screen for the eggs and caterpillars. Every day I carefully cleaned out dried up milkweed and put in fresh. I had masking tape on the sides of the boxes with daily numbers written in marker to keep track of how many eggs or caterpillars were in each box. That way I never threw out the babies with the trash. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">When the caterpillars turned into a chrysalis and firmed up (never touch a chrysalis or a freshly hatched butterfly), I'd carefully remove the chrysalis from the roof of the plastic box. Chrysalises attach with webbing and it's easy to gently grasp the stem of a Monarch chrysalis and tug it free. The webbing will come with it.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I'd hook the chrysalises onto the top of a larger cage. I used large safety pins to attach them (through the webbing, handle a chrysalis with extreme care). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9pV3qJ6v9EeyDG4tLMJorrGC7fwrtWHR9NZtsHTrOd1-wkeQ_iBmZjtmy29klVRHb4B6pipXaxeWLnbJ4DlaKvGKjExD7HZami-TJVvWP6nc-tw9eX-dhhssFqWQzbEY8PZ0uyHYmcFEktflb3fCIo5mNMuchUuZpsNarBFoM0YmCqQbPVF19n8JhuA/s2778/99908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2778" data-original-width="1284" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9pV3qJ6v9EeyDG4tLMJorrGC7fwrtWHR9NZtsHTrOd1-wkeQ_iBmZjtmy29klVRHb4B6pipXaxeWLnbJ4DlaKvGKjExD7HZami-TJVvWP6nc-tw9eX-dhhssFqWQzbEY8PZ0uyHYmcFEktflb3fCIo5mNMuchUuZpsNarBFoM0YmCqQbPVF19n8JhuA/s320/99908.jpg" width="148" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Monarch Chrysalis</div><p style="text-align: left;">It still thrills me to watch a butterfly hatch. There is a general timeline for how long it takes an egg to hatch, the caterpillar to eat a lot of milkweed and grow into a big caterpillar, attach to the roof of a cage/stem of milkweed/bottom of the dining room table when they escape, shed their exoskeleton and form a chrysalis (not a cocoon, that's something else), and eventually become a butterfly. When they hatch it takes time for their wings to expand, they're wet and touching them will ruin them until they've dried and their wings are firm.</p><p style="text-align: left;">When I lived in New York I started tagging my butterflies before releasing them. <a href="https://www.monarchwatch.org/" target="_blank">Monarch Watch</a> through the University of Kansas has an incredible program and sells the tags. We'd carefully log in each butterfly, sex, date, location, and set them free! My family and I learned about the migratory pattern of these amazing butterflies. We learned that they live only a couple weeks and head north in the spring and summer laying eggs. At the end of the season they hatch smaller butterflies that migrate all the way to Mexico (and other places). Those are the ones to catch and tag. They won't be laying eggs. They are on a mission to survive the winter. </p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFPI42UcdOzzQ2dpRVPsVgBf1eOYx_bj9_bnZdzXvRsbrfxCK87BmjYggdYizyiUoWU5z8CYBDZNySWOnuT5GDZg1z8kszIivp8YxNuTQeTzKCJyGuiJhnSlHmvjmT_JnG8nASMvIcl9PmqOoc9qHL98hWldLSJmeYDWepRfgoEm6XGF7_zjTG5Ou60Q/s1639/Monarch%20Milkweed%20Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1639" data-original-width="1242" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFPI42UcdOzzQ2dpRVPsVgBf1eOYx_bj9_bnZdzXvRsbrfxCK87BmjYggdYizyiUoWU5z8CYBDZNySWOnuT5GDZg1z8kszIivp8YxNuTQeTzKCJyGuiJhnSlHmvjmT_JnG8nASMvIcl9PmqOoc9qHL98hWldLSJmeYDWepRfgoEm6XGF7_zjTG5Ou60Q/s320/Monarch%20Milkweed%20Blog.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>Monarch on Milkweed<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div style="text-align: left;">From experience we learned not to collect milkweed from the edges of cornfields because for some reason the caterpillars tended to die when they ate it. We endured a few summers of exploding chrysalises due to a parasite that lays its eggs inside Monarch caterpillars. My kids may never get over that summer and they're adults now. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There are far less Monarch butterflies now. I know this just from my personal experience. It didn't take much effort to raise a thousand of them ten years ago. Now, trying to get a few healthy ones is work. Many of the chrysalises are deformed now, and the parasites reign in Northern Pennsylvania and the places I haunt in southern New York. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My husband jokes that their numbers are dwindling because I don't try to hit the thousand mark anymore. I'm not certain why their numbers are down. To me there's a direct correlation to those parasites. I'm not a scientist, just a nature lover and a woman who volunteered to help a kindergarten teacher twenty-five years ago. I fall in love so easily.</div><p></p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-32807566438724709792022-07-15T12:38:00.003-04:002022-07-15T12:38:21.163-04:00FOMO Has No Power Here—Happy in My Now<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_wv30ERzmdsM8xYoerZJu4JYRrinT5nEw8ZVjDCY_BO1Z8OB4MFK64hN27wjvXkWY5-LJ3lWro8-q-Z8KefdYM0aiK8dO0aFXbmKdE1lb_GYyzBmR_zy1RBga-mbBEfwwwWtA0jpDZClghjAm_K9-wabQ8qOHBV5NIFLXF9TFrH6vQX_fpTUq6vo0A/s4032/IMG-7240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_wv30ERzmdsM8xYoerZJu4JYRrinT5nEw8ZVjDCY_BO1Z8OB4MFK64hN27wjvXkWY5-LJ3lWro8-q-Z8KefdYM0aiK8dO0aFXbmKdE1lb_GYyzBmR_zy1RBga-mbBEfwwwWtA0jpDZClghjAm_K9-wabQ8qOHBV5NIFLXF9TFrH6vQX_fpTUq6vo0A/w354-h472/IMG-7240.jpg" width="354" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Once a newly graduated student admitted to me in a near-whisper, I have no interest in travel. Is that weird? It's amazing I said. Being content is highly underrated in the marketing world.</p><p>A cup of tea right where you are is perfection. </p><p>Yesterday I fell into a hole on YouTube. I'm a solo traveler and I watched video after video of the adventures of other solo travelers. One that really got me was a young woman who planned an empowering and romantic trip to Paris all by herself. By day three she missed her cat and teared up when she talked. Trying to talk herself into the beauty of the city wasn't working. It made her sad. The old mom in me wanted to hug her, wanted to whisper, you're still seeing the fantasy you've been sold. You're seeing what you're missing and not what you have. </p><p>I left no comment. There are things we all have to figure out for ourselves.</p><p>My solo travel is a choice. I have a perfectly good husband who has no interest in seeing the places I like to go to. After our centuries of marriage I began traveling solo so I could see the places that always called to me. I've no desire to see the whole world. Every year I go to the same islands in Greece. I write with the same group of women. I lay on the same beaches and float in the same sea as last year. </p><p>Once I stayed longer in Rome, forfeiting Venice—which I've yet to see. I've never seen Santorini, Sifnos, Paros, or Crete. Over the accumulating years I've willfully missed much. To again lay on hot stones at Leftos Gialos or the Port Beach on my favorite island. Again, this year, I didn't take the ferry to Skopelos, preferring to stay afloat in the Aegean off Alonissos longer. Didn't make the snorkel trip. Didn't hit other beaches I've yet to see.</p><p>Instead to be quiet where I am.</p><p>Making quiet choices to sit or float in moments—lingering longer and longer—letting go of more and knowing enough. </p><p>Why? I don't contemplate as I slide into now. Living in my moments. Not needing or truly wanting more. Filling myself with now's. Todays. Enough. Shhh, don't ask me why. It's something we figure out for ourselves.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-77680311120694522182022-06-08T00:02:00.001-04:002022-06-08T00:02:00.378-04:00Alonissos, Greece—The Northern Sporades<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb1bYO23ZavcgYa8j3F9AQjZ6vXLcFGSBRJvQUfg_F04r4561pKps66R9oTg1TXMNkkVVyfC8Rv6KS-HNlcjkcNDYIMk3cG4Ekw_mSnw2t62lefZD8cA4TMAeIOME1YujHdcIEGsuP_Je0OLVEKnRil-l-ZjGL9HIhs60hFxWeW2ruwtfXU2LtOar6xQ/s2048/IMG_3181.JPEG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb1bYO23ZavcgYa8j3F9AQjZ6vXLcFGSBRJvQUfg_F04r4561pKps66R9oTg1TXMNkkVVyfC8Rv6KS-HNlcjkcNDYIMk3cG4Ekw_mSnw2t62lefZD8cA4TMAeIOME1YujHdcIEGsuP_Je0OLVEKnRil-l-ZjGL9HIhs60hFxWeW2ruwtfXU2LtOar6xQ/s320/IMG_3181.JPEG" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h3 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Getting to Alonissos from the United States</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Since I live and fly from a small commuter airport I don't have much nice to say about this part of the trip. This year, 2022, I'm hitting three airports before I leave Boston for Athens. Some years I've flown from New York to Chicago only to turn around and then fly east all the way to Athens. Commuter airports are great. I love mine. They're just not all that convenient for big trips. Plus when I'm making a trip to Greece I've learned to give myself long layovers between connections. It gives me wiggle room for those inevitable flight delays and changes. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The first reason I don't travel to a major airport to leave is that it takes me as long to get to one as it does to spend the whole day flying around. The second reason is that the cost is the same. So if I add the cost of travel to a major airport from my small town, storing my car or renting one, and likely needing to get a hotel overnight, it makes no practical sense at all. So I endure. I like to think it builds character. Little tortures can do that.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><h3 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Once you get to Athens</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Usually it takes me about thirty hours of flying around to get to Athens. I have some small health issues that demand I sleep there. My favorite place to stay in Athens on my way to Alonissos is at the Athens Airport Sofitel. You walk right out of baggage claim and cross the street to the hotel. You can also grab a subway car or taxi to go someplace else. The Sofitel can be a bit pricey but the convenience is unparalleled. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><h3 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Leaving Athens</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The easiest way to continue the journey toward Alonissos or any island in the Northern Sporades from Athens is a flight. It's a short flight to the island in the Northern Sporades with an airport, Skiathos. Do give yourself two hours at the Athens airport to board this quick flight. It's a busy place and can take a while to check in to your little island flight. I use a Greek travel agent for interior travel in Greece. If you'd like the contact info just shoot me a message to the right of this blog. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When you're taking one of these flights you're going to check your luggage at whatever area your airline is at. You'll pass through security and when they begin boarding at your gate, you'll get on a bus and be taken to your plane from there. So hit the restroom beforehand and you might want a bottle of water. Not all of the little carriers provide drinks because they're fast flights.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><h3 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Arriving in and leaving Skiathos</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Skiathos recently updated their airport. Airport is "Aerodromio" in Greek. The airport's name is Papadiamante. He was a writer from the island and you can tour his home while you're on the island if you have the time. First though, pick up your luggage and get transportation into town. I always use a taxi. It's not expensive but you may need to scoot over because they often put other fares in with you. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">From the Skiathos airport you'll probably be heading to the port (port in Greek is "Limani") to get your ferry to Alonissos. Right at the port is the ferry office. It's wise to have already booked your ferry before arriving, but you will probably still need to dart in there to exchange your ferry voucher for a ferry ticket. There's a difference and don't wait for the ferry to show up before you do it. The ferries go in and out fast. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqEhypVPLYjVybfCEGh92ZDN9uNyHwxi8aG8PtzDH4T7ISa5K3QHOGnUwMvtcifRjmcqGDP0hw5U7oiE9Q80WOEpH0MmDWEIe8LgbDD-3t63DfqgttOBjSOb-oSftod3KmUVVjsiOV79vm2Cus_mMKKrUhpvT55MMReLGLnYC_0uSiCTSpH9cSs1qxQ/s4032/IMG-3646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqEhypVPLYjVybfCEGh92ZDN9uNyHwxi8aG8PtzDH4T7ISa5K3QHOGnUwMvtcifRjmcqGDP0hw5U7oiE9Q80WOEpH0MmDWEIe8LgbDD-3t63DfqgttOBjSOb-oSftod3KmUVVjsiOV79vm2Cus_mMKKrUhpvT55MMReLGLnYC_0uSiCTSpH9cSs1qxQ/s320/IMG-3646.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVGi8wc36LDR89FjdLGhkqtJ8lDU2G94IiYHTUTGrgCI5_WF257q-1BtskCxZaqIFpzaSPZF6Y38QReUgaLJQ0npj_T7-1t3TSRwxoR1ccnuZxeWWefGxXg3b-QYk_M-sRlrKXYO5gWPOk2rpIisaKzyyQzfs3dh17CPpBxO32Tkx5wcFOar4Ittztg/s4032/IMG-3711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVGi8wc36LDR89FjdLGhkqtJ8lDU2G94IiYHTUTGrgCI5_WF257q-1BtskCxZaqIFpzaSPZF6Y38QReUgaLJQ0npj_T7-1t3TSRwxoR1ccnuZxeWWefGxXg3b-QYk_M-sRlrKXYO5gWPOk2rpIisaKzyyQzfs3dh17CPpBxO32Tkx5wcFOar4Ittztg/s320/IMG-3711.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>By the way there are slow moving ferries with cars and trucks in the hull and also hydrofoils. You can't go outside of the hydrofoil to sit and watch the sea and stops at ports as you pass by the island of Skopelos. I recommend the slow ferry. Sit outside (wear sunscreen and a hat), buy something nice to drink, and watch for dolphins as you slip into Greece mode.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><h3 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Arriving in Alonissos</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You'll need to get your luggage out of the ferry fairly quickly once you arrive. There are only four taxis <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZiBURjMFrd2xyqNV4GH7HWA3RR_avRnVcNEbbK0_3tRS5DkK7yh4XQcWwKpLBJ8CVuv7a4o7HnuTeZAp_QdpDKFYjW4sj5XDQv0xlzelUY0vNU_V0cv35ldKi9hrtfT_6gh5YRs-nyjhvS3Lqp_SybJIS0zppTeniqNdbk-mLCXzE5_vxMQqBhxQvbg/s800/IMG-4080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="601" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZiBURjMFrd2xyqNV4GH7HWA3RR_avRnVcNEbbK0_3tRS5DkK7yh4XQcWwKpLBJ8CVuv7a4o7HnuTeZAp_QdpDKFYjW4sj5XDQv0xlzelUY0vNU_V0cv35ldKi9hrtfT_6gh5YRs-nyjhvS3Lqp_SybJIS0zppTeniqNdbk-mLCXzE5_vxMQqBhxQvbg/s320/IMG-4080.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />on the island, but they're efficient and will get you to where you're staying if you need them. Many of the hotels provide pick up services too. On Alonissos you can stay in the port area, Patitiri, or one of the other towns on the island, or even up in Old Town (Hora). I like to stay at the port where I can walk to shops or dinner and beaches. Although my favorite beaches are a taxi or bus ride away. (Leftos Gialos is my all time favorite beach.) Hopefully this information can get you to Alonissos. Enjoy your stay! It's magical!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-7106050003524817752022-05-25T23:18:00.000-04:002022-05-25T23:18:13.894-04:00Every Introvert Could Use a Moat<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDO0kr35-nqfHyl-H67dFqSqLPNNd1vDY2sqqNdB3tr3mXlj9CkZjmdo9OeF5a1he2l16qVDMgbWZB_CNoIHMsUTAQ_tLk7g0l4jAIYOsus_Q0K-0EuyqyTKDtJHQ5N3KpQ4oc5C9PP6P8z77My9fTgeesGSg3lIq22v9ylZFF-HSFzFwdKBNWWV3TtA/s2448/IMG-1319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="2448" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDO0kr35-nqfHyl-H67dFqSqLPNNd1vDY2sqqNdB3tr3mXlj9CkZjmdo9OeF5a1he2l16qVDMgbWZB_CNoIHMsUTAQ_tLk7g0l4jAIYOsus_Q0K-0EuyqyTKDtJHQ5N3KpQ4oc5C9PP6P8z77My9fTgeesGSg3lIq22v9ylZFF-HSFzFwdKBNWWV3TtA/w384-h384/IMG-1319.JPG" width="384" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Here I go again. Traveling to the ends of the earth to write. Granted most air travel feels like you're heading for the ends of the earth anymore. Add in travel from a little commuter airport and it's hardly an exaggeration. Especially since it'll take me about fifty-six hours of travel to get to Alonissos, Greece. We're currently living in interesting times but it's never been an easy journey. </p><p>The reason I go to Alonissos is to attend a writing workshop. The reason I go early and stay later is because it's my absolute favorite hideaway. It's not fancy like more popular Greek islands. It's also possible to go on a budget. It's a marine park for the protected Monk Seals. The water is crystal clear and so blue. It makes the best moat on earth. Your writing will rarely be interrupted here.</p><p>For as long as I can feasibly stay, I go there and write. Sure, I write at the beach sometimes. Sometimes I hike up to Old Town and write at a café at the top of the island. My moat looks different up there.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcwM3x7WTFE--Ip49kuWT1rK8RJogx6EAzJVoBRlQZ294syLE655S8O1YQm5Y93aSPkcQcH6Cf7wJLKM1kCrnyThuSe5BKsQZgjETBHPNu8nbf6KyIq7ydVNFCCq_YUBawexisyFPnyTeFKBTqy-tEVlIvgthDCTDc3dOw-XlO7jluf7Me30gtZx1giQ/s4032/IMG-3367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcwM3x7WTFE--Ip49kuWT1rK8RJogx6EAzJVoBRlQZ294syLE655S8O1YQm5Y93aSPkcQcH6Cf7wJLKM1kCrnyThuSe5BKsQZgjETBHPNu8nbf6KyIq7ydVNFCCq_YUBawexisyFPnyTeFKBTqy-tEVlIvgthDCTDc3dOw-XlO7jluf7Me30gtZx1giQ/s320/IMG-3367.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">During the lockdown I figured I'd get plenty of writing done at home. The truth is I didn't really. I spent a lot of the lockdown taking online classes and worrying. Most of us probably did the second thing. Last year I took myself to Alonissos to write even though the pandemic kept my writing workshop from happening in 2021. After missing it in 2020, the island called to me and I had to go. I missed my fellow writers but I wrote almost non-stop.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvdOseiudOeXZhEetcC7P-MFe4n2i3PRy78kX_6iZXB4tTiVhgro00uIvjwf7juc-RRVAGM-aHIqTWKh6u_l9jjuJUvyv2Z7w6Qr9t0HPW4_KNVathVOA7IdcMu8gm8uoAsg5ahMxm6seHBd2arGC5T6p85761dExHXQSjfEAcxJwL6-e21CjQ587rMA/s4032/IMG-3703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvdOseiudOeXZhEetcC7P-MFe4n2i3PRy78kX_6iZXB4tTiVhgro00uIvjwf7juc-RRVAGM-aHIqTWKh6u_l9jjuJUvyv2Z7w6Qr9t0HPW4_KNVathVOA7IdcMu8gm8uoAsg5ahMxm6seHBd2arGC5T6p85761dExHXQSjfEAcxJwL6-e21CjQ587rMA/s320/IMG-3703.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">Obviously a moat isn't necessary to write but for this introvert peace and quiet is. I get that by running away and focusing only on writing. Nobody is going to interrupt from Alonissos. Sure, I could get that other places and on occasion I have. But I'm telling you an ocean makes an excellent moat and the Aegean Sea makes a gorgeous one. I highly recommend it.</p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-20661306668208366152022-05-15T22:34:00.000-04:002022-05-15T22:34:06.555-04:00The Mystery of the Girl in Blue<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_wnMbN5BvVHhomKbVzHtLifVEykk9sqCpb7gBEU7Wo-oZnuc15nwlimdUYY0Qd1Pk_CN_3Aspjntzb-2owrwqKPXHkbgUqEYYNMqSAas0gMvSHHyxh3slSBE7-9pTAVKqnzP5nF1U_-Z9Wu9o3v0ZYmz20P_Tz-ZOJO1T-tANRRGeBtME5ohLTGRbfA/s807/IMG-2438%20the%20girl%20in%20blue%20karfelt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="605" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_wnMbN5BvVHhomKbVzHtLifVEykk9sqCpb7gBEU7Wo-oZnuc15nwlimdUYY0Qd1Pk_CN_3Aspjntzb-2owrwqKPXHkbgUqEYYNMqSAas0gMvSHHyxh3slSBE7-9pTAVKqnzP5nF1U_-Z9Wu9o3v0ZYmz20P_Tz-ZOJO1T-tANRRGeBtME5ohLTGRbfA/w342-h456/IMG-2438%20the%20girl%20in%20blue%20karfelt.jpg" width="342" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">Ghosts of the past</span></h3><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">Recently I visited my hometown, the first one, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24552140-kahtar" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24552140-kahtar" target="_blank">the one Kahtar lives</a> in. Willoughby's an idyllic place with art galleries and coffee shops. Very small town America. It was nothing like that when I lived there, full of tattoo parlors and biker bars before any of that was cool. I stayed in a Bed and Breakfast during my recent visit so I could walk everywhere. I bought myself a gnome and a meteorite from local shops and every day I wrote and drank too much chai at a funky coffee shop that used to be the hardware store.<br /><br />Willoughby when I was a kid was practically designed to produce writers. You couldn't go very far without tripping over stories and even now the shadows of them remain. I visited <a href="https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/parks/visit/parks/north-chagrin-reservation/squire-s-castle" target="_blank">Squires Castle</a>, because despite my hometown being in Ohio, it has a castle. </span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">The small hills around our house had so many railroad tracks that even now a train whistle makes me nostalgic. In the woods off my backyard were the remains of an old cabin where I discovered a wagon wheel and dolls floating inside an old well. Before Indiana Jones was a thing I was digging up rocks and china doll treasures. A narrow river wound nearby, its banks were covered in purple and white flowers in spring and lilies in summer. A long fence separated our yard from a park and in the summer when I was a kid our pet monkey would sit on it. </span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">The house is gone now, a parking lot for the park, but I could still see ghosts of memories that have inspired me for years. <br /><br />My grandmother is buried in the Willoughby cemetery, and I took her flowers and wondered what she'd make of the current pandemic. She was a little girl during the Spanish Flu and since I grew up with her I can tell you that she took flu season <i>very </i>seriously. I miss her and I'm lucky she let me be the free-range kid I needed to be.</span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">The Girl in Blue </span></h3><p><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times new roman, times, baskerville, georgia, serif; font-size: medium;">As a kid I never once tried to climb between train cars, or run over the tracks to beat an approaching train. I didn't even need my grandmother to remind me not to. (She did though.) There were plenty of stories about people who got too close to trains and stories, unlike mathematics, stick in my brain. <br /><br />One of the most heart-breaking local legends was about The Girl in Blue. That's how we referred to her. In mental caps. The Girl in Blue is a hauntingly tragic story. Her tombstone reads:</span></p><div><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times new roman, times, baskerville, georgia, serif; font-size: medium;">In Memory<br />of the<br />GIRL IN BLUE<br />killed by a train<br />December 24, 1933</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times new roman, times, baskerville, georgia, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">Mysteries and Memories</span></h3><p></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times new roman, times, baskerville, georgia, serif;">Growing up that's all we knew about The Girl in Blue. All we knew was that she wore a navy blue skirt and shoes, a scarf, a blue wool overcoat, and a dark blue hat. No one knew why she arrived in Willoughby off a Greyhound bus, not her name or her business in town, or even if she knew someone there. All we knew was that she got hit by a train and died long ago on Christmas Eve in 1933. <br /><br />The town, taken by the tragedy of the young woman, who despite having been hit by a train suffered no visible wounds or blood loss, buried her in the town cemetery in a donated plot. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", times, baskerville, georgia, serif;">The Girl in Blue story haunted me. No one knew if she planned to jump in front of the train or what had happened. Local legend said that the train engineer saw her, saw a blur of blue, saw her stop running far too close to the train. They say he made eye contact and she looked terrified.</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYR8q1iHLIkrLL2sGhabY2Yur-2rsh_CdBHr84olx7RJGrfvUorNm55HzdPsXbN8mw8jM2r9OFhcC-rP5uvh-YPelZO7dONdqIadDe20jfCl5ea5lh1nPGOD9nN9l2e5ywoZTQ4-EGUdC4AtUniSO0QPkWMERTHblWlz3I5DIa4FtXPudfME79CYPW5A/s1008/IMG-2435%20girl%20in%20blue%20the%20glitter%20globe%20karfelt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="756" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYR8q1iHLIkrLL2sGhabY2Yur-2rsh_CdBHr84olx7RJGrfvUorNm55HzdPsXbN8mw8jM2r9OFhcC-rP5uvh-YPelZO7dONdqIadDe20jfCl5ea5lh1nPGOD9nN9l2e5ywoZTQ4-EGUdC4AtUniSO0QPkWMERTHblWlz3I5DIa4FtXPudfME79CYPW5A/s320/IMG-2435%20girl%20in%20blue%20the%20glitter%20globe%20karfelt.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times new roman, times, baskerville, georgia, serif; font-size: medium;">Growing up I couldn't find anything more about her. By then she'd passed from living memory into small town urban legend. In the 70's and 80's there were no books about her, no internet, no way to find out more about The Girl in Blue.<br /><br />In the coming years when I had access to those things in other places, I'd remember and try to hunt for answers. I wasn't the only one because part of the mystery of The Girl in Blue eventually got solved.<br /></span><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times new roman, times, baskerville, georgia, serif; font-size: medium;">Google made the World Smaller</span></h3><p><span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times new roman, times, baskerville, georgia, serif; font-size: medium;">Despite new information, there are still unanswered questions about The Girl in Blue, though we now know her name was Sophie. When I read the details unearthed by<a href="https://www.news-herald.com/2002/12/24/case-closed/" target="_blank"> the newspaper article</a>, I realized that she was from a town not so very far away from where I live now. We don't have a castle here, but we have fossils, waterfalls, and an occasional old headstone covered in leaves in the woods in our own backyards.<br /><br />Do you ever find yourself bumping into the same story over time? Asking yourself the same questions again and again? I'm kind of hard-wired to dig for endings when it comes to stories. You don't grow up in a house with a monkey without having questions. <br /><br />One thing that life/death/this pandemic has taught me is that life can change in an instant. People can disappear on us. Sometimes they leave behind a story, and sometimes you never know more than fragments of it. </span></span></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br />S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-17057221566013441412022-03-23T00:30:00.001-04:002022-03-23T00:30:00.150-04:00Saving Your Wedding Dress for Years——Why?<p style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyoP1gCu0kv6TP9yyWnhsPvlOr92ZsF4i1xIVwLVxBMxIKeyt-QJuntCdQMpr2HjNubL-xg5co5b1f_lvE0PIWcK7rAvCGi2p3fmtb9kx_6WNoDVDlwgxCNyacTgvhKN7Vna09wnSmVcsHZgm9CDNGlXx6tXVHs5RL-EgFE5PjII7YUW4IduPtW9qbhw=s984" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="984" data-original-width="656" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyoP1gCu0kv6TP9yyWnhsPvlOr92ZsF4i1xIVwLVxBMxIKeyt-QJuntCdQMpr2HjNubL-xg5co5b1f_lvE0PIWcK7rAvCGi2p3fmtb9kx_6WNoDVDlwgxCNyacTgvhKN7Vna09wnSmVcsHZgm9CDNGlXx6tXVHs5RL-EgFE5PjII7YUW4IduPtW9qbhw=w290-h436" width="290" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't you look fashionable? It doesn't last.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Today I threw my wedding dress into the washing machine, followed by the dryer. When I got married in the 80's it was a big thing to preserve your dress. I can't remember why. It was going to be historically significant like all the other gowns from the 80's. It cost almost as much as the gown itself to have a Dry Cleaner put it into a magical box with a clear plastic window so you could admire it into old age. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">This is how it went down</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Over the past almost forty-years I've been dragging that giant box around the country. In Boston it took up half my closet. I never looked at it other than to shove it into a moving truck. After a couple moves in Texas, and a couple kids, I did allow my preschoolers to look through the viewing window. The dress had turned yellowish. That was highly annoying because I'd been allowing it to take up air-conditioned space in closets. </p><p style="text-align: left;">After that it came out of the box. It took up less room in a dress bag. But I continued to haul it into moving trucks and around the country to new states and new closets.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Somehow Massive Amounts of Time Continued to Pass</h3><p style="text-align: left;">My daughter got engaged this year and picked out a gorgeous wedding dress. Afterwards I fished my old wedding dress out of a closet—not to compare or for any nostalgic reason. We got invited to a five year old's Prince and Princess party and needed costumes. </p><p style="text-align: left;">"You can wear this," I said to my daughter. I'd already chosen an old New Year's Eve dress for myself. Red. Sequined. It went perfect with my horned Viking hat with blonde braids. Viking Princesses are in. My Fashion Icon Status is maintained. </p><p style="text-align: left;">My daughter gamely tried on my old dress and stood in front of a full-length mirror. That's when she started to giggle. "What were you thinking?" she said, "Puffed sleeves? Anne of Green Gables or Little House on the Prairie?" Then quickly recovering she tried this, "I'm sure it was beautiful at the time, Mom. You were so skinny, does it even button on me?" (Yes, that worked by the way, and it was Little House on the Prairie for the record. Not the TV series, the books. Cooler, yes?) </p><p style="text-align: left;">Also those silk buttons are still in fashion AND my Mother-in-law was pretty scandalized about all my cleavage. (That dress went up to my chin but the fabric was almost sheer. It was obvious I had boobs—which was frowned upon outside of Music Videos in the 80's.) </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Fortunately Now Time Has Slowed Down</h3><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDpi7r8ZEmgfRxXHLv7AK0MAIV1GzlwUgYx4H0OpNM5kVdu3cm3nVJUeLyfORqqMnq-rAVjoBufCYqqtbXAIv9QKiTArXRsFCAbQ70PFUkcA0IMzK7Iw-obhy4ptiWTcTZ6dBj-s8UMnimydCYZY5zdQInM677eSFUDzPRsrrs0NYsYODnMLTcZDKUg/s807/IMG-2630%20old%20wedding%20dress%20blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="605" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDpi7r8ZEmgfRxXHLv7AK0MAIV1GzlwUgYx4H0OpNM5kVdu3cm3nVJUeLyfORqqMnq-rAVjoBufCYqqtbXAIv9QKiTArXRsFCAbQ70PFUkcA0IMzK7Iw-obhy4ptiWTcTZ6dBj-s8UMnimydCYZY5zdQInM677eSFUDzPRsrrs0NYsYODnMLTcZDKUg/s320/IMG-2630%20old%20wedding%20dress%20blog.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />My daughter or any brides in the here and now don't need to worry about their dresses turning yellow or going out of style. I don't think they preserve them anymore anyway. When I asked friends from my time if they still had their old wedding dresses, most had gotten sick of storing them and donated them. One gave hers to get bloodied in a school play about a Vampire Bride. </div><div><br /></div><div>After mine came out of the washer and dryer today—which it came through beautifully by the way—it went back into the closet for when the five year old is tall enough to play with it. Probably next year. Turns out I'm not nearly as tall as I thought I was. Either that or I'm shrinking on top of morphing into a Fashion Don't. </div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-45883852231693933292022-02-28T16:10:00.002-05:002022-02-28T16:10:21.822-05:00Coffee or Tea? Nescafe or Chai? <p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEis9DVQ8iHK_sZb56B0o3f3iUjf3rTKu138ZSfI4sxR7TultwsNIRFFbcjsahPJ4r1B7axeciOrrJdO2sqsGAyCadmmQwcKFsfBwOAzR2MzJKR9_uJUVkrd9dbQg9C_RDafMr8B0uXBrM5MkU4urRddnKlSKft8sG5ytz0QeMBHKyFcxJXDOycR4v4BIA=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEis9DVQ8iHK_sZb56B0o3f3iUjf3rTKu138ZSfI4sxR7TultwsNIRFFbcjsahPJ4r1B7axeciOrrJdO2sqsGAyCadmmQwcKFsfBwOAzR2MzJKR9_uJUVkrd9dbQg9C_RDafMr8B0uXBrM5MkU4urRddnKlSKft8sG5ytz0QeMBHKyFcxJXDOycR4v4BIA=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coffee is better with a view</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>It's still snowy blowy winter here and my house in encased in acres of what appears to be glaciers at the moment. While I like to imagine that I'm enjoying a nice café latte seaside, mostly I'm wrapped in a plaid blanket, wearing extra thick socks, and sitting right beside a space heater while I have my morning coffee.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Thing is, I kind of hate coffee</h3><p>The reason I'm drinking it is that I'm currently trying to break my <b>chai </b>latte habit so I still fit into coach seating come spring. One chai latte wouldn't be a problem, but I also love iced-chai. That wouldn't be a problem either especially since I switched to almond milk but I like a venti-size while I'm writing. And when I'm reading. I like it when I'm driving. Or in the book store. The problem is more. I just like more. With a book. When I cook. I like it here or there. I like it anywhere. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiG58-LAsyW9Oq6rGnK8Ulj08d8cqwi0VD717EY56he4BKa0KKFkfTRkLADIiQXnld22Yy_Y6F8tlkGO6VzuXQkN39uuoC1yH-kP_axsifVUsBEGdxfqsGr-6uVYJWHHz-3x0PcGogM5QBjuZ2dOVdPf4fQyYzhUyHFud91cQsUQMsy-fYxf9jdaP3hUQ=s3840" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3840" data-original-width="2160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiG58-LAsyW9Oq6rGnK8Ulj08d8cqwi0VD717EY56he4BKa0KKFkfTRkLADIiQXnld22Yy_Y6F8tlkGO6VzuXQkN39uuoC1yH-kP_axsifVUsBEGdxfqsGr-6uVYJWHHz-3x0PcGogM5QBjuZ2dOVdPf4fQyYzhUyHFud91cQsUQMsy-fYxf9jdaP3hUQ=s320" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barnes & Noble makes excellent chai<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxLvyB1rqwxK6MD9Xm1_YrBmedWs4aINCq6TwzaSggHVDhCfU19ctKTsSITDNOCnG7a4F-K14j_Z8aivry-6s1XvnBehHwz5o_4pN4_zdoCsdk-6c5BNmMZM_7hMTZfJxJ9flJtAUkt1ZL8F6nu18o8D9xVCE7SA9j8CkeRLKY9zonEtx5bBFEkZydLg=s3840" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3840" data-original-width="2160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxLvyB1rqwxK6MD9Xm1_YrBmedWs4aINCq6TwzaSggHVDhCfU19ctKTsSITDNOCnG7a4F-K14j_Z8aivry-6s1XvnBehHwz5o_4pN4_zdoCsdk-6c5BNmMZM_7hMTZfJxJ9flJtAUkt1ZL8F6nu18o8D9xVCE7SA9j8CkeRLKY9zonEtx5bBFEkZydLg=s320" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starbucks at the Athens Airport makes excellent chai<br />Heck, I make excellent chai!</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><h3 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;">I had to be stopped</h3><p>Realizing all the hiking and working out came to little with my sugar habit I dug through my drawer of herbal teas for an alternative. I came across sample tubes and a couple tins of Nescafe coffee that I picked up in Athens last September. Despite not normally liking coffee, I tend to drink it when I'm in Greece. Plus it doubled as a souvenir for Hubby. He's all about the coffee but didn't like it so stealing it back was fair.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5tYykcLSeJlJT2okPLJJwxodsRTnM4Sx03-SFh5FF1Ejuk3KQYxII0jHuDXe6f7Dp8YzcpPgCwWLlMNZJjg7y1ViXujIe7X1zTaHKXbBV7ohAjKqNP_loMnPsPGVjEeHdwWs5VWJgQmCmoPXtvkYrUluLzwIbK9NhW5HQWaeGnK4-M9lF160v38T3AQ=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5tYykcLSeJlJT2okPLJJwxodsRTnM4Sx03-SFh5FF1Ejuk3KQYxII0jHuDXe6f7Dp8YzcpPgCwWLlMNZJjg7y1ViXujIe7X1zTaHKXbBV7ohAjKqNP_loMnPsPGVjEeHdwWs5VWJgQmCmoPXtvkYrUluLzwIbK9NhW5HQWaeGnK4-M9lF160v38T3AQ=s320" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Am I right about coffee with a view?</div><p></p><p>Outside of Athens, when I get to the tiny island I love to write at every summer, chai latte is hard to come by. Besides sitting at a café beside the Aegean Sea I suddenly like coffee. That's mostly because when I'm in Greece I pretty much like everything. I especially like the little design swirled into the top of my drink. I like to sit at an outside table with a cup. It reminds me how the only time I ever saw my grandmother not moving was when she sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. Only, if I'm going to drink it my preference is a side of sparkling water and olives to get that coffee taste out of my mouth.</p><p>It's not so nostalgic when I'm huddled over the space heater but I'm up to an entire half a cup of Nescafe coffee every morning (mixed with about a quarter cup of steamed milk). It's like a Hollywood production making my half cup of coffee and while I don't like it, I don't hate it either. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi9ZELcRQDn3dVlcoiMs8qMLa-rQYGoQ3YEbPC7MxHvXXwrplajKnJ6qb4LSVYAacfwr41gHo98K3Y2ShMQiJuhEMaVUvbklOs7vvDh_aJXzXUsyGuDUUH91rVpf6vJi7TX7QCtf0tMl9-wMVw-2ug7XHeIYfxrtMq5ZrWbJc9lDviJkm5XKtIdj0z5Jw=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi9ZELcRQDn3dVlcoiMs8qMLa-rQYGoQ3YEbPC7MxHvXXwrplajKnJ6qb4LSVYAacfwr41gHo98K3Y2ShMQiJuhEMaVUvbklOs7vvDh_aJXzXUsyGuDUUH91rVpf6vJi7TX7QCtf0tMl9-wMVw-2ug7XHeIYfxrtMq5ZrWbJc9lDviJkm5XKtIdj0z5Jw=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view is meh and so is the drink but caffeine...</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Yes, I miss my chai, and yes, I occasionally make myself one, but mostly I have coffee. Thanks to that coffee I think I'm well on my way to a roomier coach seat. Well, thanks to my boring coffee AND the stairmaster, but that killer beast piece of exercise equipment is a whole other necessary change. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-92199967364268897052022-02-07T21:24:00.001-05:002022-02-07T21:24:50.968-05:00Learning to Speak Greek with Duolingo<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieyEe_NHS-3snfXyBfzl-P_CRsP2mCxgFpwLo9iUh-J1MTRUePSIJnA3ZC6nftPDQyhKizEJ5ZSuTu7TxPkkkDrjjkNoBJ6Yv64rrCZwnqITLg323XxztfprKvsl9ON54DSra2Rlt2i0Zq4LcEQDcVe47MD3PvSCAEAPLNZtzazWHPQZUchme8z9dZuA=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="521" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieyEe_NHS-3snfXyBfzl-P_CRsP2mCxgFpwLo9iUh-J1MTRUePSIJnA3ZC6nftPDQyhKizEJ5ZSuTu7TxPkkkDrjjkNoBJ6Yv64rrCZwnqITLg323XxztfprKvsl9ON54DSra2Rlt2i0Zq4LcEQDcVe47MD3PvSCAEAPLNZtzazWHPQZUchme8z9dZuA=w392-h521" width="392" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My favorite port in Greece<br /><br /></div><p>Here I am at an age when I really don't even want to say the number out loud and I'm finally learning a second language. I've been working at it for several years now. First I used the conversational language program called Pimsleur. I have it on audiobook and on discs for my old Jeep. For years instead of the radio when I'm driving I've been practicing basic Greek words. <b>Kali-mera</b> (Good morning). <b>Catalaveno Hellenika</b> (I understand Greek). <b>Then Catalaveno Hellinka</b> (I don't understand Greek). But I just wasn't really getting it. At some point I realized that the biggest problem was I often wasn't certain of the sounds. Was that a da? A tha? A thda?</p><p>All along I thought I'd never be able to learn to READ Greek. Speaking at some four-year-old conversational level was my goal. I wanted to be able to get in a taxi and ask for the port (<b>limani</b>) or the airport (<b>aerodromio</b>). My expectations weren't high. Friends told me to pick another language, something easier, something that I'd actually use. Yet Greece is my favorite country to visit. It's the language I want to learn.</p><p>Last year I downloaded the Duolingo app onto my phone. You have to learn to read the language you study on Duolingo. I'd taught myself the Greek Alphabet. It's a whole new alphabet. You know, alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta, eta, theta, iota, kappa, lamda, mu, nu, xi, OMICRON... We all know that one. There are twenty-four letters, capitals and lowercase. I vaguely remembered some of them from my days in engineering. Though I've never really learned another language, I know shorthand, so sounds in a different format isn't an entirely foreign concept. Plus I've been stuffing Greek words forcibly into my brain with Pimsleur for years. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4dWIKoyj3Tgm-bfAyN20OKjDpWneUps1fV9L-U-ZnzS7wA_v0hPK5i_2c6vwsNZZUQsBQpZ0FHG9r7Vs60W6_2SCPT03tHg51cCaTrZ_XT2i79hjcINp8zGA3H8DQzncC8WcOEonA1moR8BBc0diCMp0i6yOVejJn5ZWaNO_lQvQHg_5bZLmrP80wcQ=s3016" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2300" data-original-width="3016" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4dWIKoyj3Tgm-bfAyN20OKjDpWneUps1fV9L-U-ZnzS7wA_v0hPK5i_2c6vwsNZZUQsBQpZ0FHG9r7Vs60W6_2SCPT03tHg51cCaTrZ_XT2i79hjcINp8zGA3H8DQzncC8WcOEonA1moR8BBc0diCMp0i6yOVejJn5ZWaNO_lQvQHg_5bZLmrP80wcQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Greek Alphabet</div><p>After a couple months I began to really remember words. I recognize a lot of them from Pimseleur. I see the variations of similar words. I'm not GOOD, but I'm determined and I am improving. Right now it feels more like I'm learning to read the language verses speaking it, but maybe there will come a day when it will click? </p><p>There's a free version of Duolingo, but I pay for the upgrade. I don't see how you'd get far on the app if you didn't. It's a bit of a game, something that I'm not much interested in. What I like is that it's handy to have on my phone. It switches between me translating a sentence from English to Greek or Greek to English. I have a Greek keyboard on my phone so I can write out Greek sentences in the language (unlike my loosely translated words above). You can also time and test yourself. Mostly what I like is that I am making progress and Greek makes far more sense to me when I can see it. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijOzoruCHTVsAnZUBitPXk9JyHkNViz8Jol7kuBXXb35vRU8ALSwimJIy6xCQXIMjdviHZJc5ChRqy9WixmpslnDrDP_qZxYcAgGXPiI-CqYBbdU7kDf4XGa1cY56jO4Rl6Y-nwP0IjP3plHiY7AedrA8qWfxzvmMXW5_pJH8OxyEEoipPRVkxnvnnxA=s768" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="432" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijOzoruCHTVsAnZUBitPXk9JyHkNViz8Jol7kuBXXb35vRU8ALSwimJIy6xCQXIMjdviHZJc5ChRqy9WixmpslnDrDP_qZxYcAgGXPiI-CqYBbdU7kDf4XGa1cY56jO4Rl6Y-nwP0IjP3plHiY7AedrA8qWfxzvmMXW5_pJH8OxyEEoipPRVkxnvnnxA=w200-h356" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I like chai latte in any language</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Now I also watch movies or shows in Greek (with English subtitles). What I'm working on on the side is trying understand the words by hearing them verses seeing them. That's always the hardest part. I learned sign language long ago and while I could sign what I wanted to say, understanding someone's signing to me was the extremely difficult part. So I know it's a process every step of the way to learn a new language. I know it'll take more than Pimsleur, Duolingo, Greek television, and a month or so in Greece every year to make progress. Still, I'm making some slow progress and the daily repetition on Duolingo helps me remember it. <p></p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-54941079443234443512022-01-20T16:49:00.002-05:002022-01-20T16:49:53.825-05:00My Dizzy Dizzy Life—Part Three<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3AItO6zPmtqmJqow5MSXi5BFyM9MlxpkAHyphtA98GINFUDS3Hizav0xB1X__VdgCQL5DKn8vko-RaH0L5ogFtGGrKuLpj1wmEa05REX_Litj9_vi7cURa5xMCq9DH4qH2vfrboE8Eqy8DIbI7aIhcc8G-63hNBI6Tpqx_Y4npKh1soiWEjJNj3wFCg=s500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="500" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3AItO6zPmtqmJqow5MSXi5BFyM9MlxpkAHyphtA98GINFUDS3Hizav0xB1X__VdgCQL5DKn8vko-RaH0L5ogFtGGrKuLpj1wmEa05REX_Litj9_vi7cURa5xMCq9DH4qH2vfrboE8Eqy8DIbI7aIhcc8G-63hNBI6Tpqx_Y4npKh1soiWEjJNj3wFCg=w449-h300" width="449" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">On the other side of chronic vertigo</h3><div><br /></div><div>After twenty years of vertigo I'm trying to adjust to life through a new lens. It's straighter. I've noticed that in my photographs over the past many years, that I always have my head tilted slightly. Apparently I was trying to physically help my off-balance brain see straighter. <a href="https://vestibular.org/" target="_blank">Since completing BPPV therapy with a Doctor who specializes in <i>VRT, Vestibular Rehab Therapy,</i></a> I've tried to stop doing that. I've automatically stopped shuffling my feet like I've done for years, possibly decades. When I walk down the hallway, I don't have to run my hands over the wall. In the bathroom in the dark I still occasionally touch the counter, touch the door, touch the wall, centering myself. Now, it's more of a habit than a necessity. I'm just making sure.</div><div><br /></div><div>When standing off-balance I'd never keep my feet close together, instead keeping them far apart. The better to spread out my center of gravity and keep my balance. It didn't stick out as much as occasionally staggering when you're simply standing in place. My brain had learned well that gravity isn't to be trusted and neither is my vestibular system. I've completed weeks of exercises to encourage my brain to trust it. I don't think it's entirely on board. Maybe if you tease your brain for twenty years, you lose credibility. </div><div><br /></div><div>At this point though I've graduated from my <a href="https://vestibular.org/healthcare-directory/" target="_blank">VRT rehab</a>, I'm still working on physical therapy exercises to teach myself it's okay to turn my head suddenly. It still doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel safe. I keep testing myself, and will turn my head suddenly trying to catch the world wobbling. So far it hasn't wobbled. I know it might, I know that my BPPV can and probably will come back. I also know what to do if it does. It helps that I also know that if it's really bad, that I can call my <a href="https://vestibular.org/healthcare-directory/" target="_blank">VRT specialist doctor</a> and she'll help. At least once though, when a bit of vertigo kicked up, I righted it myself. It felt incredible to know how to do that.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">What a crazy mad skill to have</h3><div><br /></div><div>Something else I learned is that you don't want to do an Epley Maneuver every day, "just in case". That can mess everything up. Especially since I have it in both ears. There's a science to keeping loose crystals in check. As my <a href="https://vestibular.org/healthcare-directory/" target="_blank">VRT doctor</a> said to me many times,<i> trust the process</i>. She also encourages me to push my comfort zone now, to turn my head <i>just because</i>, to quickly look up and down. My goal is (this is nuts and I'm aware of that) to roll down a grassy hill with my favorite four-year-old next summer. I did it once last summer while still living with chronic vertigo. In a fit of half-madness I thought <i>I'm not letting vertigo control my life!</i> So I rolled down a little hill with Four. </div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Holy effing tornadoes in my brain I think I may have rolled into another dimension </h3><div><br /></div><div>When we stopped rolling at the bottom of the hill, my brain was still going round and round. Four was chatting away and onto the next game while I was 100% sure that my entire brain had come loose and that maybe my whole vertigo problem all along was that my brain wasn't attached properly like everyone else's. Maybe it literally does just float and bob in my head like I long suspected. I bribed her with whatever TV show she wanted to watch so we could go inside and I could sit and not move my head. </div><div><br /></div><div>Still, I want to try it again someday. I'm feeling much more grounded but today is not the rolling down the hill day. I'm still at the part where I sit, focusing on something across the room, stand and spin, and refocus on the same spot, before sitting and doing it again and again. It's something I try to do faster and faster. There are other exercises, but I'm getting used to them. They don't bother me. I keep my balance. It's amazing. I'm taking walks outside in the dark again, without my giant Gandalf-like walking stick! </div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">I'm hopeful that I'll have far more normal days than dizzy days. </h3><div><br /></div><div>The VRT doctor told me that nothing I can do to my ears will cause BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo). I can't wait to swim underwater in the summer. It's been a long time! I've been the most cautious snorkeler for a very long time. One thing she warned me about was that flying can set it off. My annual trip to Greece is one long journey. This year it took me four days to get to the little island I go to. Yes, I did get vertigo there, and again after returning home. So I'll be apprehensive about it, but I'll go anyway. At least now I know how to diagnose which ear is affected and I can perform the Epley Maneuver on myself. If both ears are affected, that's when I video call the doctor. </div><div><br /></div><div>What about the migraine with aura I've had since 2001? It's still there. My eyes are light sensitive more often than they're not. There's a host of odd visual disturbances that anything from a sunny day to walking into a store with certain types of lighting can kick off. Working out or opening the oven door can change my body temperature fast enough for a migraine to start. Sound can do it. Migraines come and go. I've never been able to figure out why every time. Sometimes they just happen. My hope is that not having to live with chronic dizziness will help my sensitive migraine brain settle down. Maybe I'll get less of them. Time will tell. </div><div><br /></div><div>My VRT doctor told me that her theory is that migraines follow vertigo due to the strain on your brain. It's tough to maneuver the world when you're always off balance. When I started therapy she had me take a test about my dizziness. It was the first time I'd ever been asked these questions, relevant questions, questions that cover what it's really like to have vertigo. I practically cried. Finally I knew I was in the right place. The first few questions on the test were the first few things I told every single medical person I saw back in 2001, twenty years ago. At that time those remarks seemed to lead doctors to jump to the conclusion that I had depression. I didn't. As I've said time and again I had anxiety. Try living in a body that spins all the time and see if you don't get anxious. But I think it was the spinning that came first. </div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.rehab.msu.edu/_files/_docs/Dizziness_Handicap_Inventory.pdf" target="_blank">Dizziness Handicap Inventory Questionnaire</a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> (Rehabilitation Medical Clinic Info) </span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b></h3><div style="text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Instructions: The purpose of
this scale is to identify difficulties that you may be experiencing because of
your dizziness. Please check “always”, <u>or</u> “no” <u>or</u>
“sometimes” to each question. Answer each question only as it pertains to your
dizziness problem. </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 45pt; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="TableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; text-align: left; width: 618px;">
<tbody><tr style="height: 14.3pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 3.4pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Questions </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .85pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Always </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 3.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Sometimes </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 3.2pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">No </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 14.3pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">P1 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Does looking up increase
your problem?<b> </b></span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.7pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 15.7pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">E2 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.7pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Because of your problem, do
you feel frustrated?<b> </b></span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.7pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.7pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.7pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 28.1pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">F3 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Because of your problem, do
you restrict your travel for business or pleasure?<b> </b></span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 28.1pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">P4 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Does walking down the aisle
of a supermarket increase your problem? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 28.2pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 28.2pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">F5 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.2pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 1.75pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Because of your
problem, do you have difficulty getting into or out of bed? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.2pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.2pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.2pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 41.9pt; mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 41.9pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">F6 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 41.9pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 2.35pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Does your
problem significantly restrict your participation in social activities, such
as going out to dinner, going to movies, dancing or to parties? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 41.9pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 41.9pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 41.9pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 14.3pt; mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">F7 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Because of your problem, do
you have difficulty reading? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 41.9pt; mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 41.9pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">F8 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 41.9pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Does performing more
ambitious activities like sports, dancing, and household chores, such as
sweeping or putting dishes away; increase your problem? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 41.9pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 41.9pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 41.9pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 28.1pt; mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">E9 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Because of your problem, are you afraid to
leave your home without having someone accompany you? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 28.1pt; mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">E10 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Because of your problem,
have you been embarrassed in front of others? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 14.3pt; mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">P11 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Do quick movements of your head increase your
problem? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: .2in; mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: .2in; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">F12 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .2in; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Because of your problem, do
you avoid heights? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .2in; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .2in; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .2in; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 14.3pt; mso-yfti-irow: 13;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">P13 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Does turning over in bed
increase your problem? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 28.1pt; mso-yfti-irow: 14;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">F14 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Because of your problem, is
it difficult for you to do strenuous housework or yard work? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 28.1pt; mso-yfti-irow: 15;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">E15 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Because of your problem,
are you afraid people may think that you are intoxicated? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 28.1pt; mso-yfti-irow: 16;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">F16 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Because of your problem, is
it difficult for you to go for a walk by yourself? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 14.3pt; mso-yfti-irow: 17;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">P17 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Does walking down a
sidewalk increase your problem? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 28.1pt; mso-yfti-irow: 18;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">E18 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Because of your problem, is
it difficult for you to concentrate? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 28.2pt; mso-yfti-irow: 19;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 28.2pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">F19 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.2pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Because of your problem, is
it difficult for you to walk around your house in the dark? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.2pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.2pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.2pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 28.1pt; mso-yfti-irow: 20;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">E20 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Because of your problem,
are you afraid to stay home alone? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 14.3pt; mso-yfti-irow: 21;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">E21 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Because of your problem, do
you feel handicapped? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 28.1pt; mso-yfti-irow: 22;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">E22 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Has your problem placed
stress on your relationship with members of your family or friends? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 14.3pt; mso-yfti-irow: 23;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">E23 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Because of your problem,
are you depressed? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 28.1pt; mso-yfti-irow: 24;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">F24 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Does your problem interfere
with your job or household responsibilities? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 27.0pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: .2in; mso-yfti-irow: 25; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: .2in; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 31.75pt;" valign="top" width="42">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">P25 </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .2in; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 313.55pt;" valign="top" width="418">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Does bending over increase
your problem? </span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .2in; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 2.55pt 2.05pt 0in 5.3pt; width: 36.95pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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</tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;">Yes, yes, yes, all of it</h3><div><br /></div><div>My goal in sharing my long vertigo story with you is to help other people with vertigo. Please keep in mind that if you have vertigo often and doctors haven't helped you, it's <a href="https://vestibular.org/healthcare-directory/" target="_blank">possible that you need a vestibular specialist</a>. What if some of your dizzy problems can be helped? Or fixed even? I also want to share my good news in a time when good news seems so scarce. I'd like to commiserate too, on how difficult it is to find the <a href="https://vestibular.org/healthcare-directory/" target="_blank">medical help you need</a>. Especially right now when so many people desperately need help. If you're like me and trying to endure another bout of vertigo like I've done so many times, you just might be up at night, searching on your phone, trying to figure out what the heck this chronically recurring and random spinning <b>is</b>! What I'd say to you is if you're not getting answers maybe it's time to ask for a referral to a <a href="https://vestibular.org/healthcare-directory/" target="_blank">doctor who specializes in <i>VRT. Vestibular Rehab Therapy.</i></a> Don't wait for answers that might help you lead a more grounded life. </div><div><br /></div><div>And guess what? Guess who has been going sledding at night under a full moon lately? This chick that's who. I'm putting my new and improved vestibular system to good use and it feels incredible. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.theglitterglobe.com/2021/12/my-dizzy-dizzy-life-part-1.html" target="_blank">My Dizzy Dizzy Life—Part I</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.theglitterglobe.com/2022/01/my-dizzy-dizzy-life-part-ii.html" target="_blank">My Dizzy Dizzy Life—Part II</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-77617638392968290282022-01-01T23:18:00.002-05:002022-01-01T23:18:54.287-05:00My Dizzy Dizzy Life, Part II<p><br /></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglZLSUbqdaxppR2HNAV9BH2R4hDOGM700zb2lF8nJbS9LcgzNiUsq9-8O8faVrrDkuAZKukA2HMpdKYMMeTjlAu-2UG6RiSmabojeaL2xaf2nETjAz6qGDYq4Os_WWVJZKcaVm1Vemc7D/s500/shutterstock_1185145444+vertigo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="375" height="525" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglZLSUbqdaxppR2HNAV9BH2R4hDOGM700zb2lF8nJbS9LcgzNiUsq9-8O8faVrrDkuAZKukA2HMpdKYMMeTjlAu-2UG6RiSmabojeaL2xaf2nETjAz6qGDYq4Os_WWVJZKcaVm1Vemc7D/w394-h525/shutterstock_1185145444+vertigo.jpg" width="394" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Could there be a happy ending?</h3><p style="text-align: left;">After twenty years of living with chronic vertigo, I found something that can potentially stop an attack and I'm not trying to sell you anything. It just took me this long to find someone who could help me. My symptoms are random bouts of extreme vertigo and regular days ranging from slightly off-balance to not driving because of it.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">There are degrees and categories of dizzy</h3><p style="text-align: left;">There are variations of dizzy. I'm basing this entirely on living inside this fun house of a body for the past twenty years. I'm not a doctor or a medical professional. I'm just some dizzy chick who's had this for twenty years. There were times I'd try to squint to focus on something that seemed to be moving when I knew it wasn't. Sometimes I'd be walking and stop and my head would feel like it bounced on ahead without me. I'd turn and my head would feel like it kept right on turning. You can have a swimming feeling in your head. A bouncing feeling in your feet. A spinning room that makes it impossible even to walk. There were times I'd wake up spinning and swooping. </p><p style="text-align: left;">For the past twenty years I've not watched the news (silver lining?). All that scrolling and busy screens make vertigo worse. Smart phones helped because for whatever reason the little phone screen doesn't bother me as much. I've written entire novels on my phone (I think I may have damaged my thumbs doing that), and I watch movies on it all the time. Sometimes I don't look at the screen much, but it's worked when regular televisions and monitors couldn't. </p><p style="text-align: left;">After the first five years or so of searching for a diagnosis or cure, of running from doctor to doctor, I admittedly gave up on finding any help. Desperation and frustration made me set out to learn to live with chronic vertigo. It's not an easy thing to live with. Giving up was simply what I had to do to survive. I don't do well with meds and had more problems with side-effects than living with chronic dizziness—that is saying something. I'd had MRI's and CT's, seen neurologists and any specialist I could get a referral to (and some I self-referred myself to). My prescription med side effects included tachycardia, lots of skin conditions, being misdiagnosed with pheochromocytoma from a migraine preventative, and various bouts of instant depression whenever I could be coerced into taking a new and improved SSRI for depression that I didn't have (until the third day of taking an SSRI gave it to me). </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The biggest medical side effect was lost trust</h3><div><br /></div><div>I didn't walk into the first doctor's office apprehensive. In time I definitely became that way. That's why I have to accept that part of the reason that my vertigo has gone on so long is because I quit trusting that there was a doctor that could help me. </div><div><br /></div><div>There's a bottomless frustration bordering on despair that comes when you realize that doctors aren't listening to you. It happens after you've gone from physician to physician and when you begin to explain why you're there, what's happening, you once again get interrupted with someone finishing your sentences, asking if you've been depressed and if you've tried this or that anti-depressant? </div><div><br /></div><div>When it comes to reading people, I have a gift. I can see when I've lost someone's interest, when they don't have time for this, when they think they understand and they're going to brush me off. I realize doctors don't have much time for complex problems. I didn't realize that at first. I didn't realize I was a complex problem. In hindsight I don't think I was.</div><p style="text-align: left;">The end result was that after years of frustration and unable to garner any medical attention for a condition that got worse with "help", I moved on. You see, I wanted to live. If it had to be with vertigo, it was better than an ambulance ride and a thundering heart or even another doctor who thought I was a hypochondriac or a "hot-house flower". </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Fast forward twenty years</h3><p style="text-align: left;">If you've been around The Glitter Globe for years, you know I've occasionally written about my vertigo. In fact, I call this blog The Glitter Globe because of my vertigo. I've often said if you took my brain and set it afloat inside a Glitter Globe, that's what vertigo feels like. Having vertigo can make focus challenging. It's like bobbing/spinning/drifting between realities. There's the nice stable reality most people get to live in, and the half-crazy Fun House one where my vertigo has me flitting between <i>was that real or was that me?</i> </p><p style="text-align: left;">A few months ago when I was having a bad round of vertigo, I managed to get myself down the hall to my office. I have a nice comfy corduroy chair that I sit in. I put my feet up and don't move my head. Eventually the spinning slows. That night I searched online for books about vertigo. Since my vertigo started with six months of cluster migraine back in 2001, I've always figured what I had was <a href="https://www.theglitterglobe.com/2020/11/oops-im-late-for-my-nineteenth.html" target="_blank">Vestibular Migraine</a>. I found a book that encouraged me to explore other options too. That's why I looked at BPPV.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: "Google Sans Text", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo</b><span face=""Google Sans Text", arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;"> (BPPV)</span></h3><p style="text-align: left;">My doctor referred me to a Physical Therapist with MSPT, DPT, and certified VRT after her name. If you have vertigo, it's the certified VRT that you need to find. It's a doctor with specialized training for <i>Vestibular Rehab Therapy</i> that you need. With vertigo it's doubtful you'll get the help you need with a doctor who doesn't have the training or experience you need.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Going to see this doctor I was nervous. I've been Epley Maneuvered many times in the past. It made my vertigo so much worse. I hated when doctors started talking about it. Eventually I refused to allow them to try it. When I wound up with vertigo in Greece a couple months ago, a friend who's a doctor said something to me that I needed to hear. She said, <i>what you're describing sounds like BPPV, but don't just go to the doctor on the island for the maneuver. If a doctor doesn't do it all the time and doesn't really understand how to—they can make it a lot worse.</i></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">There's no crime in not knowing how to fix something. The crime is in faking it and hurting someone</h3><p style="text-align: left;">My doctor friend is one of my favorite people. When I was trying to<a href="https://www.theglitterglobe.com/2017/08/gummy-and-picture-of-dementia.html" target="_blank"> help Gummy through her dementia</a>, she gave me great advice and I've respected her ever since. She often tells me that when it came to medicine she'd check her advice by asking herself, <i>what if I'm wrong? </i>As in if I'm wrong will this patient potentially die because of my advice? Or in my case, <i>will this patient spend the next twenty years spinning? </i>In a world where we can Google anything and talk about it like we know what we're talking about, we're all guilty of this. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Unfortunately people have a tendency to believe doctors. At least at first</h3><p style="text-align: left;">When I saw the VRT specialist I listened to her explain what we were going to do. In my head I was thinking, <i>well, here we go. Spin City. Why did I agree to this?</i> I was thinking who I could call for a ride home. And that maybe next spring I could fly down and stay with my friend in Texas to go see that Vestibular Migraine doctor down there. Maybe COVID won't be as bad then. At this point I was guilty of not trusting anymore.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Dr. VRT as we'll call her, had me sit on the table, legs straight out in front of me. She took my glasses and held my head in her hands and watched my eyes very closely and explained exactly how she'd drop me back, let my head dangle a bit off the table but be holding it and watching my eyes. Don't worry, she said, I've got you. Even if you throw up it's okay. I'm used to that. It happens all the time. Then she dropped me back flat, head turned towards her, and dangling off the table, watching my eyes. I couldn't focus on her then. I couldn't focus on anything. I was spinning. </p><p style="text-align: left;">After a few more maneuvers she said, you definitely have BPPV. It's on your left side. I'm going to take you through the Epley Maneuver. There are three loops that make up your vestibular system in each ear. They're so small that they're no larger than the nail on your pinky finger. There are crystals inside of those tubes that can come loose causing vertigo. This exercise moves them into a place where they won't bother you. </p><p style="text-align: left;">As we went through the movements, occasionally she'd kind of shake my head the way you would when you've trying to get the last of something out of a container. It never hurt. It was disorienting. But I'm used to that. What's weird is that when I left I wasn't spinning, and everything seemed straighter. Like the horizon, buildings, my house. For so long I've walked around seeing the world through a damaged lens, that seeing it straight felt off and weird. Like when you're nearsighted and you first get glasses.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Of course nothing is that simple. I've now had six weeks of treatments with daily exercises in between and I needed all of it. I wound up having BPPV in both ears and it showed up not long into my treatment. It makes it more complicated to correct because the maneuver on one side can trigger a problem to occur in the other. That's why, as amazing as the internet is, as incredible as it is to get information from YouTube, the odds of fixing something like this yourself seems about nil to me. Just like every doctor who attempted this on me over the years made it worse, winging it yourself can make it worse. There's a real knack to it and you need to find someone who has it. Someone who knows what they're doing. I can attest to the fact that it's not easy to find someone to help with dizziness. But if you have vertigo, don't wait twenty years to start searching for a doctor who specializes in Vestibular Rehab Therapy, VRT.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Am I perfectly stable without a wobble now? I can't say that yet, but I can say that I'm about 80% less dizzy. Now I'm working on teaching my brain that unpredictable movement isn't a cause for alarm. I'll explore the difficulties of long-term vertigo recovery in My Dizzy Dizzy Life, Part III, coming soon. Sign up for notifications (over on the right hand column, you may have to scroll down to find it) if you don't want to miss it. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.theglitterglobe.com/2021/12/my-dizzy-dizzy-life-part-1.html" target="_blank">My Dizzy Dizzy Life, Part I</a></p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.theglitterglobe.com/2016/07/vestibular-migraine-is-devil.html" target="_blank">Vestibular Migraine is the Devil</a></p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.theglitterglobe.com/2020/11/oops-im-late-for-my-nineteenth.html" target="_blank">Vestibular Migraine</a></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-47364697092697984702021-12-06T23:29:00.004-05:002022-01-03T21:35:07.800-05:00My Dizzy Dizzy Life, Part 1<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDZ0HnsofBdio9LI3KYiiQhbUy7MMa4mTZnXp1uTTUSdsbO_WPY3_GfvF4_zKe-KxYBoNTsXk68r22kvhVk2FCFkjhKNJ6nvVzkF2qS6QPIWA4tWifYuItzpEp6iDZGLFVhhDnmJRV62h/s603/shutterstock_1429465220+vertigo+again.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="603" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDZ0HnsofBdio9LI3KYiiQhbUy7MMa4mTZnXp1uTTUSdsbO_WPY3_GfvF4_zKe-KxYBoNTsXk68r22kvhVk2FCFkjhKNJ6nvVzkF2qS6QPIWA4tWifYuItzpEp6iDZGLFVhhDnmJRV62h/w415-h276/shutterstock_1429465220+vertigo+again.jpg" width="415" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">My dizziness has been going on for twenty years now. The good news is it's not inherently fatal. It sure feels like it is when you wake up spinning, or just start spinning. In the early years I spent a fortune on out-of-pocket medical costs. I was determined that this wasn't going to be my life now. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">It was.</h3><p>With everything I had I went from doctor to doctor looking for a cure. Hell, a diagnosis even. Somewhere I still have calendars and notes. I kept records of every migraine, every spin, every med, determined to find a pattern, a clue that would help. Eventually, after a few years in which all I did was see doctors and have tests, I gave up. </p><p>Determined to "Keep Myself Alive" as the late great Freddy Mercury sang, I decided that every day, every second, that I wasn't actively spinning, was going to be the best day of my life. That motto kept me going. I wrote novels, I traveled, I hiked, I even went skydiving. And some days I sat very still, not moving my head, while the world spun furiously around me. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">I swore a lot.</h3><p>Sometimes, mostly since the pandemic, I cried. Early on I trained myself not to cry. That sounds repressive but it was because I try not to move my head. Crying involves entirely too much dangerous head motion. The thing is, over the years, this shit has worn me down. Over time I stopped hiking. I stopped eating vegan, I stopped exercising much at all. I've never been a suicidal woman, I have a happy heart and I love life but I have little interest in spending my elder years spinning in a nursing home, so sometimes my decisions have been based heavily on, <i>oh what the hell have I got to lose?</i></p><p>That may have been part of the reason I got on a plane to Greece late this year, pandemic or no. I definitely take risks my chicken-shit soul isn't entirely comfortable with. Vertigo has made me very now or never minded. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Then this happened.</h3><p>Getting back and forth to my happy island in Greece is a freaking challenge in the best of times. During COVID it's a four day journey each way. Upon arrival I tacked on three days of vertigo. Returning home I had another three days of it. Bad days. My husband had to help me get to the bathroom to pee. Normally I'm pretty good at walking blind and knowing which way is up and down. Not this round of spinning. That's when I cried. </p><p>Shortly after that I went for my annual physical and I admitted I was having trouble handling my chronic vertigo. I've just used up my coping skills. My doctor suggested I see a doctor who specializes in vertigo. She's had great success rate helping people, my doctor said. I agreed to see her. I had a couple weeks of anxiety over that. It's because one thing I've learned is that fooling with my vertigo can make it way worse. </p><p>But I've read and re-read <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Victory-Over-Vestibular-Migraine-Healing/dp/B08C92JB3R/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=vestibular+migraine+books&qid=1605063975&sr=8-2" target="_blank">Dr. Beh's book Victory Over Vestibular Migraine</a>. One thing he said in the book was not to assume that you have only one type of vertigo, that it's often more than one problem when it's chronic. </p><p>Just between you and me, the first thing that impressed me about my local vertigo specialist was that she called me herself to set up on the appointment. It was a strange appointment. The doctor dropped me into positions, turning my head to and fro, her eyes inches from mine so she could see my eyes. Nystagmus is what she watches for. I'm going to resist going off on how many times I've had doctors do this to me. Suffice to say it wasn't my first rodeo, but it was the first time I was expertly taken through the Epley Maneuver and given immediate feedback. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">It was the first time it worked.</h3><p>to be continued in my next blog post...</p><p><a href="https://www.theglitterglobe.com/2022/01/my-dizzy-dizzy-life-part-ii.html" target="_blank">My Dizzy Dizzy Life, Part II</a></p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-65456150236283904832021-12-06T19:20:00.000-05:002021-12-06T19:20:09.330-05:00Taking Time to Enjoy Moments not Things<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5GWx_VA4GGC61vy_UBoMIOzFUbyQ1JJSAEWjGtVJ8sYsGev1ycVQs-uVFfIaP01XbLXwDGVERSjuAyYZU_s7GSpk-ii4bNQFym0tLvzYn-6rsPJKqF9j5wu7CUa1kmiixlS8Sv2wcuCDI/s807/IMG-8092+Art+The+Glitter+Globe+Painted+rocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="605" height="423" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5GWx_VA4GGC61vy_UBoMIOzFUbyQ1JJSAEWjGtVJ8sYsGev1ycVQs-uVFfIaP01XbLXwDGVERSjuAyYZU_s7GSpk-ii4bNQFym0tLvzYn-6rsPJKqF9j5wu7CUa1kmiixlS8Sv2wcuCDI/w317-h423/IMG-8092+Art+The+Glitter+Globe+Painted+rocks.jpg" width="317" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Great Christmas Pumpkin</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div>On Sunday I painted with a four-year-old. I'd caved and bought a Christmas rock painting kit ($10 Barnes & Noble). It came with instructions on how to paint Santa and Christmas Trees. I put brown paper down, opened the jars of paint, and handed the paintbrush to Four and let her have at it. We had paint everywhere. It spreads like glitter and you wonder later as you scrub it off a little face, chairs, the floor, and the inside of your arm how it got there! <div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNNWDy29QzPzdMLv1EwFLJGVE8Hpt5xjN9SNy9kd5ZyhMckZoUybvBAaaN4PbePjvSG1lbVknxs1NxLUyUSyTE_YGTFwB6lvO6x_rOcURsheZaaWHeR05pxvRhxMCixWlDOGboyTuBFCEF/s807/IMG-8070+Christmas+rock+painting+with+Four.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="605" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNNWDy29QzPzdMLv1EwFLJGVE8Hpt5xjN9SNy9kd5ZyhMckZoUybvBAaaN4PbePjvSG1lbVknxs1NxLUyUSyTE_YGTFwB6lvO6x_rOcURsheZaaWHeR05pxvRhxMCixWlDOGboyTuBFCEF/w207-h275/IMG-8070+Christmas+rock+painting+with+Four.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><p>When Four visits me I encourage messes, too much screen time, and few rules. So she loves to visit, but the truth is I enjoy it even more. I love kid art, not when it's a classroom full of like work—but when it's haphazard splashes of color and enthusiastic scribbling. </p><p>On Saturday I went to a friend's. Right in the middle of prime holiday shopping we watched movies, grazed on a charcuterie board, took the dog for a walk, and sat in her hot tub in the cold night talking about nothing and everything.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifB9qGz0W6nLFIKAzCc_QNmH47EzoLAzRrl8yANOuBn_weRovdu4nJt9BZ_MixwJSLQphdYc1OpDsY-4LfDSA1ae3f-OiZRMiTC5tLw7SULtkv3Qa5a5Nacz4J20nQjxI8u5Wi6aQD5bzE/s642/IMG-8017+Christmas+charcuterie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="604" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifB9qGz0W6nLFIKAzCc_QNmH47EzoLAzRrl8yANOuBn_weRovdu4nJt9BZ_MixwJSLQphdYc1OpDsY-4LfDSA1ae3f-OiZRMiTC5tLw7SULtkv3Qa5a5Nacz4J20nQjxI8u5Wi6aQD5bzE/s320/IMG-8017+Christmas+charcuterie.jpg" width="301" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My grand plan this month is to shop little, spend my weekends doing things with family and friends, and cherish people not things. </div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><br /></p></div>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-32767051569753292332021-11-19T00:29:00.004-05:002021-11-19T00:29:33.576-05:00Why Didn't They Leave, an Immigration Story by Eva Hnizdo<p> </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Why-Didnt-They-Leave-Hnizdo/dp/1913913368/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Eva+hnizdo&qid=1637298009&qsid=130-1936939-9013936&sr=8-3&sres=1913913368%2C0368386449%2CB01BT02Q88%2CB00UPDMR2Q%2CB07BBX5KY4%2CB01M9AVJGP%2CB00TACV1FM%2CB07BDRZFSN%2CB07C2CH5QL%2CB01F7K6Y9S%2CB084NXH8WD%2CB00B4IHXRU%2CB00TXZF256%2CB017KTU9QI%2CB0147PDMYY%2CB08X9X6TWT#customerReviews" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1325" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAY39qyYor140UJI-VpSBgL_7IbGjyZSjPhWd3_HaGF1FhSrItY7UjUcvwGz_60Y7CZ8tGng7z1UsghWBMhyBSMhScKAUmBPU2Wv6DZgyQCNnaPpjnL-pf_U_WhcTQWFpaM2idlVidZ3xx/s320/why+didn%2527t+they+leave+eva+hnizdo.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><h3 style="line-height: 14pt; text-align: left; vertical-align: middle;"><span lang="EN-GB">The Blurb</span></h3><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; vertical-align: middle;"><span lang="EN-GB">You can’t ask for asylum in another country just because
your mother drives you nuts, so when 19-year-old Zuzana flees from communist
Czechoslovakia to England in 1972, she says she just wants freedom. Her relationship
with her mother, Magda—a Holocaust survivor who lost most of her family in
the concentration camps—is toxic and Zuzana finds happiness in London with a
loving husband and beautiful son.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; vertical-align: middle;"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span>But when her mother dies, Zuzana is crushed by guilt and
feels an overwhelming urge to discover more about her family’s tragic history.
So, she embarks on a life-changing journey, discovers some incredible stories
and tries to answer the question which haunts her: Why didn’t they leave?</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; vertical-align: middle;"><br /></p></div><h3 style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;">My Summary</span></span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Why-Didnt-They-Leave-Hnizdo/dp/1913913368/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Eva+hnizdo&qid=1637298009&qsid=130-1936939-9013936&sr=8-3&sres=1913913368%2C0368386449%2CB01BT02Q88%2CB00UPDMR2Q%2CB07BBX5KY4%2CB01M9AVJGP%2CB00TACV1FM%2CB07BDRZFSN%2CB07C2CH5QL%2CB01F7K6Y9S%2CB084NXH8WD%2CB00B4IHXRU%2CB00TXZF256%2CB017KTU9QI%2CB0147PDMYY%2CB08X9X6TWT#customerReviews" target="_blank"><u>Why Didn't They Leave?</u> by <i>Eva Hnizdo</i> </a>tells the epic story of a Czech family from the point of view of Magda and her daughter Zuzana, moving between the two women and covering most of their lives.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;">Magda in the 1930’s is a willful somewhat spoiled child living in a beautiful home in Prague. Her mother Franzi is a cultured woman and her grandmother Olga is a steel-willed Matriarch used to getting her own way.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;">They’re wealthy and the family is educated, close, and enjoys a privileged lifestyle. They’re Jewish but agnostic and celebrate Christmas with roast pork and have no discernible religious beliefs.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;">There are rumblings of trouble in Europe but family matriarch Olga dismisses it and even though the opportunity to leave and emigrate to the United States comes their way—enough so that much of the family could go—only a few go against grandmother Olga’s command and leave.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;">Though the family barely considers themselves Jewish, in fact some are married to Christians and even a German, it’s enough Jewishness for the Nazi’s. They’re sent to camps, most of the men die, in fact most of the family dies. (I heard the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00100kl" target="_blank">author speak in an interview with the BBC about this book and her family history upon which this story is based. </a>She made an intriguing statement that how we see ourselves is important, but how others see us too is also important. That really stayed with me.)</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;">Those that survive in this story are changed forever. Magda at age eighteen returns from a camp determined to put it behind her, she finishes school quickly and becomes a pharmacist. She trusts no one and is damaged by what she endured. Her mother Franzi too survives but decides the worst in life is behind her and focuses on the good. Olga too managed to survive but with the knowledge that her family died because of her demands.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;">The Nazis confiscated much of their wealth but some things were saved by non-Jewish friends.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;">Magda marries and has a daughter Zuzana. Zuzana doesn’t even know her family is Jewish because Magda like many survivors of the Holocaust decides the safest way to ensure future survival is to leave every last hint of their Jewishness behind them so she hides everything from her daughter.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;">Zuzana knows only that her mother is demanding and impossible. Prague and Czechoslovakia are then invaded by Russia and becomes communist. So the surviving family goes from Nazis to Communism.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;">Zuzana slowly learns her family’s truth though her mother shares nothing. When grandmother Franzi dies, Magda has the funeral behind Zuzana’s back.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;">Magda manages to secure state permission for a trip to Paris and Zuzana takes her first opportunity to escape to London and never return, determined not to make the same mistakes as her family.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">Zuzana is pragmatic and open to new cultures and races, surprisingly unlike her mother Magda who is still living in survival mode. Zuzana escapes communism to the west. She marries a black man whose family immigrated from Grenada. Slowly over the years Zuzana pieces together her family story. It’s a fascinating tale and an education for many Americans whose own families escaped many of the horrors of the Second World War—and the ensuing political problems of the decades following even to now.</span></span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;">This book is important and worth your time and effort. It’s amazing how much of this history is repeating itself even today.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;"><br /></span></span></div><h3 style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;">The Author</span></span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2Ase81MWj3ZyolOOwUicqsHNXq3gSVUL88d4_W3Wtt6jbnUzQt6fl_LXxDdHBMd8ZmGNvgRlxI0tP3o2PCpxuqpf37bdtdOYJV2FZwmKS_3qXA84OIW5h0KRYfYk_zOtR6rCy1U15PxH/s2048/Eva+Hnizdo+book+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1462" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2Ase81MWj3ZyolOOwUicqsHNXq3gSVUL88d4_W3Wtt6jbnUzQt6fl_LXxDdHBMd8ZmGNvgRlxI0tP3o2PCpxuqpf37bdtdOYJV2FZwmKS_3qXA84OIW5h0KRYfYk_zOtR6rCy1U15PxH/s320/Eva+Hnizdo+book+photo.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Eva Hnizdo</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Eva Hnizdo escaped communism when Russia had taken control of what is now the Czech Republic. She says that whenever her Jewish family had thought about immigrating from a place and hadn't, it had been a grave mistake. Many of her relatives didn't survive the Holocaust. Most of those that did wound up spending their lives under an oppressive communist regime when the country then known as Czechoslovakia fell under Russian rule. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Eva studied medicine at Charles University and became a doctor. She was a refugee and obtained political asylum in the UK in 1986. She worked in the same surgery in Watford for twenty-three years before retiring. She says during the almost forty years she worked as a doctor, she had the privilege of seeing into her patients' lives, their problems, and their solutions to those problems. She feels it isn't a coincidence that many writers are medical doctors, saying they have many stories to tell and spends her retirement writing. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: start;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: start;"><br /></p></div><p><br /></p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-7913933399500369932021-11-09T22:21:00.004-05:002021-11-09T22:21:55.928-05:00Rhetoric, The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking—HarvardX<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCm1T9uyxJdoxQxztKGqXPXdP1BVBQpMlYoJQiRrqnvSviW7n_ki9wCrf6eHAVvUqGWfiq9XUM9tjM8UpYXwzHYBDAXNCpr74DZb3BHhQxjsF_BTxdVCByPEgbnlY9YR2NVRFqkikfUvpz/s500/shutterstock_203061679+srkarfelt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="500" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCm1T9uyxJdoxQxztKGqXPXdP1BVBQpMlYoJQiRrqnvSviW7n_ki9wCrf6eHAVvUqGWfiq9XUM9tjM8UpYXwzHYBDAXNCpr74DZb3BHhQxjsF_BTxdVCByPEgbnlY9YR2NVRFqkikfUvpz/w425-h284/shutterstock_203061679+srkarfelt.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When lockdown started last year I decided to take online classes as a way to keep my mind off current events. I tried random classes that interested me, <a href="http://www.theglitterglobe.com/2020/12/pyramids-of-giza-ancient-egyptian-art.html" target="_blank">Archaeology & Egyptology</a>, <a href="http://www.theglitterglobe.com/2020/12/the-science-of-happinessberkeley.html" target="_blank">The Science of Happiness</a>, Screenwriting, <a href="http://www.theglitterglobe.com/2021/04/amherst-writers-artistsfinding-your.html" target="_blank">Amherst Writers and Artists</a>, and others. I saved Rhetoric for last, worried it was like those Russian novels I'm forever moving to the bottom of my To Be Read pile, and something I was in no mood to tackle. It was work, and I'm kind of proud of myself for sticking with it. It's a worthy and worthwhile topic and class.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I took it through HarvardX and <a href="https://www.edx.org/" target="_blank">edX classes</a>. If you like to learn (or just want useful escapism), I recommend checking out edX. The selection is large and they have both free and certified versions of their classes, so don't let cost sway you. None of the classes I've taken were easy, but they were all worth my time and effort, including Rhetoric.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Rhetoric includes both written essays and public speaking. It's a way to consider right/wrong, guilt/innocence, knowing/ignorance. It's about clear communication. One of the things the class tackles is how to get solid facts through legitimate sources (something all of these classes were strict about, no Wikipedia, no whacky Uncle's Facebook posts). We studied political speeches and documents as we learned a variety of rhetorical devices. To me Rhetoric is kind of like the Geometry of words.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Reading early versions of the Declaration of Independence as it went through edits and changes was an incredible learning experience. As a writer I know that magic happens in the edits, yet a part of me imagined that Thomas Jefferson sat down and penned this miracle of a manuscript in its famous perfection as we now know it. That is not how it happened, and history has the edits. I loved it, it was a group effort, and thank goodness for editors. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As for speeches, we analyzed Martin Luther King's <u>I Have a Dream speech</u>, Presidential speeches, political speeches, and watched how they all have bits and pieces of other historical catch phrases and quotes in them (from biblical to mythology to a candidate who ran twenty years ago). It's a beautiful thing and reminded me so much of <a href="https://austinkleon.com/steal/" target="_blank">Austin Kleon's Steal Like an Artist book and spirit</a>. We all use what we've learned to create new things. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now would probably be a good time to head back to Toastmasters to practice my newfound skills, but I have a few novels to finish writing first. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /> <p></p>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891315061138069736.post-79799519571858232312021-10-20T00:30:00.001-04:002021-10-20T00:30:00.158-04:00Ten Ways Travel Has Changed Since Covid<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-2kJskA282d8uoSVXvoCTAlVeI5LtTl3Q54F85lSWjirkISlCrkDSgDnjE6gboltdF2BVNmgMxUCFaYuaNbEfRkuckwV-iARHQULIY3yxbl5oM0l40to2ovPOUqW_k6H21IKtPizKwrQk/s500/shutterstock_107142311+srkarfelt.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="257" data-original-width="500" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-2kJskA282d8uoSVXvoCTAlVeI5LtTl3Q54F85lSWjirkISlCrkDSgDnjE6gboltdF2BVNmgMxUCFaYuaNbEfRkuckwV-iARHQULIY3yxbl5oM0l40to2ovPOUqW_k6H21IKtPizKwrQk/w550-h282/shutterstock_107142311+srkarfelt.jpg" width="550" /></a></div><br />Hey, I'm back from my long trip to Greece. It was great. How can it be anything but great? I went to Greece for almost a month, but it was tough. It took me four days to get to my destination and on the return trip it took another four days to get home.<div><br /></div><div>On top of that my wimpy constitution reacted to all the travel stress with several days of <a href="http://www.theglitterglobe.com/2016/07/vestibular-migraine-is-devil.html" target="_blank">vestibular migraine</a>. Upon my arrival on <a href="http://www.theglitterglobe.com/2018/08/nobody-wants-to-hear-about-my-upcoming.html" target="_blank">Alonissos</a>, my migraine brain celebrated with three days of <a href="http://www.theglitterglobe.com/2016/07/vestibular-migraine-is-devil.html" target="_blank">vertigo</a>. And the same thing happened once I finally got home. So I spent almost a week out of the month trying not to move my head. </div><div><br /></div><div>In fact, when vertigo hit again after arriving home I actually thought maybe I shouldn't take this trip. Maybe it's just too much for my wienie body. Then, about two seconds after my vestibular migraine ended I did what I always do. I started booking next year's trip because if I let my big baby body dictate what I do and don't do then I've given up. So maybe that means I'm an optimist. Or maybe that means I'm just stupid. </div><div><br /></div><div>Whatever. I do want to weigh in on travel changes I noticed. </div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>People talk less when they wear masks. That's okay because most of the time when they do talk, you can't tell what the heck they are saying anyway. I never realized how much communication is facial or watching someone's mouth. With half of everyone's face covered by a mask forget about it. Especially if there is a big plastic shield at the check-in counter. Now, we all know what it's like to be hard of hearing. Anyone who does have to talk ends up repeating their muffled, garbled words several times. It doesn't help, but they try. You know how when there are announcements on a flight and they finish, people used to ask each other, "What did they say?" Nobody even bothered. I couldn't even tell if they were speaking English or Greek. </li><li>For the most part nothing was on time. I had three connections to Athens. Flying has always been hurry up and wait but with the employee shortage, bring a book. You'll be waiting at the gate for the crew or for technicians to check something. In the airplane you'll be waiting for a gate to open up or for the person who drives the gate to the plane to show up. I have to say that on my flights nobody complained. We're resigned. Pack your patience and a book. At least we can go somewhere! My tip would be not to book short layovers, and save yourself some stress.</li><li>Covid paperwork. Every country requires different paperwork. And if you're flying to say Greece via Amsterdam, you have to follow Amsterdam's Covid restrictions and do their paperwork too. It's probably best to check the embassy's website for the countries you're passing through/going to to find their requirements, rather than say some chick's YouTube channel. But I actually checked both. Requirements change constantly. Do your best. Read through all of the requirements before you react. For instance I started reading the Greek Embassy's rules for incoming travelers. The first part was all about what kind of testing was MANDATORY FOR ALL TRAVELERS. It was long. Part of my brain was already planning how to get this testing done so it wouldn't be older than 72 hours even though it's taking me four days to get there! But the next paragraph read something along the lines of this, IF YOU ARE VACCINATED THAT PARAGRAPH DOESN'T APPLY TO YOU. Sheesh. </li><li>You have to wear your mask from the time you arrive at the airport of your departure and you will continue to have to wear that mask through every connecting flight and airport. On the way to Athens I wore an N95 (I can breathe better in them and they don't fog your glasses like most masks). I left here on August 25th and arrived in Athens on August 26th. I had to keep wearing my mask until I checked into my hotel and got to my room. It was almost thirty hours. My nose burned badly. It also bled off and on for days, but then I had to continue to wear it on the next day's flight and then ferries until the 28th of August. My tip would be to bring a lot of masks and change it every four hours. It makes a huge difference. I did that on my return trip and it was much less painful. You will also be asked if you're willing to wear your mask the entire trip before you're allowed to board the flight. </li><li>Eating on the flight. We were allowed to pull our masks down to eat on the international flights row by row, but were told to pull them up after every bite. </li><li>In the airports that I passed through in the US I'd guesstimate that half of the shops/restaurants/coffee shops were closed. It's probably not a bad time to finagle a way to spend your long layovers in a sky lounge or such.</li><li>For Greece I took paper copies for my proof of vaccination, their locator forms, all travel info, and pre-registered and pre-paid for Covid testing I'd need to have done within Greece for my return trip. But I also had all that paperwork in my phone. In August there were so many people arriving in Athens and lines to stand in going through Customs, that it's simpler to have a few papers in your hand than being able to pull up whatever paperwork is requested from your phone. Otherwise I'm trying to wake my phone up, make sure it's not losing the charge, and it's downloading so many messages since my arrival that it tends to stroke out. Factor in how fast your phone will figure out where you're at and if you set up a compatible international plan. </li><li>Everyone is over-worked and under-staffed. People are trying to do multiple jobs. Travelers are stressed too. They probably paid more for their trip than ever before and likely nothing has gone according to plan. Being kind will go a long way rather than demanding special treatment. Losing your temper should not be an option. Absolutely everyone is tired and stressed. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. </li><li>Hand sanitizer is available everywhere. In airports and in Greece I saw it on every table and there were free-standing dispensers in every spot imaginable. Many times there were free masks too. On planes one of the first things they do is pass out anti-bacterial wipes. In many restaurants half the tables can't be used in order to space people out. It was like that on ferries too. There are also markings on the floors reminding everyone to keep their distance from others and announcements reminding you to do so. </li><li>When I finally got to the jet bridge for my flight to Athens, and saw that big plane outside I wanted to dance. I was so thrilled to be able to go somewhere again. I'm one of those people who wanted to travel even as a little kid. I had a mental list of all the places I wanted to go and write about. Why everyone on that plane wasn't cheering was a mystery to me. We were the luckiest. Sure, it's tough to travel right now. It's scary and frustrating and expensive. You have to ask yourself if you really want it and if it's worth it to you. It's okay not to travel. You can have an exciting and thrilling life without traveling. Don't take risks if your gut is telling you not to! But if your gut is telling you to go, that the need outweighs the risk, pack your patience and a good book.</li></ol></div>S.R. Karfelthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13883350104178044005noreply@blogger.com0