So i'm guessing i was bit sometime in late March or early April, when the tick nymph is practically invisible, the size of a period in this post.

I didn't see the doc, at my physical, until i'd been having nearly daily headaches for about 3 weeks. I thought initially i was just staring at my computer screen too much. Then it was another week's wait for the blood test, which confirmed Lyme Disease, then another 2 days before getting the meds becus my doc didn't want to be bothered on a weekend, then 6.5 weeks on oral antibiotics, which did not stop the headaches.

Then i was referred to a neurologist who ordered a spinal tap which i had last week. (Not fun, let me assure you.) Now i'm waiting another week for the test results, which, if +, will mean another 3 weeks of daily IV antibiotics on an out-patient basis at my local hospital.

In the meantime, I've started a supplemental herbal treatment with 3 herbs which cost me about $120 for a 2 month supply. (I'll need more than that, but that's to get started.) I figure it can't hurt. It's what my sister used, the one who is anti-modern medicine, to cure herself of Lyme. I'm skeptical of that, but as i said, it can only help and i already have enough health issues that i don't need one more chronic problem.

All this s*** from one tiny tick.

Thing is, i can't imagine giving up gardening, and i already was doing plenty to protect myself (DEET spray, boots, hat, tick check, baths). However, I can do more to avoid the shady, brushy perimeters of my yard which is prime tick habitat, as opposed to the sunny lawn areas. I had been making great progress just clearning out lots of brush and tree branches that had accumulated over the years and didn't break down as much as i imagined it would/should. Anyway, in the process of clearing out tick habitat i got bit by a tick. Hmph.

In other news, i've had great success selling miscallenous items on Craig's List, which i think i've mentioned before. Thus far, i've sold:
* complete set of golf clubs
* Owl nest box
* arched wood garden bridge
* mini refrigerator

Still available are: sleeping bag, rollerblades, girl's ladybug beaded keepsake box, a tennis racket and handcrafted drum.

I noticed as i've been selling stuff that i seem to have collected a variety of sports equipment that was largely a waste of money. The golf clubs i bought mainly becus the man i was dating at the time played, but personally, i've been exposed to the game before and never really took to it. $200 wasted, but at least i got $100 from selling them.

The rollerblades i bought a decade ago, always thought it'd be so much fun to do once i practiced at it, as i loved rollerskating as a kid, but they've been sitting around collecting dust and as i approach 50 i think i should avoid injury-prone sports, and this would be one of them. $225, down the drain. The problem there is that you need to blade on asphalt that's in very good condition; the roads and parking lots around here are full of major cracks, which can send you flying.

Anyway, i'm kind of hooked on craig's list now. I just couldn't rev up the time or enthusiasm to learn the complexities of ebay, plus who has time to run to the PO to ship stuff? Craig's List is absolutely free, plus the buyer picks up. It couldn't be easier, and you can post pix. So i'm still mentally looking around my home for items i think could sell. I like to lighten my load; the less "stuff" i have around here, the better i feel.

My Albanian mason finished up my brick patio expansion in the backyard. It looks quite nice.



I still have to clean up back there, pulling weeds, putting in a few new perennials from elsewhere in the yard, then mulching. But you get the idea here. The pathway leading to the right connects to my main (original) patio behind the hitchen. So now you can walk from this end, from the screened porch, all the way to the kitchen end, and there's a nice square border around the dogwood tree.

He tried to talk me into redoing the original older section of the patio, which now looks quite worn out compared to the new section,but i simply can't afford it. He was a nice guy and i enjoy giving work to immigrants trying to buy into the American dream. Most of these tradesmen work very, very hard.

Today was a day off for me, thank God, i was in need of one, so i had the plumber come and fix the leaky toilet. Yeah, i broke down; killed me to pay someone to come and do that, but i'm inept. To make it more worth the cost of his visit, and to console myself after learning i'd have to have a spinal tap, i had picked up a new gorgeous kitchen faucet at Home Depot. Quite lovely brushed nickel finish. In fact, it's so lovely, i think i'll take a pic of it to show you....



So he took care of both things today; i also decided to get my oil tank filled up today. I have always done the fill-up for the coming winter during the dead of summer when prices drop, but in this economy, nothing works like it used to. I couldn't decide whether it'd be cheaper to get it now or perhaps wait til July/August. My gut told me do it now. So I got it at $4.24 a gallon for a grand total of $815. (The next day it jumped to $4.50 a gallon.) If i keep temps at about 62 in the house and wear sweaters, that will get me through about half the season. Depressing.

With these major expenditures, I declare that's the end of all MAJOR spending for the remainder of the year. No more major home improvements.

I had planned a few days kayaking with dad on the Jersey shore in mid-July, but my iv treatments may interfere with that, so i'll have to play it by ear. Thus far, i haven't scheduled any vacation time and i'm sorely in need of an extended break but more than that, i need to have FUN. That's rather hard to do when you're not married and not dating anyone. So i've been spending most of my weekends working in the garden/yard/veggie garden, reading, enjoying my porch and the cat. I still want to take my mom to a local botanical garden/musuem; we were to go today, but it's just too muggy/hot today. Aiming now for next Friday, which i also have off due to the holiday.

Thus far my teeny garden yielded 2 huge bowls of salad and a handful of snap peas. But things are really taking off now with tomatoes and zucchini(?) thriving in the heat. There are many more snap peas, but they're still small.


With prices rising as they are, I'm going to have to pull back from buying organics whenever possible. It's just too much. Having tallied up my month of June expenses a few days early today, I eyeballed a snapshot of my YTD. There are just 2 expense categories I'm happy about.

My average monthly electric bill YTD is just $65. And my car insurance is holding firm at $378 annually (9-yr-old car with no collision). Oh, and basic cable costs me just $16. Every other category seems to have spiked.

Food, of course, is a biggie. My average monthly food expenditures YTD are $231, pretty high for one person, no? Because i've kept track of my expenses for years, i can easily compare this to last year's monthly average. Turns out 2007 monthly average was $225, so i'm really not spending any more than last year at this point. That's a little surprising, though I have begun to favor the discount Latino supermarket rock bottom prices over S&S. It's an 18-minute drive compare dto 3 miles to S&S but i try to fit it in when i have other errands in that area, which is often.

Another expense category that makes me cringe is gasoline. Last year, when i worked a mile from home, my total spent on gas was $515. 2008 YTD i already spent $688, so my annual figure will be double last year's total. Sigh. I seriously research getting a scooter, but ruled it out since i could only use it on good weather days and not in winter. Plus, it would cost about $4,000 and i anticipate getting a new car in 2 or 3 years. That new car purchase will be a Prius or anything comparable that's on the market at that time, so at that point, the scooter woudl be redundant and so I'm not sure spending $4,000 to save $$ for just 2-3 years is worth it.

Here's another interesting comparison. I feel like i'm spending a lot on health insurance premiums and out of pocket expenses this year. I am paying more for my health plan, but i am getting better coverage, namely, dental and vision that i didn't have before.

Let's compare:
2007 total spent on premiums: $240
2007 total spent on out of pocket: $1,198

2008 (6 mths) YTD total spent on premiums: $408 (annual will be about $820
2008 (6 mths) YTD total spent on out of pocket: $696 (mostly the Lyme and new eyeglasses)

So my premiums are much higher this year than last, and total out of pocket remains to be seen. Aside from whatever remaining out of pocket i have to pay for the spinal tap and IV treatments, I don't foresee much more; all my usual checkups are done for the year except gyno.

Average monthly spent on clothing YTD: $69. I want to reduce that. Clothing costs a lot and is a waste of $ when i have so much in my closet.

I seem to have "lost" my car registration. I may have tossed it accidentally when i was "cleaning out" my glove compartment box which is always jammed with napkins, coupons and unused maps. I can either wait til i get the registration renewal in the mail next July 2009 and risk getting stopped by a cop, or pay $20 to get a registration duplicate by mail. Which would you do? I've become such a penny-pincher and I hate all unnecessary expenses.

Stop & Shop had a sale on pints of blueberries at .99 each (limit 2 per visit) but i managed to grab a total of 8 pints becus the season is short and i won't pay more than .99. I sometimes freeze the extras for use later in the season, but my freezer is packed. So i've been eating LOTS of blueberries in recent days. Today i made a blueberry/banana/yogurt smoothie. It was pretty good. And i had blueberry pancakes for breakfast. That was good too.

This has been a bad summer so far in terms of carpenter ants finding their way into my house. I've got protein-based and sweet-based ant poison you sprinkle around, mostly outside, but it's a waste to apply it if it's gonna rain soon, and this season seems we've had thunderstorms every other night. ants love that kind of weather. Damp, humid, hot. Carpenter ants are so disgusting. I'm afraid to walk barefoot in my house cus you never know where you might see one.