A Necessary Evil

 Arizona legally sells Fireworks for the 4th of July, in a dry climate during Summer, that means some Fires will happen with amateur Fireworks carelessness or plain bad luck where a spent casing lands.  In our Mini Farms Community a lot of Neighbors buy them and set them off, the next Morning I will usually find spent casings all over our property, so I always wet down the Grasses and Bushes, rake up any Dried Pine Needle droppings, and Hope none lands on Rooftops I cannot reach. 

 Not as many Neighbors seemed to set off Fireworks this Year, but the ones that did, for some inexplicable reason, set them off way too late, between 1-3 in the fucking Morning late!!!  The Man has Wartime PTSD so when it's dead quiet and Celebrations should be over, to hear what sounds like Gunshots and Bombs is not easy for him and can be traumatic and cause Flashbacks!   So, he had a rough Night of it.   Eli the Cat for some reason isn't disturbed by Fireworks sounds, a lot of Animals are traumatized during the 4th of July.

So, Eli was just Fine, The Man was definitely not, and we chose to only watch Fireworks on TV all Night.  Oddly the Spanish Language Station Telemundo had the best coverage that wasn't Political and just showed the fabulous Display they had in NYC that Macy's Sponsored.  They must have spent a fortune on that Fireworks Display and Entertainers, it was impressive and worth watching, even on TV.  Even I got a bit teary Eyed and Patriotic during some of the Songs sung so well and so heartfelt by the Entertainers, who were excellent.

I made Veggie Kabobs for The Son, The Man and myself, who were the only ones Home.   The Son had cooked Lunch for all of us so I cooked the Dinner.  He didn't seem to mind at all that he stayed Home with us and didn't do anything for the 4th.   He got over not being Invited by any of his Friends to join them, or anyone come get him, knowing he doesn't have transportation.   When people are conspicuous by their absence, you have to try not to personalize it, folks are busy with their lives and often consumed by it.

We found out The Man's Youngest Brother is Hospitalized after having to have Emergency Triple Bypass Surgery!!!   We'd heard he wasn't walking much anymore, had bad Legs now after Years of being in the Construction Business far too long for an Old Guy, so had been in a Wheelchair for a while now.  He doesn't keep in Touch and we don't have a Phone Number for him and he doesn't use Social Media, so have to rely on secondhand News from Relatives that have been to his Home in Utah to know what's going on. 

 The last time we'd seen him was when he and Wife made a visit to see us when we lived in the Villa McManse, so, about Nine Years ago now.  His Wife had worked for the IRS for over 25 Years and got Laid Off right before Retirement when they made big Federal Job Budget Cuts before.  He'd worked for his Father-In-Law's big Construction Company since High School.   They got Gifted their Land and House as a Wedding Present, so, Financially, they're Fine and always have been, he Married into Money and they both had Successful Careers too.   But getting really Sick long enuf can still become a hardship for anyone and run up astronomical Medical Debt fast.

I'm Hopeful the BIL has a complete Recovery.  The Man had Double Bypass Surgery some Years ago, their Family has a History of Hereditary High Cholesterol, which can be the culprit of Artery Disease.  Often you can do everything Right and Genetics will still hand you a shitty outcome.  And of coarse we're all getting to that Age now where Family and Friends of our Generation are succumbing to something and there's fewer and fewer of us left now.  The benefit they'll have is there's a lot of Family still living in Utah to be a present help for them.  When we had Medical Crisis we didn't have any of that.

The Son has been doing a lot of the Yardwork, the Monsoon Storms made it look like his Sister and Mando's hard Work hadn't even been done on it just Days ago.  *Le Sigh*  He's been pissy about it, and it has nothing to do with the Yardwork, which nobody asked him to do, as to why he's in a Mood.  Things are not going well for him and he's on Vacation, still has no Vehicle, not sure what his Company is doing so Job Security is iffy, and he's getting really inside his own Head a lot with the Stress of it all.   He had borrowed $100 from a Friend and that person is nagging him about it and expects him to drop it off, knowing full well he has no way to get there and taking an Uber would be really expensive.

  He asked the Friend to just come get it, he has it for him, and that Guy has more than one Vehicle and is off Work for the Holiday too.   That hasn't happened and the Friend is griping about being Paid back now.  *Eye Roll*  I'm certainly not driving all the way across the City to drop it off, if the Friend needs the Money back so bad he should just come pick it up knowing The Son's present circumstances of having no transportation.   The Son tried to send it thru Zell, or some such App like Apple Pay, but the Bank said the App is having Issues and so he couldn't get it to go thru that way either.   I try not to get involved in Adult Kid's personal stuff they got going on with anyone else.

  But, it was a reasonable request for him to ask that Friend to just come pick up the Money owed.  He knows where we live and it's as far from our Home to his as it is from his Home to ours.  Sometimes people make unreasonable requests or are lazy.  That particular Friend always expects The Son to come over coz he always has a multitude of Projects going on and if he can get a Friend to come over he involves them in helping him with the Work, saving him Money and Time.  The Son doesn't want to spend his Vacation deep in someone else's Projects that are Work, he's on Vacation FROM Work. That's the Point of taking PTO, to relax or do what we need done, not what everyone else wants Free Labor for and tries to rope a Friend into doing for them to exploit the Friendship.  He wasn't going over to repay $100 and then be expected to be Free Labor all damned Day on his Vacation, I don't blame him.

  So, it was never just about dropping the Money off and The Son knows that too.  Drama and a Headache... we don't need from anyone right now.   And people can be such Drama and a Headache, that's why I don't invite folks over hardly at all.   I just don't want to Deal with the complexities of it here at Home, which is our Sanctuary FROM the Outside World and everyone in it.  *LOL*   The Niece called me Today, she's a Talker and I'm not one to enjoy talking on a Phone.  In person I can do it and enjoy it, on a Phone my Mind just wanders and it's too abstract with the Person not there in front of me.  *LOL*  My ADHD kicks in and after too long I'm no longer really engaged or listening well.  And, it does make me feel Guilty if someone is still talking and you can't end the call easily or politely, coz they have a lot to say.

The Niece is a brilliant Person, wouldn't be Surprised if she has a Genius IQ too like The Young Prince.   So, they both have a habit of talking about such deep Topics that I can't understand any of it.  And my Eyes Glaze over and my Mind wanders and none of it means anything to me coz it's over my Head.  *LOL*   I'm not a stupid Woman, but I know what I know and I don't know what I just don't know anything about at all.  The Niece is a Computer Programmer and right now she's upset about the Big Ugly Bill, as we all are, but more about them not putting restrictions on AI for at least a Decade, which she thinks is going to be disastrous.  I agree, but for reasons not so Technically thought out from an Industry perspective.  I ain't in that Game.  But, I have an Imagination of how Sideways it could go.  No need to be a Tech Geek to know a Bad Thing when you see one that could quickly go haywire coz we may lose control of it.

She thinks within 1-5 Years AI is going to be so much smarter than Humans and is going to figure out ways to bypass Human attempts to reign it in.  I don't know enuf about all of this to go deep in the Weeds of the Technology, I just know AI does scare me, Artificial Intelligence is just too New and being rolled out too Fast.   And, not all of it is already being used for Good and so what can be done with it that is Criminal or Reckless has no bounds IMO.   It can generate things we really can't keep pace with already, so if it gets a Mind of it's own, so to speak, we could be in real trouble, I agree. 

 But, The Niece was really Tech Talking, coz she got really excited and Passionate trying to tell me about how Bad this Big Ugly Bill is making it and explain it to me.   And I had to remind her, I'm no Tech Guru, so, what she was saying might as well have been said in a Foreign Language I don't understand.  *Smiles*  I think there's few folks who can talk on her level about it and that has to be hard and frustrating.  So she really just needed to vent, sound the Alarm, and get it off her Chest.  So I did just let her be Heard, and be a good Listener, even tho', I couldn't contribute to that conversation at all and sound the least bit knowledgeable about any of it.  I'm a Tech Moron and Tech Challenged. *LOL* 

I re-watched a NetFlix Movie I'd already seen becoz The Son wanted to watch it.  I didn't remember it all so it wasn't too bad watching it on repeat coz it was a decent Movie.  "The K--.ller" {2023} had Michael Fassbender in the Leading Man role, not familiar with him but liked him in this Movie.   Tilda Swinton was the only other Actor I knew in the Movie, she's always good in her roles.  I ate too much Popcorn while watching it.  *LOL*   It's a Low Carb Snack in Moderation, I didn't eat it in Moderation.  *Le Sigh*   Ah well, I'd been behaving all damned day on major Meals and a ration of Popcorn during a Movie just wasn't gonna work for me.   My Numbers thus far have been up and down as usual anyway, whether strictly on the Diet or not, so, I'm not certain or even convinced it's responsible for the irregularities?  I'm Hopeful then the Ozempic stabilizes things to be more regular and controlled?

When you have a faulty Pancreas that limps along, some days it just does better than other days, no matter what you do or don't do.   Anyway, so, I am still trying to be consistent with Moderating and Monitoring Carbs to keep it way under 50 a Day.   Keeping track is a Pain in the Ass and Math, but, it's doable since 50 isn't such a high Number to count to, so, not too much Math.  *LOL*   The Doc had told me she doesn't want me doing NO Carbs, so she does want me eating some and I decided 50 was doable and under the up to 150 that would still constitute a Low Carb Dietary Restriction.  A Low Carb Diet is ideally between 20 and 150 Grams per Day.   It really does mess with your Digestive System tho', so, that's problematic. 

The Dietary Fiber intake changes have caused it all for me, Gas, Bloating, Trots and Constipation... Fun Times.   Apparently my Gut Microbiome composition has changed and caused these side effects of it, coz I didn't have it before going Low Carb.   But, I'm powering thru it in Hopes it will assist in stabilized Numbers eventually, along with the new Injectable?    Hey, ya gotta explore all options when things just aren't controlled and previous Methods Docs said would do the trick just either haven't, or do only for a while and then until they don't anymore.  Diabetes is such a complex Disease and what works for one Diabetic might not work with another.   I can't even begin to tell you how many times Medical Professionals, including Specialists, have tried this, that and the third... and a lot of times it doesn't work even if you're Religious about adhering to it all. 

 

I've been Diabetic now since I was in my 50's and only after I had a Hysterectomy that caused Hormonal Issues I can't do much about.  Yeah, it Sucks, taking 1-2 Shots daily Sucks too, tho' at one time when it was really out of Control I used to take as many as 5!   So, I've had some major improvements as Diabetic Medicines have improved and gotten better.   And the slew of Oral Meds isn't fun, I gag a lot when trying to swallow that many, most of them are to protect your Major Organs and reduce risks for Stroke and Heart Attack, not really for regulating Diabetes per se.   For a person who Hates even taking an Aspirin for a Headache, taking an Aspirin every Day plus Four other Meds is something I don't Like to have to do, but, it keeps you piping along, so, a necessary Evil and rather expensive even with Insurances.  Currently there is no Cure for Diabetes.  But, allegedly it can be Managed and somewhat Reversed.  And so here we now are.

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Summertime Vibes from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian