Weblog 257
January 16, 2011~ 12:00 am
What a whirl it's been these past two days! I said a final goodbye to those awful teeth- had them yanked, got the new dentures, and after wearing them for almost 24 hours, on Saturday morning Wayne and I made a trip back to the dentist to have them removed from my mouth for the first time, and to check the incisions. ALL IS WELL. I'm a fast healer. I have a bit more swelling, and a bruise near the chin, but that's par for the course for the second day after extractions. There is still very little pain-- negligible, really, and the bleeding has stopped.
(I even took them out myself after I was home for a while, to rinse my mouth with saltwater and give the gums a break... that was a bit scary, mainly because that denture adhesive REALLY STICKS, thank goodness, but I had no idea how like cement that stuff adheres!)
And now....it's time to open some windows. Throw open the shutters and let the light in....
so all those folks out there suffering with bad teeth and wondering how in the world they'd ever get used to dentures....look. Losing your teeth, making a decision to finally have them pulled is something many of us face, and in our culture of 'picture perfect' smiles, with tooth bleaching, veneers, and caps (I don't remember this before this last decade, this obsession)...... those of us not blessed with strong teeth become embarrassed about our situation. I know that I have been, so I know how it feels --and how much we suffer trying to hang on to the blasted things. For a number of years I was having my teeth cleaned every 3 months, taking diligent care, getting root canals, then getting abcesses, more pain, more expense.... I just got tired of all of it and intentionally avoided the dentist for the last four years, gluing in what fell out, playing a waiting game until FINALLY someone would say, "Yes, it's time"- and the folks at Aspen have been wonderful. Dr. Marla Harbay, Dr. Christine Smith, Lori, the x-ray technician, Scott, the receptionist, Sarah, the office manager and Dr. Ciarallo, the oral surgeon....... everyone there was understanding, good-humored, and adept at what they do- and that's a rarity. I've seen my share of dental workers over the years, and these folks are the best... by far.
So NOW.......
for that picture I've been promising ever since the front tooth broke off in 2006... I vowed that if EVER I did have my teeth pulled (check back here -scoll down to the entry from June 5, 2007) where I promised to post a picture of me TOOTHLESS if I ever got them pulled... well folks..
HERE IT IS. LOL!!
(I did color over the bruise on my chin) -and since the rest of of the face is sans make-up (right after a shampoo and a nice hot bath) -I wanted to show that there's nothing WRONG with having no teeth (though I yet cling to a small and stupid vanity, thus.... the 'mouth- only' shot.) I look GREAT THOUGH with the new teeth in place- as posted in my last blog entry taken on the day of surgery.
It's a HUGE IMPROVEMENT.......and let me show you why.
Yuck! I call this my 'tooth coffin'. These are just some of the many I've had pulled over the years --(mixed in with ones my poor old cat knocked out of his own head.) Yes... it's a double coffin.
And just think, yesterday another EIGHTEEN came out, and all of them in terrible shape. When I hold these up to the light and have a look, nearly every one is completely DARK inside.... just 'shot'...(except for Beethoven's fangs. That poor old guy with his clumsy attempts to jump onto the stereo cabinet when he was clearly too old to manage it, did take its toll.)
That picture wasn't to gross you out but to show you that despite those silver fillings, done and redone, cleanings around the gum line, they still went south on me.
If you're in this same boat, don't fret so much about having the extractions if it comes to that. You'll feel better, LOOK better... and you'll happily smile again without wondering how much 'tooth' you're showing.
That's the whole tooth story- over and out.
Wayne and I even had BREAKFAST OUT after my appointment, and I ate heartily of scrambled eggs and muffins. It tasted WONDERFUL. We did our grocery shopping, then sat down early to watch 'AMERICAN SCARY'- which so so enjoyable, and brought back terrific memories of watching Chilly Billy- our own Pittsburgh horror show host on "Chiller Theater", that ran on Saturday nights here in town from 1961 through 1983. Bille Cardille is still hosting radio shows on the local airwaves, but alas- no Norman, no Terminal Stare or Georgette the Fudgemaker. (Oh, man..... that was SO MUCH FUN over the years!) The documetary, "American Scary" is a look at the phenomenon of local stations having their own versions of Chiller Theater with all hosts flamboyant and silly, affecting ridiculous Transylvanian accents-- and I'm sure they had a following of young viewers every bit as glued to their screens on Saturday late nights as we were in Pittsburgh. (In fact, the lousier the flick, the more fun it was to watch: old science-fiction movies, monsters both amphibious and furred, and LOTS OF SCREAMING YOUNG WOMEN.) That was pretty much standard in each of them.
I miss those days.
Not those TEETH THOUGH. (Grin)
In fact... I bought one of those huge, cake sized cookies to take into work on Monday, and DECORATED IT. I stuck a sign on it that says- "Help celebrate Karen D's NEW TEETH!"
I'll toss it in the middle of the kitchen table and watch it disappear. We're like LOCUSTS when anyone brings a treat into work. It should brighten a typical 'Blech Monday', and folks will get a kick out of it.
Although I'll be posting this new entry later on, right now I'm watching the Steeler/Ravens play-off game, and things are not looking good for our guys. (Yet even as I'm typing this, the Steelers just got a SECOND TOUCHDOWN, bringing the score a little more into 'winnable' range, 21-14. I hope like hell they win.) Damn Ravens are just too cocky to suit me....Terrell Suggs' middle finger indeed...though I have to admit- a tight rivalry game is always more fun to watch.) GO POLAMALU! Now there's a gentleman-player. He's my favorite by far. Polamalu andHeinz Hines Ward. We can show them how it's done WITHOUT trash talk.
AND WE WON! WHAT A GAME!
I'm posting this early because I can no longer hold my eyes open. It's been a crazy two days.
January 16, 2011~ 9:30 pm
My greatest JOY thus far was visiting my mum this evening and having dinner with her. (I knew she's been worried about how all this 'tooth business' was working out) --and like most people who don't want to pop a balloon or offend, she avoided looking at me when I first walked into her room- (didn't want me to see the dismay she feared she'd show while trying to pretend I looked alright.)
But THEN THE SUN CAME OUT; she shrieked with delight after I said, "Mum! LOOK at me!" She was so happy things turned out so well and that obviously I was talking and grinning and not in any pain. (Mothers- no matter if they're 90 the way mine is, never lose that feeling of "this is my baby", and are concerned when they imagine we're hurting or distress.) I was anything BUT, so she relaxed and celebrated with me.
Our 'table mates' were all tickled to see me, and I ATE. I had quiche and corn, a bran muffin, ambrosia for dessert.....it was great. Kay, who has macular degeneration, was having a hard time seeing my new dentures, so I said, "Let me take them out and pass them over to you, Kay." "LOOK AT MINE!" they all started to say, laughing. "Mine too!"
(Kay just moved into roomier quarters- two rooms -and is terribly excited about her expanded space.) She's a 'looker' for her age, and she knows it, and she'd been rooting through her stuff trying to get settled in, and amidst her pile of make-up, she couldn't find her wrinkle cream. She asked if we could help, and began passing containers around for someone to read the small print to let her know which one it was. (I couldn't see it without my reading glasses) so Kay reached into the pouch on her walker ('designer pouch', I might add) and fished out a second pair of those HUGE GLASSES. "Try these.... you're younger, so maybe you can read the containers with these on."
When Dolores saw me sitting there squinting in those HUGE GLASSES with my new white dentures in my mouth, she busted out laughing. "Oh, heavens! Look at her!" she chuckled.
It was a terrific night. My girls. And all of us laughing.
January 17, 2011~ 7:00 pm
Re-entry into work was SUCH FUN today! Everybody tickled to see me so HAPPY. But my biggest BOOST came from carrying my bag of cracked corn through the melting piles of snow up the dark of the hillside to spread it out for my buddies the SQUIRRELS I feed every workday before I go inside to start my shift. What clowns!
There they are, scampering down the big trunk of one of our four huge oak trees that line the parking lot. (I spread the corn in piles under the picnic table, hoping to conceal my friends from the many red-tailed hawks that also enjoy our 'top of the mountain' location.)
Here's a red-tailed PLUME -enjoying his breakfast.
When you get to work before sunrise, you have the very beginning cusps of brightness looking astounding on the horizon. (Shows off those squirrel tails pretty nicely too! LOL!) Sometimes I think they're contemplating morning same as me......
Then again.......maybe not. Maybe it's just a big old game of TAIL TAG to them.
From thither and yon the signal goes out "THE CORN IS HERE!" -and those balls of energy come a'runnin', leaping through the trees like Flying Monkeys!
(I actually saw one fall once from waaaaaaaay up high, and my heart was in my mouth!) But, like cats- squirrels pretend it was what they meant to do all along, so the bugger scampered right off, his tail high in the air, making his own fur waves across the landscape, happy as a clam. LOL!!!
We have red squirrels and gray ones and at first only the grays came out pre-dawn -or just at dawn- (thereby assuring them of the king's portion of the corn) but the REDS soon learned to be earlier risers, so now......
as long as everybody keeps to his OWN pile, there is peace. One red, one gray- ignoring one another and chomping away. (I mean, I can hear that corn CRACK, by gum, like little firecrackers. (See?? GOOD TEETH! lol)
That's how MY mornings start... how about you? Anything this animated? (Tomorrow however, I'm going in closer to lunch. I'm avoiding the icy 'wintry mix' the weatherman is predicting for late tonight and early tomorrow. I'll even out that halfday I took on the 11th, to bring my tally to 2 full days out so far this year.) Not bad. (And better safe than sorry.)
January 20, 2011~ 4:45 am
Six days after the extractions and doing well. (I ate an 2 OREO type COOKIES yesterday, and was as tickled as a little kid who just learned to tie his shoes!) Small victories- that's what it's all about.
Oh! and when I got home from work yesterday I tried to purchase a gift online for my youngest grandson Asher, whose 1st birthday is the 29th, and guess what? No bank card.
I looked high and low, tore my purse apart, went through pockets..... finally put the dentures back in (LOL!) and phoned my bank to have them deactivate the old one and send me a new card. Luckily no charges were added since Saturday when I did my grocery shopping.
(I may be the only person to loose BOTH their teeth, AND their bank card in the same week.) Oh! and I have a new nickname at work.....
"Choppers"
.....as in, "Hey, here comes CHOPPERS." You can't beat that kind of good-humored camaraderie. It gets you through some dicey times, that's for sure. :)
January 20, 2011~ 4:45 am
I was just sitting here at work musing about how strange it is to have to "practice" talking and pronouncing things again. (For instance- instead of my usual greeting here when I pick up the phone, I have shortened it to: "Billing. Karen speaking." - that's because it's just TOOOOO exhausting to get out the standard loooooooooong name of the company.) It'll come with time, but for right now, if want to know how it feels to have a LOT of acrylic in your mouth and try to talk around it...........well
it's sorta like that. LOL!
January 20, 2011~ 7:00 pm
God! This made me laugh just now in the Post-Gazette- as I ready myself to head upstairs to bed, determined to gum a bologna sandwich and drink a nice glass of milk before sleep....
"the city has canceled tonight's public meeting on the North Side on its new snow removal plan -- because of the snow."
Pittsburgh Winters.
Pittsburgh tongue-in-cheek press. Gotta love it.
***
(Return To Weekly Archives)
What a whirl it's been these past two days! I said a final goodbye to those awful teeth- had them yanked, got the new dentures, and after wearing them for almost 24 hours, on Saturday morning Wayne and I made a trip back to the dentist to have them removed from my mouth for the first time, and to check the incisions. ALL IS WELL. I'm a fast healer. I have a bit more swelling, and a bruise near the chin, but that's par for the course for the second day after extractions. There is still very little pain-- negligible, really, and the bleeding has stopped.
(I even took them out myself after I was home for a while, to rinse my mouth with saltwater and give the gums a break... that was a bit scary, mainly because that denture adhesive REALLY STICKS, thank goodness, but I had no idea how like cement that stuff adheres!)
And now....it's time to open some windows. Throw open the shutters and let the light in....
so all those folks out there suffering with bad teeth and wondering how in the world they'd ever get used to dentures....look. Losing your teeth, making a decision to finally have them pulled is something many of us face, and in our culture of 'picture perfect' smiles, with tooth bleaching, veneers, and caps (I don't remember this before this last decade, this obsession)...... those of us not blessed with strong teeth become embarrassed about our situation. I know that I have been, so I know how it feels --and how much we suffer trying to hang on to the blasted things. For a number of years I was having my teeth cleaned every 3 months, taking diligent care, getting root canals, then getting abcesses, more pain, more expense.... I just got tired of all of it and intentionally avoided the dentist for the last four years, gluing in what fell out, playing a waiting game until FINALLY someone would say, "Yes, it's time"- and the folks at Aspen have been wonderful. Dr. Marla Harbay, Dr. Christine Smith, Lori, the x-ray technician, Scott, the receptionist, Sarah, the office manager and Dr. Ciarallo, the oral surgeon....... everyone there was understanding, good-humored, and adept at what they do- and that's a rarity. I've seen my share of dental workers over the years, and these folks are the best... by far.
So NOW.......
for that picture I've been promising ever since the front tooth broke off in 2006... I vowed that if EVER I did have my teeth pulled (check back here -scoll down to the entry from June 5, 2007) where I promised to post a picture of me TOOTHLESS if I ever got them pulled... well folks..
(I did color over the bruise on my chin) -and since the rest of of the face is sans make-up (right after a shampoo and a nice hot bath) -I wanted to show that there's nothing WRONG with having no teeth (though I yet cling to a small and stupid vanity, thus.... the 'mouth- only' shot.) I look GREAT THOUGH with the new teeth in place- as posted in my last blog entry taken on the day of surgery.
It's a HUGE IMPROVEMENT.......and let me show you why.
Yuck! I call this my 'tooth coffin'. These are just some of the many I've had pulled over the years --(mixed in with ones my poor old cat knocked out of his own head.) Yes... it's a double coffin.
And just think, yesterday another EIGHTEEN came out, and all of them in terrible shape. When I hold these up to the light and have a look, nearly every one is completely DARK inside.... just 'shot'...(except for Beethoven's fangs. That poor old guy with his clumsy attempts to jump onto the stereo cabinet when he was clearly too old to manage it, did take its toll.)
That picture wasn't to gross you out but to show you that despite those silver fillings, done and redone, cleanings around the gum line, they still went south on me.
If you're in this same boat, don't fret so much about having the extractions if it comes to that. You'll feel better, LOOK better... and you'll happily smile again without wondering how much 'tooth' you're showing.
That's the whole tooth story- over and out.
Wayne and I even had BREAKFAST OUT after my appointment, and I ate heartily of scrambled eggs and muffins. It tasted WONDERFUL. We did our grocery shopping, then sat down early to watch 'AMERICAN SCARY'- which so so enjoyable, and brought back terrific memories of watching Chilly Billy- our own Pittsburgh horror show host on "Chiller Theater", that ran on Saturday nights here in town from 1961 through 1983. Bille Cardille is still hosting radio shows on the local airwaves, but alas- no Norman, no Terminal Stare or Georgette the Fudgemaker. (Oh, man..... that was SO MUCH FUN over the years!) The documetary, "American Scary" is a look at the phenomenon of local stations having their own versions of Chiller Theater with all hosts flamboyant and silly, affecting ridiculous Transylvanian accents-- and I'm sure they had a following of young viewers every bit as glued to their screens on Saturday late nights as we were in Pittsburgh. (In fact, the lousier the flick, the more fun it was to watch: old science-fiction movies, monsters both amphibious and furred, and LOTS OF SCREAMING YOUNG WOMEN.) That was pretty much standard in each of them.
I miss those days.
Not those TEETH THOUGH. (Grin)
In fact... I bought one of those huge, cake sized cookies to take into work on Monday, and DECORATED IT. I stuck a sign on it that says- "Help celebrate Karen D's NEW TEETH!"
I'll toss it in the middle of the kitchen table and watch it disappear. We're like LOCUSTS when anyone brings a treat into work. It should brighten a typical 'Blech Monday', and folks will get a kick out of it.
Although I'll be posting this new entry later on, right now I'm watching the Steeler/Ravens play-off game, and things are not looking good for our guys. (Yet even as I'm typing this, the Steelers just got a SECOND TOUCHDOWN, bringing the score a little more into 'winnable' range, 21-14. I hope like hell they win.) Damn Ravens are just too cocky to suit me....Terrell Suggs' middle finger indeed...though I have to admit- a tight rivalry game is always more fun to watch.) GO POLAMALU! Now there's a gentleman-player. He's my favorite by far. Polamalu and
I'm posting this early because I can no longer hold my eyes open. It's been a crazy two days.
January 16, 2011~ 9:30 pm
My greatest JOY thus far was visiting my mum this evening and having dinner with her. (I knew she's been worried about how all this 'tooth business' was working out) --and like most people who don't want to pop a balloon or offend, she avoided looking at me when I first walked into her room- (didn't want me to see the dismay she feared she'd show while trying to pretend I looked alright.)
But THEN THE SUN CAME OUT; she shrieked with delight after I said, "Mum! LOOK at me!" She was so happy things turned out so well and that obviously I was talking and grinning and not in any pain. (Mothers- no matter if they're 90 the way mine is, never lose that feeling of "this is my baby", and are concerned when they imagine we're hurting or distress.) I was anything BUT, so she relaxed and celebrated with me.
Our 'table mates' were all tickled to see me, and I ATE. I had quiche and corn, a bran muffin, ambrosia for dessert.....it was great. Kay, who has macular degeneration, was having a hard time seeing my new dentures, so I said, "Let me take them out and pass them over to you, Kay." "LOOK AT MINE!" they all started to say, laughing. "Mine too!"
(Kay just moved into roomier quarters- two rooms -and is terribly excited about her expanded space.) She's a 'looker' for her age, and she knows it, and she'd been rooting through her stuff trying to get settled in, and amidst her pile of make-up, she couldn't find her wrinkle cream. She asked if we could help, and began passing containers around for someone to read the small print to let her know which one it was. (I couldn't see it without my reading glasses) so Kay reached into the pouch on her walker ('designer pouch', I might add) and fished out a second pair of those HUGE GLASSES. "Try these.... you're younger, so maybe you can read the containers with these on."
When Dolores saw me sitting there squinting in those HUGE GLASSES with my new white dentures in my mouth, she busted out laughing. "Oh, heavens! Look at her!" she chuckled.
It was a terrific night. My girls. And all of us laughing.
January 17, 2011~ 7:00 pm
Re-entry into work was SUCH FUN today! Everybody tickled to see me so HAPPY. But my biggest BOOST came from carrying my bag of cracked corn through the melting piles of snow up the dark of the hillside to spread it out for my buddies the SQUIRRELS I feed every workday before I go inside to start my shift. What clowns!
There they are, scampering down the big trunk of one of our four huge oak trees that line the parking lot. (I spread the corn in piles under the picnic table, hoping to conceal my friends from the many red-tailed hawks that also enjoy our 'top of the mountain' location.)
Here's a red-tailed PLUME -enjoying his breakfast.
When you get to work before sunrise, you have the very beginning cusps of brightness looking astounding on the horizon. (Shows off those squirrel tails pretty nicely too! LOL!) Sometimes I think they're contemplating morning same as me......
Then again.......maybe not. Maybe it's just a big old game of TAIL TAG to them.
From thither and yon the signal goes out "THE CORN IS HERE!" -and those balls of energy come a'runnin', leaping through the trees like Flying Monkeys!
(I actually saw one fall once from waaaaaaaay up high, and my heart was in my mouth!) But, like cats- squirrels pretend it was what they meant to do all along, so the bugger scampered right off, his tail high in the air, making his own fur waves across the landscape, happy as a clam. LOL!!!
We have red squirrels and gray ones and at first only the grays came out pre-dawn -or just at dawn- (thereby assuring them of the king's portion of the corn) but the REDS soon learned to be earlier risers, so now......
as long as everybody keeps to his OWN pile, there is peace. One red, one gray- ignoring one another and chomping away. (I mean, I can hear that corn CRACK, by gum, like little firecrackers. (See?? GOOD TEETH! lol)
That's how MY mornings start... how about you? Anything this animated? (Tomorrow however, I'm going in closer to lunch. I'm avoiding the icy 'wintry mix' the weatherman is predicting for late tonight and early tomorrow. I'll even out that halfday I took on the 11th, to bring my tally to 2 full days out so far this year.) Not bad. (And better safe than sorry.)
January 20, 2011~ 4:45 am
Six days after the extractions and doing well. (I ate an 2 OREO type COOKIES yesterday, and was as tickled as a little kid who just learned to tie his shoes!) Small victories- that's what it's all about.
Oh! and when I got home from work yesterday I tried to purchase a gift online for my youngest grandson Asher, whose 1st birthday is the 29th, and guess what? No bank card.
I looked high and low, tore my purse apart, went through pockets..... finally put the dentures back in (LOL!) and phoned my bank to have them deactivate the old one and send me a new card. Luckily no charges were added since Saturday when I did my grocery shopping.
(I may be the only person to loose BOTH their teeth, AND their bank card in the same week.) Oh! and I have a new nickname at work.....
.....as in, "Hey, here comes CHOPPERS." You can't beat that kind of good-humored camaraderie. It gets you through some dicey times, that's for sure. :)
January 20, 2011~ 4:45 am
I was just sitting here at work musing about how strange it is to have to "practice" talking and pronouncing things again. (For instance- instead of my usual greeting here when I pick up the phone, I have shortened it to: "Billing. Karen speaking." - that's because it's just TOOOOO exhausting to get out the standard loooooooooong name of the company.) It'll come with time, but for right now, if want to know how it feels to have a LOT of acrylic in your mouth and try to talk around it...........well
it's sorta like that. LOL!
January 20, 2011~ 7:00 pm
God! This made me laugh just now in the Post-Gazette- as I ready myself to head upstairs to bed, determined to gum a bologna sandwich and drink a nice glass of milk before sleep....
"the city has canceled tonight's public meeting on the North Side on its new snow removal plan -- because of the snow."
Pittsburgh tongue-in-cheek press. Gotta love it.
(Return To Weekly Archives)
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