I’m going through one of those phases when I’m not sleeping soundly every night. Too much going on in the world and at home, too many demands on my mental and emotional energy. Usually I can hit the pillow and just drop off, maybe getting up once during the night for a trip to the […]

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It’s another beautiful fall day here in Central Massachusetts. I should go for a walk. But instead, I feel like complaining. My left thumb hurts. There is not just one pit of calcium starting to poke out of the inflamed ulcer. Now that the infection is clearing, I’ve discovered that there are actually two ulcers […]

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I’ve been tending three digital ulcers for months, now—one in each thumb (the infected left thumb is slowly continuing to heal) and one at the tip of my right index finger. This latter ulcer has been refusing to close up for weeks, to the point that I suspected another pit of calcium was working its […]

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I am happy to report that our latest bout with Covid appears to be over. Al is feeling fine, and I am regaining my energy. Thank goodness for Paxlovid, which began to ease my chills, joint pain, headache, and congestion within 24 hours. It leaves a metallic taste, but who cares? Better that than to […]

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Just when you think it’s safe to go out, here comes Covid, once again. Al wasn’t feeling well last week, but we both thought it was a cold settling in. Not so. By Friday, he was exhausted and slept all afternoon. And by evening, he asked me to give him a Covid test. Usually I’m […]

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It has been pouring rain here all weekend in an unusual early-fall Nor’easter. Lots of wind, especially along the coast. Fortunately, we’re an hour’s drive inland from Boston, so the impact wasn’t as severe here. On Nantucket, winds and surf were so intense that remains of an 1884 shipwreck washed ashore. The storm arrived just […]

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It’s dreary and raining this Sunday afternoon. I’m writing now because Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and highest holiday in the Jewish calendar, starts this evening and goes through Monday, which is the day I normally write this blog. It’s a somber day that caps a period of self-reflection. We’re supposed to think about […]

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Back to another stretch of multiple doctor’s appointments. On Thursday I saw my rheumatologist at Boston Medical Center. I was back to BMC again for a visit to my GI specialist on Monday afternoon. Today it’s a drive to the South Shore to see my podiatrist. Then on Thursday, I go to the wound clinic […]

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Labor Day has now passed, alas. The school year has already commenced in our fair city. Once again traffic is heavier on the Mass Pike when I drive into Boston for medical appointments and other events, always a sure sign that vacation season is over. Time for sweaters and jackets and warm pants. I still […]

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It always surprises me this time of year to see leaves already dropping from the trees on our street. I mean, come on, it’s still technically summer here in New England! But the days are growing noticeably short, and less sunlight means less photosynthesis. So, yes, the leaves and other green plants are shifting into […]

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