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Anyone who lives in the St. Louis area knows about the construction on highway 40 (aka I-64) that began earlier this year and will continue for the next four years. It’s a huge project and it needs to be done but man is it an inconvenience for people who live near or commute via the highway. My man and I are lucky, we both work close enough to home that we can get there without the highways but we do live very near the highway. In fact, if you walk one block down our street, it dead-ends at the highway.

So far the construction has been mostly a slight nuisance. A large intersection near our home has been one huge traffic jam for months now and you can’t get on the highway going westbound there anymore. Well, there is a bridge about three blocks from our house that goes over the highway. Until one week ago when they closed it, I drove over it nearly every day. Still not a huge problem, detour around a few more blocks and you can drive under the highway. But this is the weekend that the Boland Bridge is coming down, along with two others. Houses in our neighborhood have been popping up for sale like you wouldn’t believe and tonight the reality of it has hit. You see, they do the major construction in the middle of the night so as to have the smallest impact possible on traffic.

So why am I blogging at 2am? They’ve started taking down the bridge. It’s not deafening or even loud by any means, just irritating. Hopefully the work they do this weekend will be the most heavy duty as they take down the bridge. Hopefully the next six months in which they will be rebuilding it will not interrupt our sleep. But if it does, I have good ear plugs.

Now I’m wide awake though so might as well get some stuff out of the way…

1. Chapter 25 of Anne of Green Gables is now available for downloading. I know these have been sporadic these last few months but life has been chaotic. Now that it is settling a bit I hope to release podcasts once a week.
2. Thank you for all your good, and sometimes funny, suggestions for keeping our brick oven apartment cool in the midst of our heat wave. We successfully survived the worst of it with some big pieces of cardboard, black plastic trash bags, and a window air conditioner moved from the back office (which is not connected to the central air but also is almost never used right now) into the living room. That extra bit of AC plus blocking the light has made a huge difference. It hit 105 here this past week so let’s hope that from here on out we will be heading towards fall weather.
3. I am constantly moved, saddened, and encouraged by reading peoples’ responses to and comments on my post about my ongoing battle with Meniere’s Disease. I’m glad some people found what I had to say helpful and for those who are looking for more help or people to talk to, please read this post I wrote on the many resources and online communities that are available for you to investigate further.
4. For those of you who want to know about my health, it is okay. I’m not having vertigo or symptoms at the same severity as I was prior to the Gentamicin injections. However, my balance is damaged and I am very sensitive to visual and aural stimuli and easily go into sensory overload when in the presence of my triggers. I saw my doctor last week and he thinks that my vestibular system has had enough time to rest and it’s time to give it a jump start to get it working well again. I’m decreasing my meds, both to minimize side effects and build up my tolerance. I’m doing some simple exercises designed for people with bad balance. And I am walking a mile a day. Trying to, anyhow. I’ve been wanting to start getting regular exercise and I’ve been lazy about it but now with doctor’s orders to walk a mile a day I’m more motivated. It’s hard with the weather the way it has been and with our local rec center being $7 a visit until I can establish residency but I’m working on making the walk a part of my routine. The good doc says that walking will help improve my balance, energy, and mood. I wouldn’t mind losing some weight while I’m at it of course! So, slowly, slowly, very slowly, I’m fighting my way back.
5. I’m working 12 hours a week at the library doing cataloging and miscellaneous technical services. I set myself up with a laptop in our meeting room and it is quiet and calm and a good environment for me. Besides the not making much money part, working part time is ideal for me right now and I am grateful that my boss is willing and able to let me continue part time when he now has to find someone else to work my old hours.
6. There was more I was going to write but I can’t remember and I think I may be able to sleep through the jackhammering now if I go lay down.

Sorry for the inelegant post but, dudes, it’s late, I know you’ll understand. Knitting and spinning updates coming very soon.

Hmm, no pictures makes for a boring post. Here, look at the mutts being cute:

Oliver: Come out and play!
Rosie: I need my beauty sleep.

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