Lodat

Had a moment of panic tonight--the apartment seemed awfully cold as my meditation group was meeting (a group of 2 only tonight, the other regulars being occupied with out of town guests). I checked my digital thermostat, and there was a strange reading: lodat. Nothing happened when I hit the button that changes "program" to "manual." Nothing happened when I hit any button, in fact. Gulp. Given my recent infrastructure hobgoblins, and the temperature outdoors, I thought my furnace was going out. I have an out of town guest myself, from Dallas yet, so she is not acclimated to this weather. Turns out, when I adjusted my glasses and looked at the instructions on the back of the thermostat door, it was telling me "lo bat," for low batteries. I had the requisite double-A's in the house, and the instrux on how to change batteries were crystal clear, so we arrested the dropping temperature at the 67-degree mark, and there was no need to start looking for a hotel that takes cats. The incident showed me, once again, how easy it is for the mind to create problems where none exists. It is now a toasty 71 degrees in here, my cat Sasha is curled up in a comma in her favorite chair, and my friend from Dallas called to say she is heading home with ice cream. All's well that ends well.

My own batteries are beginning to be affected by radiation therapy (today was treatment #13 of 30). I find I get more tired than usual, and that I get tired in a different way. One minute I'm fine, and the next I'm bereft of energy, as though someone had yanked my batteries. It's taking a little longer to recharge, too. A week or two ago a one-hour nap kept me up til after midnight, and sleeping only lightly after that. Today I slept for about 1:20, and I'm pretty sure I'll sleep like a baby the whole night through. That's the only real side effect, other than the rash on my chest and back, for which I saw a dermatologist Tuesday and now have prescription cream and lotion, so it doesn't itch. I'm truly blessed, and I wish you all a warm good night.