FrostBite of Bluster

So I woke up at 4 am for no apparent reason, awake until 6, then got up. I pass the time pleasantly enough by praying for all my friends and relations who have troubles, of whom there are a multitude. With occasional lapses into Fantasyland, where I conduct long conversations with people who aren't there, and construct elaborate scenarios that will never come to pass, perhaps fortunately, since many of them include armed combat. The Sparrowhawk woke up in time to give me a cup of tea before I hied off to my 8:30 appointment with the dermatologist. It's no fun to have my vast speckled acreage of skin scrutinized by the nice, tidy, good-looking young people. It's probably no fun for them either, as I am not very scenic at this point. The doctor zapped off four or five spots on my face and one on my arm with his liquid nitrogen ray gun. He took a biopsy of one spot with a different pointy thing. Then he said he wanted me to put the chemo cream on my face to burn off any suspicious skin cells. "It will be like having poison ivy," he said. "What do you mean, 'like poison ivy'?" I said. "Do you mean it's going to itch?" He then got flustered, and it became apparent that he didn't really know what he was trying to say. It'll be red and scabby and will sting, I think. I also had to winkle out of him the information that yes, I should keep it away from my eyes. Like, "don't get any of it within the circle of the orbit bones." Yeah, thanks, but SHOULDN'T YOU HAVE SAID THAT PART UP FRONT? Oh, people, people. Sigh.

We had been hoping to go out and do some things when I got home, but we were too tired and had to nap instead. Not that there's anything wrong with that! Naps are good. We had a Zoom with Deb and the Prussian. The Sparrowhawk got us some cheeseburgers and pacskis for Mardi Gras. It was a rather prosaic celebration. I would have liked to have a festive drink or two, but the cheeseburgers and pacskis were more than enough to ruin my stomach. Anything more would have started the Lenten penitence on the spot. I took a bunch of pacskis to my women's group. Some of them were eaten, and I gave a box to Strawberry Star for her husband. He's had medical tribulations lately, and probably needs a treat.

When I woke up at 4 am, I heard an unusual sound. I listened for awhile, and realized that it was rain. A glance at the window showed gleaming droplets illuminated by the streetlight. It was comforting and pleasant to hear rain again. Spring is really coming . . .