As far as the camera goes, I was leaning towards the Kodak EasyShare camera because it is cheap and easy for beginners. And it isn’t a Canon. Sorry, but even if I had gotten my digital camera back from “the place that shall not be named”, it had a wonky zoom which sometimes worked, sometimes didn’t. It is a Canon and now I have it in my head that I don’t want that brand.

The problem with the Kodak EasyShare is, it is discontinued and Kodak no longer has the required software download for it. Pity, as it looked like a fun little thing. I am going to table that search until next month, due to budget restrictions and my reluctance to make a decision. But I know I have to get something before Halloween – gotta get pics of that parade! Or at least of trick-or-treaters, as Hollidaysburg is a small town that actually gets into trick-or-treating, just like when I was a kid. It’s pretty awesome!

So that’s all on hold now, and the remainder of this week will be spent trying not to worry about the doctor’s visit on Friday.  I am only going because I got hit with a shitload of symptoms all at once, in the past 2 months, and I have folks hassling me to go see what’s wrong, if anything.

I was diagnosed with Lupus oh, in my 30s, and except for the intial symptoms back then (joint pain, malaise, rash on face, a bout with temporary deafness, and other weird things) I have pretty much been in remission for a very long time.  I don’t count the joint pain/malaise aspect because I am so used to that happening that I have ignored it for the most part.

But now it has become fairly severe, along with a fever I cannot get rid of (for 2 months!), Raynaud’s (fingers get cold easily and turn funny colors), Sjogren’s (extremely dry eyes and dry mouth) and – horror of horrors for this ol’ hippie gal – my hair falling out.  And, while I am delighted with the lack of wrinkles on my face (none anywhere except laugh lines by mouth), especially at my age, unfortunately that may be due to scleroderma.

Which might mean I have something called “mixed connective tissue disease” (mctd for short), a combination of autoimmune disorders that includes lupus, scleroderma, and either rheumatoid arthritis or polymyositis (attacks your muscles and makes them weak).  My doctor has been putting off referring me to a rheumatologist because there are none around here who take Medicare, and due to my lack of transportation it will be super-hard for me to go to Pittsburgh (which is the place my doctor is thinking of sending me).

However, now it has become vital I get some tests to see what’s going on.  I have a tendency to ignore physical things and hope they will go away, and treat them with diet and so on.  It is rare for me to go to a doctor for anything except regular check-ups and my monthly visit to the pain clinic (ain’t got no disks between a couple of my vertebrae, no one knows why but my orthopedic doctor told me my back would fuse naturally, so I am waiting for that to happen rather than have surgery yuck).  But when someone looks at me and asks me if I am sick, because I look like I am, then I think maybe I ought to address this.  And let’s face it, in my mind the worst part is the hair loss!  Silly old woman.

Alright, today’s weirdness was found at Who Forted? (heh, gotta love that name):

Krispy Kreme is going to start selling Ghostbusters-themed donuts on September 29, right through Halloween!  It’s in honor of the 30th anniversary of the movie (my goodness, that long ago??).  There is no Krispy Kreme here, the Altoona one having gone out of business when the Starbuck’s there did, so this news makes me sad, but I know a lot of you live near one so…
http://whofortedblog.com/2014/09/17/ya-gonna-call-krispy-kreme/

(I honestly don’t know why people here don’t seem to be into donuts. Just part of the weirdness that is central PA, I guess)

I was going to post regarding stories about Black-Eyed Kids (aka BEK for those in the know!), but since I think it would scare the heebee jeebees out of my daughter, and she is one of my few readers, I won’t.  But check it out on the Who Forted? site if you want to read some scary stories!

And finally, also from the same website: Demons go high-tech!  Apparently, one hapless priest is getting evil text messages from a demon he drove out of a teenage girl.  The texts are coming from her phone heh.  Oh those wacky teenage demons!  The title of the article is “Demon Txts ‘I H8 U’ 2 Exorcist!”
http://whofortedblog.com/2014/07/28/demon-txts-h8-u-2-exorcist/

Film recommendation of the week is not a movie, but a show on Hulu (and probably elsewhere) called “American Indian Comedy Slam: Goin’ Native”.  Very funny stand-up!

And…I mentioned “Pow Wow Highway” in a comment awhile back, and have found the film online here: http://rednationtv.com/category/movies/

Be well. Sing a lot. Love your family. See you next week!