Flo, Hen of character

 Am eager for tomorrow. Nothing planned, except possibly the farrier Ken Norman coming by to trim the donkey’s hooves. Getting readers on Facebook. Once 100 people or more sign up to read the blog on Facebook, I get a permanent name. I’ll post it.
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  Not. Next Saturday, July 11, Maria and I will be at the Saratoga Crafts Fair, at Congress Park. She will be showing and selling quilts, and I will be showing and selling some photos, if they get back from the printer in time. I’ll probably bring Lenore, perhaps Izzy. On August 8, we will both be at the Poultney, Vt. Crafts Fair, in the center of town.

   Lulu appreciates being brushed. Fanny waits patiently for her turn. Maria brings happiness on her afternoon chores, every afternoon.

  July 4, 2009 – Quiet day, saw a parade in Alplaus, but I miss the Argyle parade where I went last year. There were no cows or Dairy Princesses in Alplaus, lots of fire trucks and politicians. Had a nice lunch with Maria’s sister Fran, and husband. Lenore, who loves parades, came along.
 I didn’t take any good photos in Alplaus.
 I had the strangest and most interesting experience Friday. I have had awful trouble sleeping the last six months – my mind spinning in too many different directions, too much anxiety and confusion spawned in a tough year. I went to a therapist, an MD, a psychiatrist and sleep specialist. I am going better, but still struggling, and have tried a number of medications. Some don’t work, some are homeopathic, some knock me out, others make me light-headed, dizzy or dry out my head. I’ve tried Melatonin and over the country stuff.
  I recently switched to a small rural country practice at the Southern Edge of the Adirondacks. I am tired of doctors whose response to everything is to grab the prescription pad or order tests. I do not want a life of doctors, tests and pills.
 I met this young doctor at a dinner on a nearby farm and I loved his philosophy. He said doctors are pressured by lawyers and practices to prescribe, and rarely give people’s bodies the opportunity to heal themselves. I liked him, and I called him up last week, and made an appointment. He surprised me by asking me if I was open to an alternative treatment, an energy treatment – no pills, or shots. He simply held his hands over three points on my body. I was astonished to be offered this treatment in the middle of nowhere in a conservative rural farm community. In the waiting room were the elderly, working-class people, farmers with cuts and bruises.
  The treatment lasted an hour. “I would love to treat you and I can help,” he said.
 I couldn’t tell you what he did, and I didn’t ask. I felt a distinct calm when I left, and was tired. And I slept for five hours that night. We have two more visits scheduled, and by then, and no medications.
 Life is strange. One thing I am learning, is to be open to new ideas. You never know where or when you will find them.
 

  In the country, Fedex and UPS drivers are like family. They stop in for some cold water, and to use the bathroom sometimes. I forgot to warn Jody about Frieda, who likes to nap in the hallway outside the bathroom, and I heard a bark, a shout  and saw him running out of the house. Nobody got hurt, and they are now good friends. Frieda reminds me of the scene in Frankenstein, (the movie) where the monster tries to hug a little girl and crushes her. She’s a bit more imposing than she knows, sometimes.