Wow, it’s been a minute.

I’m going to try and change this to a different site, with my nameauthor instead. I was very proud of Grim, but I think I’ve outgrown him. Plus the site itself is broken and my poor web designer is bogged down with other, more important things.

I am working as a social media coordinator for my publishers, Paper Angel Press and Water Dragon Publishing. I am also an acquisitions editor for them. Lastly, I do copyediting for them as well. I’ve written a book of poetry about how I hate my BFF (but I got over that). I’m trying to write a romance, but since I plotted it, it’s written.

I am still on dialysis, but I’ve allowed it to be part of my life. I also joined the celebrities who take Ozempic (though I have a legitimate reason!). Ozempic is a horror show and makes me sick. I chose Mounjaro because that’s not as severe. I was on that for a couple of months until no one could get it. Now GSK has solved the problem and it’s available again. I had a stroke last year that has affected my balance, so I’m using a rollator or a walker. I can still get around, but I stumble sometimes. Other health issues: pain in my thumb on my access arm, so I can’t do anything about it. Neuropathy in hands and feet, so I can’t touch-type anymore.

Still reading cards. Still playing CoX, but on the Indominable server. It has double xp, but it’s a very slow server. Sometimes I miss the roleplaying, but I’ve been using my creativity for the social media and other things for The Publisher.

My son is my caretaker and he’s doing a great job–sometimes too much. He wakes me in the middle of the night when my sugar is below 100 and makes me eat enough sugar to make it jump to 120. Then when I get up, it’s 160 or even higher.

So that’s what I’m up to.

My website was down for a while because the theme I was using caused a critical error. Grimaulkin.com is still a hairball, and will probably get a new upgrade this year. Even so, I’m not really using this site for much except personal blogs.

Wow, what a year. I’m considered handicapped, and on “Long Term Care”. I still use a walker outside, and went to PT for about 3 months to get my gait/balance back. Most of the time, I can keep my balance. But when I’m really tired, or first wake up in the morning, I have a hard time walking or going down my stairs.

I was selling my husband’s tools, bit by bit. I got screwed a few times, but that was expected when you’re a clueless girl selling Snap-On and Craftsman tools. Well, one guy showed up, who was a property manager and handyman. Since I had a few things that needed to be done around the house, we exchanged tools for work. He put in railings on my stairs, bought me a new casement window to replace the one on my porch blown out by a hurricane a few years back (installation, Spring 24), and fixed my storm doors.

We cleaned up the boxes in my house and disturbed a mouse nest. Yes, we have mice this year. Our cats killed eight of them, and two brave ones are still running around. Called an exterminator, who said the best exterminator is our “mousers”.

In between, we were trying to get approved for my son to be my caretaker. He gets paid by “Seniorlink” who gets paid by Medicaid. I had to get approved by Mediaid, and they did at first in August (I started this process in April). Unfortunately, the person who approved me did it sight-unseen, and it was “approved in error”. I had go through it all over again, but expedited, which meant instead of taking six months, it took three. October, a social worker came out and took her sweet time to approve me in November–for the wrong Medicaid program.

Had to call and wait another month, and on December 15 we were all approved. Now we’re waiting for the check, cut on the 24th–which was a Sunday? And the 25th is Xmas. So it won’t get cut until the 26th. My mail is unreliable, so I have to keep an eye out on it all the time. Ring to the rescue.

Meanwhile, I lose other benefits, but gain more. Lost some SNAP (food stamps), but gained medical. Son now has a job that he’s happy with while I’m still independent. If, heaven forfend, I end up bedridden, he won’t like that too much.

So that’s where I am this year. Still around. Still dialysis. I’m doing a bit of copyediting and social media for my publisher to take some of the burden off him. I might try freelance copyediting, but my vision is going in my right eye, and my left thumb is all messed up so that I have no gripping strength.

I’ve given up on CoX since August. I still have the game when I want to use it, but this publisher work takes up most of my time, both organizing social media for the week/month, developing social media content, and copyediting novels and stories. It’s fun, I love it. This is my new job and it’s great. (Even if the boss micromanages–kidding.)

I’ll be back more often now that we’re functioning again.