The x-ray showed an infection below the tooth, which meant a particularly strong antibiotic and an appointment with a doctor specializing in endodontics... one root canal in short or should I say at the least as my dentist wanted the two teeth side by side looked at by the specialist...
So that comes tomorrow and you can imagine I am not looking forward to it, but this tooth has been an ongoing problem for well over a year; so it is overdue and maybe my putting it off, thinking it would get better, led to the irritation below the tooth and probable infection. It just goes to show you can be religious in check-ups, cleanings but some things come internally. Ignoring mine, toughing it out, may have contributed to this or maybe it's all age. Oh the myriad joys of aging ;)
Then the pharmacist was scary regarding this antibiotic as it's known for severe, very unpleasant side effects which it was claimed impact almost everyone who takes it. Anything where its sole job is to kill off all the bacteria in your body, by definition, is not great. So far my side effects have been minor. Hopefully the root canal will follow in line and not amount to as much as I worry about.
To end off this string of unpleasant experiences, my cat came into the house Monday with what I at first thought was a wounded or dead hummingbird. Before I assessed what it was, I picked it up. It turned out something totally different-- a bat killed by one of our two cats!!!
That led to an assortment of phone calls, taking the dead body into the OSU diagnostic center to find out if it had rabies. Our cats have their vaccinations, but it appears the vaccines aren't 100%. It also seems the state wants a 45 day quarantine by law to keeping the cats in the house if the bat turns out positive for rabies...
Now that is very scary. This pretty well takes the summer and turns it on end if this should happen to be rabies. Then... they could get it even after the vaccinations? We would have to watch for symptoms for 45 days even after giving them the vaccine which has its own risks for the cats' health (try reading about that online to get an idea of the concern). I still cannot find the data on how much risk our cats now have if that bat turns out to be rabid. :( This was the worst of the last two months news. Hopefully the bat will be clear of it, but 10% of all bats in our area carry rabies. :(
This is just one more thing to worry about which we will also know either way on Wednesday. I have to say, this has been the perfect time to be engrossed in someone's world besides mine.
On the upbeat side, my newest historical romance, Comes the Dawn will be out July 10th. If you read Arizona Sunset, Tucson Moon and liked these stories set in Arizona, history in the background but with strong characters, I think you will love this one. Some earlier characters are back and two of them are here for their own love story.
I always think it's interesting to hear why other writers chose the stories they did. I am sure a few writers just turn out one romance after another to a formula; however, for most, there is something that particularly interested them in choosing the characters, story and setting.
Comes the Dawn surprised me as I had no intention of writing a third of these Arizona stories about the O'Brians. Admittedly, I had no intention of writing a second. These truly grew out of the characters and the place it all happens. I've spent a lot of time in Arizona and have many places in nature there to which I'd love to return. When I write something like Comes the Dawn, I get to be there along with my characters. I write my love of place. I feel the winds, hear the brooks bubbling, and look out across the vistas through the eyes of someone else. It's a great way to revisit a beloved location.
In deciding this book was a novel, not a novella, it played into it how much I liked several secondary characters which included heroes from the other two, Sam Ryker and Cord O'Brian (reformed outlaw and reformed marshal); plus a new secondary character cut out of the same kind of father-figure hero-- Raul Cordova, a Yaqui leader in Pascua Village, Tucson, Arizona.
So for the fun of this write, I had a romance, hero and heroine I really enjoyed, a beautiful setting and these three great guys in their mature years (mid 50s to early 40s)-- who represent the kind of father figures I have had in my life. Great fun to write bromance type scenes with tough guys who each like to do things their way.
