Author Archives: tbavendam

I didn’t intend to not blog for over a month. I am not sure I feel like it today but I want to reflect a bit before 2022. I have really enjoyed blogging – until December hit and I temporarily lost my voice. I was incensed by the Supreme Court case that looks like itContinue reading “Ending 2021 much as it started”

I am laying propped up on my sofa with my computer on one leg creating space so I do not disturb Carli’s nap. She was not inclined to be moved right now. She has the most entertaining moans – some of contentment and some of resentment. To my ear they sound pretty much the sameContinue reading “Being Thankful”

Katherine and I cycled to Overmountain Winery on Thursday about 11 miles from her home in Columbus NC. She said we were going to take the least hilly route to get there. I had ridden with her to the winery 2 years ago and remembered it to be challenging but not bad. It was aContinue reading “You never know what you are going to see while cycling”

I drove to Columbus, NC yesterday for a few days of fall biking with friends. It was a pretty easy drive and while trees were past peak colors the drive was still enjoyable even with a significant traffic back up because of an accident about half way between Nashville and Knoxville followed shortly by aContinue reading “You gotta love small towns”

I am pretty sure I know which night the diaphragm failed – and by failed I mean I was too exhausted to get up and put it in. My quick determination that I was in “safe” time of month was flawed. My periods were regular so when my period was late and I began toContinue reading “You can survive anything: pregnancy as an intern in 1982”

I am visiting family in Denver with time to write. The flight to Denver was uneventful. It was my first time since Covid and the Nashville airport seemed pretty normal except everyone had a mask on. The flight was the same. It was full and everyone had a mask on and I felt OK aboutContinue reading “Re-emerging is a gradual process”

My daughter-in-law asked my son why I had texted him a picture of a toilet. Replacing the broken toilet seat was on my list of things to do for months. Having never done it before I assumed it was going to be difficult and that I was going to have to go through my unopenedContinue reading ““Killing it””

Since I started cycling 4 years ago, I have been trying to figure out a way to learn more about my bike so I will not be so fearful when I am riding on my own. Watching YouTube videos has not met my needs. I needed “hands on” learning. I approached a couple of bikeContinue reading “Build a Bike Workshop – a great experience”

I still have a profound loss of taste and smell from Covid in January 2021. I have recovered more taste than smell. I can taste dark chocolate – it is a subdued “normalish”. I can taste some wines – again “normalish” while others have NO taste. They are “heavier” than water in my mouth butContinue reading “What do port-a-potties, salmon and garlic have in common?”

I was awake this morning at the time of my son’s birth, just before 8 AM Central Time. He is a remarkable human being and I am so thankful with the decision I made in 1982 when I got unexpectedly pregnant as first year resident in a urology residency. I ignored the fact that itContinue reading “My son turns 39 today”