Dragon Egg

I had 3 medical appointments this week for this week’s surgery. My pre-op doctor visit, hospital pre-op, and lab work for surgery. All went well and it is getting close. Just call me “lefty” for the next few weeks.

The most interesting part of the pre-surgery meetings was the change in government policy about the use of opioid drugs. This happened after my other shoulder surgery just 3 months ago. My doctor had to explain to me about what issues they could cause and we both had to sign a document. He did not give me a prescription for any. I still have more than half of the ones he prescribed last September. They really did not help all that much anyway. They are really tightening up on their use and more importantly their abuse. They will be using a nerve block on my shoulder again and put pain medication in it during surgery which should mitigate the need for the drugs.

I wrote a new interface for the hospital to report drug use to the state of Arizona. Doctors can now check and see what has been prescribed for patients in the past. The state can also check up on doctors.

The hospital pre-op phone call went well except when they said that I should not bring my CPAP machine from home. I told her about my previous experience and said that I would be bringing my own in. Last time, the hose kept popping off the hospital CPAP machine. Their hose also had a purposely made hole that whistled. All of which made for a good night’s sleep – not.

I have been trying to complete as much as possible at work before I take leave. What I am reminded is that many of my co-workers will be out for the holidays. Our building is closed for 2 days at Christmas and New Year’s. I will be gone for 13 business days, but my office will be closed for 4 days. A bit of "Holidayitis" as set in as a little more talking and less working goes on this time of year. 

Our Epic Technical Support person for the infusion pumps is surprised that we are so far along. They will be in town this week. I will have 1 day with them on Tuesday before I go on leave for surgery. I will miss out of what happens on Wednesday.

We had our office party last Friday. I went with my old group and not the new one. We had a good time talking and catching up on some office gossip. We were able to go home early after the party which was the best part.

Saturday’s projects went well. I turned the “Dragon’s Egg” that I made from last week’s blank after it cured. I did not get it totally finished in that I need to finish the top by hand sanding as it has a little nib on top. I will not be able to do that for about a month since I need both shoulders and a clear mind. It has a bit of the “Lost World” look where you look at in on its side and you can see the bumps of the burl. They kind of look like mountains. Sitting upright it looks like an eye. I also like the blue as it is my favorite color.

Lost World 

Dragon Egg

My techniques have improved and I almost know what I am doing when working with resin.  I guess that I dried out the wood sufficiently this time as there were no bubbles. I believe I kept the wood in my toaster oven for 48 hours. This is after being in my garage for several Arizona summers. Maybe now I can now start to concentrate on more on composition. Thank you YouTube.

For another project, I wanted to see about making a pendant with wood and resin. This involved woodturning, scroll sawing, and resin. I figured out a new way to turn in pendant on the lathe so that I could finished both sides. I cut a groove around the outside that I used to hold the pendant in the lathe chuck. I could then flip it around to work on each side. I was then able to scroll saw a bear into the piece of wood and fill it full of resin. It cured while in my pressure pot so there were no bubbles there either. I also need to apply a finish onto it. It takes 24 to 48 hours for this resin to totally cure. That means that it would not be ready until Monday. I think that I could make nice Christmas tree ornaments using this method.

Resin Bear

That is it for this week. I may or may not be able to write a blog entry next week. I do hope to attend church for Christmas, but we shall see as my shoulder may be hurting too much for either. I plan on listening to Harry Potter while I am healing up. Listening to books helped last time. Especially laying awake all night in the hospital.

Merry Christmas to All!