Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

The Big Mac in a blender was an epic failure. The special sauce didn't provide nearly the amount of liquidfication I had hoped for, so the burger patties along with the bun, pickles, lettuce, onions, and cheese turned into what can best be described as a lump of poo. You'd think with this thought in mind as I'm scooping the glob out of the blender I wouldn't eat it, but no, I ate every last bit of it. Not enjoying any part of it. Just going through the motions because dang it anyway, I went through the trouble of blending it and I really wanted something besides cream of chicken soup, so I was going to eat it. After seeing what happened to the Big Mac, I decided against blending the fries. Those I left alone. Those I did enjoy eating. Thankfully the tooth/jaw/ear pain has disappeared. The liquid diet must have allowed the affected area to settle down, return to some semblance of normal, so last night I very carefully ate shrimp fried rice and a veggie egg roll. No pai...

What I thought was an abscessed tooth during the ride this summer wasn't really an abscessed tooth, it appears. At least that's what I'm thinking given the pain came back full force and then some last week. By Thursday I was in enough pain that I called my dentist who graciously worked me in that afternoon. Two xrays later, both of which showed absolutely nothing, the diagnosis was I have begun grinding my teeth in my sleep, and in the process of said grinding, I have bruised my gum. Seriously? A bruised gum becomes so painful that my teeth throb, my jaw feels like it's cracking apart, and my cheek swells up? My dentist suggested a treatment of ibuprofen to reduce the inflammation, and if needed, I'll have to wear a mouth guard while sleeping. I went home and took some ibuprofen, hoping this would do the trick. It didn't. Friday afternoon, the pain was so intense I was reduced to a wimpering puddle on the couch. The dentist wasn't in on Fridays,...