The Dentist

When I was talking about the fires last week, I realized I had never posted anything about going to the dentist.  Yes, I know for most people that isn’t big news, but I hadn’t been to the dentist for over 20 years.  Yeah, I know.  I knew I had one tooth at least that was bugging me, so once my benefits kicked in at my new job, I made an appointment.  I went to one that had been recommended to me a few years ago, and is very close to my condo.  I can easily make it home after an appointment, which worked out well the day of the fire.

As I expected, I had cavities.  Turned out I had roughly a dozen.  Wasn’t expecting quite that many, although most of them are fairly small.  I do have deep indentations in my teeth normally, so this doesn’t surprise me that much.  And, considering how long it has been, that doesn’t surprise me.

No, they didn’t do all those fillings all at once.  Instead, they filled them in four different appointments.  No, it wasn’t fun, but it wasn’t horrible either.

The appointment back in October was my last one to get fillings.  One of the teeth they filled them is extremely sensitive to cold, even with using toothpaste that should be be helping with that.  But the bite feels good as does everything else.  Overall, I am happy, and I’ve had teeth sensitive to cold in the past, so this isn’t a new development.

And yes, I have my six month check up appointment already scheduled.  I don’t intend to go so long between visits again.

Fires!

I spent about a week of my life at the end of October worried about fires.

It started with me.  On a Thursday, I had a dentist appointment.  Fortunately, it was by my place, because as I was driving to the appointment, I saw the smoke.  When I was done, I went home to find out the fire was a couple of miles away.  I decided to pack up and go stay with friends across town.  Turns out, I was under mandatory evacuation.  Not sure when that went into effect, but good thing I packed up and made plans.  Actually, I’m not sure I could have gotten home if I’d worked until my normal quitting time.

While some homes in the area were burned, it was a small number, and the fire never got any closer to my place.  The evacuation was lifted by the next night, although I did stay away one more night, going home on Saturday.

And it was Saturday that my family started packing up to evacuate from their homes due to a fire in northern California.  They all went to stay with my uncle and aunt a few hours away.  The evacuation was huge, so the traffic was bad, but they made it.  It was really scary with huge winds up there, but God and the firefighters keep the fire from burning too many structures again.  It could have been bad, but it wasn’t.

My brother has just moved into his new home after the fires two years ago burned his house down, so this was extra hard on everyone.  But again, God protected them and so many others.

So that was the end of my October.  Hopefully November is quieter.