Alison Weaver:  

Late September Update For MVHS' Class of 1968: Lots has happened since my May 2020 post. I lost my Mom June 1, 2020 - she had rheumatoid arthritis for years and years, could barely see (which was a huge blow for her as she loved to read!), and was basically deaf to most sound. She lived up in Vancouver, Canada, near my sister, Adrienne, so that Adrienne could become her caretaker. High everybody! It's May 2020; we, as a nation, and as a world member, are in the midst of a pandemic. It's changed a few things for me, personally, but nothing as bad as what's happenings to parents with children, who can't go to school, who can't play sports, and who might also have to care for their elderly patients. The challenges before us as we move into the future are daunting, indeed! In my little "postage stamp" town, our California county, Nevada, has had very few cases and 1 death, so our county is allowed to start Stage 2, with restaurants and stores allowed to open as long as they follow strict rules, that still include wearing masks, although you may remove your mask in the restaurant once you start eating! Still lots of social-distancing. We've started our "garden of girls" for 2020, with the following clones: Banana OG; Blue Dream; Key Lime Pie; L.A. Confidential; Lemon; and Wedding Cake. With the exception of Blue Dream, we have no previous knowledge or experience with these strains -- their names remind me of something you'd find in a bakery! All we care about is their potency, and possibly their individual mix of sativa-to-indica. We prefer the sativa-side of things because they promote energy, creativity and socializing with others; indica strains are EXCELLENT for alleviating pain, of all kinds, helping you get a good night's sleep, and inducing restful calm. As I've probably said before here, the most pain I have is from years of diabetic neuropathy, where my lower legs and feet can feel like they're on fire or super-itchy or a low burning pain or sharp, off-the-charts stabs of pain, to name just a few of the conditions' nerve pain. So, on paper, you'd think I'd smoke mostly indica strains, which is very good for physical pain... But, I prefer sativa-heavy strains because I'm mentally able to look at whatever pain I'm experiencing in that moment, and sort of quantify "it," and view "it" as an object in the palm of my hand, then just blow it away -- I actually visualize what was once in my hand taking flight, then fading away completely, as has my pain! My endocrinologist of almost 20 years has never verbally told me to quit smoking joints, even though she's not a medical-pot advocate. But every single time I see her, she puts her stethoscope to my chest and back, finds ZERO problems with my respiratory function. My bronchia have expanded over time, so I can take bigger, deeper breaths than I could when I was 18. I find my good health incredible, especially because I've had type 1 diabetes for half a century. I wish someone was keeping track (besides myself) of ALL the surgeries I've had, coupled with all the times I've been hospitalized for diabetic ketoacidosis, where I almost died, and yet... it's gotta be the cannabis that has allowed me to recover and rise above all of it! I recognize my environment and my hubby also factor into my good health. I hope everyone here is relatively healthy and happy. Love and Peace Alison ☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮ Late August 2019 Our "garden of girls" is doing well, as the weather has been terrific. Hopefully it will continue through the end of the season, October. Some mature earlier in late September, and some aren't mature until very late October or early November. There are SO many variables in cannabis cultivation. The glandular trichomes the plants produce equal THC, so the more trichomes on the surface of the plants, the greater the potency of those plants. There're also different "maturity" phases you can allow the plant to reach, depending on the type of "stone" you want, e.g., more cerebral, with creative, energetic experiences, OR more sedative, accompanied by relaxing, numbed body-and-mind experiences. I have a chart that shows the progressive phases of cannabis that I wish I could post here. Maybe I'll put it here as a "Note." I've recently started swimming again at the club we pay dues for every month! It's the ONLY exercise I can think of that doesn't feel like I'm sweating when I do it! I hate sweat! Plus, I can be all by myself, with lots of "quiet time." Love & Peace, Alison ☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮ May 6, 2019 I'm happy to report our garden of "girls" for the season is underway. We grow from clones that we often have to go to Oakland to get, which is a long drive for us. The way the pot market is now, we were able to scope out dispensaries via a site called "Dark Heart," where the dispensaries receive "drop-loads" of different varieties. And we found a dispensary in Marysville, not too far from us, and definitely closer than Oakland. Dave and I each have valid CA medical marijuana scrips (renewable annually) that allows EACH of us to have 12 clones. This is 1 of the few times I'm glad I have Type 1 diabetes because the painful diabetic neuropathy I have will never go away completely unless a cure for diabetes is developed. The daily pot smoking practically eliminates all aspects of the wacky nerve sensations in my feet. If you don't have a medical pot scrip, and are growing it strictly for personal recreation, you're allowed only 6 plants. We've had several deaths in the past 6 months: My sister-in-law, married to Dave's youngest brother, who's 1st wife died years ago from ALS; so this was his 2nd time to go thru spousal death. The 2nd death was a good friend of ours, an old boyfriend of Adrienne's (when she was in college); the 3rd recent death was Adrienne's ex-husband (father of her children), after a long bout with cancer; and 4th, we just lost Dave's mom, who was 93, from natural causes. I was thinking about these deaths the other day, and was reminded of 2 of my boyfriends' deaths that occurred a while ago. 1st Lee Myers (late '90s/early '00s - can't remember the exact date); and a guy I was involved with on-and-off for several years died in 2015. I don't feel THAT old or THAT sick, so I'm figuring both David and I will "continue to continue" for many more years, especially if we stick to smoking pot, getting our exercise, and eating as "cleanly" as possible. And laugh, laugh, laugh some more! More later, as it crops up! 😎 Peace, Alison ☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮ January 22, 2019 We just completed our bankruptcy, and all our credit card debt was discharged. This is the 3rd time we've filed bankruptcy in the 47+ years we've been together. Maybe this time will be the last time... My old man got a part-time job at Nevada City's old Crazy Horse Saloon, working as a dishwasher/bus-boy. It's going a lot better for us since he started there. My mom and my sister, Adrienne, came through with quite a bit of money to help pay the 1st half of our annual property taxes. Our "holiday" December-January time goes thusly: December 18 - My birthday; December 25 - Christmas Dec 31/Jan 1 - New Year's Eve/New Year's Day January 7 - David's Birthday A solid MONTH of celebratory reasons, so that by the time of David's birthday, we are SO TIRED of all the holiday hoopla! I'm concerned about the rising cost of insulin, as I take 2 different kinds every single day of my life. Can you believe this? My "co-pay" for my basal insulin (Toujeo) was $250! By the way, if I didn't have supplemental insurance through Medicare, it would cost me $660! There's NO WAY I can afford that price. Adding insult-to-injury, there are ONLY 3 companies who make insulin, with NO GENERIC insulin in sight! The company that makes my Toujeo had an application I filled out for a reduced price, but the paperwork came back, refusing me that lower cost because we supposedly make too much money. Our yearly income is around $34,000 BEFORE SS takes out our Medicare costs, leaving us with an annual income of around $29,000 - how RICH is that??? And then, they have the gall to charge me hundreds of dollars for a prescription drug that I (and millions of others like me) need EVERY SINGLE DAY just to stay alive??? Big Pharmacy and the insurance industry work at keeping us diabetics SICK. Another thing that gets me about this disease, is that if you're diabetic, you need to refrain from stress-filled situations and people, as the stress causes the body to release other hormones, like adrenaline, which RAISES glucose in diabetics, making it even harder to control! Do I sound frustrated? I most certainly AM! Happy New Year, Everyone! Love and Peace, Alison ☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️☮️ October 2018: I went to a lot of schools throughout California, with going to 2 different high schools (before I did my last 2 years at MVHS). Prior to MVHS, as a junior and senior, I went to Foothill High for my sophomore year in Orange County; did my freshman year in Carmichael/Sacramento at Del Campo High (the sophomore class ahead of me included MLB's famous Dusty Baker, a 1-time manager of the SF Giants, among many other teams. I went to 2 different junior high schools (middle schools), Will Rogers Junior High in the Carmichael/Sacto area for 8th grade, preceded by 7th grade at Fern Bacon Junior High in the Del Paso/Sacto area. My elementary/grammar schools included Bowling Green Elementary in the Del Paso/Sacto area (grades 4 through 6); and Mary E. Silveira Elementary school in Marin County (grade 1 through most of grade 3, when we moved from Marin Co. to Sacramento). I never "went to college" per se, but I did take several college courses. In the mid-'70s, we lived in Michigan, outskirts of Ann Arbor, where I went to Eastern Mi...Expand for more