Mar 19, 2010 by Naomi.

‘Twas a bright sunny day. I took an allergy pill immediately upon rising because my sinuses ached and I needed to brighten my outlook. The swelling from my tooth extraction is settling down but the jaw is still tender to the touch and probably will be for some time to come. Whatever I put into my mouth seems to gravitate to the sore gum so it gets irritated often. I do not try to eat anything that requires hard chewing. It was too nice outdoors to sit around and nurse my owee. I enjoy my sun porch and painted the rough uprights white as a base for my acrylic paints on flowery designs. Last week I potted six of the plants from my yard and this morning I replanted them in the area in front of my sun porch so I could watch their progress. At the same time I brought the purple hyacinths from the front yard also for closer monitoring. The buds are ready to pop out of the leaves. When the plants mature and seeds come up I will have a great view of flowers. I am watering the Douglas Fir and the transplants. The neighbors are not only watering their lawns - they are mowing them! I will power up my weed eater soon and work on killing weeds and grass. I am ready for spring. I just didn’t expect it to come so soon.

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Mar 19, 2010 by Naomi.

Indulge me while I continue to focus on teeth because my left jaw is still tender from the invasion of pliers that recently pulled a tooth. I’ve seen x-rays of jawbones showing teeth before they actually grow out of the gums. Apparently they are visible very early in developing stages. Because I have them I accept the evidence that they were part of me well before I was born. But where do teeth actually come from? There are many things where science has discovered the answers and origin of teeth are among them. When skin begins several tissues interact, fold and secrete the proteins that build structures that develop within the skin: scales, hair, feathers, sweat glands, even mammary glands. There is similarity in the major genetic switches that are tweaked in the process and the evolution of an animal proceeds. Only the skin of the animal in which it develops will bring forth the proper teeth - a wolf will have wolf teeth, a turtle will have turtle teeth, and a mouse will have mouse teeth. Because the evolutionary pattern was in place three hundred million years ago, I have human teeth. And because a predator of sorts – decay - got under my tooth it had to be extracted. My tooth, capped fifty years ago, was susceptible to the invasion because the bone mass is often lost during aging. Teeth on the right side are doing very well and are able to chew all the good stuff.

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