TB's post surgery visit and other stuff

Yesterday was TB's one week post-op visit to Dr. Greenbaum. Everything seemed fine except ... there is a redness all around the incision. It didn't look like an infection and didn't feel hot to the touch, just warm. It sort of looked to me like a yeast infection, the kind TB got after his shoulder surgeries. Dr. Greenbaum, though, said it's an abdominal wall infection (cellulitis) and drew lines around the areas with his pen. He prescribed an antibiotic and said if the red areas spread, TB would have to come to the emergency room and get admitted for IV antibiotics. Since then, we've been watching the red areas closely. Boy, it's always something and it's exhausting!

It's cold inside the house. Everyone's wearing hoodies and sweaters and (in TB's case) blankets. It doesn't seem fair because outside it's actually rather nice. I open the windows to try and let the warm air in. In the summer time, it's always been hotter inside than outside so I'm not sure why the sun isn't warming our house up more. We won't turn on the heat yet because it costs too much. The rates jumped up a few months ago.

Is it me or has the fall colors been muted the last few years? When we first moved to NJ, I remember the trees being so vibrant with reds, oranges and yellows. I loved to go for a drive and just look at the gorgeous colors. One year we took a trip to northern Jersey to see the colors at peak. Lately, though, the colors have been so subdued I hardly notice the change. The leaves aren't strikingly beautiful. The first year it happened I thought it was because we hadn't gotten enough rain. The next year we did and then I thought, maybe it needs to be colder.
This year I just wonder if it's my mood or my age. Taste declines with age and so does hearing. Does the perception of fall colors decline too? I wonder.