Surprise!

A blog post perhaps. My laptop computer is a perfect match for me: erratic, slow to start, constipated, bloated., prone to takiing a siesta in the middle of anything, and about as trustworthy as a 70 year old's f__t. In short, not too much fun.

How slow is it? When it is booting I usually get tired of waiting and go clean the garage or the kitchen and forget I turned it on.  I have improved it marginally with System Mechanic so I may be able to muster a blog post once in awhile.

My blogging has been more honored in its absence that in its heyday. From many quarters a bit of chiding for what I thought was surely a narrative as exciting as yesterday's oatmeal.

Long story short: all is well with me. Some ups, some downs, but mostly an even keel. Having been educated by my forebears, and discussed with cuz Donna,who likewise noted the elders steadily "shrinking lives" and apparent contentment with it, life is good.

Staying in Florida was not my first choice but as always the tribes will to finish things has flagged and there is no promised fence that will contain my doggies around the cabin. Keeping them in while I try to  remedy the situation is a non-starter. But the heat here has been intolerable only a few days. Lots of rain and cooler days but also some mugginess that is not too pleasant: all in all, about like home-some days are better than others. Richard tells me that Wyoming is verdant with all the rain this year. He drives it all about every month so he has eenjoyed it.

Cold Front

It is going to get down in the 50's for a few days all because the weather sweeps from Northwest to Southeast most times. Somehow we will survive. 

Life has been pretty good-I was cleared to drive, Maxine, my visiting nurse released me (she was a nice lady-good sense of humor).  Aside from some limitations in lifting and stretching, I am good to go.  I have been going in fact. Greg and lew came down for a visit. I had lunch delivered from Jo Jo's-  about $20, including delivery. We ate under the chikee hut and let the dogs play except for Honey who was a biyotch.

The kids have been so busy I have seen little of them, though we play Word on the computers almost daily. There is usually a turn waiting for me in the morning which I jump right on to signal that I ambulating.

My eldest turned 46 years of age! What does that make me besides older than dirt? He seems to have things to engross him and enjoy. My kids are a joy.

Speaking of older than dirt-I left my ATM card in the machine at Wells-Fargo. I was kind of being hurried by the man behind me. He helped himself to $300.00 cash and a big fill up at a Texaco station in Pompano. When I called Wells they said the card had already been blocked for suspicious activity and credited the money (provisionally) back to me. A new card is on its way. We'll see if I can hold onto it. Sheesh!

I have been coasting for weeks on groceries previously purchased even going so far as to retrieve canned goods from the RV. I am looking forward to a big shopping (is that something to look forward to?). In any case the experience was a good one in that I had to build some ingenuity in cooking. Good practice for the hurricane or the meltdown or the revolution- whichever comes first. I will be able to drive to my favorite saving places: Big Lots; canned tomatoes and veggies for 50 cents a can, WalMart for chicken breasts 8 for $11.00, Winn-Dixie; instant coffee $4.99 (better than Folger's too!)

I've been reading as well as walking the dogs and having some TV gluts: Oscars, NASCAR, Idol. The reading I hope forestalls the brain-rot. Pullman's His Dark Materials has been an interesting journey. He takes a dim view of organized religion which taken in tandem with the Popery is kind of interesting.  I think another shoe is going to drop in the Vatican.

I love a parade

The Deerfield Beach Founder's Day Parade 2013
Founder's day web album

Founder's Day

One of the greatest things about Deerfield is its small town feel.  I walked down to  watch the parade and chat with my neighbors. As far as parades go it was just so-so but spirited and fun, brought out the dignitaries and nobody went broke being all fancy. It was just right.
 

My visiting nurse, Maxine is an experienced nurse (24 years at the hospital) and a nice Dominican lady with an easy laugh. In fact the whole Delray Medical Center experience was a demonstration of competent and kind brown  people taking care of ancient Jews and one Wyoming buzzard. Only one of the floor nurses was white and he was gay-and a character, My prep nurse was a pip-an older white lady who got answers to all my questions, lickety-split- no messing around.  Dr Rosman had the flu so they sent Esteban Kloosterman in to pinch hit and I am glad-he got everything put right and left no junk. The cardiac surgeon remained on standby.  I have experienced very little pain-a marked contrast from the initial installation.

I feel better, more stamina and energy and I got my sense of humor back.  They set my low pulse at 60, Have felt zesty on occasion.  Matt was a tonic-and so patient, waiting, reading his book, and chatting with me and the cast of characters at the hospital. We three Roberts boys went for a good dinner at JB's last night, Jason having just returned from NYC where was conducting interviews. Matt left for Oregon this morning.  Bless my boys. 

Repaired

Home again after a successful procedure. And virtually no pain and I am feeling more alert than in the past. Life is good. More later.

Tuesday is the big day

I will go in for my procedure tomorrow morning at 830. Doctor Rossman has the stomach flu so a completely new doctor will do the procedure. This causes a little anxiety because I don't know if this doctor is up to speed on my situation. So there will be a question and answer period. The good news is that Matthew has flown in from Oregon to give me a hand for a while. It will be wonderful to see him. I will post a progress report Wednesday when I should be home.

Too Much Fun!

Kousin Karla flew in to surprise Lori and stick her tongue out at me!

This takes the cake- Lori's 50th

The web album is here. A very elegant and  fun occasion was Lori's 50th birthday milestone party.
Lori's Party Album

The photos tell the story better than I can.
The very next day, Lori and Jason left for a cruise but not before the Friday night festivities more or less carried on-there were yummy leftovers and opened wine which we hated to see go to waste.  Had a brunch and Jason through gentle prodding got the show on the road so Karla could fly back to Dallas and they could embark at Fort Lauderdale.

The rest of Saturday is sort of lost to me- I stayed at the kid's place to sit on the dock with Brandon who is dog-sitting and finish the Chardonnay, went home and a nap befell me. Somewhere in there I got the laundry caught up but I'm a little hazy on exactly when.

Sunday was Superbowl day and I got into it. Went to the store for food: made a pot of chili  and had enough burger left to make  big hamburgers for three.  The doggies liked the day too. They got a good Sunday walk in the morning and played wildly until late in the evening. We eat beef so seldom, they maybe needed some. Aside from that, they got powdered and petted. Honey is turning into a mush pot. Suits me fine.

I was hoping for the 49ers to win but the loss didn't exactly ruin my day.

Now it is Monday and I have things to do this week- pre-op blood work and stuff.

Deerfield Beach Artfest with Juneau

A beautiful day at the Beach-dogs allowed today.

 

Sailboat

Chopsticks Already!

Island noodles all around.

A Sunday outing with the kids, their houseguest, Brandon, the O.F. and Juneau. My pups stayed home. We have been having gorgeous weather-cool fronts making thngs very temperate-even causing overshirts to make their appearance.  Juneau led us right to the food court and visited several vendors. Grampy sprung for a BBQ pork sandwich and Juneau got his bites. Island noodles and other good things too numerous to mention or sample were all around us. The artisans are getting stiff-necked about people taking photographs of their work. So I did not take many.  Didn't buy anything either. 

It was great being out on the beach and amongst the teeming throngs-people watching is GREAT down here. Unfortunately I started to "run out of gas" before the adventure was over. Jason kindly fetched the car while Lori sat with me. A nap later I was rested. I will look forward to getting "fixed."- not THAT way but heartwise.

Holding Pattern

"The Procedure" to rewire me has been moved again-Dr. Rosman is more comfortable with the "lab" at Delray Medical. Lord knows I want him to be comfortable! So we wait until February 12. Meanwhile my body has seemingly adjusted to a lot of the new normal and goes pretty much as as I like it to do. We are getting in two walks a day, though not as long as we previously took, we log about a mile per day. "Stooping to scoop" causes a little postural syncope but I haven't toppled yet.

Tasks are getting done-mostly maintenance but some forward progress too.  A long lost cousin contacted me in regard to the family history and that has been kind of fun. It rekindled my interest. She is a long yakker on the phone (2 plus hours) which I am less than enthusiastic about but is an interesting person. She is moving the story back into the old country better than has been done.  Valerie is both a rider and a writer. horse and screenplays.  She was right next to Francis Ford Coppola when he was filming Apocalypse Now. He would dictate and she would type. She has some stories to tell!

I will go to John Prince Park this week. I am hearing from some of my old friends and will go to visit.   I need to get off my duff and do some stuff-take some pictures.  I have been all inward: reading and viewing.  At this point it seems a little useless- lots of knowledge in there and nobody to listen to it.

Broken Distributor Cap

Life has gone on since I last blogged-very nice holidays and lots of fun.  The fall I have mentioned in addition to hurt bones and muscle, fractured a lead on my fancy heart device. For awhile I would be perking along and then all of a sudden "run out of gas," then need to sit or nap. I made a regular appointment with my Electrophysiologist for a routine checkup and they discovered the atrial lead  was working only when I held my arm and mouth in just the right way. Since then it has quit entirely. I am back to my own devices and a pulse rate of 45-50 bpm as opposed to my paced rate of 70.   So a "procedure" was scheduled and I went into the Boca hospital and was out on the operating table and they took a picture.  Seems my ventricular leads were both in the right chamber.  The fix for the atrial lead was to add a new one and leave the old wire in place. Three leads would have clogged the pipe too much. So I am now scheduled for a procedure that includes a cardiac surgeon who goes in and removes the old wires and implants new ones.  Have to go to Holy Cross hospital for that on the 28th of January. Friend Bonnie who types medical reports say this procedure is common and mostly successful.

Meanwhile I am in no distress but am running about "half." Tire easily, get light headed, but can conduct most of the activities of daily living.  I was really kind of relieved to find there was something wrong because I spent most of the fall thinking I was just failing-the curtain was falling or this old chassis was headed for the junk yard.  There may be a more lively chapter or two ahead.

Catch Up

Lori, Jason and the O.F. went to Ruth's Criss Steakhouse for  Turkey dinner on Thanksgiving. The ambience was ritzy, the staff attentive, the food very tasty. We each ordered a different side and Jason went the extra step and ordered all the sides! For his kindness he noted a $30.00 charge for a side of green beans. They fixed it but we noted somebody else had the same problem.  Kind of makes you go "hmmm."  One difference between the commonplace and the ritzy is the quality of the "to go" bags. Although we were completely pleased with the taste of our food we all had the queasies the next day.A leisurely drive home on the A-1-A: Ft. Lauderdale to Deerfield made the perfect outing. We were among the last to traverse it as the high tides and storms washed part of it away along with big swathes of beach.

The war on the snails seem to be working. My nearly bare Bougainvillea bushes are already leafing out and getting showy. A little TLC on the other plants has them looking better too. My master gardener friend Sooz sent organic solutions for snail problems (beer salt, and   tipped over pots). I am completely committed to organic solutions until I find a hole in a leaf-then the poison comes out.

Thayne called-he saw the mail lady was putting mail in my mailbox. The forwarding notice evidently didn't register. I thought it had because there was no shortage of mail here. It was crisp in Wyoming ad they were getting ready to bring the cows back from the mountain pasture. It has been very moderate weather here. Loving it

I have resumed my upper body workouts and only pay at bedtime. Tylenol is effective. We have resumed daily walks with the dogs but Hoey is wearing her pinch collar. I am not crazy about those collars but she is a strong willful girl and it is a matter of self preservation: it is this way or no-way. She seems to enjoy the walks as much as Buster. We still go to the dog park once or twice a week.

I  got to Labcorp for my blood tests and should hear from Dr. Cohn before long. So overall I am doing pretty well.  Mobile, and upright.

The Christmas decorations came out and were arranged and lit. I do like the shiny lights but I probably annoy with my largely secular or pagan displays.

Rich called a few minutes ago..He and Val are in Hawaii to visit Val's daughter, Melissa.  found them a cabin in the forest with hot tub and abundant bird and vegetation life. They helicoptered to a volcano eruption site and followed the magma to the sea. Hawaii has a high altitude of 14,000 feet.

Greg and Lew called as they were pulling out  of their hometown on their migration southward.  

Life is Better

 

Saturday lunch at the Cove was a pleasant interlude. We drove and watched the boats pull up this time as opposed to  our disembarking. I discovered the Green Market-it changes places every year it seems  Afterwards Lori invited me to view the stuff that is going out the door as new stuff is coming in the door. I got some treasures though I pledge to keep it down-enough stuff here already. The remodel is coming right along-I can foresee the end result. I think it will be stunning.  

 

The doggies at play in the backyard. They had a good outing at the dog park and came home full of beans.
Dog people are nice people. It is nice to socialize with them while the doggies do the same.  They got their very first neighborhood walk this very day. The mornings have been on the brisk side so there was no need to beat the heat and I got the  morning soreness out before we went. It went pretty well  though there was some after-pain. I am able to do more and more. The yard is benefiting. Some of my plants needed some TLC.  I went to Ace to see if there was something that would kill snails as they were devastating some plants. The helpful hardware man kind of creeped me out telling how he knows Bug-Getta works because he sees the snails foaming at the mouth. He was a little too gleeful.

Of course I have been reading,reading. reading as well as enjoying some football. The Ducks/Stanford game was a thriller, though I was rooting for the Ducks. Enjoyed the Steelers game for the drama.

Delightful

The weather in Wyoming is getting pretty chilly in my neighborhood-some 19's and 32's on the thermometer. Meanwhile Florida, in my neighborhood, has been almost magically temperate. The door is frequently open to admit dogs and fresh air and the air conditioner rarely kicks on at 76 degrees. A little rain a little wind but nice.

My aches are receding quite a bit and I can now do quite a few things around here. That is a real boost to the old attitude. I can see that falls for seniors have more import- I reflect on getting bucked off a horse onto my head and recovering in a few days, hanging by my ankle from a chain drive International dump truck-that required a cast,  getting run over by a hay sled, and numerous bike and motorsickle rashes but nothing that has has hung on so long or been so dispiriting.

I got an e-mail from Big Lots that they had rope lights for $6.50 a strand and since my last year garden lights are mostly toast and were causing the breaker to trip I went up there. Found a Kay Scarpetta book for $3.00- a big fat hardback that revealed how spoiled I am by the Kindle experience. Not handy at all for reading while dining, requires bright light, and is heavy. On the other hand, books don't need to be charged up. The Kindle reader resides on all of my "devices" so it goes everywhere and I always have something to read and always on the page where I left off..

The kids went to Charm City and brought yummy burgers for lunch the other day. Between their sickness and remodeling stuff, I have not seen much of them so the visit was a treat. They are mending and making progress.

Next time I will have done something interesting-I promise

Election Day 2012

The pundits are nattering about nothing as the ballots are counted. I voted in Wyoming. I'm not sure what the fuss is about-we have a choice between a Democrat wimp and another clueless Republican. The result in either case: we are screwed. The media reminds me of pow-wow announcers-no dead air even if you have to speak in tongues.

Honey found a big ol' poison toad this evening and I had to rinse her mouth and wash her gums with a microfiber cloth. She seems fine but I am not her favorite parson right now. We did get to the dog park yesterday. It had been closed for 8 weeks due to storm related swampiness. They enjoyed their time and slept well. The dog park is one left turn and one right turn-then a straight shot down Highway 1.

Today Amazon via Fedex delivered  a steering wheel knob. In the olden days we called them "necking knobs" because they allowed you to steer and have one arm around your girl (waaay before bucket seats). I had checked West Marine for one, checked the $70.00 price tag and hit Amazon.  I wanted one that flipped down like my brother had in his old Chrysler sedan. I couldn't find  one exactly like it but finally ordered one billed as "Folding steering knob for beginners and Korea girls." ($22.00) I installed it 3 times given my gimpiness but it works fine and I can turn left and right without whining with pain. I am glad to have some (auto)mobility back.

Truth to tell I am getting a little bummed-cabin fever due to the aches from the fall. After the major left arm pain lessened, the ones on my hip and right wrist emerged.  Hurt to sit, get up, etc. but that is much better. My left arm is some better but is still very painful-can't slice an onion, can't lift my coffee cup, have to reach across to close the car door,  and worst of all, I reach a painful spot before my fork gets to my mouth.

But life goes on and I have done a lot of little puttering around  tasks. The vacuum cleaner works right-handed. Jason and Lori have a bug but I got it together enough to put some homemade chicken soup together (no sliced onions), put the crock pot in the van and steering -knobbed myself all 8 blocks to their house.Kept my distance.  Bless their hearts-their house is still in disarray but coming right along.

From the phone

Posting from the phone for a trial run.

How's the Weather?

We left Florida in July with hurricane Isaac impending and here we are hoping that Sandy will give us a miss. The huge storm systems have effects beyond their destructive core. The rain falls at a 45 degree angle at times and the winds gust, riptides make the beaches unsafe, schools close and events are postponed.   My chickee hut stays pretty dry. I have been watching carefully because I have, of course, extended music equipment out there.

My left arm is coloring very impressively from wrist to shoulder- lemon yellow to deep purple. Happily, range of motion is greater and pain is less though as the day goes on, the aches increase.  I have been reading incessantly as it focuses my mind on something else. Besides, I enjoy it and have discovered a couple of $3.99 Kindle series that I like. I have read Rowling's A Casual Vacancy and liked it. She is always humanistic even when she takes apart genteel society in rural England ala Grace Metalious (Peyton Place).

Lori has gone to Texas for 10 days. Jason has been a brick-checking on me and making a grocery run.  He has a full plate with tilers, carpenters, painters and awning people to supervise. He also has a new business. He thrives on it until he doesn't and debilitating headaches set in.

The poor dogs are bored but that is what they get when they injure the leader of the pack. Juneau comes to visit and he gets them going-or vice-versa. They do play in the house and yard but the weather hinders that somewhat.

I have things on my to-do list but they will wait until I can hold a screwdriver, drive etc.

Florida Surprises

Hurricane Isaac although hundreds of miles away spawned some nasty weather on the east coast of Florida. My patio canopy and my RV canopy were among the casualties. Lori thought a genuine Seminole Tiki hut would make a nice surprise. Did it ever! It is amazingly cool and cozy under the sheltering palm fronds. Somehow, the whole neighborhood knew about it and kept it a secret from me. It is glorious and I am practically living in it. Having some fun fixing up a "bar"-it has been rain tested and stays pretty dry.  Y'all come-I'll make margaritas.

The trip was pretty good-very little night driving but I made good time and we were without negative incident. It was as enjoyable as a 2600 mile drive can be. That is a long way to drive.

Not so nice surprise:  Thank goodness for "hillbilly heroin." Walking the dogs the second night here, using the retractable leashes. They were being good and there was considerable slack in the leashes. They caught sight of a cat and I went splat. Bloody gash over my eye, face first on the sidewalk. I collected myself for a minute and a nice young man came over to help. I got up under my own steam and retrieved Honey. Buddy had snapped his collar. I went on home with blood dripping down my face. Then the arm injuries became apparent-incredible pain. Jason took me to the nearest urgent care. I had X-rays and caught a glimpse into the economics of urgent care. Blood tests?  $100.00 tetanus shot?  "Come back tomorrow"-more X-rays?  The pain prescription the doctor gave me the first night could not be filled- too rare and dosage too small. Made it through the night with Tylenol and no sleep whatsoever. The PAC who saw me the next day raised her eyebrows at the prescription and ordered some heavy duty Percocet which is good for the pain but puts one in La-La land. A major ingredient is oxycodone which is hillbilly heroin in West Virginia. So I have spent a couple of days swinging from comatose to yelps of pain. The thumb on my left hand is useful only as a handle for my right hand to move my arm. Still, I am recovering; I can move the mouse if I grit my teeth and move slowly. Looking forward to being able to drive someday soon. .

Van Camping

No beans about it, we are at a TA travel center in Marianna Florida. Last night we put on the  dog and stayed at a Motel 6 in Texas. I put some improvements in amenities in the Van before I left: a camping pad if I want to get flat, and a hassock to put my feet on if I want to just recline. I was hoping to make to my old bolt-hole in Quincy at the Flying J but we ran into fog and this seemed good enough. We are back in the South and I am embracing it: grits, collard greens, making sure I specify "unsweet tea." There were lots of folks hawking their sweet potatoes from roadside trucks. And churches! There are so many sects and churches I wonder how many people could be in the congregations. As it is Sunday, I only saw a few full parking lots. Wetter and greener than in Wyoming.

Pampa

After a visit with my brother -took him and Val to supper at Guadalajara? And caught up on family stuff. Jim and Susie were fine-her latest PETscan was clear, she said, I took off very early  from Casper and arrived in Pampa in the dark. Through the grace of God and Garmin, we made it. I was clueless the last two hours. The doggies were good as gold and are enjoying the playground in the back yard today. They were reassured to be in familiar territory. I decided to take a rest day here today. After 14 hours driving, I found myself still drowsy after getting up. Better to nap here than on the road.

Motivation

There has been snow and there has been frozen water.  Launch time is close but I will not advertise. Most of my business has been finished. My phone finally became inoperable after some keys fell off it. This is the model that is built to military specs- haha. God save the troops! The old number will be ported to the new phone when I get it in the winter location.Meanwhile, voice messages will show up in my GMail account.

Jason and Lori are still at my residence but things are finishing up at their house and I will be in transit for a few days. Should work out just fine and if it doesn't I would kind of enjoy staying in the RV.

Went by Hall's to take a little birthday offering and her elder son and girlfriend were visiting from St. Paul. It was fun to see them and they seem fine. Life does trundle along.The kids grow up and we grow old.