Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Very cold, no snow.

In the middle at bridge. The

Hooch is tomorrow.

Brrrrrrrrrrr!

Thursday Thirteen

• The last balance physical therapy session was this morning. The therapist says I’m doing much better. We’ll see how it goes.
• The weather has definitely changed.
• They’re actually talking about snow tonight - lots in the mountains.
• Today was the last day of early voting in TN.
• It would be wonderful go have my votes turn out to be winners.
• It would be wonderful to have ANY of my votes be winners.
• The Head of the Hooch is this weekend - Saturday and Sunday
• It’s supposed to be near freezing on Saturday night.
• We’re talking with Home at First to schedule two weeks is two different locations in Ireland in April/May
• They’ve already sent us a possible schedule.
• I had lunch today with Vicki and Tina. How special is that!
• Congratulations to the Giants for winning the World Series.
• Don’t forget to set your clocks back before you go to bed Saturday night.

A full Tuesday

The tech really worked me hard at PT this morning. She's managed to find one exercise that made me queasy in the stomach and dizzy - standing on a balance board that wobbled side-to-side, with my eyes closed. I had my hands touching (but not grabbing) a grab-bar, so I knew I wasn't going to fall, but it did make my stomach do flips. Well, better balance is the goal here, so they're pushing me. I have one more session on Thursday.

John's went on a walk this evening with some folks from the History Center - through one of the lovely old historic residential districts. It's right next to the university, so an area we know fairly well. But it'll be fun for him to see it at walking speed and hear the history about various homes, etc. The walk was great. Unexpectedly, some new homeowners were working on the restoration of their house, and invited the tour to come into the house to see it. Tina was there, too, and I met them for dinner afterwards.

Bob has been able to move back into his house. The suit his now-ex-wife filed has been settled. Once the sale of the house goes through, they'll have no more contact, even through lawyers. He has an apartment rented in upstate NY where he lived most of his life, and he’ll be heading there in a couple of weeks. We're just glad this is over. I'm glad we were here to help him out, but it's nice to have our house back to just ourselves again.

Bridge Day

I love playing bridge - even when my cards aren’t very good. Today was an exception.

I guess it was just one of those days. Except for the first round I played with John, when we had some pretty good cards, my cards were some of the worst I can remember.

Then there was the other aspect of the game - the players. Maybe 2/3 of the 20 people who played today are pretty good players. And almost all of them are really nice people. However, in four rounds, I wound up playing with and against the worst players in the bunch. I’m certainly not the best in the group, but today was just no fun.

Oh, well - we’ll be back again next week.

Beautiful Fall Sunday

The weather was so pretty today, John took Bob out for a drive along the Tellico and the Cherohala Skyway. Of course, lots of other folks decided to get out and enjoy the gorgeous weather and the trees. There was one waterfall where they couldn't even stop to look and take pictures because they couldn't find a parking place.


John goes in for an echo cardiogram tomorrow. He has A-fib, and has been noticing it more lately. He decided to go to the cardiologist to get it seen to. He wore a Holter monitor last week, and after this test tomorrow, will be going back to the cardiologist to see what's next.


Not too much coming up this week. It’s supposed to be up to 80(!) tomorrow, and then very chilly by the end of the week.

 
 

Duplicate bridge

Played poorly last time.

Didn’t think today would be

better. Tied for first.

Miscellany

• I had PT this morning.
• The therapists are working strengthening my legs and core.
• I feel like I've improved some.
• I really need to get to doing some walking.
• Haven't had time, so far.
• I had a massage today.
• It was wonderful!
• John went to the urologist today for his quarterly injection.
• His PSA was 0.4, which is great.
• He's still having hot flashes, but is dealing with them.
• He went to the cemetery with Allan’s daughters, to support them as they dedicated his stone, and to say his own goodbyes.

"Being Mortal"

I heard part of a conversation with Atul Gawande on BookTV last weekend about his new book, Being Mortal. I've just bought the book, and John is in the process of devouring it. I'm glad I got it in hardback - we'll be loaning it to almost everybody we know. Definitely a must read!

Tuesday - Day 2

The physical therapy session was tough today.  PT is a solid hour of activity - doing things I'm not comfortable doing.  Oh, well - that's the point.


I'm not too fond of grocery shopping, but that got done as well.


We spent all afternoon with T again.  John spent the time getting a new light fixture ready to hang, and getting it at least temporarily up. The girls did lots of work and got most of their stuff packed.  We're not going back tomorrow, but maybe again on Thursday.


In any case, we're both pretty tired, and it's off to bed.

Friends

Today didn’t seem like we did anything, but we‘re still tired.

The only active thing was to go to the Y and to coffee T brought lunch over, and then we went to her house. Her stepdaughters were coming to her house to pick out some personal items that had belonged to their father (who died a year ago). T was afraid that it would be traumatic for all of them, as it was after A died. We volunteered to go to her house, just to be an outside presence and a buffer. We had known the girls when they were youngsters, so it wasn’t as if we were strangers.

We all arrived at the same time. After pleasantries were exchanged, T and the girls got down to business. Today was mostly for looking at what was there and deciding what they wanted to take. They left about 4 or so. We stayed and talked for another hour before going home. There were no problems, but it was stressful for all. And we’ll go back again tomorrow while they’re there to pack up things.

Weekend

Duplicate last night

Awful. Laundry and closet

Cleaning today. Fun.

Cleaning lady comes

Tomorrow, and we will help

Tina with fam’ly.

Sunday Stealing

Let's Talk Travel Meme

Ok let’s talk travel, do you like to travel?
Oh, my, YES!!!
Where have you been?
Six continents, 50 states Canada, etc. It’s been amazing.
Next place you want to go?
Almost anywhere. Right now, we’re working on a trip to the Canadian Rockies next fall. But we’ll be doing some traveling before then.
What is something you MUST take with you when you travel?
My meds, some knitting, and my iPad.
How do you like to travel? (mode of transportation)
It doesn’t matter - car, plane, train, boat - whatever.
With someone, or alone?
Prefer with John and possibly Ann & Al or one or more of the girls.
Do you dance in your car when there are other people with you?
It would be really tough to dance in a car, with or without other people, so I probably wouldn’t in any circumstances.
If you're quiet what does it mean?
Just that I don’t have anything to contribute to the conversation.
Favorite scent?
I don’t like scents except natural ones, like roses or bread cooking or cinnamon.
Favorite store?
I don’t like to shop. I go to Aldi and WalMart because I have to in order to get groceries. Or I shop at Amazon or Knitpicks on line.
Say you wanted coffee.. what kind is your favorite?
Regular coffee. I don’t like flavored coffee.
Favorite kind of pizza?
Regular or thin crust with pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, olives.
Do you get embarrassed easily?
No.
Do you mind people asking you personal questions?
I don’t mind people asking, and I reserve the right to refuse to answer.
You have a tank of gas, $50, and the day off… what do you do?
If the weather is nice, we might go take a ride in the mountains.
Favorite tv show?
NCIS, Rachel Maddow
Song you turn the volume up all the way to listen to?
The sound track from Les Mis
Something you keep in your car?
A bottle of water
Highlight of your day?
Being in for the day and getting into soft clothes.
Something you do everyday that you wish you didn’t have to do?
I don’t much do things I don’t want to do.
Do you mind if people just show up at your house unannounced?
I’d prefer some notice, but I could probably handle it.
What do you do when you disagree with someone?
If it can be a discussion of opinions, I’ll nicely argue my position. I don’t get into heated arguments when positions are written in stone.
Do you enjoy rain?
Yes
Who’s your favorite person in the whole world?
John, of course.

YYYAAAWWWNNN!!!

I haven’t done that much today, but I’m SOOOO sleepy.

Mostly what I’ve accomplished has been in the pampering department. We got haircuts this morning. The “cutter” I like best was there this morning, and she gave me a great short cut. After lunch I went for my mani/pedi. The foot massage is my favorite opart of the process. The nails look pretty good, though.

We went to dinner with Tina at Noodles & Pho - a great chicken meal. Then back to the house for some wine and conversation. We got into a lot of hilarity over “F” words being turned into “Ph” words. Phun, phood, phriends, etc. Great silliness!

I’m recording a PBS performance of Porgy and Bess to watch later.

YYYAAAWWWNNN!!!    Good night.

Four for Thursday

I had my second PT session this morning, and I was really tired afterwards. I guess it's because I was standing or walking or getting up and down from a sitting position (without using my hands) the whole time. I was usually lying or sitting when my shoulder was being worked on. Some of this stuff is simple, but really hard for me.


I had lunch with Vicki today. She's having a second hip replacement next month. I do miss seeing her.


The chamber music series at the museum started its new season evening. This is such a great setting and great music, and is becoming very popular. This evening’s performance was a sellout - and this is an event that has open seating, and is really very informal.


It's definitely cooler now. It was in the low 60s and was cloudy all day I will enjoy this weather when my body makes the transition to these temperatures.

Miscellany

Rain mostly over.

Coffee, bagles, fruit and friends

Make a good morning.

---------------------------------------------------

Have you noticed the Viagra commercial that has only a sexy blonde in a slinky sundress, walking barefoot on a beach and beach resort-type area? No man at all in the commercial, and it doesn't mention the name of the drug until it shows up at the very end. Sheeeeshhh!!!

Follow-up

Most of the storm came through here overnight. We got 3.4" of rain, and I heard none of it. It was still rainy this morning, with a couple of really hard showers. I waited in my car at WalMart for it to slack up some before I ventured out of my car. It seems to be lightening up some now, though. Last night’s rain plus this morning’s 0.5” gave us 4” from this system. This is added to the 1.5” we had gotten on Friday night. Should I be checking the specifications for an ark?

I went to my first PT session on balance training. I have the same gal who worked on me for my shoulder, so we're old friends. She had me do some interesting things and gave a couple of exercises to do at home. One of the movements did make me slightly dizzy, so something must be working. I'm set up for 5 more sessions, 2/week for 3 weeks. We shall see.....

In the piece they did about the meeting last night, the TV folks got all three of us in a long shot and I showed up in a brief close-up.  Ah, celebrity!

Weather; run-up to Election Day

We're supposed to get really bad weather tonight. There’s no rain or wind here yet, but flash flood warnings have already been posted (we're so hilly, that's always a problem). And the start of school has been postponed 2 hours in the morning. That's so that it will be daylight when the buses run.
--------------------------------------------------
This evening, we went to a forum put on by the Tennessee League of Women Voters to explain the four ballot issues to be voted on in November. They're proposed amendments to the Tennessee constitution. We were pretty sure we knew what we were going to do, but this just confirmed it. Afterwards, we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant for our usual yummy dinner. I brought half of mine home, so somebody will get a really good lunch tomorrow.

Soggy Sunday

Rain and thunder on and off all day today - even some periods of sunshine.  More like springtime.


John worked the Chattanooga Head Race yesterday.  That entailed his being on the river from daybreak until about 6 pm.  He was working the start line, as usual. It looked like it was going to be stormy, so they delayed the starting time, but it finally cleared off.  They had a few sprinkles, but it was mostly a clear day.


Today was a matter of fixing breakfast, reading the paper, watching CBS Sunday Morning, and doing the laundry.  At least until we ordered pizza.  Missy picked it up, and Tina came by, too.  So the day ended up with our favorites - friends, family, food, and laughter.

Sunday Stealing

From Survey's

[Random Questions]
Who were you with yesterday?
The usual suspects - John, Bob, the swimmers, plus bridge in the afternoon.
What woke you up this morning?
Knowing that I had to get up earlier than usual - even though the alarm was set.
Where are you?
At home, in my chair
Is tomorrow going to be a good day?
I hope so.
What’s on your mind RIGHT NOW?
Answering these questions
Do you listen to music every day?
I usually listen to music only when I’m driving, so it depends.
Are you a fast typer?
Very fast. I was a great secretary/transcriptionist when I was working.
Whats your favorite type of soda?
I’m not much of a soda drinker. If I have one, it’s likely to be something lemony and over ice (to both dilute it and lessen the carbonation)
Have you ever won an award?
I’ve been juried into art shows, but I don’t think I’ve ever won an award.
Are you listening to music right now?
No.
How long ’till your birthday?
About five months.
Do you use ebay to buy or sell?
No
Who makes you mad?
The idiots in Congress who are determined to shut the government down by refusing to compromise on any subject.
What do you do when you’re mad?
I rarely get mad, but I usually yell at myself. In my younger days, I had been known to throw thing.
Do certain songs make you cry?
Of course
Are you usually a happy person?
Yes
What makes you the happiest?
Being in a beautiful place, with my favorite people
Do you believe in yourself?
Of course.

Five for Friday

1. Swimming and coffee are always a good way to start the day.

2. John spent the morning at the Rowing Center, helping get ready for the Chattanooga Head Race.

3. We played duplicate this afternoon and came in next-to-last. We were not at our best.

4. It’s always good to find something in the freezer that can be fixed quickly for supper.

5. The knitting is finished completely on the sweater, and it’s drying from the blocking.

Good Thursday

Sleeping late is good.

Massage feels good all day long.

Finishing sweater.

Ears

This morning, I saw the ENT doc for the report on my tests. All the problems are "age related" He smiled and said "you won't want to hear this, but..." Anyhow, just a slight hearing loss in the upper registers - not enough to do anything about.

There are some age-related balance problems, though. They're setting me up with a few PT sessions for balance training and he suggests that I try to walk more. I know I should be doing that, but I really don't like doing it. Oh, well - guess I need to get off my you-know-what and do it.

Medical week

I've been running from one to another doctor's appointment. I saw the eye doctor yesterday morning. The glaucoma drops were causing extreme eye pain on the trip, so I called and got permission to stop them - on the condition that I see them first thing Monday. All is okay, snf he gave me a sample of another eye drop medication to try. He thinks it might be the preservatives in the medication that is irritation my eye. I hope this one works.

Then I went for a 2-hour (!!!) appointment at the ENT office for audiology and ear-balance testing. It was an interesting set of tests - none painful. I'll be interesting in hearing the results when I see the doc for the evaluation tomorrow.

This morning, I saw my orthopedist for shoulder followup. He says the surgery I had is pretty much considered a "salvage" operation - when all else has failed. But that people seem happy with the results. And I am happy with the results, too. I asked him about the knee pain I've been having, and he is going to check that when I see him again in January. I would hope he could help that, at least temporarily, with cortisone injections rather than talk about more surgery.

Our weather is still cool and rainy, but supposed to be back up into the 80s by the end of the week.

The Queen of the Mississippi

A few words about the boat, etc.

The Queen of the Mississippi is only two years old, so she is still pretty new and shiny. There is capacity for 150 passengers and 50 crew members. There are passenger cabins on four decks, with the crew housing below. The fifth deck is partially covered, but open, and there are outdoor rocking chairs and/or lounges on each deck. The main meeting/socializing lounge was on Deck 2, and the dining room on Deck 1. Our original cabin was #322, before we were upgraded to #302, the starboard bow suite.

Our cabin was very nice. We had windows overlooking the bow and sliding glass doors to a private balcony on the side. There were two rocking chairs and a small table there. We had a king-sized bed, two upholstered chairs, two chests, a desk and chair, and a full bathroom. Quite luxurious.

There was open seating at meals, so we got to sit with and meet different passengers. They were from London and Sydney and all points in between. Nice folks! The food was excellent. Breakfast was light buffet or menu-ordered hot breakfast. Lunch and dinner each offered choices of two appetizers, two entrees, dessert, plus complimentary wine and beer.

Things pretty much worked and when they didn’t (the elevator was out of service one day), they were fixed quickly. The crew were all young, pleasant, and helpful.

That’s enough about the boat. I’ll talk about the trip and excursions later.

Sunday stealing

　
From Survey's
Random 20

1. Have you had an argument with anyone recently? If so, do you still have issues with that person?
Nope - I try not to argue. You’re usually not going to change someone’s opinion.
2. Are you talking to anyone while filling this in? How about texting/chatting on Facebook?
None of the above
3. Have you done something recently that helped someone else, in any way?
I think we encouraged someone to think outside the box.
4. Who was the last person to pay you a compliment?
John
5. Is there anything that’s happened in the past month, that you wish you could go back in time and change?
Probably, but that’s mostly a waste of time - unless it keeps you from making the same mistake again.
6. What colour is your purse/wallet?
Black
7. What’s the closest item to you that’s black?
The cover to my iPad is zebra-striped black and white.
8. Think about what you looked like 5 years ago. How did you look different, compared to the way you look now?
Probably not much, but that was several surgeries ago.
9. Before Facebook became popular, did you use any other social networking site, like Bebo or Myspace?
No.
10. Has someone of the opposite sex ever sung to you? If so, how did you respond to it?
Not that I remember.
11. When did you last hug someone of the opposite sex?
Yesterday
12. Have you ever seen the film “Casablanca”? Did you like it?
I don’t think I’ve ever seen the whole movie - just the famous clips.
13. Do you have a relative whose name begins with ‘L’? Tell me about him/her.
Lydia was my wonderful mother.
14. Are you a secretive person?
I’m not a blabber, and I can keep a secret. But I don’t think I’m secretive.
15. When did you last eat?
Supper, a couple of hours ago.
16. If you were going to buy a present for a special person, what would you generally choose?
I’m not much of a present-buyer. We give money for most family gifts. The only time I buy things is if I happen on just the right thing for someone.
17. If I’m going to buy you a box of chocolates, which kind should I definitely NOT get?
Something with coconut or peanut butter.
18. Is there something you generally always ask for help with?
Something that requires physical strength.
19. If you had to give up your phone or your computer, which would it be?
My phone
20. Has anyone called you gorgeous/beautiful today?
Nope

Off the Mississippi

Our trip on the Queen of the Mississippi from St. Louis to St. Paul was really good. I wasn’t able to get a consistent wifi signal, so didn’t try to post during the trip. We flew to St. Louis on departure day, and flew out of St. Paul on ending day, so we didn’t see anything of either city. We’ve spent time in St. Louis before, done the Arch, etc., so that was okay. We’ll just have to save Minneapolis/St. Paul for another trip.

In between, we stopped at Hannibal, MO (Mark Twain, of course), Davenport and Dubuque, IA, LaCrosse, WI, and Red Wing, MN. I guess our favorite stop was Dubuque. We met up with some internet friends for a couple of hours, and toured (with them) the great Mississippi River Museum in DBQ. The scenery along the river was lovely and fascinating. There wasn’t as much barge traffic as we’d expected, but we were told most of it would be grain coming south, and we were a little bit too early for that. We saw a little bit of color, but not as much as we’d hoped for. There were lots of bald eagles to watch for, and each one was exciting.

The lectures and entertainment on board were quite good, and the food was fabulous. Since we had been upgraded to a suite, our cabin was great - even though we didn’t spend a lot of time there. It was nice getting to meet the other passengers - from all over the country, Britain, and Australia. We ate dinner most evenings with two couples from Long Island and California.

We got home about 6:30. All the travel went on schedule, but we were cold the whole way home. It was chilly in St Paul when we left the boat. It was cold on the plane all the way to Atlanta, and then it was chilly and windy there. We sat in the cold wind for about 45 minutes waiting for the shuttle, and then huddled together all the way to Chattanooga. It surely felt good to get into the warm car that had green-housed in the sun. We stopped for burgers at 5 Guys on the way home. We got unpacked, and spent the rest of the evening in our chairs.

As always, it’s good to be home.

Another quiet day

Such a quiet day - getting ready to pack.

Wednesday Haiku

Swim, coffee, haircuts.

So much for morning. After

That, Noodles & Pho.

Misccellany

Click here to read a short list of books chosen by and with comments by Neil DeGrasse Tyson. I’m not much on book lists, but this one, with his comments, is interesting.
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I had my six-month dentist visit this morning. All looks good and, naturally, this makes me happy.
---------------------------------------------
More happiness this evening when we got a call from the cruise line about our upcoming trip on the Queen of the Mississippi. They were letting us know that they were upgrading our cabin to a bow suite. Well, now! I think we can certainly handle that.

Quiet

It was a quieter than expected Monday. The cleaning lady came, which is always a good thing.

The installer who was scheduled to install the new kitchen faucet called to say he had had car trouble and would be late. So I didn’t get to bridge this afternoon. John went and said he had had lousy cards. “J” came and got the faucet put in, taking him about half-an-hour. And it’s ever so much better than the old one. It takes such small things to make me happy.

I’d about decided dinner was happening “out” somehow or somewhere, but I wound up getting out the last of the split pea soup. No more of that until after Thanksgiving (and a ham).

There are lots of appointments to fill out the rest of the week.

Family, Friends, Food

Sunday is for family, friends, and food.  Not as big an event as we had at Margaret and Bobby's a couple of weeks ago, but still good stuff.


Tina's sister, Kendall, is in town for a few days.  We invited them over for lasagna tonight.  And, since it was lasagna, Margaret came over (she always plans on taking the leftovers home) to join John, Bob, and me.   Plus she brought green beans that she had picked and cooked this morning.  Yum!


The beans were delicious; this is a particularly good batch of lasagna.  I had gotten some salad greens and cut-up fruit yesterday, plus some tomatoes and small cucumbers at the farmers' market.  So we were good to go.


All in all, a very nice evening for John, Bob, Margaret, Tina, Kendall, and me.

Sunday Stealing

Alphabetty 2

A) What does the last text you sent say? And to whom?
“Hugs”, sent to Tina
B) What does the last text you received say? And from whom?
“xoxo”, from Tina
C) What time do you wake up most mornings?
With the alarm on M/W/F at 6 am; otherwise about 7:30 am
D) Are you afraid of walking alone at night?
Not afraid, but I don’t much walk anywhere.
E) What do you do to relax at the end of a stressful day?
Change into soft clothes, get into my recliner, look at the computer.
F) Where did your last kiss take place and with whom?
Kissed John good night yesterday
G) Do/did you get into trouble a lot at school?
No, I was one of the goody-two-shoes.
H) Do you enjoy your job? If unemployed, are you content being so?
I’m retired, and loving it. I enjoyed my last job up until the last year or so.
I) Do you often pick up on double entendres and innuendos?
Mostly yes. Sometimes I’m incredibly dense.
J) Have you ever been offered drugs but declined?
Not offered, but would definitely decline.
K) Have you ever met someone who has completely altered your way of thinking?
No, but someone might make me think more about something.
L) Have you ever been offered drugs and accepted?
See #J.
M) Tell us something weird that turns you on.
Come on - I’m 78 years old.
N) When did someone last admit romantic or sexual feelings for you? Was the feeling mutual?
John tells me he loves me every day, and yes, the feeling is mutual.
O) What is something you have given a lot of thought to lately?
The problems of some friends and family.
P) When did you last swallow your beliefs to avoid an argument or confrontation?
I don’t argue or confront about my beliefs, but I never swallow them.
Q) Do you usually initiate hugs?
I don’t know about “usually”, but I do sometimes and always reciprocate.
R) Are you a very affectionate person?
Yes
S) Can you roll your own cigarettes?
Why on earth would I want to do that?!?
T) What are you looking forward to?
Our upcoming trip on the Mississippi River.
U) Do you have any tattoos. Do you want any/more?
Only the two dots from my radiation treatment for breast cancer. And I definitely don’t want any more.
V) Are you mentally strong?
I think so.
W) Are you physically strong?
Not any more.
X) Do you think you’re a good person?
Yes.
Y) Name one thing you wish you could change about your life right now.
I would change my health/stamina/strength.
Z) What do you usually eat for breakfast?
Depends on the day of the week. M/W/F egg, toast, juice; T/T/S cold cereal; Sunday, breakfast meat, eggs, biscuits or toast, sometimes waffles.

Friends and Friday

We had a normal Friday, with just a massage to make the morning special.

I stopped on the way home and got some fresh rolls and some pulled pork BQ, slaw, and potato salad for dinner. Tina came over to help us eat it. Yum!

She finished up working on my laptop. It’s wonderful to have such a good friend to help with the computer stuff.

Thursday errands

This morning was an errand day. After John got home from rowing, we went back out to "do stuff". First to the bank to cash a check. Next to Lowe's: this is usually a quick trip because the folks there are so knowledgeable and helpful. They weren't really "on their game" today, though. Back and forth across the store, check-out twice, wait around for someone specific to help - but we eventually got several things, including a new kitchen faucet and arranged for somebody to install it.

Walgreen's was next to pick up the second part of my Rx for glaucoma drops and get our flu shots . That took the time to fill out some paperwork and wait for the couple ahead of us, but it's now done. John picked up an item at Batteries Plus, and we were headed for home. Then, of course, it was lunchtime, quickly followed by naptime.

A supper out of the freezer and pantry and we were ready for football.

Ten good things on Wednesday:

• Swim class is always good.
• Renna was feeling well enough to be back to the pool.
• Dick saw the doctor, and no surgery will be required for his eye/face injury.
• Workmen to fix the kitchen floor were here on time, completed the job in 1 ½ hours, and charged $150.00.
• Bob’s divorce was granted with no problems.
• Tina has resigned from the administration of Allan’s estate, and sales of items to settle the estate should start soon.
• The weather is turning to fall - highs around 80, lows around 60, low humidity.
• Nice naps were had by all.
• Rain/fog picture from Carol/Stephen from Oregon.
• Good dinner at Marco’s Pizza.

 

My exciting life!

Tuesday - groceries.

Not much else, as usual.

Chicken for supper.

Computers

The last few days have been all about computers.

John did an update on his desktop a couple of nights ago. When he tried to start it up the next morning, it wouldn’t come up. He worked and cussed and cussed and worked, did a system restore, etc., etc., etc. Nothing seemed to work. In the meantime, my laptop on the household wifi was working just fine.

Tina came over yesterday and worked on it for several hours, including running a Norton fix, and things seemed to work okay.

Then, this morning, his computer was gone again. Only this time, mine wouldn’t work either. Well, boogers!

After some fiddling around, including a Norton fix, my laptop came up (missing some stuff off my desktop, but at least working). John’s never did.

After bridge (mostly mediocre cards), Tina came over for dinner and more computer consulting. After much work, including conversations with “Larry” in India, the desktop is finally working. And John says it’s better than it’s been in a long time. My laptop is doing fine, but still missing the small taskbar that I’ve grown dependent upon. Tina’s still going to work on that.

All in all, it was a frustrating couple of days, and thanks to Tina for keeping us “hooked up”. We were at the point of talking about new computers - maybe even Macs. There will be more on this later, I’m sure.

No stealing

Celebrity Obsession
Celebrity: a famous person From Wednesday's Alice
01. First Celebrity Obsession or Crush
02. Favorite Celebrity Encounter
03. Most Cherished Celebrity Obsession

04. A celebrity you’d love to hang out with

05. A celebrity you’d love to sit down and have a conversation with

06. An artist you’d like to see live
07. A celebrity you respect purely for talent
08. A celebrity you feel you’d be good friends with
09. A celebrity you dislike that others seem to love
10. A celebrity you respect for what they’ve been through in life
11. A celebrity you share a birthday with
12. A celebrity you find annoying
13. Favorite under-20 celebrity
14. Favorite over-60 celebrity
15. The celebrity “fandom” that means most to you

This “Sunday Stealing” meme is about celebrities, and I’ve opted not to do this one. I think there’s generally a huge difference between “talent” and “celebrity”. As much as I respect talent (whether it’s something I like or not), I’ve never had much use for celebrity alone.
-------------------------------------------
We played duplicate Friday afternoon and came in first. Wow! Most of our top boards were on defense, and we loved that. We played again tonight with a small non-sanctioned group. We had a few good cards, but each of us did some really dumb plays. Guess that’s the nature of the game … any game, for that matter! We’ve played three times this week - and that’s enough - maybe even too much. Only playing once next week.

Me??

I got an interesting phone call at home this morning. It was from ….. ME!! At my very own home phone number. I grabbed the phone, anxious to hear what I had to say. Imagine my disappointment when it was only Rachel from CardServices, calling about the same old stuff.
I wonder how she got my number????

Thursday Thirteen

1. Grocery shopping is such fun.
2. Walmart and Aldi are my friends.
3. We need a little red wagon to tote groceries to the door.
4. Little black ants have returned to the kitchen.
5. Fruit gets eaten best around here when it’s cut up (thanks, Sue)
6. I’m off anything FB until 1 pm tomorrow. I had to re-do my sign-in. The penalty is having to wait 24 hours to use the new sign-in and password.
7. This means no “Words With Friends”.
8. Great Courses on Biological Anthropology recorded in 2002 already has some out-of-date stuff on it. Love those new discoveries.
9. Birthdays - Jesse on the 10^th, Matt on the 12^th.
10. Duplicate bridge tomorrow and Saturday
11. Cooler temperatures forecast for the next few days.
12. This ISIS (or whatever) is a terrorist organization, doing horrible things. As awful as it is/was, I don’t think the beheading of two US citizens is reason for going to all-out war. And I’m afraid that’s where we’re headed. Let’s go after the people/nations who are financing these terrorists. And, for heaven’s sake, keep Dick Cheney away from any decision-making.
13. Because today is 9/11, I am reminded of what a wise person once said: Wounds heal with time, but the scar remains forever.

Roaches and pissants

I’ve been having some minor episodes of vertigo again, mostly when I first put my head down on the pillow at night. When I had a short episode while we were playing bridge Monday, I called the ENT doctor to get it checked out.

I went in this morning, after swimming. Of course, as might be expected, the symptoms wouldn’t reproduce, so the techs and doc couldn’t do anything about it. The doc did clean the wax out of my ears.

He wants me to take a balance test and an audiology test. These sound like good baseline tests to me, so they’ve been scheduled for right after our trip.

It’s always something (or as my family says "if it ain't roaches, it's pissants).

A nice day

We left about 9 this morning, heading to Jamestown, TN, to have lunch with Jean and her friend, Jamie. This is a little town, way away from everywhere, but it’s very scenic. Jamie’s house is in a horse-keeping enclave (although she doesn’t have a horse, yet). The house she builg is just lovely - small, with personal touches, nooks and crannies for her special things. The countertops are of unusual patterned stones, picked and polished individually. Just lovely - good job, Jamie!

We had a nice drive, a good visit, and a good lunch - getting home about 5:30. All in all, a lovely day.

Family and travel

John’s cousin Bob has been staying with us for the last week. He’s having some personal problems, and it worked out best for him to stay here. He’ll be here another week, we think.

Bob’s about 10 years younger than John, and we’ve not know him very well, due to age and distance. He’s recently moved to this area, so we’ve seen more of him. He’s a nice guy, and it’s been fun getting to know him.

He’s taking a road trip the rest of this week, going into Alabama, and then to Memphis (Graceland, BBQ, and blues). He’ll come back through Nashville to look around there for a day, before heading back here.

Jean’s visiting her friend Jamie this week, and we’re going to drive to that area to meet them for lunch tomorrow.

Family and travel - good things.

Another week

Usual Sunday stuff around here- big breakfast, CBS Sunday Morning, laundry.

We went to 5 Guys & Fries for supper tonight (getting our saturated fats and sodium quota for the week). It poured down rain (about ¾”) while we were eating, but it had mostly stopped by the time we left.

And so another week begins.

Sunday Stealing

From FYeahSurveys

Alphabetty

A. What are your favorite smells?
I’m not much for smells, but I do like the smell of bread baking, newly cut grass.
B. Can you go a whole day without caffeine?
Not without horrendous headaches.
C. Who knows more about you than anyone else?
John
D. What song did you last listen to?
Rocky Top (the Tennessee football game broadcast)
E. Do you have a crush on anybody?
I’m much too old to have crushes.
F. Do you like The Beatles?
I like a lot of their music, but I was past the time of “fandom” when they came on the scene.
G. If you could choose one color to wear for a whole year, what color would you choose?
Although I wouldn’t say it was my favorite color, I’d probably choose blue.
H. Do you cook often?
At least one meal nearly every day, usually two.
I. What was the last film you watched? Did you like it?
I don’t watch many movies, and I wouldn’t finish one I didn’t like. The last ones I remember seeing in the theater were The Help and The King’s Speech. Loved them.
J. Can you sew?
Oh, my, yes! But not for a long time. I made almost everything we wore - all the girls’ clothes, all mine, all John’s sports shirts, etc. I don’t even mend much anymore.
K. What is your favorite fruit?
Whatever is fresh and in season - blueberries, strawberries, cantaloupes, watermelon, peaches. Yum!
L. Are you health conscious?
Reasonably so - I’m not obsessive. And I don’t get nearly enough exercise.
M. What is your middle initial?
I don’t have a given middle name, so my middle initial is W, the first letter of my maiden name.
N. Do you curse a lot?
Probably more than I should.
O. When was the last time you had a beer?
It’s been years since I had any alcoholic beverage.
P. Are you pro sports fan?
Not really. I do know something about the WNBA.
Q. Is there a certain food you often crave for no reason?
No, but I was really hungry for some fried catfish recently. Bobby fried some last weekend, and it was fabulous!
R. What was the last book you purchased?
One Summer: America, 1927 - on Kindle.
S. Where was your last vacation?
We went to Gulf Shores in June/July.
T. Do you share your fries?
Sure, especially at 5 Guys and Fries.
U. Did you ever play seven minutes in heaven?
I don’t know what that is.
V. Girls, when was the last time you went out without a bra? Guys, when was the last time you went shirtless in public?
I don’t wear a bra when I head out to the Y in the mornings. I’m going to be putting on my swimsuit as soon as I get there.
W. What's the longest you've gone "unplugged"?
It was a couple of years ago on a Mediterranean cruise - for two weeks.
X. Have you ever broken a bone? If so, how did it happen?
Broken ankle and broken arm/shoulder, both in falls, both bad, and both requiring surgery.
Y. How do you like your eggs?
Almost any way they’re cooked - over medium, poached, omelets, hard-boiled, soft-boiled, scrambled, frittata - I’m not too particular.
Z. What was your last argument about and who with?
I don’t argue much - it’s not worth the effort. I’m usually not going to change the other person’s mind, and he/she’s not going to change his/her mind. And, of course, I know when I’m right. LOL

Friday haiku

I’ve said it once, and

I’ll say it again. Massage

Is wonderful. Yes!

Thursday Friends and Food

I didn’t write anything yesterday - just one of those days. The night before, I got only about 2 hours sleep. So I wasn’t worth much during the day. I went to bed about 9:30, and with some pharmaceutical help as insurance, I slept for almost 8 hours without even a potty break. And then another couple of hours after that.

I have no idea what causes those nights - there doesn’t seem to be any cause-and-effect that I can come up with. At least it doesn’t happen often, so I don’t obsess about it.

This was a quiet Thursday in any event. We got our much-needed haircuts, and John ran some errands with Bob.

The fun happened tonight with pizza night. Tina, Missy and her husband John, and Bob joined us for delivered pizza from Marco’s. Tina brought a strawberry cake from Whole Foods, and we pigged out. As usual, a fun time with good friends and good food.

Regular Tuesday

I went to the optometrist and the groceries this morning. The doc had put me on drops for the early stage glaucoma, and this was a recheck. All looks okay, so he's calling me in a prescription. Sighhhh something new to add to the regimen.

It looks like we're going to be playing bridge twice a week on a pretty regular basis. We went to the Bridge Center last night (our regular game at the Civic Center was off because of the holiday). The results were posted late today, and we came in last. Oh, well…

Labor Day

We've had a quiet holiday weekend - after our wonderful dinner at Margaret and Bobby's on Saturday. John went out to row early this morning.


We went to play duplicate this evening.  We haven't been to the Bridge Center on Monday nights, since we usually play on Monday afternoon.  Obviously today, the Civic Center was closed, so no afternoon games.  We thought we'd try another day.  I think we'll probably wind up somewhere in the middle of the pack for today's games.


It's back to a more normal schedule tomorrow.  At least after I have an early follow-up appointment with the optometrist.  It's a check to see how I tolerated the eye drops he prescribed for my early glaucoma.  From there, I'll head on to the exciting grocery store trips.

Sleepy Sunday

Pop-up showers. Did

Sunday laundry. Nothing else.

Dinner, left-overs.

A great day!

We had a great day. We took John's cousin Bob and Tina from here, and drove the scenic route over the back roads to Margaret's. Everybody got there uneventfully. The food, of course, was fabulous. Bobby fried fish - the best ever. Margaret got the rest done, homegrown tomatoes, vinegar slaw, cornbread, green beans, pinto beans, corn, pulled pork, the fried fish fillets, and banana pudding for dessert. We were all stuffed and so great to see everybody!

We came back on the interstate, with just a few sprinkles and no bad traffic. Those heading west had a hard time working their way through driving rain. It rained hard after we got home, with some wind gusts. Glad we're tucked in safe and sound. I'm sure that'll do us for the weekend.

Duplicate

We’ve now played duplicate several times, mostly sort of muddling along. We’ve played the most on Friday afternoons with the “99er” group - no one with more than 99 Master Points is allowed to play.

Last Friday, we felt we played poorly. The cards were bad, but mainly we just didn’t play well. And we came in next-to-last. Our goal for today was just to play better than we did last week.

At the end of the afternoon, we felt that we had bid and played our hands much more comfortably. When we got home (after having dinner with Tina) we checked the Bridge Club website to see how things went.

And we came in FIRST!!!!! Needless to say, we’re very pleased. Now we have something to live up to next week.

NNOOOOOO!!!

A&E has announced they are cancelling Longmire.   It does say in the article that the producers are shopping the series to other networks.  We can only hope.

A hard morning

I've "graduated" from my PT sessions. The therapists gave me a t-shirt and hugs, with the instructions for the home regimen for two months. I'm really amazed at what I'm able to do now. Definitely not 100%, maybe up to 75%, but ever so much better than before this last surgery. (I think I've said this before, but...)

The termite guy has come, and all is okay in that department. And the yard guy cut the grass. Nothing else was on our docket today, except for dinner with Tina and Missy.

Last night was a “not much sleep” night, so I’ll probably be in the bed early.

An unexciting Tuesday

I did my grocery run this morning, so that’s out of the way for another week. John seems to have fixed the sink problem, and we let it get good and dry before we put stuff back. And we will be putting in a new faucet.

There was nothing else on the docket for the rest of the day. Tina came by and stayed for dinner with us.

Monday, Monday

Mondays are really getting tough around here. Today was my next-to-last PT session. The therapist told me that I’ve nearly gotten to my maximum range of motion. After my final evaluation on Wednesday, she’s going to give me instructions for home exercises. She’s told me that if I do the exercises as instructed at home, I should reach my maximum recovery range in two months. So I’ll keep working, and we’ll see how it goes. At least I’m not hurting. So I’m considering the surgery and PT a success.

My cards were still pretty bad this afternoon. I had a few good hands, as did my partners, but nothing earthshaking.

Then, when I was stewing about what to fix for supper (turned out to be quesadillas), I noticed water on the rug in front of the sink. When I opened the cabinet, there was standing water under there. Well, @##$$%%%$##! After supper, John took everything out from under the sink. The whole flooring was wet, and obviously had been for a while. The only he could find was a small leak around the swivel part on the pull-out faucet. He tightened it, and we’re waiting to see if that works. And now, the stuff is still out from under the sink and we’ve got a fan blowing to help dry it out. Plus, I think I’ll buy a new faucet and we’ll get a plumber to install it. Sighhhhhhhh.

Sunday haiku

Sunday is laundry.

Sometimes also dinner with

Bob at Bonefish Grill.

Amazing times we live in

Click here to watch an amazing video tour of the International Space Station.  We've watched film and seen photos and even watched it track across the skies.  But this 25-minute tour is an incredible look into life on the ISS.  It's long, but take the time to watch it.  I can almost guarantee you'll pass it on.

A full day

It was a full day today. Most of the coffee folks weren't at swim class today, so we skipped that. But I had a massage in midmorning.

We went to duplicate this afternoon. This is the group with 99 or fewer master points. The cards were terrible - for everybody! However, I can't remember when John and I have played so poorly - we're better than we played today. I guess we'll find out tomorrow where we placed, but I won't be surprised if we were last (out of 7 tables). Oh, well... we persevere.

We were near Tina's where we play, so when we finished near dinnertime, we went by her place. After visiting for a bit, she took us to dinner at a nearby "Asian fusion" place. Really good food, and we brought some home for lunches. Now that was it for the night - to dream of better cards and better play.

Thursday Thirteen

1. Another day in the 90s.
2. But no thunderstorms - just humidity.
3. Mani/Pedi, with medium red.
4. Designs on the thumbnails.
5. John went to allergist.
6. Tina came over for support, advice, talking, and listening.
7. Very good pizza last night from Marco’s.
8. New chain in the area.
9. Leftover pizza for lunch - one of my favorites.
10. Kielbasa for supper.
11. Tina brought our dessert - strawberry cake.
12. We watched a WNBA game on TV.
13. Not much else on TV tonight.

Roaches or piss-ants?

There’s an old saying in my family, “If it ain’t roaches, it’s piss-ants”. I wonder which it is this time.

I had my semi-annual eye check this morning. Mostly things are good, but he wants to start treatment for early stage glaucoma. I'm to start with one drop once a day in each eye - planning to stop the glaucoma before it becomes serious. He gave me some a sample to try for a couple of weeks before he gives me a prescription. That leads me to believe it might be pretty expensive - I didn't ask at this point. But I'll give it a try. As we all do, I hate having my eyes dilated, and it seemed to take longer than usual for them to return to "normal".
---------------------------------------------
Has the weather gone even more nuts? Torrential rains and flash floods in Phoenix. Earthquakes in California. Rumbling volcanoes in Iceland.

Miscellany on Monday

We had lots of thunder and lightning this morning, so I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep. It was nice. I had a good PT session - only three left to go. I had a few good cards this afternoon, but most had 5-8 points. John was first last week. We went to dinner at our favorite Chinese place with a friend. The three of us got only two entrees, and still took enough home for her lunch tomorrow and our dinner again.
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The folks at PT loaned me a copy of Frozen. We'd not seen it before. It is lovely movie. We didn't like it as much as we liked Up and Despicable Me, but it was good.
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We're due to have high heat (mid 90s) and humidity for the rest of the week, with heat indexes (indices?) of over 100. Welcome to August in Chattanooga

Sunday Stealing

From "A Place Of My Own" by L'Empress

Would you ever cheat on someone if they cheated on you?
Nope. Retaliation doesn’t accomplish anything except making you look bad.
Would you ever consider becoming a teacher?
Not in the classroom. I can teach one-on-one, but not in a group.
Would you ever give a hitch-hiker a ride somewhere?
Possibly.
Would you ever try fasting for a whole week?
No. That can’t be healthy.
Would you ever try to quit one of your addictions?
Of course.
Would you ever dye your hair purple?
Yes. I probably wouldn’t even need much of an excuse.
Would you ever spend $100 for the best tasting hamburger in the world?
Definitely not. No hamburger is worth that much.
Would you rather chew gum off the ground or kill a squirrel?
Dumb choices. I’d probably shoot at a squirrel (and miss).
Would you rather play Monopoly or Operation?
I don’t know what “Operation” is. I was never much of a Monopoly player, but I’d have to choose that one.
Would you rather eat chocolate or fruity candies?
Chocolate
Would you rather listen to one CD forever or become deaf?
It depends on the CD. I’d take the CD, if I could choose it.
Would you rather be deaf or blind?
Deaf.
Would you rather text or talk on the phone?
Talk on the phone.
Would you rather spend a day with Lady Gaga or Miley Cyrus?
First choice would be neither, but I guess Lady Gaga.
Would you rather learn to play piano or guitar?
I’ve learned both, but definitely no talent. I’m better at playing a CD player.
Would you rather have a stomach-ache or headache?
How about neither. I’ll take a headache, though.
Would you rather be overly interesting or overly dull?
I guess that would depend on those around me. I’ll take interesting.
Would you rather be too loud or too quiet?
Too quiet. I hate “too loud”.

Robin Williams' films

We watched The Birdcage (1996), the remake of La Cage Aux Folles, with Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, and Gene Hackman. What a terrific, funny movie! We’ll be watching Good Morning, Vietnam, and Good Will Hunting in the next few days.

Summer lazies

Beautiful day, low

Humidity. I had a

Slug day. How lazy!

Learning about my home town

We went to a program at the Chattanooga History Center this evening. The director, Dr. Black, covered a huge range of material about our city, mainly covering the time from immediately after the Civil War to about the mid 1970s. These are 10 things I learned about Chattanooga tonight:

1. Chattanooga was pivotal during the Civil war because of its being a railroad hub.

2. Many Union officers stationed here during the war returned afterwards and became part of the growth and prosperity of the city.
3. During the last half of the 19^th Century, the black population ranged between 40-50% of the inhabitants of the city.

4. There was a vibrant black commercial presence in several areas of the city.

5. There were black policemen, black firemen, black aldermen, all in the years immediately following the end of the war.
6. Jim Crow laws started to be passed during that time, and by the earely 20^th Century, segregation was in full sway, and would remain so until the mid20^th Century. 

7. In 1950, Chattanooga was the 9^th most industrialized city in the US, with the 2^nd most diversified industries (second only to Brooklyn).

8. Adolph Ochs moved to Chattanooga and bought the struggling newspaper, the Chattanooga Times. He made it into on of the first papers in the country that printed news without a specific bias. (He later went on to buy another struggling newspaper - the New York Times).

9. A lot of Chattanooga’s 20^th Century prosperity began when George Thomas convinced Asa Candler (the inventor of Coca Cola in Atlanta) to give him the world-wide right to bottle Coke. He and his partner were able to develop the process by using the crimped metal bottle cap that is still being used today. The zillions of dollars made from this early investment went on to invest in a lot of new industry starting up in Chattanooga.

10. Another of the big entrepreneurs in early Chattanooga was Z. Patten, who made his fortune selling patent medicines (mainly a nostrum called “Wine of Cardui”). This company is now Chattem, which makes many of the OTC products we use today.

It’s a fascinating story. The newly expanded History Center will finally be open in Spring 2015. Come visit.

Robin Williams (1951-2014)

Robin Williams (1951-2014)

How sad. And what a loss for not just his family and friends, but for all of us.

Reference has been made to his depression and his substance abuse problems leading to his probale suicide. At the same time, they’re talking about his manic comedy turns. But I’ve not heard anybody put the two together as manic-depression or bipolar disorder.

My sister was diagnosed as manic-depressive about the time a name was put on this disorder. (She died nearly 20 years ago from other causes.) When I read about it, it was like they were writing about my sister - with the mood swings, the high highs and the corresponding lows. She attempted suicide at least once (that I know of). And this sounds so much like Robin Williams.

We can only rejoice in the wonderful gifts he gave us - Mrs. Doubtfire, Hook, and (my personal favorite) The Bird Cage, etc. And feel so sorry for the pain he was obviously enduring.

RIP

Sunday afternoon

Scattered showers. Met

Bob at Bonefish Grill. Tuna

Me, and mussels John.

Yum!

Sunday Stealing

From Pinterest

1. Outside my window…
Birds at the feeders, trees.
2. I am thankful…
That this third surgery has worked so well
3. In the kitchen…
is where I like for somebody else to be cooking
4. I am wearing…
soft clothes
5. I am creating…
a pair of socks, and stuff to go on the computer
6. I am going…
to dinner at Bonefish Grill Sunday night
7. I am reading…
Wanted: A Leopold Blake thriller
8. I am learning…
Exercises to strengthen the muscles in my shoulder
9. I am pondering…
Not much of anything right now
10. A favorite quote…
“If we weren’t all crazy, we would go insane”, Jimmy Buffett
11. One of my favorite things…
is being at the beach
12. A few plans for the rest of the week…
physical therapy, aquatic exercises, bridge, etc.
13. A peek into my day…
not very exciting

Rainy Friday

I saw the orthopod this morning. He says that I'm doing well, and to keep up with the exercises. He prescribed another three weeks of PT, so I'm good to go with that. I asked him about osteopenia/osteoporosis and some of the medications involved. I had called and gotten my numbers from the Dexa scan to show him. He said that he didn't think it was enough to warrant the medication at this point. He recommended that I try to start doing some weight-bearing exercises (you KNOW how I love that idea), and wait until after the next scan to make any decisions. That's pretty much what I expected him to say, and what I had been thinking, too. I go back to see him again in a couple of months.

We headed out to play duplicate this afternoon. We're pretty much decided we don't want to get so serious about this game that we get into using nothing but artificial bids, etc. So, for now anyway, I think we're going to stay with the less-advanced group on bi-monthly Friday afternoons. And this would be a wonderful idea, if only we could get the timing correct. Unfortunately, we thought 1:30, and it started at 1:00. So no bridge for us this afternoon. Better luck next time, I hope.

I don’t even want to discuss election results. I know we live in a red state, but this is ridiculous - even for here.

Complaint department

I had a massage, had the car washed (inside and out - not that it needed it, or anything), and went to the bank. We went to dinner at O'Charley's with Renna and Tina, but that was it for the day.

In the complaint department, we had terrible service at Panera's yesterday morning. Two of our group waited for several minutes to place their orders, with no one at the registers. One gal got hazelnut coffee and said it was full of grounds. I went back for seconds of dark roast. The urn was empty, and when I told the shift manager, he told me they didn't have any - there was no dark roast coffee in the building to make more. And when I got regular, it tasted like hazelnut, and had grounds in it.

John posted a complaint letter on the Panera web site and got back a quick e-mail apology from the head office. Their story was that the particular store is a franchise, but that they'd pass the complaint on. This morning, there was an apology letter from the local manager. It'll be interesting tomorrow to see if anything happens.

PT Forecast

I had my last scheduled PT session today. We talked about future sessions, and both agreed that, since I was showing improvement on each visit, it was worthwhile to have more sessions. She'll put that in her report to the doc, and I'll ask him to prescribe another month's worth of treatments. They've already scheduled me for twice a week for the rest of August. I've got almost a full range of passive motion, it's just a matter of strengthening the muscles so I can get more active range. So, it's more work - at therapy and at home.

Tuesday news

We got an upgrade to our cable system today.  The tech guy was here before his scheduled time (!), with the new box, hook-up, buttons pushed, new book, and instructions on how the recording feature works.  We tried it tonight, and will be checking it out tomorrow - just to see if we can actually work it.
We're not really going into the tech area kicking and screaming, but we're definitely not on the fast track.
-----------------------------------------------------------
I have my last scheduled PT session tomorrow, and the next doctor's followup appointment on Friday. I'm going to ask the therapist what my prognosis is; whether she thinks I can increase strength and range of motion on my own at home; or whether she thinks I could benefit from another series of sessions.  Then the doc and I will talk about it.

Tough Mondays

Mondays are tough.


The swimming class is always a good workout, and I am trying to push.  The next-to-last scheduled PT session was this morning.  The therapist stretched the shoulder a good bit, and worked me hard.  Several new exercises were added, too.


Bridge games this afternoon were mentally tough.  I had bad cards, but there was still a lot of defense involved.  It's fun, though, and we enjoy the challenges.


Having said all that, it makes for a long day.  And I'm ready for some pain meds and some good sleep.

Quiet weekend

It was a pretty quiet weekend.

The only thing on Saturday was a terrific thunderstorm with lots of thunder and lightning. It was relatively brief, although it dropped an inch of rain in our area.

More excitement today. Let’s see - first I did the laundry. That’s always a thrill a minute. But really, we had a short visit from Jesse and his lady friend. They’ve been at Margaret’s for the weekend, and brought us more tomatoes, okra, and squash. A special treat is some green tomatoes, so I can make some fried green tomatoes for me. We finished off the day with dinner at Sticky Fingers with John’s cousin, Bob.

And so, we start another week.

Welcome!

Welcome, August!
It would be lovely if you would be as even and cool as July was this summer.

Being competitive

Today wound up being pretty full - for not doing all that much.

A manicure and pedicure filled up most of the morning.

A pretty decent nap filled up the afternoon, with the chinks filled in with the newspaper and computer stuff.
We played duplicate tonight at the Bridge Center. We came in 9^th out of 12 couples, not great, but not too bad. There were some folks there with zillions of master points - this may not be our best venue for learning the methods. We do have one inherent problem with duplicate. Deep down inside, where it really counts, neither one of us is strongly competitive. We like to play our best, we like to improve our game, and we like to win. But we just don’t have that killer competitive instinct. Oh, well, we’ll find happy medium somewhere along the way.

Wonderful Wednesday

Swimming and PT this morning. The therapist always tells me how good I’m doing. I know that’s part of the spiel, but I hope it’s true. Three more sessions before I see the doc again on 8 August.

We had Tina, Missy, Renna, and Bob over tonight to eat up all the veggies Margaret brought. Plus Tina brought BBQ ribs for the meat part of the dinner, Tina and Renna brought fruit for dessert, and Bob brought a bottle of wine. It made for some damn good eating. To say nothing of the great company.

Miscellany

This is the Thought for the Day from Wordsmith.

To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong, admit it;
Whenever you're right, shut up.
            -Ogden Nash, poet (1902-1971)

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One of the blogs I follow is Messy Nessy Chic. She is a young woman living in Paris who finds an eclectic mixture of things to post.

Today, she posted a piece on the wonderful photographs of Native Americans by the great photographer, Edward Curtis. They are amazing, and well worth taking the time to look at. Click here.

Bridge and weather

We came in 2^nd last Friday at the Bridge Center. We played some very good defensive bridge - we set 10 of the 18 hands played. And we’re now the proud possessors of 1.02 master points. It just shows you can do some good when you have crappy cards. I had them (crappy cards) again today, but it wasn’t duplicate, so it was just a pain.

There was some terrible weather overnight. We just had some thunder, lightning, and 0.6” of rain about 2 a.m. as the front came through. But we going to have some lovely days coming up, with cool nights and low humidity. We’ll always take this in July.

Another one

Except for doing laundry, today was another do-nothing Sunday.  We enjoyed it thoroughly!

Good stuff!

Margaret brought a lot of good stuff yesterday.

There’s fresh corn, green beans (cut and strung), field peas (shelled), okra, yellow squash, last year’s tomato juice, and lots of incredibly wonderful tomatoes.

I’m probably going to make myself sick eating the tomatoes, but it’ll be worth it.

A busy week

After all my recent inactivity, this week turned crazy. Something was going on almost every day - not just the usual swimming/coffee/grocery store stuff.

PT was three days, we played bridge two days (once regular, once duplicate), company for dinner, haircuts, early voting, massage.

Margaret is here tonight (carry-out Chinese for supper). She and Tina are going to Atlanta to meet Sue and go to a glass show, and check out some of the antique shops. I hope they find some goodies - I know they’ll have a good time.

I know, if you’re working at a regular job, it doesn’t sound like much. But for us old retired folks, it’s a lot.

A late July Wednesday

The therapist told me that I’ve got a nearly normal range of motion now (passively at least). She says, starting Friday, I’ll be doing more to gain strength.

John’s Cousin Bob came to dinner tonight. He’s having some major changes in his life. We were glad to be able give him a sympathetic ear, some food and adult beverages, and some time out of his situation.

The incredible shrinking woman

I had a full morning - starting with a 6-month check with my primary care doc. I’m a few pounds lighter than I had feared, but also shorter. Having been 5’5 7 ½” for most of my life, I’m now down to 5’5”.

Then to Aldi, WalMart, and a vegetable stand (good tomatoes, no peaches worth buying). That did it for this hot, muggy day.

An early night

We had rain this morning, but just grey and muggy this afternoon.  With rising temperatures, we still have rain predicted for the next five days.  Welcome to July!

Monday is currently a long day for me.  I went to the regular swim class this morning and did pretty well - just a few moves I couldn't do.  The therapist has three new tortures to add to my repertoire, so I keep progressing. 

We had six tables again at bridge.  My cards were mixed - I'm sure I wound up somewhere in the middle again. 

So Monday is almost over, and we're on our way into another week.

James Garner (1928-2014)

One of my all-time favorites, And my favorites of his roles were

Bret Maverick (1957-1962)

Jim Rockford (1974-1980)

King Marchand (Victor Victoria - 1982)

A rainy Saturday

We set another record today, for the lowest high temperature on record. It was 78. We’ve had 2.5” of rain over the last couple of days. This is really unusual for July, but we’ll enjoy every minute of it. The heat will be coming back.

I actually paid attention to a newspaper ad today. We went to a local salvage store, looking for (and finding) an area rug to put on our carpet. We’re hoping to freshen up the aging wall-to-wall. It’s looking pretty good.

A nice Vietnamese dinner followed by ice cream on the porch with Tina finished the day nicely.

Allergies

John went to the allergist this morning. Including the stop at the drug store on the way home, he was there for 3 hours. He had a number of major reactions. The usual trees and grasses, cats and dogs, but also mold and the dreaded dust mites. (He got a good laugh when the tech asked him if he had a reaction when his wife vacuumed or dusted.) I’ve washed the bedding on our bed in hot water, and will do that on a weekly basis. Plus the cleaning lady is coming Monday, so I'll get her to clean in that bedroom (she doesn't usually do the bedrooms). He was changed to generic Allegra for his daily antihistamine and given another Rx for an inhaler. He's supposed to carry one of them with him, and use it more often.

I know this house has a mold problem. Sue, Jean, and Alison all have trouble when they're here. We might have to have the whole house treated, and I'm sure that would be a huge undertaking...one I don't even really want to think about. So we'll see how it goes.
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We set a record temperature today - the lowest high ever recorded on this date. The high today was 72!!!

Writing again

Sorry I’ve been bad about not writing.

I’ve been going to the pool, to coffee, and to physical therapy. The therapy has been great. The stretching-out is uncomfortable, but necessary (and I do take a pain pill before I go). They keep telling me how good my range of motion is - and I can tell that I can already do things I haven’t done since I fell nearly two years ago. I have eight more sessions currently scheduled, and can only hope I continue to improve.

We went to play duplicate at the Bridge Center again tonight. I’m sure we came in low this time. Mostly we had lousy cards, but there were a couple that we didn’t play too well. We’ll get better, I’m sure - and we’re planning to stay with it.

John goes for his initial visit to the allergist tomorrow. I hope they can help him with his respiratory/nasal/sinus/etc. problems.

Tough Monday

Tough day today - some workout in the pool, coffee, PT, and bridge. I'm shot, and the arm is sore. John "cooked" - picking up burgers at 5 Guys.

The PT went well, but she really stretched me out. We're all pleased with my progress. The actual measurements are much improved over the first treatment ( last Monday), and I can see that I have more range of motion than I've had since I fell almost two years ago.

I had some good cards at bridge today - some not-so-good ones, too, but it was still good to get back. We had a good crowd - six full tables.

We're in the path of the storm system by tonight or early tomorrow, then the much cooler weather.

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There was huge news from Chattanooga this morning. Volkswagen announced this morning that they will build their new SUV crossover at the Chattanooga plant. Wonderful news for our city and for the regional economy!

Sunday

Breakfast and laundry.

Not very exciting, but

Tomorrow busy.

Sunday Stealing, etc.

Click here for some great sculpture pictures.
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From: Cool Free Surveys

One Thing .....
that makes you smile:
I can’t come up with one thing. Family and friends are high on the list.
that makes you cry:
Just about anything - I’m a good cry-er.
that you love to do on the weekends:
I’m retired - not too much difference between weekends and weekdays.
that you do for only yourself:
Get a manicure and pedicure
that you have in your underwear drawer that's NOT underwear:
I think there is only underwear in that drawer.
that you do before going to sleep:
Write my blog.
that you do within the first 15 minutes after waking:
Bathroom, start the coffee, breakfast
that's in your purse:
Wallet
that you actually LIKE to clean:
Nothing
that you DETEST cleaning:
Everything
that other people would find odd about you:
That I enjoy time by myself.
that you would buy if I handed you a $100 bill:
Maybe some nice fancy yarn.
that you feel you HAVE to do before you die:
I’ve done so much - I don’t know what I’d put on this list.

Week #1

This has been an exceptionally busy week - at least for me at this time.

Full days and full evenings -  I guess it's a way of getting me back into a "real" life.  I did my second day back at the Y - just walking and moving my arm in the therapy pool.  Coffee, and then on to PT for the third session.

I've been saying that I thought I already had as much range of motion as I had had before this last surgery.  Today, the therapist had me doing something that I hadn't been able to do since the accident.  It was just a simple arm movement, but it seemed like a big step to me.  Now to continue to work on things at home.

Tina's friend Melyssa is here visiting, and we went out to dinner with them.  That made for a pleasant finish to the day.

Something different

Today was different.

I finally got back to see my massage therapist, and she was wonderful. I always feel so good afterwards.

We had no plans for the rest of the day. But then our bridge-playing friends, Rosemary and Darryl, called to ask us to go play duplicate with them at the Bridge Center this evening. Well, of course - that was easy. It was a longer evening than we had thought it would be, but it was a nice group of people, and we got a lot of hands played.

Duplicate is an interesting version of bridge. It takes some getting used to the mechanics, but we’re enjoying it. We’re not so competitive that we’ll be striving for master points and life master status. But I’m sure we’ll be going back.

Session #2

I went to the pool this morning, and it surely did feel good. I didn't go to the regular class, but it was good to see the gals. The second PT session wasn't quite as benign as the first, i.e., she DID hurt me this time. "Stretching out" sounds like it ought to feel good, but... Actually, it wasn't all that bad, and the therapists are very good at what they do. I took my pain pill beforehand, and so far I've not had any followup pain. We'll see how it goes when the meds wear off.

John has cleared me to drive , so I'll take myself to my regular massage appointment tomorrow, and then I have another PT session on Friday. Busy, busy.

Contagious?

Jean’s been having lots problems with allergies. The problem has been around since childhood, but has gotten so very much worse. Any kind of artificial scent does really bad things to her lungs and breathing.

Well, over the last few months, John has been developing more breathing problems. He’s seen our family doc and the office PA. He has a prescription inhaler, and is using an OTC nasal spray. But over the last few weeks, even at the beach, and since we’ve been home, his symptoms have been getting worse. This morning, he made an appointment to see an allergist (a week from Friday).

This morning, he took me for my mani/pedi. As soon as I got in the car when he picked he up, he went into a spasm of coughing and choking from the salon scents that was really scary. This didn’t happen the last time he picked me up from there. Fortunately, we’re not too far away, so I was able to get out of the car and away from him quickly. I got my clothes changed and hands well washed, and things calmed down.

‘Twill be interesting to see what happens at the allergist visit.

Baby Steps

The next step in the process of healing has started. I went to the first PT session this morning. The therapist (Corrie) said I had very good range of motion for just starting out. I feel like I have almost as much range of motion and pain as I had prior to this surgery, so anything I gain from here is new progress.

I dutifully took some pain medicine about an hour before the session - lots of advice on that subject, and I believed. Most of today was evaluation and passive movements by the therapist. Actively, I did some stick lifts and some table slides. If you’ve had PT for shoulder problems, you know what those are.

I still appreciated the big ice pack at the end of the session. The plan is for three sessions a week for three weeks, followed by two sessions a week for two weeks. We’ll see where I am after that.

Not too much discomfort this time. We’ll see what happens after later sessions.

Home

We're back home from our wonderful week at the beach.  What could be better than sun, sand, salt-water, shrimp, family and friends?  Only more of everything.  Unfortunately, we have to wait until next year, but the reservations are made.


Maybe I'll be able to get back into a routine in a day or two.  We'll see how I feel after physical therapy starts on Monday. 

From the beach

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

The measure of a country's greatness is its ability to retain compassion in times of crisis. -Thurgood Marshall, US Supreme Court Justice (1908-1993)