Dear Reader, I reorganized this blog. The latest postings are under "The Journey" tab. This is the archive!
The following sections are in "oldest - to - newest" order
2/5/2018. Only one more week left until I see the new Orthopedic Surgeon. Whew! It’s been a 4 week wait. Meanwhile I’m doing my best to keep off of the left leg. 👍 However in the last day I can feel that something’s happened to the rod because of increased pain😧. My dear friend from church & our dance club visits me every week & another friend visited today.
Since he is a physicist, I bored him with discussion of black holes, Einstein’s brilliance, & the recent proof that time/space warps occur, as detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO).
2/6/2018 Our friend came over & we powered through watering plants & laundry. 👍👍👍. The spouse had lunch with his friend who also popped in to visit. I love ❤️ company! Now back to studying about black holes & mysteries of the universe👍👍👍!
2/7/2018. My dear friend of many years visited & brought me a lovely card & a bouquet💐of flowers. This bouquet lasted almost 2 weeks! It was delightful to catch up with her.
2/9/2018. My other friend helped me with a lot of chores. She even refilled the pantry & the refrigerator from Trader Joes!
2/10/2018. The spouse's good friend is staying overnight & they are attending multiple book sales, eating out, & playing scrabble. The spouse is losing! The spouse found a new favorite sandwich at Armadillo Willy's & now they are off to Harry's Hofbrau 😋
2/11/2018. My wonderful friend from dance & church visited. I always delight in our conversations. She is a very wise & loving person. Later that day the sister arrived & right away started organizing the house! She got a lot done. Thank you special sister. She thinks I’m organizationally challenged🙄!
2/12/2018. My sister, the spouse 💑 & I saw THE expert Ortho Surgeon on Monday. It was during this visit that I discovered that my surgeon frequently sees patients with twisted rods 😲 . I wonder why they keep installing this type of rod❓❓ After our visit his internist came in & asked if Thursday was open for surgery. We waited 4 weeks for the appointment & we enthusiastically said YES, we’ll be there. So the next 2 days were a whirlwind of preparation. This time I was able to pack supplies for the hospital & for rehab. The day before the surgery my dear long term friend brought by flowers. This is a beautiful Phalaenopsis orchid (moth orchid).
My other friend (church & dancing) also visited.
2/15/2018. Surgery day. Scheduled for 12:15 occurred at 3:15 p.m. Dr says everything went well👍👍👍👍. Stanford is a great hospital. You can order from a menu & they have lots of vegan options, great food. On Saturday I had 2 blood transfusions. By Sunday, my blood #’s came up & they sent me over to rehab. I have lots of friends at rehabJ among the staff. They were happy to see me but not for this reason 😲
2/19/2018 Presidents’ Day. My long time friend visited as did my dear friend from dancing 💃 & church. I’m going to have to assign them fictitious names 😂
2/21/2018 Physical Therapy (PT) & Occupational Therapy did treatments both Monday & Tuesday. I wheeled into the bathroom under supervision!!! I’m quite tired but not in any unbearable pain & doing well!
2/22/2018. Happy one week anniversary of my surgery🎊🎉 My dancing 💃 & church friend visited yesterday & reminded me that at this point the last time around I was still in the hospital! From every perspective I’m doing very well. Happy day to all of you. I’m embracing the day😀.
Dear friends from square dancing Silver Sneakers 👟 visited today. They brought the most incredible homemade fudge 😋😋. Yes, I’m sharing it. My fabulous neighbor, friend, & walking partner also visited.
2/23/2018 My long time friend visited again yesterday. How heart warming it is to be gifted with these friends ❤️ The husband visits daily. Yesterday he brought me pepper jack cheese 🧀 slices & pecans 😋😋😋.
2/24/2018. The spousal unit 💑called at 9:45 am. I answered the phone with “what’s wrong?” I had scheduled a plumber to repair our kitchen faucet next week & the husband attempted the repair.
The faucet is now all apart but is marginally useable 😲. I sent the plumber an SOS!
2/24/2018. The food 🥘 is delicious 😋!
2/24/2018 My fabulous neighbor visited yesterday. As usual, we solved ALL the world’s 🌎 problems & certainly all the local ones. Now to get everyone else to adopt our suggestions.
Also visited by our lovely cousins. They cheered me on through my therapy session. The spousal unit came over & we had an awesomely great time.
2/25/2018 My dear friend visited & we fussed over Ollie, the Bichon Frise. He is a wonderful dog. Husband also visited with pecans 👍👍 .
2/25/2018 Therapy dogs: Riley (German Shepherd), Ollie (Bichon frise, related to Flynn, best in Show at Westminster 2018).
Here’s our handsome Booster.
Booster loves everyone & happily jumps into a warm lap. He is always near one of his humans. I was sleeping 💤 in a bedroom downstairs before surgery #2. When I left for surgery, the husband moved downstairs so Booster would have a sleeping companion. 😻💕.
This is Annie LuLu, our diva Maine Coone kitty 😻. She follows the husband everywhere. She used to follow me, but when I returned home from Surgery #1 she decided that she was afraid of the walker & ran away whenever I approached 😲😂.
Maddie captures everyone’s heart ❤️. She loves the husband, like all of us do!
So after all of that, everything is working AND we are able to monitor our electrical consumption / solar panel production.
Two lovely friends visited for a short time today💕.
I had in-home PT & took another lovely nap 💤🛏. The sister has been very sick for four days. She finally went to the Doctor today and he put her on antibiotics.
4/4/2018. Updated our First Friday web site.
My long time friend that I met when we worked together visited today. We had a fabulous lunch 😋 att Chef Chu's and spent several hours catching up with each other. Although we had not seen each other in almost a year, we took right up where we left off! (Thank you 🙏 to the husband for providing transportation service!) It was so lovely to see her. I was quite tired when I arrived home from too many hours of continuous sitting. I should have gotten up at last once an hour & walked around. I napped, then got up later to watch TV with the husband.
Watered plants, worked on books, and began the garage sorting.
Recording the journey ...
1/23/2018 what happened so far
6/4/2017 fell outside El Camino Hospital at 2:30 pm. Thankfully for me, it was the change of shift, and two nurses stopped to see if I needed help. I did, I could not get up. I was soon surrounded by a fireman, EMTs, and a Mountain View police officer. Taken by ambulance to El Camino Hospital, 1 block away. I had shattered my left femur 😰😰😰!
My Orthopedic Surgeon did a 5 hour surgery at 5:00 pm on 6/5/2017. He implanted a titanium rod that extended from my left hip to my knee. He told my family that I had lost a lot of blood! I was hospitalized for 8 days & received 3 blood transfusions due to problems with low blood counts.
My sister researched skilled nursing Facilities & we decided on the Terraces. This is a wonderful, brand new facility. I became friends with many of my kind, competent caregivers & with the physical therapy staff. I returned home on July 28 & was recuperating well 👍👌. In the meanwhile my brother in law & Pacific Access Elevator installed a beautiful cherry wood elevator. (First picture shows inside accordion gate closed).
I resumed driving (with Surgeon’s permission), ran errands, shopped, made my meals, well ... until ..
I’m undoubtedly heading back into surgery. To prepare, I’ve put myself on a pre-surgery regimen: no aspirin, no vitamin E. Meanwhile I’m trying to gain back at least 5 pounds because through this I’ve lost over 20 pounds.
I have fabulous friends and family that continue to visit, send cards, & emails.
1/15/2018. right after physical therapy I got out of my car at Trader Joe’s with excruciating pain in my hip. On January 18 my orthopedic surgeon👨🏻⚕️ discovered that the titanium rod implanted in my bone twisted. This is a hollow rod that runs from my knee to my hip. In 30 years of practice the orthopedic surgeon has seen this occur only one other time.
He is referring me to Stanford Orthopedics. My appointment is currently scheduled for 2/12/2018 & I’m on the wait list!
I can now put no weight on the left leg but can still get around some. The spousal unit has been on full time care duty for 7 months so we are getting some help from a lovely friend!
I’m undoubtedly heading back into surgery. To prepare, I’ve put myself on a pre-surgery regimen: no aspirin, no vitamin E. Meanwhile I’m trying to gain back at least 5 pounds because through this I’ve lost over 20 pounds.
I have fabulous friends and family that continue to visit, send cards, & emails.
My dear sister FaceTimes me every day. We are blessed.
2/5/2018. Only one more week left until I see the new Orthopedic Surgeon. Whew! It’s been a 4 week wait. Meanwhile I’m doing my best to keep off of the left leg. 👍 However in the last day I can feel that something’s happened to the rod because of increased pain😧. My dear friend from church & our dance club visits me every week & another friend visited today.
Since he is a physicist, I bored him with discussion of black holes, Einstein’s brilliance, & the recent proof that time/space warps occur, as detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO).
2/6/2018 Our friend came over & we powered through watering plants & laundry. 👍👍👍. The spouse had lunch with his friend who also popped in to visit. I love ❤️ company! Now back to studying about black holes & mysteries of the universe👍👍👍!
2/7/2018. My dear friend of many years visited & brought me a lovely card & a bouquet💐of flowers. This bouquet lasted almost 2 weeks! It was delightful to catch up with her.
2/9/2018. My other friend helped me with a lot of chores. She even refilled the pantry & the refrigerator from Trader Joes!
2/10/2018. The spouse's good friend is staying overnight & they are attending multiple book sales, eating out, & playing scrabble. The spouse is losing! The spouse found a new favorite sandwich at Armadillo Willy's & now they are off to Harry's Hofbrau 😋
2/11/2018. My wonderful friend from dance & church visited. I always delight in our conversations. She is a very wise & loving person. Later that day the sister arrived & right away started organizing the house! She got a lot done. Thank you special sister. She thinks I’m organizationally challenged🙄!
The wonderful husband brought me one dozen roses 🌹 for Valentine’s Day 💕! 
2/12/2018. My sister, the spouse 💑 & I saw THE expert Ortho Surgeon on Monday. It was during this visit that I discovered that my surgeon frequently sees patients with twisted rods 😲 . I wonder why they keep installing this type of rod❓❓ After our visit his internist came in & asked if Thursday was open for surgery. We waited 4 weeks for the appointment & we enthusiastically said YES, we’ll be there. So the next 2 days were a whirlwind of preparation. This time I was able to pack supplies for the hospital & for rehab. The day before the surgery my dear long term friend brought by flowers. This is a beautiful Phalaenopsis orchid (moth orchid).
2/15/2018. Surgery day. Scheduled for 12:15 occurred at 3:15 p.m. Dr says everything went well👍👍👍👍. Stanford is a great hospital. You can order from a menu & they have lots of vegan options, great food. On Saturday I had 2 blood transfusions. By Sunday, my blood #’s came up & they sent me over to rehab. I have lots of friends at rehabJ among the staff. They were happy to see me but not for this reason 😲
2/19/2018 Presidents’ Day. My long time friend visited as did my dear friend from dancing 💃 & church. I’m going to have to assign them fictitious names 😂
2/22/2018. Happy one week anniversary of my surgery🎊🎉 My dancing 💃 & church friend visited yesterday & reminded me that at this point the last time around I was still in the hospital! From every perspective I’m doing very well. Happy day to all of you. I’m embracing the day😀.
Dear friends from square dancing Silver Sneakers 👟 visited today. They brought the most incredible homemade fudge 😋😋. Yes, I’m sharing it. My fabulous neighbor, friend, & walking partner also visited.
2/23/2018 My long time friend visited again yesterday. How heart warming it is to be gifted with these friends ❤️ The husband visits daily. Yesterday he brought me pepper jack cheese 🧀 slices & pecans 😋😋😋.
2/24/2018. The spousal unit 💑called at 9:45 am. I answered the phone with “what’s wrong?” I had scheduled a plumber to repair our kitchen faucet next week & the husband attempted the repair.
The faucet is now all apart but is marginally useable 😲. I sent the plumber an SOS!
2/24/2018. The food 🥘 is delicious 😋!
Also visited by our lovely cousins. They cheered me on through my therapy session. The spousal unit came over & we had an awesomely great time.
2/25/2018 My dear friend visited & we fussed over Ollie, the Bichon Frise. He is a wonderful dog. Husband also visited with pecans 👍👍 .
2/25/2018 Therapy dogs: Riley (German Shepherd), Ollie (Bichon frise, related to Flynn, best in Show at Westminster 2018).
2/26/2018. Monday lived up to its reputation. The photovoltaic folks showed up unannounced throwing the spousal unit into a tizzy😯. Then he had an important errand to run at noon, mail a letter for me, & work with the plumber on the crippled kitchen faucet 🚰. He got through it 👌👍.
2/27/2018. My wonderful friend visited! I met her when I was a young software engineer. Through the years, we lost track of each other & then reconnected a few years ago. She used to hike with our group & we would walk arm in arm 💕 She brought me a delicious 😋 Angel Food cake. She is the one who introduced me to square dancing 💃.
The husband also visited. He is digging in his heels, refusing our family vacation to Hawaii 🌴🌺🐬🐳🐟🦈 next year. We will have the nephews & niece work with him👍.
My brother in law had his surgery & so far all looks well. Biopsy results will be available in a week! Lots of people were praying 🙏 for him. My dear cousin & her husband waited with my sister during his surgery & his son also waited with them.
2/28/2018. Had a shower 🚿 today. It felt lovely. The brother in law got to return home today. He is not in any pain. We will have biopsy results in a week, so still praying 🙏. Told my sister to threaten him as necessary if he does not follow the post surgery restrictions.
My special long time friend popped over for a quick visit. Then a lovely couple that I met at Silver Sneakers 👟 came by, with a beautiful basket of gifts 🎁. I had not seen them since May 2017 (before accident). The husband is very funny. He had a very serious medical problem & blogged about it. That is what inspired me to write this blog. He was also treated at Stanford so we compared notes 📝. What we both found hysterical is that your Doctor 👨🏻⚕️ is always surrounded by a team. The day after my surgery, I was visited by my Surgeon 👨🏻⚕️ & seven interns, students, etc. The wife is lovely, grows wonderful veggies 🍅 which she has shared with us at Silver Sneakers 👟. She also makes wands from lavender that she grows & that have a delightful fragrance.
My neighbor also visited. He also had a procedure on Monday. All is well👌👍. To top off a great day the husband visited with pepper jack cheese 🧀😋.
Presents 🎁 Basket of Cuties (mini oranges 🍊😋) & lavender sticks.
An angel & special magnet from the awesome cousin !
3/1/2018 Happy Two Week post surgery anniversary to me ❤️❤️ I’m doing quite well. The pain is manageable. I’m on Tylenol around the clock and then on oxycodone (opioid) once a day right before OT & PT.
3/2/2018. I want to mention the PT & OT staff here at the Terraces. They are just wonderful. Of course I complain about how hard they are pushing me, but each time I try to exceed whatever milestone I achieved in the previous session. Thus they smile at my complaining & we continue to move forward 👍. I’m now cleared to get in & out of bed without supervision, & I can wheel around upstairs to my heart’s content. I take 2 loops around daily. OT requires that I’m up in my wheelchair ♿️ at least 2 hours daily, in addition to PT & OT. There is no rest 😲.
Today my friend who is a Physics PhD visited. We discussed the latest news from the world of Physics, ie recent detection of the universes first stars. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/02/first-stars-universe-big-bang-edges-space-science/
It is so kind of him to visit so faithfully. I was surprised by a visit from a friend who now lives in an apartment here. She & I first met in Silver Sneakers 👟 class. She is over 90 years old & doing very well. She loves living here & promises to visit again.
My lovely friend from Church ⛪ & dancing 💃 also visited.
The spousal unit came by with lots of supplies that I requested. He is so wonderful in keeping the home operational, & it is daunting. Our cat Booster 🐈 needs to be fed every 15 minutes all morning long. He also requires a LOT of medication. This is Annie LuLu, our beautiful calico Maine Coon girl.
Booster loves everyone & happily jumps into a warm lap. He is always near one of his humans. I was sleeping 💤 in a bedroom downstairs before surgery #2. When I left for surgery, the husband moved downstairs so Booster would have a sleeping companion. 😻💕.
This is Annie LuLu, our diva Maine Coone kitty 😻. She follows the husband everywhere. She used to follow me, but when I returned home from Surgery #1 she decided that she was afraid of the walker & ran away whenever I approached 😲😂.
3/3/2018 My neighbor & dear friend visited yesterday, bearing gifts 🎁 of Sees candy 🍭.
We discussed & solved many difficult problems. The world 🌎 really needs to implement our excellent (in our opinions) solutions👍😅.
I also had PT with a new therapist. I walked with my walker for 325 feet. She said I’ve already exceeded most of my long term goals. This means they are going to evict me soon! While I want to go 🏡. I like it here a lot because of the great care, the delicious 😋 food 🥘, & the Therapy. Also, my husband has his hands full finishing his class @ Stanford & caring for Booster.
3/4/2018. Tomorrow is my 1st appointment with the Orthopedic Surgeon 👨🏻⚕️ since Surgery # 2. We are all hoping that he’ll allow me to put some weight on the leg. I’ve been hopping 🐇🐰 around on my walker since January 15th😲.
My lovely friend from church & square dancing 💃 visited me. She is so wise & smart. Our conversations feed my spirit. Lunch yesterday was one of my favorite dishes, eggplant 🍆😋.
3/5/2018. Today I see my Orthopedic Surgeon 👨🏻⚕️! My appointment is at 8 am, meaning I had to get up at 5:15 am 😲 for a transport @ 6 am. X-rays are taken before the Doctor’s exam.
The assistant told me that I would be seen by another Doctor today. She soon returned to say that my Doctor would be seeing me after all!
The Doctor came in with a broken nose🤭. I was so shocked 😳 I forgot to ask him what happened. He examined the X-rays & incision & declared that I was doing well. I now had permissionn to put 30 pounds of weight on the leg. More on that later.
I returned to the Terraces tired & hungry. One of the CNAs brought me coffee ☕️, yogurt, & hot oatmeal. I rested & ate lunch before therapy.
Now how does one judge what 30 pounds of weight is? Very simple, the therapist had me place my foot repeatedly on a scale until I could judge it by feel. She then worked with me getting in & out of the shower 🚿 again to prepare me for home. My long time friend popped by & accompanied me in therapy. Today I doubled yesterday’s distance. That slight weight bearing makes a huge difference!
Later, another dear friend visited with a beautiful blooming African Violet.
I was able to catch up on her family, & we also discussed family values.
3/6/2018. Physical & Occupational Therapy today. We received very good news about my Brother in law. The results from his biopsy following surgery were great news! My sister FaceTimes me every day 👍💕 .
3/7/2018 My good friend, work colleague, & hiking partner visited today. His lovely wife also came to see me. I was so excited that I talked nonstop during their visit 😊. I showed them pictures of my recent X-rays & of my great niece at her birthday 🎂 party. They caught me up on their children & grandchildren & brought me these lovely gifts 🎁.
In therapy today, we met a very friendly toy poodle 🐩. She licked all of our hands. The husband also visited & read one of his classmates stories.
3/8/2018. Happy 3 week anniversary of my surgery 👍. I’m doing quite well. I was up in the wheelchair ♿️ for over 7 hours. My therapist took me for a walk outside around our facility. It was a gorgeous day, & flowers 🌺🌸 are budding & blooming everywhere. We walked for .8 miles 🤗👍 .
My long time friend & her Yorkshire Terrier, Maddie, visited. Look at that adorable face 🐶. She weighs only 7 pounds.
Maddie captures everyone’s heart ❤️. She loves the husband, like all of us do!
My friend makes Swarovski jewelry 💎 & generously gives away all her creations!
She created a lovely St. Patrick’s 🍀Day necklace for me, made completely of Swarovski beads & pearls.
The husband & I also discussed some ideas regarding the neighbor’s requests.
3/9/2018. Had both OT & PT today. My wonderful neighbor & friend joined me for my OT treatment. It was a beautiful day, & we walked the grounds for a photo shoot of the grounds, pictures follow. During my PT treatment, we also walked the grounds. I would estimate that we wheeled 1.3 miles today.
Here are pictures of the grounds.
The husband also visited today with washed laundry👚👖. Booster is becoming more of a challenge to care for.
Later, my neighbor & his wife visited so she could help me plan a meeting. Besides being wonderful, she is a brilliant manager & strategist. She created a great plan👍👌.
The husband created a great pictorial agenda.
3/10/2018. Two friends from Silver Sneakers 👟 visited. One of them lives here in the residential apartments, is over 90 years old & looks wonderful. I had therapy scheduled so was unable to spend much time with them. The other friend also looks great. I haven’t seen her since May 2017, before my fall. She brought me a gift of lavender lotion.
I had OT & PT & walked twice completely around the complex, about 1.6 miles👍.
Had meeting with neighbors, unfortunately very negative.
3/11/2018. My spiritual mentor from church & square dancing 💃 visited. I really needed her help. Surprisingly enough we brainstormed things I could think of when reflecting on the horrible house next door. We also thought of what I could due to make the walnut tree even uglier!
No therapy today.
The husband & our wonderful neighbor & friend came over. I was still quite upset about the meeting & spent a lot of ime venting 😡. I received excellent advice: let that go & concentrate on my healing. 👍
I also want to mention that the sister FaceTimes me at least once a day. Whenever anyone is in my room, I have her say hello to them also 😀.
3/12/2018. Took care of some business items. Had PT & OT today. It’s raining 🌧 so we were unable to walk outside. The husband visited with the parts for our Kohler kitchen faucet. We inventoried everything & determined that a screw was still missing. The husband read a really wonderful story from one of his classmates. It left me longing to read more.
3/13/2018. Called Kohler & got the missing screw ordered. It will arrive in 10 days or so. My OT asked me to try therapy without pain pills. I did & no problem 👌👍. Now I’m on Tylenol only.
My friend & walking partner visited while I was in OT. She left me this gorgeous shamrock ☘️ 🍀 plant.
I had therapy scheduled so was unable to spend much time with her.
The husband came over to receive training on getting me in & out of the shower at home.
I will be going home on Monday March 19. My sister will visit to help me transition.
3/14/2018. The friend who gifted me the shamrock visited as did the wonderful neighbor visited. I told him I was getting over my angst. I had OT today & wrote down all the shower 🚿 entry & exit instructions & the instructions for navigating up & down curbs. At PT we had a lovely walk outside. It was raining 🌧 heavily In the am, but cleared up be a nice afternoon. This is my second day with only Tylenol.
3/16/2018. My long time friend visited and brought me my absolutely favorite treat! It is a Portuguese treat called Especie! The last time I was at the Terraces, she brought the to me while I was still unable to get out of bed. I had a little piece every morning and evening and they brought me great comfort!
3/17/2018. Happy St. Patrick's Day ☘️ ! I have OT therapy today. It was raining so we were unable to walk outside. He gave me the upper body exercises & then we reviewed all the other exercises I've received from PT & OT!
3/18/2018. The wonderful neighbor visited again & we never run out of things to say to each other.
I also had both OT & PT. I talked both of the therapists into taking me for a long walk outside. It was a gorgeous day of clouds & sun 🌤️! So I walked 1.6 miles today!
Later, the husband came over & we packed 📦 up half the room. We will leave the rest for tomorrow. I also talk to the spouse of one of my neighbor at the Terraces who has written 14 books 📕! She provided me with lots of information on the publishing process. The spouse is in the process of writing a book.
3/19/2018. I'm going home today & I'm excited about it. I didn't really sleep well last night. One of the staff members & friends helped me to shower 🚿 early in the morning. Then I did my exercises & wheeled around to say goodbye and thank you to everyone. After lunch, the husband picked me up. He drove me around our town because I had not been out of the Terraces since I arrived four weeks ago.
My friend from church & dancing stopped by to visit with her two friends. My sister arrived and my long time friend popped in for a brief visit. My sister fixed me a lovely meal. She is very concerned about my weight loss.
Our financial advisors sent us these great gifts and they arrived today: a Laughter book, an assortment of Burt's Bees products, and Get Well socks! They are a lovely welcome home present!
3/20/2018. Today I was tired. I was up for a while, then went back to bed. My sister fixed me a lovely breakfast 😋. It was great to eat oat bran again!
I chose Grace Community Home Health for my in-home PT. The nurse came to evaluate me today. Grace Community is wonderful.
The plumber came and repaired our kitchen faucet 🚰. After 6 weeks of having it broken it is awesome to have it working. Then I had a lovely nap. 😴 The spousal unit & sister also fixed me a lovely dinner.
3/21/2018. We had a quiet day today. The sister washed my sheets and made the bed. She also fixed me a delicious breakfast and dinner. For lunch, the husband brought be fabulous French Fries from Clark's Burgers. My round dance partner called & I enjoyed catching up with him. Thankfully, he found another round dancing partner. The soonest I will be able to return to dancing is February 2019!
3/22/2018. Happy fifth week anniversary of my surgery to me! I got a wonderful phone call this morning from a group of my high school friends! They had attended a memorial mass for one of our classmates.
I also received a visit from the fabulous in-home therapist that treated me last time. She helped me with some things. Unfortunately, I'm too high functioning and she will not be able to see me again! 😥 However, she loves figs & I will invite her over when the figs ripen this summer.
The sister shopped at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. She picked up delicious meals 😋 for all of us at Chef Chus!
A physical therapist also visited me and together we created a therapy plan.
3/23/2018. The sister & I finished up a few things today. She took me for a little walk and we visited the wonderful neighbor (female part of couple). Later the wonderful neighbor (male part of couple) stopped in for a nice visit. The sister shopped again at Whole Foods while I napped.
The Niece, Nephew-in-Law, Great Niece, Great Nephew, and Tazzie the dog visited. We put socks on him so he wouldn't scratch the floors. He was a very good dog 🐶❤️!
The sister served everyone a lovely dinner of baked chicken, baked potatoes, green salad, fruit salad, and ice cream. Me, the Great Niece, and the Great Nephew ate a whole can of Vanilla frosting for dessert 😋! The husband cleaned up the kitchen! Then the nephew-in-law appropriated my wheel chair 🙄and wheeled around the house with his son in his lap. He was soon joined by his daughter. They then went up the elevator causing Tazzie to bark loudly and this wild gang wheeled around upstairs. At this point, I told them, it was time to leave🤨!
3/24/2018 The sister left early this morning😪. I declared today to be a Rest & Relaxation day and that's exactly what I did. I did get up in the late afternoon, and the husband took me on a yard tour. Flowers & fruit trees are in bloom & the orange tree is heavy with delicious fruit.
3/25/2018. The Photovoltaic (PV) folks were here today to repair the panels & put up protective screens to keep critters out.
3/26/2018. The PV folks returned today. They installed the wiring for the PV monitoring system. They also discovered that the recently installed solar inverter shorted out so they are ordering a new one. Hopefully we will be operational in a few more weeks.
3/27/2018. I had PT today also. The therapist is excellent. We discovered that the wireless is down so I had to make my way up to the wireless box and reboot it. Everything is back up!
3/28/2018. My cousin and high school classmate drove 90 miles to visit me today. We spent some time in the garden while the cousin picked oranges. He remembers that my Dad, then in his 70's, dug the full grown tree out of his garden, loaded the tree with drainage material into his pickup, drove it 90 miles to our house, dug a six foot hole and planted the tree in our yard. That is the tree shown in the pictures above. The oranges 🍊 are the best.
All of us, including the husband, had a delicious, leisurely meal at Rick's Cafe downtown 😋. It was so wonderful to visit with them. This was my first outing in a very long time. After they left, I was quite tired & napped!
3/29/2018. Happy 6th week anniversary of my surgery to me. I had PT again today. I discovered that all the phones in the house were down. I called Comcast and they will be out tomorrow.
3/30/2018. 7:30 am Comcast arrives. They installed a new modem. However, only one of the two phone lines came back up. Moreover, the technician refused to touch anything, saying that it must be a house wiring problem. Now the new modem does not fit in the structured wiring cabinet and is hanging out. I spent a lot of time trying to locate a repair person. In this environment where are the trades are super busy, that is challenging.
The cleaning folks also came so everything is clean (at least for today!), The husband made me sauteed tofu, with spinach, and kidney and garbanzo beans. Very excellent. He then said that he was exhausted & tired, and needed some time with no disruptions.
3/31/2018. I worked on changing the settings for the new wireless modem & syncing it with all the devices in the house. Whew 😌! Apparently, I was very quiet as I was hard at work on this. The husband appears in early afternoon and asks what's wrong because it is so quiet in the house! He took me out for a drive and we ran a few errands. I had a nap and in the evening we made Pasta Primavera. It was good, but I forgot to add spices like the cousin taught me.
4/1/2018. Happy Easter! 🐰🐣🐥🌸🌷 Also Happy April Fools! 🃏 The husband & I are having a quiet day today. In celebration of Easter I had two of my sister's muffins 😋 slathered with butter and some delicious chocolate cake🍫!
The poppies look beautiful today!
4/2/2018. The PV folks came out early this morning, finished the installation of the monitoring system and corrected a few other problems. Now we can see our electrical consumption in real time! Yet another complicated toy!
I had a lovely afternoon nap!
Look at the wonderful, customized coffee mug ☕I received today from my awesome cousin 🤗. She made it! The note reads "Happy Birthday! Get Well! Just Because! :)"
4/3/2018. The low voltage wiring expert arrived early this morning from Paperstreet Electric. He indeed is an expert and very quickly lengthened the wires connected to the Comcast modem so it can sit on the outside shelf. Here's the long story of how I got into this situation 😬:
A week ago, when installing the new PV monitor, the PV folks plugged the new PV monitor into a phone 📞 outlet instead of into an internet outlet. This caused all the phone lines to go down! That led to the following sequence of events:
- I discover all phone lines are out and call Comcast
- Comcast replaces modem with new modem that does not fit in cabinet.
- Modem cannot be moved to shelf outside box because wires connected to it are too short 😧
- Phone lines still don't work 😟
- I experiment & discover that if PV monitor is unplugged, phones lines work 👍
- PV folks discover the reason (wrong outlet used) and correct the problem (yesterday)
- Low voltage wiring expert (today) extends several wires so new Comcast modem can set on outside shelf 😯.
So after all of that, everything is working AND we are able to monitor our electrical consumption / solar panel production.
Two lovely friends visited for a short time today💕.
I had in-home PT & took another lovely nap 💤🛏. The sister has been very sick for four days. She finally went to the Doctor today and he put her on antibiotics.
4/4/2018. Updated our First Friday web site.
My long time friend that I met when we worked together visited today. We had a fabulous lunch 😋 att Chef Chu's and spent several hours catching up with each other. Although we had not seen each other in almost a year, we took right up where we left off! (Thank you 🙏 to the husband for providing transportation service!) It was so lovely to see her. I was quite tired when I arrived home from too many hours of continuous sitting. I should have gotten up at last once an hour & walked around. I napped, then got up later to watch TV with the husband.
4/5/2018. Happy 7 week anniversary of my surgery to me! 🎉🎊 I was very tired from yesterday's excursion so I slept in today. Had in-home PT from my great therapist. My fabulous neighbor came for a visit and per usual we solved many world 🌎 problems (in our opinion)! Naturally I had to walk him through the sequence of events regarding the PV monitor, the replacement (not needed) of the Comcast box, the hiring of the low voltage wiring expert & associated costs!
4/6/2018. Today was a work day. I did two loads of laundry, watered all the orchids and upstairs plants, and made a huge dish of Pasta Primavera that we will be able to eat for a few days. This time it tasted quite nice. I also paid a few bills and got my request off to for my birth certificate. The county does not accept a personal check for payment, only a cashier's check and a few other "hard to get" money instruments 😲.
4/7/2018. The husband took special pictures of the neighbor's back yard and of course I shared them with those who need to know! I did another load of clothes and watered all my downstairs plants. I napped again. I think I'm getting a bit lazy 😀.
4/8/2018. Happy Birthday to me!🎉🎈🎂🎊🎁 ! I had a nice birthday today. My wonderful neighbor and his wife brought me a lovely bouquet of flowers & he visited with me.
For our outing, the husband had me drive along with him to Costco to get gas.
Then my long time friends came over also with a balloon & spent time visiting with the husband & I.
I napped, and read all the electronic birthday greetings and the cards. I treated myself to my sister's muffins for breakfast, slathered with butter, then chocolate cake 😋 for lunch, and some huckleberry candy for dessert after dinner. The niece sent me a video of my great niece and nephew singing 🎶🎼 happy birthday and a picture of Tazzy🐶❤️! Very fun.
I'm still admiring this gorgeous azalea the sister gave me many months ago.
4/9/2018. The bees were busy in the lavender today! We had a heat wave, it was 80° outside. The husband helped me to locate some items out in the back garage that I need.
4/10/2018. I had PT from my wonderful therapist! She said I'm now walking great. The husband and I did a door repair, but not to my satisfaction. I will have to address that at a later time. Had a lovely shower 🚿 & a nap too!
4/11/2018. I washed a load of clothes this morning & started sorting through my parent's things. Then my wonderful friend and hiking partner visited. He is a PhD in Physics from Stanford so I got to discuss astrophysics with him. Today's topic was "why is this galaxy missing dark matter? Black holes, dark energy, and dark matter are fascinating to me.
My friend also switched out his Comcast gear for one he bought himself. I will do that down the road too!
4/12/2018. Happy 8th week anniversary of my surgery to me🎉🎊. I did more sorting of my parent's things. There is more to do. I also had my last day of in-home PT 😥 because I'm too advanced! However, on my last day, the wonderful nurse accompanied my for a stroll around the garden. The ground is pretty uneven back there, so after watching me navigate that & take pictures, she was 100% convinced that I will be fine!
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| Crabapple blossoms |
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| Philadelphus Mock Orange: wonderful fragrance |
Also called the county where I requested my birth certificate. They received my requested & have processed it. Had a nice nap today💤🛌🏿 .
4/13/2018. My birth certificate arrived, so I can now prove who I am. Our cleaners also cleaned so our house will be clean for at least a day. I completed sorting of boxes from my parent's home for the shredding event tomorrow. Several of the boxes belonged to one of my uncle's who was in partnership with my Dad on one ranch. He meticulously kept track of everything: monthly summary, yearly summary, assets, spending, etc, etc. This was decades before the days of Excel & Quicken so many entries were entered by hand. Later entries were typed! OMG! 😲😲
The husband set up the garage so I can go through all the remaining boxes.
Today is Friday the 13th, and Art Bell died. He was a famous radio broadcaster of all things strange (UFO's, crop circles, conspiracy theories, etc. 👽👽).
4/14/2018. I was very tired today so I spent most of the day resting. Did some laundry, and catching up with finances. Watched the new HBO series on Elvis Presley, co-produced by his ex-wife Priscilla Presley. Elvis was so talented. How sad that he became addicted to prescription drugs.
4/15/2018. My lovely friend from square dancing & church visited. Due to vacation & a hurt back, I had not seen her in a month. So great to catch up. Got ready to see the Orthopedic Surgeon at Stanford tomorrow. I'm so looking forward to that!
4/16/2018. The husband drove me to Stanford Orthopedic for my visit with the surgeon. My appointment was at 10:45 am and we were on our way home by 11:00 am! The surgeon cleared me for full weight bearing on my left leg!👏👌 After trying it some today, I realized it is going to take some getting used to. I've been on "no weight or only 30 pounds weight" on the leg since January 15th! The surgeon says everything looks as expected, ie, the hardware he installed is in it's proper place 👍👍👍. I watered my plants. My long time friend came by, and we had a very pleasant visit. We caught up on our lives and she is picking me up next week for lunch at Chef Chus 😋😋😋😋.
I ordered take out for the husband & myself from Chef Chu's via Door Dash 🏃! It worked out perfectly & was delicious as always 😋😋😋.
4/17/2018. Happy Tax Day! We had a bit of a flurry around that today, but it all got resolved.
The three black acacia trees on the next door neighbor's property are almost down! Yah! They are such an awful tree that drop HUGE amounts of litter, and have shallow roots that wander everywhere.
This is a beautiful time of year. Look at the flowers in our garden, mostly from flowering fruit trees 🍏🍎🍒. I love how the apple blossoms change color from pink buds to white with tinges of pink flowers.
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| Apple blossoms |
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| Apple blossoms |
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| Apple Blossoms |
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| Pear blossoms |
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| Apple Blossoms |
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| Apple blossoms |
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| Rose Bud |
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| Philadelphus Mock Orange |
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Bird of paradise
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| Passion flower: first of the season |
4/18/2018. Assembled the package to send to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get a temporary disable placard. This required 6 different pieces of documentation since my driver's license expired on my birthday!
Other accomplishments were: washed clothes, had a lovely walk with the husband, and helped the husband with a bill.
I wheeled out to the garden to get more pictures. Everything is in bloom now.
Other accomplishments were: washed clothes, had a lovely walk with the husband, and helped the husband with a bill.
I wheeled out to the garden to get more pictures. Everything is in bloom now.
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| Cherry Blossoms & cherries (birds will enjoy them) |
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| Cherry Blossoms |
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| Blackberry vine flower |
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| Philadelphus Mock Orange (with caterpiller) |
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| Apple Blossoms |
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| Apple blossoms |
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| Pear blossoms |
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| Apple Blossoms |
4/19/2018. Happy 9th week anniversary of my surgery to me 🎉🎊👍👍. I'm doing well physically. For a few hours after I got up I felt sorry for myself 😢😢😢 . That is something I try to avoid because it is not helpful.
The husband took me for a lovely walk.
Then, we got notified by Comcast that there is a "leak" coming from our house. They said it could be some electric appliance in our house causing it. I'm hoping that it's not coming from the newly repaired solar system 😲. After temporarily losing our phone & internet service, I decided that a 7:30 am appointment was appropriate.
For the last few days I've been having trouble with my knee. Whenever I get up or sit down it hurts a bit. It does seem better today.
The husband took me for a lovely walk.
Then, we got notified by Comcast that there is a "leak" coming from our house. They said it could be some electric appliance in our house causing it. I'm hoping that it's not coming from the newly repaired solar system 😲. After temporarily losing our phone & internet service, I decided that a 7:30 am appointment was appropriate.
For the last few days I've been having trouble with my knee. Whenever I get up or sit down it hurts a bit. It does seem better today.
4/20/2018. The Comcast folks arrived at 8:00 am. They announced that our house was leaking. Then they got into my structured panel and announced the cable adapter that we've had installed for 11 years was not Comcast compliant. 😕😕😕. They would not replace it with a Comcast compliant one. Instead they installed a splitter, since we only have one TV in the house. They said if I got another TV, they would come out for free and replace my adapter with a Comcast compliant one. Comcast said that all my un-terminated cable connections were "leaking".
After I left, I discovered that this is because of the new gigabit + speeds and that I could simply have put cable terminators on all my outlets.
The husband took me to Safeway & the pantry/freezer is stocked with Rudi's Gluten free bread, salad dressing, and decaf coffee 👌👍. I talked him into buying TWO LARGE bags of Fritos: "My Bad". They were on sale! I have about six Fritos a day & he will eat both bags in a few days😲😲😲.
I worked on my books, and am almost caught up! There is one item that is still not correct and that I will finish tomorrow.
Also, in the evening, I felt very weary.
After I left, I discovered that this is because of the new gigabit + speeds and that I could simply have put cable terminators on all my outlets.
The husband took me to Safeway & the pantry/freezer is stocked with Rudi's Gluten free bread, salad dressing, and decaf coffee 👌👍. I talked him into buying TWO LARGE bags of Fritos: "My Bad". They were on sale! I have about six Fritos a day & he will eat both bags in a few days😲😲😲.
I worked on my books, and am almost caught up! There is one item that is still not correct and that I will finish tomorrow.
Also, in the evening, I felt very weary.
4/21/2018. Happy Sunny ☀😎 beautiful day to all of us! I solved the problem with my books and the husband and I worked on reconciling a statement. Our "behind" us neighbors came by to discuss tree trimming and our joint fence. We had a wonderful visit with them. My long time friends also came over at the same time, so I wasn't able to visit with them very much. I sent them home with some oranges from our garden 🍊🍊🍊.
The garden is just gorgeous, due to the husband's hard work & spring. All the visitors yesterday admired it,
In the evening I watched an old movie "La Bamba", about Ritchie Valens. He was very talented and died in a plane crash at age 17 😢.
I discussed the Comcast cable situation with my sister and she said "leave it alone". That is very difficult advice for us tinkerers to follow.
Again in the evening I felt very tired😫😫.
4/22/2018. Happy Sun-day & Sunny day☀😎 to all of us! My dear friend from church & Square Dancing visited. She is experiencing back problems. We went for a lovely walk, with her using a cane and me on a Rollator.
The garden is just gorgeous, due to the husband's hard work & spring. All the visitors yesterday admired it,
In the evening I watched an old movie "La Bamba", about Ritchie Valens. He was very talented and died in a plane crash at age 17 😢.
I discussed the Comcast cable situation with my sister and she said "leave it alone". That is very difficult advice for us tinkerers to follow.
Again in the evening I felt very tired😫😫.
4/22/2018. Happy Sun-day & Sunny day☀😎 to all of us! My dear friend from church & Square Dancing visited. She is experiencing back problems. We went for a lovely walk, with her using a cane and me on a Rollator.
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| Climbing rose from our garden |
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| Pineapple Guava blossoms. Fruit is delicious😋😋 |
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| Rose right after rain |
4/23/2018. Worked on reconciling books 💲💲all day today! I thought I'd completed all this in 2017, but forgot that nothing got done after the rod twisted in January.
Took a break to visit the garden and water briefly. Springtime in the garden is amazing.
Took a break to visit the garden and water briefly. Springtime in the garden is amazing.
4/24/2018. My long time friend picked me up for lunch at Chef Chu's 😋. We had such a lovely visit. Afterwards, rolled out to the back shed to turn on my sprinkler system. Some of the sprinkler system controller functions are no longer working 😟! I've selected a replacement.
4/25/2018. Today I was lazy: didn't do my at home PT exercises or much of anything else. However, I sorted boxes for 1/2 hour.
4/26/2018. Happy 10th week anniversary of my surgery to me 🎉🎊 ! Before I got started this morning, I talked to the sister about all my worries & things that need doing. She helped my sort out my priorities. That was all I needed to get started!
I rolled out to the back shed to see if replacing the battery would repair my sprinkler system controller. No go 😢. The husband & I talked to the landscaper next door about repairs they are going to do to our mailbox, fence, & yard all damaged by the construction next door. The landscaper is wonderful & some of the repairs are already completed.
The husband took me for a "roll" around the neighborhood. I occasionally walk around the house without my roller or a cane & I did all my PT at home-exercises today 🥇🥇🥇.
I sorted boxes. I'm digging through schoolwork from when I was in 2nd grade through high school. I found a few gems in there. I also updated the First Friday web site.
4/27/2018. Our wonderful housecleaners came, so the house looks good at the moment. I washed clothes & I did a little bit of garage sorting today.
4/28/2018. The husband & I had a date this evening: we went to Trader Joes. I helped him, although I'm not sure how much help I was. Now we are well stocked 😋🍌🍨🍍🥖!
4/29/2018. My wonderful friend from dancing & church visited. We had a lovely walk / roll around the neighborhood. We snapped a few roses from a nearby garden.
4/30/2018. I finally ordered the replacement Sprinkler System Controller.
I also managed to study for the DMV test and do all my PT exercises. I'm very reluctant to enter PT again because of what happened last time. The therapist twisted my leg and caused the titanium rod to break.
5/1/2018. Happy First Day of May!
5/2/2018. The husband and I shopped at Costco yesterday. It was great to get out.
5/3/2018. Happy 11th week anniversary of my surgery to me! The husband & I made an emergency trip to Joanns to get some very large sheets of plastic to protect our floors. We also picked up lunch / dinner at Chef Chu's. The new sprinkler controller that was supposed to arrive today has been delayed. 😧
Time to admire a rose from our garden. Many years ago, I rescued this bush from the neighbor's yard before she built her new house! It has been thriving here!
5/4/2018. Today was chore day. I sorted in the garage for only 1/2 hour. Also washed clothes and watered all my plants.
5/5/2018. The husband took me to have blood tests for my SMM. I've been feeling a bit woozy at night and wondered if this could be the problem. We also stopped by his condo to look at a problematic Ground Fault Interrupter (GFCI). We tried a few things then decided that we need to replace it. I'm now all caught up on the books 😃!
The sprinkler controller arrived so now I can install it 👍👍👍 It appears to be very simple & there is a great instructional video posted by the manufacturer. Does anyone remember how we used to live before the Interweb??????😲
5/6/2018. My girlfriend from church and dancing visited. We walked for 1.1 miles! This is one of the roses we admired on our walk today (posted above).
The husband and I walked down to our neighbor's who was having a pop-up garage sale. Unfortunately, no one else came. She gave us a nice lamp, some serving trays, and a lovely ceramic egg from Florence. They will be moving soon & we will miss them. I programmed the sprinkler controller. It is very easy to use. Unfortunately, the adapter plug is very heavy and keeps falling out of the outlet. I taped it with Gorilla tape, and that didn't hold for long.
5/7/2018. Errand day: lunch at "In and Out Burger" 😋, visited the vets to get some medication for Booster, dropped off used medications, and bought supplies for the GFCI repair at the condo. Although we would prefer to have an electrician do the repair, none are available. All of the trades are booked solid for months! The husband also helped me get the sprinkler controller plug to stay plugged into the outlet.
5/8/2018. Today I worked on some paperwork. The husband scanned in some forms for me.
5/9/2018. We did lots of errands today: purchased pet supplies, shopped for cards, and visited my hematologist. The hematologist assured me that everything is quite stable, excellent news👍. He is going to run more tests to double check on everything. He was surprised to learn that I had a 2nd surgery on my femur.
5/10/2018. Happy 21st Anniversary to us ... and Happy 12 week anniversary of my surgery! To celebrate we went shopping at Costco & found some real bargains 💰💰. Since they were such bargains, we bought two of everything! We also looked at our wedding albums & watched our wedding videos. Much has happened in these intervening years. Also studied for my DMV test.
5/11/2018. The cleaners came today 👍. As usual, everything looked nice for about 1 hour. I was tired and depressed. The home construction next door is concluding but the 50 foot wall 7 1/2 feet from our fence will remain there forever. I'm upset with myself for not going to the city during the review process to protest this building. My sister says I need to get over this and she is right. Fortunately, the neighbor & friend came over & gave me a spreadsheet to create. Work is good! I also fixed a computer problem I was having.
5/12/2018. Updated the First Friday web site.
5/13/2018. Happy Mother's Day! My friend from dancing & church came over & we had a lovely walk & roll (she walked, I rolled 😀 ). The husband & I also got Chef Chu's take out 😋😋😋. We overlooked the fact that it was Mother's Day; the place was packed!
5/14/2018. The husband & I went over to his condo and replaced the GFCI. It all worked perfectly. The hardest part of the job was getting the wires stuffed back into the wall so that the switch plate was properly aligned. It was a fun project. Then the husband took us over to In & Out Burger as a reward 😋. I love their fries!
5/15/2018. I can now pass all the DMV on-line tests. I was planning to do a drop-in tomorrow, but after reading the DMV YELP reviews, I decided against it. There are 4-8 hour waits standing in line outside the buildings! That is something I would not be able to tolerate in my current situation. I also updated the First Friday web site
5/16/2018. Today was paperwork day, filling out needed forms.
5/17/2018. Happy 13th week anniversary of my surgery to me! Worked with my neighbor to look over the spreadsheet I created for him.
5/18/2018. Watered all the plants today, inside and out. Also did my exercises! The landscaper came over and planted a new pineapple guava. It is a beautiful plant and will help to screen the building next door.
5/19/2018. The Royal Wedding of Meghan and Prince Henry 👑👑👑 is today! Of course, I stayed up to watch the whole thing live! Having lived in England for a while, I love everything Royals. I also have watched the TV series "Suits", that starred Meghan Markle. The wedding was beautiful. After watching the wedding, I then went on-line to see anything I might possibly have missed! Needless to say, I was groggy all day. However, did manage to get the clothes washed. Did my exercises too!
5/20/2018. Well we had a lot of cleanup to do with our sick cat. Our long time friends came over for a visit. She was the mistress of ceremonies at our wedding reception and we reminisced while we looked at our wedding albums 👰🏻 🤵🏻. The husband😬😬ks great!
5/21/2018. Worked on books today & caught up! I had to get help with my on-line books, and all is resolved now.
5/22/2018. The husband and I went shopping at TJ's today. Now are cupboards are no longer bare. Other than that, made a few business calls and shuffled paperwork at my desk.
5/23/2018. I'm completely caught up on the bills & filing 🗄️📁! The desk is as organized as it is going to get prior to my sister & brother in law's arrival. The husband took me for a walk today & I did one round of exercises, yah for me 👍🎊.
5/24/2018. Happy 14th week anniversary of my surgery to me! Made a standing Swarovski angel today. It has been so long, that I actually forgot a key element. I took pictures so I can create instructions👍👍.
5/25/2018. Today was a busy day. We took Annie LuLu to the vet at 10:00 am to look at a small growth inside her mouth. It is a cyst & nothing to worry about. The vet pronounced her very healthy 😻😻😻. That is indeed good news since Booster is so very ill. The Our wonderful cleaners came & the house looks nice. I also watered and fertilized my plants, and sorted through a bag of clothes. The sister and brother-in-law arrived. They brought me this beautiful bouquet of roses. The orchid that they bought me many months ago is blooming again!
We all went for a short walk. & I captured pictures of these gorgeous roses.
I have a whole list of things for us to do together, including a few honey-do's for the brother-in-law! I made more Swarovski angels & took pictures of the process.
5/26/2018. The brother-in-law and neighbor took me for a nice walk, about 2 1/2 miles. Then we went downtown to bring my sister shopping. She loves to look at the specialized stores. My brother-in-law & I mostly waited outside. Since none of the stores are hardware stores, 🔨🔧🔩⚙️🗜️, neither of us were interested in shopping. I showed my brother-in-law the repairs I wanted him to do.
My sister and I sorted through my box of VCR video tapes and I'm discarding most of them. We discovered that they are not recyclable, so they have to go into the landfill. I created my Swarovski angel instruction guide & made more Swarovski angels! All told, I've made 8 standing Swarovski angels in the last three days! Once I got the process down & documented, they go really fast.
5/27/2018. The sister visited with our neighbor & got a tour of their yard. It is a beautiful tropical paradise. My brother-in-law completed all the repairs (door and hose end). We had a lovely brunch at Rick's Cafe in downtown Los Altos.
The husband & I wrapped a new soaker hose around the plants in back. The old one had sprung several leaks.
My sister & I completed sorting of the last box!!!! She was very patient with me. I updated the First Friday web site. I also made three more Swarovski angels. These will go to the PT team at the Terraces.
5/28/2018. The sister and brother-in-law left early this am 😢. We will miss them. After they left, I went back to bed. When I got up again, the husband had the entire kitchen cleaned. Today is very, very hot. I did several loads of wash & updated the First Friday web site.
5/29/2018. Repaired a hose so the husband can water the newly planted pineapple guava. In preparation for our trip to the Home Depot, I inventoried my hose repair parts. Also watered and weeded around the orange tree. The soil is really hard in places. I used two hoses for six hours and I'm only half way through the soaking and weeding process. Also studied garden hoses to purchase a 25' one .... nothing is easy .... The manufacturers are now using aluminum for the hose ends. This creates a chemical reaction with brass spigots and will ruin the spigot and of course the hose. The only solution is to buy a hose, cut it up, and install brass fittings myself 😬😬! The husband prepared a medley of tofu, spinach, kidney beans, and tofu 😋😋! I updated the First Friday web site.
5/30/2018. Today was exciting! The husband took me to the Home Depot 🔨🔧🔩⚙️🗜️. He rented a Roto Hammer so he could aerate one of our Pineapple Guavas. The ground is clay and is very difficult to get through. Of course, I had my list and we purchased most of the items on it. The husband worked 2 1/2 hours to drill about 150-200 holes in the ground, 6-8" deep around the bush. I continued weeding & watering around the orange tree. I will be completely done after a few more hours of work. Hopefully, I can enlist the husband's help in getting the orange tree fertilized and once the soil is saturated. The husband picked up Chef Chus take out on the way back 😋😋😋😋
5/31/2018. Happy 15th week anniversary of my surgery to me! The ground around the orange tree is finally saturated. Today I used a shovel to dig out the weeds and that went quickly. I only have a very small section left. I don't know what the Orthopedic Surgeon would have to say about that. I was very careful.The husband took me to Costco today, always a fun adventure.
6/1/2018. I finished the weed digging around the orange tree, added iron & fertilizer, and watered them in well. The orange tree is about 20 ' tall. My Dad moved it from Los Banos to our house in January, 1986. It was full grown then. It took a couple of years for it to bear fruit. The oranges are so juicy & sweet. There were lots of bees out today and an epiphyllum is starting to bloom.
6/2/2018.
6/3/2018. My wonderful friend from church and dancing visited but it was way to hot for a walk. We had a lovely conversation.
6/4/2018. Today was my visit with my wonderful Doctor. I confessed to the Doctor that I had been digging in my garden & he is OK with that. He is very pleased with my progress. Today is also the one year anniversary of my 1st fall that created the shattered femur.
6/5/2018. It's election day! We both voted! Of course, I was pleased with some of the results and not pleased with others.
6/6/2018. Updated the First Friday web site & the husband & I had a long conversation with his sister. I also updated the First Friday web site again.
6/7/2018. Happy 16th week anniversary of my surgery to me! We went to the vets to pick up lots of medicine and food for our cats. Later, I had my hair done 🙋🏻. I finished sorting and organizing two boxes today & updated the First Friday web site again.
6/8/2018. I strained something in my right rib area reaching in my crafts room. It is quite sore 🤕.
Our wonderful house cleaners came and the house looks great! I watered all the indoor plants too! We shopped at Costco for a few things. The Warriors won & that makes 3 NBA championships in 4 years🏆🏆🏆! This year was very hard & many of us 😅 fans did not think they would make it!
I also updated the First Friday web site again.
6/9/2018. Did some laundry before our visitors arrived.
My long time friend and her husband visited today. We picked lots of oranges 🍊. They are so sweet, even I love them. Another set of friends also came to visit carrying a present of almonds. Her husband roasted & salted them & they are delicious. We convinced the husband to read a chapter of his new book 📘to us. We were all stunned at how wonderful it is. Now if we can only get him to publish it. Instead, he signed up for another writing class 😲! Also updated the First Friday web site again.
6/10/2018. The husband took me for a nice walk. I did a few chores: laundry, repotted an orchid, etc.
I also listened to a very uplifting podcast. It reminded me to stop complaining and appreciate all the things I have!
https://www.unitypaloalto.org/spiritual-boot-camp-with-rev-martha-creek/
The husband made a tofu dish with spinach, garbanzo and kidney beans. It was wonderful! I also had a nice conversation with my sister.
6/11/2018. Our cat Booster has been having more problems so we brought him in today for a shot. It might be my imagination, but I already think he's feeling better. My wonderful neighbor took me for a 2 mile walk today too!
6/12/2018. The husband & I went shopping at Costco today. It is very, very hot ☀️☀️☀️😎 & I don't have much energy.
6/13/2018.
6/14/2018. Today I visited a great Dr to look at my right rib that has been hurting for a week. I have a hairline fracture 😧😧. I created it by reaching up for something in my craft room about a week ago. The rib does hurt a lot.
6/15/2018. I watered all the indoor plants today.
6/16/2018. Studied & ordered some satin gift pouches today. I will use these to package the jewelry 💎 and angels (see picture above) that I gift to others.
6/17/2018. Happy Father's Day to all the Fathers, and to my own Father who is celebrating from heaven. My lovely friend from church and dancing visited. We had a very nice walk.
I also studied for my written driving test & watered all the outside plants.
6/18/2018. My wonderful neighbor and I went for a great walk.
6/19/2018. Today is written driving test day. It has taken me several months to get the appointment. The husband drove me to the DMV. The process was a lot more efficient than I thought it would be. I passed the written test with 0 errors! Yes, I studied for several months on and off. I'm now a walking encyclopedia of DMV signs, fines, and traffic laws.
Later, I took the husband for a drive so he could certify me as OK to drive. I passed! I sorted garage boxes too.
6/20/2018. Today, the husband, I, and his wonderful vet made the decision to help Booster 😻cross over the rainbow bridge 😢 🌈. Booster is the most friendly cat we've ever had and it is heartbreaking to lose him. I invited my friend who is close to Booster to come over to say goodbye to him. We cried together.
The husband took me for another drive to run a few errands downtown.
The white satin gift pouches were delivered today. They are beautiful!
I sorted some more boxes out in the garage.
6/21/2018. I got an appointment with the hematology expert at Stanford on my particular blood problem, Smoldering Multiple Myeloma (SMM). I will see her in three weeks. This culminates about a week's worth of effort to get a referral from my Primary Care Physician, etc. The husband took me for a nice morning walk. Here are some sights from nearby gardens that we spotted!
I had a dentist 👨🏼⚕️appointment today and he found two problems 😢! I We will start the correction process next week.
6/22/2018. Our great cleaners came today. I got all the plants watered inside and out. Here are some pictures from our garden.
6/23/2018. I used my newly minted Driver's License to drive myself to Joann's fabric & Orchard Supply. Great fun! My neighbor and I hiked in the late evening after it cooled down. We found this mural painted on the wall of a nearby school. This is only a part of it. The caption says "Deep Roots - Bright Fruits Packed on December 15, 2011, Net Wt. Unlimited". All told I walked 4 miles today! Also worked on books & washed clothes.
6/24/2018. My spiritual mentor and friend from church and dancing visited today. I showed her the things from the 1960's era that I was sorting and she took a few things 👍👍👍. We also picked oranges and went for a walk (I rolled using the rollator). She calls this our "play date"! Look at the gorgeous bougainvillea we spotted in someone else's yard!
We also talked about how life changing it is to follow the principles of no gossip, no complaining, no criticism of myself or others, and doing things that enrich us (ie not watching TV 📺)! It frees us to do fulfilling things for ourselves & others. You can see why she is my spiritual mentor!
6/25/2018. Today I had part 1 of my teeth repair completed.
This afternoon at 5:30 pm our beloved cat Booster crossed the rainbow bridge.
6/26/2018. Spent most of the day in bed today, feeling sad over the loss of Booster. He was a big presence in the house so his absence leaves a big hole. The husband & I visited Costco today. It was good to get out of the house.
6/27/2018. Annie LuLu is basically not leaving my side. She hangs out with me every time I'm in bed. I think she knows I'm sad & is doing her best to comfort me 😻😻😻!
6/28/2018. My favorite shop, Rings "N Things had a two day sale. http://www.rings-things.com.
Naturally I ordered some Swarovski 💎💠 ✨ supplies. Also, the lovely gold satin gift pouches arrived today! I will use these to wrap the angels and jewelry that I create and give away. The 50 pouches ought to keep me busy for a while.
My sister & brother-in-law sent over this beautiful arrangement in memory of Booster.
6/29/2018. Our dear friend came over with this Edible Bouquet in memory of Booster. Booster also loved this friend.
Watered all my indoor & outdoor plants & updated the site for which I'm a volunteer.
The husband took me for a walk down a beautiful lane he discovered nearby. There are lovely flowers still in bloom.
6/30/2018. My spiritual mentor and dance friend visited today! The Swarovski 💎💠 ✨ supplies arrived. My mentor will receive a gift from this order so I was excited to show them to her. I also created a few angels today. I had a bit of trouble with the wire wrapping for the bail, so I need more practice. I updated the First Friday web site.
7/01/2018. My wonderful neighbor & I went for a walk today. It was lovely outside.
7/02/2018. Finally today I was able to write Booster's obituary & send it out. Thanks to the husband for all his help.
7/03/2018. Today I went to my first Physical Therapy appointment. I also shopped at Walmart. It was the day before the 4th of July so the store was mobbed. Also got air put in my car tires & got Chef Chus take out for the husband & I 😋😋😋! I was very sore after Physical Therapy.
Here are some pictures from our garden. The blackberries are bursting with flowers and the bees are busy collecting pollen!
7/04/2018. Happy Fourth of July to everyone 🎆🎇🎉🎊! Did a small amount of gardening. I Facetimed with my family this evening, which was wonderful! Even Taz, the Golden Retriever got in on the phone call. Taz was a little confused because he could see and hear me, but there was no smell! Little Missy sang the Star Spangled Banner for us. She has been selected to sing thisSaturday at the opening of a swim competition. She has a lovely voice!
7/05/2018. The Epiphyllum cactus I've been nurturing for years bloomed! The blooms only last a day, but they are stunning!
Also updated the First Friday web site.
The husband and I bought some used bookcases today. This beautiful flower was blooming, maybe a passion flower?
7/06/2018. Our wonderful cleaners came today. Did the usual indoor & outdoor plant watering.
7/08/2018. Did a few loads of laundry. My spiritual mentor visited & we had our usual wonderful walk & "play date". She liked the earrings I made for her. They are so simple to create.
7/09/2018. Visited the dentist for my final procedure in getting the crown & a new filling. It all went well. Picked up a few supplies at Safeway.
7/10/2018. Had PT today. The husband & I shopped at Costco & at Bed Bath & Beyond.
7/11/2018. Packed up & sent three angels to various people. Worked on books getting ready for Santa Cruz next week, a very small mini vacation. Shopped at Wal-Mart for a new toaster. Later that evening, I decided to return that toaster & I ordered a new one from Wal-Mart.
7/12/2018. Returned the 1st toaster & picked up the 2nd one. I've used it & I like it! Also shopped at TJ's.
7/13/2018. I posted instructions on how to create Swarovski angels on a jewelry making site I joined. It took a long time to get pictures of each step, edit & highlight the picture as appropriate & then write the instructions. It is well worth it.
Finally ordered a 2nd Accell Powramid 6 outlet surge protector from Amazon. Price dropped enough! Also ordered another set of my favorite socks!
7/14/2018. The husband & I shopped at OSH today. A hardware 🔩🔨🔧 store is my idea of fun shopping.
8/09/2018. Had PT today. The therapist says I'm doing very well and may be able to round dance next month 💃🏻! I am continuing to work on taxes & flooding the orange 🍊tree.
8/10/2018. Still working on taxes. Also visited my wonderful hairdresser today & then shopped at Trader Joes"s. The husband made delicious vegetables and tofu for dinner 😋😋😋.
The amaryllis belladonna are going to town! They also have a lovely fragrance!
8/11/2018. A friend asked me to go to the Il Divo concert in December! Three of us got our tickets today!
I left early for my appointment & I'm so happy I did. A whole procession of PAWS (Pet Assisted Wellness at Stanford) dogs was walking by. Of course I stopped to pet each and every one of them. One of their human partners gave me Niki's card. She was a beauty as were all the other PAWS doggies!
I had a nice nap this afternoon.
This was all a good distraction yesterday because the results of the MRI & MRI with contrast arrived. The results are showing two "suspected" myelomas on the bone. This is not the news we were hoping for.
8/25/2018. Today was a work day: wash clothes, water all inside & outside plants. The husband took me for a walk. We walked passed the local chickens. These two had a fabulous head dress of feathers. Later, the husband made hash browns with tofu and spinach, a dish he created 😋😋😋.
8/26/2018. My wonderful friend visited today & we had a nice walk. I showed her the neighborhood chickens with their lovely head-wear. The local gardens still abound with roses. Also harvested quite a few figs for my friend. The husband made delicious lentil soup with tofu! I'm trying hard to eat 48 grams of protein each day.
8/27/2018. I was really didn't do much today except procrastinate cleaning off the table in the garage. I'm probably going to pack everything up and call it a day!
8/28/2018. The MM Doctor from Stanford called today to review the results of my PET scan & contrast PET scan. There is one myeloma on my bones that is 13 mm of concern. The others are so small as to possibly be something else. Since my blood numbers are so good, we both decided not to treat at this time. In about a year, she will have another MRI test run to see if there have been any changes. I took care of a few business matters today & walked for 2 miles.
9/17/2018. I got up relatively early and to wash my clothes.
I rolled out to the back shed to see if replacing the battery would repair my sprinkler system controller. No go 😢. The husband & I talked to the landscaper next door about repairs they are going to do to our mailbox, fence, & yard all damaged by the construction next door. The landscaper is wonderful & some of the repairs are already completed.
The husband took me for a "roll" around the neighborhood. I occasionally walk around the house without my roller or a cane & I did all my PT at home-exercises today 🥇🥇🥇.
I sorted boxes. I'm digging through schoolwork from when I was in 2nd grade through high school. I found a few gems in there. I also updated the First Friday web site.
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| Rose from our garden |
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| The iris blooms are beginning |
4/28/2018. The husband & I had a date this evening: we went to Trader Joes. I helped him, although I'm not sure how much help I was. Now we are well stocked 😋🍌🍨🍍🥖!
4/29/2018. My wonderful friend from dancing & church visited. We had a lovely walk / roll around the neighborhood. We snapped a few roses from a nearby garden.
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| These roses are from the same bush & change color! |
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| These roses are from the same bush & change color! |
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| Japanese Iris from our garden. There will be a lot of these! |
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| Bearded irises are only white this year. |
4/30/2018. I finally ordered the replacement Sprinkler System Controller.
I also managed to study for the DMV test and do all my PT exercises. I'm very reluctant to enter PT again because of what happened last time. The therapist twisted my leg and caused the titanium rod to break.
5/1/2018. Happy First Day of May!
5/2/2018. The husband and I shopped at Costco yesterday. It was great to get out.
5/3/2018. Happy 11th week anniversary of my surgery to me! The husband & I made an emergency trip to Joanns to get some very large sheets of plastic to protect our floors. We also picked up lunch / dinner at Chef Chu's. The new sprinkler controller that was supposed to arrive today has been delayed. 😧
Time to admire a rose from our garden. Many years ago, I rescued this bush from the neighbor's yard before she built her new house! It has been thriving here!
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| Rose admired on walk 5/6/2018 |
5/4/2018. Today was chore day. I sorted in the garage for only 1/2 hour. Also washed clothes and watered all my plants.
5/5/2018. The husband took me to have blood tests for my SMM. I've been feeling a bit woozy at night and wondered if this could be the problem. We also stopped by his condo to look at a problematic Ground Fault Interrupter (GFCI). We tried a few things then decided that we need to replace it. I'm now all caught up on the books 😃!
The sprinkler controller arrived so now I can install it 👍👍👍 It appears to be very simple & there is a great instructional video posted by the manufacturer. Does anyone remember how we used to live before the Interweb??????😲
5/6/2018. My girlfriend from church and dancing visited. We walked for 1.1 miles! This is one of the roses we admired on our walk today (posted above).
The husband and I walked down to our neighbor's who was having a pop-up garage sale. Unfortunately, no one else came. She gave us a nice lamp, some serving trays, and a lovely ceramic egg from Florence. They will be moving soon & we will miss them. I programmed the sprinkler controller. It is very easy to use. Unfortunately, the adapter plug is very heavy and keeps falling out of the outlet. I taped it with Gorilla tape, and that didn't hold for long.
5/7/2018. Errand day: lunch at "In and Out Burger" 😋, visited the vets to get some medication for Booster, dropped off used medications, and bought supplies for the GFCI repair at the condo. Although we would prefer to have an electrician do the repair, none are available. All of the trades are booked solid for months! The husband also helped me get the sprinkler controller plug to stay plugged into the outlet.
5/8/2018. Today I worked on some paperwork. The husband scanned in some forms for me.
5/9/2018. We did lots of errands today: purchased pet supplies, shopped for cards, and visited my hematologist. The hematologist assured me that everything is quite stable, excellent news👍. He is going to run more tests to double check on everything. He was surprised to learn that I had a 2nd surgery on my femur.
5/10/2018. Happy 21st Anniversary to us ... and Happy 12 week anniversary of my surgery! To celebrate we went shopping at Costco & found some real bargains 💰💰. Since they were such bargains, we bought two of everything! We also looked at our wedding albums & watched our wedding videos. Much has happened in these intervening years. Also studied for my DMV test.
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| Amaryllis Bloom |
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| Amaryllis Bloom |
5/11/2018. The cleaners came today 👍. As usual, everything looked nice for about 1 hour. I was tired and depressed. The home construction next door is concluding but the 50 foot wall 7 1/2 feet from our fence will remain there forever. I'm upset with myself for not going to the city during the review process to protest this building. My sister says I need to get over this and she is right. Fortunately, the neighbor & friend came over & gave me a spreadsheet to create. Work is good! I also fixed a computer problem I was having.
5/12/2018. Updated the First Friday web site.
5/13/2018. Happy Mother's Day! My friend from dancing & church came over & we had a lovely walk & roll (she walked, I rolled 😀 ). The husband & I also got Chef Chu's take out 😋😋😋. We overlooked the fact that it was Mother's Day; the place was packed!
5/14/2018. The husband & I went over to his condo and replaced the GFCI. It all worked perfectly. The hardest part of the job was getting the wires stuffed back into the wall so that the switch plate was properly aligned. It was a fun project. Then the husband took us over to In & Out Burger as a reward 😋. I love their fries!
5/15/2018. I can now pass all the DMV on-line tests. I was planning to do a drop-in tomorrow, but after reading the DMV YELP reviews, I decided against it. There are 4-8 hour waits standing in line outside the buildings! That is something I would not be able to tolerate in my current situation. I also updated the First Friday web site
5/16/2018. Today was paperwork day, filling out needed forms.
5/17/2018. Happy 13th week anniversary of my surgery to me! Worked with my neighbor to look over the spreadsheet I created for him.
5/18/2018. Watered all the plants today, inside and out. Also did my exercises! The landscaper came over and planted a new pineapple guava. It is a beautiful plant and will help to screen the building next door.
5/19/2018. The Royal Wedding of Meghan and Prince Henry 👑👑👑 is today! Of course, I stayed up to watch the whole thing live! Having lived in England for a while, I love everything Royals. I also have watched the TV series "Suits", that starred Meghan Markle. The wedding was beautiful. After watching the wedding, I then went on-line to see anything I might possibly have missed! Needless to say, I was groggy all day. However, did manage to get the clothes washed. Did my exercises too!
5/20/2018. Well we had a lot of cleanup to do with our sick cat. Our long time friends came over for a visit. She was the mistress of ceremonies at our wedding reception and we reminisced while we looked at our wedding albums 👰🏻 🤵🏻. The husband😬😬ks great!
5/21/2018. Worked on books today & caught up! I had to get help with my on-line books, and all is resolved now.
5/22/2018. The husband and I went shopping at TJ's today. Now are cupboards are no longer bare. Other than that, made a few business calls and shuffled paperwork at my desk.
5/23/2018. I'm completely caught up on the bills & filing 🗄️📁! The desk is as organized as it is going to get prior to my sister & brother in law's arrival. The husband took me for a walk today & I did one round of exercises, yah for me 👍🎊.
5/24/2018. Happy 14th week anniversary of my surgery to me! Made a standing Swarovski angel today. It has been so long, that I actually forgot a key element. I took pictures so I can create instructions👍👍.
5/25/2018. Today was a busy day. We took Annie LuLu to the vet at 10:00 am to look at a small growth inside her mouth. It is a cyst & nothing to worry about. The vet pronounced her very healthy 😻😻😻. That is indeed good news since Booster is so very ill. The Our wonderful cleaners came & the house looks nice. I also watered and fertilized my plants, and sorted through a bag of clothes. The sister and brother-in-law arrived. They brought me this beautiful bouquet of roses. The orchid that they bought me many months ago is blooming again!
5/26/2018. The brother-in-law and neighbor took me for a nice walk, about 2 1/2 miles. Then we went downtown to bring my sister shopping. She loves to look at the specialized stores. My brother-in-law & I mostly waited outside. Since none of the stores are hardware stores, 🔨🔧🔩⚙️🗜️, neither of us were interested in shopping. I showed my brother-in-law the repairs I wanted him to do.
My sister and I sorted through my box of VCR video tapes and I'm discarding most of them. We discovered that they are not recyclable, so they have to go into the landfill. I created my Swarovski angel instruction guide & made more Swarovski angels! All told, I've made 8 standing Swarovski angels in the last three days! Once I got the process down & documented, they go really fast.
5/27/2018. The sister visited with our neighbor & got a tour of their yard. It is a beautiful tropical paradise. My brother-in-law completed all the repairs (door and hose end). We had a lovely brunch at Rick's Cafe in downtown Los Altos.
The husband & I wrapped a new soaker hose around the plants in back. The old one had sprung several leaks.
My sister & I completed sorting of the last box!!!! She was very patient with me. I updated the First Friday web site. I also made three more Swarovski angels. These will go to the PT team at the Terraces.
5/28/2018. The sister and brother-in-law left early this am 😢. We will miss them. After they left, I went back to bed. When I got up again, the husband had the entire kitchen cleaned. Today is very, very hot. I did several loads of wash & updated the First Friday web site.
5/29/2018. Repaired a hose so the husband can water the newly planted pineapple guava. In preparation for our trip to the Home Depot, I inventoried my hose repair parts. Also watered and weeded around the orange tree. The soil is really hard in places. I used two hoses for six hours and I'm only half way through the soaking and weeding process. Also studied garden hoses to purchase a 25' one .... nothing is easy .... The manufacturers are now using aluminum for the hose ends. This creates a chemical reaction with brass spigots and will ruin the spigot and of course the hose. The only solution is to buy a hose, cut it up, and install brass fittings myself 😬😬! The husband prepared a medley of tofu, spinach, kidney beans, and tofu 😋😋! I updated the First Friday web site.
5/30/2018. Today was exciting! The husband took me to the Home Depot 🔨🔧🔩⚙️🗜️. He rented a Roto Hammer so he could aerate one of our Pineapple Guavas. The ground is clay and is very difficult to get through. Of course, I had my list and we purchased most of the items on it. The husband worked 2 1/2 hours to drill about 150-200 holes in the ground, 6-8" deep around the bush. I continued weeding & watering around the orange tree. I will be completely done after a few more hours of work. Hopefully, I can enlist the husband's help in getting the orange tree fertilized and once the soil is saturated. The husband picked up Chef Chus take out on the way back 😋😋😋😋
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| Chef Chu's singapore noodles, rice, vegetable delight with black bean sauce |
6/1/2018. I finished the weed digging around the orange tree, added iron & fertilizer, and watered them in well. The orange tree is about 20 ' tall. My Dad moved it from Los Banos to our house in January, 1986. It was full grown then. It took a couple of years for it to bear fruit. The oranges are so juicy & sweet. There were lots of bees out today and an epiphyllum is starting to bloom.
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| Busy bees! |
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| Epipyllum bloom |
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| Epipyllum bloom a few days later |
6/3/2018. My wonderful friend from church and dancing visited but it was way to hot for a walk. We had a lovely conversation.
6/4/2018. Today was my visit with my wonderful Doctor. I confessed to the Doctor that I had been digging in my garden & he is OK with that. He is very pleased with my progress. Today is also the one year anniversary of my 1st fall that created the shattered femur.
6/5/2018. It's election day! We both voted! Of course, I was pleased with some of the results and not pleased with others.6/6/2018. Updated the First Friday web site & the husband & I had a long conversation with his sister. I also updated the First Friday web site again.
6/7/2018. Happy 16th week anniversary of my surgery to me! We went to the vets to pick up lots of medicine and food for our cats. Later, I had my hair done 🙋🏻. I finished sorting and organizing two boxes today & updated the First Friday web site again.
6/8/2018. I strained something in my right rib area reaching in my crafts room. It is quite sore 🤕.
Our wonderful house cleaners came and the house looks great! I watered all the indoor plants too! We shopped at Costco for a few things. The Warriors won & that makes 3 NBA championships in 4 years🏆🏆🏆! This year was very hard & many of us 😅 fans did not think they would make it!
I also updated the First Friday web site again.
6/9/2018. Did some laundry before our visitors arrived.
My long time friend and her husband visited today. We picked lots of oranges 🍊. They are so sweet, even I love them. Another set of friends also came to visit carrying a present of almonds. Her husband roasted & salted them & they are delicious. We convinced the husband to read a chapter of his new book 📘to us. We were all stunned at how wonderful it is. Now if we can only get him to publish it. Instead, he signed up for another writing class 😲! Also updated the First Friday web site again.
6/10/2018. The husband took me for a nice walk. I did a few chores: laundry, repotted an orchid, etc.
I also listened to a very uplifting podcast. It reminded me to stop complaining and appreciate all the things I have!
https://www.unitypaloalto.org/spiritual-boot-camp-with-rev-martha-creek/
The husband made a tofu dish with spinach, garbanzo and kidney beans. It was wonderful! I also had a nice conversation with my sister.
6/11/2018. Our cat Booster has been having more problems so we brought him in today for a shot. It might be my imagination, but I already think he's feeling better. My wonderful neighbor took me for a 2 mile walk today too!
6/12/2018. The husband & I went shopping at Costco today. It is very, very hot ☀️☀️☀️😎 & I don't have much energy.
6/13/2018.
6/14/2018. Today I visited a great Dr to look at my right rib that has been hurting for a week. I have a hairline fracture 😧😧. I created it by reaching up for something in my craft room about a week ago. The rib does hurt a lot.
6/15/2018. I watered all the indoor plants today.
6/16/2018. Studied & ordered some satin gift pouches today. I will use these to package the jewelry 💎 and angels (see picture above) that I gift to others.
6/17/2018. Happy Father's Day to all the Fathers, and to my own Father who is celebrating from heaven. My lovely friend from church and dancing visited. We had a very nice walk.
I also studied for my written driving test & watered all the outside plants.
6/18/2018. My wonderful neighbor and I went for a great walk.
6/19/2018. Today is written driving test day. It has taken me several months to get the appointment. The husband drove me to the DMV. The process was a lot more efficient than I thought it would be. I passed the written test with 0 errors! Yes, I studied for several months on and off. I'm now a walking encyclopedia of DMV signs, fines, and traffic laws.
Later, I took the husband for a drive so he could certify me as OK to drive. I passed! I sorted garage boxes too.
6/20/2018. Today, the husband, I, and his wonderful vet made the decision to help Booster 😻cross over the rainbow bridge 😢 🌈. Booster is the most friendly cat we've ever had and it is heartbreaking to lose him. I invited my friend who is close to Booster to come over to say goodbye to him. We cried together.
The husband took me for another drive to run a few errands downtown.
The white satin gift pouches were delivered today. They are beautiful!
I sorted some more boxes out in the garage.
6/21/2018. I got an appointment with the hematology expert at Stanford on my particular blood problem, Smoldering Multiple Myeloma (SMM). I will see her in three weeks. This culminates about a week's worth of effort to get a referral from my Primary Care Physician, etc. The husband took me for a nice morning walk. Here are some sights from nearby gardens that we spotted!
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| Gorgeous Pottery in the garden |
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| Horse on Mailbox |
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| More gorgeous Pottery |
6/22/2018. Our great cleaners came today. I got all the plants watered inside and out. Here are some pictures from our garden.
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| Volunteer Nasturiums |
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| Bees collecting pollen from blackberries |
6/25/2018. Today I had part 1 of my teeth repair completed.
This afternoon at 5:30 pm our beloved cat Booster crossed the rainbow bridge.
Here is his obituary:
Booster passed away peacefully on
Monday June 25, 2018 after a long illness. He was surrounded by loving
family and friends. He was 17 to 18 years old.
Originally from Los Banos, California,
Booster was discovered living with his sister, Bootsie, on Mary’s patio.
He received food, care, and warm beds there before moving to Los Altos, CA in
January 2010. There he and Boostie joined two other indoor kitties,
Smokey and Annie Lulu.
Booster was definitely a homebody,
showing no interest in wandering outside. His favorite activities were
sitting on any available lap and eating. He had to be fed every half hour
due to a dietary condition. He welcomed company, friends and strangers
alike, especially his friend and sitter, Connie. Booster became deaf in
his later years, so noise no longer disturbed him. That made him even
more friendly.
Booster made his presence known by
yowling loudly if he couldn’t find one of his people or if he wanted to be
fed. He was often picked up, cradled like a baby, and showered with
kisses. He was predeceased by Bootsie in February 2015. He is
greatly missed. May he rest in peace.
More pictures are at this link:
6/26/2018. Spent most of the day in bed today, feeling sad over the loss of Booster. He was a big presence in the house so his absence leaves a big hole. The husband & I visited Costco today. It was good to get out of the house.
6/27/2018. Annie LuLu is basically not leaving my side. She hangs out with me every time I'm in bed. I think she knows I'm sad & is doing her best to comfort me 😻😻😻!
6/28/2018. My favorite shop, Rings "N Things had a two day sale. http://www.rings-things.com.
Naturally I ordered some Swarovski 💎💠 ✨ supplies. Also, the lovely gold satin gift pouches arrived today! I will use these to wrap the angels and jewelry that I create and give away. The 50 pouches ought to keep me busy for a while.
My sister & brother-in-law sent over this beautiful arrangement in memory of Booster.
The husband took me for a walk down a beautiful lane he discovered nearby. There are lovely flowers still in bloom.
6/30/2018. My spiritual mentor and dance friend visited today! The Swarovski 💎💠 ✨ supplies arrived. My mentor will receive a gift from this order so I was excited to show them to her. I also created a few angels today. I had a bit of trouble with the wire wrapping for the bail, so I need more practice. I updated the First Friday web site.
7/01/2018. My wonderful neighbor & I went for a walk today. It was lovely outside.
7/02/2018. Finally today I was able to write Booster's obituary & send it out. Thanks to the husband for all his help.
7/03/2018. Today I went to my first Physical Therapy appointment. I also shopped at Walmart. It was the day before the 4th of July so the store was mobbed. Also got air put in my car tires & got Chef Chus take out for the husband & I 😋😋😋! I was very sore after Physical Therapy.
Here are some pictures from our garden. The blackberries are bursting with flowers and the bees are busy collecting pollen!
7/04/2018. Happy Fourth of July to everyone 🎆🎇🎉🎊! Did a small amount of gardening. I Facetimed with my family this evening, which was wonderful! Even Taz, the Golden Retriever got in on the phone call. Taz was a little confused because he could see and hear me, but there was no smell! Little Missy sang the Star Spangled Banner for us. She has been selected to sing thisSaturday at the opening of a swim competition. She has a lovely voice!
7/05/2018. The Epiphyllum cactus I've been nurturing for years bloomed! The blooms only last a day, but they are stunning!
Also updated the First Friday web site. The husband and I bought some used bookcases today. This beautiful flower was blooming, maybe a passion flower?
7/06/2018. Our wonderful cleaners came today. Did the usual indoor & outdoor plant watering.
7/08/2018. Did a few loads of laundry. My spiritual mentor visited & we had our usual wonderful walk & "play date". She liked the earrings I made for her. They are so simple to create.
7/09/2018. Visited the dentist for my final procedure in getting the crown & a new filling. It all went well. Picked up a few supplies at Safeway.
7/10/2018. Had PT today. The husband & I shopped at Costco & at Bed Bath & Beyond.
7/11/2018. Packed up & sent three angels to various people. Worked on books getting ready for Santa Cruz next week, a very small mini vacation. Shopped at Wal-Mart for a new toaster. Later that evening, I decided to return that toaster & I ordered a new one from Wal-Mart.
7/12/2018. Returned the 1st toaster & picked up the 2nd one. I've used it & I like it! Also shopped at TJ's.
7/13/2018. I posted instructions on how to create Swarovski angels on a jewelry making site I joined. It took a long time to get pictures of each step, edit & highlight the picture as appropriate & then write the instructions. It is well worth it.
Finally ordered a 2nd Accell Powramid 6 outlet surge protector from Amazon. Price dropped enough! Also ordered another set of my favorite socks!
7/14/2018. The husband & I shopped at OSH today. A hardware 🔩🔨🔧 store is my idea of fun shopping.
7/15/2018. My spiritual mentor visited today & we had a lovely walk. I also updated the Swarovski angel instructions.
I was surprised to learn that dogs can easily outrun people.The dog is exhausted after his day at the beach!
7/18/2018. We went to the beach again today. Tazzy found two of the balls he buried yesterday. This time I took my cane along with the rollator. That enabled me to carefully walk a bit on the beach. I walked on the hard sand watching carefully for sneaker waves. In the evening I drove home & there was no traffic, EZ-PZ!
8/08/2018. Our friend left early this morning. In the evening, I washed all his sheets & towels. I seriously worked on taxes & also ordered some more Swarovski beads. I watered all the outdoor plants and began flooding the orange 🍊 tree.
7/16/2018. Saw the hematologist at Stanford who specializes in Multiple Myeloma. She's agreed to take me on as a patient! Yah!! She says my SMM is still smoldering and nothing to be concerned about yet. She is sending me to a bone endrochronologist to investigate my bones. I stayed up very late getting my Swarovski gift packages ready to give away. Also purchased & installed a new VPN package.
7/17/2018. Drove to the beach today to be with my family and Tazzy the dog!
Gave two pairs of these sweet Swarovski heart earrings to my great-niece and the daughter of our friend. Also had several angels for friends that my sister & niece will distribute.
The niece & nephew carried my rollator down the two flights of stairs to the beach and I gingerly walked down. So great to be back! Tazzy loves the beach. He buries a tennis ball, loses it, then runs around & frantically digs for it again. We adults are entertained just watching him.
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| How Tazzy spent most of his beach time! |
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| What a gorgeous doggy!💕🐕 |
I was surprised to learn that dogs can easily outrun people.The dog is exhausted after his day at the beach!
The niece prepared ribs, pasta, garlic bread, salad, and grilled corn. So yummy.
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| Wonderful meal prepared by the niece, a gourmet chef! |
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| One exhausted dog. |
7/18/2018. We went to the beach again today. Tazzy found two of the balls he buried yesterday. This time I took my cane along with the rollator. That enabled me to carefully walk a bit on the beach. I walked on the hard sand watching carefully for sneaker waves. In the evening I drove home & there was no traffic, EZ-PZ!
7/19/2018. I had physical therapy today and later the nephew arrived. We went out to Chef Chu's. The nephew loved it. He was shocked to see how crowded Chef Chu's was on Thursday night. We told him that it is always like this.
7/20/2018. Our wonderful cleaners came today. The husband took the nephew out for lunch as a local cantina, Super Tacos El Connro in Mountain View. It is a genuine Mexican food place. We took the nephew to the iconic Harry's Hofbrau in Redwood City! So fun! The boys really got to chow down to their heart's content. The husband was still full from lunch so he had to go with a "senior" meal 😂😂😂! I went with the vegan offering!
The nephew left today. He texted me later thanking him for taking him to all the iconic nearby eateries.
7/20/2018. Our wonderful cleaners came today. The husband took the nephew out for lunch as a local cantina, Super Tacos El Connro in Mountain View. It is a genuine Mexican food place. We took the nephew to the iconic Harry's Hofbrau in Redwood City! So fun! The boys really got to chow down to their heart's content. The husband was still full from lunch so he had to go with a "senior" meal 😂😂😂! I went with the vegan offering!
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| Senior meal, dessert too! |
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| The Everything meal |
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| Vegan option! |
7/21/2018. We took the nephew to Hobees. It is a favorite breakfast place of ousr and the meals did not disappoint. Of course we ordered both a famous Hobee's protein shake & their coffee cake!
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| Note the famous Hobee's coffee cake to the left😋! |
I did extensive updates to the First Friday web site to prepare for the August event.
7/22/2018. Also went for two walks today: one with my spiritual mentor and one with my neighbor. Also did several loads of laundry💧💧💧.
My fabulous cousin called. He is really watching his health & I can tell. I'm so happy about that & hope he continues!
It's Shark 🦈🦈🦈Week! Time to warm up the DVR!
7/22/2018. Also went for two walks today: one with my spiritual mentor and one with my neighbor. Also did several loads of laundry💧💧💧.
My fabulous cousin called. He is really watching his health & I can tell. I'm so happy about that & hope he continues!
It's Shark 🦈🦈🦈Week! Time to warm up the DVR!
7/23/2018. Just hung around and rested today. I'm a bit under the weather with a migraine and upset tummy. I did all the needed updates to the First Friday web site.
I watered most of my outdoor plants.
Of course watched Shark Week recordings🦈🦈🦈! I look forward to this year's adventures of the marine biologists, Dr. Mauricio Hoyos, Dr. Greg Skomal, & others and, of course, the photographer Andy Casagrande. Many of the scenes are frightening, even considering that there must be some staging to retain audience interest. "Gee, I'm out here off the coast of Hawaii surrounded by 30 to 40 Galapagos sharks and more are coming from the deep. They can sometimes be aggressive. I think we should call the dive." You think😱😲????
7/25/2018. I got some questions together in preparation for tomorrow's meeting.
7/24/2018. My neighbor & I had a lovely walk & spotted a whole row of these gorgeous blooming cacti! We also ran into an colleague of mine.
I watered most of my outdoor plants.
Of course watched Shark Week recordings🦈🦈🦈! I look forward to this year's adventures of the marine biologists, Dr. Mauricio Hoyos, Dr. Greg Skomal, & others and, of course, the photographer Andy Casagrande. Many of the scenes are frightening, even considering that there must be some staging to retain audience interest. "Gee, I'm out here off the coast of Hawaii surrounded by 30 to 40 Galapagos sharks and more are coming from the deep. They can sometimes be aggressive. I think we should call the dive." You think😱😲????
7/25/2018. I got some questions together in preparation for tomorrow's meeting.
7/26/2018. We had a meeting today, physical therapy & shopping with the husband at Trader Joe's.
In one of the levels of the parking garage, the drab, concrete block space had been turned into this lovely "park", complete with tweeting birds, flowers, and a park bench. How fun is that! After all the activity it was time for a lovely nap!
In one of the levels of the parking garage, the drab, concrete block space had been turned into this lovely "park", complete with tweeting birds, flowers, and a park bench. How fun is that! After all the activity it was time for a lovely nap!
7/27/2018. I'm still grappling with a migraine. I prepared and sent off another angel & the husband & I shopped at Costco. I also updated the First Friday web site.
7/28/2018. I watered all the plants, changed the bed and did a few loads of clothes. On the not so good news side, I found my newly re-potted phalaenopsis orchid has fungus gnats. Here is another picture of a passion flower. I also picked and ate some blackberries from the garden 😋!
Also worked on taxes again today & ordered some yellow sticky insect traps for those pesky fungus gnats.
I also ordered some more Swarovski beads to try a slightly different pattern on my angel. Someone on a jewelry making site posted this: "why buy a $15 piece of jewelry when for $200 you can make your own!"
7/31/2018. I contacted several cat rescue organizations in an effort to donate Booster's food and a large cat carrier.
8/01/2018. I worked on some business items today and again on getting the cat supplies donated.
7/28/2018. I watered all the plants, changed the bed and did a few loads of clothes. On the not so good news side, I found my newly re-potted phalaenopsis orchid has fungus gnats. Here is another picture of a passion flower. I also picked and ate some blackberries from the garden 😋!
7/29/2018. Put out some traps for the fungus gnats and they do not appear to be working. My spiritual mentor and friend visited today & we had a lovely walk. She gave me some jewelry to repair, at my request. The husband made us some delicious cheesy hashbrowns with tofu!
I started the 2017 taxes.
I watched the most terrifying of all the "Shark Week" videos. As an experiment they put two people in the water simulating a shipwreck. Of course there was a medic and boat nearby monitoring them. Within an hour after they were in the water they were surrounded by large white-tipped sharks. At night for safety, they had to climb into a net. They had no food or water and lasted for almost 48 hours. It is easy to see that a shipwrecked person would not last long out there in the ocean.
I started the 2017 taxes.
I watched the most terrifying of all the "Shark Week" videos. As an experiment they put two people in the water simulating a shipwreck. Of course there was a medic and boat nearby monitoring them. Within an hour after they were in the water they were surrounded by large white-tipped sharks. At night for safety, they had to climb into a net. They had no food or water and lasted for almost 48 hours. It is easy to see that a shipwrecked person would not last long out there in the ocean.
7/30/2018. My neighbor took me for a lovely walk. We found this unusual sago palm bloom in someone's yard. All parts of this plant are toxic to dogs & cats!
Also worked on taxes again today & ordered some yellow sticky insect traps for those pesky fungus gnats.
I also ordered some more Swarovski beads to try a slightly different pattern on my angel. Someone on a jewelry making site posted this: "why buy a $15 piece of jewelry when for $200 you can make your own!"
7/31/2018. I contacted several cat rescue organizations in an effort to donate Booster's food and a large cat carrier.
8/01/2018. I worked on some business items today and again on getting the cat supplies donated.
8/02/2018. Had PT today & our wonderful house cleaners arrived! The house looks great.
8/03/2018. The husband & I did a lot of errands: shopped at Dollar Tree, picked up Booster's remains 😓, and did some banking. Booster's remains are in a gorgeous wooden box and we received a clay tile with his pawprints.
The husband & I got take out from Chef Chu's, so yummy 😋😋😋!
8/06/2018. The husband & I shopped at Costco which was a great diversion from working on taxes. My migraine returned today. The new Swarovski heart crystals arrived! I decided I like the new pattern very much. I replaced the round bead held in the angel's arms by a heart bead. The heart is a bit hard to see in the pictures below.
8/07/2018. Our friend visited. He just flew in from the East Coat on a trip that turned out to be grueling. The husband took him over to Super Tacos El Connro in Mountain View for a genuine Mexican food experience. He loved it! Later they ventured to the library & then to "In & Out" burger. They came home with lots of "used book" treasures. Our friend has an on-line business selling used books. I worked on taxes and collected all the 1099's.
The husband & I got take out from Chef Chu's, so yummy 😋😋😋!
8/04/2018. A volunteer came over from Community Cat Rescue to pick up our left over food and supplies from Booster. They are a great organization & bring kittens to the California Street Farmer's market each week. I watered all the indoor & outdoor plants. It is so hot outside that the outdoor plants need water every other day.
8/05/2018. My wonderful spiritual mentor visited. She was pleased with the jewelry I fixed for her. The amaryllis belladonna are blooming! Their common name is "naked ladies" because they bloom with no leaves. The husband made steamed vegetables & tofu for dinner 😋😋😋😋😋.
8/07/2018. Our friend visited. He just flew in from the East Coat on a trip that turned out to be grueling. The husband took him over to Super Tacos El Connro in Mountain View for a genuine Mexican food experience. He loved it! Later they ventured to the library & then to "In & Out" burger. They came home with lots of "used book" treasures. Our friend has an on-line business selling used books. I worked on taxes and collected all the 1099's.
8/09/2018. Had PT today. The therapist says I'm doing very well and may be able to round dance next month 💃🏻! I am continuing to work on taxes & flooding the orange 🍊tree.
8/10/2018. Still working on taxes. Also visited my wonderful hairdresser today & then shopped at Trader Joes"s. The husband made delicious vegetables and tofu for dinner 😋😋😋.
The amaryllis belladonna are going to town! They also have a lovely fragrance!
8/11/2018. A friend asked me to go to the Il Divo concert in December! Three of us got our tickets today!
I visited with my wonderful neighbor. Her back yard is just stunning, truly an oasis. She gave me an opinion on my latest Swarovski angel. She likes the one holding the heart too.
The husband made delicious hash browns 😋😋😋 and tofu.
The husband made delicious hash browns 😋😋😋 and tofu.
8/12/2018. Worked on taxes today and I'm very close to being finished.
8/13/2018. I had my appointment with the DMV today to get my Real ID card. Unfortunately, I took the wrong document with me. Went to an office to get a replacement and when I got home I discovered that I actually had it in my files at home. Completed the taxes 👍👍👍! The husband & I had a lovely walk with our neighbor today.
8/14/2018. We met with our accountant today. Everything went very well. I got to meet his lovely granddaughter who I have followed through her Mom for many years. After a nap, the husband & I shopped at Costco.
My new order of Swarovski crystals arrived. However, I decided I like the heart bead that I already have rather than the ones I ordered.
Unfortunately, I dropped a ceramic pot filled with African Violets. The pot chipped and so did the slate floor. Good news: I can't even find the place on the floor where it chipped 👍👍👍. I lost quite a few of the leaves of the African Violet plant, so I'm attempting to start new plants with them.
8/15/2018. Today I met with the bone endocrinologist at Stanford. She is an excellent doctor. She carefully reviewed by history and the history of my family with respect to osteopenia. She ordered tests also to check my calcium and vitamin D levels.
I left early for my appointment & I'm so happy I did. A whole procession of PAWS (Pet Assisted Wellness at Stanford) dogs was walking by. Of course I stopped to pet each and every one of them. One of their human partners gave me Niki's card. She was a beauty as were all the other PAWS doggies!
I had a nice nap this afternoon.
8/16/2018. Had an appointment with the PT. She says I'm doing very well & wants to reduce my visits to once a month for a check-in. Afterwards the husband and I took his car to be repaired & while we waited we went out for a nice lunch at Panera's. Also updated the First Friday web site.
8/17/2018. Our awesome cleaners came today & the house looks great! I also watered some of my indoor and outdoor plants. My neighbor & I went for a lovely walk. We stopped in to introduce ourselves to the new family in the neighborhood. They are very nice folks. The husband scored some books at the book sale tonight. I did some laundry & updated the First Friday web site.
8/18/2018. Last week, I had an appointment every day of the week. I am fairly tired.Today I got up very late. I washed a load of clothes, finished watering all the indoor plants, watered all the outdoor plants, and fed & put iron on the orange 🍊 tree. The husband made some delicious corn on the cob 😋😋😋!
Updated the First Friday web site.
Now that I've finished some major projects, I will write down some goals for the weeks ahead. Also did my PT exercises.
8/19/2018. My long time friends visited today! We made plans to see the new movie "Crazy Rich Asians". The Director is Jon Chu, son of Chef Chu's founder, Lawrence Chu. I'm so excited. We will go with their grandchildren next week.
My spiritual mentor also visited and we had a lovely walk. Later, the husband and I did a minor hose repair. I made my "to to" list. It is now very big 😲😲😲! I'll take it one item at a time in priority order.
8/20/2018. Shopped at TJ's today. I processed the July 4th pictures I received for FF and used them on the slider.
8/21/2018. I collected pictures for the Chamber of Commerce to use, posted them & sent a link. They are adding FF to the directory of events! I contacted my Wordpress mentor who taught me how to change some of the posts on the FF site. So, I updated the site, moving some ancient postings to past news and adding recent news. The husband & I shopped at Costco, I watered all my outdoor plants, & checked in for my appointment tomorrow at Stanford. I also completed some necessary paperwork and made two Swarovski angels.
8/22/2018. Today was challenging! I had a complete body contrast MRI at Stanford. This required spending 1 1/2 hours in a closed MRI machine. I was strapped in and was told I could not move. I could not bear to open my eyes because the ceiling of the machine was within a few inches of my head. To look at it made me feel very claustrophobic.
While in the machine, I counted backwards starting with 100 by various numbers (i.e. 7, 9, 6), went through the multiplication tables, made Swarovski angels in my mind, meditated, and prayed. I found this quite traumatic. After the test, the technician told me that they took over 4,000 images! I was there from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm. It certainly makes me feel for those who are held prisoners and tortured.
Afterwards I did an errand downtown, came home, ate, and had a long, lovely nap.
Afterwards I did an errand downtown, came home, ate, and had a long, lovely nap.
8/23/2018. Today was a great day. I went to PT. Then accompanied my friend and his two grand daughters to the movie "Crazy Rich Asians". The movie was uplifting and wonderful! We all loved it. I gave the two girls each a pair of earrings and an angel. One of the girls loves to make jewelry too!
8/24/2018. My good friend and our mutual friend came over so that I could look at some jewelry that needed repair. One piece was easily repaired, requiring only a jump ring. The other piece, a vintage aurora borealis necklace, required parts, including beads. We headed over to a local bead shop, & gathered the missing supplies & beads (cost $32!). I restrung it & it's ready for a fitting.
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| String broken |
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| Restrung, ready for sizing |
This was all a good distraction yesterday because the results of the MRI & MRI with contrast arrived. The results are showing two "suspected" myelomas on the bone. This is not the news we were hoping for.
8/25/2018. Today was a work day: wash clothes, water all inside & outside plants. The husband took me for a walk. We walked passed the local chickens. These two had a fabulous head dress of feathers. Later, the husband made hash browns with tofu and spinach, a dish he created 😋😋😋.
8/26/2018. My wonderful friend visited today & we had a nice walk. I showed her the neighborhood chickens with their lovely head-wear. The local gardens still abound with roses. Also harvested quite a few figs for my friend. The husband made delicious lentil soup with tofu! I'm trying hard to eat 48 grams of protein each day.
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| One of my favorite pieces of pottery in a neighboring garden! |
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| Clay artwork |
8/29/2018. Went to Trader Joe's, Orchard Supply (which is closing 😪), & Michael's craft store. I'm looking for a particular kind of bead stringing material which I did not find. My good friend visited & we picked her some figs. My neighbor & I walked & I got in 3.7 miles today 🚶🏻♀️!
9/3/2018. I organized all the pictures from the Giants game to send out to the other attendees & sent them out. It is my sister's birthday today. I made her a nice e-card with Il Volo singing to her!
9/4/2018. I I took care of some administrative matters. Randy made us stir fry hash browns with tofu & spinach 😋😋😋! I also worked on sorting some very old things in the garage.
9/13/2018. I'm looking to replace my VERY SLOW & VERY OLD laptop. I investigated a Mac & the biggest problem is my collection & organization of photos. It's do-able but will be very challenging. My tech friend helped me walk through all the possible solutions. I had an on-line chat with Dell today to get some prices. Watered the outside plants.
8/30/2018. I did some research on black Acacia trees today & how to stop them from sprouting all over after the tree is removed. They can easily regenerate from roots. The answer: just keep at it.
8/31/2018. We attended the Giants game! They won against the New York Mets 7-0! There were great fireworks after the game!
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| Hunter Pence at bat! |
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| Score Giants 7 Mets 0 👍👍👍 |
9/1/2018. It was our cousin Annie's funeral today. I did not attend. The trip would have required 6 hours in a car and I did not feel up to that. Annie was only 33. The husband & I shopped at Costco today. It's a good way for me to get my 2 miles of walking in just going up & down the aisles & of course snacking! I updated the FF web site.
9/2/2018. I updated the FF web site.9/3/2018. I organized all the pictures from the Giants game to send out to the other attendees & sent them out. It is my sister's birthday today. I made her a nice e-card with Il Volo singing to her!
9/5/2018. I finished the sorting & packing in the garage today, got my car washed & actually parked it in the garage! I visited my hairdresser & shopped at Trader Joes. It is very nice to be able to do a few things independently for the family.
9/6/2018. The wonderful cleaning people came today. I watered all the inside plants. Today was my sister & brother-in-law's 49th wedding anniversary 👰🏻🤵🏼🥂. I made them a nice e-card with their original wedding picture. Did some work for FF.
9/7/2018. I updated the FF web site & took myself for a nice walk. My sister & I also called our cousin regarding some administrative items.
9/8/2018. Went for a walk today with the husband & the neighbor. I watered all the outdoor plants. I got takeout from Chef Chu's today, so yummy 😋😋😋.
9/9/2018. Went for a walk today with the husband & the neighbor . We found these beautiful roses in the "hood! We definitely got in our two miles. I also washed clothes.
9/6/2018. The wonderful cleaning people came today. I watered all the inside plants. Today was my sister & brother-in-law's 49th wedding anniversary 👰🏻🤵🏼🥂. I made them a nice e-card with their original wedding picture. Did some work for FF.
9/7/2018. I updated the FF web site & took myself for a nice walk. My sister & I also called our cousin regarding some administrative items.
9/8/2018. Went for a walk today with the husband & the neighbor. I watered all the outdoor plants. I got takeout from Chef Chu's today, so yummy 😋😋😋.
9/9/2018. Went for a walk today with the husband & the neighbor . We found these beautiful roses in the "hood! We definitely got in our two miles. I also washed clothes.
9/10/2018. Today I saw Dr. Bellino, the Orthopedic Surgeon. He declared that everything looks good and I do not need to make any more follow up appointments unless I have problems. That was a surprise 😲! Since I don't like change, I didn't like this either. As my way of saying goodbye, I walked around the facility, said goodbye to their fabulous receptionist Ann, & listened to the piano player that we heard way back on February 12th. (My sister & husband accompanied me on this visit, my first with Dr. Bellino.) Three days later, I was in surgery!
Still in shock, I went to Costco to get gas & shopped, and shopped the closing sale at the nearby OSH. There I didn't find much. I was absolutely famished when I came home, so I ate, and took a too long nap.
9/12/2018. Today is the husband's birthday 🎉🎈🎊🎂🎁! The Frito's Fairy left him two large bags of Frito's. We had lunch at Hobee's and went for a 3 mile hike with our great neighbor.
9/11/2018. I'm remembering 9/11 today. Yes, I remember exactly where I was 17 years ago at the moment the planes started crashing into the World Trade Center. May all those souls rest in piece. It's on my bucket list to visit the memorial in NY and the newly created memorial in Pennsylvania.
Today I brought donation items to the Ecumenical Hunger Center, shopped at CVS, Spouts, and Safeway. Whew! My latest order of Swarovski crystals arrived today. I will get busy making more angels.
Today I brought donation items to the Ecumenical Hunger Center, shopped at CVS, Spouts, and Safeway. Whew! My latest order of Swarovski crystals arrived today. I will get busy making more angels.
9/14/2018. Today was a quiet day. I just hung around the house & didn't do much of anything.
9/15/2018. I made a few standing angels today.
9/14/2018. Today was a quiet day. I just hung around the house & didn't do much of anything.
9/15/2018. I made a few standing angels today.
9/16/2018. I watered all the indoor plants today.
9/16/2018. I watered all the indoor plants today.
My friend from church came over and we had a lovely walk & visit. We found these lovely cactus blooms along the way. The blooms only last for 1 day!
After our walk, we picked figs for my friend & her husband.
In the evening my husband made Normandy vegetables and stir fry tofu! 😋😋😋
9/18/2018. I met my walking friends for coffee. I got up early & picked 2 dozen figs. It was so wonderful to see everyone. Some of the folks I've not seen since June 2017 due to my injuries & two surgeries. We had a great time catching up. As usual, I did all the talking 😂!
Afterwards, I shopped at TJ's for the husband & myself. I had a lovely nap in the pm.
Since I've been in such a funk, I decided to visit with friends & family. I talked to one of my friends today also.
I had an on-line chat with Apple to determine the cost of a computer. It will be very expensive to get the one I want fully tricked out.
I also updated the First Friday web site to reflect the October event.
9/19/2018. They husband & I shopped at Costco & Bed Bath & Beyond. It was a fun outing. I did frustrate the husband today by being a little slow.
Our taxes arrived today. We reviewed them, signed them, and our accountant will file them.
I talked to one of my cousins today & we caught each other up on all the happenings. She suffered a "widow maker" heart attack last year. Thankfully, we
was literally at the doctors for another reason when the attack occurred. As soon as the medical staff realized what was happening they took her to the hospital & she was in surgery that day. She is doing very well.
I also made 3 standing angels. I have quite a few standing angels to make for my sister's friends and for Joan's husband & three children. If you look closely you will see they are holding hearts, to send blessings & prayers.
9/20/2018. A person came to give us an estimate on cleaning the solar panels, windows, skylights, window screens, glass doors, etc. I did errands downtown, including donating some old jewelry. Walking back to my car I had "separation anxiety" for some pieces that my Aunt June & Uncle Gee Gee gave me, so I returned to retrieve them! It is a bracelet and necklace set with "rubies" and a cameo made with fanciful scrolled wires.
I visited my long time friend and her gorgeous Afghan hound dog, Simon. When standing on his hind legs, Simon is 5' tall! We had a lovely visit. Also took care of some business items today, ordered food for Annie LuLu, & watered some outside plants. The husband made a delicious meal of pinto & garbanzo beans, spinach, & tofu.
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