Sunday, August 28, 2011

I had a great week anyway...


Monday was a perfect day. We actually saw the sun before noon, doesn’t happen a lot in Santa Cruz. The new gardener, Otis, came over today and brought three of his dogs but none of them really wanted to play with Robby. He has an Australian Shepherd that is totally focused on the tennis ball, a Chihuahua mix that is really cute and a cattle dog that just wanted to give everyone in a circle, she is adorable. It was really warm so Robby and I took our old Route down past the lighthouse, the wind made it such a great cruise... unfortunately I forgot my sunglasses so I got sand in my eyes. I forgot how beautiful it was cruising along the ocean. My uncle has been dying to have someone come over and teach them how to make chili so Tom and Kelly went over to help him make some, I hope they make garlic bread also. My uncle loves to make a lot of food and feed everyone, that’s how he shows his love. He can’t eat much anymore because he had gastric bypass surgery but he loves food.

Tuesday we decided to FINALLY go on the roaring Camp railroads train ride from Santa Cruz to Felton and back, we have been trying to find a good day to go for a while and today seemed like it. We got down to where the train parks to pick people up, in front of the carousel horses will on the boardwalk, and a lady came up and asked me if everything was okay because I was leaning back in my chair and I told her I was waiting for the train and she told me that she didn’t think it was running today. She said a large group of kids were there yesterday to take the train ride and it never showed up. She said she did PR for the boardwalk and called the office and apparently it only runs on weekends now that the kids are back in school. So we decided to go to wing stop, I had a couple of groupons and I have been wanting to try it. We got into the restaurant to sit down and noticed that on the menu it said Parish Publick House so we decided to try this place, a very happy accident because the food was great. Kelly and I split a sandwich called the hangovers helper with an egg, avocado, bacon and cheese and it was really good. Tom had shepherds pie and he said he was was really good also, we will definitely be going back. We came home and I took Robby for another short cruise and Theresa put me to bed.

Wednesday Robby and I cruised over and met Heather for sushi at Mobos, I LOVE that place. I had a Norcal which is basically an order of California roll with popcorn shrimp covering the top and some green tea. After lunch we went over to see the help, it was a really great movie. After that I cruised over and met Teresa at dig, it’s a really cool nursery. Kelly and I went there to check it out after my last dentist appointment and I got a bunch of air plants, some bark, some twigs with Moss on them in a glass hanging container and I loved it so much I went back to get more. The first one I got was pre-made so I went back to get everything to make my own in a bigger teardrop glass terrarium, they have everything but the twigs... you have to go find those outside somewhere. I met Teresa back here and in the standing frame for half an hour, took a nice long hot bath and went to bed.

Thursday Kelly and I picked out some pictures for the collage Tom and Kelly are going to hang on my wall, I’m so excited. I decided to take Robby for a cruise and it was pretty warm so we went down past the lighthouse, the breeze felt so good. We were going to go to natural Bridges Beach but there was a bunch of guys working on the trail so I decided to turn around and go back. I was laying back by the lighthouse and Heather texts me and said she was going to cruise down West Cliff so I told her I was at the lighthouse so she met me and we talked for a while. It actually started to get a little cold and I could feel the old air on my broken tooth I was going to cruise back home. I got down to the bottom of the hill and it felt better so we cruised down to the wharf and then cruised home. On the way home I saw some twigs on the ground with most of them so I had Robby pick them up and put them in my lap, a couple of them he bit down a little too hard and crack to the bark but we got a couple. When I got home there was only one on my lap so I got Robby some water and we went back to look for it. I found it and decided to go back and get some more so I found a bunch, Robby pick them up for me. I found a really long one and tried to get Robby to pick it up but it was too awkward for him so I saw a lady across the street and asked her to help me, her son came over and picked it up for me and put it across my chair and I headed home. He was sticking out about 2 feet on each side and every time I went by a tree or a poll I thought I was going to lose it so I finally turned it so it was on my shoulder and we made it home just as Heather was coming over so she helped me. Pretty good I think for someone in a chair and her dog... what a great team we make.

"The Bed Puppy
Now I lay me down to sleep,
The king-size bed is soft and deep.
I sleep right in the centre groove,
My human can hardly move!
I've trapped her legs, she's tucked in tight,
And here is where I pass the night.
No one disturbs me or dares intrude
Till morning comes and "I want food!"

I sneak up slowly to begin,
My nibbles on my human's chin.
She wakes up quickly,
I have sharp teeth -
I'm a puppy, don't you see?

For the mornings here and it's time to play
Always seem to get my way.
So thank you Lord for giving me,
This human person that I see.
The one who hugs me and holds me tight,
And sacrifices her bed at night!"
A Puppy Poem By: Author Unknown

Friday was the end of a great week. We decided to have a barbecue and then go to the boardwalk to see Eddie Money. Kelly made a ton of awesome food, BBQ pork ribs with homemade barbecue sauce, sausages, chicken marinated with lemon and garlic, skirt steak with a killer sauce that she made for that, corn on the cob with horseradish, mustard and butter sauce and my aunt made shrimp pasta salad and potato salad. At first we didn’t think that anybody was going to show up so we started eating. Pretty soon two couples showed up and then a lady with her two kids, her husband couldn’t make it because he was in Germany. Kelly’s friend Ursula made a peach cobbler, it is so awesome to be surrounded by chefs. We almost decided that we were having so much fun visiting that we were going to skip the concert but Tom talked me into going and I’m so glad that he did, Eddie Money puts on one of the best shows ever in the concert on the beach history. Unfortunately there is only one more concert and then we have to wait till next year. It started out being really warm today but it seems like as soon as the sun goes down it gets really cold really fast, by the time I got home from the concert I was freezing. The fog started coming in and it almost felt like it was sprinkling, welcome to Santa Cruz. Then at 12:20 AM I couldn’t sleep so I was laying here watching TV and I could feel my bed shake I looked up at my fan was swinging... EARTHQUAKE!

Saturday I just could not keep my eyes open, the whole time Karen was here. I felt bloated and sleepy all day so I just stayed in bed and slept, I hope I feel better tomorrow.

Sunday was another long morning and another day of having to stay in bed, the weather is so beautiful outside I really hate this. At least I got a long hot bath before I went back to bed, really a great feeling. Kelly made some blueberry scones, they were nice and warm when my mom brought them down... the days just getting better.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Pretty much sick all week...





Monday was a really long hard day. After my personal care I just took a bath and went back to bed and slept, poor Karen didn’t even get out of here until about 4 PM... she got here at 6 AM.

Tuesday was a really good day. I got up and out of here early. I was on my way out the door to cruise with Robby and Tom and Kelly asked me if I wanted to go get a bagel and some chai tea, I have been wanting to try that tea for a long time and I loved it... I came home and ordered some for myself. After that Robby and I cruised through town, over to pet Smart, down the river, through the boardwalk, through the wharf, through the lagoon and back home... this is backwards from our regular route. I decided not to cruise underneath the bridge is on the trail down the river anymore, instead I go up to the street and crossover. I have heard a couple people say that it makes them really nervous that I do that and I have to admit I have been a little scared a couple times. For some reason doing our little cruise backwards made it go a lot faster, maybe because I wasn’t nervous about going under the bridges. The other day I ran into a couple of guys who said they had mental disabilities and had to smoke marijuana. They had a puppy with them that of course came after Robby wanting to play and I didn’t know how to tell them Robby couldn’t play because he had his vest on so I tried to be polite as possible and move on. The puppy got tangled in Robby’s leash so the guy came over and took a leash off my arm and the dogs started to run away until I called Robby back. It’s a little frustrating since I’m trying really hard to keep robbing from getting so excited when people and dogs come around, we are working on it and he’s getting better.

"The average dog has one request to all humankind. Love me."
--Helen Exley

Wednesday I took Robby for a cruise and then I went to see Claudia for a manicure/pedicure. One of my evening caregivers sister started working at the place where Claudia is so I got to meet her this afternoon also, their family seems to be so nice. We went for another short cruise and then I came home so Karen could put me to bed, she was here watching the soccer game. Lee and Claudia, my aunt and uncle and my mom and I played cribbage... we haven’t played for a couple of weeks.

Thursday was another bad day with personal care so I decided to just stay in bed, I was exhausted.

Friday was another bad day, I’m not only having problems with my personal care I think I’m also catching a cold so another day in bed. I can’t believe I missed the concert on the beach but it looked like it was going to be cold anyway.

Saturday was another miserable day stuck in bed, I have to start feeling better soon or me and my dog are going to go crazy. Luckily Tom and Kelly are here and take him for walks so he can burn a little bit of energy.

Sunday I was feeling so much better and ready to get up and out of here. Tom, Kelly and I took the dogs to Alice’s restaurant for breakfast. They took my mom and I there last year when they were here and we loved it. It was pretty packed in there so we waited for awhile then decided to cruise around and look at the motorcycles and go somewhere else to eat when a guy came out and offered us his table and they would sit in the table next to it, people can be so nice. Kelly and I shared an Alice’s omelette, and only with tomatoes, avocados, bacon and cheese. We also had hashbrowns, toast and coffee. Tom had a cheeseburger and french fries. We cruised around and looked at some pretty cool places and came home. We were going to stop at another little place that Tom and Kelly found that serves this killer soup and bread but there was a festival going on in the little town and it was PACKED so we decided to come back another day. I suggested to Tom that we go back tomorrow, they have green chili soup and artichoke soup.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Spinal Cord Injury Support Group BBQ/Potluck...






Monday at the last minute I decided just stay in bed. It looked like it was going to be really cold and overcast outside and I was just exhausted. I found a mobile carwash company that will come out once a month and wash my van, it’s looking pretty bad. It was a really nice relaxing day.

Tuesday started out to be a really good day. I had an appointment with Dr. jet hoping to finally find out why I am having stomach problems. She got a copy of the x-rays that took but they didn’t really help. She gave me a couple of really good suggestions to try. I really like her and she’s very knowledgeable. After that I went over to Quest to get some blood drawn for a bunch of tests that I’m supposed to do once a year. They took about six vials so I hope they have enough. On the way back we decided to call my uncle and see if everybody wanted to go over to the wooden nickel for lunch, of course everybody did. Every time we go out I always eat way too much and Kelly and I decided that we would split something. We split a BLT sandwhich and had a huge mound of fries. They also give you a little cup of coleslaw and some chocolate cake with whatever you order. Tom had calamari and rice and we were jealous. My uncle had a shrimp salad that had the biggest bay shrimp I have ever seen. Sylvia and her friend had fish and chips, also very killer. Before we went to the restaurant Karen texted me and said that Teresa wasn’t coming in so she was going to come back and put me to bed. They were going to have a family meeting to decide whether they should take Patrick off of life support, I can’t believe it. Patrick takes care of my yard and is in a band. We just went to see him play about a month ago and two weeks later he ended up in the hospital with liver cancer and he is gone downhill since. He is such an awesome guy and I am going to miss him so bad.

Wednesday my morning care took a long time so I decided to take a nice long hot bath and just go back to bed. I have been thinking about Patrick a lot and I’m just very sad. His girlfriend just lost her brother and her nephew and now the love of her life.


Thursday I was so excited to finally get my broken tooth fixed, so excited that I made the appointment for 10 AM. I try not to do that because sometimes it’s really hard to get up that early but I did it. It turned out I didn’t need a root canal I just needed to replace the porcelain crown, that was really good news. After the dentist we stopped by to get Tom, Kelly took me to the dentist. We went to Costco and about halfway through our shopping experience by tooth fell out and it hurt like crazy. We call the dentist office and they said to come on back over so we finished our shopping and then went back. It didn’t take her very long to glue it back in so we decided to go to the roadhouse restaurant for dinner. Right before our food came I could feel the corner of the tooth lift up with my tongue so Kelly called the dentist again and they were busy to the doctor said he would come by my house on his way home. We packed up my dinner for later and I had a cup of puréé corn soup, it was really good. When we got home I was in the driveway with Robby when the doctor came. It was so sweet and he fixed my tooth and then went on home, I really hope it stays intact at least through the weekend. While my caregiver was putting me to bed my family decided to go out to eat so they brought me back a plate of tacos, beans and rice so I ate the tacos, I shouldn’t have and I know I’m going to be sorry but they were really good.

Friday turned out to be a really good day. I started off with a massage and then got up and took Robby for a cruise to the wharf and back, it was a beautiful day. We, Tom and Kelly and Lexi and Seth and I, decided to skip the concert on the beach and go to the movies, we decided to see the movie Buck. It was a really good movie, if Tom had not suggested it I would have never gone to see it. After the movie we decided to go to Mobos for sushi and of course that was also awesome.

Saturday was our spinal cord injury potluck/barbecue. We decided to have it at Joe and Maria’s place. They lived in an apartment complex that is wheelchair friendly and easy to find. It was a really beautiful place and hopefully we will be able to have more events there, I’m hoping that if we have more fun stuff more people will come to the support groups. There was only about nine people there but we had a really good time. I brought some croissant sandwiches and Joe and Maria made some killer kebabs and we really had a good time just visiting. Marv brought his new service dog Yara and after we ate we watched them play and that was really entertaining, they were so funny. Debi, the lady that made the carrot cake for my surprise birthday party, made another cake for me to bring and everyone loved it. Tom, Kelly and Karen went with me to help set up and to take pictures. I was just going to ask Tom and Kelly to drop us off because I figured there wasn’t going to be very many people there and I thought it would be boring but ended up staying and I’m glad they did, it was a beautiful day and everyone had a great time.


Sunday I got up and took Robby on a really long cruise through the lagoon, to the end of the wharf and back, through the boardwalk, down the river to Ross and back through town. There was a bunch of pelicans at the end of the wharf, one of them blonde. On my way back by one of them swooped down really close to me, they are HUGE. I looked behind me and they were going after a fish that a lady pulled up from the water, she battled with them for a little while and one. I looked around and two pelicans were standing really close to me, it was awesome. After we got back home my uncle came over to say hello and told me that he cut his grandsons bike in half, that is the funniest thing I ever heard and what a great lesson. He said he told him he better put it away and not leave it in the middle of the walkway or he would cut it in half and apparently his grandson just looked at him and went in and grabbed a gallon of ice cream and started eating it. My uncle told him he had 10 minutes to move it and came back out a half-hour later and it was still there so he cut it in half. His grandson cried and his grandma felt bad for him but I bet he doesn’t do that again??

Monday, August 8, 2011

Doobie Brothers...






Monday I had my Friday massage because my massage therapist was not going to be here on Friday. It still felt really great and it felt good to sleep in a little even though I stayed in bed for a couple of days. The dentist called me and of course my dentist was on vacation for a week so they had me come in and take x-rays and sent me to another dentist around the corner. I needed to have a root canal done according to the x-rays and although this dentist could do a root canal he could not do the crown so my choice was to have a root canal and and a really big hole in my mouth for a week or have a really small hole in my mouth I guess as long as it’s not hurting I will wait until my doctor comes back from vacation.

On Tuesday Robby and I both went to the beauty parlor. Robby gets a bath on the first Tuesday of every month but I think I might start having my caregivers give him a bath, he’s already itchy. I went to see Claudia to get a manicure/pedicure. I came back in the house keepers were still here so I hung out on the back porch for a while, I love that place. I took Robby for cruise.

Wednesday I ended up staying in bed again, I’m having pressure sore issues and it looks like I’ll have to be careful for a while. Every time I lose weight I feel really great but I get a lot of skin breakdowns, I don’t know which is worse, to be overweight were to have skin issues. Both feels really bad.

Thursday I got up really late. I have been looking forward to this day since July, when I got the tickets to see the Doobie Brothers. My brother and I went to see than at the Saratoga Mountain winery a couple of years ago and swore we would go back. Unfortunately my brother couldn’t make it but I knew Tom and Kelly would be here and they would enjoy it. There was a burger place up on mission street that I have been wanting to try so we went there first to get something to eat. Kelly and I split a veggie burger and sweet potato fries. The burger was made with black beans and was very moist and delicious, I had never had a veggie burger before. A grilled cheese sandwich hamburger, instead of buns the hamburger patty was put between two grilled cheese sandwiches... it looked really good. After we found gas for the van we headed out to the Mountain winery, I forgot how narrow and winding the road was to get to the winery but the concert was definitely worth it. The view was amazing and the Doobie Brothers put on one of the best shows I have seen for a very long time. We all enjoyed the concert very much. I can’t wait to go again, they have such a great lineup. I haven’t been there for about four years and it looks like we did pretty much the whole thing, except for the stage area. It was so beautiful, all done in rock. We had our own little balcony and every seat in the place was a great seat. Next time we go we will have to try dinner there before, I peeked at some of the dishes on our way through and they looked amazing. I’ve gone to a couple of concerts there where we had dinner before and everybody was always satisfied. What a great evening, I’m so glad I got to share it with Tom and Kelly. I got to bed at 1 AM but was so excited I didn’t get sleepy until about 4 AM and then realized that Robby’s automatic food dish was going to empty his food in two hours so I made myself stay awake. Sure enough at 6 AM and emptied food into his dish but he would not listen to me and ate without me giving him the command, not good. I guess I don’t use it for the mornings anymore. After that I was so angry that he didn’t listen to me that I could not go to sleep at all, needless to say I was very tired next-day. He was just hungry I know.

Friday I got up late again so I could go eat dinner with Tom and Teresa after I took Robby for a cruise. Teresa couldn’t make it so Tom and I went to the ideal restaurant by the wharf and had a really great meal, we both had pasta with artichokes and tomatoes, I had prawns with my and it was AWESOME. We went down to the beach to watch the gin blossoms perform and even though we got there at 6 PM we had a really good view, I couldn’t believe the place was not packed. I heard later that highway 17 was backed up all the way into San Jose, luckily there is a second show at 8:30 PM... I bet that show was packed.

Saturday I just decided to take a nice long hot bath and go back to bed, I was exhausted. I was supposed to go with a group of people to Los Banos, the wool growers restaurant, but it was just couldn’t be too long of a day so I decided I better just relax and stay home. We were expecting family from out of town so it was nice to have somebody here. It was a really nice relaxing day. My mom’s cousin and her friend came to visit from Montana. It’s been a couple of years since I have seen her. I think they’re going to stay for about a week so we will get to know each other again.

Sunday was a great day. The weather was just perfect and Robby and I got to go for a really long cruise, we have gone cruising but not one this long in a while. After we came home and rested we practiced some of our commands, I wanted to do it when there was other people around because he really gets distracted and wants everybody to pay attention to him. I got his recertification card today and it’s only for a year do we really need to work on ignoring people. I also borrowed a skateboard from my cousin’s son across the street to keep around Robby’s bed and his food to get him used to it, he tries to jump out of the way of skateboards. I went to bed and watched Rando with my mom, her cousin and her cousin’s friend. It was my second time seeing it, I thought it was so cute.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Gilroy garlic Festival...

Monday I got up and took Robby for really long cruise and practice of the bunch of his commands, a nose all his commands he just gets a little more excited with people around. I try to take him through the boardwalk and the wharf so he can get used walking by people and ignoring them.

Tuesday I took Robby for a very long cruise and then I had an appointment at Dr. Owens office. I just wanted to get all of my yearly appointments finished before Teresa went back to school at the end of August, so I get to look forward to that next month.

Wednesday we were going to go on the roaring Camp Railroad ride through Santa Cruz and Felton but it looked like it was going to be way too cold. We went to the Farmer’s market instead and have these really killer roasted potatoes. There is a track that sells rotisserie chicken and roasted potatoes.

Thursday we went to San Francisco to have noodles. It looked like it was going to be really cold but turned out to be a beautiful day. It’s really hard to find a place for Robby to go to the bathroom around there but I eventually found a place and went back there in time. We decided we were going to try to go back there every Thursday, on the other side there is an arts and crafts area that we didn’t even get to look at.

Friday was recertification for Robby Day. I met a couple of the ladies at the Capitol Mall and they ran him through a couple of cases and he did pretty good. They weren’t sure if they were going to recertify him for a year or three years because he still has issues with people, it’s hard to keep people and other dogs away from him around here. We decided not to go to the concert.

Saturday I had planned on staying in bed because it was such a long week and next week is long also. My uncle asked me if I wanted a lifesaver’s candy and it broke my tooth, I couldn’t believe it, Saturday afternoon and the pain was unbelievable. My mom had a couple of Vicodin upstairs so I took those and it made me feel even worse, I had never taken Vicodin before. I had an anxiety attack but had to wait for a while to take a Xanax so needless to say I had a miserable night and. Kelly went down to CVS and got me some wax to cover the whole site didn’t have the nerve pain.

Sunday we were supposed to go to the Gilroy garlic Festival. After the night I had the night before and the fear of my tooth breaking again I didn’t dare go. I had been looking forward to it for a long time but that’s the way it goes sometimes. At least Tom and Kelly got to go, I think they would enjoy it very much. I just stayed home in bed again and slept most of the day, I should feel pretty good by tomorrow.

30th eighth grade graduation reunion...

Monday I decided to stay in bed because I had a bad morning I was exhausted. I took a nice long hot bath and rested all day but I couldn’t sleep, as tired as I was.

Tuesday and was supposed to go on the roaring Camp Railroad with Tom and Kelly, we have been wanting to do this for a long time. I had another really long morning and didn’t feel good so we ended up not going, luckily the tickets are good for another day. I got up and cruised around with Robby for a little bit but it was really hot and I was really tired.

Wednesday I felt much better and I went to see Claudia to get a manicure and pedicure, that always makes me feel better. Robby and I cruised down the reservoir and met Teresa at cost plus. I saw some dragonfly wire wrapped lights so I want to get them before they were gone, I even looked online and they were out of them everywhere. I got the lights and a really cool bottle mobile, the guy ringing us up bad mouthed my mobile the whole time he was wrapping it up. I also got some sand to put it outside, I had a bunch of shells and starfish shaped dishes to put them in. We decided to go by Ross and looked around but didn’t really see anything.

Thursday I got up and was going to run Robby around but it was really cold and overcast so I was waiting for the sun to come out, it never did. Kelly suggested we go to the roadhouse restaurant in Davenport so we all drove out there. Kelly and I split an order of fish tacos and truffle, Parmesan fries... they were AWESOME. We also got garbanzo beans, still in the little husk cooked in red chili oil and lemon, they were also AWESOME. We will definitely be going back there. I came home and went to bed and here it is 11:46 PM and I can’t sleep. I guess I can to catch up on my TiVoed programs.


Friday was a great day. I got my massage, got up and took Robby for a really long cruise through Santa Cruz and back, went to dinner with Tom and Kelly at the ideal bar and grill and then went to the average White band concert on the beach. The band was okay but dinner with my cousins was awesome. Kelly and I split a crab and shrimp melt and some french fries. It started getting really cold towards the end of the concert so we were glad to get home where was warm.

Saturday I was supposed to go to my eighth grade 30 year reunion. My brother was going to fly down from Georgia and my friend Sheri from fifth grade was going to spend the night and go with us also. At the last minute everybody had something come up and they couldn’t make it. Tom and Kelly said that they would take me but I figured I would just get it and go next year.

Sunday we decided to go to Alice’s restaurant for breakfast, Tom and Kelly took us before and it was not only a really nice drive but a cute little place. We got about down to the roadhouse and my mom called and said our Modesto family is here so we turned around and came back. We ended up going to the roadhouse and had a really nice meal and then came back and hung out for awhile.