Awesome food and great company...

 Monday was a beautiful day, except I was a little windy. I got up and Kelly and I decided to go to Duarte's in Pescadero to get some of their yummy Green Chile soup, they also give you some nice warm bread to go with it. We usually like to go there and pick it up and take it to pigeon point lighthouse but it was way too windy so we brought it home and eat it on the patio in the back, I just love my patio. My uncle wanted us to bring him back one of their pies, my cousin went camping up there and brought one back and my uncle loved it.

 Tuesday was a good day. I had an appointment to get my hair dyed, Samantha does such a great job and I love it. After my appointment Robby and I cruised around the beach for a while about and then headed home, it was time for Teresa to come and put me to bed. Heather was here cooking and it smelled so good in here it made me hungry so Heather fixed me a plate with stuffed chicken breast and kale. For breakfast I had chicken, potato and kale stew and for lunch I had fish and kale… it was a good day for kale.

Wednesday was another beautiful day. I went up to talk to my insurance agent about some life insurance, I want to make sure that my family can keep this house if something happens to me. We came back home and rested for a while and then Kelly and I took off for the farmers market, I just love that place. The hardest thing to try to decide is what to eat, we always try to eat before we shop… they say it makes you buy less but with us it just doesn't.  We decided to have a shredded pork taco and a shredded pork sopa, I had pineapple juice. We thought about getting a sauerkraut shot, they are usually gone by the time we get there they are so popular. We got some really beautiful fruits and vegetables and cruised on home. When we got home we were looking at our vegetables in the front yard and noticed a bunch of potatoes, tomatoes are quite right yet.

 Thursday was a really long day. I went to Stanford to try out some new exercises and brought home an exercise package that Lisa put together for me, she wants me to exercise 3 times a week and I can't wait to get started. We stopped at Best Buy on the way home to see if the Xbox is something that I can use when I am by myself, it looks like it is almost all voice command and motion command. I got it and brought it home and hopefully Karen will set it up for me, I'm really excited to get started with that too. We went to KFC and got some chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and corn… I have been craving KFC for a long time. After we ate it we remembered that we were supposed to do a fasting blood test the next morning and I couldn't get a blood test with all of that in my body, I hardly ever eat stuff like that, so we decided to wait and drink a lot of water and have it done on Saturday. We got home and did my personal care and I got to take a nice long hot bath, I always feel so much better after taking a bath.

Friday was a late day so I asked Karen to come in at 10 AM instead of 7 AM, it was so nice to be able to sleep in. I got up and took Robby for a little cruise and when I got back Kelly was getting ready to grill some pizzas. She had a bunch of ingredients and some fresh dough ready to go. My mom came down and Jim and Ursula came over and we set out on back porch and tried combinations of vegetarian pizza, we will definitely be doing this again because they were awesome and fun. Heather came by to cook but I have basically been eating out almost every day so there was nothing for her to do so she joined us on the back porch for a while. My aunt came over and she looked a lot better, she had major surgery almost 2 weeks ago. Tom and Kelly, Jim and Ursula and I went to see Eddie Money at the beach, in my opinion he puts on the best show of the summer. He doesn't talk a lot in between songs so he can play a lot more, they only have about 45 min. usually. We came back home and Teresa was setting up my exercise equipment in the living room. Teresa put me to bed and then went home, she finally gets a couple of days off.

 Saturday was a very interesting day. I needed to do a fasting blood test, nothing but water to eat or drink after midnight. To be on the safe side I drink a bunch of water before midnight and then nothing until after the test. As it turns out it was a blood and urine test so since I didn't drink anything after midnight I had no urine. They took about 5 or 6 vials of blood and then Tricia said to drink a ton of tea and we were going to go out to the van until I can produce enough urine but we decided to go home. Drinking a bunch of teeth really fast on an empty stomach is not really a good idea but I had to do it, after a while enough urine came out and Teresa rushed back… the place closed at noon. She texted me and said that she made it so I'm glad I don't have to do that again.  I ate some spinach, mushroom and cheese frittata that Teresa brought over… it was so delicious. I took Robby for a run through our regular route for a couple of hours and then came home and Karen put me to bed. Andi called Thursday and said that she had a virus and couldn't come in the weekend so Karen said she would fill in for her. Karen unhooked the Apple TV from my room and put it in the front bedroom where Tom and Kelly are staying so they don't have to watch Netflix on the laptop. She also put my Wii in the living room so that it can be used out there. She's going to hook up my Xbox tomorrow, I can't wait. Karen is really good at all that stuff because I think she has just about everything you can imagine and she installs it or puts it together pretty much herself, she is pretty handy to have around. I had some mustard chicken and tater tots and rested the rest of the evening, it was so nice.

Sunday turned out to be a really good day. I thought it was going to be cold so I just really warm but the sun came out and as it turned out I was just perfectly. Kelly and I went to Zachary's for breakfast and then down to the Polynesian art festival on the wharf. It was really crowded which was nice but there was a lot of really cool stuff down there. Somebody had taken some shells and made them into rings, they were big enough to hold my scarves together so I got a couple of them. I also got about 3 necklaces that are really cool. We got a really awesome turtle for outside also. I almost ate in bed but I'm glad that I got up. Kelly made a really delicious calzone from the rest of the ingredients from the grilled pizza smorgasbord. I ate way too much but it was so good. I had it with some brussels sprouts.

Beautiful weather, great company…

 Monday was a good day. Angie called and said she was going to bring her kids over to the boardwalk and asked if we would like to join her for sushi at Mobos,  Kelly and I have NEVER turn down an opportunity to go to this place. We were getting ready to leave and Angie called and said that I was way too much traffic to drive over here with 3 children so she turned around and went back home, the 1st time we have been able to connect and it was ruined by the stupid traffic. We will definitely get better chances. Kelly and I decided to go anyway and make the best of it. It is always really hard to try and decide what to get because everything is so good. Kelly ended up getting this udon soup with beef,  fried prawns and an egg… it looked so good. I got a calamari roll  and an order of tabiko, 2 of my favorites. Teresa came by after we got back to take me to my appointment with Dr. Hurray. Everything was looking so great he said I didn't really have to come back but he would like to see me one more time, it's  healing even faster than we anticipated, that is so nice to finally hear. We decided not to go to Charlie Hong Kong's because there was so much leftover food in the refrigerator and we were both just exhausted and wanted to get everything over with so we can just sleep. I even canceled Susan, the massage therapist, and although I will probably be sorry I just want to be warm and rest for the evening. For breakfast I had a poached egg and some sausage.

Tuesday was a nice relaxing day. I decided to stay in bed because it's going to be another long week and weekend. Dr. Owens wants me to rent one of those beach wheelchairs and go to the beach with her and her family, including the dogs. I think it will be a lot of fun. The accountant came over and paid my bills for me. For breakfast I had a poached egg, some fish with lemon and capers and roasted brussels sprouts for dinner I had some filet mignon and eggplant and zucchini.

Wednesday turned out to be a perfect day. I got up and cruise down to the bank with Robby and got a couple of things done, one of them was looking for a notary to sign my will and send it back to the lawyer, I am all legal now. On the way back Kelly and I met Tom at the farmers market, I LOVE the farmers market. It's really hard to try to decide what to eat because everything sounds wonderful and it doubles when you're hungry. I was looking at the spinach and ricotta fire roasted pizza when I caught a whif of the pulled pork being barbecued next-door and that was it for me… pulled pork taco it is. Kelly and I also split a vegetable sopa and chicken gordita. I found some duck eggs and some white nectarines and I was happy.

 Thursday Kelly and I went to San Francisco, we try to go at least once a week because we both love it there. We went to the slanted door and got an imperial roll and some chicken with rice noodles, everything tasted so good. We decided to get dessert so Kelly got a banana cream pie and I got a gingerbread cupcake and we split it with mocha coffee. We were both in heaven…  we have always wanted to go across the street and check out what the vendors have. I got a scarf,  a couple of hats and a bandanna and Kelly got a scarf and hat. The weather was just perfect.

 Friday was another beautiful day. They had a presurgery appointment with Dr. Owens. I guess when you get to be my age you have to have the EKG and all blood pressure before they will let you have surgery, I did great and it's on… we came back home and rested for a bit and took Robby cruising around for a little bit. I decided not to go to the concert, they were practicing in the middle of the day so I got to see them then. Today was Andi's 1st evening to put me to bed by herself and she did great.

Saturday was awesome. Tom, Kelly and I went to the Buttery Café and bakery and got some coffee and then went to Dig Garden, Tom had never been there before and wanted to go because we talk about it so much and what a great place it is… he was not disappointed. We were going to go down to Duorte's to get Green Chile soup and bread but we didn't make it. As we were getting into the van Andi called and said she wasn't feeling well and she wasn't coming into work, luckily Teresa came to the rescue and after my personal care she gave me a nice long hot bath and put me to bed. Before that we decided to just go back by the buttery café and get a baguette and have a little picnic on the back porch. We had orange fennel salami, mushrooms salami, Ft. Pierce and red Hawk cheese and a couple of different kind of hummis's… it was awesome!

 Sunday I was supposed to take Robby to a nearby beach with Dr. Owens and her dogs but I ended up staying in bed, luckily Teresa took Robby so he still got to play. It was so nice to just relax. Andi came in but was still feeling sick so I asked her to go home, I cannot risk getting sick before my surgery. Heather came by and brought me the chicken salad wrap that she made, it was so good I ate it all. My aunt and uncle, Lee and Claudia and my mom and I played cribbage, my aunt wasn't feeling good so she ended up going home. I think I lost $4. When Robby came home he was so exhausted he looked like a little kid who refused to go to sleep, his eyes were closing and his head was dropping that he didn't like it.

Ready for an awesome week…

 Monday Theresa took me to Stanford for some more research and testing. Lisa, the one who is doing the research, is trying to find some exercises for me to make my pinch grip stronger. We stopped at Safeway on the way  and got some sandwiches to split. One was salami, prosciutto, marinated mozzarella cheese,  pepperchinis, lettuce and tomato and the other one was Turkey, avocado, bacon, lettuce and tomato and some bugles and Fritos… there's not really anything close to being there and Safeway sandwiches are killer. We also got a breakfast sandwich that was ham, egg and cheese on chibatta bread. It usually takes about 4 to 5 hours for them to hook up the electrodes and check the strength of my muscles. They check the strength and then put me on an exercise program for about 10 weeks, during a home visit after about 5 weeks, and then test my strike again. I think I lost a lot of muscle tone on our road trip in February because I didn't cruise around as much as I do here, I'm really hoping this will help.

Tuesday I was going to leave early, I had an appointment with Claudia to get a manicure, and I ran into my uncle and aunt, Tom and Kelly and Luanna and Malaya on their way to the bagelry to get a bagel and Chai tea… I had to join them. As soon as I got there and ordered my tea it was time for me to go. I went to sunshine Villa and Samantha didn't my nails, I think it's time to dye my hair again because I can see roots and gray. I cruise Robby around for a while, I decided to take a different route just because. I came home and went to bed.

Wednesday I got up and cruised Robby around for a while, the weather is just getting so beautiful. I'm trying to find new routes to cruise Robby, I like my old route but I would like to get to know Santa Cruz better.  I'm trying to find a good source of exercise and somebody suggested the Xbox because it has voice command features  so Teresa took me to Best Buy to check it out, the guy sitting at the desk in the games section was no help at all so I guess I'll do some research online and talked to my little brother.  I went to see Dr. Hurray and he said it looks like I will be pressure sore free in 2 weeks, originally he said for so this is awesome. On the way home of course we stopped at Charlie Hong Kong's and I got my usual pad Thai noodles with garlic tofu,  I always save about half to have the next morning with a poached egg on top. For breakfast I had a poached egg and some toast.

Thursday was an awesome day for the most part. I got up early so Kelly and I could leave at 10:30 AM to go spend the day in San Francisco, usually when Kelly's here we try to go once a week and this is the 1st time we are able to in 3 weeks. Of course we got caught in traffic and it took us about 2 hours to get there, a garbage truck hit a pole and knocked down a bunch of electrical wires on Highway 17. We got there and the 1st thing we did  was get some Roman   noodles with the works, they were even better than we remembered. We got some salami and prosciutto, some bread, some cheese and before we knew it was time to head back home so we got some Vietnamese coffee. I had to be back home by 4 because Teresa and I were interviewing a girl for caregiving position we have open. Of course we had traffic again on the way back so I didn't get here until 6 PM, our interview was at 5 PM, luckily Teresa was here and talk to her until I got here.  I talk to her for a while and I really like her and found out after she left that Theresa liked her also so we decided to give her a try for a couple weeks and see if it works out, I hope it works out. I didn't have anything for breakfast except coffee because I wanted to hurry up and get to San Francisco and have Roman noodles. I had Ramen noodles for lunch.

Friday I got up and took Robby for cruise. I asked Karen to not come in until 10 AM so I could sleep in a little, it felt great. We barbecued some sausages, tater tots, orzo salad and some sauerkraut and some flat bread and hummus we got at the farmers market in Los Gatos on Sunday and then went to the John Waite concert at the beach, it was such a beautiful day and beautiful evening. I came back and Teresa was showing Andi what needed to be done and then when I got home what needed to be done with me, I still really like her and I think she's going to work out great. It is always uncomfortable for a while when somebody new starts and right now I have 2 new people so I'm looking forward to a couple of weeks down the road when everything is more comfortable, it will happen.

 Saturday was another great day. I got up and Tom, Kelly and I went to Alice's restaurant, we try to go there at least once a year. The sun was out here but it was foggy over the ocean on Highway 1. We met Ursula there and had a really nice breakfast on the deck. Kelly and I split a bacon, avocado and tomato omelette and some home fries, we both feel better when we split something or else we will just make ourselves sick. As we were leaving we saw our golden retriever in a car with the windows barely rolled down, some people shouldn't be allowed to have animals. It was probably about 76° outside so can you imagine how hot it was in the vehicle? Ursula found the owners and asked them to please take the dog out of the car and thankfully they did… I wanted to just grab the dog and ran to the van and bring him home. On the way home we stopped at Apple jacks, Tom's favorite hangout. It was a really awesome  little bar that has the best bloody Mary's around, it was a little cooler there. When we got home Theresa and Andi were here going through the dyes that I have to see what we need to start d dying some shirts. Teresa showed Andi how to put me to bed, give me a nice long hot bath and then put me to bed again, I really like both of the new girls we have been training.

Sunday I got to sleep in until 8 AM, I don't get to sleeping very much so I love it. Teresa brought over some Chili relleno for breakfast, it was so good. I took Robby for a cruise through the lagoon, to the bridge overlooking the wharf and back. At the Depot Park they must've just had some kind of marathon because everything was fenced off but they were cleaning it up. I saw a shirt that said “my running partner has 4 legs” and it had pawprints all over it, I really wanted to get it but I didn't. I came home and they had already started up the barbecue. Kelly and Heather were cooking up a taco feast for a lot of our friends. They barbecued halibut on cedar planks, cooked some pulled pork, made a couple different kinds of salsa, some guacamole, a tomato feta salad, a jicama salad and Ursula brought a green salad… everything was awesome. Dr. Owens and her family came by and a couple of Dr. Owens friends, Jim and Ursula and of course Tom and Kelly, Teresa, Heather and I and we ate until we couldn't eat anymore. Andi came by to put me to bed and joined us for a while.  We all decided to do this more often because it was so nice, maybe every Sunday.