Not back in the saddle again...

An 82-year-old friend of the family got mugged a couple of weeks ago and I am so excited to say that they caught the guy. Think goodness he confessed so that Helen does not have to go through a trial. Apparently he has had a drug problem for a while and hopefully he gets what he deserves and get off drugs.

The last couple of weeks have been pretty boring because for most of it I have been stuck in bed. Last Monday I had an appointment with my primary care doctor and an appointment with my rehab doctor on Thursday. I got a blood test for menopause and to see how severe my colitis is. On Monday I have an appointment in Watsonville at the wound care clinic and it looks like I will be going there a couple of times a week for awhile.

Today turned out to be a really great day. Yesterday it was 101° here in Santa Cruz and I was so afraid that it was going to be the same here today because I was invited to a barbecue across the street for Alex and Jack’s birthday. They have some cool friends and I always feel so comfortable around all of them. I thought the weather was going to be really warm but it actually started cooling down when I went over there and I had a really great time.

Cassie is going to start working for me again on Friday. She worked for me when I first moved in here but she was going through some problems so we agreed to wait a year and try it again, she is doing so much better now and I really hope that works out.

It has been a while...

The concert last Friday, Greg Kihn, was awesome. The lady that usually tries to take up a lot of space was just keeping to herself, maybe they finally helped her to understand.

When I got home the Modesto gang was here. It was Stanley and Corinne’s birthday so they came for the weekend. Corrine brought one of her friends and they decided to spend Saturday at the Boardwalk. After that we all went out to dinner at Mobo’s and of course everybody loved it.

So far this week I am just staying in bed because of our pressure sore that just won’t go away and it’s really making me stir crazy. Heather and Linda came over and kept me company today and Heather cooked a really good dinner... calamari with butter and capers, squash and zucchini strudel, asparagus and rice and for dessert tiramisu.

I did get up this week because my niece, Corrine, is staying with me. On Monday we went to go see “the Time traveler’s wife”, I called to see if Heather and Linda would like to join us and they said they probably wouldn’t make it but showed up, it was a nice surprise. I thought the movie was going to be kind of strange but I liked it very much. On Tuesday I went to see Claudia to get a manicure and pedicure and Linda came over to the house to cut and color Corinne’s hair, it looks really cute and she loves it.

Lexi came down to stay for a couple of days so we cruised the wharf and then went to rent a couple of movies. While we were on the wharf we saw a sea lion that had gotten tangled up with a fisherman’s line, it really broke my heart to see the fishing hooks dangling from the side of his mouth and not be able to do anything about it. We found a whale watching rental shack and talk to the lady and she said that if we took pictures she would look at them and call the authorities but there probably wasn’t much that can be done. As we were leaving we saw a rescue team out by the lifeguard building and told them about it and they said that they were out training and that they would go and take a look and see if there was anything they could do, that made us feel a lot better.

The concert this week is Patty Smyth and the scandals. I haven’t decided if I want to go see that but I think it earlier that day we are going to see “Julie and Julia”, that looks like a really good movie. I’m really going to try to start going to the movies at least once a week, by myself if I can’t find anybody to go with me. I did a couple of times by myself and had no problems but that was when I had Brodie but I know I can do it they will just take a couple of times to prove to myself how easy it is.

Next week is back to staying in bed until my pressure sore is totally healed. I made the mistake of letting one of my caregivers take pictures so I could see the progress and it really scared me so I will have to make myself just stay off of it until it is healed.

What a nightmare...

What a huge nightmare that colonoscopy was. First of all I had to go without eating, until having to drink 4 L of thick, nasty, pineapple flavored goo the worst thing I thought could happen. I got it all down and amazingly was able to keep it down but it made me feel horrible, I had to constantly fight to keep it down and my stomach was so bloated I thought it was going to pop. From what I heard from everyone else it cleans you out really fast, not for me. Because I cannot run to the bathroom whenever needed they gave me something called a colon catheter. It basically looks like a big jellyfish in the top of it fills with water so it does not slide out, perfect I thought. It constantly leaked around the edge so somebody had to be here at all times. Teresa stayed here until 11 PM but had to work the next day so my mom ended up staying up until 3 AM, my caregiver was supposed to be here at 4 AM. I had taken a bath the morning before but I was so sweaty from the chills and the constant sweat that I took a bath in the morning, about never felt so wonderful, and got dressed to go. The hospital part of it went really smoothly. They didn’t have a portable Hoyer lift but the people that they got to help transfer me really knew what they were doing, sometimes not very common in the hospital. The cool thing was I got to see the inside of my colon, I thought it was cool anyway. It turns out the only thing that was wrong was some swelling and I can take care of that with medication. They gave me some 7-Up and a banana muffin, put me back in my chair and sent me home... I was SO glad that that was over and I won’t have to worry about it for another 10 years.

Thursday and Friday I just stayed in bed and on my side to try to get rid of a couple of pressure sores. I’m really sorry that I missed Ray Parker Jr. at the free concert but I will definitely be at the next one, Greg Kihn Band. I sure hope the lady isn’t there that takes up all the space because this week I’m really not in the mood to be nice about it.

It felt so great to get out today and to get out of the house. Teresa and I went over to check out the new Safeway store and then to get some Chinese food. I have been craving Chinese food for a long time and it was awesome. Heather called me this morning and said that she didn’t feel good and she was going to stay in bed for a day or two and recuperate. I just found out that somebody ran over the plug for my wheelchair charger, of course they had to do it over the weekend. I think what is the most disappointing is that nobody said anything, it's going to cost $250 to replace.

Getting ready for the big day...

Thursday ended up being a really bad day. I did get up but ended up going back to bed. My mom was in San Jose playing cards and my aunt and uncle went to my uncle’s MRI so is just Lexi and I.

Friday I felt a lot better and it was so nice to be out and be able to get out of here so I went for a cruise through the boardwalk and the wharf. Friday evening was Eddie Money on the boardwalk. I went there two hours early to get a good seat but of course my buddy was there blocking most of the area with a giant cooler and a big suitcase, some people just never learn. Heather had talked to head of security an he was supposed to make sure that the security guards watched out but the beach and boardwalk were so crowded you could hardly even walk around. The concert was AWESOME, he did not sing my favorite song but he puts on a really good show. He brought his godson on the stage to play the harmonica and introduced him as Billy and I remember thinking how familiar he looked. He is autistic and in the Special Olympics and I saw him every couple of weeks, he works at Safeway in San Jose... small world.

On Saturday Susan came by to give me a massage and it felt so good, for one reason or another I had to cancel the last three sessions so I was really ready.

Yesterday I just stayed in bed. I’m having a colonoscopy on Wednesday so I’m trying to clean out my system. They gave me some stuff to drink and because I am paralyzed from the chest down they have a catheter for your bottom, sound like a lot of fun.

Today and tomorrow I’m only allowed to drink liquids, as long as they aren’t red or purple. Heather is going to come by and see if she can put some flavor in the low-sodium chicken broth, she take such good care of me and I really appreciate it.

Spending a week with Lexi...

I did not make it to see starship at a free concert on the beach. I wanted to but we started cleaning the garage and I just didn’t want to stop, we still have a long ways to go but it’s getting cleaner and more organized.

On Sunday Teresa took me out to breakfast at Gilda’s and I had a crab and avocado omelette and it was awesome. I also had the best Bloody Mary I have ever tasted. They had the Art and wine Festival on the wharf and although there was a lot of people there was only about 10 booths and there really wasn’t a lot to see so we didn’t stay very long.

On Monday Lexi and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie. I really liked it but kept falling asleep, I seem to do that whenever I watch a movie with someone or go to the movies. If I’m here by myself I cannot fall asleep for the life of me. On the way home we decided to stop and rent a couple of movies to watch later. Jack from RTG rehab came back to fix my chair, one of the panels on the back broke and he ordered the part a couple of weeks ago. He also had to order another foot rest because I crash into things so much that I work down another one. While I was talking to him and mentioned that I needed some maintenance done around the house and he said that he used to do maintenance at a resort in Tahoe and that he would be willing to help me out when he could. I have been looking for so long and I am so excited, he is a really neat guy and I totally trust him.

Yesterday Lexi and I went to get our fingernails polished. Lexi has been here all week and I really like having the opportunity to get to know her and to hang out with her more, she is awesome.

An awesome day and great food...

The Monterey Bay aquarium was AWESOME. The first thing that we saw was the seahorses. One species looked like a green branch floating through the water, it was unbelievable. Another one looked like a pregnant stick. Everything that we saw just took my breath away it was so beautiful. I can even think of how to describe any of it so thank goodness we took a lot of pictures. The jellyfish always amaze me, one group of them looked like a floating strobe light. We got to see them feed the otters, they were so cute.

I watch this cooking show in the morning called coastal cuisine. The chef on there is named Tene Shake. I am always so impressed with how great every dish looks that I promised myself I would try one of his restaurants when I went to Monterey. I remember the name of two of them and were walking down the wharf I saw it so we decided to try and it was just as good in person as it looks on TV. As we were leaving to come home a guy walked by and Teresa said “that looks just like the guy on the cooking show “so I turned around and sure enough it was. I don’t know what I was thinking but I decided to turn around and go say hello to him, I NEVER would do that and I don’t know what got into me. He was talking to somebody and I was so nervous that I interrupted and said “I just ate at your restaurant and I watch your show every morning” he shook my hand and told me that there was going to be a new series, I told him the food was awesome and he thanked me for the complement. I will definitely eat there again and I highly recommend it to anyone who is anywhere near the Monterey wharf. The name of the restaurant is Isabel’s.

I did not go to the concert on the beach tonight. It was starship starring Mickey Thomas and I am a little bit sorry but we started working on the garage and it started looking so much better I just didn't want to stop. Teresa and I had a really long day yesterday and didn't get much sleep so was probably for the best.

Heather and Linda came over and Heather grilled us an awesome dinner. Today was the seafood day at Costco so I got some scallops and she skewered scallops and shrimp, barbecued some zucchini and made this awesome mango salsa... after dinner I could hardly move.

Monterey Bay aquarium...

I really like Susan, the new massage therapist. She does a massage along with range of motion and after she’s done my arms always feel really heavy and they feel so relaxed. A hot bath and I’m out for the night.

I didn’t get a chance to make it to the concert Friday before last but I hope they got the seating situation straightened out. I am definitely going this Friday because it’s going be loverboy, even though I know I’m going to have a bunch of really angry people giving me the hairy eyeball. I had an appointment to get several holes drilled in my foot braces selected where them at night instead of during the day. Of course I didn’t realize that I had written the appointment down wrong, I wondered why there was absolutely no one in the parking lot... it was 4 July and a holiday.

Last Thursday a friend of the family, Bob, came by so we took him out for dinner because it was his birthday. There is a restaurant on the wharf and I have been wanting to try because I’ve heard such good things about it so we decided to go there. When we got there we discovered it was pretty small and they didn’t take credit cards so we went next door to Gildas and had a crab Louie salad and some clam charter and it was awesome. Until I got older I never realized that there was white and red chowder and read seems to be really popular but I always order white.

To my surprise when I went to the boardwalk to find a place to sit for the concert a place that was roped off for people with disabilities was totally empty, I was there to a half hours early. Apparently the head of security had a talk with the Ziploc rice bag lady and she did not appear to be happy when she got there. She parked her scooter as close to me as she could, whipped out her little flip phone, called somebody and said “she’s here”. For a second I kind of felt like I was in one of those scary movies and about to be in big trouble. She sat there for a while and then moved around to the outside of the roped off area, which was just on the other side of me, and proceeded to tell everyone that she talked to that somebody complained about her and she was not able to save 10 seats for all of her friends anymore. I felt really bad for her friends because it sounds like she’s been doing this for a long time but is just not fair.

I got up early on Sunday because I thought it was the Art and wine Festival on the wharf, I should have looked it up the night before because it is next Sunday. So I went back to bed and pretty much had visitors all day. Jerry, my neighbor from San Jose, brought his new neighbor, April, over to visit with him. They are both motorcycle riders and like to cruise around together.

On Thursday we finally get to go to the Monterey Bay aquarium and I am so excited. Heather got me a couple of tickets a while back and we didn’t really want to go on the weekend when it was going to be crowded so we waited until Teresa could take a day off from work so we could beat the crowd. They have the new Seahorse exhibit and it’s been awhile since I have been there.

Friday is not going to be so much fun. But since Teresa also had a day off we’re going to clean the garage. We were doing really good for a while but then it just seems like there wasn’t time to work on it anymore and it’s getting really bad.