Wild week...

Monday I had a dentist appointment, it’s about a half an hour away but I always leave a little bit early just in case. They really have no way to know when I’m there so I usually sit around the corner in the window until they see me or until somebody leaves. They ended up taking x-rays and the doctor examined me so I didn’t have time to get my teeth cleaned, I was originally what the appointment was for. I had to be back at my house at 12:30 PM in order to get to the Santa Cruz skilled nursing facility by 1 PM. There was an ambulance and a fire engine in front when we got there and it seemed like everybody was in a bad mood. There was a couple of people yelling in the hallways, I think the ambulance probably upset everyone. A friend of mine called and needed a ride home, she hurt her ankle and her wrist and I didn’t want her to try to walk home so we left early. I feel really guilty because I love going there but we won’t go again next week. On the way home we decided to have sushi and it was AWESOME. Mine was kind of like a California roll but it had tempura shrimp on the top, I had had it once before and it was really good. I came home and went to bed and watched a movie called gone baby gone, I realized towards the end that I had already seen it but it was a really good movie.

Tuesday I got up and took Robby for a cruise and then went to see Claudia to get a manicure and pedicure. We are having a surprise birthday party for Steve on Sunday and I decided to wear a dark blue skirt so I wanted to get my finger nails done the same color. I decided to cruise down the canal to World Market to get my favorite cookies, I love their gingersnap cookies. As I was leaning back in my chair I heard somebody scream my name and I looked up and there was Susan, my massage therapist, and her twins so I visited with them for a little bit and then went on to get my cookies and back home. Ate dinner and took a long bath before I went to bed. Then it was Robby’s turn to take a bath, he wasn’t as happy to get his as I was to get mine.

Wednesday the massage therapist came at 8 AM, I didn’t realize how sore my neck was until she started massaging it. I got up and went for a cruise and when I came back Heather was cooking. She made me some calamari with garlic, butter and capers, quinoa and mixed barbecued vegetables. What a great way to end the day.

Thursday I had an appointment in San Jose with Kevin. My aunt and uncle drove me there. I didn’t think we were going to even get out of the driveway because it took us 25 minutes to figure out what was wrong with the ramp on the van, DEFINITELY time to get a new one. We finally got it opened and were wondering if we were going to get it opened again when we got there but I guess it’s not we were going to the perfect place, they can fix it. The first thing when I got to mobility works I saw the new Honda Odyssey vans, I was in love with them before but when I saw it I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. Kevin reassured me again that I would have no more visibility in the Honda Odyssey and I do in my Chrysler Dodge, I’m just too tall. They had a Mercedes sprinter in the back but had not yet put in the lift so we can only look from the outside. It was really big and that’s what I was afraid of but I would definitely be able to see out. Also I wouldn’t be able to set where the passenger seat is because that’s where the mechanism for the airbags are, under the floor, and they cannot be moved. I would have to sit behind the driver and passenger seat. Kevin called a guy that he had worked with at the Mercedes dealership and of course it was his day off but he assured us that anybody there would help us so we drove over. There was no customers and we can see about four salesmen wandering around and just chatting, nobody came over to talk to us. I did see the smallest sprinter van and I felt much better, it was not a lot bigger than the one I have. I think the only reason a salesman came out of the building and talk to us was because I was toileting my dog on their front lawn and giving him water. The salesman asked if he could help them when we told him what we wanted he said that the guy that handles that was off for the day. We told him we just wanted to look at them and maybe get a brochure, he said he would go back inside and see if he could get a brochure but came back out and said that guy’s door was locked. After we badgered him further about information he said that he would try to find a key and get us a brochure. After another 10 or 15 minutes my aunt went in to find out what was taking so long and the guy was standing in the corner reading some paperwork. My aunt asked him if he was able to find a key and he said “oh, I’ll go see if I can find a manager”. My aunt just told him that we had driven a long way and that we didn’t appreciate being treated like a then we would find another place to buy a van, it didn’t even phase him and he just walked away. We went and had Mexican food and then drove home. I took a nice long hot bath and went to bed.

Friday for some reason I was up by 9 AM, that almost never happens. I took Robby for a really long cruise, we were headed towards the lighthouse when I noticed he looked like he was limping so I tried to watch and then we turned around. By the time I got down to the wharf he looked like he was doing okay so we cruised the boardwalk, down the canal, went to Ross and then back home through downtown. It was supposed to be 85° so I really wasn’t going to go out again and my brother from Georgia arrived. We went to Best Buy and came back and you’ll never guess who was cooking in my kitchen? Heather made the most awesome salmon I think I have ever had with lemon and capers, yellow squash with mushrooms and rice pilaf. It was really a great day.

Saturday Dave and I went to Best Buy to get a small monitor for my home automation system, so we can just look at the computer and tell why a home automation system is not working, what shutdown and when. We ended up also getting a case for my new iPhone so I can adapt it to use on my chair. Everybody there was so nice and so helpful, we told them what we needed and we had a bunch of really good suggestions. We came back and after a while Stanley, Robert, David and Corinne showed up. I was afraid that they would not make it because Stanley got a bit by a spider and wasn’t feeling good. Then Tom and Kelly showed up, they are going to stay here until the end of the month. It was so nice to have everyone here. Uncle Dick made some killer hamburgers and aunt Kathy made pasta with asparagus.

Sunday was a big day, Steve’s surprise birthday party. We all got up and Stanley made it KILLER breakfast, I love breakfast but the only time I eat it is when Stanley is here. Everybody got busy setting up for the surprise party, we had no idea who or how many people were going show up. We just told everyone who knew Steve to invite everybody who know Steve. I was really sure that he knew about it but he was really surprised. By morning caregiver, Karen, agreed to stay and take pictures and I cannot wait to see them. Of course there was a ton of food and a bunch of really nice people. Kelly made a couple of lasagnas, one vegetable and one meat. They have the best garlic bread at Cosco but when my aunt went to get it they said that they weren’t making it anymore but gave her the recipe, needless to say it was even better. Jim, a good friend and fishing buddy of Steve’s, brought and cooked some abalone that he had just caught, of course it was awesome. It was really obvious that everybody had a great time and of course there is lot of food left. I took a bath and went to bed, I was exhausted.