Ham and eggs. A day’s work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.
We are getting ready for coloring Easter Eggs tomorrow so we did some house cleaning. Our front walkway, which is concrete, had many dark spot where algae apparently took root. I was going to call a professional cleaner but read on-line that a dose of beach would do the job! Well, two gallons of bleach and a lot of scrubbing has the walkway “almost” new…algae went bye-bye. Looks pretty nice now!
After working for two hours scrubbing the concrete, I was tired! Then I thought to myself…
After a short beauty nap, we got ready to go to Topper’s. This is the first time we have met in the new venue and it was quite nice! Jan and Brian stopped by our place at 4:30 PM and we drove over together. The Grand in Long Beach is right down Katella/Wardlow from our home…perhaps 4. miles. So nice, NO freeways!
We had 56 people there this evening, nice turnout. We stayed until about 10:00 PM and decided to head for the barn as we had things to do before compnay arrives in the morning.
With the rise of self-driving vehicles, it’s only a matter of time before we get a country song where a guy’s truck leaves him too.
We are off to OC Airport to get Colleen and then we headed for lunch! Pickup was easy as they know the car well and was ready for us when we showed up. We headed to Seal Beach and went to the Yucatan Grill for some spicy Mexican food! Wine and tequila poured freely!
Indeed it is!
Returning home, we visited and shared with her for most of the afternoon. We walked the garden and Colleen assisted us in pulling the straw seeds that have germinated. Colleen borrowed our car and headed to where she grew up to visit her brother.
We watched TV and hit the sack around midnight after watching several episodes of Blue Bloods and NCIS…we have CBS TotalView and for $10/month, we get everything they have sans commercials AND it keep track of what we have already watched. Love technology!
I watched five minutes of news and then crashed…everything is normal…the liberals are staying consistent to their inconsistency!
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
No kidding….
Today was slow…perhaps God’s way of making us rest before the weekend gets here! We had lunch with Brian and Jan at Old Ship in Santa Ana. Always a pleasure but this time I could not record Brian’s stories as the restaurant was full of Brits watching soccer…however, I did remember the stories and will get him to retell them in a quite location so I can record them! Remember to look for a story about flying the British Comet aircraft in 1971.
1952 original version
Did You Know? The de Havilland DH 106 Comet was the world’s first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland at its Hatfield Aerodrome in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It featured an aerodynamically clean design with four de Havilland Ghost turbojet engines buried in the wing roots, a pressurised cabin, and large square windows. For the era, it offered a relatively quiet, comfortable passenger cabin and was commercially promising at its debut in 1952.
However, within a year of entering airline service, problems started to emerge, with three Comets lost within twelve months in highly publicised accidents, after suffering catastrophic in-flight break-ups. Two of these were found to be caused by structural failure resulting from metal fatigue in the airframe, a phenomenon not fully understood at the time. The other one was due to overstressing of the airframe during flight through severe weather. The Comet was withdrawn from service and extensively tested. Design and construction flaws, including improper riveting and dangerous concentrations of stress around some of the square windows, were ultimately identified. As a result, the Comet was extensively redesigned, with oval windows, structural reinforcements and other changes. Rival manufacturers meanwhile heeded the lessons learned from the Comet while developing their own aircraft.
Although sales never fully recovered, the improved Comet 2 and the prototype Comet 3 culminated in the redesigned Comet 4 series which debuted in 1958 and had a productive career of over 30 years.
We arrived at Old Ship about 11:30 AM and had a drink before Brian and Jan arrived at 12:15 AM…they were dealing with their real estate person and some people who parked in frot of their driveway!
Indeed the “Old Ship”
A pub, or public house, is an establishment licensed to sell alcoholic drinks, which traditionally include beer (such as ale) and cider. It is a relaxed, social drinking establishment and a prominent part of British, Irish, Breton, New Zealand, Canadian, South African and Australian cultures. The Old Ship Restaurant and Pub is quite like the real thing according to Jan and Brian so we enjoy going there the they are in town!
When we arrived, the waitress knew us and put us in our favorite seal..away from the TV and loud part of the pub. She must like us as she brought me a plate of Scottish Eggs… something I love and it included pickled onions…my favorite.
Did You Know? There are a number of different theories about the origins and etymology of Scotch eggs. The London department store Fortnum & Mason claims to have invented Scotch eggs in 1851 but the name for the snack was supposedly derived from a nickname used by Londoners who lived around Wellington Barracks after Officers of the Scots Guards stationed there developed a taste for the snack.
According to Culinary Delights of Yorkshire, they originated in Whitby, Yorkshire, England, in the 19th century, and were originally covered in fish paste rather than sausage meat. They were supposedly named after William J. Scott & Sons, a well-known eatery which sold them. It has also been suggested that they were originally called “scorch” eggs, as they were cooked over an open flame.
The game was on when we first got there… really busy!
We laughed and giggled for two plus hours and dined on great English food. Sue and I both had the “Bloody Hot” Indian Curry while Jan and Brian did the extra large portion of their “UK Breakfast”.
Eggs, bacon, beans, tomatoes, and a banger ta’ boot… quite a meal!
We laughed about “blood Hot” and what that meant but it was quite spicy…not an eye popper…but definitely not for the faint of hart or mild of tunny!
The curry was wonderful and we got the lunch time size…a little smaller than dinner!
The gin and tonic was flowing and mine must have had a mickey in it as I came home and crashed for 90 minutes.
Did You Know? In slang, a Mickey Finn—or simply a Mickey—is a drink laced with a psychoactive drug or incapacitating agent (especially chloral hydrate) given to someone without their knowledge, with intent to incapacitate them. Serving someone a “Mickey” is most commonly referred to as slipping someone a mickey.
The Mickey Finn is most likely named after the manager and bartender of the Lone Star Saloon and Palm Garden Restaurant, which operated in Chicago from 1896 to 1903, on South State Street in the Chicago Loop neighborhood. In December 1903, several Chicago newspapers document that a Michael “Mickey” Finn managed the Lone Star Saloon and was accused of using knockout drops to incapacitate and rob some of his customers.
Brian and I downed two each of these little suckers…. wow!
We departed for home about 3:00 PM after a great afternoon of story telling and sharing. After my well deserved nap, I popped off to BB&B to get some last minute supplies for our visitor…wanna make sure all it OK!
Our puzzle did not make it…we had not gone far enough to save it so we save the grouped colors in separate bags. We need the dining room table for Saturday!
Oh, I found this picture about technology. This is a five megabyte hard drive being delivered in 1959 via Pan American Airways in New York. OMG, 5MB and I just installed a 5 TB drive to my iMAc this morning…it was the size of a deck of cards!
Amazing – 5MB to 5 TB in 50 years,,,The 5 TB could easily fit into the guys shirt pocket!
We watched some TV and crashed about 11:30 PM. Yes, do NOT worry, we had our tookies! The weekend starts tomorrow with our guest arriving.
“As a kid I was made to walk the plank. We couldn’t afford a dog.”
We would be a better society if we followed these suggestions!
Out into the garden I bounded with great energy, camera in hand to capture all the excitement. Well, to my dismay, all was quiet and the sky was filled with potential rain clouds. I snapped a couple of photos and ran back in the house to get warm! It’s April and 50 degrees in the early morning!
The entire east wall is covered in raspberries, Blackberries, and Boysenberries!
The crops are doing well and my raised garden design is perfect for me…I can sit, drink my coffee, talk to the plants, and pull weeds without getting off my tukas!
I was going to walk this morning but alas, between the weather and my need to get the house ready for our visitor kept me around the house and away form the sidewalks!
Gotta get back to walking every morning1
The day was filled with preparations for the upcoming weekend. We have a visitor coming and wanted to make sure everything was ready! We did the bedding and went shopping for additional bedding including a new blanket and sheet sets.
While at BB&B, I went shopping at the market. While I was gone, Sue hard boiled 48 eggs meaning a lot of decorating is going to be going on. While at the market, I saw some teenie tiny bananas and could not pass them up. They are about three inches long and taste pretty good1
Choices and decisions…the market is virtual nightmare sometimes. I went yesterday for bags, got the wrong ones. Today, I tried again…I took a picture and studied it before making the final selection!
Guess we ought be happy…Could be a socialist country and we would have one choice, one size, and hope they would have them available!
I set up the computer to play something to watch/listen to while I was fixing up the middle bedroom and it turned out to be Candace Owens and Larry Elder. I have been listening to Larry for 20+ years, a great guy! Candace is quite an amazing woman. Please enjoy what they have to say about todays goings on.
Larry Elder, host of “The Larry Elder Show,” joins Candace Owens for a discussion on race relations, the little-known history of the Democratic Party, why the Black community plays the victim card, and much more. Don’t miss this powerful episode!
In the afternoon, Sue read and I puttered around the house getting things ready. I played with the computer a bit. We are always surprised by the folks that have zero computer knowledge.
What can we say???
We stayed home the rest of the day, watched some TV, I added some additional colored LED lights to the house and we crashed about midnight.
Dr.’s are saying not to worry about the bird flu because it’s tweetable!
It’s tax day but we cheated fate and got our taxes in the first week of February…got a really nice refund a few weeks later…first time we did it so early but we are going to keep doing the same! from now on!
We tried it… doesn’t work!
Holy Mackerel…did I have a dream or what! At 6:30 AM, me and the neighborhood roosters awoke but I was smart and laid back down. Usually once a week I manage to get up on the fence, crow my song, flap my jammies that has pitures of chickens on them and await the neighbors wrath. For all that effort, the neighbors yell “Go to sleep you __________” (the blank can be filled in with various obcenities) and they throw shoes and other valuable objects in my direction. A week ago I got a nice pair of older US Keds tennis shoes, suitable for a histry museum.
Finally I woke up at 8:00 AM after an amazing dream which I still recall this late in the day….OMG, maybe it was real!
Dream Summary: Sue and I were at Disneyland with two others and got onto a small boat…four of us…as we went down the slide when hit a gate, smashed it open, went through a long dark tunnel and ended up in a “Venice like” canal across the street from Disneyland. I recognized Katella.
We met some odd people living along the canal. We told them we were lost and needed to call Disneyland in order to get back inside A black lady was so kind, she invited us in her home, showed us the phone, and she departed for work trusting us! We got hold of a Disney executive via 911 and explained what happened. It took a long time to explain the situation. He said just to wait and he would find us. We visited the lady’s neighbors who were also quite nice. As we head some people coming through the tunnel, we straightened up the phone cord carefully, left some movey for the phone call, and departed for the boat. All of a sudden, Disneyland employees wearing uniforms and roller skates took us and the boat back under Katella into Disneyland and we finished the ride.
What the heck did I eat last night?
Ain’t it the truth!
Random Memories: Growing up we had a creek, it was called La Balona and was for rain runoff from LA. It was cemented in right by out house but a mile away, just before MGM Studios back lot, it was a real creek. Me and Bob Coomler and many other explored the creek for years walking all the way through Culver City along its edges. We spent hours and hours looking for treasure!
Today it is all underground and the chances to explore have faded into history…too bad, the city boys will never get to explore like we used too!
OMG, back to reality! Sue had medical tests to do this morning so we can see the Urologist on Thursday.
Then we were off to get a kidney X-ray…went like a charm except for the 45 minute wait. The X-Ray took 5 minutes and we were outta there…the x-rays were electronically send over to the doctor.
Sue also had to take the urine test but because of last week, she did not get to study for the urine test, so…being the brave husband I am..I took the test for her! As she departed she wondered why they have her a baseball bat, small frog, and a Motorcycle World magazine…go figure!
We were hungry so Taco Surf was closest and got our undivided vote.
Super good food and great wait staff!
Did You Know? Surf Taco is a chain of Mexican-Californian cuisine-style restaurants located primarily in the Jersey Shore area. The food served is also described as Coastal Cuisine. It was founded by Robert Nagel, Richard Hernon SR , Bill Bruno, and Ed Pierce in 2001. There are presently ten restaurants.
Main categories of food include: tacos, burritos, wraps, smoothies, salads, quesadillas, side kicks (extra chips and salsa, chicken fingers, etc.), and “tsunamis” which are oversized burritos of grilled chicken, rice, beans, jack & cheddar cheeses, lettuce, sour cream, & salsa wrapped in two extra large flour tortillas, served wet topped with guacamole, sour cream & Pico de Gallo.
In 2009, the New York Times called the food “cross-generationally irresistible”.
We had a great meal and a dinky-poo…my burrito was huge and it forced me to take a nap! But, before the nap I went to ABC Pools, located across from Taco Surf, and ordered a multi-coolored high power LED light for our swimming pool…less cost to run, more lifetime, and fun!
Smart Girl… She took the burrito home!
Returning home we both were full to the brim and decided the Sandman needed to pay us a visit. The Sandman is a mythical character in Western and Northern European folklore who puts people to sleep and brings good dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto the eyes of people while they sleep at night (or take a nap if you are old like us!!)
On the way home Sue spotted a magnificent tree and I stopped right in the middle of the street, pulled out the trusty iPhone and shot it! It was stunning but check under the tree…soon they will have a pink yard!
Click the image to see the full sized picture… Just amazing!
We were up from our nap and ready to go at 5:00 PM and headed to Melanies were we met up with Miss Irene. We recapped the week, solved a few of the worlds problems, discussed our join social calendar, shared some great memories, and observed ol’ Sol dive into the western ocean. She is such a delightful person, albeit a bit of a liberal, she is still “OK” in our books!
The sunset, as sunsets go, was not spectacular but still pretty to watch and one can almost hear the sizzle when the sun hits the western waters!
See you in the morning Sol!
We saw several Grey Egrets walking along the dock. Look carefully… one is in this photo but you really have to look long and hard! Seeing the Egrets reminded us of an old Sinatra Song…
Sinatra has a song for everything!
Returning home, I installed two more colored LED lights and now have five installed…three more to go and all will be well. I have scenes established… I can say “Alexa, Christmas scene” and the house turns red and green or “St Patricks scene” and house turns many shades of green! We are now officially ready for Easter eggs on Saturday!
Available on the iPhone from anywhere! Love our toys!
The rest of the week is pretty much normal although we are having a house guest for a few days…the biggest event is coloring the Easter eggs with family and friends.
We love our family and the get togethers are always special!
Always remember that you are absolutely unique… Just like everyone else..
A magnificent day is about to begin and therefore a weight reducing walk is warranted…Ralph’s market here I come with my little Easter Tote Bag in hand! Four mile round trip but worth the walk!!
The time was 9 AM and the dew was already off the flowers…the sun was shinning and the birds were flying backwards to see where they have been! I spotted a magnificent specimen of a rose and quick snapped a photo!
Random Memories: The last place I worked I was a Director and it was with an bunch of ex-military guys plues the customer was military. I was NOT impressed with any of them and to “get back” I wore pink shirts at least twice a week or more…drove them insane! They could not, by law, saw anything but I knew they were not happy with my choice of colors. After retiring, I had eight pink dress shirts with matching ties… I donated them to the Salvation Army keeping two just for old times sake. Remember, real men can wear pink!
Just basking in the sunlight!
Time flew and all of a sudden, I was at Ralph’s with my iPhone and Amazon Alexa shopping list in hand! As I passed up and down the aisle in search of bargains, I stumbled upon the candy aisle and thought of my sweetie. Snapping the picture quickly as I passed by, without stopping, I texted it to her so a) she knew I was OK and b) she knew where I was!
2,776,456,340 calories just in this photograph! I escaped without a single calorie!
When walking, I limited myself to a single bag of goodies…some days I make the trek twice as I need the exercise and it is good for my shapely figure…more like a figure eight!
The berries were NOT on the list but they just looked so good!!! What is in the paper bag you ask? Don’t! OK, it was an apple turnover but only 290 calories! I munched on it walking home!
Returning home after the walk, I had to admire my selected exercise route. Love the app that keeps track of the adventures. Look carefully in the bottom right corner…the jagged line is me meandering across the large parking lot. The blob of blue is me walking inside Ralph’s Market. More jagged lines as I pass across the southern side of the parking lot trying to avoid the smells emanating from Subway (og their veggie sandwiches are wonderful) or In-n-Out Burger where the grill has just been fired up. Skillfully I managed to be entrapped by the wonderful odors and made it through without a calories. Almost 10,000 steps before 11:00 AM!
We got a “video call” from Colleen and Alexa was suddenly attacked by the Great Grand Child Army (GGCA)…namely Calhan and Logann! We are known as Gran Pop Pop and Great Grammy! Our names seem to change all the time but what the heck! They get so excited when we call… kinda special! It must be confusing as Mark and I look alike…at least on the top of our heads!
I am up in the right hand corner talking a picture of the picture!
An epiphany occurred after sneaking onto the bathroom scale after the walk…
It’s true… No, really it is true!!!
We rested in the afternoon, recovering from yesterday’s marathon entertainment and dining sessions. It was time to water the garden while Sue worked the puzzle and read her last book…I must go to Barnes and Nobel tomorrow.
Around 2:00 PM I determined, after careful deliberation, that nap time has occurred! Into the middle bedroom I slipped telling Alexa to wake me up in an hour…she did and all was well! Love those naps!
You guessed it, we were off again…tonight is the Old Ranch Monthly Dinner-Dance. In Aerospace it would be the ORMDD or ormmed). We had thirty friends joining us for a great party with fantastic dancing and dining! PLUS, it was the night we celebrated Brian’s 76th birthday!
Our dear friends form the UK… Associating with the Colonists they are!
We procured the services of Katella Deli on Thursday to bake a cake for today! We had to drop by and grab it on the way over to “The Ranch”. A masterpiece it was and indeed it was chocolate chocolate chocolate!
We limited the candles to two… 76 would have melted the icing!
The cake was inspected by Professor Brander! It was given a passing grade. We had so much that we offered three other tables to celebrate with us and passed the cake out accordingly!
The Certificate of Authenticity was posted on the cake!
It is so nice to have our friends around us…everybody stopped by the table to visit with Miss Sue and wish were happy return from the hospital! We are blessed with such wonderful people surrounding us! Any of our friends sicknesses or medical problems are shared via a communications network that would rival the Pentagon!
Love is in the air!!!
Our dear friend Nancy joined us tonight and since Sue is limited in physical exertion for a few weeks, Nancy and I danced! We have been friends for almost twenty years! She goes with us many times a year including the Christmas Play and is always such a wonderful guest!
We met at the turn of the century at a New Years Eve party and been close ever since!
Time for this day to cease and sleep to reward us for the bust weekend…first first, we needs to TV followed by…the tookies!
Oh, I gots a new toy. My bride encourages my to get toys as it a) keeps me out of trouble (sort of), and b) keeps the grey matter busy! I just purchased eight multi-color LED 75W WiFi connected light bulbs! They can be controlled via Alexa and my iPhone!
The light has 64,000,000 different colors… This is the night light setting on 30% power
I have several colors set up for the Easter egg coloring activity… the house will be decorated in lights! I can talk to them, like “Living Room One, Magenta,75%” . I loves my toys…Sue tolerates them! Life is good!
Busier than a one eyed cat watching three mice holes!
Whoa! Just scanned the trusty “life director” (sometimes called a calendar) and we have a full day ahead, even after we cancelled a major dance event. Read along and watch the day unfold (that does NOT mean “come apart”)
One of those days!
First, we are off to the barber so Sue can get her ears lowered (an old country saying from the old country)…the shop is right around the corner plus they always have coffee going…I can get my heart started.
We must eat something before the theater(s), yes plural! Decisions decisions. We decided local is better so down the street a mile we go!
California Pizza Kitchen…Table 40…they know us well! A gin & tonic starts off the day well even at noon! The dribnk goes well with my SZECHWAN CHICKEN DUMPLINGS which are Chinese dumplings topped with fresh cilantro, sesame seeds and scallions. Served with our soy-ginger chili sauce.
Delicious! Low in calories. High in flavor and spicyness!
So happy to have my bride back to good health! She looks great AND is thirsty also! Nope! She only gets one!
“Where is my food? I haven’t eaten in two days!!”
We ran home for five minutes to drop off the lunch left-overs and then we headed south down the 405 Freeway to the OC Performing Arts Center (Segerstropn Center) to see “Cats”. An amazing thing happened, Sue and I disagreed on something!
I thought the costumes were great, she thought they were ugly. Well, we are both right! The musical was about “alley cats” and they are most often pretty ugly. We decided to disagree.,,and laugh! The music was fantastic and the scene didn’t change. The characters were quite good in their singing and story telling. All in all…good!
It was dark in the alley…There are several cats… look closely!
At the intermission, I checked the bat phone and was surprised that we had dinner reservation at the Arte Cafe in Cerritos at 6:00 PM….we misread our “who goes where spreadsheet” and determined Donna & Bob were going with us tonight… they made the reservations! I had planned to make the bathroom scale happy and forgo dinner tonight but, alas, I had to eat something. We can visualize the nasty bathroom scale on the morning reporting the bad news.
We called Mission Control and told them to fuel up the rocket for our mad dash from OC to Cerritos. AT 5:00 PM, the rocket took off making a three minute stop at our home to get our special wine (non-alcoholic) so we could enjoy dinner.
Squealing tires and the smell of burnt rubber permeated the air as we landed in front of the restaurant just in time to see Bob & Donna walking toward the front door… perfect! Once the smoke cleared, we walked to the restaurant and headed for “our table”.
We had the left-hand side reserved
Always quite elegant
Just a short walk to the theater!
We so enjoy being with Bob & Donna. Donna & Sue went to High School together albeit a year apart (I will never tell who is older). Bob and I share the same sense of humor so putting us together is ALWAYS a two ring circus! We told them that we had just come from seeing Cats and Bob whips out the phone and…
After that, what can I say? Two hours with them passes like 15 minutes…we are like a close family…we got the latest from their daughter and they heard the trials and tribulations of “our gang”.
In fact, their daughter, Cyndy, and our son-in-law, Mitch, may be joining us tomorrow at an Old Ranch dinner dance! She is an Emergency Room Nurse Supervisor in San Pedro while Mitch is a Director of Operations for a large Direct TV franchise. They are both learning to dance! Time to leave for the theater! A hopm skip, and a jump!
Just across the parking lots and the theater is ready to receive us!
The weather was perfect…72 degrees and a slight breeze…burnt rubber smell as long since dissipated! We are ready to hear great music with great company!
Ready for the show!
Tonight we see the Frank Sinatra Big Band Concert. We know the band fairly well and Matt Mauser does a great rendition!
He had some great stories to tell!
The show began at 8:00 PM so we had time for a glass of wine before it started. We talked to some Old Ranch folks who often dance with us. As usual, we had perfect seats…we are so happy we started going there 30 years ago!
We are six rows back in the middle…just far enough away to NOT be chosen for any on-stage shenanigans!
Dash away dash away dash away home! He were back in the house about 11:00 PM so we watched the Gilmore Girls before crashing. Sue is back to herself after three days of being under the weather due to the operation. Time to attack the puzzle.
“What idiot called it insomnia and not resisting a rest?”
Let’s hope so!
Up and at ’em. I got up on the South wall and crowed this morning waking up all the neighborhood chickens,,,and liberals! Just wanted to see how it would sound since I am seriously contemplating buying chickens and putting in a chicken coup!
To keep from waking up Sue, I went to the back yard to make a phone call to Aunt Kaye and I got a real surprise while I was talking to her…a Mourning Dove was sitting in the garden just looking at me. Perhaps he (or she) wanted to join the conversation?
t sat and watched
Look at the red circle
Mourning Dove was keeping it’s eye on me!
Did You Know? The mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) is a member of the dove family, Columbidae. The bird is also known as the American mourning dove or the rain dove, and erroneously as the turtle dove, and was once known as the Carolina pigeon or Carolina turtledove.
It is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds. It is also a leading game bird, with more than 20 million birds (up to 70 million in some years) shot annually in the U.S., both for sport and for meat.
Its ability to sustain its population under such pressure is due to its prolific breeding; in warm areas, one pair may raise up to six broods of two young each in a single year. The wings make an unusual whistling sound upon take-off and landing, a form of sonation. The bird is a strong flier, capable of speeds up to 88 km/h (55 mph). It is the national bird of the British Virgin Islands.
Mourning doves are light grey and brown and generally muted in color. Males and females are similar in appearance. The species is generally monogamous, with two squabs (young) per brood. Both parents incubate and care for the young. Mourning doves eat almost exclusively seeds, but the young are fed crop milk by their parents.
We were up a couple of times during the night but she was able to go back to sleep. The anti-nausea pills will hopefully work when she wakes up. The pill seemed to begin to work as the day progressed on…thank goodness! All of our kids called… Robin, Michele, Colleen, Joe, and Mitch. The older grandkids also called to check in on grandma! The meds for nausea was ondansetron (Zofran).
It works!
Did You Know? Nausea is an unpleasant, diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, often perceived as an urge to vomit. While not painful, it can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged, and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, upper abdomen, or back of the throat.
Like pain, the purpose of nausea is to discourage the person or animal from repeating whatever caused the unpleasantness. The memory of pain elicits safer or evasive actions; the memory of nausea elicits revulsion towards whatever was eaten before vomiting it up — even if it was not the cause of the nausea.
Nausea is a non-specific symptom, which means that it has many possible causes. Some common causes of nausea are gastroenteritis and other gastrointestinal disorders, food poisoning, motion sickness, dizziness, migraine, fainting and low blood sugar. Nausea is a side effect of many medications including chemotherapy, or morning sickness in early pregnancy. Nausea may also be caused by anxiety, disgust and depression.
Medications taken to prevent and treat nausea are called antiemetics. The most commonly prescribed antiemetics in the US are promethazine, metoclopramide and the newer, extremely effective ondansetron. The word nausea is from Latin nausea.
Sue was still sick this morning so I continued my filing desk clean out activities. OMG, I found an AOL Disk…No, worse than that… I found a savings bond dated 1991. We had to buy them when we were executives with Rockwell and we bought a lot of them! This one was a $1000 denomination Series EE and it earned $890 in interest…I cashed it for,,,ready for this… cash! We have been finding savings bonds around here for years and years…maybe this is the last one?
We plan to keep on digging… Maybe there is more!
Sue rested and I fixed her a small lunch before she crashed. During the crash, I did some quick errands like ordering a birthday cake for our dinner dance on Sunday…Brian is turning 76! I went to the bank and then did some shopping at Staples!
When I got back home, Sue asked for a puzzle that she had selected be set up. I set it up and gulped after seeing it…this is going to be difficult! Bits and Pieces – 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle -Spring Ahead – Scenic Spring – by Artist John Sloane – 500 pc Jigsaw
The flowers, grass, and sky will NOT be easy!
Mid afternoon, she was feeling quite a bit better so I decided a “wine run” was in order…Off to Wine and More to buy St. Regis non-alcoholic wine! Three cases, one each of Chardonnay, Cabernet, and Rose!
Figuring I would zip up the 605 to Long Beach Town Center, I was rudely awakened by….TRAFFIC. Thank goodness I only had two off ramps to go before getting off at Carson!
I looked worse than it really as… at least for two stops ahead (Beep Beep, Beep Beep; My horn went Beep Beep Beep)
Arriving in the Silver Bullet, I entered the store and the staff immediately stood at attention and said “How many cases today Sir?” It was so easy, I responded with “Just one of each!” The wheels of progress began to turn within seconds…the portable ladder was in motion and the salesman was climbing to the top and locating full cases. I was in and out in a matter of minutes. Of course, I had to stop and talk to my “girl friend” as ask about her Dad and tell her about Sue.
Safely loaded in the back seat, I was off like a flash!
The best laid plans of mice and men…I had to make a quick turn and the top case fell over…nothing broke…YET! After pulling into the car barn, I opened the back sliding door and then heard the all familiar “crash, tinkle tinkle”… One bottle had met its maker! Oh well, a few seconds with the hose and the garage was spotless again. Getting everything off the floor was such a good idea…should have done it 40 years ago!
We called several folks to let them know that we were staying in this evening. We watched some TV and crashed about 10:15 PM. I stayed up to make sure Sue was sleeping OK and then I crashed about midnight. Tomorrow is a full day!
“Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He’s all right now.”
The evil device known as an alarm clock decided to alert me it was 6:30 AM…didn’t it know I worked in the kitchen until almost 1:30 AM? Before going to bed, I checked the trash can…it was full to overflowing… I hated tossing the hot sauces but alas, there was not way in this lifetime I could every finish them! Twenty-four bottles of Boost also met their demise but now we have room and our second kitchen sink is usable!
I needed a snack after a hard night’s work so I turned to my old standby…berries. This morning it was blueberries! We eat blueberries almost every day…probably a half-cup religiously!
Really really good!
Did You Know? The deep blue of these berries does more than make a pretty pie. The color comes from potent compounds called anthocyanins. Scientists think these antioxidants may help protect you from cancer, heart disease, and dementia, and boost your immune system. But we need more research to know for sure. Eat these juicy gems fresh or frozen. They have water and fiber, which fill you up without wrecking your diet. A half-cup has about 40 calories.
So it is up and at’ em’… more kitchen work and two loads of wash..by 10:00 AM things looked pretty good and I was outta here…heading up the 405 Freeway to LB Memorial! I heard some commotion as I turned onto Atlantic Blvd…sounded like a woman screaming! What could it be?
Oh Dear…. Perhaps I should go back home!
Being brave, I checked in at the desk, got reminded wich room she was in, walked the hall to the elevators, and pushed the elevator button for the sixth floor…. good thing, Sue was on the seventh! OK…I went to room 734 and there were hospital security staff cowering in the doorway…in flak jackets…with projectile avoidance shields drawn!
OK, she was lightly sleeping…sometimes the truth must come out!
She had a smile when the final release papers were sent!
It’s now almost 2:00 PM and I did some research to find out what the problem with releasing her was…the hospital hardly ever discharges people from ICU…normally they go to a regular room and get discharged there. No one knew what to do! I begged on bended knees to the ICU doctor to send her home…preferably with someone else…but let just her go! After some constipation and a discussion with her surgeon he finally realized she was there to be watched only after the brain surgery…not to be treated! She was sprung!
Bravely, I returned to the room and gave her the news…. “They didn’t know how to release you!” Then the normal calm in the hospital was broken, no, it was flat out busted!
The little one has spoken! Doctors ran from the room screaming! “RELEASE HER…NOW!!”
On a serious note…just shy of an F-Sharp…the surgeon stopped by and confirmed all was OK…no bleeding in the brain…things should return to normal… Plavix (see below) for a week then return to normal aspirin.
We Did Not Know: Clopidogrel, sold under the trade name Plavix among others, is an antiplatelet medication used to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke in those at high risk. It is also used together with aspirin in heart attacks and following the placement of a coronary artery stent (dual antiplatelet therapy). It is taken by mouth. Onset of effects is about 2 hours and lasts for 5 days. Common side effects include headache, nausea, easy bruising, itching, and heartburn.
Off we go…home via CVS but alas, this days adventure was just beginning. I got a prescription from the doctor in the hospital but did not look a it… when I gave it to CVS it had no name on it…just the room number she was in! The pharmacy was confused then, as if by magic, the fax machine began to whirl and make obscene sounds popping a revised prescription with Sue’s name on it…but it called for “injections”…I damn near fainted when they asked me if I do injections…I told them the last time I did an injection it was Worcester Sauce into a steak on the grill…I was immediately disqualified!
We took a vote and decided pills would be a much better choice!
Our CVS folks know us well…we are “frequent flyers” at CVS so they gave us the medication in tablet form and called back to the hospital for them to correct the order… Finally, we are home!
I made several calls including notifying all that the Phoenix Club was a non starter for tonight…Sue will have to stay in bed and have me as the nurse…I think she likes my French Maid costume better…but my nurses costume will have to do (it is JUST a nurses hat and white shoes)….but I digress!
Sue was up and down most of the evening…not feeling well at all. I worked in the office with the door cracked so I could hear if she needed me. I love the Apple computer as I could watch a movie or the news and visit with friends via Alexa at the same time.
Listening to music and doing the Daily Diary
As I mentioned earlier, I is getting organized! Take a gander…I can actually find stuff!
So much better! I can find anything at anytime!
The rest of the evening was uneventful…we are hoping to go to Garden Grove tomorrow, Friday, if recovery is doing better. We may not dance but we will certainly visit everyone!
I worked on my filing for a while after Sue hit the sack as I wanted to make sure she was resting. I ran across the “doggie instructions” that we left to Laurie when we went on a week cruise and had to leave the babies home. On the second page, in bold was the following: If you must go out in the afternoon, make sure you turn on KFI 640 AM and let the babies listed to Dr. Laura”. I laughed so hard as I remember that…so, I, being a member of her Dr. Laura Family, wrote an email and forwarded a picture of the babies. Dr. Laura will probably get a kick out the message and the picture.
They have been gone many years now and we still miss every day!
While passing time today, I got a belly full of the left wingers…it is almost a comedy watching them act out on their tantrums.
They are an insult to the Stooges!
Random Memories: I was on the student council and then became Student Body President at Los Angeles City College and viewed a microcosm of what is going on the DC these days. I was in cahoots with the LACC Newspaper Gang who tolerated me even though I was a devout conservative and Barry Goldwater devotee! I saw upfront and personal the liberal thinking and how they went after, ever so carefully, the people they did not like. More than once I commented on articles before they were published that their stories were inaccurate..their response was we don’t care, it gets OUR agenda across and that’s what matters…not the absolute truth. That semester soured me on politics and the free press”.
A couple years ago my therapist told me I had problems letting go of the past.
We departed our house at 10:00 AM for Long Beach Memorial Hospital to check in at 11:00 AM for a 1:00 PM procedure.
A great hospital! Close to home!
We are quite confident in the doctor and procedure although it is mind boggling to think about a small tube being inserted in the groin and moved inside the arteries all the way into the brain and it has a camera plus a coil dispersement mechanism on the end. Wow! Just plain and simple Wow!
We headed to Memorial at 10:15 AM arriving just in time to wait 45 minutes! Duh! Robin joined us and just after Sue went into the prep-area, Irene joined us. I was blessed with great company all afternoon.
The Doc came out about 1:00 PM and said the operation he was doing would not start until 2:00 PM and it would take at least two hours. We took a vote and decied to go to El Torito, just down the street on Atlantic.
A delightful respit from the waiting room in the hospital
We had a great lunch and I was no nervous I fell (no shoved myself) off my diet and had the Macho Combo! (Four of their most popular items on one platter: a fire-roasted pasilla chile relleno, a chicken and sour cream enchilada, a beef barbacoa crispy taco and a hand-made chicken tamale. Served with refried beans and rice). We shared a guacamole (Fresh avocados, spicy serrano chiles and a special blend of herbs and spices.) It’s 11:00 PM now and I am still stuffed. We returned to the hospital in about an hour after a short visit to Irene’s home which was very close.
soooooo good! Burp!
The Doc came out about 5:00 PM and told us she was fine and that we could see her in about twenty minutes. Robin and I went up stairs…Irene headed home. We visited her and the first thing out of her mouth was “I want to go home!”.
Well…we knew better. She had to lay “flat” for at least six hours and could not move her leg until the groin wound began to heal. She was fit to be tied so we did NOT stay very long…perhaps 45 minutes before going home. My poor ol’ iPhone was in overdrive as the calls and texts came in by the bags full. East coast, mid-west, all over California. Most all our kids and older grandkids called during the day and got the word via text/emails/phone. I guess every family has it’s own problems…but majority rules and we had a large majority.
It’s now 1:00 AM and I am beat…I spent three hours in the kitchen doing search and destroy…we needed more room and “stuff” had to go. We are now down to a life times supply of hot sauce instead of six life times! The Boost and Ensure from Sue’s stay in the hospital are now gone. We have room! Yeah!
