Who Knew??

How do I begin.... Mr. Bill and I got up early today to get him ready for his trip to Alaska. Last minute ironing, packing, etc. Polly has had back pains for a couple days and slept the night in Key West to go to work early morning at Margaritaville. Kids all asleep and Uncle Ken who came a couple days ago slept in as well. Coffee..... Lots of Coffee... The kids, Mr. B and I planned to drive him to Miami to get his flight, say our fare thee wells and hit the fun road to Parrot Jungle etc. etc... Beautiful day... Cool breezes.... Then it happened. The phone calls... Miss P called from work... Unable to move... Crying.. More pain than her accident, ankle surgery, whatever... Left work... Another call... I can't drive.. Crying in pain... I told her to sit in car.... I"m on my WAY!... No no she says,,, I can do it... I say,,, I'll meet you at emergency room!! No no she sez,, I can get home ( all the while crying hysterically ) I ring my hands... I start ironing Mr. B's chef's clothes... I start panicking... Uncle Ken goes downstairs to do yard work.... Mr. B telling me to pack him... He needs this and that... I tell him he needs to go get his last minute things himself... Disposable camera, etc. etc. She arrives, I wake our little H (who won the draw the night before to sleep in miss P's bed alone) and tell her miss P has arrived and is in pain. She jumps up... And I knew Miss P was in a bad way. The kids all get up with questions.... When are we leaving? This will be great!... Miss P, cries and cries in pain... Let's go to the emergency room now I say.... She had called her Doctor and had an appointment at 2:30 and thought she could wait.... At noon we called the ambulance.... They said kidney stones... Get to emergency room, save the 1000.00 cab ride, they couldn't administer pain med's and they would call ahead and give them her vitals... Off we went...... Yes, after, IV, Blood work, Xray, C-scan etc. etc. a 4mm stone ... Mr. B is panicking... Kids are panicking, they wanted to keep her in hospital... Gave her awesome pain meds... Drips.... Nausea drip.... Oh yeah,,,, she was throwing up continually all morning and at hospital.
Needless to say.... Mr. B called a friend to take our truck to drive him to Miami, forgot his itinerary etc. etc.... He dropped the kids at ole' stand by Sugarloaf Pool while he did his last minute prep stuff... Picked up Mickey D's in KW and off he went! Uncle Ken took the bus to KW due to work in the morning... I got Miss P home and settled and took kids to get RX's.... Okay,,,, are you tired of reading yet? Okay,,,, I'll cut it short... Drop Med's off... Pet store closed.. Wait for Med's... Come home, give to Miss P... Find out they didn't give Pain Med's... Call Pharmacy... 8PM... They are closing... The Pharmacist tells me she will meet me on her way home from work at a set local... I wait in a parking lot... We do a drug deal in parking lot.. (I'll go and pay tomorrow) She knew Miss P needed Pain Pills.... Come home... RED SOX are on... Try to watch game with kids... L & H do their phone calls to friends... Miss C Miss P and I yelling at TV... Get call to Fax Mr. B his plane information.. Get Nan's call... She WILL have a good exam for her arm tomorrow!!!!!! ... Okay,,,, Mr. B.... Love you call... Miss C makes Chocolate Mousse desert with the Magic Bullet..... OH YEAH... Miss P wakes up for 9th inning WIN!!! OH yeah... All done... All okay... Miss P just walked by me finally ready to eat something after 3 days... Looks over my shoulder.... Don't you dare write about me!!!! Bull she*t... Go to bed,,, drink your water.... Go strain your pee for the stone.... Are you still with me??? ... Okay,, guess what I do tomorrow? WAKE UP Mr. B for his flight!!! At 5 am... Go pay for the RX at 8am... 10 am Mr. L's friend gets dropped off... Mr. L has dental cleaning at noon, while we get stuff for cooler for beach... Let me tell yah.... At 1:30 tomorrow,,, I'll be sleeping under a coconut tree hoping one falls... JUST KIDDING
I just hope Miss P doesn't call with the :"Passing of the Stone": call. LOL
Are you STILL .... With me? Good.... Light a candle... Say a prayer... And know tomorrow will be a better day.... Good Night!!! I need my wine now, and the futon out on the upper deck... If a falling star hits me.... Know I went in PEACE...
Me and the Kids have major plans to keep!! And KNOW FOR SURE THAT I'LL NOT LET IT BURN ME!!!! WE HAVE PLANS TO KEEP!!

Body Worlds

WOW. If you ever get the chance to see this exhibit, do not miss it, it is fascinating. Preserved and then flayed, sliced and exploded bodies and body parts give you a great look at the inner workings of the human body. And not just humans, although that is far and away the bulk of the show. There was a full-size camel with a baby camel, a young filly, and a lamb. There are simultaneous exhibits going on, and many, many more specimens that travel (or not) to various locations, so the exhibit is a bit different in each city. If you want to donate your body, you can.

There were many tales of caution, as seen in blackened and cancerous smoker's lungs, enlarged hearts, tumor-filled organs, and hardened arteries. Just look at this image and tell me you don't want to watch your weight. The fat guy died at 50 when his enlarged heart couldn't take any more.

Many of the bodies are in athletic poses, and you can see how the muscles stretch to allow people to do what they do. Amazing stuff. There is a woman who was five months pregnant at the time of her death, with the fetus still inside her. There are bodies of just the nerves, or of the heart and arteries. There are cases of body parts, both whole, laid open, and sliced. They had the three tiny bones from an ear canal. It's a great show for anyone who wants to learn about the body. You get a real appreciation for just how remarkable a body is, not to mention how specialized. I think this pose might suit me!

After we bought ourselves some souvenirs (you *knew* I wasn't leaving without the t-shirt of the bunny's circulatory system, didn't you?) we went to the butterfly room. I'll leave you with a nice big beautiful moth!

Feinstein and Eder

Last night the Queen and I went to see Linda Eder and Michael Feinstein at the South Shore Music Circus. It was a great show - Linda Eder has a fantastic voice. If you are familiar with the broadway musical Jekyll & Hyde, you may have heard (of) her. If not, and if you like Streisand/Garland/Broadway showtunes, check her out, you won't be disappointed. And Feinstein is the annointed interpreter-par-excellance of Gershwin. Fabulous pianist and a good singing voice to boot.

Bahia Honda State Park

We finally made it to the beach.

It's a Pool Thing

I'm being sneaky when taking pictures... Here at the Venetian Pool they are either under the waterfall or in the coral caves below it. Here again at another pool the other day. They are loving doing the pool thing and been to 4 different ones now and Sugarloaf pool a few times. Haven't even been to the beach yet! Maybe late today? LOL... The girls and I played Yatzee last night up on the top deck... Hannah killed us bad... she had the lucky dice! We pulled out the futon and they slept under the stars in the island breeze until they got an unexpected shower forcing them inside very early this morning. Tonight we'll have a look at the meteor showers. We have Tarzan coming this morning to trim trees for us. More from the islands later gators!!

Deacon & Rem Dawg at the BBC!!

Decided to take a detour across the street at the BBC tonight after work instead of going home. Saw them decorating with red, white, & blue & Red Sox balloons and couldn't resist the temptation, so me & my pal Joanna go over and......The Rem Dawg is making an appearance on his night off, so I call E....and doesn't he just muscle his way in....won a t-shirt (Polly...I think we'll be mailing that to you!!) Got a visor and a couple of coozies, a little photo-op...and voila!! E & Rem Dawg at the BBC!! Fun night. Red Sox nation out in full-force.....go SOX!!

Cha Cha Cha

   

Mallory Square...... Oh yeah, all of them!!!

Dad's turn

PopPop had his colonoscopy today and all is well. He had to give himself injections of a blood thinner for five days in place of the coumadin he usually takes, but now he's back on his regular (heh heh) schedule. He was told that even though he was completely free and clear, he should have another colonoscopy in five years, since there is a family history of polyps -- I'm so happy to be able to set this precedent for y'all.

And just for a bit of a change in subject, isn't this cat just too much? My Sophia. She follows me around like a dog, and is in my lap right now. She's great company, when she isn't being a sneakasaurus and trying to slip out the door. She has never been an outdoor cat and has no idea about cars, so she heads right to the street. She's managed to get out twice and I've caught her both times, but this last time she really scared herself. When I carried her back into the house, she was as limp as a rag and hasn't let me out of her sight since. I would be very unhappy to lose her.

Mr. Bill is going to Alaska

So much going on here, I don't know where to begin. We are enjoying having the girls here so much, C,H, & L are all joined like triplets! They are still catching up. We had such a wonderful time at the Venetian Pool in Coral Gables. It has been rainy since arriving back here on island. Today is beautiful and we'll be going to Bahia Honda for a swim and snorkel.

Mr. B received a great invitation to be private chef at a privately owned compound just east of Ketchican, Alaska, miles and miles away from civilization on many rivers, inlets and of course mountains. He has accepted and will be flying out on the 1st and return back on the 18th of August. We are so excited for him to enjoy what he loves to do and be in a beautiful area to do it. He is thrilled to get new Salmon and seafood connections also. He has to arrive by seaplane and they will fly up all the provisions a day or two before he arrives. He is busy making up the restaurant schedule for when he will be gone to have himself covered, hopefully with no problems. He's hired a great staff of chefs and feels confident in leaving them for that time. He has been working so hard and this will give him a retreat like feeling as we know the people he is cooking for and he have enjoyment like cooking at Nan's house or anywhere else. He'll have a staff of servers and cleanup so he will be surely Mr. King up there. We'll all look forward to his stories and pictures.

More later, gators!!!

Where's George?

Those predicted afternoon thundershowers finally came through at about 11pm. This is what we woke up to. Queenee has been predicting this for a while now. Luckily, the branch missed the barn completely, though it did take out the corner part of the rotting gutter.

Too darn hot

It's too darn hot. And it's too darn hot to try channeling Ella Fitzgerald. It's 100F in the shade today and tomorrow is supposed to be just as bad, if not worse. There is finally a little bit of a breeze, but it's just moving the hot, humid air around and not offering much in the way of relief. There is a small spider bailing out from behind the top thermometer, if you look closely. Poor thing is probably cooked.

The girls should be on the plane by now - they were very excited to be heading south for three weeks. I bet the weather in the Keys is much nicer than here in eastern MA.

We've gotten a lot of rain this year, which has been a real boon for the lawn and the garden. PopPop tends his veggies lovingly, hoeing and pulling weeds and spraying for bugs. We are looking forward to fresh tomatoes, among other things.

There and Back

I found a picture from P of her taking her brothers on the road trip. Here they are in Disney World. Then again here at the house with one of her B-friends watching the All Star Game with the R .. Our summer finally started this July.. we look forward to having the cousins Cat & H here Monday to join in the fun... We are so excited! Need to get the rest of you all down here!!

Barbaro update

Barbaro finally did develop a pretty bad case of laminitis. Somewhere between 60-80% of his hoof wall has been cut away to relieve the pressure, and with luck, he'll survive, although this will be another six month recovery at least. The fractured leg seems to be healing well, although I gather the pastern is still causing concern. Still, it's the laminitis that's the real problem now. At least he's doing better today than he was yesterday.

In other sports - the World Cup is over and all that is left is the business of what to do about Zinedine Zidane. I don't care what Marco Materazzi may have said about his mother and sister, there was no call for that head-butt. Trash talk may be childish, but until it is banned, it's going to happen and players in all sports will just have to deal with it. In futbol's biggest game and the last game of his career, Zizou should have kept his cool. His absence may have been the nail in France's coffin.

Time magazine has an interesting article about racism amongst soccer fans, especially in Spain. FIFA is finally taking notice and fining the clubs whose fans taunt the opposing team's players, but I'm not sure that's going to make any difference. Soccer fans reflect society, and it may be a couple generations before the ethnic mix settles into some kind of tolerance. The religious problems are more dangerous, imo, because religions are largely intolerant of each other, despite what some believers claim. I wonder if there have been any studies on racism within specific religions vs. atheism - seems like a no-brainer, somebody must have gotten a bazillion dollar grant for that one by now.

Floyd Landis is in the lead of Le Tour de France. I not only didn't know he was a Mennonite (like the Amish but with cars and phones), but also that he needs a new hip, badly. It's pretty amazing he's even competing, never mind winning.

Sitting on a donut

So I just know everyone is waiting for my colonoscopy report. Well, let's start from the beginning.

My PCP, Dr. Zaidi, has been after me to have a colonoscopy for a couple years now. I delayed as long as I reasonably could, but with the big 5-0 encroaching, the time had finally arrived. Mind you, it isn't as if I'm having symptoms of any problems, just that what with the breast cancer and the RA and all the drugs I take to keep things under control, I'm evidently in a slightly higher risk group for problems. So I got scheduled for this past Monday.

That meant no food on Sunday, at all. I'm sorry, Jello just doesn't count as food, and you can't have any red Jello, or any liquid with color at all. That leaves you with water, clear sodas (and I'm not much of a soda drinker), and water. I decided to cheat a little and had my usual two cups of coffee first thing in the morning (coffee is a diarrhetic, right?), but after that, nada. As if that isn't bad enough, you have to take laxatives. When they tell you to plan to stay home the day before, they mean it. About an hour after the first dose (yep, you take this stuff twice), my regular trips to the toilet began. By regular, I mean every five minutes for about three hours. Then, just when you think you might get ten minutes off, you have to take dose two. Not that there is anything left in your colon by now, but by god, you will pass a lot of water. Your bladder will be dry as a bone, because every drop comes out the back. There's a picture for you.

My colonoscopy was scheduled for 8:30am, so my first diarrhetic was taken at 4:30pm, and the second at 8pm. Next time I have this done, I will take that first one earlier in the afternoon. The day is shot anyway, and I don't need to be up until 1am running into the bathroom. Once you are empty, you're empty; it isn't like you'll be eating anything anyway.

PopPop thought this business of racing off to the bathroom was quite funny. The jokes on him, because his colonoscopy is coming up on the 25th.

The procedure itself is nothing. You get sedated to the point of unconsciousness, so you aren't aware of anything going in. I was awake enough during the procedure to ask questions and watch the tv screen, which was pretty interesting. When the doctor found a small polyp, he burned it off and collected a sample to send off for a biopsy. I don't remember seeing the nurse during all of this. I suspect they let you wake up a little, and as long as you don't freak out you can watch and ask questions. But since I also don't remember anything being pulled out, I think she must have been standing at the IV and knocked me out again before it was over. It's all kind of a blur. I don't remember being wheeled into post-op, but I woke up quickly and was happy to get some cranberry juice. Nice how they'll let you have the red stuff *after* the fact. I even managed to get someone else's cranberry juice. The nurse forgot that he had promised to get a cup for another patient and gave it to me. Once I had it in my hand, what could he do? LOL!

If you have a perfect asshole, I suppose the next couple days are just like any other day. However, if you have even one hemorrhoid, get out the donut. You'll need it.

I'll get the biopsy result early next week. I'm not concerned, being pre-disastered.

Dinu plays cricket

I saw a small article in the local paper a few weeks ago about a local cricket group having their tournament this weekend. It's similar to the local soccer clubs where folks can get together and play on weekends. I thought it would be a fun surprise for Dinu to get to see some cricket.

We got to the field at the end of the first match, at about 10am. We walked around a bit and got over to the tent where an announcer was calling the plays (in Hindi). The team about to go onto the field was assembled under a tree and we were standing more or less with them. They spotted Dinu and started chatting, and asked if he played. He told them he hadn't played in about 9 years. One of their guys asked if he'd like to play on their team today. Dinu was astonished, but they were a man short (there are eleven on a team and their 11th guy hadn't made it) and so Dinu agreed to play. I was promptly seated under the tree and put in charge of all car keys and cellphones.

The rules are adjusted for club play. Instead of the usual one-day rules where 50 overs are played, they play twelve overs, so the matches last about 2 hours or so. Not as long as many baseball games, which is always the complaint of people who don't know cricket. Twelve overs is quite manageable. A couple other rules are also massaged, but are too esoteric to get into here.

I found out a lot about the league from the President, who came over and introduced himself. The league is an offshoot of an organization formed to keep a connection to their native culture and to teach that to the small Indian children whose parents came here for work. Playing cricket is a natural extension. Amazingly, there were a few other non-subcons there, and I found myself explaining the basics of cricket to them. The other nice thing was that once it was apparent that I was there for the day, the announcer started calling the games in English. The five or six of us who don't understand Hindi were grateful.

They lost that match, but it was a very close score (71-68) and they were playing the best team in the league. We were about to head home when Dinu's team told him they had one more game to play in the afternoon and asked if he'd stick around. I was happy to stay for that. We went to WalMart while the intervening match was played and bought a lawn chair (and went to the bathroom - no facilities at the field). Dinu's team didn't play as well in the afternoon match, but they won 56-28! Dinu was at bat once in each match and faced only one bowl each time, since he was the eleventh man and at bat last, but he made some fine fielding plays in both matches. All in all it was a lot of fun. Personally, I'd much rather watch cricket than soccer.

They're Ba...aack

What a great week.... Here they are leaving and P & L at the game.
They arrived home last night around 10pm bubbling over with excitement... Best time ever.. Then they started with the nit picking on each other...How expensive everything was.... B & myself looked at each other and laughed.... Peace is gone again. R&L did death defying go carting together and were lucky they didn't get kicked off course!! Red Sox games (although they lost) were great, L likes a few Marlins players and saw them at their best. Disney arcade was fun, they didn't do any waterparks due to time.
Mr. B & myself had the best 4th of July ever... We watched by boat anchored off Sugarloaf and saw the most spectacular display in years.. You can see fireworks from everywhere due to darkness and flatness of the islands. Awesome.. Wine and friends... Finding our way home by flashlight... Many laughs... Much fun. Two nights of friends over chatting, dancing, meeting new neighbors.. Keeping up with old neighbors, food and drink... Relaxing and more fun. The house stayed clean for 5 days... OMG.... I didn't know what to do with myself!!! Bathroom duty left my jaw dropped on the toothpaste pursue... sheesh... We missed them terribly, and now they're back... ahhhhhh where are those quiet days of starry nights....

In Depends Day

Tamoxifen makes you leak.

Damcat, Deacon and the girls came over yesterday. Dinu was here for the weekend, so they played a game of croquet while the rain was in abeyance. FluffyDuf managed to have the day off and she and Dog came over too. Nothing fancy, just burgers and dogs and Damcat's excellent potato salad. Of course, the skies opened just as PopPop was starting the meat on the grill. Dog set up an umbrella for him, so he was at least partially protected from the downpour. The rain didn't last long, of course, and the front that brought the rain dropped the temperature down to the mid seventies, which was great. I'm not cut out for 90F and high humidity.

Cold rain into a boiling pot of corn-on-the-cob isn't good, and the corn wasn't completely cooked when it came in. I dropped the ball at least three other times yesterday. First, I meant to cut up some onion and tomato for the burgers, but got interrupted both times I was going for the onion, and then forgot completely what I was doing. Next, I forgot to cut up the watermelon that was sitting right in front of me. And finally, I forgot altogether about the Italian Ice out in the freezer. I suck. Really. I make everyone appreciate that Queenee is back from her week in PA.