Merry Christmas!

Its been a great holiday so far...

Last Saturday, I flew to Denver to visit my son and his wife and my two grandchildren.  We had a blast!  The weather was great unlike the visit of 2006 where we were trapped by a blizzard for several days. We did all sorts of fun stuff and it was great being with family. I flew home Tuesday night. Denver got hit with 14 inches of snow on Wednesday--I just escaped! 

Wednesday and Thursday were a bit tough. The memories can be recalled with a very little thing that creates a huge emotional reaction.  On Wednesday, the song "Christmas in Killarney" by the Irish Rovers caused that reaction for me.

Click here to hear the song.  A new window will open a youtube site.

The Christmas of 2008 was the last time Mary and I danced. It was Christmas dinner with Ingrid and Maurice.  The song came on our sound system and Mary, Ingrid and I got up and started dancing.  The first time I heard that song this time of year simply causes the tears to flow.

From 2008-12 Christmas & Flowers

From 2008-12 Christmas & Flowers

By Friday I was feeling better. I had hosted Laura (Tahiti) and her friend Marcia for dinner on Thursday. On Saturday, MaryR and I went to a "Christmas eve party for orphans" that Mary has attended for many years. The host and hostess were wonderful and the hostess is a rower which is the connection to Mary.

Late Sunday morning I hosted a "Come and Make Brunch" party with MaryR and her daughter Emilie plus Laura and her friends Johan and Angela. We had a great time together, told stories, exchanged gifts and overall had a very pleasant time.

On Sunday evening, Marcia held a "Christmas for Orphans" dinner party at her house. Her husband, local relatives plus other folks joined to make a most enjoyable time.  Laura brought the appetizers and I brought a bottle of 11 year old David Bruce Pinot Noir which the wine lovers at the party thought was absolutely over the top. They were right, it was very, very good!

This week is more holiday visiting. My company shut down for the last two weeks of December so I have lots of visiting time!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Pat

Ready for Christmas

For those who remember last year, I didn't get the house decorated at all--until Sarah and Danny came over one night and Sarah insisted they decorate my tree. This year I decided I would not let it get too late before I started my decorating. And, it didn't. I actually started before I left for New York and finished yesterday.


Now, some might call it cheating but I hired a Christmas decorator who used the stuff I had and added a few new things consistent with the theme Mary and I created over the years. Maria is her name and she is wonderful. Sensistive to the meaning behind the items on the tree and with an eye for style to make things "just so"!!

The first picture is my front door with the garlands hung around the door frame, the wreath hanging from the fixed door and just inside the entry, Mary's "Freedom Tree" as she once called it.

The Freedom tree was acquired for Christmas of 1992 in her first apartment. It was the first time she had a place that was for her 'only' as she had lived at home, at school and she and John were married right after graduation. So the freedom was that of living on her own for the first time in her life. 


Maria suggested we put the Waterford Twelve Days of Christmas collection plus other crystal pieces on that tree along with lights and a minimal amount of decoration. I think it looks spectacular and I think Mary would have loved what was done.


In the close up of the tree, you can see a couple of the Waterford pieces, ribbon and a few decorations. All are done very tastefully and it certainly could be a tree that Mary decorated herself.

The last picture is the living room, ready for a party--which will happen this weekend. Everytime I look at this room, I think of how it has changed during the 28 Christmas' I have celebrated in this house. From Chris and Erika checking out their Christmas stockings for stocking stuffer gifts from Santa (Erika was 5 and Chris was 13 but he still checked out the stockings with gusto) to the trips to the tree farms in the Santa Cruz mountains to find our own imperfect but spirited tree, to the quiet Christmas that was Mary's last just two years ago. Maybe I can find some old pictures of Christmas Past and post them this month. We shall see.

Merry Christmas to all!

Happy Thanksgiving & Broadway Debut!

To all my friends and family, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.  T-day is such a great time to be with friends, family and a turkey!  My best wishes to all. 


As for me, I am in New York. I know, this violates my normal practice of writing about my travels while on the road but I will be home Saturday. 




Click here if you cannot see the photos. 


I arrived on Monday afternoon and my daughter, Erika, and I connected in the rain.  We had a simple dinner at a place called the Shake Shack which serves fantastic hamburgers.  On Tuesday, I had lunch with my cousin Tony who lives in the lower East side. We met at the Gramercy Park Hotel and ate at the Maialino Restaurant.  We spent four hours telling stories and catching up on our lives and it was a most pleasant time.  Tony and I share a common set of grandparents on my mother's side and his father's side.  OK, for the quick reader, my Mom and his Dad were brother and sister.  I think I have written about my Uncle Coleman, the surgeon, previously.  Yup, his is my Uncle and Tony's father.  


After leaving Tony, I got off the subway near Erika's office (Chrysler building) only to find out her office moved a month or so ago 13 blocks north.  A nice walk normally, but it was raining cat and dogs (California definition). Erika corrected me that it was merely a shower and not officially rain.  Yucko. 


We had a nice dinner in her neighborhood and then a nightcap in a local bar called The Gael.  And, the bartender was from Ireland. Even more fun was that one of Erika's coworkers had spent a few minutes on Ancestry.com and looked up the Lamey genealogy for her. Me, my Dad, my grandfather William, my great grandfather John (the immigrant to Minnesota in 1849-50) and his father, John, who never left Ireland.  He confirmed the Lamey-Leamy spelling change as well.  It was so fun to see that all in one quick glance. The bartender wanted to know where in Ireland we (they) were from. County Clare, KnockJames. 


Wednesday, Erika left work early (2-ish) so we got together shortly thereafter and the showers stopped. We headed over to the Macy's parade balloon preparation area and with tens of thousands of other New Yorkers viewed the balloons tied to the ground.  We did this last year and it really is a fun thing to do to get into the holiday spirit.  


After the balloons, we had reservations at Tony's restaurant, Whym on the East Side near Columbus Circle.  It was a fantastic meal and the service was spectacular!  Of course, they all knew we were relatives of the General Manager, Anthony, so we think, perchance, we got the royal treatment. I know at bill time we were royalty, Thank You Tony!  


As an aside, Tony is my cousin on my Mom's side.  His work name is Michael Anthony commonly called Anthony. It took me a minute to figure that out!  


Thursday broke with a beautiful sunny day and it remains clear today as well. Tony suggested we not hassle with the trip to the Statue of Liberty but rather take the free Staten Island Ferry which sails very close to the statue and the price is right!  Besides, we got a bit of a late start (Imagine, Erika had a touch of work to do on Thanksgiving morning--chip off the old block, eh?) so the round trip on the Ferry made sense as we had dinner reservations at Aurora SoHo at 3PM.  Aurora had a special Thanksgiving menu and it was absolutely wonderful!  A truly enjoyable meal. 


We then walked to Ground Zero only to find 1) you need to acquire a pass in advance to get into the Memorial and 2) the area around the Memorial was swamped with the Occupiers and those who were observing the Occupiers--police and press, mostly.  Oh, well. It is the land of the free.  


We jumped in a cab and headed back to our respective places for a post Turkey nap for me and E did a bit of work.  Chip off the old block? Nope, a huge chunk!  


As for the Broadway debut--finally for the patient reader--we had tickets to see Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.  It is an Australian based story line and a Musical created after the success (tongue in cheek) of the 1994 movie, "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert." It is an absolute kick of a Musical with great songs, a fun story line and some great Aussie actor/singers.  


At Intermission, they set up handrails along the stairs that went from the stage to the audience. I told Erika that meant the performers would be coming down into the audience. As the second act opened it was a country western skit and the dancers came down the stair and up the aisle. 


Well, our tickets were in row G (7 rows back) and on the aisle.  I was really into the music and watching the closest performer.  She then grabbed my hand and lead me up to the stage!  Broadway Debut!


Well, I cannot tell you exactly what I did. She simply said, "I'll lead, you follow!" There was a dosey doe, a polka, a hold hands circle and then a group bow.  I am sure it was only a couple of minutes but I sure felt like a lot more. It was an absolute kick.  Erika said she wanted to take a picture but she knew the theater rules prohibited it. 


After the play, we stood deciding what to do next on the sidewalk on the corner near the theater.  People actually acknowledged me as a performer!  Erika and I were both giggling about that!  I offered signatures but no one took.  Oh well, it will live in our memories forever AND, its a Thanksgiving highlight!  


And, last night I could not sleep so I watched the movie on my iPad via Netflix.  The Musical was better, I think.  


Today we will see the Matinee of "The Book of Mormon", a latest multiple Tony winner.  Tonight we'll hit Rockerfeller Center and enjoy the lights, the people and the ice skaters. 


My flight leaves at an inhuman hour but it means I will be home before noon tomorrow.  

Man can cook!

Well, I would not call it cooking per se.  Rather, I have been able to reduce Money Hole Dawg's kibble diet to a mix of kibble, pumpkin and water and she eats it heartily.  In other words, she is still alive after I've had to process her food for each feeding since Tuesday.  Kibble, for those who don't have dogs, is like little gravel pebbles with similar texture but they are much harder than gravel. Amazingly, they are actually food. I don't know what form of cement they mix in with the food, but it makes each little kibble rather, umm, indestructible.  


It turns out I take her normal feeding amount of kibble--2/3rds cup-- throw it in the blender, throw in a huge tablespoon of pumpkin from the can and cover with water.  I am now a master at the controls to reduce this concoction to the consistency of a thick pea soup--only I have prepared a pumpkin-kibble soup any dog would love.  


To feed her, I put the pill and one half in a Pill Pocket as an appetizer, load the liquid medicine into a small bowl with the pumpkin soup and voila! Money Hole Dawg's dinner (or breakfast, its the same without the liquid medication.)  


Feeding a dog with an Elizabethan scratch prevention collar is not easy. So, the concoction is put into two smaller bowls that I then hold under her snout while she eats (bowl #1 has the medication in it.)  If you are ever in the position to do this, do not wear good clothes nor plan on doing anything with your hands without a rather vigorous, aggressive cleaning.  Dawg drool, pumpkin, medicine and cement like kibble make for a rather disgusting layer of crud on one's hands.  


As for her medications, what would you take if you had 14 teeth removed?  
Clavamox is amoxicillin with an extender that makes it broader based than it normally is. 
Metacam is an aggressive form of anti-inflammatory for dogs, i.e., a doggie NSAID.   
Tramadol is a narcotic pain reliever.  


For those who have experienced Money Hole Dawg, aka Wiggles, you know she is a perpetual motion machine.  On these drugs, however, she is more like Keith Richards after a particularly hard night partying!  


The bottom line is that she is doing well.  When the drugs wear off, she is full of P&V as always--she wasn't nicknamed Demand-It Dawg for no reason.  Once the collar is off, she then can go in and out of the dog door on her own so she will be much closer to normal behavior.  Because she cannot go out on her own right now, I take her for walks every few hours.  It is amazing, she pees three doors down, she does number 2 between houses 8 and 11 and then she pees again at house #16.  Just a regular little clock she is!  


During all of this, Shawna exhibits absolute boredom.  She is doing fine although the vet did a quick look see while I had them boarded during my working hours this week.  Another mass was found under her skin and two of her yucky under skin things have enlarged.  At her age of 17+, all we do is monitor her to see if there is discomfort.  So far, no indications of that. 


That is all for now!  


P

A 'Hole in My Pocket' Dawg

The Vet ended up taking 14 teeth from "Hole in My Pocket Dawg".  It averaged out to a mere $96 per tooth. 


Ouch! 


She is wearing one of those collars that prevent her from scratching her face. That is the good news. The bad news is that she cannot get through the doggie door to the dog run to do her business. So, I dropped her (and Shauna) at the vet's today for doggie day care. After yesterday, this is small $$ but it is more money.  I have to leave the collar on until Sunday. That means more $$ for Thursday and Friday doggie day care while I am at work.  


And the Vet said her throat was such that she did not think it was cancerous. Hence, she went ahead and did the dental surgery.  She did take a biopsy sample and we'll hear the results from that no later than Monday.  I certainly hope she was right about the throat condition. I'd hate to find out we put Layla thru this miserable procedure when she has a bigger problem (cancer) with a different time line. 


When I picked her up last night, she was still heavily drugged. I had to carry her to the car and then into the house.  I managed to get some water into her using a syringe and she ate a small meal (pulverized dog food).  This morning she was all P&V and she chomped down the full breakfast portion (pulverzied) in record time. She then wanted to eat part of Shauna's bowl too but I quickly stopped that.  She did bark a couple of times as we prepared to go to the vet. But, that was obviously painful--probably due to the cut for the biopsy material.  


The staff at the vet's showed me how to get the medicine into her--"Pill in a Pocket" by the same people who do greenies--and both dogs love greenies.  She wolfed everything down compared to spiting the pills out at home.  Who knew?  


Anyway, another round of canine care.  Just when I thought things would get a bit simpler. NOT!! 


Ciao, 


p

Wiggles!

Vet just called. My 4 year old Cavalier King Charles, Layla aka Wiggles aka White Dog, needs 11 teeth pulled plus they found her throat is so raw it could be an infection or cancer--TBD. 


During the last visit, the vet suspected Syringomyelia too. 


As my late spouse said, "This dog is a genetic mess." The vet agrees. 


My 17 year old English Cocker Spaniel, Shawna aka Red Dog, turned 17 in September and has no significant medical issues. Ah, the complexity of having dogs! (or pets or kids--I've done that too!)


Oh yeah, White Dog was born deaf as well...


Ciao, 


p

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Ciao,

Pat

Aborted Trip

I was supposed to be in China this week, flying on Saturday.  On Friday, I started feeling terrible--achy, very very tired, stomach uneasy, that sort of thing. When I talked to my direct manager, he said he had changed his mind the day before and he was making the trip too. Well, between my health and cost savings, I agreed to stay home. 


A good thing too, I spent Friday afternoon and most of Saturday being a lump. It would have been terrible to have flown to China like that.   


I can report that Shauna continues to defy all rational expectation and you can find her dancing, running and playing with white dog for a rather lengthy session on a daily basis.  That dog is amazing! 


My picture library is a real mess so I have started a project to get it all cleaned up. This involved buying a 2T network hard drive at Costco and uploading all the pictures from all of my computers on to it.  I am still uploading. Once there, I have purchased a program that seeks and kills duplicate files.  Then I can reorganize by date, etc. and get them all in order. 


In the process of doing this, I found this iPhone picture that I took somewhere along the line. The wine is immaterial, its the handwriting that is so poignant. When we remodeled the kitchen, we put in two wine coolers with a collective storage of well over 200 bottles. We then joined several vintner's wine clubs and selectively added wine to the coolers.  


With each shipment, Mary would carefully read the vintner's notes and write the "best years to consume" date on the bottles before she laid them down (as the expression is used out here.)

This is a picture of two of the bottles with Mary's handwriting declaring she'd like to drink  the one on the right between 2012 and 2014 and the one on the left beginning in 2016. 


Maybe it was because I was so down and out this weekend, but I sure felt her absence big time these last few days.  


Ciao, 


P

Whirlwind

What a whirlwind of activity since my last posting!  


I've been to Denver to visit my son, daughter in law and two grand kiddies. That was a blast!  I'll be posting pictures later. 


Last weekend I hoped to get to Arizona to visit Mary's son and grand daughter but that didn't work out. I hope I can get see them before the end of the year.  


Last night I hosted a potluck for a group of 8 friends.  Our terrible weather (50 degrees and a sprinkle of rain) caused horrible traffic jams last night so no one managed to arrive at 7, but everyone was there by 8.  We had the herb roasted chicken from Lundardi's plus salad, veggies and fruit to make a very nice meal.  There was lots of laughter and it was a very good time.  


Two of my dearest friends are fighting cancer.  Both had surgery within the past couple of months (September and October) and both are doing radiation as a follow up.  One is almost done with her radiation sequence while the other will be starting her radiation treatment soon. The prognosis for both friends is very good, but cancer is cancer and it can be a sneaky, nasty bastard.  


All in all, stumbling towards the end of the year and the holidays. 


Ciao! 


p

Cardio Report

Just in case you were wondering, I do regularly see my doctors. 


Today, was my cardiologist.  Her report was very nice to hear. All in all, she was very positive about my health. 


Blood Pressure: 115/72
Liver enzymes: Very Good
Cholesterol: Extremely good.
Actually, all blood metrics were good or better than good. One reading was borderline.

She did have a recommendation for me:

1. Need to exercise regularly to full sweat. 
2. Need to lose 30 lbs (I am sure she wouldn't object if I lost more). 

If I really do exercise and lose weight, she expects all of my metrics to easily arrive well into the very good (or better) range which is gonzo for an old fart like me.

She doesn't want me to start heavy exercise until after stress test on Nov 5.

The weight and exercise are consistent with what I want to do. I want to make this my kick start so it really happens! 


Ciao, 


p

Pictures from Tahiti

Well, this is a quick photo set from the Tahiti trip, taken a the end of September.  The sailing was done on a 42 foot catamaran with Captain Kent at the helm. His spouse and First Mate, Nancy, was a great crew organizer and made us all feel at home. Nancy's brother, Bob, and his wife Linda joined the crew and the last couple were Laura and me. 

In this picture, from the left are Laura, Captain Kent, Bob, Linda, Pat and First Mate Nancy. 

 We stayed in an overwater bungalow before and after the sail and this was the mooring ball, a short swim from our unit. 

One of our on shore events was a dinner at Chez Louise on Raiatea. This is our boat at sunset from the restaurant. 

Getting ready for a snorkel session. 

We toured a pearl farm and this was the harvesting procedure. 

Bloody Mary's on Bora Bora. 

A series of shot using my underwater point and shoot camera. 

As we sailed from Bora Bora to Taha'a, a mother whale and her offspring joined us. 

Relaxing on the deck. 

We ate well, thanks to First Mate Nancy's planning. This was our spaghetti lunch. 

Another wonderful sunset. 

Entertainment at the Hotel Hawaiki Nui on Raiatea. 

Pat and Laura on the Dim Sum in the waters of Tahiti. 

Higher resolution pictures of these and many of the pictures from the Tahiti trip (a selected 300 or so) can be seen by clicking here.

Inquiring Minds...

Shawna's birthday has escaped me as you know. So, I contacted the breeder and asked if there was an easy way to determine when Shawna was born. 


Sandy sent back the data from the AKC registry.  And, Shawna is slightly younger than I thought!  

Name:        Dawnglow Return To Sender

Sex:         Female

Breed:       Spaniel (English Cocker)

Color:       Red

Birth Date:  09/14/1994

Sire:        Hobbithill McMurphys Optimum

Dam:         Dawnglow Demoiselle

Breeder:     Sandra L LaFlamme

Instead of Shawna approaching her 18th birthday next month, she passed her 17th birthday last month.  Well, 17 is nothing to sneeze at for a dog, and she is still doing very well.  I just checked the web for conversion of dog years to human years. It depends on a bunch of stuff but basically, Shawna is the equivalent of 82-94 years old now.  In other words, she is a really old dog! 

Ciao, 

p

Where has he been?

On vacation again. This time to Tahiti with five friends.  I left on the 21st late in the day and returned today, arriving SFO about 3PM.  


As is my practice, I do not post about my travel while I am gone. I will be posting stories and pictures over the next week or so as I catch up with the real world. 


What a second, didn't you just get back from Peru?  Well, yes, but that was the beginning of August...almost two months ago!  It just turned out that two different sets of friends picked August and September for great vacations.  And, my prior vacation was November last year when I took Reenie and Tom to Hawaii. It really is not excessive, only the timing was a bit too close but I made it work out.  


And Shawna and Wiggles did fine during my absence with Courtney doing the house and dog sitting.  I cannot find the original documents from Sandy LaFlamme at Dawnglow Kennels but I think Shawna turns 18 in November. That is one "Methusala" dog!  Courtney was recommended by our vet and, in fact, works in the vets office so that made it very comforting and easy to leave Shawna with her.  


More later!  


Ciao! 


p


    

Pumpkin it is, then!

Shawna has been eating 90% of each feeding with the pumpkin on the food!  Great news!  I have been making up for the 10% by giving more treats than usual but I think I am using good treats for our girl.  And, she has only had one accident in the house this week so things are good! 


My sister, Sister Maureen CSJ, sent a note about our Grandma not returning to Ireland for a visit.  Ah, family stories can be such fun. 


As my sister explained, Grandma was (how shall I say it?) tight with a penny.  Grandma and Grandpa did not drive a car, in fact they did not own one. They lived two doors away from the trolley (later bus line) line so they could get around, but a car was too much.  This also caused my Mom to want to live within walking distance so that visiting would be so much easier.  


Mom did drive and often took Grandma shopping.  I can remember often going on the Saturday grocery shopping trips. Sometimes, Grandma would not go but instead ask Mom to pick up a few things.  When Mom delivered, Grandma reimbursed her to the penny for the items purchased.  And never, never offered gas money or even a 'tip' for the service or a "keep the change."  It was always to the penny. (This benefitted both my sister and I because Mom would send us to the local "mom and pop" market for items as needed.  And she always let us "spend the change." I can remember picking up 3 half gallons of milk and getting a dime change from a dollar bill.) 


The theory now is that Grandma didn't want to go back to visit the relatives for a very simple reason.  The immigrants who left Ireland were expected to send money back for those who stayed behind.  After all, the streets in America were paved with gold! But Grandma was, as I mentioned, tight with a penny.  So sending money for some unidentified expenditure did not fit her image of what money was all about--especially her money.  The supposition is, therefore, that Grandma was more than a few dollars in arrears in supplying funds to the family.  And, any visit to the old country would highlight the rather noticeable lack of payment for, just guessing, six and one half decades--just for a number. One does not really want to go visit people to whom one owes money!  


My parents and my sister visited Ireland after Grandma died and some members of the family still lived in old, old dwellings with dirt floors. I don't think the money would have gone to waste.  Of course, to an Irishman, drink is not a waste by definition. 


My sister also related that after Grandma died, she and Mom spend days going through every scrap of paper that had been filed, stored or otherwise was laying around Grandma's house. Why?  Because one innocuous envelope contained $800 in cash (early '70s), quite a nice amount of money (my new Mustang cost $2,600 just a few years earlier so $800 was some real money!)  Maureen reported they did not find anymore but knowing they might caused them to inspect every possible nook, cranny, document and envelope!  


And for my long-term readers, you know the story of my Mom's stash of money and Mary's stash of...deodorant!  Click here for that story. 


Ciao


P

More late news

For those wondering about my torn retina, it isn't--anymore. I saw Dr. laser-boy today and he said my retina is just fine.  (Of course, he did the repair so what else would he say?) He recommended I visit my regular ophthalmologist in about 3 months as a follow up but I don't need to see him again unless I start to see new floaters and flashers...

We had a nice chat about travel. I had asked him in July if there was any risk in going to Peru (altitude) with my eye condition.  His answer was, "No more risk than you would have being here doing similar things."  He remembered and asked me about the trip because he would like to visit Peru some day.  As we discussed, it turns out he had two boys, pre-teenagers and he and his spouse take a "big trip" with the boys every other year and have been to many places around the globe.  I suggested Peru and Australia--the great barrier reef, of course.  

Interestingly, he takes his family back to Egypt annually and reward miles from those trips help pay for the bi-annual big trips.  How things have changed. My maternal grandparents arrived from Ireland in the 1890s and during their lives never returned to Ireland. In fact, I don't think they ever even called (telephone was too expensive).  I remember one family dinner where my uncle, their son, offered to take them back to Ireland just for a visit to see the old sod to see relatives and friends.  The answer was very simple and quick.  "No."  I don't know why, they would have flown because my uncle proposed it as an airplane trip to New York and then to Shannon airport.  "No" was the repeated and consistent answer.  We never knew why.

The world certainly has changed.  

The dog world is a little bit brighter today. I returned to an old feeding method we used with Shawna and Wolfie for years.  I stopped at the store and picked up some Libby's Pumpkin and added a generous tablespoon to Shawna's kibble feeding tonight.  For the first time in a week, she ate 90% of what was in the bowl. I had been measuring the "leftovers" he last couple of days and she has been consistently eating less than half of her normal portion so 90% is HUGE!  Here is hoping it continues to work to get food into her. 

And no, I do not let Wiggles eat the leftovers. I don't want her to gain anymore weight, she is at the upper limit now. I learned today that during the big dinner event I held last month, one of the guests admitted they were feeding table scraps to the dogs and Wiggles was more than willing to take anything offered.  Here is a picture of my coworker, Liliya, and Wiggles after Wiggles had pigged out, begging from the guests.

I just checked and I realized I did not post about the August dinner. Actually, two dinners. One of my former team members at Applied along with her husband and two married couples love to put on big dinner productions once a month.  And, they do this by "borrowing" someone's house to host the event.  Well, the borrowed my house on March 26 (yes, the same day I returned from China) and more recently, August 20.  Deepika manages everything, the invitee list, the food, the tables and chairs, drinks...everything. As host, I need to be around in case they are looking for some kitchen device that is not in an obvious place. 

In this picture, you can see that Deepika and her friends bring their own table to extend my dining room table to hold 22 guests.  On the left is my coworker, Lilyja, the "feeder of the dogs" guest.

I gave my point and shoot camera to the guests with instructions to take a picture, any picture. We are in Silicon Valley and here is a smartphone screenshot!  

Here we have the three hostesses who work their tails off preparing the meal for all the guests: Ankur, Dee and Tricia.  And, of course, the host in the blue shirt. 

Enough for tonight.  More later. 

Ciao

Pat

Well, Sort of Back...

When I returned from Peru, I was immediately engulfed in preparation for our annual Strategic Plan.  Well, the SR work had me doing long hours and even weekends for the first time in a long time. It meant this blog has been ignored, sorry! 

How am I doing? Overall, pretty well. I managed to get on my bike a few times but not nearly enough.  I also enjoyed a two night stay in Carmel at a friend's birthday party.  It was a lot of fun, especially since I managed to help some of my friend's friends crash the party by flying in from Maryland unannounced and uninvited.  The birthday girl was totally taken aback by the appearance of this lovely couple she had not invited because "they'll be unable to come."  Wrong!  

My friend, MaryR, had more surgery a few weeks ago.  It is related to her neck surgery from 2008 and the docs were very positive about how they got what they went in for. She was home in just 4 days and a week later (Sunday 11th) was driving and she met me for breakfast.  All in all, a pretty strong come back but she still has a lot of healing to do.  

Shawna is causing me some difficulty.  Ingrid reported Shawna was not eating and vomiting while I was in Carmel. Since then, it takes me about 30 minutes to coax Shawna to eat about 1/2 of her food at each feeding.  I haven't detected any vomiting and she is pretty good at not messing in the house but it still happens.  Mary was such a genius for putting tile floors down!  It really pays off when you have an old dog. 


As for Peru, I have not processed my pictures yet. But here is a link to postings from my fellow travelers.  Click here. 

Anyway, time to re-engage at work. 

Ciao! 

P

I'm Back!

Just returned from a two week trip to Peru with Mary's college buddies known as The Farmers.  One of the Farmers is a Peruvian native so this was her "come see my home country" trip and it was marvelous!  


I'll be posting more later. 


p 

Surprise Visitors!

My good friends and coworkers Thomas and Susan dropped in this week. Susan's family lives in Reno so after the big Semicon trade show they often take time to visit her family. Otherwise, its tough to do when you live in Dresden Germany.

Thomas loves fast sets of wheels and their multi car garage in Germany is filled with all sorts of fun machinery. Well, Thomas also bought a Harley motorcycle and keeps it at Mom's place in Reno. Thus, the need to drop in this week. His bike needed a special tuning process and the place to have that done is about a mile from my house. So, Thomas made an appointment and they drove down from Reno on Thursday morning to make the special tuning appointment.

2011-07 Various

From there, they went grocery shopping for a nice BBQ dinner in exchange for the use of Humette and my guest room. Wonderful! We had a great diner of filet mignon, corn on the cob, green salad and fresh bread on the back deck. Ingrid also dropped in after work to say hello to Thomas and Susan again and to discuss visiting them during her next trip to Germany--although because of her diet, she did not fully partake of the BBQ feast.

I must admit, however, that the timing was not quite right. The Maids were supposed to be in on Wednesday and that would have been perfect because the house would have been immaculate. Unfortunately, I cancelled them because of my cold/flu and I did not want the task of preparing for them on Tuesday. Now, the place was presentable because of my clean up on Wednesday evening but it wasn't AAA rated! So, at some point during the evening, Susan grabbed my vacuum and worked on the dust bunnies!



Thomas, Susan and I, along with a bottle of wine (or was it two?) then finished the evening sitting in my dining room solving the problems of the world until the wee hours of the morning.



It was sooo good to see them! I hope his bike needs that tuning process frequently!


Thomas and Susan heading back to Reno on Friday morning! A Harley makes a lovely wake up call for the neighborhood! Fortunately, this was about 9:30 in the morning so it wasn't tooo bad.

Pat

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Los Gatos

Better and Worse

On Sunday, I developed a rather substantial chill, which I assume means I also suffered from a fever. It had me down and out for almost seven hours.  This cold-flu thing is really a bother!  I did not go to work today although I felt pretty good when I awoke.  But, once I got out of bed, I found myself a touch wobbly and decided driving and contaminating my coworkers was not a good idea. After lunch I did find myself napping for a couple of hours so clearly the body is not ready for the office.

I did something very tough today. I notified FaceBook that Mary's FB page should be converted to a memorial because she died.  They have a mechanism to do that so it is happening now. I also went to change my profile to "widowed" but the software says my relationship to Mary will be severed. That I cannot do. So I haven't changed it. 

Also, I read the original blog for the month of July 2009. That was a good time. At the beginning of the month, Mary was feeling pretty darn good after the liver surgery. But then the radiation and chemo started and her strength was sapped away day by day.  I know she enjoyed what we did--just 'normal' stuff, Farmers Market followed by breakfast with friends, cooking at home and taking care of the dogs. Such simplicity but such joy for her--and for me. 

If you'd like to revisit July of 2009, click here.

My Alaska cruise friends jumped into help these last few days.  MaryR asked if there was something she could do for me while I was feeling so poorly.  I asked her to pick up some milk and saltines. I had Campbell's chicken noodle soup that needed saltines and the milk is for lattes and cereal.  She commented that I had given her the same shopping list in the early '90s when Mary was still living in Arizona and I was down with a bug of some sort.  Ingrid was shocked when I said I had Campbell's chicken noodle soup in the house. She delivered a supply of home-made German chicken noodle soup to keep me going.  I have several meals left. 

From 2010 Alaska

All in all, I am feeling better. I see the eye doctor on Wednesday and I assume that will let me sleep flat again. I am still sleeping in an upright position.  And, I am hoping I don't need to see my primary care physician because the flu-cold thingy will be gone! 

Ciao, 

p

Sick of being sick

By now, you have read about my eye problem.  On Wednesday next week, I see the eye surgeon (laser boy) and I expect to get a green light--no pun intended.  Tuesday morning I woke with a sore throat and although I didn't notice it all day, I noticed again as I went to sleep. On Wednesday morning, I knew it was a real sore throat and companion sinus cold.  Yuck. 

On Tuesday, I went to work all day because I had scheduled myself to the annual trade show, SEMICON West (click here), in San Francisco.  On Wednesday, I had planned on working in the office and by mid-afternoon my body was screaming to go lay down (or sit up in my case because of my eye).  I started Mucinex and have had a restful 24 hours so far. I hope I am feeling better enough to go to work tomorrow.  I just fixed my first meal of the day, a can of Campbell's finest chicken soup.  That matches yesterday when I had a can of Campbell's finest chicken soup.  Is there an echo in here?  I am just not hungry. 

Shawna continues to be an old dog. (Umm, excuse me, what else would she do?)  Anyway, she is now exhibiting signs that are causing me concern.  I have had to do clean up in the house daily this week.  My last trip to the vet included the purchase of a candle that is supposed to mask doggie odors. Boy, am I glad I bought that candle!  

But the fact that she is losing control of her essential functions is very concerning.  Clearly, the signals are not reaching her brain in time for her to react and get outside. Worse, when I take her out or send her out, she 'locks up' and refuses to deliver.  (How is that for euphemistic writing?)

The last time I saw the vet, she was very emphatic about Shawna being an old dog. For a couple of weeks recently, she was full of energy, dancing and running around like she was a puppy. These recent days, she is moving slow, having accidents and I often find her searching the house.  She stops the search when I touch her head or back and then she realizes which shadow she is seeing is me. Translation, I think her eyesight is pretty much gone.  

On the other hand, Wiggles is being Wiggles. Loud, noisy and brash, that dog is full of piss and vinegar.  And, she manages to start her barking campaign immediately upon my answering the phone.  Its gotten to the point that my callers say, "Oh, I'm glad I got you. I can tell because the dog is barking."  Nice, eh? I think I'll record my answering message while she is barking and really fool 'em! 

Anyway, I am expecting things to get better over the next couple of weeks.  The cold will run its course and the eye problem should get a green light next week.  Oh, to lay flat in a bed or have a massage at Ingrid's salon (click here.)!  

Ciao

p

It is ok, just cloudy!

And I don't mean the weather.

The Doc spent quite a bit of time inspecting my eye today. His conclusion is 1) the laser repair was done correctly, the retinal tear is fixed and everything looks just fine, and 2) there is quite a bit of dispersed blood floating around inside my eyeball...

So what does one do with dispersed blood floating around in your eyeball? Let see, the number of choices are limited to 1) do nothing and wait or 2) wait and do nothing.

It took me a while but I decided on number 1.

He also requested that I continue to not lay flat--sleeping upright is on my agenda. I never guessed that one of the things I would long for is to simply lay flat on a bed, couch or massage table. All of that is off limits for a while.

OK Doc, if I do lay flat, what happens? "Well, nothing may happen but it increases the possibility of further retinal damage..." I interrupted him at that point and agreed to be a good boy.

"Oh, and nothing more strenuous than walking" he added. Excuse me? You are a Doctor and you don't want me to do anything more strenuous than walking? Wow! He admitted that he'd rather have me on an exercise regimen but until the eye is totally solid, he wants me to be sedentary. OK, I can do that!

As a result of all this, my left eye is sending images to my brain that makes me think I am in a thick San Francisco fog at all times. There is no fog because the other eye is crystal clear. The dispersed blood will dissipate over time and it may take up to 8 weeks--or two months--whichever comes first.

The bottom line? Everything is fine, I will get better and my vision will return to a good state after a bit of time. My next visit with the Doc is in two weeks and we'll make decisions then on my ability to lay flat and work on my sedentary lifestyle.

Ciao,

p

Lazy, lazy...

Nothing terribly exciting happening since Shawna was doing laps in the hot tub.  


Well, unless you include the flashes and floaters (F&Fs) in my left eye that caused me to go to my regular Ophthalmologist on Thursday. He had the unmitigated gall to cancel my trip to Arizona to visit Tim and Charlize because he insisted on laser surgery ASAP. And no big changes in pressure (airplanes are equivalent to being on a 8,000 to 10,000 ft mountain) so no airplanes for a while.  


Anyway, my F&Fs started sort of Tuesday night--you know, the kind of thing where you say, "Are these real flashes or am I imagining it?"   Maybe the flashes were causing me to think they were real by Wednesday.  But when I woke up on Thursday morning and there was this big dark floater covering about a third of my left eye's vision, I decided it was time to see the doc.  


That's when he cancelled my plans for the weekend and sent me to a laser surgeon "no later than tomorrow."  


Well, the laser surgeon is a well qualified MD. Very nice and very gentle until he started launching his photon torpedos into my left eye. OMG, talk about seeing the light!  


He said something about my fair Irish skin and how it meant the retina in my eye also lacked some typical pigmentation.  That lack meant he had to carpet bomb the tear in my retina to get everything to stick properly!  Yowza!  


I spent a quiet weekend holding my head vertical per the doctor's orders, even when sleeping.  All those years flying coach class means I have an acquired skill that helps out at times like these.  


So what was going on?  My left eye is apparently in the process of the vitreous fluid collapsing--a very normal thing for those of us in the 60-65 age group. When it does, it sometimes tears the retina.  The laser surgery is to weld the retina and stop the tearing.  The tear can lead to partial blindness. And, the tear exposes the back of the retina to the fluid in the eye and that can lead to retinal detachment--aka blindness. Serious stuff. In my case, I added a slight complication because the tear also ripped a blood vessel. The large dark floater I saw on Thursday morning was apparently a big blob of blood floating in the eye.  


So far, I haven't detected flashes at all. Floaters do come and go and my eye is 'cloudy' so I talked to the doc this morning. His assessment is that there was a lot of blood in the eye and it would make the fluid cloudy  but the blood will absorb and disappear in a few days. But, to be safe, he will see me tomorrow just to 'check things out.'  The fact he did not insist on today gave me some confidence the cloudiness is not a big deal given the nature of my retinal tear.  


Shauna keeps rolling along. It is so hard to believe that dog is 17.5 years old!  She bounds up and down the stairs to the dog run. And, she does her circle dance when food is being prepared.  Just an amazing dog!  


The weather this past week has been really strange. Rain a week ago. We don't get no stinkin' rain between April and October!  We did last week.  And, temperatures in the 90s over the weekend and into today.  For us, 90s is incredibly hot...


Ciao, 


p