The grief group that I participated in has officially ended. On our last official evening two weeks ago, we agreed to have informal meetings every Tuesday just to keep the feeling of being with those of similar mind on a regular basis.
I have hosted two of these during prior breaks and I immeasurably enjoy the host role. As we decided on future meetings, I drew last night as my night. Of our group of 11, seven were able to make it and that is pretty much a quorum these days.
The event is a potluck so people agreed to bring various components of a well rounded meal. We had two salads, couscous, wine, appetizers, bbq chicken and three kinds of pie for dessert. I prepared the chicken and cooked it on the grill. I also stretched my culinary skills and made a killer of a marinade for the chicken. I totally overcooked the chicken because I didn't use my digital thermometer until it was already over 180F so I figured I had chicken shoe leather. But the overnight marinade had made the chicken so moist, it was juicy and tender and a real pleasure to serve and eat!
Anyway, it was good to see the group and I believe a fun time was had by all!
Ciao
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Another one of those weeks!
As I wrote last week, Sunday evening caused a ramp up of energy and emotion to prepare for the special Sunday evening event.
What I had not realized because I was focused on preparing for my role and presentation was that there was a series of "must do" events set for the balance of the week. And, a two-day all-day offsite to start our annual planning cycle. Just a lot of work!
Saturday was ACT's "Tales of the City". A fantastic bit of theater and musical. If you have a chance, please, please go see it. Click here to visit ACT. I wrote about my daughter's visit in early May, I mentioned we had attended a reading by Armistead Maupin of his new book. He is the author of "Tales" and he was a joy to hear. Well, I attend a Saturday series that includes an optional luncheon for donors to the theater. I decided to attend the luncheon on Saturday and Armistead was the featured speaker. He is just a kick, full of life and absolutely funny!
The Tuesday grief group program has terminated per the normal practice of Pathways. So, my group has decided that we should continue to meet unofficially and informally. We have three Tuesdays planned for this month and the first will be held at my place. I spent a good portion of today cleaning the deck in case the weather cooperates and we can eat outside. Tomorrow the Maids clean the inside of the house so things should be absolutely perfect for my guests.
Shawna keeps rolling along! No drama this week although she has started her old behavior of barking and dancing when its dinner time. She stopped doing that some time ago. To see her doing her old "high energy" pre-meal ceremony is heartwarming. (Think of the comic strip "Peanuts" and the dance that Snoopy does as Charlie Brown brings the feeding bowl.) Both dogs have been good and I have only had to clean up one wet spot when we had a touch of rain earlier in the week.
I am still having my massage on Friday evenings. If you need a massage, please call or contact Ingrid at Massage Rescue (click here). She is a miracle worker! If you do visit the website, you also will see I have a second career!
This coming week is more normal at work, if we only knew what "more normal" was!
Ciao!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
It Is Done!
One of the many events held internally by my employer is a tutorial about our various businesses on the eve of the regular board meetings. For this board meeting, the group I work for was to provide the tutorials and tours.
I was tapped to give one of the three 20 minute tutorials. Well, describing our very complex high tech business in 20 minutes is no simple task. I spent the better part of last week trying to figure out the essence of what I needed to say. And, I had a prior speaker that was going to discuss certain topics so I could build on his materials. And, I was followed by a tour of our Development facilities so I could have our tour guide cover other key points. In addition, the head of our overall unit is presenting on Tuesday morning and the board wants those materials on the weekend before the meeting. And we had to be aligned with his content.
This meant last week was hell week. Early starts, late days and by Saturday I was exhausted. Hey, Tuesday morning after Memorial day was an 8AM must attend meeting. Sure put a stop on Monday night activities so I could get up on time for the meeting. I work with a bunch of workaholics, the last email transmission of material for the session today was at 1:10AM today (Sunday). We were to start at 5:30PM-ish so we assembled at 4PM to make sure everything was ready for the event.
The bottom line is that it went well--very well. Some of the speakers don't know how to manage time but the board was ok with it. I held to my time budget and lead the tours as planned. The kudo's at the end of the session were greatly appreciated!
I got home at about 10PM, fed the dogs and am writing this blog to relax a bit before I head for bed. Next meeting is at 9AM and that extra hour feels pretty good right now.
Unfortunately, what I needed to get done this past week has not been done because this has been so all consuming. The dishwasher from Monday night is still not unloaded. I couldn't believe it when I went looking for a particular dish and it wasn't in the cabinet and I found it in the dishwasher (clean) from four days prior! I am scraping for clean clothes because I haven't had time to do the laundry, I don't want to listen to the machines while I try to fall asleep either. However, by starting with the color of undershirts (only black left) and selecting the right dress shirt (allowing blue socks with a black undershirt), I can go for Mon and Tues and that gives me time to solve the problem. I got some of my grocery shopping and errands done but I am about to run out of a very special dog treat and I will be in big trouble if I don't have that! I didn't get to farmers' market today so I missed my fish. Darn it!
And to top it all off, we've had record rainfall in Silicon Valley in the past 48 hours. We are supposed to be in full summer which around here means no rain until November or December (sprinkles allowed in October). But this year its just not working out that way!
That's all for now!
Ciao
p
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Rainy Saturday
It has been pouring all morning. Well, at least since I woke up. I could not sleep last night and was awake until 3 or so. That meant a late wake up for me. The dogs were fed about 11 and I have taken my time starting my day. But I need to begin my Saturday errands soon. While finishing my latte, I found my over active, hyper, bundle of energy dogs at my feet.
And white dog (aka Wiggles) snores!
Pat
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
And white dog (aka Wiggles) snores!
Pat
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Shawna!
As is my practice, I am now posting that I have been away on a business trip. I arrived home from China about 9am today.
The jet lag monster had me in its grips until late afternoon. But, that makes sense, late afternoon in California is morning in China.
Why the title Shawna! on this post? Because she scared the you know what out of both of us today.
Today, I decided, was the day to recommission the hot tub. I've had all the maintenance work done over the past weeks so now it was time to get it going again. It has been filled with water for a few weeks so the teak could soak and swell and make itself watertight. Frankly, it has been dry since the autumn before Mary's symptoms appeared so that is 2.5 years.
First step, drain the two week old icky 'saturating' water. With the help of gravity, that takes several hours.
Two, clean the filter. A 30 minute job
Three, go buy new chemistry. Three plus year old stuff can be questionable.
Four, fill the tub. Using a garden hose, that can take well over an hour.
Five, as the jets are nearly submerged by the rising fresh water, turn on the heater. This involves going downstairs, turning on the pump and setting the soaking temperature. The temperature indicator show the starting point of our tap water here is 61 degrees as I set the use temp at 99 degrees As I climb back up the stairs, Wiggles is barking and dancing and acting nuts.
"Oh, white dog, what IS your problem?" I say to the deaf dog. "It's too early for dinner". I realize she is not dancing towards the open door and the feeding area. Rather she is dancing towards the hot tub. Strange, I think.
As I walk towards the tub, the water level is still a good 1.5 feet below the rim. (The tub is set nearly flush with the deck.) I see something my brain cannot process at first. What is that large shape in the water? Moving, doing laps? Then it hits me, its Shawna! She fell in! Now Shawna has been around the hot tub since it was installed six years ago so clearly her balance is still not good after her bout with old dog vistibula disease last year.
My next thought is hypothermia. 61 degrees for a seventeen year old dog is too cold.
As I get down on my hands and knees to grab her, I see she is vey tired already and having a tough time keeping her mouth out of the water. She is starting to drown! I reach for her and miss the first time. The second lap I grab her and pull her to the side of the tub, holding her by her rib cage so she can cough and breath--which she does. Finally I lift her and run her into into the utility room sink to soak her in warm water to get the chill off of her.
Her heart is racing, she is having trouble breathing and she is shivering like there is no tomorrow. I am thinking heart attack any second now--she is 17 years old!
After towel drying, I turn away in preparation for using a hair dryer. With my back to her, she jumps off the 36 inch high counters! So now I am thinking major bone breakage plus a heart attack.
But, no! Shawna is fine. She has been quietly laying in front of the fire for the past couple of hours--and she is very much alive.
Shawna!
Pat
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The jet lag monster had me in its grips until late afternoon. But, that makes sense, late afternoon in California is morning in China.
Why the title Shawna! on this post? Because she scared the you know what out of both of us today.
Today, I decided, was the day to recommission the hot tub. I've had all the maintenance work done over the past weeks so now it was time to get it going again. It has been filled with water for a few weeks so the teak could soak and swell and make itself watertight. Frankly, it has been dry since the autumn before Mary's symptoms appeared so that is 2.5 years.
First step, drain the two week old icky 'saturating' water. With the help of gravity, that takes several hours.
Two, clean the filter. A 30 minute job
Three, go buy new chemistry. Three plus year old stuff can be questionable.
Four, fill the tub. Using a garden hose, that can take well over an hour.
Five, as the jets are nearly submerged by the rising fresh water, turn on the heater. This involves going downstairs, turning on the pump and setting the soaking temperature. The temperature indicator show the starting point of our tap water here is 61 degrees as I set the use temp at 99 degrees As I climb back up the stairs, Wiggles is barking and dancing and acting nuts.
"Oh, white dog, what IS your problem?" I say to the deaf dog. "It's too early for dinner". I realize she is not dancing towards the open door and the feeding area. Rather she is dancing towards the hot tub. Strange, I think.
As I walk towards the tub, the water level is still a good 1.5 feet below the rim. (The tub is set nearly flush with the deck.) I see something my brain cannot process at first. What is that large shape in the water? Moving, doing laps? Then it hits me, its Shawna! She fell in! Now Shawna has been around the hot tub since it was installed six years ago so clearly her balance is still not good after her bout with old dog vistibula disease last year.
My next thought is hypothermia. 61 degrees for a seventeen year old dog is too cold.
As I get down on my hands and knees to grab her, I see she is vey tired already and having a tough time keeping her mouth out of the water. She is starting to drown! I reach for her and miss the first time. The second lap I grab her and pull her to the side of the tub, holding her by her rib cage so she can cough and breath--which she does. Finally I lift her and run her into into the utility room sink to soak her in warm water to get the chill off of her.
Her heart is racing, she is having trouble breathing and she is shivering like there is no tomorrow. I am thinking heart attack any second now--she is 17 years old!
After towel drying, I turn away in preparation for using a hair dryer. With my back to her, she jumps off the 36 inch high counters! So now I am thinking major bone breakage plus a heart attack.
But, no! Shawna is fine. She has been quietly laying in front of the fire for the past couple of hours--and she is very much alive.
Shawna!
Pat
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Los Gatos
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Day Trip to USC
My recent tript to China was to visit several universities to see if we could arrange funded research. The trip this week was to another university, USC in Southern California. USC is known for its famous Heisman Trophy winners like the one who gave his back (Reggie Bush) and that other guy, OJ Simpson.
One of my work compatriots is a USC graduate and suffers a religious experience during football season. So, when it was time to do the tour of the electronics laboratories, he insisted on a small detour to this statue, Tommy Trojan. In the picture are four of my coworkers and four professors from the EE department. And, of course, a beautiful sunny California day.
 |
| From 2011-05 USC |
 |
| From 2011-05 USC |
One of my work compatriots is a USC graduate and suffers a religious experience during football season. So, when it was time to do the tour of the electronics laboratories, he insisted on a small detour to this statue, Tommy Trojan. In the picture are four of my coworkers and four professors from the EE department. And, of course, a beautiful sunny California day.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Another Anniversary
Two years ago (May 2009) was the surgery removing 78% of Mary's liver in a hepatic trisectomy at Stanford with Dr. Visser. Later that week was the episode of SIADH and then a week later her release to come home. Hard to believe its been two years.
If you'd like to read the May 2009 blog, click here.
I haven't dwelled on the surgery and the SIADH aftermath like I have on other events. I guess it was part of the success of giving Mary her one year instead of the weeks that are more typical for a diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma so it was a joyous event.
As I read the two year old blog, I could only be so thankful for all the support from Ingrid, MaryR, Terry and all the good wishes from lots of friends. She gave it a good run, didn't she? But cholangiocarcinoma is a devil of a cancer because it attacks the liver, an organ that defines the workings of the body's chemistry.
As one of the doctors told us near the end in April of 2010, "We've had patients with tumors the size of basketballs but they were attached to the body in a non-threatening way. Mary's cancer (tumor) is so small we cannot get an image of it via MRI, CT Scan, X-Ray or any other technique. But, it is located in an absolutely essential and irreplaceable part of the body's workings such that it threatens life simply by being where it is.
If you'd like to read the May 2009 blog, click here.
I haven't dwelled on the surgery and the SIADH aftermath like I have on other events. I guess it was part of the success of giving Mary her one year instead of the weeks that are more typical for a diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma so it was a joyous event.
As I read the two year old blog, I could only be so thankful for all the support from Ingrid, MaryR, Terry and all the good wishes from lots of friends. She gave it a good run, didn't she? But cholangiocarcinoma is a devil of a cancer because it attacks the liver, an organ that defines the workings of the body's chemistry.
As one of the doctors told us near the end in April of 2010, "We've had patients with tumors the size of basketballs but they were attached to the body in a non-threatening way. Mary's cancer (tumor) is so small we cannot get an image of it via MRI, CT Scan, X-Ray or any other technique. But, it is located in an absolutely essential and irreplaceable part of the body's workings such that it threatens life simply by being where it is.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)