Evening update

Whew!  I guess I should wait until things are settled one way or another with my dad's diagnosis before I post anything but this is a way for me to keep track of what is going on.

My dad's doctor forwarded his medical tests to the pulmonary specialist in Cheyenne today.  The doctor there feels that the risks of doing a lung scope and biopsy on Dad far exceed the value at this point.  My dad just isn't strong enough to go through it.  He did say that by looking at the cat-scan of his lungs that he thinks this illness could be one of two things.  It could be the pulmonary fibrosis or it could be a new, antibiotic resistant pneumonia.  Either way, steroid therapy would benefit him.  He has been started on a steroid through his IV that is supposed to decrease the inflammation in his lungs and help the other medications work better.  They gave him a large 'loading' dose to get things started.  We are all hoping that this will be the boost his body needs to start the healing cycle.

My mom's tummy is settling down.  She had some broth and crackers, was going to take a shower and go back to bed for the night.  She is hoping that she will be well enough to go see Dad tomorrow.  I encouraged her to take another day off to be sure she doesn't pass any germs to him in case her upset wasn't food poisoning.

My sister finally reached Denver.  What a day she went through.  Her flight from San Luis Obispo was late into San Francisco so she missed her connection to Denver.  She got there at 6:30 instead of 4:30.  Then her luggage arrived on the next flight so she and my cousin didn't get out of the airport until nearly 9:00 Denver time.  The good news:  It stopped snowing and it didn't snow north of Denver!!  That is such good news because she will be traveling north into Wyoming tomorrow and the roads are clear and in good shape.

Thank you for your kind comments and prayers.

 

 

Things are not going well for my father.  Now he has pneumonia, he has anemia so bad that he required 2 units of blood yesterday and today found out that he is not responding to the treatment for the pneumonia and it is getting worse.  His doctor wants to send him to Cheyenne which is 50 miles south of Laramie to a lung specialist to have his lungs looked at through a special scope to find out why he is not responding and what treatment may work for him.   If things do not turn around by Friday, I am going to fly back there.  Things are becoming very critical and I may lose my dad.  His body functions are shutting down and even with all the medical technology available, he just might not be able to fight back from this.  I was able to talk to him on the phone today.  He sounded better than I thought he would.  It was such a relief to hear his voice but at the same time it was so painful to be so far away. 

On top of this, my mom is home sick today.  She has a stomach bug.  She started throwing up around 10:30 last night and when I talked to her around noon today, she was just starting to keep things down.  She thinks she ate something bad and does not have a virus. 

My sister is on the way.  It is snowing like crazy in Denver.  I hope her plane lands on time and safely around 6:30 tonight.  She will spend the night with my cousin and see my Aunt Helen this evening.  Tomorrow if the roads are okay, my cousin will drive her to Laramie.  If the roads aren't that great, Carol will take a Greyhound bus which will get her into town around 2:30 p.m.

Prayers for my dad, mom and safe travels for my sister are much appreciated!

Thanks!

Ahh, Life

I'm writing this in blue because a new baby boy has been born.  Remember the young man in England?  The one I made the baby blanket for?  His son was born a few days ago.  Baby Jack weighed in at just over 7 pounds.  Healthy and robust.  Mom and baby boy are both doing well.  The new father is over the moon with joy and excitement about the birth of his son.  It just gave me goose bumps and tears to read about his emotions as he welcomed his son into the world. 

By the way, Nic, his girlfriend, thinks the blanket and other gifts came from someone he met while reading their journal...  LOL   He thinks she knows he has a journal but is being sweet and letting him have his private space and just not saying anything.  I thought that was a very good explanation. 

                                                * * * * * * *

I finally found out what is going on with my Dad's health and it is not good.  He has been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis.  This disease causes the tiny air sacs in his lungs to thicken and become stiff ~ then the lung function is diminished and his oxygen saturation diminishes.  He will have to be on oxygen for the rest of his life.  The damage was caused by medication he was taking to control atrial fibrillation.  A-Fibrillation is when the upper chambers of the heart flutter or twitch instead of contract normally during a beat.  The medication, Amiodaron, was the last ditch medication available to control the condition.  If he goes back into A-Fib, he will most likely have to have a pacemaker. 

Pulmonary fibrosis is a very serious condition.  As it progresses in makes the lungs stiffen and eventually they cannot expand and contract.  Hopefully, and most likely, as the medication leaves his system (7-10 days) the damage will not get worse but it will not reverse and get better.  There are some types of fibrosis that continue to worsen and eventually cause death.  The type my Dad has can lead to other complications like heart attack and stroke if his oxygen levels are not maintained properly.

My sister will arrive in Laramie on Thursday to lend support to my parents and to help oversee the decisions being made about his care and medications.  There are some decisions that are being made that she and I do not feel are in his best interest and she is going to try to intervene in his behalf.  My parents are not very assertive when it comes to dealing with their doctor.  They think if he says something they should just go along with it.  Most of the time, that's probably OK but there are 2 things that have come up that she and I really want to challenge and have further dialog with the doctor about before a final decision is made.  I would have gone, too, but I have promised my daughter-in-law and son to be on call when the baby comes and that is pretty much anytime now.  Shannon has been having contractions (probably Braxton-Hicks) but I'm not leaving town until the baby is born especially when Carol is willing and able to go and take care of things now.  Bless her heart!!!

More later.......................  Hugs

Tags: pulmonary fibrosis

Saturday Morning Stuff

I'm wearing my wedding ring again for the first time in a year.  Now don't get any ideas about big trouble here in paradise.....  It hasn't fit in that long.  I had it resized and picked it up at the jewelers yesterday.  They did a beautiful job and I am really happy to have it on my hand again.  It went from a size 9 down to a size 7. 

I'm going to spend some time this morning with my 2 year old grandson, Andrew.  The other two have baseball/softball practices and will be with their dad for those activities.  Mom is having a day out with her girlfriends (a well deserved day, I might add).  Andrew can go to one practice and do fine but two just pushes his endurance to the breaking point and he has a melt down that isn't pleasant for anyone so Grandma is staying with him.  We will play with the trucks, motorcycles, and blocks while the others are away.  I truly love my alone times with him because they are so rare. 

I didn't watch a movie last night after all.  I ended up  watching back to back episodes of What Not To Wear while I cleaned out the refrigerator and then cleaned my office.  Tonight will be movie night. 

That's it for this morning.  Maybe an update when I get back.

Hugs.

MySpace the Musical

My daughter's friend, Jordan and his cousin, have written a musical that has a wonderful chance of being produced and put on Broadway.  It's called MySpace the Musical.  If you log on the the web site below, it will take you to the MySpace page that has been set up to introduce the musical.  All the people on the page are actors playing the characters in the show.  There are actually 4 songs from the show on the space so you can hear them.

Jordan is a remarkable young (23!) man.  You can bet when this show opens on Broadway, Cari and I are going to be there.  He's invited us to opening night!!!!  And to think, he works with her at Sips!  I guess you gotta start somewhere and we will be lucky to say, "ahhh, we knew him when...."

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=121683761

Break a leg, Jordan!!!

Family Matters

My dad isn't doing too well.  His back is getting better but he has serious bouts of nausia which have made him not want to eat.  He's lost around 15 pounds since he left here on Jan. 1st.  This week, he was diagnosed with a lung infection and is on medication for that.  On top of all of it, he has been very depressed.  I guess I'd be depressed, too, if I felt awful for so long.  His depression, though, is the kind that causes physical problems to worsen.  His doctor wants to put him on a new anti-depressant but my mom thinks it has too many side effects.  She is going to ask the Dr. if he will just increase his Lexapro because he has done well on that until recently.  Anyway, prayers and good thoughts would be appreciated.  I think my sister is going to go spend some time there and evaluate the situation.  We have felt that my parents haven't been as aggressive as they might have been in getting Dad seen about the lung problem.  They tend to hang back until there isn't any other choice but to go to the doctor and at their age, it could be too late.  Scary for us here.

Dennis is going skiing this weekend with his friend, Tom, a retired fire fighter and former neighbor of ours.  They are going with a group on a chartered bus which is leaving from Tom's house tomorrow evening.  The group of 30 or so will arrive at Mammoth Ski Resort around 11:00 Friday night and return to Riverside on Sunday evening.  They are staying in a group of condos that have been rented for the occasion.  Dennis is looking forward to this with a lot of enthusiasm.  He has been skiing since he was about 10 years old and is an excellent skier.  Since I don't ski, he has found friends who share his interest to go with.  When Bryan was younger and living at home, they would go together.  It was always so much fun for me to listen to them talk about their competitions over who was faster, more adventurous, etc.

I'm delighted that he is going on this trip.  He works too hard and does not take enough time for himself.  He needs this break and he will come home feeling recharged and with a better attitude.  I know he will say, "I don't know why I don't do this more often."

I always encourage him to take time for himself.  He works hard and gives everything he has to make his clients happy.  His work isn't physically difficult but it is mentally challenging to the extreme.  Can you imagine having to make sure you remember to draw where every nail, light switch, and 2 x 4 goes in a building?  The details he has to remember are amazing to me.  When I look at a set of finished plans I wonder how he ever learned all that stuff.  Just the energy codes these days are enough to make your head swivel around on your shoulders.  LOL

While he is gone, I have the house to myself.  Oh, goodie.  I can rent some chick flicks, eat dinner at 8:30 at night or not eat dinner at all, and I can shop until I drop without worrying about getting home at any certain time.  I really like that.

Saturday morning, I'm going to stay with Andrew while Bryan takes Nate and Megan to their softball practices.  Shannon's friend, Lisa is picking her up and taking her out for a pampering session.  On my way home from there, I am going to do some clothes shopping.  Saturday night, I'm going to watch a chick flick in the dark in my jammies on the big screen. 

Sunday, I'm going to see some friends who are visiting from Colorado for a few hours and then I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of the day but I am going to enjoy it. 

Ta-ta for now.

 

Andrew's Car Adventure

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon at my son's house.  We had a wonderful time with everyone but, as usual, the kids were especially fun.  Below, you will find some pictures of 2-year old Andrew showing me his driving skills.

Andrew is showing me how well he can drive his little car.

Now, he wants to show me what it would look like if he was in a crash, so he is preparing.  See, he is opening the little door.  He totally sets up the scene below so don't worry, he's not hurt:

Here he is, sprawled out on the ground in his crash mode to show grandma what it would look like if he really did crash.

LOL  I think he's going to be a stunt man.  This boy loves to reenact crashes, talk about crashes, watch crashes (we were watching the Daytona 500 and he was delighted with the amount of crashes there were in that race!).  He's such a little DUDE.

                                       * * * * * * *

I had a very nice birthday celebration.  Bryan grilled steak and chicken.  Shannon fixed scalloped potatoes for her father-in-law (his favorite) and she steamed fresh green beans and made a huge salad with every kind of salad goodie in it for me (my favorite).  We had a good time visiting and enjoying the afternoon together.  The kids were surprised because I took them 'birthday' presents.  I took each of them a little something.  Earlier in the week I found a package of training pants for Andrew that have the cars from the movie Cars on them.  His parents are getting ready to start potty training soon after the baby arrives and he has adjusted so I thought he'd enjoy having undies with cars on them for the big event.  I couldn't take him something without a little something for the other two so when I went to Target for a few things I picked up a small Legos toy for Nathan and a My Little Pet Shop kittie for Megan.  I got Andrew a tiny  John Deer tractor on a flatbed truck, too.  Undies just would not have made an impression if the other two got toys (see it's a vicious circle!!!  LOL).  Anyway, they enjoyed their little toys.  Meg wasn't feeling well.  She was running a temp of 101 so I ran down to the drug store and picked up some Tylenol for Shannon while she finished fixing dinner.  I hope Megan isn't getting strep throat.  Shannon said a note came home from school last week saying the kids in her class had been exposed.

Cari and Sam surprised me with a gift card to Coldwater Creek.  I still have the one she gave me for Christmas and along with the $$$ Den gave me I will have a very good time shopping in my favorite store.  Bryan and Shannon gave me a gift card to the Claim Jumper restaurant.  Dennis and I will be able to go there one evening for a dinner out.

I have to say turning fffiffty-8 wasn't so bad.  I sure don't feel like I'm that age.  I don't think I act it either.  LOL  I'm still a big kid at heart.

Until later.   Hugs......

Birthday Girl

Feb. 17th is my birthday.  We are celebrating on the 18th because Saturday is such a crazy day in this family.  Dennis had meetings with clients, Cari had to work, Bryan and Shannon were going in two different directions with softball practices for Megan and Nathan and everything else they have to do on the weekend so we are going down to their house when they get back from church.  I'm looking forward to having time with my kids and grandchildren.

I had such a nice surprise last night.  Around 9:30 there was a knock on the door.  FedEx delivered a lovely miniture yellow rose bush in the cutest Winnie the Pooh planter box from one of my Journal Land friends.  I was so touched by Linda's kindness.  What a sweet thing for her to do.  I can't wait for the tiny little buds to bloom so I can post a picture of the pretty tiny roses. 

My mother-in-law, Bernice sent me a hand painted, water color birthday card of pink roses.  She does such lovely paintings.  I am going to frame this card and put it on my dresser.  I'll take a picture of it and post it. 

I picked out some clothes that I want so my husband is footing the bill for them as my gift from him.  What a guy!  He knows how much I like to shop and I know how much he hates to shop so this is a win win situation for us when he gives me money to get what I want.  LOL

I'm done for the day.  It's almost 1 a.m.  I need to get some sleep so I'm perky for tomorrow.

Nighty night.

 

Re: New Grocery Store and Other Stuff

When I posted the story about the new grocery store with the sound effects in each department, I thought it was a joke all the way around.  But, I guess there have been markets that have had the sounds of hens clucking as you approach the egg shelf.  LOL  My grocery store doesn't have any of those special things.  Anyway, it is just a silly story with the last line being a crass punch line.  LOL   I'm still a 10 year old when it comes to potty humor.  <giggle, giggle, snicker>

Some have asked about the baby blanket and who I made it for.  The blanket is made of 100% cotton flannel, front and back.  I made it for a young man and his girl friend in Coventry, England who are expecting their first baby in early March.  I have been reading his journal, First Time Family Man since he found out he was going to be a dad.  I don't read it often but I have checked back every few weeks and followed his excitement as his baby boy has gotten closer to being born.  I wanted to make the baby a blanket so I sent him an email and asked if it was OK.  I promised that I wasn't a stalker and since I live in Riverside, CA he didn't have to worry about me showing up on his porch.  He sent me his address but warned me that his girlfriend doesn't know about the journal.  It's his special place to vent his thoughts and feelings about impending fatherhood.  He's so very sweet and I've become quite fond of him.  Anyway, that's who the blanket is going to.  I mailed it yesterday along with 3 cute bibs and a few pair of booties.  I told him I wouldn't refer to JLand when I mailed it.  It was up to him to think of a story to explain it.  LOL  He's very smart - he will think of something.

I snagged the following from Love For WildAutumn Rose, another journal I read from time to time:

Watch your thoughts, they become words.

Watch your words, they become actions.

Watch your actions, they become habits.

Watch your habits, they become your character.

I really like that - it's so true.  We need to be aware of our behaviors and their consequences as we rush through this life.

Dennis and I went to The Outback for dinner last night.  We thought we were being so smart to get there at 5:00.  Yeah right!  We were told it was a 35 to 45 minute wait even arriving that early.  Luckily for us, there weren't many parties of 2 so we got seated in about 20 minutes.  What a delicious meal.  I love that place.  They go out of their way to make sure my meal is prepared without extra butter and fat.  I can stay on track when I eat there and have a wonderful meal.  I had a small filet migon, steamed vegetables and a small salad.  I took about 1/4 of the steak home and cut up about 1/2 of that for Kasey.  I'll give her the other piece with her dinner tonight.  She didn't take anytime at all slurping that up!

That's it for right now.  I may be back to add something later.

Hugs!

 

New Grocery Store

A new supermarket opened near my house. It has an automatic
water mister to keep the produce fresh. Just before it goes
on, you hear the sound of distant thunder and the smell of
fresh rain.

When you approach the milk cases, you hear cows mooing and
experience the scent of fresh hay.

When you approach the egg case, you hear hens cluck and
cackle, and the air is filled with the pleasing aroma of
bacon and eggs frying.

The veggie department features the smell of fresh buttered
corn.

I don't buy toilet paper there any more.

 

LOL - my friend Linda sent this to me.  Had to share it.

Happy Valentine's Day

 

Happy Valentine's Day! 

It's a chilly February 14th here in Southern California.  I was up early to take Kasey girl for her bath but before I left, I gave Dennis a Valentine and the new Keith Urban CD.  He loves country music and he was happy to add this one to his collection.  I have a Valentine and a CD for Cari, too, when she gets up. 

When I got home from the groomer, much to my surprise, Dennis came in from his office with a cute Valentine card and a box wrapped in shiny black paper with a burgundy bow and a Ben Bridge Jewelry sticker on the bottom.  PERK!!  Oh, my gosh, he never buys me jewelry - I shouldn't say NEVER but it is so rare that it almost qualifies as never.  LOL  I opened the box and found the prettiest gold heart pendant with four little channel set diamonds.  It's just beautiful.  I am just tickled pink.  Makes that Keith Urban CD look like I'm a big cheap-o.  Anyway, Dude scored major points with this girl today.  I'm going to be nice to him for at least a week (just kidding - I'm always nice to him).

My plans to visit Sylvia have been postponed until Friday.  Her husband's sister and BIL are visiting from North Dakota and I don't want to interfer with their time.  They see them so rarely that this is really precious time together. 

Since I'm going to be home today, I'm going to make a flannel blanket for a baby boy who is due to be born in early March.  I want to get it in the mail this week!  I'll take a picture of it when it's finished.

More soon.   Hugs all around.    XXXX OOOO

 

Spicy Chicken Recipe

This is a good taco filler or a salad topper:

I use chicken tender strips but boneless chicken breasts are good, too.

12 - 14 chicken tenders or 5 - 6 4 oz. chicken breasts

2 cans of diced tomatoes

1 7 oz.  can of diced green chilies

1 can of mexi-corn

1 can of black beans

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put chicken in a baking dish.  Pour tomatoes over chicken and spread out evenly.  Spread the green chilies on top of that.  Bake for 50 minutes or until chicken is tender and juices run clear.

After removing from oven and allowing to cool for 10 minutes or so, cut chicken into bit size pieces and then stir mixture well and let sit until completely cool.  This allows the chicken to continue to cook a little and absorb the flavors of the tomatoes and chilies. 

This makes a lot of chicken mixture.  I usually take about 1/2 of it and put in a skillet.  I add about 1/2 of the corn and 1/2 of the black beans then heat until bubbling and hot.

You can serve with warm tortillas, cheese, shredded lettuce, cilantro, avocados, and salsa for chicken tacos or serve on top of a chopped salad.  I use romaine and iceberg lettuces and shredded cabbage, shredded cheese and then the hot chicken mixture.  No dressing is necessary but you can use one or use salsa if you like.

My daughter doesn't like corn or black beans so I heat up just the chicken and tomato mixture for her.  That's why I don't cook the corn and beans with the chicken, tomatoes and green chilies to begin with.

It's a simple, delicious meal.  The left overs are great for a quick lunch.

Enjoy

Good News

The biopsy came back just fine.  It's just scar tissue which is surprising because I've never had a cut on my hand to cause a scar.  The sad thing is, it's going to stay there.  I asked him if he could take it off but he said it would, well, leave a scar.  LOL  I did have two moles removed.  One from my chest that shows when I wear a V-neck top and one from my right boobie that has to have a special sticker put on it each time I have a mammogram so the doctor who reads the film doesn't think it's a small tumor.  Well, it's gone - no more stupid sticker on my boobie.  LOL  If these heal nicely, I may have two removed from my face.  One behind my left ear, which wouldn't show if it did leave a scar and one on my right jaw line.  That would show if it scarred badly.  I will see and decide in a few months.  Neither are unsightly or huge - neither scare small children - LOL so I can wait.  Dr. Tran gave me some Retin-A to see if it will lighten a dark spot on my cheek (no, not my butt cheek, sillies).  If it doesn't work in a few months, we will go to something else.  He named microdermabrasion and a chemical peel but I don't think I want either of those.  Any feedback on those proceedures by anyone who has had them would be appreciated - no horror stories, though.  LOL

I'm going to see my pal, Sylvia tomorrow.  She had knee surgery last Friday and is laid up.  I'm takiing lunch (yummy spicy chicken salad) and a Valentine for her.  She mailed one to me but I didn't get any in the mail this year.  I sent a few email Valentines and made some that I will give tomorrow.  Dennis invited me to go to dinner tomorrow night.  We will head out early to beat the crowd. 

Wooooo, thunder!!!  A big rolling thunder just startled me and I looked outside to see that it is raining.  YEAH!  We need it so bad.  I hope it dumps a good inch or more on us.  Our hills never turned green this  year.  They are brown and yucky looking like it's still summer.  A few good rains and they will look green and lush ~ so beautiful.

I left a window open upstairs. I better go close it.  I'll say goodbye for now.

Hugs to all.

Lucky In J-Land

I've read in several other journals that there is some nastiness going on in J-Land.  I feel lucky because everyone who reads my journal has always left kind, supportive, funny, and nice comments.  I've never experienced the kind of hurtful, judging comments that I hear are being left in some journals.  It makes me sad to think anyone would leave a comment that would upset the journal writer.  After all, we are writing about our lives and making ourselves vulnerable by allowing other people the opportunity to take a look at our life circumstances.

Perhaps a warning should be issued about judgments.  It could read:  "Caution when making judgments on others.  When you pass judgment, sometime soon you will find yourself walking in the shoes of the person you judged." 

I know from personal experience, I'm embarrassed to say.  I learned the lesson the hard way in my younger years.  Now, I extend grace and compassion because I don't want any harsh thoughts or judgments to come around to get me down the road.  Besides, it's much better to be kind, loving, and supportive of people.  When you pave your road with love it's what you get back and it makes your world so much better.

Ok, I'm stepping off the soap box for today. 

My weekend was GREAT.  Shannon, Carol and I had a wonderful time.  We went to Solvang on Friday (I posted pictures from scanned post cards) and had fun going in the shops.  We ate lunch there and then headed back to Avila Beach.  The TV cable was out so we watched movies:  Under the Tuscan Sun on Thursday night and Miami Vice on Friday.  Each movie so different from the other but both very good.  On Saturday, we went out to see Dream Girls.  All of us loved it.  It was easy to see why Jennifer Hudson is nominated for every award.  It was her movie.  Outstanding performance.  Eddie Murphy was great, too.  If you like musicals, you'll enjoy this one. 

We had rain off and on Saturday and Sunday but not enough to spoil anything.  The drive home on Sunday was easy with light traffic and

Weekend Away

In the morning, my daughter-in-law and I are driving up to Central California to Avila Beach for the weekend.  We are meeting my sister, who has reserved a nice condo on the beach for the 3 of us.  We are going to relax and totally pamper Shannon for a few days.  She needs a break from the kids, her husband (my son) and the stresses of taking care of a home and all of the other things she does.  The new baby is due around March 19th so this will be her last chance to have some time away before baby is born. 

If the weather is good, we plan on going to Solvang, a little Danish community about an hour inland from where we are staying.  It's such a quaint little village with lots of cute shops and little restaurants specializing in delicious Danish pasteries.  I don't think any of us will be eating those wonderful goodies but it will be fun to shop and look.  LOL

We'll be back Sunday afternoon sometime, I hope rested and relaxed. 

I'll catch up on my journal reading early next week. 

New House Shopping

Dennis and I looked at new houses today.  We found one that we really love and, of course, the wheels started turning and we began to look at all the 'what-ifs'.  The house is a single story, 2500 sq. feet, 4 bedroom 2-1/2 baths with a great room and no formal living room.  I really like the informal feel of it and how everything is set up.  There is a perfect place for an office for Dennis.  The large master suite is on one side of the house and the other bedrooms are on the other so when company comes, there is privacy.  Because we are the age we are, we could transfer our tax base which is good but there is a $3250 yearly tax and a $180 a month home owners association fee that has to be paid even when the house is paid off. 

We came home and over lunch made a list of all the reasons to make the move.  The top reasons are:  The new house will increase in value faster and more than this one.  It's single story which will be nice as we get older.  It's new and everything is updated and beautiful.  The drawbacks are:  The tax and homeowner's fees that have to be paid even after the house is paid off are a lot more than what we would pay if we stay here.  We would have to pack up 18 years of stuff and move it.  We would be between two 2-Story houses and have less back yard privacy.

In an hour, we convinced ourselves to do it and then decided not to do it at least three times each.  LOL  Our final decision was to stay right here and move forward with our plan to have this house paid off in 8 years.  It's not as exciting but it's the smartest choice. 

 

 

Saturday Morning

So much for sleeping in this morning.  The phone woke me at 6:45 and I couldn't go  back to sleep. 

Cari and Sam are having a garage sale today with his parents and grandfather at the grandfather's house.  Cari borrowed my locking cash box for the event.  When she packed her car this morning, at the crack of dawn, she dropped the key on the driveway.   It was her calling at that early hour to ask if I would get out of my warm bed and go outside, where it was 35 degrees, to see if she had dropped the key on the driveway. 

Grumble, grumble.....  I told her to call me back and I got up, put on slippers and robe and ventured outside.  Sure enough, the key on the key ring was laying on the driveway. 

When she called back, I asked if she was coming to get it and she told me she wasn't, that she just wanted to make sure she hadn't lost it for good.  Arrhhhhh.....  no way for me to start my Saturday. 

I'm about done with my second cup of coffee.  After that and this entry, I'll shower and then head off to Best Buy.  Dennis' digital camera went kapoot this week so I will be on a mission to replace it.  He uses it for his work and needs a new one by Tuesday.  I will probably give him my old 3.2 megapixel and buy a 6.0 or better for our family camera.

Yesterday was a comedy of errors.  My sister went back home on the train from Anaheim which is about a 30 - 40 minute drive from here.  My friend, Barbara, had asked me to go with her to look at a slab of granite for a remodeling project she and her husband are doing and since the granite place is near the train station (within 15 min.) we combined the trips.  I guess I should have learned by now not to trust Mapquest all the time.  Things like road signs change from time to time and they don't always keep up.  Well, we were going by their instructions and we found out that the off ramp we were to take had been completely changed after we drove past it.  LOL  We ended up having to exit a mile or so after it and then began back tracking through an area that we weren't very familiar with.  We must have done 4 U-turns, 3 back tracks and several, "what the hecks?" before we finally found the street we were looking for.  We managed to get to the granite place just as the yard workers were going to lunch.  As would be our luck, the slab of granite they had pulled out for us to look at did not match the existing granite Barbara has in her kitchen.  We found another piece that would work but since the guys were leaving for lunch, we would have to wait for an hour to see it.  YIKES.........  We told the sales rep that we would be back and off we went to grab a quick lunch and get Carol to her train.

We shot down the 5 Freeway, I'm thinking it intersected with the 55 (sorry for those who don't know the LA freeway system - you're lucky if you don't)..... as we get near the area where the train station is, I realize it isn't going to intersect so we have to get off the freeway and take surface streets.  I told Barbara to exit too soon and we ended up way north of our intended destination.  Oh, Pooh!  Well, after some thinking and a few right hand turns we found the street we were looking for and the station.  Tah-dah!!! 

All of us were starving so we shot past the station looking for a place to eat.  I was thinking of a little restaurant where Dennis and I ate a few times before going to Angel Games and was directing Barbara there.  She sees a Rubio's Grill and decides that would be closer (she was right) so she flips another U-Turn and we end up going there.  We placed our orders for 3 salads to go and then sat and waited, and waited, and waited.  Finally, Barbara got up and asked about our order.............they had lost it.  Dang!!!  We are looking at our watches thinking we are not going to have time to wait and Carol will get on the train without lunch.  Well, the manager came to our rescue.  He had two of the workers stop what they were doing and make our salads which took about 2 minutes.  We grabbed them and dashed to the train station.  Carol ran in to get her ticket and then came out laughing.  The train was 30 minutes late.  We had plenty of time.  Ahhhhh............what a relief.  We all took a collective sigh of relief and had a quiet, calm lunch together.  It was nice, even though it was in the car.  At that point we didn't care. 

Barbara and I went back to the granite place after Carol departed.  The granite was a great match and we headed home.  We got on the freeway at 2:30 and because it was Friday afternoon and I didn't take my FastTrak transponder, it took us 2 hours to drive home.  On a light traffic day, it takes about 40 minutes.  It wasn't all bad though, FastTrak was $9.25 for that time of day.  I couldn't believe they are charging that much.  It's a good thing Barbara and I never run out of things to talk about.  We enjoy each other's company and the time went by pretty fast.

Another funny thing, Barbara is a hair dresser and she had a client waiting for her so she dropped me off at the shopping center right off the freeway.  I called Cari to come get me and she called Sam who was on his way to our house.  He was real close so he stopped on his way and picked me up.  It was really one wild day.

That's it for now.