Laptop returns!

Got the laptop back today. Of course, the guy (who's name is Walt and who is VERY NICE) had to clean everything off of it to save it. He did save my document file and all my pictures...but I lost all the music I had downloaded. Fortunately, it's still on my iPhone....so I haven't lost it completely.

So I had to load AOL on the computer and Mozilla and now my sound isn't working. It's funny, it works when I plug in headphones, but not when I remove the headphones. Oh well, maybe I'll dope it out...and it wouldn't be the worst thing if I had to wear headphones to hear the little dings and "You've Got Mail!" stuff. And when I listen to Sirius on the computer I always use the phones anyway.

Jean and Frank came up yesterday and Jean continued her raking job. Frank helped Sandy put an support thing under the deck. I call it a jack and they call it a loblolly or something like that. Anyway, it looks like the jack my father put in our cellar years ago. The deck was sagging and needed to be supported. Don't know why the home inspector didn't see it, but Frank and my brother Steve sure did. And they were right!

And Sandy and Frank cemented in the pole holder for the clothesline. Finally. Now that it's winter and I REALLY need it! (ha ha)

Lynne came up today and finally got her mussells. This made Sandy happy as it frees up more room in the freezer. We have a lot of stuff in that freezer....so why don't we eat better meals? We're always settling for cereal for supper, or pizza or Chinese.

Tomorrow night is the next neighborhood Crime Watch meeting and we will be attending. We missed the last one as we were in Tampa. There have been more weird things going on, including a car sitting outside a house down the street in the middle of the night, when the son went out to see what was going on they took off at a high rate of speed, and he heard someone in the woods next to the house. They didn't catch anyone though.

I'm watching The Office. I love that show. Michael is so horrible, he makes me look like a good boss! It cracks me up.

Oh, I just realized that UConn is playing on tv....gotta go!

Nighty night!

Laptops and sniffles

I finally got my laptop down to the computer repair place. I'm sick of the whole thing. If I didn't have chemo brain, enhanced by being 60, enhanced by a cold or allergies or some sort of thing...I could probably dope out the solution to the problem myself. But I do have all those things going on and I just can't do it myself.

I'm using Sandy's laptop and I can see how much faster hers is than mine. And when you unplug it, the battery keeps it going at full speed, unlike mine. Mine has ALWAYS been so slow and the light level drops significantly when I unplug it, making it impossible to use with just the battery powering it. Maybe these guys (or gals) can make it all better for me.

I went to the cardiologist for my follow-up appt and spoke to the office manager about my concerns from the last time I was there. I don't know if I posted it here, but when I went for my appt for the echocardiogram, I had to sit and listen to the office staff bitch and moan about being counseled by someone about a HIPPA violation that they apparently had committed--this went on for some time. Then I had to listen to them gabbing about jokes they were sharing on email that they had gotten from family and friends. Then Ihad to listen to yet another HIPPA violation committed by them as they called another doctor's office to refer a patient--heard that patient's name, Medicare number and diagnosis!

Then the technician who did the echo told me my diagnosis and talked politics almost the whole time I was in there!

I let her know that I thought their office set-up, with the openness of the reception area the workers were a liability not an asset. I told her they needed to put glass up to separate the employees from the waiting room, so they could have privacy. She agreed and said the doctor didn't like them to be separated from the people in the waiting room. WRONG! I told her every place I go to has this type of privacy and where they don't have it...it's trouble.

I don't have much confidence in her ability to change things, especially when she told me that she had heard the tech talking politics and one patient told her that when he talked politics with her (the patient)...she felt her blood pressure going up! Hardly a good thing when one is in a Cardiologist's office!

So, this manager knew about the problem, had heard it for herself and had had another patient complain...and still it happens.

I don't have to go there anymore, I checked out okey doke....but I wouldn't go there again anyway.

Still having symptoms of something. Drip drip drip down the back of my throat, making it sore. Coughing and slightly congested....very tired and draggy. Probably hay fever. We had a good frost this AM...that should help.

Oh, in the early AM today I had to get up with Bubbles as she had to go potty. When we came back in the house, I couldn't help but notice Murphy being very interested in the pile of firewood Sandy brought in. And then Bubbles caught a whiff of something there too and went over and checked it out.

Something tells me that soon we'll be seeing "little visitors."

DAMN!

We're BAAAAACCCKKKKK!

Back from our "adventures," as we call them.

The cruise was great and we would love to cruise again, but not to a hot place like where we just went! It was WAAAY too hot for us!

The hotel in Tampa was very nice and we enjoyed our stay there, in the beginning of our trip and for two days after we docked.

Our first stop was Key West. It was HOT HOT HOT....so we walked around a bit and then got on a train tour....it was a sister tour to the trolley tour Maria took us on in Boston when the Swedes visited last year. It took us all around Key West and they pointed out all the sights: Harry Truman's house, where Hemingway stayed, the bars where Hemingway hung out, etc. Very interesting and a great way to see stuff without having to walk and sweat!

That night a big rain storm blew up and we were delayed leaving Key West for a bit. We found out later that sea water ran into the upper decks and down the elevator shafts, putting three out of four of them out of commission! I know it was raining hard as I sat out on our verandah and watched women running for the boat, screaming because they were getting soaked!

Then we went to Belize and we went on the zipline/rappelling excursion. It was GREAT! It was also very very hot....I was soaked through and through with sweat when we finished. We had to travel an hour and a half by bus to get to the jungle and we saw a lot of sights along the way. Soldiers with rifles, patrolling the streets. Dogs lying flat out in the shade, looking dead. Goats and more dogs.

We had to hike up the mountain to get to the zip lines. We were all in helmets, harnesses, etc. I was sweating. Me, who is so afraid of heights did not have one moment of nervousness about the adventure. Sandy, who is not afraid of heights, was very nervous. I looked down as I zipped over the rain forest, checking out the sights. Sandy held onto to her line, grimly zipping to the next platform.

Then we had to rappel straight down from the platform to the ground below. I don't know how big a drop the first one was, but it zipped right by! Lots of fun.

Vicky Shaw, the comedian who was performing on the ship, was on this trip with us. She and her partner had lunch with us later...they served us a great meal. The ride home was as bumpy as the ride out, and we got to see lots more sights. Belize is really a nation of "haves and have nots."

In Guatemala we went to the beach. The beach was shitty (I think it was a river, like the Thames, not the ocean) but the pool was nice, with water slides and a waterfall. It was 92 degrees and the humidity was 98%. We had a nice coconut drink on the beach that was very refreshing and we stayed in the shade as much as possible. We also had a nice barbecue there, very good.

In Cozumel we went out in a glass-bottomed kayak and then snorkeled along the beach. We could have done without the kayak part, it was SO DAMNED HOT! I would dip my Tilley hat into the water and put it on my head and a few minutes later it would be dry and I'd have to dip it again. The snorkeling was great, saw some neat stuff, but I wish I could have had my glasses on (or worn contacts) so I could see more. Mid-way through the snorkeling I started to crash, energy-wise, but fortunately I got my second wind and was able to make it to shore.

The ship life was wonderful. The food was fabulous and the shows we went to were great. I laughed my ass off at the comedy shows. We wore our zombie outfits for the Halloween Party and participated in the Halloween Parade. We scared the shit out of several people. We didn't say anything, we'd just stare at them...that would really blow their minds!

We decided that we would love to go on another cruise, but not to where it is so hot. It really took the starch out of me to be in that heat. We loved our cabin, our verandah, "our guys" who took care of us. Maybe next time we'll cruise to Alaska, where I've always wanted to go.

When we got home I tried to download my new Windows Seven program to my computer. It told me to uninstall some programs from my computer before I could continue with the installation. I did uninstall some of them and now my computer can't get online and it doesn't recognize that I have an "E Drive" which is the drive that powers the CD/DVD. So that means it won't run the upgrade disc! I will have to get someone from Dell or the Geek Squad to come and fix it for me. I'm so disgusted now. I'm really looking for any excuse to shitcan this computer and get an Apple!

We're happy to be home. We've put on a few pounds from all that eating, so it's time to get busy working out and watching our diets.

I go tomorrow for one of my favorites: a CT scan. Yuck! I don't work again until December, so I have plenty of time to work out and recuperate from our adventures. Have to get work done in the yard, pulling up some plants and planting some others. Also raking. UGH!

Dunno when I'll get a chance to use Sandy's computer again, so I'll say Nighty night and will post again when I can.

Nighty night!

Wednesday was Sandy's birthday. We celebrated by getting up early to go have bloodwork done (both of us) at Backus and then race down to L&M for my appointment with Dr. McCourt. She checked me out thoroughly and said everything looked good. Good news!

I am all set to go to chemo tomorrow and then leave on Saturday for Tampa. Sunday we CRUISE!

Tuesday night we (Frank, Jean, Ryan, Sandy and I) went to 99 to celebrate Sandy's bday. We had a great meal there and Ryan and I compared my i-phone and his i-thingy...I can't remember the name of it now...it does everything the i-phone does, except it isn't a phone. He was impressed with my phone. He gave me some tips on battery life and told me that he uses his while it's in the docking station and charges it every night. I have to charge mine just about every night too.

Today I spent a few hours ironing clothes for Sandy and me for the cruise. Sandy was going to do hers herself, but I intervened. She has not a clue about how to iron, it's pathetic really. She would go out with wrinkled clothes if I let her, truth be told. Jean admits she never taught her how to iron, I'll bet Jean just did it for her, as I am doing now.

My mother taught me how to iron....I didn't learn willingly, but she made me iron and I had to do it to her specs....or else! As a result I am very skilled at ironing. It came in handy when I was in basic training, I would barter with my platoon mates...they would make my bed and I would iron their uniforms. I was also great at spit polishing shoes/boots and polishing brass too.

But I digress.

Something I wanted to share: a poop chart.

When I was in the exam room at L&M I saw a hand drawn chart on the wall. I couldn't see all of it because a towel dispenser was in the way, but I sent Sandy over to check it out. It was a poop chart. It ranked poops from one to six and had drawings of each one....from "well-formed" through the "loose" to the "liquid" or the equivalent. I got a good laugh at that one. Sandy had to admit that even she had never seen a chart to describe the various poops.

Imagine being the person who drew that one.

"What did you do today Mommy?" "Oh, I had to draw poops for the doctors to use."

I want THAT job!

I may not get to make another entry here until we return on Election Day. I'll be busy getting tanned, swimming, lounging, eating, drinking, laughing, ziplining, kayaking, eating, tanning, reading, RELAXING!

Nighty night.

If there is a God, and that's a BIG IF.....the Yankees will lose tonight.

Went down to Otis Library for the used book sale and went nuts. Bought 22 paperbacks and a few hard covers. If I had known that they were only charging one lousy dime for each paperback I'd have bought a whole lot more! As it was, my order came to $7.25 and I gave them a $20 and told them to keep it. We all know how they need the money!

Then I went to Walmart and bought myself a connecting cord for my i-phone for the car's auxiliary. I listened to my tunes while I drove around.

Then it was off to Kohl's where I got a whole bunch of neat stuff, including slacks, jeans, and some nice tops. Oh, and a cool corduroy jacket. Like a suit jacket. I also splurged on a griddle that they had on sale. I've been looking for one and I supposed I could have asked for one for Christmas (Jean was pissed when she heard I had bought clothes), I went for the "immediate now" and got the griddle.

Now I'll have to have Maria stay over and make pancakes on the griddle. No more making two pancakes for Sandy or whoever and then having them start to eat while I make my pancakes.
As if this happens all the time.

Sandy looked on the NADAC website and found out that Truman took seventh place in both of his Regular runs! That means he was entitled to placement ribbons, but who knew? They never posted the results so you could tell. They finally posted them on line on the 29th, but didn't tell anyone. Sandy found it by accident! We are very proud of him....

Oh, I came home and ordered a new bedspread set for the guest room. It's blue and brown. Very nice. I saw it at Kohl's and wanted to get it, but they only had the display model and no others. So, I got the bright idea of ordering it online. I'm so smart.

Carol and Mark are having a patio built out back of their house. Carol has been fighting with the contractor, who apparently subcontracted the work. Well, they screwed it up big time. They never did the proper prep work and the patio has a 7.5 inch tilt! They had the guy from Geer's come over and look at it. He did it as a courtesy....brought his transit and checked it. He said the patio should have only a 1.5 inch rise. The way they built it, Carol's wine glass will slip right off the patio table! So now they have had to tell the guy that he needs to rip it all out, level it and build it again.

It will look very nice when it's all done and I look forward to many nice evenings out there. But in the meantime.....Carol is NOT in a good mood!

Tomorrow I might go up to Maria's and hook up her VCR or whatever the hell it is that is disconnected! She wasn't feeling good this AM, so I'll see if she's feeling better before I go. Don't want to get sick now!

Yankees and Angels are still tied. I gotta concentrate on the game.

Nighty night!

Friday night....and it's cold!

Guess it was good that I got all that work done the other day. It's been miserable outside ever since. We even had snow flurries here last night!

Today I was supposed to go to Lynne's for lunch, but Sandy wanted me to go to RI to get the dog's dehydrated food as they are running low. She wanted me to go tomorrow, but it's supposed to be raining tomorrow, so I elected to go today. I called Lynne and we will go tomorrow to the used book sale at the Otis Library instead.

The trip to RI was enhanced by music I downloaded onto my i-phone. I finished downloading my CD collection last night. I used the wire Taylor and Ryan left in Sandy's car for their i-pods and I hooked up my phone to my car's auxiliary feature. It was sweet listening first to Anne Murray's Love Songs CD and then to a bunch of songs shuffled. It was a nice mix.

I have downloaded FOUR DAYS worth of music on my phone. It is great...but there is one problem with the i-phone.....the battery isn't worth shit. It drains very quickly and it is a concern. I have done the things they recommend to slow down the draining problem...but some of them are things I'd like to be able to use--like the "locator" feature...which would come in handy if I ever lose the phone...and I just know that I am going to lose it at some point!

Oh...Friday Night Lights is coming back on tv....but only on our satellite company! Wow...we are lucky we chose DirectTV...for some reason they are the only ones to carry the show. We love that show...it is so well done--the characters are very real and the stories are not far-fetched. We're going to be adding that to our recording list.

So tomorrow, it's books, books, books....and maybe on Sunday I'll go to the Flea Market at the Slater Mill. Good rainy day activities. I got some good books the last time I went to the Flea Market, when Maria was with me. I'm reading one of them now: Tom Clancy's Debt of Honor. I have another one: John Grisham's The Street Lawyer waiting for me after I finish the first one. I'm getting back into reading and have been reading a lot lately---reading before I go to bed....which has been keeping me up late!

Today is Katie's birthday. She's 31, which doesn't seem possible. I remember the day she was born....just about everything about it. It was one of the most wonderful days of my life. It's good I didn't know then how things would turn out...that I would lose her and then get her back again. That's life though and I'm happy that she is back in my life.

Right now I have two little doggies on my lap. Rocky and Bubby. Bubbles has been really snarling at Rocky lately....but only at night when I am sitting in the recliner. We have to put her gentle leader on most nights and then she calms down. We have to reinforce her position in the "pack," she must be higher than Rocky. But she carries it too far and the other day she turned on me and snapped twice, just missing my face! We're working with her and she is coming around. Most times she loves Rocky, but at night, when she's tired, she says "no way!" I understand, I'm cranky when I'm tired.

Come tomorrow, we'll have one week until we are off on the cruise. I'm getting so excited and so is Sandy. She told me about a friend from work who lost her passport overboard when she was on a cruise. She's all worried we'll lose (read--Ann will lose hers) our passports! I reminded her that we make copies and put them in each piece of luggage and that we carry ours in their holders around our necks, when we need to carry them! After all I did travel around Italy and Sweden without losing my passport!

Anyway, one more week and we are gone baby gone! YAY!

This morning it was 42 degrees in the bedroom....I did have the fan going in the window. It felt nice under the covers, particularly with Truman at my back, Rocky at my hip and Bubbles behind my knees. A three dog night!

Nighty night!

Long time no see

Went out to eat at Go Fish last night with the gang. When I go out to eat I usually order fish, since we don't cook it too often at home. So what do I order last night? A pizza. I did have the clam chowder though.

We had a good time and are looking forward to our next get-together in Dec at Judy's house, which will be our annual Holiday party.

MAFO was there last night in her wheelchair. She hasn't moved into her new condo yet, her house is up for sale and she's staying at her daughter's house in Black Point. She has a line in her so she can get IV antibiotics....looks like she gets it all the time. That's because "somehow" she got an infection when they did her operation to repair her broken femur.

Sandy is still fighting the cold she's had for over a week. She hasn't missed work and I worry about her. She has had the chills off and on, which makes me wonder if she has a touch of the flu. It's okay if she does--it would be a mild case and then she'd be over it.

Today she wanted to pull up the gardens and haul and stack wood. I got her up at 11am and immediately felt bad that I did so. She was dragging.

So, I got busy and went out and pulled up the corn stalks, made two of them, one for our mailbox and one for Carol and Mark. Then I had Sandy show me again how to start up the tractor and I hooked up the cart and got busy hauling stuff. I pulled down the wisteria and whatever the mystery foliage is that grows with the wisteria. I hauled that away. It took two loads but I got the wisteria, mystery foliage and the bad corn stalks all hauled and piled up out back.

Then we loaded up the cart with wood from out back and piled it into the ring on the deck. I went and got another two loads and piled it up outside of the garage. We're all set for wood for the winter. We aren't going to use that much wood anyway....it doesn't heat up the living room like it did in the old house--we don't have a blower unit on this fireplace.

I have been having fun with the i-phone--loading lots of my CDs onto it. I have downloaded some great applications too---and I actually USE them! I even downloaded two new songs...ones I paid for: Kings of Leon--I Could Use Somebody and Black-eyed Peas--"Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night"....those are two current songs I really like. Just when you think that there is no good new music, songs like that come along.

Jeez...Al Martino died. I loved him. He was great in The Godfather too...as Johnny Fontaine. The Godfather "made them an offer they can't refuse" and Johnny got the part in the movie.

Tomorrow we take the dogs to PT...Rocky and Truman. Then the dogs have to go to the vets and get check-ups; nail trims and Rocky is going to have an ID chip implanted. He's the only one of our pets who don't have the ID chip. I think even Mr. Murphy has a chip.

Tonight is "Modern Family" night. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this show. It is so funny....and so well done. It's about time they come up with a great sit-com...I can't stand the crap they've been showing the past few years. I'm so glad I accidentally caught the pilot of this show when we were coming back from Tennessee....I don't miss the show now.

Oh....about the Sox.....WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR!!!

Nighty night....