Aunt Marlene

We started playing Cribbage again today and it was a lot of fun, I really enjoyed playing and visiting with everyone. There was seven of us and everybody had so much fun that we decided to try to do it once a week. My mom, my aunt and I are going to also start going to the movies and out to eat once a week.

David and JohnPatrick flew home yesterday. On Sunday my mom and David went to Stockton to visit Aunt Marlene while JohnPatrick and I stayed home. Aunt Marlene was back in the hospital again in this time she decided she did not want machines to keep her alive so they unplugged the machines yesterday, she passed away early this morning. This has been a really tough month.

I was in a jeep rollover accident in 1980 and was afraid to live in the mountains anymore so my Aunt Marlene said I can come and live with her, she was a really neat lady.

David will be back in three weeks for six days. Kelly is going to come and stay here for a while and I have about three concerts next month. I am really enjoying having my family around so often.

Tomorrow I finally take my chair in to get fixed. I'm going to have to stay in bed all day but it will be so nice to have my chair running like new again.

CT English 30th reunion

I was so excited to go to the 30th CT English eighth-grade reunion with my brother David, we have been planning it for several months. We left here at noon and it was already 102 degrees, I had a kind of feeling that we probably shouldn't go because it was so hot but this is part of the reason David came to visit and we were both looking forward to it. We decided if it got too hot to take a drive and cool down or just go home. We were there about an hour and got to see a bunch of people that we went to school with and it was so cool to see them. I decided that I needed to get out of the heat so we went for a drive around our old stomping grounds. I wasn't really cooling down so we decided to stop at La Tienda which was now Summit Center to take off my socks when David noticed we had a flat tire so he proceeded to change the tire in the 106 degree heat, the spare tire was also a little flat but we thought we could make it. David went in the store to get some fix a flat, later he found a can and an air compressor in the back of the van. If he would have found it sooner he would not have to have changed the tire, I completely forgot it was in there. After all of that we decided that it would be best to just go home because it was just too hot. All of a sudden the van just quit moving while we were driving down Summit Road so we had to stop and backup to the nearest street. We decided to try to go back to the school and get some help but the van would not go any further so we had to pull over on the side of the road. At this point we didn't even have the air-conditioned so we decided it was time to call 911 to come and get me out of the heat. I have heard of this happening to people but until now it has never happened to me. This was my first emergency room visit since my injury ten years ago. First a police officer showed up, took my pulse and decided calling an ambulance was a good idea. Next the fire truck showed up and they started packing ice around me, they said under your arm pits is the best place to put the ice to cool you down, I will have to remember that. I was getting a little panicked and everybody was so nice and caring and genuinely concerned. I took a while for the ambulance to get there because it was unusually hot and a lot of people were overheating. When the ambulance got there they loaded me from my chair to the gurney and into the ambulance for my ride down the hill. By the time I got to the hospital I was feeling much better and cooled down. As soon as they loaded me into the ambulance they turn to David and asked what he needed, I thought that was very sweet, David is always taking care of everyone else and he is the reason I did not panic. It turned out to be a vapor lock or something like that because about an hour after the ambulance took me away the van ran okay, I think we just had the air conditioner on for too long. By the time I got to the hospital I felt much better and was cooled down and just had to wait for somebody to come and get me and take me home. Today is really hot so I decided to stay inside where it's nice and cool.

Grandpa passed away on July 17th at approximately 1p.m. he went the way he always wanted to go, quick and not needing any elderly care. He would not have wanted to live the way that this accident would have left him to live and we would not have wanted to see him live this way. He had a great life. Motorcycle riding, owning a couple of stores, doing whatever he wanted to do and I think he left a happy man. I love you Grandpa and I will think about you every day and miss you. You have taught me so much and brightened many of days.

Stanley and his family will be here tonight and David and his family will be here tomorrow morning. I'm hoping that it will be a nice visit as it always is but a memory of Grandpa, he will always be fondly remembered and greatly loved.

Gramps

The MRI wasn't as bad as I thought, I was really nervous because they were going to put me in a really tight place. Dr. Hentz, the guy who did my tendon transfer surgery, met me in the parking lot. They took me into one of the rooms that had a ceiling lift and transferred me from my chair to a gurney and then they pushed me to another building and transferred me to another gurney. I didn't say anything to anyone but I was very scared about having this MRI but I think they could tell and they were all great. They all reassured me that I could stop at any time and that they can hear me and they did everything they could to make me feel comfortable. When they first put me in the tube I panicked a lot but I really wasn't bad. The left arm took a little bit longer but they asked me each time if they could do another scan and I figured since I was in there I might as well let them do whatever they want.

My mom just called to tell me that my grandpa fell in the shower and hit his head and they had to take him to the hospital. She said they had just put him in the shower and he said he would be okay but when they left the room they heard a thump and came back in the bathroom and he was on the floor. She said they didn't know yet how extent his injury was but they thought he was going to have brain damage and be a lot slower. I really hate being in this bed and not being able to get up sometimes but I guess there's really nothing I can do. My mom said she would call me in the morning and let me know what they decided to do. I cannot sleep because I'm worried about my grandpa.

MRI

Today I get to go to Stanford for an MRI. They want to see what the muscles look like a year after the tendon transfer surgery so I agreed. They have to do the MRI's for the research after hours on weekends so I'm supposed to be there about five p.m. so I have been wearing Stanford's scrubs all day long.  I think a lot of the doctors and nurses must be really short.

I sat out on the porch for a while because it was so beautiful outside. I talked to Jerry and Frank and just enjoyed the weather and my new wind chimes. I don't usually get up on the weekends unless my family or friends are here  My mom called and said that my gramps is tired already and they are ready to come back but they are having a really good time.

David is going to be here on Friday and Saturday we're going to my eighth-grade reunion up in the Santa Cruz Mountains, I'm really excited about that. Is going to be a lot more people there this year than last year, last year Stanley and David took me. Hopefully we will be able to go up and check out where we used to live and see how much it has changed.

Trip to Montana

Tomorrow morning my Aunt Kathy, my mom and gramps are taking off for a trip to Montana to see my grandpa's brother. They are going to stop in Idaho to visit Elaine, she was my boss for ten years and a good friend of my aunt and uncle's. It looks like they're going to be gone for about ten days. I get to babysit my moms four birds and her dog.

Today I cleaned out the cupboards and bagged up a bunch of stuff to take over to the Sacred Heart. Tomorrow I'm going to do the freezers and then start all over again it seems. All week I'm going to be cleaning up and getting rid of because I feel like my house is getting too much clutter.

It looks like a beautiful day. I'm going to take Brodie and Tue Tue to Vassona Park. I have been wanting to get some pictures.

Thinking again

Somebody added an entry to my guestbook saying that I have a lot of resources but don't have a job as I claimed I would like to have and it made me think.

I really don't want or need to work. I have my own money, I don't take advantage of outside help to live and pay my bills and I have a great life. I love to have the resources to help other people and I love to acquire knowledge. I love the fact that I can do whatever I want during the day and I love not having a schedule.  I consider my new job taking care of my house and my body and believe me it is a full-time job but the benefits are great.

I love having friends and family around and making them comfortable and doing things with them. So far this summer has been really busy with family and it is exhausting but also exciting. I've been sleeping really good at night and then up early and ready to go in the morning.

This weekend I am taking it easy. Only getting up in the mornings to take a bath and then relaxed the rest of the day. I have a lot of things that I want to get done next week so I'm relaxing and making a list. I'm going to start cleaning out my closets, cupboards, storage shed and my big outside storage and get rid of stuff that I really don't need anymore, I think that now that I have been here a couple of years I can get rid of a lot of things that I know I will not use.

Santa Cruz

Yesterday we had a really great day. David got here around noon and we decided to go to Santa Cruz. We stopped by my uncle and aunt's house and then went on to the boardwalk. We cruised around the boardwalk, on the beach and got some garlic fries and then went to get our picture taken with the Confederate Army outfits. My aunt called and said that they were getting ready to cook dinner and invited us to come back so we did. We had a really nice dinner, visited for a while and then came home. David had an eye appointment this morning and then him and Deziree flew home, a short visit but very nice.

After I went to bed I was cruising around the Internet and I ran across the name of a friend of mine growing up. We used to spend a lot of time together and were very close, his name was Gary. He used to work for his family owned business that did roofing. I found an e-mail address for the web site and sent an e-mail to see if this was my old friend and I really looking forward to hearing back.

Deziree is leaving

Dave will be here around noon and I am so excited, it is always great seeing him although I will be really sad to see Deziree go tomorrow.

Tomorrow is going to be our first staff meeting. I decided to have everybody get together once a month and go out to breakfast so they can talk about any problems that they have or any complements, this should be interesting.

Kelly sent me some pictures that she took while she was visiting here, her pictures turned down a lot better than mine did. She will be back in mid August to stay for a while. She is starting a new business and I am really excited for her and it will be nice to have her around the house again and to get to know her husband when he is visiting.

I have been thinking...

I have been trying to figure out why I have such a hard time doing things by myself and I think that since my nieces and nephews have been here I figured it out. Most of my life I have had somebody tell me what to do and when to do it. My parents for eighteen years and in a controlling relationship for the next eighteen. I guess everything gets to be routine between life at home and work. Now I have a lot of spare time and I sit here at night and think of things that I would like to do for the week but most of them I never get to. When I found out that Deziree, David and Kelley were going to be here for a week I planned things to do and since they were here actually did them and it felt great. What I need to start doing is planning what I want to do for the week and making myself do it. Simple things like going to the park, going to the movies and IMAX , checking out museums. Last week was very busy, I was up every day by 10:00 a.m. and usually didn't get to bed until about 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. and it not only felt great but I was very tired and slept good but I didn't have any pressure sores.

I am trying to figure out what to do this week, it is just Deziree and I so I think we're going to check out the museum's downtown. She's going to take some pictures for me for my spare bedrooms. The weather is supposed to be great.

On Thursday I am going to pick David up from the airport and we are going to Santa Cruz. I wanted to get an old-fashioned picture taken with David and Deziree and maybe get something to eat on the wharf. It is going to be a short visit and him and Deziree are flying back home on Friday after David eye appointment.

Alamedia County Fair

Yesterday David, Deziree, Kelly, Lulu and her daughter Stalina and I went to the Alameda County Fair and I think everybody had a lot of fun. Deziree and I got a new outfit and they are both beautiful, we seem to have a lot in common including our taste in clothing as well as a lot of our likes and dislikes. The weather was perfect and we ate a little bit of everything.

Today Stanley and Janet are coming to pick up David and Kelly. They're bringing my Aunt Marlene and Terrie. I had planned on staying in bed today because my neck is really sore and I still might.

Next week I want to take Deziree to Santa Cruz to get our picture taken in the old-fashioned outfits. We're also going to go around to a bunch of places so she can take pictures for me, she's really good at taking pictures.