Thursday, August 28, 2008

A short visit and a killer dinner...

Stanley and Corinne left on Sunday afternoon at my mom went to the San Jose Airport to pick up David Sunday evening.

On Monday I had an appointment in Watsonville the wound care clinic and while I was there I met a doctor who specializes in spinal cord injury.  She was there because she was trying to open up a wound care clinic at the hospital where she works.  As it turns out she works at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz.  I had heard of her through a girl I met in my support chat room on AOL and I had written her name down so I could look her up, small world.  She is going to set me up for a wheelchair evaluation so I can get a different driving system for my new chair.

On Tuesday Heather came by to visit for a while.  She was tired of thinking all weekend so asked us what we would like for dinner, David suggested something with chicken, we decided on chicken Parmesan.  Heather brought over two of the biggest chicken breasts I have ever seen in my life, she cut them in half and they were still huge.  She made the best chicken Parmesan, mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables and salad any of us have ever tasted.  My uncle and aunt came over for dinner and I still had leftovers for two days.

When we got back home David was working away on Multimedia Max, I still was not able to adjust the thermostat or turn off the lights in my bedroom.  Monday evening we went over to our new favorite Mexican restaurant to eat and my uncle and aunt stopped by to join us.

I dropped my new chair off yesterday so they could fix the leg rest, apparently when my nephew was helping me move it he ran into a parked car.  I have had a problem with it beeping a lot when I turned it on and believe it or not it actually happened while the chair was in the shop, usually it never happens when you want it to.  The guy called the manufacture and they told him how to fix it and he thought he fixed it up when he was taking it out to the van it did it again so they decided to keep it at the shop, the guy said he could not look at it until next month so luckily I have my old reliable backup chair.

Charlie, Angie & Parker came by today, Parker is getting so big and he is so cute and happy.  Terri needed a new car so they picked one out yesterday and wanted to take it for a drive so they drove to Santa Cruz and stopped by.  Unfortunately I stayed in bed today so I couldn't go outside and check it out but from what I could see in the surveillance cameras it was gorgeous.

Yesterday was Alex's, the guy across the street, birthday so Heather fixed him a filet, mashed potatoes, salad and I'm not sure what else.  Tonight she came over and brought me a filet for tomorrow night and made the killer sauce to go over the top, I tasted it and it really is over the top.  She also made her red roasted garlic potatoes... I can not wait for dinner tomorrow.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Our final weekend with Corinne

 

On Friday Corinne and I cruised over to Ross to see if we could find a birthday present for Jack, the little boy across the street.  It is really cool cruising around with Brodie on my left and Corinne standing on the back of my chair, I'm just sorry I couldn't get a picture of it.  We were invited to a birthday party for him on Saturday.  I don't really know him very well and I also don't know what to get seven-year-old so I decided to make him a card and put $10 in it, he loved it.  After we got back Heather called and said that she had some time and she was going to come over and make a couple of dishes for us.  She brought over some  Sea Bass and made some of her killer lemon, butter and caper sauce, some roasted garlic potatoes, sauteed spinach and some rice.  She also made some wraps to last us through the weekend.

The Gin Blossoms were performing at the boardwalk on Friday and I really wanted to go.  I was hoping my brother would come down on Friday evening but he had something to do so we ended up going over to my aunt's house and watching The Bucket List and it was a really good movie.  Corinne said that she would go to the concert with me but I really could not see her sitting still for an hour or two, however long the concert was but it was really nice of her to offer.

I had a lot of fun at the birthday party, Autumn and Alex have some really neat friends.  Carrie, by massage therapist, was there and it was really nice to actually get to talk to her, usually she is telling me not to talk and to relax.  They barbecued hot dogs, as bad as they are for you I LOVE them.

Today what kind of a lazy day.  I got up and Stanley fixed breakfast, Stanley came last night to take Corinne home, and we just kind of what a couple of movies and sat around.  My mom is leaving later on to pick David up at the San Jose Airport, he will be staying until Wednesday morning.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Running into old friends...

Yesterday Corinne and I decided to spend the day at the boardwalk.  I felt kind of bad and I wish that she had somebody to go on the right with but she said she didn't mind going by herself, the only ride she wanted somebody to go on with was the log ride.  Eventually she did find somebody so I think she got to do everything that she wanted to do.  We ended up coming home early because I was getting overheated, in the late part of the day there's just no shade at the boardwalk.  I was waiting for Corinne at one of the rides and I heard somebody say "hello Tammie" I looked over and saw a familiar face but I didn't recognize who she was, she had sunglasses on.  She said " It's Kimmy Anderson".  When I was in eighth grade and living in the Santa Cruz Mountains we were really good friends.  We have had to eighth grade reunions and I got to see her and talk to her again.  She is such a nice lady and I hope we run into each other again.  She was with her daughter and I tried to talk them into going on the log ride with Corinne but her daughter didn't want to go at the time.

Running into old friends...

Yesterday Corinne and I decided to spend the day at the boardwalk.  I felt kind of bad and I wished that she had somebody to go on the rides with but she said she didn't mind going by herself, the only ride she wanted somebody to go on with was the log ride.  Eventually she did find somebody so I think she got to do everything that she wanted to do.  We ended up coming home early because I was getting overheated, in the late part of the day there's just no shade at the boardwalk.  I was waiting for Corinne at one of the rides and I heard somebody say "hello Tammie" I looked over and saw a familiar face but I didn't recognize who she was, she had sunglasses on.  She said " It's Kimmy Anderson".  When I was in eighth grade and living in the Santa Cruz Mountains we were really good friends.  We have had to eighth grade reunions and I got to see her and talk to her again.  She is such a nice lady and I hope we run into each other again.  She was with her daughter and I tried to talk them into going on the log ride with Corinne but her daughter didn't want to go at the time.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Fun and comfort food

On Sunday Corinne and I decided to cruise downtown, Corinne loves walking around downtown and looking at the shops , a true shopper in the making.  We decided to go have lunch at Mobo's but by the time we got there they were close to clean up for the dinner rush.  They open 11:30 a.m., close at 12:30 p.m. and then open up again at 5 p.m.  We wanted to find someplace where we could sit outside because the weather was so beautiful.  Right on the corner there with a little Italian restaurant with a patio so we decided to give it a try.  EVERYTHING on the menu was very expensive and it made Corinne really nervous but I told her to just not look and order what sounds good.  I had seafood ravioli, shrimp and crab, with prawns and Corinne had some kind of walnut, gorgonzola raviolis.  They only gave you about six but they actually were very good, bill was about $42 so although it was a really good experience we definitely won't be going back there again.

On Monday I had two appointments in San Jose so that it was pretty much shot.  The first one was with Tony to get my SP tube change in the second was just the general appointment.  They are going to get together with an OT and a wound care specialist and try to help me pick out the best mattress/bed frame for me, my mattress is getting louder and louder everyday and I fear it's just a matter of time before it gives out.

Yesterday Corinne and I cruised over to Ross, I LOVE Ross.  I found a couple of oversized men's sweatshirts, I like to cut them all the way up the back so that if I get cold in my chair it's easy to just slip them on.  Corinne found a really pretty sweater dress, gray and purple, and we got her a gray camisol and some leggings... she really looked cute in them.  When we got home Heather was in the kitchen cooking.  She made the meat loaf that was covered with bacon, sautéed spinach, zucchini with red bell peppers, green beans and of course EVERYBODY'S favorite, her red roasted potatoes.  She also made a couple of wraps, one with chicken, avocado, spinach, pepperchinies and cheese and the other one has Black Forest Ham, cheese, spinach and pepperchinies.  We ate in the kitchen but it felt like we were in heaven, everything was so wonderful.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

A nice surprise for the weekend...

Last Wednesday my mom and I took Helen out to lunch at the Santa Cruz Café.  Helen was a good friend of my Grandpa's and lives in the same retirement community where he lived.  My Aunt takes her out for breakfast once a week and she really looked over to it.  Since my aunt is on vacation and Monday was Helen's birthday we decided to take her out.  She has had a really interesting life and I really love hearing about it.

On Friday my brother, Stanley and his youngest son, David showed up and we all decided to go to the boardwalk for the day.  We cruised around for a while and then I went to go find a place to sit and wait for the concert, they have a free concert every Friday and yesterday was Papa Doo Run Run and they were AWSOME.  They are a band from Cupertino who my brother said that he remembers playing at our high school dances when we went to Los Gatos High School.  That was the first concert at the boardwalk that I actually sat and watched and I will that really be doing that a lot more.  The area for the wheelchairs is not really clearly marked, in fact the sign says "seeing and hearing impaired seating" so we had a fine of one and asked them and they told us that this was it.  It was a couple of hours before the show and I figured it would probably be crowded so I decided it and wait.  There was a lady and a scooter there and she have about five books sitting around her and she told me that they were all save, I didn't think that this was right?  There was no other place to sit but my brother talked her into scooting the books over a little bit so I can squeeze in.  I didn't really think it with fair that I had to wait two hours and that five people could just come up at the last minute and have a place to sit, apparently I wasn't the only one because several people seem to be upset that the lady could put books on the ground and nobody else could sit  there.  During the concert they announce that they had made a new CD and that they were selling hooded sweatshirts so I asked my brother to go down and get one and he brought back one that would signed by all of them including the gentleman that signed for the hearing-impaired, that was a really great surprise.

The morning Stanley made breakfast and Janet, Robert, Corinne, Zach andanother one of Roberts friends showed up and they all went to the beach.  They will be back tonight and then they will go home tomorrow except for Corinne, she is going to stay here for a week.

When Elaine was here I remember we will walking along the boardwalk and up ahead I could see a guy juggling tennis balls, Brodie can not resist tennis balls, so I said to Elaine "lets see how fast Brodie can distract this guy".  As we walked up to him Brodie very intently started watching the tennis balls and everybody around started laughing.  I was very surprised that it did not break the guys concentration but I can see his eyes darting around nervously so we walked away... it really was funny but I think you had to be there.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Loosing our certificate...

Jerry came by on Sunday for a visit and it was really great to see him.  He stayed for a while and we caught up on each other's lives.

David was going to come for a visit on Sunday but he didn't make the plane so we decided to make it or another weekend, either this weekend or the next.

Today Brodie and I cruised over to the boardwalk.  Her behavior is getting worse and I'm afraid that pretty soon I will be able to bring her with me anymore.  She's not aggressive because she has never hurt another dog she's more anxious, she just wants to sniff them but it's not acceptable behavior for a service animal.  I was in the security office getting a tag to put on her caller and I could hear her growling so I turned around and sure enough it was the dog standing outside, perfect place for her to act out.  The only thing I can think of to do is to go to petsmart and by a parking caller and see if that works.  When I was coming back I noticed a sign on the wall of the veterinary clinic that she gets her toe nails done that said they do dog training, that is another option.  The only other option is to just leave her at home but unfortunately she knows how to open the doors and if I lock the doors she will scratch up the doors and the walls.

Here are a few of the pictures that Elaine took when she was here in July, I really do need to get my own camera.

JohnPatrick called me tonight to tell me that he just got back from signing up for Boy Scouts, he was so excited.  I love talking to him because he is so honest, when he is that he just says "I'm going to hang up now because I'm out of things to say"... why can't grown-ups do that?

There is a multiple fruit tree right outside of my window.  The guy that used to live in the house stage right of me apparently took a bunch of seeds from different fruits and planted them altogether, the result looks like one big tree that has peaches, plums and apples.  I'd love to sit here and watch the squirrels and the birds play and eat the fruit, I never thought I would have anything like that just right outside my window.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

I conquered the railroad tracks...

I miss my uncle stopping by at least once a day with one of his crazy stories of what happened to him during the day.  My aunt and him went camping.  Once a year they get together with a bunch of friends and meet in the Fort Bragg area and it sounds like they really have a lot of fun.  My uncle is the kind of person who can go for a walk and come back with anywhere from four to 20 people that he just met for dinner, everybody that he meets is a friend.  I miss seeing my aunt every day too.

On Wednesday Jordan came by to carpet the stairs going up to my mom's place, he did a really good job.  The stairs turned out to be a lot more slippery than we thought it would be.  The dogs slipped a couple of times and I was afraid that somebody else would so we decided to add a runner, it looks great.

A couple of guys that my uncle met at Costco came by to give me a bid on laying some concrete.  It was an open area at the end of the driveway and it's really hard to back out because the driveway is so long so we decide to add a slap of concrete to turn around in the driveway.  They gave us a really good bid and start the next morning, they did a great job and it looks fantastic.  My uncle just went to Costco to get a hot dog and a soda.

On Thursday my mom went San Jose to play cards at the park where we used to live, whenever they are somebody short she fills in.  I thought about just staying in bed because nobody was going to be around but I've decided to get up because the lady was here to clean the house and I like to get out of her way.  I decided to cruise the lagoon and when I got up to the top of the hill I made myself braved the railroad tracks and I went on over to the boardwalk, I really felt great.  I seen a couple of college guys and it looked like they were interviewing people so I tried to cruise around them but it didn't work.  They stopped and asked me if I was rich and I said "absolutely not" and they asked me how much money I thought it took to be rich, I said $50,000... I am really not good at spontaneous questions, I think that is obvious.  They both laughed and Brodie and I went on our way.  When I got back Heather and Cassie were in the kitchen and something was smelling awfully good.  Heather was making roast potatoes, sautéed spinach and tilapia as well as some wraps with some prosciutto, I have never had prosciutto before but I tasted really good.

Yesterday I had another appointment with Rehab Specialist that I missed, I think this is the third one in a row because stuff just keeps happening.  This time we got lost but when we called they said that they needed the chair without me in it, unfortunately I was already in it so that wasn't going to work so I told them I would call them when I got home and reschedule AGAIN.  I really hate everything about this chair.  I have had it for six months and only been in it about six times, only one I had to.  Whenever I turn it on its start beeping and then shuts off, I have no clue why it does but it instantly sends me in to a bad mood because I know how my day is going to go.  People keep telling me that I just need to get used to the chair and everything will be fine... how am I supposed to get used to something like this??  I should have just gotten the same chair that I had only the 2008 model.  I will keep trying.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Goodbye to Château La Salle...

The dishes that Heather makes are so gorgeous and I was thinking last night I should start taking pictures of them and putting them on my journal, describing them just doesn't do justice.

When Heather was here yesterday she left some salmon, the cooking instructions and this killer sauce, some sautéed spinach and some brown rice for Cassie to heat up for me.  I think last night I forgot to mention that Heather also brought over some cappuccino cheesecake, I never was much for sweets but this cheesecake was AWESOME.

I really do not like commercials but if I had to pick one that was my favorite I would have to say the stain remover commercial, I don't know which product it is for.  A guy comes in for an interview and he has a stain on his shirt so while the guy is interviewing him he cannot hear what he is saying because all he can hear is the stain muttering really loud, no matter how many times I see this commercial it still cracks me up.

My uncle and aunt have been running around all day, actually for about a week, getting ready to go on vacation.  Every year they meet a big group of people around the Fort Bragg area and from what it sounds like they just have a great time, they both really need it.

I finally got an offer on my house in San Jose that sounds pretty decent so hopefully I will finally be rid of it, right now I'm still paying space rent and I've really anxious to just get rid of it and not look back.

I was talking to Carrie, the massage therapist, and somehow the conversation got around to relationships.  She told me that she has been with her husband for I think she said 17 years and she said that he always has been and still is her best friend, I think that is so cool.  My cousin and her husband are the same way, they just never get tired of each other.  I have had very few relationships and I have never felt that way.  I think I always worried too much about what they think instead of being myself and feeling comfortable enough say or doing anything, I don't know if I have really felt comfortable enough with anybody to feel like I can say anything I want, I'm afraid to hurt anybody's feelingsor say the wrong thing.  I wish I could find somebody that I felt that comfortable with.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Losing my weekend morning caregiver...

On Friday evening my weekend morning caregiver called and said that she went into the hospital for some tests and they decided to keep her overnight or more tests.  They thought that they had a tubal pregnancy but it turns out that it was not a tubal pregnancy but she is pregnant, about eight weeks.  Her and her husband have been trying to get pregnant for a while so I am really happy for her but that means that I need to find another morning weakened caregiver.  She said that her sister would come in and work for her on Saturday but since she worked for me all week I didn't think it was fair to have her work on the weekends as well so I told her not to worry about it and I would just stay in bed but that I have plans for Sunday so I did need to get up, her sister came on Sunday.

Sunday I went to the art and wine Festival downtown with Cassie and her mother, they are really fun to hang out with.  Of course the first thing that we did when we got there was eat.  They had a stuffed artichoke booth and that sounds good to all of us so we stopped there.  I had a shrimp and crab stuffed artichoke and although it sounds kind of wierd it tasted really good, they put thousand island dressing on it.  They also had shrimp and crab french fries, also with thousand islands dressing and garlic french fries... I just love Santa Cruz.  I had just eaten a big bowl of fruit so I wasn't very hungry but I wanted to try it.  Cassie's little brother dropped his on the ground so I gave him mine.  I also noticed that they had calamari and chips so I was going to try that and then funnel cake before I left but I just wasn't hungry, the heat was starting to get to me.  I did buy a really pretty skirt, a top to match and a scarf and then we decided to go downtown and check out some stores.  I had already taken off my longsleeve shirt , of course I didn't put any sunscreen on, and I can already feel my neck and my shoulders burning so I decided that I had better go home.

Sunday evening we went out to dinner with Lee and Claudia, Bill and Vernetta and my uncle and aunt.  The Chinese food that would usually go to was closed so we tried a Mexican restaurant downtown, the food was awesome and everybody loved it so we found a new place to eat.

Heather has been really busy with weddings, reunions, company picnics and other occasions so I haven't seen her very much, she said it's always like this during the summer.  She made me a really good stew, some wraps, salads and a bunch of other stuff to hold me over.  She came by tonight and made me a filet with a shittake mushroom sauce, the filet was so tender it just melted in my mouth... it was like eating silk, eggplant with cauliflower and her famous roasted red potatos and herbs that I love so much.  She's going to be busy for a few more days but she said she would come by on Wednesday and make salmon and spinach for me, sometimes I just feel like I live in a fine food restaurant.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Chair repair... NOT

Yesterday I had an appointment at rehab specialist to fix my new chair, I missed my appointment because we were running late.  I found out a couple of months ago that when it was getting moved here my nephew crashed it into a parked car so the right leg keeps falling off.  I also don't like the joystick so I need to get that change also.  Basically I don't like the chair but everybody keeps telling me that I just need to get used to it.  What I should've done was got the same chair that I have only with a different wheel set up because now I am stuck with this one for five years, I hope it goes by fast.  I rescheduled for next Friday at a later time.

Last night Esmeralda, my weekend morning caregiver, called and said she went into the hospital for a routine checkup and ended up staying overnight for more tests, I really hope everything is OK with her.  So today I'm going to relax and stay in bed.

Tomorrow we're going to go for dinner at a killer Chinese restaurant that my uncle found and then come back here and play cards, I love playing cards.

I cannot believe that I missed John Waite last night at the boardwalk, I have been waiting to see his concert.  My mom said that she could hear it upstairs and it sounded pretty good.  Next Friday is the lead singer from Santana and there's a rumor that Carlos might be there, I am definitely not going to miss that one.