Author: searcyf@mac.com

22 September 2024

Happy autumnal equinox! We actually had an inclination that fall has started in South Florida! The high today is 88°F and the low is 78°F, but more importantly, the humidity is 65% as opposed to 95%. You can actually breathe without feeling you are getting water in your lungs.

Just this afternoon when I was FaceTiming with my cousin Jimmie, I saw several people actually walking by the house at 4 pm. And, they were not sweating, huffing or puffing. I might start my morning walks again if this keeps up.

Lunch today at Greek Islands Taverna was pretty awesome. Tom, Kurt, Holley and Jim and I had a great time. This was only the second time Kurt had been out and about since his hospitalization and it was great to see him. Tom and Holley had their famous shrimp plate, Jim had ribs, I had lamb chops and Kurt had Moussaka. The waiter was really sharp and he held his own with our repartee. Holley asked how you pronounced the word for shrimp, meaning how do you pronounce the Greek word for shrimp. She left out the Greek and he responded “shrimp.” You’ve got to get up early to match this group with their wit and he met the task.

Of course, we were all stuffed. Jim and I forced our take home boxes on Tom and Kurt with Tom complaining they already had too much food in their fridge. Better them than me.

Holley and Jim dropped me home and I promptly had a short nap before my FaceTime with Jimmie.

Since I had a heavy lunch, I think it’ll be ice cream for dinner. I’m retired and can do what I want! Stay tuned!

21 September 2024

I managed to change linen and wash clothes but that was pretty much all that got done today. Just not enough umf. I got plenty of sleep so that was no excuse. I got about half of the L.A. Times crossword done before I had to start looking up answers.

About the only other thing I did was get in the pool with music on the outdoor speakers and dog paddling around. The water temp was a little chilly when I first got in but I acclimated to it pretty quickly. It’s a real nice pool but I can tell the fiberglass coat is beginning to wear thin. I’ve been told it is very expensive to remove the fiberglass and replace it with Diamond Brite. It’s not critical yet but another year or two it may be.

Otherwise, I spent the day reading online newspapers and reading on my Kindle. I’ve read so much that I’m losing focus in my right eye. I try to take breaks to get the accommodation back but it takes a while for it to reprocess and refocus. Cataract surgery is getting closer.

Tomorrow, I hope to go to a Greek restaurant with Holley, Jim, Tom and Kurt. It’s called Greek Islands Taverna and I’ve eaten there several times over the years and it is excellent. I’m partial to their lamb chops.

I’m not a big fan of lamb but I do like lamb chops. The only type of meat I had like this as a kid was mutton. Where Mother got mutton, I have no idea. Lamb and mutton are not big sellers in the south. Mutton turned me off ovine animals until I accidentally tried lamb chops.

Several years ago, a friend wanted to cook a leg of lamb. I thought “I like lamb” so I went over and found out pretty quickly I didn’t like leg of lamb. Funny about taste buds.

There are very few things that I will not try. I absolutely abhor crème de minthe for example. That’s the only ingredient in cocktails that I can’t get down. Mutton and leg or lamb are not high on my list of foods but otherwise, I can pretty well handle anything.

I’ve had bison, squirrel, wild game Mulligan stew, deer, elk, rattlesnake, and quail. I confess to never eating O’possum nor raccoon. I love conch chowder and pretty much anything Creole/Cajun cooking. I’ve had haute cuisine and crawfish at boils. It’s all good. If I had to choose between highfalutin foods or simple and easy, I would probably choose the simple and easy. It’s hard to beat good home cooking although I don’t do a lot of that any more.

I used to have people over to the house for dinner. I enjoyed doing that even though it was a lot of work. I would try out new recipes and invite people over spontaneously. They would bring the wine and I would provide the food. I haven’t done much of that since my breast cancer. Hopefully, I’ll get motivated to do that again. It’s fun to have friends over.

Otherwise, not much news. Stay tuned!

20 September 2024

The day started early at 5:30 am. I needed to get my two cups of coffee in me so I would be awake for Tom’s visit to his surgeon. He arrived a little after 8 and off we went to Hollywood Memorial. We both agreed this little hospital back in the 70’s and 80’s had grown to a massive facility by 2024.

I checked earlier where he was supposed to meet Dr. Buttrick and as it happens, it was in the same office, in the same building, as the neurologist I had been to. I knew exactly where to take him.

Tom was reassured by Dr. Buttrick and scheduled surgery for October 8th. I’ll drive him to his surgery. We have to be there at 6 am for an 8 am surgery.

After getting all the paperwork, we headed back towards my place and stopped at my neighborhood Flanigans for lunch. We were 10 minutes early so we waited until 11. My Flanigans is very good and Tom enjoyed his burger and I enjoyed my fish sandwich. Tom paid for my lunch – like I did anything but add some extra ears to his appointment.

When I got home, I took a nap. I was wasted. It could have been the Bloody Mary I had for lunch.

I’ve put an order in for groceries from Publix. They plan to deliver before 4 pm so someone is doing some fast shopping.

The only thing on my calendar for the next few weeks is a meeting with my oncologist on September 24th and Tom’s surgery on October 8th.

Stay tuned!

19 September 2024

I’ve got to quit these late nights scrolling through Instagram. Last night I went to bed at 12:30 am and the night before, it was 1:30 am. I’m really a morning person but I sleep until 7:30 which is late for me.

I decided not to exercise today. There’s no good reason but laziness on my part. I could tell you I needed a rest from exercise from yesterday but more likely, it’s the late night to bed routine.

Last night was movie night. The movie was Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, a 2002 movie that probably didn’t make the money the producers wanted even though it has an all star cast. It had some of my favorite actors: Ellen Burstyn, Ashley Judd, Sandra Bullock, James Garner and Maggie Smith.

The movie takes place mostly in Louisiana and it’s about mother/daughter issues which include the mother pulling a stent in a mental hospital. Of course the daughter blames everything on the mother. Anyway, three of the four sisters of Ya-Ya go to New York to kidnap Sandra Bullock and bring her home to settle the issues between mother and daughter. All’s well at the end of the movie.

Parts of the movie were flashbacks to the 50’s. There’s one scene where the weather is so hot and there’s no breeze so they still the mother’s car to make their own breeze in the convertible. As they begin to shed their clothes, and eventually their bras, the get pulled over by a sheriff’s deputy.

If I were to describe the movie, it would be a little like a rom-com, a little like a drama and a little like a pure comedy. It holds you interest and it also takes me back to some of my Louisiana memories when I was stationed at the Coast Guard Communications Station at Belle Chase.

In one scene of the movie, the cast are at a Cajun crawfish boil. I once stumbled onto one of those while in Louisiana and they did a great job of portraying a real Cajun boil. There’s music and dancing and drinking and eating and fighting. It’s an all-in-one entertainment for the day. Kids running around, people laughing and crying, and a lot of beer.

One Cajun/Creole term used a good bit in the movie was bébé. The Cajun dialect is mostly French from French Acadia. When you get down into the small souther towns of Louisiana, you hear a lot of Cajun French or Creole.

One year, I took a bunch of Scouts to the Charles L. Sommers canoe base in Minnesota. We did most of our canoeing in Canada in the Quetico. One of my groups was made up of all Cajun Scouts and their Cajun adult leader. After a while, you begin to pick up the dialect but the Sommers’ staff person who took their group out never could understand a word they said.

Also, the staff have been taking groups out all summer and so they are the most proficient paddlers. The Cajun group of Scouts left their staff person in the dust. They were used to paddling pirogues. They had energy to burn because pirogues are wooden and slower moving and they were in aluminum canoes.

There were some places in Louisiana back in the 70’s that you had to speak Cajun French or you wouldn’t get served at a restaurant or bar. Once they learned to trust you, they would become your best friends.

Stay tuned!

18 September 2024

What a difference a day makes! I felt well enough to do yoga stretches and 300 strokes in the pool. I still can’t manage any more in the pool but that will come with more time in the pool. My pool days are often dictated by whether it is raining or not when I’m ready for the pool. If I don’t exercise in the morning, I just don’t exercise.

I would get more excited about this but this has happened before. I feel better, then I feel worse. Hopefully I’m on a streak of feeling better.

I still haven’t heard from Sears Home Repair about my cracked oven glass. When you phone Sears, you only get pre-recorded messages. I was trying to cancel but now I’ll just see how long this plays out.

Several years ago, Tom and Kurt gave me a strawberry pot when they moved from Davie to Wilton Manors. I could tell the pot meant a lot to Kurt. For a year or two I tried growing strawberries, unsuccessfully. Then I hit upon an idea. We have several species of purslanes in Florida. The genus Portulaca is fairly common and it was the genus my major professor used for his dissertation.

In botany, normally to get a PhD in taxonomy, you pick a genus and do an intensive field study and study of the nations’ herbaria, taking exacting measurements, and then writing your dissertation. These days, it’s more DNA analysis of the genus.

Anyway, I’ve always been partial to the genus and it can make a nice ground cover because it is sun tolerant and lack of water tolerant. It can also cascade in its growth form. I decided this was worth a try in the strawberry pot.

I’ve mentioned this plant before. It produces little cone greenish shaped capsules you can see at the upper left. They look like pixie hats. The capsule “cap” comes off and the seeds are dispersed. The capsule splits along the radius and is said to be circumscissile.

Tonight is movie night! I feel up to it and look forward to see Tucker and Chris.

It’s time for our afternoon rains. Stay tuned!

17 September 2024

It’s a gray, rainy day in South Florida. It would remind me of fall in Mississippi except the temperature is 82°F.

At least I won’t have to add water to the pool any time soon. I don’t think I’ve added any water since May this year. The rest of the week reports high rain chances.

Whether or not it was the Duloxetine or it simply just going away, I don’t have the pressure flashes in my ears when I move my eyes right or left. It just went away in one night. I wouldn’t think Duloxetine would have that quick of an effect, but whatever, I’ll celebrate the missing pressure flashes.

I started on the Grand Canyon paint by numbers canvas last night and quickly came to the conclusion I probably don’t have the patience to do this. I still my force myself to finish it but as I get older, the more I subscribe to the idea that if I don’t want to do something, then I don’t do it.

Compared to yesterday, I feel much better. I suspect it was the combo flu/Covid shots that got me feeling so off. I’m not great but I’m also not dragging. I suspect I had a touch of fever yesterday afternoon which broke last night. I’m still not up for yoga stretches today nor pool but hopefully I will be able to tomorrow.

Other than going with Tom to meet with his neurosurgeon on Friday, I don’t have anything on my calendar until I travel to Smithgall Woods State Park near Helen, Georgia to meet with Jimmie and Stephen. Where did I get all this free time? Where are all the doctors’ appointments?

Stay tuned!

16 September 2024

OK, stick a fork in me, I’m done. I feel terrible today and whether that is due to the Covid and flu shots or if I’m in day 4 of my cycle that I start feeling badly, or both. As to the flu and Covid shots, I guess I could have spread them out over a month and feel badly two days in a row with a month in between or like I did yesterday, and have one day of feeling badly for two days.

On top of that, I either have nystagmus where when I move my eyes left and right, I get flashes of pressure in my ears or some unnamed condition due to coming off Duloxetine (Cymbalta).

Speaking of which, I have two baskets (and a cardboard box) of medicines I’ve been prescribed over the last two years. The cardboard box contains discontinued meds. One basket has lots of refills that I use to fill out the second basket. It’s the second basket that I use to put pills in the weekly pill holders. I seem to have forgotten to include Duloxetine and Jardiance. The Duloxetine is for depression (and boy am I depressed) and the Jardiance is to work on my A1c and to keep me out of hospitals due to heart failure.

I have no idea how many days/weeks I was not taking the two drugs. The pressure in the ears has been an occurrence over the years but it always goes away. It’s more of a distraction at the movement and it’s hard to go to sleep because you have some involuntary eye movement as you doze off.

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Many years ago, the college had a speaker. She was like a super RN and had credentials a mile long. I think she even authored several scientific papers. Of course, to fill the auditorium, we had to provide students with extra credit to attend. Or at least some faculty did. I never went that route.

The nurse was very entertaining and kept the students (and faculty laughing). She even got a little raunchy using terms the students used.

Anyway, one question she asked the students was about poop. She said there were two types (sinkers and floaters). The question was what type should you strive for? The answer was floaters because that meant you were getting plenty of fiber in your diet (ahem, wood floats). I used that insight every year since.

My cousin and I got to talking about that – my fault – I have no boundaries. Just to be sure, I Googled it and sure enough, several medical web sites said the nurse was correct. The only problem is that excessive fat in the diet can also call poop to float. Another factor is a high fiber diet (like mine) leads to gas which in incorporated into the poop. It’s a little strange after all these years to see your poop float in the toilet. It’s done that for about 3 months. I’ve tried Beano and it doesn’t seem to work – that or the pills are a hundred years old and have lost their potency.

My visit with the cardiologist went well. He still wants me on a beta blocker but I need to get back on the Losartin (25 mg). I’ll be cutting the 50 mg tabs in half. I hate doing that. I asked him about lowering my blood pressure too much and he said that the beta blocker simply helps the heart work less hard. I’ll do it for a while but also keep a close eye on my blood pressure. I don’t want to pass out any more. My back still has not recovered. I see the cardiologist again in December.

Day before yesterday, I cut a grapefruit in half and sectioned both halves. I then put them in a shallow dish (think soup dish) and put Saran Wrap over the top to keep them fresh. It was the most unusual grapefruit I’ve ever seen. There was some growth error. At first, I thought I had cut it lengthwise with the sections but when I looked a little closer, I realized it was just a peculiar grapefruit.

Late last night, someone delivered my paint by the numbers order. I have two: the Grand Canyon and Arches National Park. Here’s the Grand Canyon “canvas.” The size is 14.5 x 18.5 inches.

The paints are water colors. Each comes with a set of brushes.

When Jimmie and I were kids, Ruby introduced us to paint by the numbers, only ours were oils. You can image we got oils all over us and the painting. We also had long discussions about who was going across the line while painting. A common theme with us – badminton boundaries. We never let them dry properly before moving on to the next number so we got some interesting color combinations on the canvas.

I have no idea if I will complete these two projects, nor know what to do with them. I figure they will be a good way to spend some time with hand/eye coordination – at something I’ve never been very good.

OK, too long of a post. Stay tuned!

15 September 2024

I took that dip in the pool yesterday. The water was pretty warm – I ‘ll assume over 90°F. While I was dippin’, I baked some eggplants. I ran across a recipe for baba ghanoush. I ordered tahini with yesterday’s groceries so I had all the ingredients, including pita bread. I really like eggplant and I’ve always loved baba ghanoush. It’s easy and quick and tasty. I had some for dinner last night and lunch today.

I got both my flu shot and Covid shot today. I don’t normally get both in one day but CDC says it is perfectly OK to do. I went online to schedule an appointment at my Walgreens and filled out the paper work. I drove to the Walgreens to find it was temporarily closed. There was a posting on NextDoor that there was an electrical fire months ago but you never know whether to believe it or not. What was strange was they let me make an appointment at a closed Walgreens.

I headed to the one on Federal Highway and they said they would be able to give me the vaccinations. I, of course, had to fill out the same paper work that I already done online. Hopefully, I won’t have a sore arm for too long. The Covid was a Moderna version even though I asked for a Pfizer version. It’s my first Moderna vaccine so I might turn into Mr. Hyde.

While at Walgreens, I purchased another cane. I gave the other one to Archie who said he would use it – but hasn’t. I figure I will eventually need it anyway.

While getting vaccinated, there was a downpour and after I got home, there have been a couple of thunderstorms. Looks like we will get all of the 60% chance of showers today.

My next project is in the garage. I need to get rid of a lot of stuff in the overhead section which means getting up on a ladder. I have too much junk. I have a wash tub and scrub board which dated back to the time before the generator. I wanted to be able to wash clothes after a hurricane.

I also have lots of paint I need to get rid of but I’ll have to wait until Fort Lauderdale schedules another hazardous waste day. They do that about twice or three times a year. You can’t just put anything out for bulk trash pickup.

After sorting through the overhead in the garage, I need to sort through the overhead in the utility room. I think I have a large container or old computer and tv cords that could be sent to the Smithsonian.

Yesterday, in cleaning up a little, I threw away a CD mini player that had been hiding from me in a drawer. I also threw away four glass jugs with large stoppers filled with wine corks. I’m not sure why I was saving wine corks. Then again, I’m not sure why I hold on to most of the stuff that I do.

If you don’t hear from me tomorrow, it’s possible I will be buried under debris from the garage.

Stay tuned!

14 September 2024

I was awake at 4:30 am and out of bed by 5, changed linen on the bed, washed, dried, folded clothes and put them away, and cleaned house, all by 9:30. Just call me the Energizer Bunny! After reading a little, I dozed for about 30 minutes and then ordered groceries from Publix.

I’ve decided to take on very small cleaning jobs. Yesterday I did the computer desk and printer table. Dust for days!

At the west window of the kitchen area I have a table with too much stuff on it. I pulled everything away from the window, dusted, vacuumed, threw a lot of stuff away, and then put it back much neater.

It was a lot of work to get everything out, cleaned, and put back. It really needed it since I had not done this since 2022.

The more I think about it, the more I’m inclined to hire a house cleaner. My only problem is I’m in the mindset of needing a weekly cleaning. Most people do every two weeks. One cost suggestion from Next Door was $110 a week. The more I vacuum, the more I think it’s worth it.

We have heat advisories today and the current temp is 92°F. A little later when the sun starts going down, I plan to jump in the pool, listen to music, and relax. There are a couple of “hot” spots in the pool but there are areas you can at least cool off. I finally got the chemicals balanced again.

Monday is my cardiologist appointment. The date and time has been changed four times. It may be changed before I show up on Monday. I’ve got a lot to tell him – the two falls, hospitalization, taken off Losartin – and then see if he’s going to put me on a beta blocker. The last time he had to change appointments, he had severe back problems. Hopefully he was at a conference, living the good life, this time.

Continuing the Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy theme, here’s an interview with Eddy on the death of MacDonald.

Stay tuned!

13 September 2024

It’s a good day! I feel much better today. I didn’t have any dreams where I was angry. I got some chores done today. I didn’t have to rake leaves! I did clean the pool filter and weed kill but I didn’t have to wash down the pool deck (thanks to the rain) nor the patio (thanks to the window washer). I call it a good start to the day.

Last night I watched Dune – Part Two. Actually, I watched most of it. I missed the first few minutes but I remedied that this morning after chores. I read Frank Herbert’s novel many years ago and saw the original movie in 1984. I also saw Dune – Part 1 four years ago (who takes four years to make part 2?). I had a very hard time following the second part of the movie. It seemed to jump around a lot and showed scenes that didn’t make sense and showed the characters being stupid – like standing around while the enemy was looking for them. I’ll probably watch the second Dune again this week to see if it makes more sense the second time. I doubt it.

Have you ever thought that if you were to come back in another life you would be so much smarter? As I get older, I realize that I’m getting much smarter. The second version of me would not believe my brother and stick my finger in a Christmas tree light socket. I also would not believe him when he said to rub soap on the tip of your penis. I learned at an early age that irons are hot and can burn you. Two years ago, I learned how to properly wipe my bum and not leave skid marks on my underwear. This year I’ve learned that when taking a shower, wash your head and neck first, then rinse that off and then finish washing. I learned that’s the best way from getting soap in your eyes. I’ve learned so much from female writers of mens’ sex scenes that I never knew before. I could very well be a stud in a future life. When I think on it, if I come back in another time, I’ll be a friggin’ genius! Maybe that’s why some cultures believe in reincarnation.

I got some strange news from Medicare with an explanation of benefits. It said I may be billed $1666.08. Here’s what it said. “Your deductible is what you must pay each benefit period for most health service before Medicare begins to pay. Part A Deductibe: You have now met your $1632.00 deductible for inpatient hospital service for the benefit period that began August o2, 2024. Part B Deductible: You have now met your $240.00 deductible for 2024.”

I hope my supplemental will pay for the $1632 or the $1666.08 – they show two different amounts. The amount Medicare did pay was $5546.49. Does anyone ever figure out Medicare – even the people who work for Medicare?

I need to do some simple cleaning. My computer desk is a mess and so is the kitchen table. It’s not hard, I just get lazy about that. If the sun keeps shinning, I may take a dip in the pool.

Stay tuned! Genius in training.