Category: Everything Fred

1 April 2025

Her son Billy spent the night with Tanis and reports they took the crash cart away during the night. She can open her eyes a bit and responds to stimuli on the right side but not the left. Her son David will relieve Billy later today. My brother has a home health care aid in today for 4 hours and his ex, Carolyn, so that helps. I’m sure the next few days will determine a lot.

I managed to get some sleep last night but it was an uneasy sleep. I got up a 7 and had coffee and cereal and then did my morning walk (1.0) miles. I am still too out of shape.

Just as I set out on my walk, I ran into a beautiful branch of frangipani (Plumeria).

The branches are succulent like Aloe vera and they produce a poisonous latex.

Toward the end of the finger canal street, I saw Denyse pull out to go to work. She sometimes cleans my pool when I’m away on long trips. I really like her. She never hesitates to stop and talk with me and catch up. I really do have good neighbors!

With everything happening to Tanis and Archie, it’s been hard to get back into a routine. I certainly have some anxiety for them, Ashley, Billy and David. I do have a clear schedule today and tomorrow and Thursday I go in for a CT scan to determine my cardiac calcium score. The new cardiologist wants to compare the new score to the old score to see how much more calcification has occurred.

Oh! I have to call the plumber. My toilet will flush but will not refill. In old toilets, there was a copper float you could work with but with the newer toilets, you have to replace the apparatus. I’m too old and stupid to do that any more so I’ll call a professional to do it. Unfortunately, they always have to order the part.

Stay tuned!

31 March 2025

What started as a routine day: blood draw, pick up a friend at an auto repair shop, have breakfast with the friend, grocery shop, turned into a crisis when I found out from my nephew David my sister-in-law, Tanis, had a stroke and a diabetic crisis.

I had just been to Mississippi and returned on Saturday to help my niece and nephew clean up around the house since my brother and Tanis were not physically able to do so. A lot of progress was made and I left feeling like something had been accomplished but there was much more to do.

Tanis is in good hands at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. They are going to try to remove the blood clot and deal with her diabetic issues. Once the surgery for the clot is completed, she’ll be sent to ICU where her sons can visit her. All have rallied around her.

I’m not sure if I need to go back to Mississippi but I’m sure David and Ashley will let me know and keep me updated. Regardless, it’ll be a long recovery for Tanis and both she and Archie will have to rely more on Ashley, Billy and David.

Sorry for the short post.

Stay tuned!

30 March 2025

I was asleep by 10:30 pm and stayed in bed until 10 am. I must have been a little worn down by the travel. Luckily, I remembered most of my morning routine, at least somewhat. I got confused in making the coffee but finally got it going.

I put a wash on. Usually, when I unpack the suitcase, which I did last night, I then wash clothes. I just wasn’t up for it so I put it off until this morning. There’s one load of underwear, socks, shirts and another load of bluejeans.

The pool has a few (hundred) leaves I need to remove before I turn the pump back on. I’ll probably do it either late today or tomorrow.

I got news today that I have been negative six times in a row for cancer with the Signatera test. Let’s hope I keep it that way. That’s 18 months cancer free.

Most of the day will be spent washing, drying, folding, and ironing clothes. We are predicted 70% rain so maybe it will occur and I won’t clean the pool today. It’s another reason I’m interested in independent living.

I spent some time trying to turn my printer on so I could print the Signatera report but it wouldn’t oblige. After doing a Google search telling me to check the plug, I finally realized I was pushing the wrong button. Such is my life.

Stay tuned!

22 March 2025

I spent the morning packing my suitcase for the trip tomorrow. I got worried about the weight but it was around 40 lbs if my scales are accurate. Packing for a week takes a lot of thought, particularly when you are in spring weather and it’s cold at night and warm during the day. In a worse case scenario, I could purchase what I need in Jackson.

Of course, the Jackson newspaper reported that Sunday there would be 60-70 mph winds and storms. Fortunately, they arrive in the afternoon and I arrive in the morning. There’s a stop in Atlanta and then to Jackson.

Yesterday evening, Jim, Holley and I caught up over dinner at Kaluz in Plantation. This was a new experience for me and the yellowtail snapper I had was outstanding. I forget how good that fish tastes and I don’t order it enough.

Today, I’m washing clothes, finishing packing my shoulder bag full of charge cords, and closing up the house for the week.

My flight leaves at 6:30 am and my Uber arrives at 4:30 am. That means I’ll get up about 3:30 am. No sleep for me tonight. I’ll lie awake and overthink things.

Today, John and I are treating Joel to a birthday lunch at Season’s 52. It’s not quite as good food as the first time I ate there back in the 80’s but it’ll do.

On the trip, I’ll be staying with my cousin Jean and her husband Roger and visiting my niece, nephews, brother and sister-in-law. On the 27th, I’ll visit with my other side of the family cousins in Frogtown. Yes, that’s a name and no, it’s not incorporated. Let’s just say it’s a subdivision of Pulaski, MS.

Stay tuned!

20 March 2025

Note: for a perspective on John Knox Village, scroll down after this blog entry.

Movie night was great. As I was waiting for Chris and Tucker, Katy was in the yard with the twins. We got to talking and the twins began jumping from the porch to the ground (about 6 inches) and had a ball. We were joined by Nicole and it was a regular neighborhood get together. I caught up with both of them and they caught up with me.

The movie was My Cousin Vinny. We had both seen it but we agreed it was long ago. Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei are excellent in the movie and I loved Fred Gwynne in the roll of judge. You still can’t help but think of Gwynne and his role in the Adam’s Family. Ralph Maccio played the aggrieved party.

Tucker was great last night. I work with him about the commands “Stay”, “Sit” and “Come.” Chris wants him to be exposed to me with him and the commands.

Chris, rightly so, took me to task for not walking. I promised I would do it this morning and I managed 1.4 miles. After all the walking at John Knox Village, I felt in good shape for this morning’s walk.

The walk took me by my favorite yard for flowers and I wasn’t disappointed. There’s always something new.

This is a member of the Brassicaceae family (think mustard greens). Like so many plants, it’s not native but is now used for horticultural purposes in the U.S.

There are four petals and six stamens, usually with 2 short and 4 long. The flower petals are said to be cruciform (like a cross). Most native Brassicaceae in the U.S. are spring flowers.

Remember, scroll down to see my trip to John Knox Village.

Stay tuned!

18 March 2025

I didn’t post yesterday. Things got too busy. More on that later.

Chicago will have to give up its title for Windy City. I think Fort Lauderdale can take that crown these days. We’ve had about two weeks of constant windy weather. There’s almost always a dead palm frond to pick up from around the pool.

The palms around the pool are Cabada palms and they shed their fronds unlike some palm trees that keep them on until they rot away. I like the self-shedding types since I don’t have to pay anyone to saw them off.

I’m beginning to get organized for my trip to Mississippi. I hate packing and tend to put it off until the last minute and thus overpack. The biggest pain is getting the medications ready for a week away from home. Regardless, this will be my first trip in quite a while.

I waited to post yesterday until I completed my cardiology appointment with a new cardiologist. My other one retired. Can’t say I blame him. The new one is Ethan Siev at Hollywood Memorial. It’s a very busy office with numerous physicians in that one office on the 6th floor but I was taken back early and Nurse Nancy took my information.

I’ve learned to print out all of that stuff even though it’s online. They ask you anyway. I think I like the new guy and will continue with him. I have two doctors associated with Hollywood Memorial, the cardiologist and the endocrinologist. Everyone else is Holy Cross.

Dr. Siev wants me to have another echocardiogram (it’s time) and gave me the option of doing it with Holy Cross where the others were done or have it done in office with him. I’ve opted to go with him. He can read Holy Cross reports but cannot see the images.

He also scheduled my next appointment 6 months from now and also scheduled me for a CT scan to determine my coronary calcium score. The only time it’s been done was in 2016 and it was high. He wants to see how much it has increased.

It was around 4:30 when I got back home and I started a home made beef stew (cooler weather on the way here). I got a phone call from Judith that Chris was in the emergency room at Hollywood Memorial and needed his phone charger. That makes two times I was there yesterday.

The entrance to the valet at the emergency room is misleading and, of course, I entered the wrong way. The valets were not in a hurry so it took time to give him the key fob and get the ticket. Then, the check-in for visitors took a lot of time. Finally, I got sent back to see Chris – and he wasn’t there.

Christina, his nurse, came in and told me that had trouble getting a vein for an IV and she was headed there to do it. She told me he would be back after a CAT scan – within 10 minutes. I hooked up his phone to the charger. True to her word, Chris came back in shortly. I visited a while and then headed back home – after another long wait with the valet.

I was wiped out so I ate some warm beef stew and went to bed. I dropped off to sleep immediately.

I’ll check on Judith and Chris later today but I also have another doctor’s appointment with the oncologist at 1:15 this afternoon. I slept late this morning and may even nap before the appointment.

Stay tuned!

16 March 2025

Considering I live only 4 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, I don’t get there very often. In most cases, I would be at a beachside restaurant and sometimes walk across A1A to put my feet in the sand, but that’s pretty much it. I think I did that two times this year.

That’s quite a change when I first moved here in 1985. I started with an invitation to Shark World down in the Keys which eventually became the Keys Marine Lab. From that event, I started taking students down to the lab for field trips where we would go both into Florida Bay and the Atlantic as well as snorkel in the canals leading to the Ocean.

I’m actually scuba dive certified back from the time I took students from Itawamba Junior College down to DeFuniak Springs to become scuba certified. I’ve only scuba dived once in the Florida Bay side with a student of mine looking for lobster. Almost anything you want to see you can see by snorkeling and tanks are a waste of time.

I suspect my lack of putting my feet in the Atlantic is like someone living in Orlando and not getting to Disney World or Epcot very often. Back in my younger days I would go to (then named) John U. Lloyd beach and sunbathe and then cool off in the Ocean. Then there’s Haulover Beach just south of Aventura which is the nude beach. No tan lines there. I would spend hours soaking up the rays and cooling in the Ocean.

The sun caught up with me and I’ve quit sunbathing. Instead of going into the Ocean, I jump in the pool. Besides, if I go to the Ocean, I would pay outrageous parking fees. I could get a resident pass but that’s more trouble than it’s worth for the few times I go to A1A and eat at restaurants.

Still the Ocean calls. I spent time in the Coast Guard in both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. I used to walk out onto the bow of the ship at night and look up to see the stars. The Milky Way was pretty obvious when you are in the middle of the Gulf.

I’ve seen both the Atlantic and Pacific but have never been in the Pacific. Too cold! I did stick a toe in one time. The best part of both regions of the Ocean are close to shore where you find more life forms. In the middle of the Atlantic, life forms are pretty rare.

To commemorate how close I live to the Ocean, I’ll jump in the pool and pretend it’s a saltwater pool and explore for marine life.

Stay tuned!

15 March 2025

Happy Birthday to my friend Jim who is 8 months older than I. I try not to let him forget it – his age, that is.

I was planning on kicking back today but forgot John was brining over BOGO from Honey Baked Ham and Nothing Bundt Cakes. He also brought over some Bun candy and some gooey brownies. Add that to my chocolate chip cookies and I have enough chocolate stash to last hurricane season starting in June. However, I doubt it will last that long.

We spent the day catching up and trying to get my new tv to work with Directv Stream app with no luck. We probably spent an hour on that.

We got into a discussion about how you used to have to change tubes in old tv sets. He came around during the age of transistors and didn’t realize old radio were tubes as well until the advent of transistors. I’m dating myself.

I’ve regaled you with the story of my brother building a home made crystal radio and having fun at my expense. I think I’ve also mentioned the tube transmitter we had in the Coast Guard aboard the CGC Reliance. It took forever to tune. You knew you were close when a window into a huge tube glowed cherry red.

When we asked for an upgrade to a transistor transmitter, the Eighth Coast Guard District laughed and said we had more up time with our transmitter than any ship in the fleet. It was far more reliable than transistor transmitters.

When our transmitter came on line, it could really put out the watts of power. We were stationed in Corpus Christi and they could hear us in Florida, the west coast of the U.S. and one time, due to atmospheric bounce, in the Indian Ocean.

High school physics in 1966 taught me a little about electronics. We studied Ohms law, series and parallel circuits. I think I remember the physics teacher passing around a tube one day and that was it. Somewhere in my high school years, transistor radios made it big because of their small size and ability to receive AM and FM.

There are a lot of things where old is better. Morse Code is an example. You can send and receive code messages much better with clearer atmospherics than any other form of communication. It’s still the most reliable form of long distance communication.

My big accomplishment today was trimming my finger nails and toe nails. I’ll add to that by taking a shower tonight and call it a day and head to bed and read a little.

Stay tuned!

14 March 2025

It’s official! Fort Lauderdale gets the most rainfall of any place in the U.S. based on cities of 100,000 population or more. According to the New York Times, we get 68.77 inches per year. As a matter of fact, Florida gets the most inches of rainfall of any state with 4 cities in the top 10.

Normally, one would think of Portland or Seattle, particularly with a coastal rainforest in the area. Based on days of measurable precipitation, Syracuse, NY is tops with 172 days with precipitation and Seattle is only number 5 and Portland is number 9.

I suspect Fort Lauderdale’s rainfall is skewed by that one major flood we had on April 12, 2023 with 25.91 inches in a 24 hour period. It certainly caused me flood damage.

I overdid it again today. I haven’t raked leaves in a while and I ended up with three large piles that needed to go into the yard waste bin. I had to take three breaks for the leaves and another break for sweeping the pavement.

After that, I could sit down for the pool filter cleaning but then it was back up hosing down the patio and watering plants and then spraying for weeds.

It’s getting to the point that I’m tired of doing all this. I could get a pool service but I would still be skimming leaves off the pool, checking chemicals in between service, and cleaning out the pump basket and skimmer. I could also get someone to do weekly yard service but I would still need to pick up the occasional palm frond, clear the patio of leaves, etc.

I’m at the point that an independent living facility is looking better and better. To be honest, I’m just tired of handling the every day joys of being a home owner. I would say it’s laziness on my part but it really isn’t. I just don’t have the energy for it any more and I don’t particularly like doing the chores any more.

At 76, life is winding down and I don’t think I want to spend the remainder or my years doing mundane things. Of course, the housing market in South Florida is not very strong right now. I see houses in the neighborhood for sale and they’ve been for sale for quite a length of time. I would need to clear a pretty good sum on the sale of the house to give me the opportunity to go into independent living.

Anyhoo, I decided the answer to everything was to bake the New York Times recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I made the dough yesterday and you are to let it rest in the fridge for 24-48 hours. I figure a chocolate chip cookies cures a myriad of ills.

Stay tuned!

13 March 2025

The Devil Wears Prada. At least that was the movie last night. It had been a while since Chris or I had seen the movie so it was a good choice. It’s a 2006 film with Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Adrian Grenier and Simon Baker. Streep plays Miranda Priestly, the boss from hell and Hathaway plays the clueless assistant Andrea Sachs.

I normally don’t like Streep. I think she over does it sometimes, particularly with her accents but in this one, she has no accent and nails the role of a bitch boss. Stanley Tucci is outstanding as Nigel, an employee of Streep. Adrian Grenier plays the role of Hathaway’s boyfriend who feels neglected because all Hathaway’s time is taken up with pleasing Streep. It’s a great movie with laughs, tears, revenge, and a happy ending, although you never know in the end if Hathaway and Grenier get back together.

Tucker was a perfect gentleman and Chris and I managed to empty another bottle of wine. Chris swears Tucker was not hung over from the numerous treats last night. No comment on how we were.

It’s another almost perfect day in the neighborhood except for the barking dog behind my house. I don’t understand people who have a dog and leave it outside where it barks for hours to get back inside.

I seem to have a problem with barking dogs. The house behind me and east of me used to leave their dog out all night and it would whimper and bark. I called the cops on them on night and that helped for a little while and then they went back to leaving the dog outside again. One morning, I knocked on the door and handed the person who answered a sheet on how to prevent your dog from barking. Of course, they denied it was their dog but I assured them it was. They still let their dog out but it’s during the day.

Another neighbor’s dogs bark at night when their owners are away. As soon as the owners return, the dogs quit.

I trained Rocky to bark at anything that came to the door or walked in front of the house. I also trained Rocky that when I said “enough” he quit barking. It’s a simple thing but so many dog owners don’t treat their pets very well.

When I took Rocky to obedience school (passed with flying colors) the instructor told us we were not training our dogs, the instructor was training the owners. We were taught, using treats, to teach our dogs hand signals first and foremost. Only later were we to introduce verbal commands. Rocky was always pretty good at both. Consistency is the key with pets. If you are consistent with what you are doing or asking, they adapt pretty quickly.

Last night for dinner, I made my mother’s recipe (or some facsimile of it) for new potatoes. Dad would harvest new potatoes (very small ones) that you could rub the skin off. Mother would boil them in two changes of water and then mash them, add milk and flour to thicken. I loved the taste. Mine weren’t as good as hers but they weren’t bad and provided me a memory.

My 9 am get-out-of-bed time has me a little behind. It’s a good thing I don’t have anything to do today except load the dishwasher and make the bed. That means once that’s done, I eat my fruit combo and then crawl back into bed to read and nap.

Stay tuned!