Month: April 2025

13 April 2025

I just told Tom and Kurt I wouldn’t be going to Island City Stage this afternoon. I just don’t feel “right” and my balance is a little more off than usual. These good days, bad days are a pain in the *ss. I admit to be dragging a little yesterday but didn’t think it would be a problem today.

Trevor mowed this morning for me. I picked up two fallen coconuts from the back yard so he wouldn’t have to move them when he mowed. The coconut tree is a volunteer from a previous coconut tree on the same site. It’s called a Dwarf Malaya but it’s anything but dwarf. I estimate it to be around 25 feet high and they can easily exceed 50 feet.

I’ve had several coconut palms in the yard but all have died except this one. People would stop and ask me for the coconuts from the ones in the front yard but the one in the back yard is the most prolific.

In June, when I have everything trimmed, the crew saves the coconuts. It’s like a money exchange with them.

People roam the neighborhood climbing coconut palms or having extremely long extension saws to bring them down. I’ve had them climb mine in the front to bring down the coconuts and when they drop a bundle, you can hear the thud from the impact with the ground inside the house.

Sadly, I’m down to one coconut palm but I have a bunch of others. Right now, I have nine different palm species in the yard. That’s down from 11 over the years. Palms are a natural to plant in Florida. They can survive hurricane force winds of 145 mph.

Some sources claim 12 native palms to Florida. They include the Royal Palm (Roystonea regia) but Fairchild Tropical Garden only lists 11 species native to the state. Many botanists consider the Royal Palm naturalized and assume the seeds washed up on shore accidentally. Compare that to three species of native palms in my home state of Mississippi.

The palm trees in my yard are as follows:

1. Cabada palm (Dypsis cabadae)
2. Dwarf Malaya (Cocos nucifera)
3. Royal Palm (Roystronea regia)
4. Dwarf Date Palm (Phoenix robelenii)
5. Chinese Fan Palm (Livistonia chinensis)
6. Washington Palm (Washingtonia robusta)
7. Queen Palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana)
8. Cabbage Palm (Sabal palmetto)
9. Unknown species – gift from Betty and I’ve forgotten its name.
   
   That’s it for your palm tutorial. Stay tuned!

12 April 2025

It was a very cool 66°F this morning for my 1.3 miles walk. I ran into Gigi and Ivan and after a short conversation, with those two and Bill, Ivan walked me home as we discussed retirement and investments. I don’t know anything about stocks and bonds but Ivan is quite knowledgeable.

Once home, the change linen, wash clothes, dry clothes, iron clothes routine got started. John came over around noon with a lemon/blueberry mini-Bundt cake for me. He’s the king of BOGO.

We ordered from Sassano’s for lunch – two steak super subs. We got the 12 inch and ate half and have the other half for dinner tonight or lunch tomorrow. Their subs are quite good. It’s gotten to where the delivery person knows me quite well.

My Glorioso lily is in bloom again. The colors are startling and kind of take your breath away.

That’s about as true of a red as you are ever going to get. The yellow just sets it off even more. It’s become one of my favorite lilies and even more so that I have it growing in my yard.

For some reason, I’m really drained today. Who knew washing clothes could take it out of you? I’m going to take a shower and then curl up in bed (clean sheets) and read a little before my nighttime television programs.

Tomorrow is Island City Stage and Monday is the dentist.

Stay tuned!

11 April 2025

Another cool morning, another walk (1.0 miles) morning chores.

It’s an absolutely gorgeous day. It’s a day that you would like to lie on your back in the yard and watch the clouds, big puffy ones that you could imagine shapes.

I’ve become a Sketcher advocate. I recently purchased a set of shoes I could wear around the house and outside without bringing too much dirt in. I hated them. They were very difficult to put on. I would get out of breath just trying.

I ordered Sketchers from Belk in Brandon and they arrived very quickly and as advertised, they slip on and off very easily. How did it take this long to develop this type of shoe?

Barbara (she of who stayed with me after my second surgery and checked on me all night long) asked me to lunch. When I got to her condo, she changed her mind and we ate in. She had prepared lentil soup, chicken salad, a regular salad, tea and some lemon cake.

We had a great time catching up with each other. She’s a docent at the Nova Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale and she was telling me about some ideas for ice breakers for a docent luncheon in May. She’s very inventive.

After lunch, I cleaned the pool filter, skimmed the pool, swept the patio and poisoned weeds. Oh yeah, I figured out why my White Shark was not working. Someone (probably me) had turned the valves at the pump wrong. Duh!

I’m ready for a break. I’ll watch The Pitt‘s final episode of the season, watch a little more of West Wing, read a little and hopefully turn in around 10. Tomorrow is a busy day.

Stay tuned!

10 April 2025

I managed 1.45 miles today along Riverland Road and it almost killed me. My legs were tired, my hips hurt, and I was really dragging when I got close to the house.

When I first moved here, Riverland was a seldom used road except for parents in the morning and afternoon ferrying their kids to and from the middle school. It’s now like a freeway and you have to wait a while for a break in traffic to cross the road.

You also compete with the sidewalk with baby buggies, kids on electric bikes and scooters in addition to the old fashioned pedal kind. They seldom use the new bike lanes.

They have electronic signs to show your speed along the road and at most, cars and trucks slow down for the sign and then speed up when they pass it. The limit on the road is 30 mph but that is seldom observed.

You also have to be on your toes. Someone crashed into the steel fence that was part of the Riverland Preserve. They had to cross the bike lane, a small depression in the swale, then across a stretch of grass in order to wipe out a section of the fence. There was about a 10 foot section knocked down.

When I first started out on my walk this morning, I found a crimson bottlebrush tree in bloom.

It’s not native to the U.S. and is planted as an ornamental. I suspect David Fairchild (Fairchild Tropical Garden) brought it back from one of his explorations as a plant that would work in Florida. It belongs in the Myrtaceae family of plants (Myrtle family).

Another plant I always find fascinating in Jocote.

I admit, I was stumped when I first found this in fruit several years ago. I kept on the lookout for flowers and I was close a couple of times but it beat me to fruit this year. Maybe next year I can show you the flowers.

The red fruit is edible and you can eat everything but the seed.

Yesterday’s appointment with Dr. Burgers (surgeon) went well. She did a thorough touch exam on both sides of my breast and then did an ultrasound on both sides. The right side was at my request when I felt a tenderness in the area of a lymph node. She confirmed it was a lymph node and said it was fine. She then shifted me to 6 months instead of 3.

She also, in talking with me, paid attention when I said I had an appointment with a neurologist in June due to variation in my protein serum albumin test (PSA). The PSA is within normal range but it has increased over the last two tests. She made an appointment for me with my GP for another PSA test to give the urologist up-to-date information as well as three PSA tests to consider. That was exceptionally nice of her.

Last night was movie night with Chris and Tucker and we saw Uncle Buck with John Candy (Uncle Buck) Amy Madigan (Chanice Kobolowski) Jean Louisa Kelly (Tia Russell) Macaulay Culkin (Miles Russell) and Gabby Hoffmann (Maizy Russell).

The show was stolen by a very young Macaulay Culkin and Gabby Hoffman with their one liners. Uncle Buck is asked to baby sit the kids and is faced with a very rebellious teen (Jean Louisa Kelly). Of course, in the end, she comes to understand why Uncle Buck was so protective. It was a laugh a minute and we both thought it was one of the funnier movies we’ve seen. Tucker behaved himself quite well and received many treats.

I have today off. Friday is the pool and Saturday is lunch with John and Sunday is the play. Other than a dental appointment Monday, I don’t have another doctor’s appointment until June!

Stay tuned!

9 April 2025

With the rain yesterday came cooler temperatures this morning. It was 66°F when I started my 1.1 mile walk. I usually do around 1.5 on this route but got tired and headed back to the house.

Tonight is movie night with Tucker and Chris. Tucker has already texted me about it to make sure I had his treats ready. Chris and I really do have a good time watching the movie together and then talking for an hour or more. Of course, the wine helps the dialog.

I keep thinking of why I should or should not go to independent living. My thoughts today ran along the things that I didn’t want to deal with in the future. The pool needs resurfacing. My generator is 20 years old. It works fine now but who knows when it will crap out. The awning over the patio needs replacement. I have a tree company come in once a year to clear out coconuts and other items to the tune of $600. I don’t like spraying weeds. The washer is fairly new but it hasn’t recovered from the great flood of ’23. The dryer is old but functional but will eventually need to be replaced. The list goes on.

I still want to look at a few more places. You either buy your way into a facility with fees or you rent a facility with fees. The fees vary from site to site. It’s a conundrum.

Today is a visit to the cancer surgeon, Dr. Burgers. I doubt she finds anything since I have 6 in a row of negative Signatera tests but I like that she checks anyway and always does an ultrasound.

Saturday, John comes over with a mini-Bundt cake! Sunday is Island City Stage with a production of Fat Ham, a takeoff on Hamlet. Monday is a dental appointment. I’m pretty much clear after that until June! If I catch up financially, maybe I’ll go on a trip.

Stay tuned!

8 April 2025

The echocardiogram went well. The guy has been doing it for 24 years and really knew what he was doing, more so than some who have done it. He pretty much checked everything: atria, ventricles, aorta, carotids.

The ultimate result is I have 50% left ventricle ejection fraction. The previous echocardiogram said 50-55% so I don’t know if it went down or stayed the same. I’ll find out when I see the cardiologist again.

Today it has rained. And rained. We needed it but I was surprised at the amount. We even had thunder. Some of the streets held water but my street was good.

I did a morning walk but didn’t measure the distance. I was looking to see why my legs are so weak. I probably made 0.5 miles and was glad to get home.

When I went for the echocardiogram, I knew I would valet park. They have four valet services scattered around the hospital but everyone seemed to want the one next to the physicians’ building. It was backed up to the main street and looked like a traffic jam. I chose the one for outpatient services and they immediately took my car. I don’t know if people don’t know about the other three but the outpatient services one is only a very short walk to the physicians’ building.

On the walk yesterday, I passed a bougainvillea before I tired out.

I tend to like the red bracts. They really stand out in a landscape. If you drive down to the Florida Keys, all along US1 you will find places selling all kinds of colors of bougainvillea.

Tanis has stayed off the respirator today and she’s been able to eat ice chips and sip some water. She’ll probably be moved to the regular neurological floor either today or tomorrow. Billy is really great with giving updates.

Stay tuned!

7 April 2025

It’s a good day for me in the sense my blood test for the endocrinologist came back with almost everything within the normal range.

My HbA1c which was 6.4 – the fourth decline from 7.3, May 2024. My glucose was 104 and my free testosterone – calculated was 4.83. Other than those 3, everything was normal, a first for me. Even the HbA1c score and the glucose were very close to normal.

My cholesterol was 124, triglycerides 100, LDL calculated was 50 and my coronary risk ratio was 2.3L. Even my individual blood cells were normal for the first time in forever: white blood cells, red blood cells, granulocytes, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, and basophils. I must be very healthy!

I did discuss my leg weakness and my being out of breath at the simplest task. I’ve been assigned to start a walk and stop when my leg weakness gets bad, rest, restart the walk, rest, restart the walk. It could indicate poor circulation in the legs which might mean I may have a problem in the heart. Good thing I’m getting an echocardiogram tomorrow.

Ashley suggested purchasing two cheap radios so Archie can listen to music so I went on Amazon and they will be delivered to Ashley. Archie loves his music.

Tanis had the ventilator removed today and they will assess her speech today or tomorrow to see how slurred it is. It’s a good first step to get off the ventilator.

If I go into an independent living facility like John Knox or Palomino Gardens, there are some expenses I will no longer have. My software for my checking account gave me some interesting figures based on data from May 2024 to date. That’s 10 months of data.

For home insurance, I would save (all based on 10 months) $6,799.00. For flood $1,008, Taxes $2,345, Generator $422.65, Cable 2,625.04, Electric 1,456.43, Gas 2,458.06, Water/Sewer $1,496.17, Lawn and Garden $1,650 and Home Maintenance $1,434.65 for a total of $21,169.50.

I probably would think about renters insurance but that’s about it. Now I need to see how that applies to these two separate companies with separate systems of fees.

I didn’t eat lunch so I’ll probably have an early dinner with snacks in between. I may have to watch the final of the NCAA tournament if it comes on at a decent hour.

Stay tuned!

6 April 2025

Yesterday was a low energy day. I’m not sure if it was physical or mental or both. Thankfully, I didn’t need to skim the pool for leaves. I do feel better today.

I know I read too much (if that is even possible) so I’ve tried to do a little TV watching. Lately, I’m binging The West Wing. It’s very dated since it aired from 1999 to 2006. Events have certainly taken over since then. I never saw it when it first aired so everything is new for me.

I haven’t cooked anything in a while. I just haven’t felt like it. Instead, I order from restaurants with Instacart and from Publix with the same app. It’s more expensive but when I order a restaurant meal, I can usually get three meals out of it. For example, I ordered Sesame Chicken with vegetarian rice last night and it will last me for three days. They know how to pack the food in.

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The desert rose is in all its glory today. The reason is it loves dry weather for blooming. To the plant, it means it is stressed and it forces reproduction by flowering. The stem stores water, and like the bougainvillea, the dryer the better for blooming.

I assume the specific epithet obesum refers to its fat stems. The color of the petals is so striking.

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I just received an update from my nephew Billy. Status quo for the most part. Tanis was alert enough to write on Billy’s iPad that she wanted water and cough drops – which she can’t have as yet because of the tubing of the ventilator. The doctor told Billy it would probably come out Monday.

I also talked to my brother for a short conversation to see how he’s doing and try to build up his spirit. He knows it will be a long haul for rehab for Tanis and he was less emotional today. This has been tough on all of us.

I’m still researching independent living facilities. The one I contacted this week was Palomino Gardens in Lake Worth which is under the same corporation as my cousin Jimmie in Greensboro (Resort Lifestyle Community). I’ll schedule a tour when things calm down a little.

I await a Publix delivery. I’m stocking up on Klondike Bars and Butterfingers. I never thought I would stress it but apparently I do.

Stay tuned!

5 April 2025

I was awake at 5 am hacking up a lung for some reason. Then I started itching and the lotion I use, Sarna, did nothing for it so I took an Allegra. When I crawled out of bed at 8 this morning, my nose started imitating a water faucet.

I was supposed to go to a birthday lunch at Ethos this noon but I called and let them know I was headed back to bed. I did a Covid test just to be extra cautious and it came back negative.

I managed to put on a wash and changed linen on the bed but I can tell I’m off with my balance more than usual. I suspect it likely the past two weeks caught up with me. At least I wore a mask while on the planes. Sometimes I forget that I’m 76 years old and need to slow down and not do so much.

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Yesterday, while bringing in the garbage and yard waste bin, I noticed my wild coffee is blooming.

I love how glossy green the leaves are. You can see why it is called nervosa with the prominent leaf venation. The tiny white flowers will eventually produce red “coffee”berries. They don’t contain caffeine but you can dry them and roast them for a drink. Both the coffee you know and this one belong to the family Rubiaceae (coffee family).

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My nephew Billy just texted and said Tanis was in a stasis-like condition at the moment. They have been able to ask yes or no questions and she responds. They’ll probably take her off the ventilator next week.

Stay tuned!

4 April 2025

I forgot to blog about movie night! We saw In Search of the Castaways by Jules Verne as interpreted by Walt Disney. I first saw this movie when I was 14 and fell in love with it. I had not read this particular novel by Verne but I had read most of his other novels by that time.

It had a stellar cast with Maurice Chevalier, Haley Mills, George Sanders and Wilfrid Hyde-White. As with any Verne novel, the protagonists are constantly in danger and surviving at the last minute. The movie was released in 1962 and it still holds up to this day.

Tucker and I were roughhousing between bathroom breaks and I managed to knock over Chris’ wine glass. Fortunately, it broke on a rug I put down for Tucker and it was an easy clean up and Tucker didn’t cut his toes.

Today started with a sweep (not rake) of the west side walk for the baby mangoes released by the tree and the small branches to which they were attached. I’m always sad to see the baby mangoes fall but the tree has to shed many in order to produce enough mature fruit which will then fall into my stomach.

I next cleaned the pump filter and the pool filter, watered the plants, hosed off the pool deck and put chemicals in the pool after skimming the leaves from the gumbo limbo tree which is shedding. That’s the third day in a row I’ve had to remove leaves from the pool and the fourth time in three days since one day I had to do it twice. Leaves are going to be the death of me.

I’m texting my nephews and niece quite frequently to keep up with what is going on in Brandon with my brother and in Jackson with Tanis. Tanis’ stroke has shaken my brother to his core which I understand. Billy and David broke it to him yesterday that she will probably never recover the left side of her body, will be in a wheel chair, and will probably never come home to Brandon again. That last part really hurt him. They are joined at the hip.

The niece and nephews are doing their absolute best to help. All have promised to take care of Archie even though Tanis will be in rehab or a nursing home the rest of her life.

It’s taking a personal toll on me, being 1000 miles away. I think that is what was bothering me yesterday. It’s both physical and mental with me and I am sure it is with them. At least I had enough energy today to do what I did. This is going to be a long haul.

Stay tuned!