Carrying on...

It has been a dizzy week...

Dad met with his ENT surgeon in Redding to see what the latest scan would tell about his loss of vocal cord mobility on one side. His voice has gotten worse since the radiation.  The radiologist is on vacation til the first of October, so she won't be looking at the scan to give her input.  Doc said he could do a chest/nodes biopsy to see what might be causing it, but it could be very hard on Dad at his age. Dad said no thanks! When I asked why Dad's voice had been better after radiation, Doc explained that the swelling from the radiation had made it work better, now that the swelling is gone, it isn't working like it should. Dad has another appointment in a couple months and we'll take it from there.

Then Dad had two VA eye doctor appointments in Redding. He is doing ok for his age.  I do see him getting closer to the TV and computer monitors.  He doesn't see things on the road like he used to, I could point out a deer on a hillside, and he would find it, not so much any more.
Thankfully he still likes to read. I got an extra paper copy of Jim's latest book  

and asked him if he would like to read it before I shipped it up to my Sean.  Now he is holed up in his bedroom reading away!  And has asked me to show him how to work my old Kindle so he can read others! Thanks Jim, for spurring him on to read more.

Book Club was here this month.  I served Brie, and Combozola with rustic olive bread, craft crackers, orange slices, grapes, strawberries, apples, & Greek olives. We burned through nearly a case of Costco Prosecco, except for the one member that had a long drive home.  Again this year there was no desert, and they were fine with that.  After we got through with the book, we moved on to state and local politics. All were in agreement that this state is run by those in So Cal that have absolutely no concept of what their wacko political moves do to the normal people that feed them, protect them, and keep the economy going.  

Dad's poker night was changed to last night because of the Book Club being here on their normal night.  I asked Dad if someone else wanted to have it at their place, just this once.  "Oh hell no, Sis, they love coming here to play, we'll just change the night."  So I had the poker group last night, they got the same menu as book club with the addition of popcorn shrimp, and a wide assortment of beers, instead of the Prosecco. The big winner asked me if I would escort him to his home, as he would feel safer carrying all that money knowing I was carrying. I laughed, he was serious. Now I'm the protection detail for the ol poker players...
   

Book'n it...

What are you reading this summer? 

So far I've read: The Epic of Gilgamesh by Kovacs (thanks to Cheri for pointing me to that version), Rimworld, The Sympathizer, Just Mercy, War in Val D'Orcia, Brings the Lightning, and Absolution.  I'm presently reading:  the latest Sunset Western Garden Book, The Art of the Biscuit, Joe Pickett: Off the Grid, Stick & Rudder (1944), the weed eater manual, and In Delorean's Shadow.

What is your favorite genre? 

I like a variety of sorts, which changes with the wind, the tide, and the season...  History, Classics, Bios, Anthologies, DIY, etc.

Do you listen to books, or read them?

  

I comprehend more if I read, probably because I have the attention span of a nat, and multi tasking is not part of my skill set. 

Do you consider yourself well read?

By whose standards is this decided... But, no I don't.

  

Rounding Up...

We have had much needed rain and not needed high winds.  Thankfully most of the oak trees have not fully leafed out yet.

Between storms, a couple friends and I have been chain saw massacring trees that were dying and/or overtaking the garden. Couldn't believe what the tree guys wanted to charge to do this. Friends settled for a steak dinner, and a few stiff drinks to sooth our sore muscles.

The knees are healed up, with just another set of scars to show for my lack of forethought.

Dad is healing up nicely from his radiation, and his voice is getting better every day. He now has a headset for his long phone convos with WWW. One of my BIL's has been taking him fishing, so he's a happy camper.

I've managed to upset the status quo at book club. The last book was not interesting or well written in my humble opinion. When it came my turn to give my synopsis of the book, I told them what I thought.  OMG, the stunned faces. So I told them, don't ask me what I think if you don't want to hear my honest answer.  I'm still in the group, but for how long...?

My shooting mentor is leaving for a month of hunting in Africa. Seems like he and his wife just got back from a summer spent in Alaska, hunting, fishing, and flying. I love their stories and pictures.

Range buddies had another hanger built, and the latest goodies are out of the paint shop. They are wonderful, honest, super hardworking people that make a difference in a lot of lives...

T showing her brother the new paint jobs.

My granddaughter Lauren is working with this years show calves. Won't be long til fair time.

 And LOL, I contacted Flash (remember when I had a BF last fall) about a balm recipe. He is doing well, and since he was so in love with me and totally devastated (his words) by my decision to have us go our separate ways. He's gotten engaged!  Guess I wasn't all that devastating after all... 

Just life...

So there you are driving the big van with the wheelchair to the wheelchair hospital in a far town.  A friend's hubby is a quad, and since there was kinda no one else available to take care of this little mission...
I got a short course in how to operate the lift and the chair,

  that stayed with me about as long as it took me to pull out of the parking lot.  Just because you thought you had the wheelchair secured, doesn't mean it is. The chances of it breaking free and flying into the back of the driver's seat, are better than one would think. It gets crazy when the tap of the chair against the back of the driver's seat causes the chair to give you a hard hug... and then refuses to Tap Out. I have immense respect for my friend's hubby that he can run that dang thing with his chin.
Got to the far town, and left off the chair at the wheelchair hospital.  Off I went to the big bookstore. I can go into bookstore zen faster than all get out. It was disappointing that they didn't have LL's  http://symbolic-mirage.blogspot.com/


 






in hard copy like I wanted.  

 After a couple hours of bookstore zenning I moved on to one of my favorite plant places. Such interesting plants (ie: Feverfew) and yard art...

Returned to the wheelchair hospital, loaded up and headed home. An hour later as the helo is  landing for a short break... 
                                                  
 

I was trying to keep the big van from biffing it at the entrance to the parking lot.  How embarrassing would that be, to bite the dust in front of the ER, especially when I used to work there. 
Headed off to dinner with Marymine, Devil Doc and crew.  (the Devil Doc grandson is home for a short time before going back to the 'stan with his out in front Marines.)

  I showed him the pics from my times house sitting. With much laughter, the other grandkids reminded him that things always seem to "happen" when granny is around.  Just life...!

Altered Mantra

I have been trying of late to think in a very positive manner. This so that I can get through my classes and on to a new job. A much needed new job. "I can do this" has been my mantra. It has served me well until: late last night after a three hour class, I went and filled the ol' suv with gas, deposited a check in the bank's drive up window and decided to stop by the drugstore to pickup a few necessaries. Parking right at the front door, I went inside, cruised the store for a while, got a few things, and checked out. Returning to the ol'suv, I noticed that the door was locked. Now the windows were down, as it was a warm night, so the door lock being down was odd. That's when I noticed that my briefcase was missing from the front seat. Damn and Blast, some lowlife scumbag stole my briefcase. I'm sure they probably thought there was a computer inside, which thank goodness there wasn't. But still it did contain two VERY expensive textbooks, CD's for texts, a flash drive, a binder with class notes, tests, flash cards, new highlighters, and my very favorite new mechanical pencil. Damn and Blast. My new mantra may have to be altered.

Survival Bookmobile

I have been on the road a lot of late what with all of Himself's various doc & therapy appts. That said, it's a darn good thing that I have a small library of books in my ol SUV. Just drop Himself at the entrance, pull into a nice out of the way space, roll down the windows, and read.
At the moment it's: The Best New British Mysteries, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Stormy Weather, Opera 101, Letters of a Woman Homesteader, & the Lilac Bus. Oh, and one on chicken wrangling, and one on ornamental and useful plants from around the world. There is an emergency kit box in there as well, with a book or two in it. I had to toss the tire chains to fit them in. I wouldn't think of trying to survive without books.