Good news: The Shingles seem to be clearing up. Very slowly, but the signs are there.
Geoff had his prostate operation on Tuesday and is at home recovering. It seems all went well. Of course, I can only go by what Robb tells me because Goeff had another hissy-fit just before Robb's birthday and isn't talking to me.....again. He claims it's forever this time. One can only hope.
Rick, our neighbor from New York, brought us a beautiful bouquet because I let him use our wifi.
I tried to reach my sister who is recovering from a bad fall. I called several times a day for four days with no answer. I even tried calling my nephew and my niece with no reply from them either. I was expecting the worst because she has had heart problems, but when I called yesterday, she anwered and all is well. Apparently, she had several appointments, and spent one day getting her hair done.
My life has been reduced to three-hour increments. Every three hours, I take a pain pill. Well, actually, I take the pain pill (Vicoden) at 01h00, 07h00, 13h00, 19h00, and an Advil at 04h00, 10h00, 16h00, and 22h00. I do very little between the pills because just about any activity causes mucho pain. I can only look at TV or my PC screen for a couple of minutes than I have to look away. Needless to say (but I will anyway), it's quite painful to be out in the bright sunshine. Florida isn't called the Sunshine State for nothing. The painful area seems to be getting smaller, but the intensity of the pain hasn't decreased. The problem is not just the pain. It also itches simultaneously. And to make matters even more humorous, most of the same area is numb to the touch. Is that strange or what?
Someone, or a group of someones, broke into several cars at our condo complex last night. Not much was accomplished by the thieves because most people know better than to leave things in their cars.
Saturday was Robb's birthday. His neice sent him a fruit bouguet from Edible Arrangements. It was really nice and made with cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple, strawberries and grapes. Saturday evening we went to Sage for dinner. We sat at this table next to the window. We both had duck.
I am beginning the third month with Shingles with no end in sight. I still cannot sit in front of my PC for mote than a few minutes. It is quite painful.
Dumb Law of the Week: In Alabama, it is illegal to have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time.
The world, at least the one in which I live, is an incredibly noisy place. In the course of one hour, there will be at least four planes directly over our apartment, there will be two or more trains (the noise level depends on the direction of the wind), an untold amount of police and ambulance sirens, several morocycles athat seem to have no mufflers, blaring TV sets, blaring stereos and other assorted noises. On our floor (the third) there are four people who are very hard of hearing; Dominic whose stereo can be heard blasting opera when you get on the elevator on the first floor; the Doctor (he used to be a pchiropractor) who listens to talk radio shows all day long; and Peter, who thibks he's a champion whistler (I have yet to hear him whistle one song all the way through correctly). These things would be bad enough at any time, but right now while I have a 24-hour headache, they're really annoying and painful. It reminds me of the first time we came back from Paris with a video we had made. We had no idea Paris was so noisy until we played the video. In fact, we were quite surprised at the noise level. Speaking of pain, it is rather painful for me to sit and type this, so this may be my last post until I can look at the screen for more than a few minutes.
The blistering phase of the shingles seems to have passed. Now, there is just pain (not that bad), itching and numbness. I've used the recommended hydrocortisone to control the itching, but it has almost no affect. It's worse at night for some reason. The part of this that I really don't understand is the numbness. Nearly a full quarter of my head is numb, starting just below my right eyebrow and extending to just behind my right ear. WTF?!? So I looked up shingles and numbness and it seems to be one of the affects of the disease (is it a disease?). Kind of a relief because I was worried it might be something in addition to the shingles stuff.
Several weeks ago, our friend Geoff was diagnosed with prostate cancer. His doctor warned that if it had spread to the bone, it would not be good news. They did a biopsy and made him wait two weeks for the results. Needless to say, he was dreading the worst. It turned out that it had not spread to the bone and there is a general feeling of hopefulness that it can be removed and he will make a full recovery. The bad news is that he has to wait until April for the operation.
I've watched eight episodes with the new Dr. WHO. I'm sure Matt Smith is a capable actor, but he is NOT Dr. WHO.
No more 'miss' in France Okay, I know the French have done, and will do. some strange things, but this has to be right at the top of the list. If you've ever been to France, you know most unmarried women are quite emphatic about pointing out that they are 'mademoiselle' and not 'madame'. So who exactly composes these 'womens groups'? And what about all the fuss of keeping the French language intact?
We bought a new air conditioner. The old one finally gave up the ghost. We can't really complain, it served us well for many years and it was one of the original units installed when the apartments were built back in 1973. The new unit is a Rheem and it runs a little quieter than the old one. It took the installers quite a while to put it in. As you can see in the picture, there is barely enough room for one person to work with it, and they are rather heavy. I asked the installer if this was the last of the original units and he told me there were still quite a few of the old ones left. I wonder if this one will last as long as the other?
Latinos. LOUD!! I've often wondered why latinos can't speak in a normal tone of voice nor listen to TV or stereo at normal levels of volume. I used to work in Miami where most of the people I had to deal with were latinos. I could hear their TV a block before I got to their house. When they answered my knock, which took quite a while over the din of the TV, did they turn down the volume so we could talk? Ha ha! Not on your life. Your were expected to scream over it. I bring this up because today, my neighbor in the building across from me, was sitting on his balcon talking at the top of his voice. It started when I opened the window around 14h00 and didn't stop until after 18h00. What can anyone find to talk about for that long at that volume? The only reason it stopped at 18h00 is because I closed the window.
Apparently, I had Chicken Pox when I was a kid. I could have sworn that was the only childhood disease that I didn't have, but I am now suffering with a case of Shingles, which according to all I've read, only happens to people who have had Chicken Pox.. It is on the right side of my head and around my right eye, which is basically closed. Very painful, and when it doesn't hurt, it itches.
Sometime around 2004/2005, a couple of cities in France, notably Toulouse and Lyon, started a bicycle lending operation. For a few euros you could rent a bike for half-an-hour to all day. If you used your 'credit card' and returned the bike within half-an-hour, you could use it for free. In 2007, Paris joined in the fun and started their Velib service. Now, Paris has taken it to the next level and you can rent an electric car, for whatever period you need it. Our friend Peter has written a great blog post about it with some very good pictures. You can see and read it at Peter's Paris.
The other day while driving back from our failed attempt to find the AT&T Service Center, I asked Robb to stop so I could get a picture of the new bus shelters being installed by the city of Fort La De Da. You should notice one thing immediately.....there are no seats. Another thing which you may, or may not, be able to discern, is that there is a solar panel on the top. I'm not certain, but it's a safe guess that those are for the ads that are to be fed electronically to the shelters (You can barely see the 'white' ad spaces at the far end of the shelter). But why, I ask, would the city, which claims to be broke, be spending money for bus shelters with no seating?
We have a rodent of some sort. A few days ago, I pulled out a slice of bread and found one that looked like someone had taken a bite out of it. I thought Robb had done it, although it is most unlike him to do something like that. Then, upon further searching, I found this. We're not sure if it's a mouse or a small rat. I saw it briefly the other day when it ran across the kitchen floor. It wasn't very big, but it was black. I have seen brown mice, white mice and brown and white mice, but I have never seen a black mouse, so I suppose we're dealing with a young rat. I tried to catch it with one of those mouse traps that don't hurt the mouse. If you're not familiar, it's like a little box. You put the food in the back and when the mouse goes in to get the food, it tilts and closes the entrance. This rodent is either too smart to enter, too dumb to figure out how to enter or too big to enter. At night, when we're in bed, we can hear it moving the trap around but until last night, he never could get to the piece of bread in the back of it. I think Robb may have left the bread too far toward the front. We may possibly need a bigger trap.
Well, do I feel special today or what? The manager (Mike) of my local market called this morning to inform me the special order of Magnum White Ice Cream Bars had come in. Robb and I rushed right over to buy a couple (they come in packages of three bars). We looked in the ice cream case but could only find the regular Magnum bars. I saw a market employee and asked if he knew where they might be. He in turn asked Mike, who informed me that they were kept in the back. When he asked if I wanted the whole case (six 3-packs) I told him that I had just purchased six half-gallons of ice cream, so I would only take two at this time. I asked if they were going to put them in the case with the others and he replied they were not. They were just for me!
Saturday evening, we went again to Le Comptoir. We were eagerly anticipating les moules et frites (mussels and fries). I'm sorry to report we were quite disappointed. It's not entirely their fault because they have to use inferior ingredients. The mussels in the US are no where near the quality of those in Europe. On the other hand, the fries were also not what we were expecting, and that is definitely something they can control. I don't know, maybe they're trying to accomodate American tastes. In Europe, when you order fries, you get big slices of potato fried to perfection (crispy outside, soft and delicious on the inside), not the skinny McDo type. We were hoping and expecting the European style, but we got the American style. Very disappointing. We're undecided about whether or not to return. If we do, we will not have the moules.
When I tell other Americans about some of the advantages the French have over us, they don't believe me. For example, as soon as you are hired to work in France, you are entitled to FIVE weeks vacation. And France is the only country in the world, of which I know, where you can call a doctor and he will come to you at your home. What I don't understand is why the euro is higher than the dollar and why it's going up again in the face of the terrible European economy.
When I pulled into the parking lot the other day, my neighbor almost backed into me. He is over eighty years old. He can barely hear and he doesn't see much better. It may be time for him to give up driving. I don't say that lightly, because I am dreading the time when I will have to do that. But I know the time will come.
Friday evening, Robb and I went to Candela for dinner. It has been a while since we've been there and we were pleasantly surprised to see the decor updates Armando has done. It's starting to look like a really upscale restaurant. Luckily, the prices haven't changed very much, although there were many new additions to the menu. I had the Moroccan Chicken Stew and Robb had a Chorizo dish that Armando made up especially for him, because it wasn't on the menu. They were both rather spicy and excellent as always.
I love ice cream. So much so that I eat a huge dish of it almost every day. Several years ago, I decided I should try frozen yogurt, because it has less fat and, I thought, less sugar. It does have less sugar, but only about three grams less, so it's not really a reason to eat it. However, I found that, although the yogurt tasted okay, it just wasn't ice cream. So I stopped buying it. A couple weeks ago, I bought some by mistake because it's in a similar package to the ice cream, and they are right next to each other in the freezer. It was Espresso Chip. I was going to return it to the store, but decided to try it. It is really good and is the first frozen yogurt I've ever eaten that had an excellent taste. So now, I buy one Espresso Chip frozen yogurt and one Dulce de Leche ice cream. The good news is that my local market has them on sale every few weeks, so if I buy four at a time they last me until they go on sale again.
A rocky exoplanet about the size of Mercury appears to be evaporating before our eyes. If confirmed, this would be the first time a rocky planet has been found turning to gas, demonstrating just how wacky alien planets can be. The provocative suggestion may also foreshadow the fate of Mercury.Read more here.
The other day, while looking in my suitcase for something else, I came across a Magnum White package. Then I started thinking about our local market and the fact that they carried all the Magnum products except the Magnum White bars. So, as I am wont to do in these instances, I fired off an email asking why they didn't carry it since the people at Magnum had told me all they had to do was order it. Saturday night around 19h30, I got a call from the manager of the market. He told me they are going to special order them....just for me. I LOVE EMAIL!!!
I watched the entire six-part TV series on dinosaurs; Planet Dinosaur, online of course. I rarely watch anything on TV anymore because of all the commercials. I have no objection to the shows running commercials to pay the bills, but it has gotten to the point where the commercials are longer than the shows. I used to love anything to do with dinosaurs, but this show cured me of that. If one is to judge by this show, the sole purpose of dinosaurs was to kill and eat other dinosaurs, or to be killed and eaten by other dinosaurs. You can only watch so much of that until you become totally bored with it all. I can see why the show only lasted six episodes.
Back in the middle of November, I called 911 to get an ambulance to take me to the hospital. The real purpose of the trip simply was to get a shot of oxygen. I was under the mistaken belief that it was free. I say mistaken because I got a bill from the Fort Lauderdale Fire and Rescue for $150. The total bill bill for the five minute, two mile ride was $700. I won't be calling 911 any time in the future, it's cheaper to take a taxi!
How many more millions of dollars are these ridiculous Republicans going to waste on their insipid campaigns for a post they know they have no chance of winning? One has to wonder about the intelligence of anyone who votes Republican. And Democrats are only marginally better.....if they would just DO something when they have the opportunity. Is it really a puzzle as to why this country is in such dire straits? We desperately need another party or two with real country-first attitudes.
I despise ALL religions, but there is a new one that goes beyond any hint of sanity. It is called Kopimism and has to be the ultimate stupidity. It is devoted to file-sharing. On 5 January the Church of Kopimism was formally recognised as a religion by the Swedish government. I thought the Swedes were intelligent. Obviously, I was wrong. What could possibly be more stupid than this? Even Islam and Mormonism cannot compete with the stupidity inherent in this.
Crémant = sparkling wine not made in the Champagne region. Most people have never heard of crémant, but it is just as good as champagne. There are many regions of France that have their own crémant. One of my favorites is Crémant de Loire, which is made in the Loire Valley section of France. I went on a quest to find some locally and, upon checking the internet, found that a local wine store (67 Wines) had it. I went to the store but the clerk said they did not have it. He recommended a bottle of Louis Charles Blanc de Blancs. It was very nice; fruity but a bit sweet. ABC Liquors sells Crémant de Bourgogne, and I did buy a couple bottles of that. Then, in our local supermarket, Publix, I happened to notice a guy delivering sparkling wines and I spotted a Spanish Cava. Cava is the name the Spanish use for champagne. When we were in Barcelona, I drank cava almost exclusively because it's very good and it costs only a couple euros more than regular white wine.
We didn't do any dancing, but we have been getting out more now that I'm feeling a lot better. Tuesday, Jeff, Geoff, Robb and I drove to Maguire's Hill 16 for lunch. Geoff and Robb once again had the Fish and Chips, which Geoff swears is the best he's ever had outside of England. Jeff had the Lasagna Special and I had the Chicken Curry. Jeff liked his lasagna and the chicken curry was great. Jeff drank iced tea, while the rest of us had the Irish Cider. The cider is alcoholic but not overly so. After eating, we drove over to A1A, the road that runs along the ocean. We stopped at the Pelican Grand Beach Resort and spent several hours sitting on the veranda just a few feet from the shore.
Thursday, Robb and I drove down to Hollywood to check out a new French restaurant, Le Comptoir, about which I read a review online somewhere. All the reviews, except one, were raving about the food, the service and the excellent prices. We used to live in Hollywood, so we had no trouble finding it. Since we lived there, Hollywood has acquired a lot of cafes, most with sidewalk seating. But apparently, very few of them open before 17h00. We found that surprising since it is the middle of the tourist season and you would have thought there would be people sitting out there drinking and eating. The weather is great right now; not hot and not cold, so it was disconcerting to see virtually no one at the cafes and most of them closed till later. I had read that Hollywood had fallen on difficult times and I think this would go a long way to explain it.
Christmas Eve was nice. It started with a small holiday gathering in the lobby of our building. Several of the guys prepared snacks and dips with a variety of drinks. It wasn't a huge gathering of people, but it was nice and we met a couple of new people. We hung out and chatted for a couple hours, then we went up to our apartment, changed clothes and drove down to Le Comptoir in Hollywood. Le Comptoir, we discovered, is run by a French couple from Montmartre in Paris. The husband, who is also the chef doesn't speak English, but his wife and children (two girls and a boy) do. Our original plan was to have the moules avec frites (mussels with fries), but when we got there, we checked the menu and saw Canard a l'Orange (duck with orange sauce). It was excellent and way more than either of us could finish. We weren't going to have dessert, but when the madame mentioned it was a Bûche de Noël....well. It was great, of course. Our only disappointment was the espresso, but we were otherwise impressed, and we will return one day for the moules-frites.
Last Saturday (10 December), Robb drove our neighbor Dave and a couple of his friends over to see the 2011 Holiday Boat Show. They expected traffic to be heavy and Dave, in anticipation, had left his car at a friend's place on the water. Thursday night, as a way of thanking us for the favor, Dave had us over for dinner at his place across the hall, along with his friend Richard. He prepared an excellent meal of chicken parmigiana, with baked potatoes and spinach. Dave doesn't drink wine, so we brought our own Pinot Grigio. Everything was very good. We learned some interesting facts about Richard, who is from Jamaica. I didn't go so far as to ask how he supported himself, but I did find out that he doesn't work (he's around forty-ish). And he's been around Europe a bit, having been to Amsterdam and the south of France.
I went back to the doctor's office for what I thought was going to be a consultation with results of my stress test, but turned out to be another test. An echocardiogram. You know that thing they do with pregnant women when they smear the goo on her abdomen and use a 'wand' to get a picture of the baby? Well, an echocardiogram is the same thing, except of course, they're trying to see your heart. Apparently, it doesn't work that well through bone, and since the heart is behind your ribs, the technician had a difficult time trying to get a good picture. My next appointment isn't until 19 December, so I guess they'll do the consultation then.
Skype co-founder's latest company signs deal with LightSquared, promises free broadband and voice services. I expect it will come with tons of advertising like most "free" things on the internet, but we'll see.
I went for my stress test today. It was one of the most relaxing days I've ever spent in a doctor's office. The staff were extremely knowledgeable and friendly. I actually fell asleep during the so-called "stressful part." My follow-up meeting with the doctor is on Wednesday.
