Sick Leave is a Dangerous Thing...

My surgery went well. The problem seems to have been correctly diagnosed, and my calcium levels are back down to where they should be. The worst part of it all was the week I had to stay home from work... I'm limited in lifting nothing over 10 pounds or doing anything to stress the sutured area in my neck, so life has come to a screaming halt. I couldn't even sneak off and finally start getting a little bike riding in, because of the constant strain that would be on that general part of my neck.

So what do you do when there's nothing to do except pace? Start browsing the Internet to see who has gas efficient cars these days, that's what. We don't think with the distance we drive that a hybrid is really a good choice, and some of the mechanics we've talked with seem to agree. There's one thing I DO know for certain; the truck we have isn't being used, and it seems silly to have it just sitting there gathering dust.

I made the mistake of going to the Toyota dealer to look at a model that was supposed to get 36 miles per gallon with just a standard engine (not a hybrid). Too bad for me, but my head scraped the roof liner -- not a good fit at all. Then the rat-bastard salesman (whom we actually like and have dealt with previously) suggested I look at a Corolla instead. (The last time we went there, we were seriously thinking about a hybrid SUV. The same salesguy suggested the newly redesigned RAV-4 instead, which got roughly the same mileage and cost less. We like our RAV-4!)

So when he suggested I look at the Corolla, I figured I might as well listen. I tried it out, found out that the Sport level has a five speed stick (Valerie really misses having a stick, an option not available in the RAV-4), and after wasting all of the day down in Boise we no longer have a truck, but there IS a new Corolla in the garage. We bought it outright with the trade and cash; no payments to come in a month's time and suck the joy out of life!

The downside is that I used money in an account I had been saving up to get a new tandem with... a top of the line model that breaks down and fits into a couple of suitcases, thus making travel with the bike a snap. I figure I've got three and a half more years before I'm eligible for retirement, and we haven't been able to get out and do any riding since the ride in Stanley. It's either been too cold, too windy, and then there's the medical part once again.

The upside is that, with gas prices the way they are, we'll be able to afford to make the daily drive to work. And I can start saving up, once again, for that dream retirement tandem.

Let the Games Begin...

Another lazy Sunday rolls around... and the temperatures here have caught with the fact that it's now summer. This past week has left no doubt about what season it really is!

This evening I'll go into a local hospital to do a sleep-study, and maybe we'll find out why I always feel tired. People keep saying that sleep apnea is the culprit; perhaps after this we'll know for sure.

Then in the morning, I'll walk across to the main entrance of the hospital and check in for surgery. It seems there's a problem with the parathyroid leeching calcium out of the bones and into the bloodstream... high levels... which means if it isn't corrected I'll wind up with a rapid onset of osteoporosis. Now wouldn't that be fun? Then on Friday I'll be getting my routine physical and I'll probably cave in and let them schedule a colonoscopy. Who needs to take a vacation when you can be doing all of these fun things???

So that's the excitement for now... Valerie and I plan to go to the "Bonefish Grill" for my "last supper" this evening, and then she'll drop me off for the sleep study. I might as well enjoy it now... as there'll be nothing by mouth after midnight. And I don't check in until 10:15 in the morning, which means I'll have a few hours of watching other people eating and drinking while I'm whining about NOT doing the same!

Waiting For the Silver Bird

It's about 8:45 AM local time in Phoenix, Arizona. I'm very happy to be inside the airport where the air-conditioning seems to be working nicely. The current temperature is about 95 degrees at the moment. It's supposed to get up to around 112 before the day is over. On the other hand, the temperature at the Boise Airport is right around 70 degrees, with the high projected to hit 88. That's more like it, and I'm ready to get home.

Interestingly, Prescott (where I drove in from this morning) is showing a current temperature of 91 degrees, with a projected high of 90 degrees. I guess they're expecting a cooling trend?

Anyway, my visit with my mother was a general success, unless we're talking about playing Scrabble. If Scrabble happens to be the subject, then she'll be regaling you with tales of elder abuse and offspring treachery. We played six games last night; she only was victorious once and that was only by a two point margin.

I have never been able to beat her at that game until my last visit, when the table of fortune turned in my favor and I took seven out of seven games. I don't think that memory will ever be erased, and our recent battle wasn't much better. We lost track of the total number of games played, but she might have had four wins out of 12 games.

I wish that I could say that my true genius potential has finally come to roost in that space where people always eluded that a brain was supposed to be. Sadly, this isn't the case. There are some days when two players have an evenly matched battle, where sharp wits and word knowledge truly makes the difference. Then there are the other days when one person seems to get all the good tiles, and the other person gets stuck with total garbage that just can't be played anywhere. This is how her luck has been during our tournaments, while I've just blindly backed into great scoring opportunities that just shouldn't be happening game after game... after game.

I know I should feel guilty about this sudden unbalanced winning streak. Let's face it, it's more fun when you really have to work at beating your opponent on an evenly matched playing field. If this had been a golf game, I would have been a first time golfer knocking off holes-in-one at each tee, while she being a long time professional golfer would have been whacking the ball into the rough on each shot.

Every time the guilt starts setting in, I remind myself of the long running history of how, every time I played the game with her, I was mercilessly slaughtered. Suddenly I don't feel so bad... even if it takes absolutely lopsided luck to put myself into the winner's circle.

The only thing is that this lucky streak won't last... and a smart person would quit while they're ahead. "Duh... see ya next time, Mom!"

World Wide Knit in Public Day

It was World Wide Knit in Public Day, and I wasn't anywhere near my home turf... I was in Arizona visiting my mother for a few days. What to do? Get on the Internet and see who was hosting one of those gatherings in the general vicinity.

There wasn't anything listed for Prescott, where my mother lives but there were two events listed in Cottonwood, so I picked the one that was meeting at an espresso shop -- better known as Jerona Java Cafe and Gifts. Great choice! My mother and I both slurped down strawberry smoothies and chatted with the knitters (and crocheters), and I worked on a small project as well.

We've been playing Scrabble quite a bit while I've been here. This is her favorite pastime while I find it excruciatingly painful! The last time I was here, I did the unthinkable and beat her in every game we played (seven in all). It was almost embarassing, as this is the person that I could hardly ever even come close to in the points -- I was usually left WAY behind.

I figured that this time around things would go back to normal, but after the first three games we played on my first night here, I again had won all three. This just wasn't right... something was "wrong"!

Whatever caused the "Scrabble Curse", it lifted today. We started out with me winning two games, and then we took time out to go to dinner. When we came back... she won two games, and is in the process of taking her third. And my scores? She's been sinking me by almost 100 points in each game. Yes, things are back to "normal"!

Waiting for Weather...

The accompanying photo was taken almost a month ago outside of Stanley, Idaho -- a small high mountain town the very often gets the lowest temperatures for the state during the winter months (and sometimes the summer months as well). While I can't swear to it, I believe that there's even been some occasions where Stanley had the low temperature on a national scale too.

So why write about low temperatures? Perhaps because we're over a week into June now, and the weather is acting like we're in March. We've had a lot of wind, chilly temperatures and haven't had the bike out since this particular picture was taken. Today the high in Stanley is expected to be around 54 degrees and partly cloudy. This is JUNE... could we kick it up a notch or two just to keep up with the global warming hype???

I noticed that the weather at my mother's house in Prescott, Arizona is supposed to hit 80 degrees... and to think that I'll be down there starting next Thursday for a short visit until Monday. While it looks like Boise will be doing a roller coaster ride between the 60's and 70's with a good mix of clouds, I'll be contending with a few days that (so far) look to be right in the 80's with no clouds in sight. Poor me!

Another Lazy Sunday

The first Sunday is June, this year known as "June 1st", is upon us. After a week of moderate temperatures and sunshine, our day off comes crashing in with gray clouds, cooler temperatures and a big threat of rain. Any chance of actually getting a bike ride in today? At 8:00 AM in the morning, my answer is a definite "I don't know!"

I've been complaining for a long time that Valerie is a workaholic, and have felt bitter at times that she got stuck working every day off she had... leaving only Sunday as a catch-up-on-chores and rest-up-from-the-week day. Then a friend of mine (from the Post Office) wound up getting a ticket for "driving under the influence"... and lost his license for a month.

I wound up taking him to work daily (in his truck), splitting both of our mail routes up so we could work them together from my postal vehicle and then in the evenings we'd go mow lawns (hence driving his truck to work in the morning... complete with trailer for lawn equipment).

This wouldn't have been such a bad deal except that when we started doing this (which negated my days off in favor of mowing lawns), the Post Office decided that the "overtime" people would no longer be used on their scheduled days off. After all my whining about Valerie never being around to do things with, suddenly she was free and available on her day off -- and suddenly I wasn't! Think that's funny, don't you? Well, read this:

I have completed my "month of service" and am now looking forward to my time off again. The Post Office has now changed direction and has scheduled Valerie to work on our next day off! Irony? Misery? Whatever it is... it ain't fair!