Lunch with Esther

Today, the 21st of October would have been Mark’s 66th birthday. Anniversaries can be difficult, especially the anniversary of his birth, the anniversary of his death and our wedding anniversary. As I have been going through all of the stuff we accumulated over the years, I’ve laughed and cried. We had a great marriage. Can’t wait to see him again the other side of the veil.

Today, I went to Mimi’s Cafe and had a great lunch with Esther.  I had a seared steak sandwich; Esther had crab cakes with broccoli and cheese soup. We also ordered fried dill pickles – they brought us enough for the entire restaurant. I ate more of these than Esther, but she ate the coleslaw that came with them.

We spent the time catching up. You’d think we’d see each other more often since we only live about a half-hour apart, but she’s busy and I’m busy even though both of us are retired. How did I ever get anything done when I was working?

I’ve spent the day copying VHS tapes to DVDs. It’s kind of a bittersweet process. For example, the tape I’m working on now contained a lot of footage of the family, Mom and Mark and my brother Jeff’s kids when they were little and a bunch of shows taped off the TV including:

• Waterways of NY
• Norm Abrams woodworking show
• Roy Underhill’s show
• a tape of an old Rosanne show

Who knows what else is on the tape since it isn’t very well labeled.

I still have 30 tapes like this to do. Fortunately or unfortunately, they are all 6-9 hours long, but I put one on before I go to bed so I can do this for almost 24 hours a day.

And you’ll never believe it! I found more cassette tapes – I told those devilish little rascals were reproducing. There were 36 more of these in one of the boxes the VHS tapes were in. At least I can do them both at one time and a bunch of other stuff at the same time.

I set up my Infrared Sauna so I can start using it. I’m hoping it will help with the hip and knee and leg pain. It sure makes you perspire. I’m thinking I’ll take it with me in the camper. It folds up into a case for easy storage.

Tomorrow it’s back to the chiropractor. I’ve been pretty good all day today even though I went for a fifteen-minute walk this morning. About three this morning I woke up with my leg hurting. I went into the shower and ran warm water over it. It made all the difference in the world.

Until next time…

I Want Your Money

No, not really. I Want Your Money is the name of the movie I went to see today. It hasn’t been advertised very much so I’m not surprised I was the only person in the theater. It did a great job of describing the difference between capitalism and socialism, using a combination of clips of Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, JFK, Newt Gingrich, Steven Moore, Michael Reagan, Steve Forbes and others I don’t remember. There were also a couple of sections of cartoons culminating in a boxing match between Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. If you get a chance, go see it.

Before I went to the movie, I went to the chiropractor. He checked out my x-rays said they looked pretty good. A little arthritis, but not too bad. No cracks or breaks, which is pretty good considering I’ve fallen on my back three times this year. He treated me with acupuncture and electronic therapy of some sort.

I slept pretty well last night, almost all night. I’ve pretty well decided that I’ve been walking a little too much. Henceforth, I will only walk (with my walking sticks for the sake of walking) every other day, starting tomorrow (I haven’t walked since Monday night, and think this is why I haven’t had pain since yesterday).

To make up for the walking, I’m going to spend some time on my mini-trampoline – I don’t think that will bother my knee or my hip.

Oh, I also started emptying my file cabinets. From just 3 drawers, I filled two large plastic bags with the stuff I threw out.I imagine the rate at which I’m throwing out stuff will increase now that I’ve gotten by the stuff I have to keep (my tax returns and IRA info).

In any case, it’s been a very productive, pain-free day. Hope tomorrow will be the same.

Until next time…

Who Will Be Number Three?

First, June Cleaver (Barbara Billingsley), then Howard Cunningham or Father Downing or Sheriff Amos Tupper (Tom Bosley). These deaths usually come in threes. One must wonder who will be next.

How sad! It’s just like a member of the family has passed away. Both of these folks brought great entertainment to millions of us all over the country. They will both be missed.

I spent a quiet day at home today – I’m up to 23 DVDs, though some include more than one VHS tape. I did go to Walgreen’s and get a knee brace, but I’m afraid it’s a little too small. Probably not a good idea to cut off circulation in an attempt to keep the knee where it should be.

Tomorrow, I take the x-rays to the chiropractor. In fact, I’ve already put the x-rays in the truck so I won’t forget them. Hopefully, Dr. Tom will see something that will make it possible to stop the pain.

Other than the taping, I’ve kind of taken it easy today. In fact, I didn’t even go to the movies with my friend Joan like we had planned. But there’s always next week.

Until next time…

Lunch with My Cousin

This morning, my cousin Richard came over and we went back to Old Towne Pizza for lunch. We each had a Strawberry-Walnut Salad and shared the Corn Fritters appetizer. Yum! Yum!

The rest of the day I spent archiving VHS tapes.

I took a walk, but was in so much pain, I made it a short one – just 15 minutes. I called and got a Wednesday appointment with Dr. Tom. Hopefully, he’ll learn something from the x-rays I had Friday that will help take care of this.

Sorry about all the griping.

Until next time…

RED (Retired Extremely Dangerous)

No, I’m not describing myself. Yes, I am retired, but the only one I’m extremely dangerous with is myself.

Today, I saw the movie RED, starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, and Mary Louise Parker. It was a hoot. Lots of chases and excitement. Lots of laughs and yet, some poignant parts too. It’s not quite the caliber of Willis’s Die Hard movies, but it’s very close.

I’ve archived 7 or 8 VHS tapes to DVD today and packed some more stuff. I also had a short nap – much needed since I can’t seem to sleep through the night. I was up for 4 or 5 hours this morning.

I’ll probably try to sleep early tonight. Even with my short nap, I’m still feeling very tired.

Until next time…

Back Ups and Box Ups

Once again, the weather is wonderful. It was 52 when I got up this morning. I had a terrific long walk, enjoying the sounds of Dan Seals’ Portrait album. It’s one of my favorite albums of all times.

Today, my backup of my old laptop finally finished and I discovered I’d not only backed up the laptop, but also the hard drive I was using for the back ups. So, I had to start over. It’s finally done and all packed up.

While doing the back ups, I also boxed up some more stuff for Goodwill. I’ll take out the four boxes to the truck tomorrow. And maybe some others as well.

I made another big pot of super soup also. Yum, Yum! Lots of hearty beans, carrots, onions, celery, yellow peppers, red peppers, green peppers, cabbage, mushrooms, and tomatoes.

Tomorrow, I will probably go to the movies. I’ve heard the new Bruce Willis/Morgan Freeman/Helen Mirren/John Malkovich movie, RED, is terrific. I also plan to start copying my VHS tapes to DVD to make them easier to take with me.

Well, time to go to bed – remember, I need my beauty sleep.

Until next time…

A Good Look At Things

This morning, after my visit to the chiropractor, I went to Rose Radiology to have my back, hip and right knee x-rayed. I wish I’d had that done BEFORE the visit to the chiropractor, because I had to lie on a hard (sometimes cold) table so they could take my pictures. I don’t know how photogenic I am, but they sure took enough x-rays. Having to lie on the table almost undid all of the good the chiropractor had done, but I got to feeling better after an hour or so.

I have the x-rays to take back to the doctor next Friday and have looked at them, but have no idea what I’m looking at. I hope Dr. Tom can figure something out.

I met Bill and Vivienne and Irene for lunch. My cousin Richard got lost and then his car quit. He had it towed to his dealer and decided to get a new car – well, new to him. I think it’s a 2009 Chrysler convertible, but I don’t know what model. I saw the car once but don’t even really remember the color. I am not personally fond of convertibles.

Mark and I had at least three convertibles during the course of our married life: the 1966 Midnight Blue Ford Mustang with a white top, a red VW Kharman Ghia with a black top, and a Triumph – can’t remember the model, but it was one of those foreign sports cars where you practically sit on the ground while driving. I can’t remember if our MG Midget was a convertible or not.

After I got home, I took a nap – I’m retired so I can do that with no problem – then finished my cassette tape archiving. I’ve also finished backing up my Dell Laptop. Tomorrow, I’ll clean that up and pack it up. Know anyone who would like a good laptop. I’d still have it, but it only has an 80-gigabyte hard drive and that just doesn’t cut it. It runs Windows XP and is very reliable.

Well, it’s getting late and you know how much I need my beauty sleep.

Until next time…