Hand Surgery and the "Pain" Thereof

On Friday I had carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand performed by a super surgeon who operated a few years ago on my left hand. That was not a biggie because my left hand balances my body image and holds things for my right hand. It is the ideal "helper" hand. Now the right hand is another matter. My right hand is my NUMERO UNO, El Capitan, and the Head Honcho. Right now it is lending its pointer finger for typing help, and the bandage is hitting the keys and adding extra letters here and there. This outpatient procedure is an easy-to-do one when you have a good facility close by, and Casa Colina has one of those. Butch and I arrived at 8 a.m. and were home by 11 a.m. Guy, a friend from church, literally held my hand for "The Hand Man," as this orthopedic surgeon is known, just as Guy held it a few years ago. How nice! The result is a big bandage, no pain, a relatively rapid recovery, no visible scar (if my left hand is any example), and a "new" hand that is free from tingling and burning sensations and sometimes pain and numbness. Butch is taking good care of me, and I figure that the fact that I can't do a LOT of things will all work out in the long run. Through the "magic" of TV I'm learning how to prepare new recipes/dishes, how to redo my yard, how to redecorate, how to type with one finger, how to surf through the channels to find something that doesn't involve all sorts of violence (wayyy too many channels) or ignorance/"horse's tailness" (political news channels), and that may provide evocative insights (those same news channels) or just plain fun (selected channels). Friends have called and emailed and brought things by, and my far away family has called and my nearby family has been by to check me AND my bandage out. My new iPad works well with one finger typing, so I can't complain too much. Life is good! Right now though, it is wrapped in a big bandage, I'm on the computer, and Butch is outside painting in the full sun because it's evidently some sort of "man ritual." Go figure!

My Birthday = One of the "Big" Ones

At last I am "older than dirt." This was a familiar saying when I was growing up and now I'm there!

Friends from near and far sent cards. My brother David and his wife Melanie & my brother Tom and his wife Kathy called, and so did my nephew Tom. The birthday group here had our always fun monthly celebration at The Los. Another birthday group had dinner to celebrate Larry's, Janet's, Joe's, and my birthdays. Facebook friends from all over and from nearby posted birthday wishes. It was all delightful!

Mark & his family came from Kansas and Maria and her crew were all here ready & waiting for them. The kids (and the adults) so enjoy each other's company and they were an absolute delight to watch. They swam & played & swam some more. We went to SeaWorld, to Victoria Gardens to eat at P.F.Chang's (love those lemon scallops) and watch the kids run through the fountain, to LA on the Metrolink to eat at a good restaurant on Olvera Street, and a couple of times we all had treats at Yogurtland. At SeaWorld we all wore our wonderful "Be Good To People" t-shirts that we got from our friends Krissy & Augie. Thanks so much! Check out their site. It's got fabulous stuff & is spreading such a good message.

My friend Linda from Boston sent one of her fabulous fabric postcard wishing me a happy birthday and that was such a delightful surprise. Thank you so very much, Linda!

My friend Nell made a wonderful table runner that looks like half of a juicy red watermelon complete with seeds. It's sitting in splendor on the table for all to see. Thank you so very much, Nell.


My family gave me an iPad! I've received and sent email and I've played some games. Even "more mature dogs" can learn new tricks. Of course, Mark was a huge help in getting it all set up and ready to go. Thanks, Mark.

I feel totally "birthday-ed" and I loved every minute of it. Thank you, one and all, from the bottom of my heart.

Are You on Facebook?

How many times have you been asked that question? As I look at my Facebook postings, it does seem that most are younger than I am. But, I know that a lot of my contemporaries are indeed "on Facebook." Last year I met a lovely young woman at a party and found out that she worked for Facebook. As we talked, I told her that I was on Facebook and was having fun exploring all that it had to offer. She responded warmly to that information and told me that she was so pleased because they loved to hear about people in my demographic using Facebook. Needless to say, I immediately developed 5 new wrinkles, my eyesight got more blurry, my back developed a crick, and I swear I "heard" some brain cells swoon and sign off. But, she was right. Come on, "my demographic." Get with it and join Facebook. You are missing a lot = a lot of opportunities to connect with friends from your childhood, to be in touch with friends from other cities where you've lived, to hear from dear friends of your children, and to "talk" with colleagues from work, with friends in town and with friends across the country. You can share pictures and news and joys and sorrows and games. Right now I'm in a couple of Scrabble games and brain games and less brainy games with friends far and near. I love seeing pictures of special events in friends' lives, of trips made close by or around the world, of families and new babies, and of celebrations that almost make you feel as if you had been there. How spectacular! I wouldn't miss this wonderful opportunity. I love Facebook!

All of Those Amazing Race Types of Programs

Another race moves from place to place; another competition is staged between couples; and, another show comes on about the survival of the fittest, cleverest, smartest, strongest, "biggest loser," etc. There seems to be an endless "treasure trove" of this type of program that feeds on the viewing public's desire to see who can win in any sort of competition. Heck, I might not watch this kind, but I watch "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune" to see if I can answer the questions or solve the word puzzles. I guess we can all race or lose weight or try to play the various games or conquer the obstacles before us from the comfort of our couch. How nice! Isn't it good, though, that there are choices among a myriad of channels as to whether or not we'll compete or as Julia Roberts's character says in "Pretty Woman" - "Let's watch old movies all night... we'll just veg out in front of the TV."

Vaccines For Yucky Ailments

"A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins. The agent stimulates the body's immune system to recognize the agent as foreign, destroy it, and "recognize" it, so that the immune system can more easily recognize and destroy any of these microorganisms that it later encounters." Thus saith Wikipedia. Today Butch and I got a DPT shot as a preventative measure for the current whooping cough outbreak that has reared its ugly head in California and elsewhere. Since the advice coming out via the news media is that children and seniors be vaccinated, we decided to protect ourselves and make sure that we won't get something that we could pass on to family and friends.

It's Hot!!!

We have had this glorious summer filled with delightful days of moderate temperatures and sometimes chilly evenings and early mornings. Then, this last week, life changed. Summer is upon us with a vengeance. Thankfully, the humidity is low and thus far the brush fires are not too bad. Of course, any fire is bad, but they're being contained relatively well. But, in the whole scheme of things, we're fortunate to live where we do with the vast myriad of options we have to stay cool and to have a great time with family & friends. Swimming pool, here I come!

July 4th in Claremont

Claremont has a big celebration on July 4th and it is a fun event that is not to be missed. Well, maybe it's "missible" when it's hotter than heck, but not when it's around 80 degrees on a delightful sunny day with lots of shade in and around Memorial Park. Maria, Eric, Zac, Claire, & Luke participated in the parade with the Early Childhood Center and Butch marched with "The Irregulars." This group only plays together once each year at the Parade on a "show up, we'll give you music, find a spot to march in, and off we'll go." There was even a violinist marching and playing this time. Great! They range in age from 12 - 71, and they actually sound pretty impressive! The groups participating range from local residents and groups being honored for all that they give to our community to sports groups to retirement communities to politicians to the School Board on the back of a school-owned truck driven by the Superintendent to churches to the colleges to other assorted performing groups and to a large group of young Chinese students currently visiting here. The theme was "Star Spangled Claremont," and they carried American flags and Chinese flags and alternatively waved them. There is always humor along the way, and I got a big laugh from the group of people from Mt. San Antonio Gardens who were pushing walkers and doing routines as they walked. Many churches walked together in a group in support of marriage equality - the UCC, the UMC, the Presbyterians, and the Temple. It was a super day with something for everyone at the booths: nonprofit groups sharing their information, food booths, games for kids that included a climbing wall, and the proverbial dunk tank sponsored by Rotary. Various local city officials and active citizens in the community and the schools take their turns on the "wet" seat. We are all fortunate to live in such a dynamic, caring, darn good community. I'm so glad it's our "home."