On not viewing the Space Shuttle & ISS

Here's Greg sitting outside with his laptop shortly before he told us about an e-mail he got from a friend informing him that at exactly 8:30pm last Wednesday night for only three minutes if we looked towards the northwest sky, we'd be able to see the space shuttle and the International Space Station together in the sky.


Here's Greg with his Budweiser waiting for the shuttle.

Leo and Lauren (with her digital camera) in anticipation.





Jodi with her binoculars -- she thought she saw it when Steve told her it was a star that had been there since before she was born!

Needless to say, there was nothing there, and we checked the Web and there was nothing even on NASA that reported this viewing. Oh well...

Culinary Delights

I was reading the newspaper two mornings ago and saw an article about Sam Seltzer's Restaurants closing all over the state of Florida. Seltzer's has been a very popular steak and seafood place for years here. One of our new neighbors, Lauren, was a Corporate Trainer for Sam's and was among 300 folks laid off.

I passed Lauren on the steps outside when I was returning from running errands and expressed by sadness at her job loss -- she was amazingly not upset! She'd already gotten a new job with more pay setting up the computer system for another restaurant. About 20 minutes later she showed up at our door with two huge shopping bags of frozen food from the restaurant! She said she'd filled the trunk of her car more than five times and was giving this food away to our entire building. She gave us lobster tails, shrimp kabobs, breaded shrimp, a whole rack of ribs, a gigantic Porterhouse steak, on and on and on.

We were recently contemplating using the gift card we got from Mike and Renee for seafood at Catches, but now we'll save it for the future. I should mention that the electrical power went out in our building yesterday for about ten minutes and I freaked out thinking about all the food in the freezer!

Handicaps and Stuff

I have come to the conclusion that I should get some kind of handicap when I'm playing games with a time limit. If you lived with Steve you would understand this. I have yet to make it through any game without an interruption!

The Florida heat and humidity has definitely arrived. Getting in the car to run to the store is a nightmare! There are no carports or garages here so the car sits in the sun just waiting for some fool to dare climb inside!

I finally found a local dentist who accepts my insurance which covers only x-rays and cleaning. Went to see him this week - was seen first for digital x-rays (they do each tooth separately), then saw the hygienist who put all kinds of numbers into a computer, then the dentist who briefed me on all the horrible things going on in my mouth. Then I waited a bit and the dental assistant came back with two treatment plans, one with two bridges, one with a bridge and a removable bunch of teeth. The first one came to $10,045, and the second option was a mere $7,000! Then she gave me a brochure from Chase Bank so I could set up a payment plan through them. Needless to say, I'm going back to my original guy in Tarpon Springs who lets me pay as I can. I hate dentists and anything having to do with them!

Steve's going to be working on the apartment grounds this weekend -- raking, leaf blowing, landscaping, etc., so right now he's on the dock fishing. I'm glad our neighbor, Greg, has gone out to sit with him.

Greg had another bone marrow biopsy yesterday in Tampa to make sure he's still in remission, and if all goes well, he's scheduled for his BMT on June 9. He said he's more afraid of this than he was when they removed his colon cancer, because at least then they were taking out the disease. Steve made spaghetti and meatballs last night and brought them each a plate with garlic toast so they wouldn't have to cook.

I'm doing absolutely nothing today except reading the paper, maybe making some cookies, reading my book, and taking drugs for back spasms. Saw the chiropractor again this week -- it always feels great after that for a day or so and then goes back to normal. Getting old sucks!

The Escape Blog

I was in the process of trying to obtain some reliable information from my Medicare provider regarding dental services, but they were giving me a headache, just like if you had to call ANY government office so my blog is my copout.

I have a huge zit on my chin and I'm 60 years old! I know that as we age we begin to get aches and pains from out of nowhere. Why is it that the only thing we start to lose besides our minds includes hormones, skin tone, etc., but somehow I'm still getting zits! Doesn't seem right...

We went to DMV yesterday to pay for the annual vehicle registration and change my name on my driver's license. This is usually a breeze in our town because it's small and things generally move quickly. I pulled out my Visa debit card to pay the car registration and the woman told me they can't accept Visa; she asked whether I had Amex or another card, which I don't. We had to go to the drive-through ATM at our bank to get cash and come back to pay her. I inquired about changing my name, and got a litany of items I'll need to accomplish that -- birth certificate, wedding certificate, passport (don't have one), a bill with my name and address on it, blah, blah, blah. I was waiting for her to ask for my first-born offspring, but we just left with a plan in hand to dig through my files to find what I need. It's the first time we've dealt with goofy bureaucracy in our town.

Yesterday we got a box in the mail with stone coasters with our photo on them; they came from Steve's nephew, Louie, and his wife. Neat gift.

Sundays and Pension Plans

This is Sammy who lives just outside our building -- we're pretty sure he's the same guy who lived in Slug and Dick's backyard in Palm Harbor, and he just relocated to stay close to familiar people.


Greg got home from the hospital last Wednesday, a bit weaker and thinner, but with a great attitude. Last night he cooked for us -- we had pork chops with tomatoes and onions from the crock pot, and I made a casserole of sweet potatoes to go with it. His white blood count is gradually coming up, but the transplant scheduled for the
28th has been temporarily delayed. He goes toa local hospital daily for IV antibiotics to boost his white cells for now too. We really enjoy their company -- Jodi's a bit of a clean freak like Steve, so the two of them compare notes like fussy old ladies; Greg's the PC guy and a reader -- he fixed my printer and gave me some games he had downloaded too.

Today was really warm and humid, and we've had an electrical storm for the past four hours, so naturally the TV reception has been messed with all day. It's the first major storm of the season and my poor felines have been doing a lot of skulking around and hiding like the thunder's out to get them.

Steve and I got a new grandnephew via his niece, Sabrina, last week. He's Landon James Scheer and both mother and son are doing well.

Talked to Mom Friday night -- it's amazing what something like a room change is doing for her spirits. Her first shower in the new room must've been like heaven. I'm not sure why she wouldn't let the nursing aides help her shower -- maybe it was being naked in front of them, maybe it was not wanting to explain her mastectomy scar, maybe it's just 'cause she's Mom.

The neatest thing I saw on the news today was a miniature horse which is the smallest one on record. He's called Little Einstein and was born at 6 lbs. on Friday in New Hampshire. He was the size of a dog! Just one of those baby animals that's so cute it makes your heart ache.

We're in the process of setting up a payment plan with the IRS to pay back 25% of the pension funds Steve withdrew early to help us set up in Florida. I'll start getting my own pension checks at 63 which isn't so far away anymore.

Doin' a Lot of Nuttin'

Lazy day today -- we ran several errands, Steve tended to his many plants, we had leftover pizza, Klondike Dark Chocolate ice cream bars for dessert, visited Jodi downstairs when she got home from the hospital, then sat down to watch a movie. Our neighbor burned a DVD for us of "Sherlock Holmes" but the sound sync was so far off that we couldn't watch it. Then we tried our latest Netflix movie, "District 9" which Peter Jackson directed, and neither one of us could stand how stupid it was. Steve just went to bed for lack of anything else to do.

Greg has a possible hospital discharge date of Monday, but Jodi doesn't want him home yet since his blood counts are still pretty dim and she's having a company come over on Monday morning to steam clean her A/C ducts in preparation for Greg's return. She'd like them to keep him in the hospital until his transplant date, but they really need the beds on a constant basis so this probably won't happen. He refuses to wear his surgical mask when he's outside so he's super vulnerable to lots of things. Keep your fingers crossed...

We've realized for a very long time that I have more "filler" (things to occupy my time) than Steve has. I have the PC, books, the newspaper and TV, but he doesn't read much and by nightfall he's done all the cleaning and fixing that's possible so he's outa luck for filler.

We got so many nice wedding gifts and this throw was from Steve's niece and her husband.

Blast from the Past!

We got a wonderful visit from our former neighbor, Karen, who dropped by on her way back from visiting other friends. We hadn't seen her in at least two years and it was a real treat getting caught up with our mutual lives. She lives in St. Pete now so it's hard for us to get together.

Bella, the-cat-formerly-known-as-Stella, used to live with Karen and Wayne when they lived here. Wayne gave Bella to our other neighbors, Brent and Hyler, when he moved out, and when Brent and Hyler moved to their uncle's house they couldn't take her. I couldn't take her in because my cats would've packed up and left, plus she's really a cat that has to be outdoors a lot and I was afraid of fleas. When Karen saw where Bella was living (in a laundry basket with a bunch of blankets being fed by everyone outside), she said she'd check to see if she could bring her home. A few days later she came back with her kitty carrier and took Bella who is Stella again to her home. We're all really happy about that just knowing she'll be taken care of now.

The Beat Goes On

Jodi and Greg joined us Friday night for hot dogs, chips, etc., and a wonderful dessert they brought called "Chocolate Overload" which it was.

Saturday morning Jodi went into the bedroom to tell Greg she was going shopping with her son and discovered that he had a fever. She called Moffitt Cancer Center and they admitted him right away. Just yesterday they determined that the infection causing his fever was E Coli so now it can be treated with the right antibiotics. He's also getting blood and platelet transfusions and she's hoping they'll keep him in the hospital until the bone marrow transplant which is scheduled for April 28. If he comes home, he runs the risk of getting another infection from just about anything. If he survives the transplant, he'll be in the hospital for about four months and will then live in Hope House, a special building for patients recovering from transplants. The powers that be estimate that'll be another four months, and Jodi will have to be with him 24/7 as well.

Greg is really tired of all this and knows that the chemo he got for the colon cancer he survived caused the leukemia. He had six months from the time he was declared free of colon cancer before he started having blood tests that indicated the presence of leukemia. He has a good attitude, but he's so tired of being owned by the medical system. We're all rooting for him.

I went with Jodi to visit Greg last Sunday and he was getting two different antibiotics IV, an anti-fungal via IV, and fluids. He was pretty listless and I'll know he's doing better when I see that he's on Facebook. He's really good on the PC and has burned some movies for us, as well as music.

Two Saturdays ago we had a beautiful day and everyone was outside enjoying it. Leo decided to barbecue and it was fun getting everyone together for once. Here's Steve with our neighbor, Jason; Jason's wife, Talia, with little Dakota.


Here's Leo and I and a photo of Leo's handiwork.

Just Lost that Bloggin' Feelin'

Haven't felt like there was much to blog about until I was visiting a neighbor today and got the idea of doing a running soap opera about this apartment complex which is called "Rivers Edge" -- both in reality and for my blog.

We've lived in this building longer than any of the other tenants now, and Steve's known as The Mayor since he's usually got the dirt on everyone, tenants, owners and managers. We live in the building by the water which has ten apartments, all two bedroom with a washer and dryer. There are two end units in this building which are more like condos and rent for more as well. Those have two bedrooms as well, but one of them is up a flight of stairs where the master bedroom is huge and they have a bathroom upstairs as well. We thought about taking one of those apartments until we heard what tenants have been paying for A/C in the summer to cool that upstairs area and it was outrageous so we decided to stay where we are.

One of the condo-type units is currently occupied by a couple who I'll call Mary and Larry. Mary's husband was killed by a drunk driver about a year ago and besides her boyfriend living with her, she also has a ten-year-old daughter who shall be known as Alice. Larry was a friend of Mary's late husband and no one can stand him except Mary. He's the first person I've ever known who actually has yellow eyes! No, not amber but yellow! Larry and Mary moved into this building shortly before Christmas; Larry proceeded to get really, really drunk on New Year's Eve and threatened our maintenance man, Chris, for no apparent reason. The cops were called and they made Larry apologize to Chris.

A couple of weeks ago we heard all kinds of yelling outside and went out to find two cops outside Mary's door while Larry was carrying out all his possessions in between yelling at both she and the cops. We approached Mary to see if she was okay and she couldn't stop crying and talking about what a jerk he was. Three days later he was back and there seems to be relative peace since then.

Two new female tenants moved in next door this week -- we're not sure if they're gay or not, but we don't particularly care anyway. They seem like really nice folks in any event.

There are also two women living on the other side of us who everyone hates. They're loud and obnoxious and several calls have been made to the local authorities regarding noise disturbances from their apartment. I'll call them Thelma and Louise. The maintenance man delivered a final notice of eviction to them this week due to their constant noise which has thus far not resulted in their vacating the premises. We'll just keep our fingers crossed...

Downstairs there's a really nice couple, Jason and Talia, who have two young kids. They're really great people too and very peaceful.

Then there's Leo and Bionett -- everyone likes Leo 'cause he's just a good guy. Bionett has a good heart but she's just plain nuts. She's a hypochondriac like I've never known before and she always thinks she has one disease or another. They're not married but have known each other since grade school in Brooklyn. Steve and I both dread it when there's knock on our door fearing it might be Bionett. She's really hard to get rid of too. She is currently in school to allegedly become a crime scene investigator which I can't imagine since she'll have to deal with bodies or body parts of some kind. She has the attention span of a plant so I don't know how she does so well in school. Leo and Bionett have a blowout at least monthly which provides great entertainment for all of us since they tend to broadcast their grievances.

That leaves our new friends, Jodi and Greg. They're in their 50's and have both survived difficult cancers -- Jodi survived ovarian cancer, and Greg nearly died from but survived colon cancer a few years back. He now has leukemia and is scheduled for a bone marrow transplant at the end of this month. They're both very funny, bright and sweet and we've grown to really care about both of them. I've been giving Greg his injections of Neupogen this past week 'cause Jodi gets too nervous. The transplant is his last hope for surviving this disease. The other night we were visiting them and I'd just gotten over some kind of flu or something. Greg asked me how I was feeling and I told him I felt guilty complaining about a stupid virus when he had something more serious. He said "Oh that's just great. Now I have to feel guilty about having this disease" and laughed. They both have really good coping skills in different ways, and they both readily admit their fears about this procedure. This poor guy has been poked and prodded more in the past year than most of us will ever be in a lifetime! If you have a higher power of any kind, please ask that they get strength to deal with this.

Photos du jour

Whenever I find a photo on the Web that I really like, I copy it to my photo files to share and these are some of them:

Roses, Marriage and Chocolates!

These gorgeous roses were delivered the day after our wedding from Slug and Dick. I called to thank them and Slug asked if we got the chocolates with them. I quickly got off the phone and Steve took the flashlight to the dumpster and found the white cushioned bag in the flower box that we thought was part of the packing! Excellent recovery on Steve's part! And really good chocolates too!
I've been pruning the roses all week and a few are still in blossom! What a wonderful gift!

One Week Anniversary

It's been one week since our wedding and I'm happy to report that we're very satisfied with our decision to marry. It feels good to have made the commitment and somehow safer or more grounded.


Annie's gone -- Steve was sad but also relieved to have the place back for ourselves. She's the perfect guest -- keeps herself busy, plays cards, cooks, knits, goes for walks, etc., and we were especially delighted to have her take part in our special day, and I know that meant a lot to her too.


We've watched a couple of movies -- "Public Enemies" which Steve particularly liked, "Margot at the Wedding" with N. Kidman and J.J. Leigh which I thought would be good, but we didn't like it at all, and "Australia" which offered Hugh Jackman for me and Nicole Kidman for Steve, but I fell asleep during the movie and Steve was bored to tears by it. We're really happy with Netflix since we can now afford to get bad movies sometimes.

I happened to holding the camera when the waiter brought Annie two margaritas and she found out Niko's has happy hour all day long when drinks are two for the price of one. Needless to say, by the time we left, she was feeling not even a little pain!










Here's Gentleman Leo helping Annie to the car.









We stopped at CVS on the way home and saw this bird and decided he wanted to be a part of our wedding photos!





It was a fantastic and magical day that won't ever be forgotten. Wish you could've all been there, but I would've fainted with more attendees.

Nuptial Entertainment #3

For my very northern friends and family, note the palm trees and lack of white precipitation!

The proof is in the license!!!


The groom and my new mother-in-law.













After the ceremony we all headed to Niko's Restaurant, as just I got everybody lost on the way to the Gov't Center, I got us lost again on the way to the restaurant. I have literally driven past this place at least a thousand times since we've lived here!








So much food and a fantastic salad bar too! Lots of toasting, laughing and carousing.


Skewered honey shrimp -- yum!
Skewered scallops -- one of my favorite things!

This 80-ish woman stopped by our table because she was curious about what we were celebrating. She was so cute and gave us so many good wishes. Seems she's a Niko's regular who goes there for lunch at least twice week. She was a wonderful character and quite stylish in her own way!





Bionett ordered Godiva chocolate cheesecake for dessert (most of which she ate the next day since she wasn't feeling quite up to par).

When the waiter was listing the desserts, I told him to stop at pecan pie. When will I ever have a wedding AND pecan pie on the same day again? So what if I felt like the Goodyear blimp!