Monday Meanderings

So, I've been thinking about that week in Hawaii and remember a lot of details, so below are 10 memories of a week on Waikiki:

1. Grandma Hayes was visiting Ross and Barb at their apartment just off Waikiki. and she would walk to town with us and join in the festivities. She was probably about 70.
2. We decided we could spend our Christmas money and fly to Hawaii, also, inviting ourselves for a week.
3. We flew in on Christmas Eve when the airline was serving free Tom and Jerry's, followed by heavy sidewinds as we landed, which were followed by heavy airsickness.
4. Brother Ross and wife Barb had two twin beds so we split the boxsprings from the mattresses and had beds for 4! Someone didn't sleep, I think!
5. Ross was stationed at Pearl Harbor on either the USS Tiru or the USS Blackfin submarine and they had recently returned from Japan and the coast of Viet Nam (they were never in Nome).
6. We played a lot of Monopoly, saw the turtles, stood in the waterfall on the Pali, chased critters on the walls.
7. We went to a few night clubs; in my mind, we saw Don Ho (did that really happen?) and sang Tiny Bubbles, and another night went to a piano bar where we sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and I've not been able to stomach the song since.
8. We danced a couple nights at an open air bar on the beach; the bar was called Queen's Surf. It was a great nightspot! The perfect Hawaiian venue.
9. On New Year's Eve, we ate dinner at Dairy Queen (broke) and walked up and down the main drag with the rest of the population of Waikiki. Everyone hugged, kissed, drank and celebrated the new year in the street, must have been 1969??
10. We ate a box of confiscated steaks and almost nothing else the entire week.

Ten Things That I've Done that You Probably Have Not

1. Grew up on a dairy farm outside Snohomish, shoveling stuff and working hard; driving a tractor, a 52 Jimmy, cutting hay, stomping silage, climbing a silo!

2. Had fun as a Junior Counselor as an 8th grader, at Camp Silverton, with all the 5th graders as campers.

3. Worked in a food booth at the Seattle Worlds Fair in 1962, serving milkshakes and crab salads. The booth manager absconded with the money! Other workers were college students from Texas, California and Seattle.

4. I have a lot of relatives that seem to get caught up in earthshaking disasters:
Lynn 9-11-2001 in NYC; Veronica, Frank, MJ and Chloe in New Orleans during Katrina and Rita, then Key West for Wilma; V & L's Aunt Barbie, husband and children lost on Mt. St. Helen's in 1980.

5. Spent 3 weeks in the sun in Cabo this past January.

6. Lived in San Francisco for 3 years, on Mt.Davidson.

7. Worked in San Francisco for a time in 1964 before quitting to go to CWSU.

8. Spent a night on a sailboat tied to the pilings of the Bay Bridge (no engine). The tide eventually turned and we sailed back to Alameda.

9. Spent Christmas in Hawaii once.

10. Sailed out the Golden Gate without getting seasick!

Tagged by the Zombie Queene

Well, whatever "meme" means, I've been tagged to do the alphabet meme by the Zombie Queene who was tagged of course by Zenmomma. Here's my first try:

A-Available? For lunch, for dinner, for fun!
B-Best friend: Tom
C-Cake or Pie? Pie! I just made wild mountain blackberry and had some for breakfast!
D-Drink of choice: Smith and Wesson; it's a great Kahlua and vodka kick! Also White chocolate mochas!
E-Essential thing used everyday: My arms! to hug my husband, my dog, my grandkids, my kids and maybe even myself!
F-Favorite color: I have several favorites but Raspberry has been coming first lately, then striking aqua blue, and of course purple.
G-Gummi bears or worms: Bears, I guess. But I'm with Qacei and Ronnie on this: Swedish Fish!
H-Hometown: I was born in Snohomish, Washington, lived in Concrete for a few years, and grew up on a dairy farm near Machias. The barn is still standing!
I-Indulgence: Angelo, MJ, Chloe, Chelsea, Megan, Madison, Colin, Emma, Ella, Lila!And purses!
J-January or February: February cuz Valentine's Day gives you warm huggies.
K-Kids and names: Veronica Ann, Lynn Christine, and Christopher Mathew
L-Life: Has been an adventure and is passing in the blink of an eye!
M-Marriage date: Independence Day, 1992 was anything but!
N-Number of siblings: I one of 6: 2 sisters, 3 brothers.
O-Oranges or apples: Oranges, big juicy ones; maybe tangelos.
P-Phobias: A little claustrophobic and always need some fresh air; in a car, in a plane, never on a train! (I think I'm Dr. Seuss)
Q-Quote: "Cognac, you shitdumb!" VAP age 3
R-Reason to smile: I live at the beach and can walk it, enjoy the lap of the water, and be refreshed instantly.
S-Season: Summer.
T-Tag three people: I'll choose Denise, Allison, and Chloe.
U-Unknown fact about me: I don't think there are any, or if there is one, I'm entitled to it, don't you think? I like that answer and I'm leavin' it! Invoke the 5th Amendment!!
V-Vegetable you don't like: Canned peas and canned spinach.
W-Worst habit: Loving the thrill of the hunt for the perfect machine at the casino!
X-X-rays you have had: Knees, before and after; teeth, hands.
Y-Your favorite food: Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad, chocolate, Turtles, breakfast out!
Z-Zodiac: Taurus, aka big purse and lots of money!

Tom's Update

My blog has been "google-ized" so it has taken me a few moments (days? weeks?) to get back on board. Tom has two aneurysms of the aorta in his abdomen, one above the other. The doctor, rather surgeon, has suggested Tom wait until they are larger and then determine the best procedure to follow. Abdominal surgery is risky and requires a difficult recovery. Dr. Cook hopes to have studied and perfected the new stent graft procedure currently being developed in England, and then he can perform that on Tom later this year. The next CT scan is scheduled for 7/17 to make sure the aneurysms are not getting too big or growing too quickly. The idea is that it took many years for them to reach their current size of 3.8 cm and 5 cm and they will stay dormant until the end of the year. Cross your fingers. More on this in July.

A new twist today is Tom's chronic bronchitis that has been coming on and being treated since January. Today he had several pulmonary tests on his lungs, what else? and was told his oxygen levels are good, lung capacity is diminished somewhat, and when albuterol is used, lung capacity increases 24%, which the technician says is "significant". He may have to begin using inhalers. The culprit is many things, diabetes, heart disease, bad arteries! More later....

Getting Back to Blogging and Tom's Health

Here it is, a couple years later, and once again Tom had dental work after our 3-wk trip to Cabo. He hit his head getting into the back seat of a taxi/van down there, knocked him back a foot and he saw stars, then we continued vacationing with Pat and Allison. When we arrived at the Cabo airport to head home to SeaTac, Tom bit into a Snickers Drumstick (5 for only $22.50!!) and his front tooth veneer disintegrated! Jim Courrier thinks he cracked his front tooth when he hit his head and it shattered on contact with cold, hard peanuts. Tom's lower teeth are also chipped. I think he hit his head harder than we thought at the time!! Luckily he didn't bite his tongue!

So, now it's March and we are still waiting to see the surgeon regarding Tom's aneurysm of the aorta. We have known it existed since January and are just now getting in to see the surgeon for a cure since the doctors are so heavily booked. Tom will see Dr. Cook on 3/17, the same doctor that operated on his carotid in 2003 (I think it was 2003). Hopefully, all will be a nightmare behind us real soon! Dr. Sipe, the cardiologist, says Tom is not a walking time bomb since his aorta is only half as enlarged as those who are walking time bombs!! The enlargement is just above where the aorta Y's to go to the legs, and below the T to the kidneys. There is one hitch, there appears to be another "slight" enlargement just above the T to the kidneys. We'll see what the surgeon says. Dr. Sipe says the operation can be done either thru the groin, thru the stomach, or thru the back to reach the aneurysm. Aneurysms of the aorta are evidently more common than we ever knew!! Cross your fingers!

Granddaughter Chloe is 14 today! How can that be? Happy birthday, sweetness!

The Canonica girls all stayed the weekend with us while their folks made the trek to Coulee to check on their property, visit with the Punteney's, and have a moment to themselves. Those of us here at the beach did a lot of junkfood eating, TV watching, shopping, beach walking and bathing Angelo (thanks, Madison!). Oh, and Megan played a volleyball game, 6th grade girls from Immaculate played St. Catherine's in CYO league. Immaculate Conception/Our Lady of Perpetual Help (IC/OLPH) won! Megan, who is pretty tall and has a great serve, scored 10 points!! And, further, her practice Monday after school was outstanding! She played on a team of coaches and Mom's with lots of volleyball experience and held her own! Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Chelsea was taking WASL tests on reading and writing for 3 hours Monday and was "pretty much" bored.

The remodel on Chris and Denise's kitchen is finally complete after about 3 months! No sink or stove was "pretty much" roughing it!

Uncle Scott hit the road yesterday afternoon in his Minnie Winnie, having finally sold his house in Bremerton and collected his check, and he is now enjoying his long-dreamed-of adventure! He is heading for Phoenix (Goodrich?), and meeting up with friends, plus plans to enjoy some Mariner baseball in Peoria! Love the weather and the atmosphere there; it's pretty laid back. Have fun, Scott!

Angelo, our "Italian English Springer", will be 5 in April. He has seizures unless he gets his meds 3 times a day; fortunately, he hasn't had a seizure since November. He's pretty heavily medicated but seems very happy, especially when he's visiting Joe, the Brittany Spaniel next door!

Frank and Veronica are as busy as ever. Chloe's friend Qacei stayed last week and celebrated with Chloe at her party Friday night. (Chloe, MJ and Qacei forgot to invite me to Tampico for strawberry margaritas and flan but I'll get even!) The Maier's will be traveling again this fall, first to one of the Carolina's then Italy and Ireland, and they get to see Chiara and family in Trento. I'm so jealous! Maybe I can talk Tom into going with me next year when his health is better. And, we all miss Chiara so much. Maybe she'll come back to the States again soon.

I have been on edge and stressed with worry about Tom's health. He very seldom is out of my sight and takes the cell phone with him when he is. But, we made it thru the open heart/carotid surgery before and we'll make it thru this obstacle, too! I know all of his family and friends are also worried, so I'll keep everyone posted as to what the surgeon says next Monday.

Until my next posting, Ciao Bella!!!!