still very sick

This is a catchup from last Saturday night. Sunday was the start of my latest health concern. I could tell I was fighting something and I was, as I found out on Wednesday when I went into see Chris Johnson (Rob is up in Boston at a conference) and they found out I had influenza A, the type that Rob was just getting over. I stayed at home each day, making one quick visit to pick up supplies, and coughing, coughing, and coughing. I did my knee exercises here and there and three or four stationary bike rides of about 25 minutes. I haven’t done any full sets of weights or yoga but yesterday I tried. When I got back from Rob’s office I took my first dose of Tamaflu and then a second dose later and I had a really horrible night, not able to breathe and having to take a lot of my asthma spray. It is not the drug for me so I stopped taking it. It is now Friday morning and yesterday off the tamaflu and almost a week in my flu, I am hoping to be done with this in a few days. Chris said 7 to 10 days so with luck tomorrow may be better. I got bloodwork done on Wednesday and Chris looked at my thumb but didn’t open it up or anything. It is not much worse but it does throb. The fact that I am writing this blog is a good sign. Another catchup. It is Monday morning and I just drove to town to pick up some cough medicine and have breakfast at I HOP and do my blog. I’m still coughing a lot, doing my biking and knee exercises and having a lot of trouble sleeping. This has to end soon.

The UPS sign is done

Another reasonably productive day with a lot of napping. I did do almost all my piano work, my knee exercises, two sets of weights and yoga, got three more trays ready for planting, worked on my UPS sign (which of course took a lot of time) and finally got it set up by the sisson gate. I am pretty much done with my list of outdoor to do stuff, having finished clearing the holly bushes, and I will clear out around my lilac bush pretty shortly. I talked to Cathy and offered to help with the rent for Maddie and Claire’s apartment so they can get a very safe one. We had a nice chat about her teaching and the craziness of the administration (a circus run by clowns was our consensus). I spoke with Dave and had a brief but fun chat, mainly about how both of us keep losing things. I am watching the Duke / Notre Dame game at O’Charley’s and Duke is up but not by much.

lunch with Claire

Another pretty good day. I forced myself to hike this morning since I needed the hike and the wind was blowing heavily and that is always fun to walk in and I also wanted to check the road for obstacles. The road was fine and I got down to the second stump then headed back so I wouldn’t be rushed to get ready to have lunch with Claire. I washed the dishes but that was basically it and then I headed in to Nagoya to have sushi. Claire has very solid plans for her and Luke’s future and I really impressed. Luke isn’t interested in the crawl space job (he will be starting up his new business) but Claire remains interested. I will have to see because at this point she is having problems with her back and working in my crawl space would not be a good place for her if her back is a problem. I drove back home after picking up a post for my UPS sign and then napped. When I woke, I did my leg exercises, then my biking and my weights and yoga. I wrote out the UPS sign and it shouldn’t take too much time to put it up. I watered the greenhouse and before I left for dinner I covered the two trays since it is going to go down to 21 tonight. I watched a really good game between Duke and North Carolina and it looked like North Carolina would easily beat Duke but the second half was all Duke. They ended up winning my about 10 and they play for the ACC championship tomorrow. I had the fried fish for dinner (a real craving as I drove in) along with mashed sweet potatoes, broccoli, and a side salad. I think I am going to not do my lumosity training tonight just to give myself a break.

clearing around the cabin and shed

Thursday turned out to be a pretty good day. I decided to play golf so after getting up early I went back to sleep so I would be fully charged and headed out around 10. The course was pretty crowded but I got in nine holes and though I shot an 8 on number 1 (getting in the sandtrap cost me three shots), I ended up with a perfectly respectable 52. I then had lunch at Panda Express and drove home for a good nap. I got up and watched the Duke / Louisville game (which Duke came back and won) then fertilized the fruit trees, checked out the trees around the cabin and the upper shed (I trimmed a little up there), cut the plywood for my UPS sign, screwed the blank sign to the wood, watered the greenhouse and ended up doing thirty minutes of biking. I lay down again and realized that if I wanted to go out to dinner I would have to get dressed and get out quickly. I did and I headed for O’Charley’s where I had the bourbon bacon filet (excellent as usual) and watched the second half of the Tech game, which was close but they lost to Florida State, no big surprise. I emailed my kayak friend but haven’t heard back. I will be having lunch with Claire tomorrow and that should be fun. I am on 40 mg of Prednisone now and I hope that will not make me so tired but since my numbers are better I am not going to complain.

a wonderful dinner with a good friend

Wednesday turned out to be a very good day. I got up around 8:30 and forced myself to hike down to the orchard. On the way back I felt much more energy so that was nice. I took a long nap after my hike then did my knee exercises and my biking, watched Duke win a close game over Clemson, then got ready to drive to meet my kayak friend for dinner. She was very beautiful and we had a long fun conversation. Then I went over to Macados to watch the second half of the Tech game. I will head over to my office to do a few things then head home.

tired but productive

Tuesday was not a bad day but I was pretty tired through most of it although a got a reasonable amount done. I got a full piano workout in, did my knee exercises, did my weights and yoga, thirty minutes of biking, dish washing, finished the vacuuming, and straightened out a few things in the house. I decided to do a termite treatment and I did a very solid one. I also watered the greenhouse and the lettuce at least is coming up. I cut the shoots from all the trees around the house and fertilized the holly bushes in the front. The first four are still doing okay but the two to the far right should come out. They are barely alive and look pretty dead. I don’t have the energy right now to cut them out and dig out some of the roots so I will probably leave them alone. I also coiled up and put away the 100 foot extension cord above the furnace. I don’t have to do bloodwork on Thursday so that is a nice break. Hannah emailed me and I told I would be glad to meet with her to work on close readings and her Gatsby paper but I haven’t heard back.

more good numbers

Very good news on Monday with my numbers improving again. I must say I was incredibly tired today and though I must have napped for over eight hours, I did do my knee exercises and thirty minutes of biking along with the dishes and a little more straightening out inside. I watered the greenhouse and checked the generator oil (it looks fine to me, not dirty at all). I did play some piano. I finally got up around 8 from my third or fourth nap and then quickly showered and headed into Red Lobster for a nice flounder and sea scallop dinner. I emailed my kayak friend about Birdy’s Find Me and though she didn’t like the lyrics, I hope she gives it a chance. We are still planning to have dinner on Wednesday at Applebees. I called Chris Patrick and explained how I am the only one who can give permission to people to come on my property and that if Danny wants to he must have a waiver. Chris also said he is going to drop off some venison jerky soon.

Golf and a hike

Today, Sunday, was a pretty good day. I was able to do a hike, weights and yoga (2 sets), my knee exercises, wash most of the dishes, get in a couple of naps, and water the greenhouse. I wanted to play golf and I got off at about 3:10 and got to the golf course about 4:10 and played pretty well even though hole 11 was still a struggle. There is no place for the ball to stop since it is steep and there is no grass. I ended up with a 51 and that was much better than the 54 I had set as my goal. My kayak friend is feeling better and we are planning for dinner on Wednesday so that should be fun. After golf I headed to my office for a long nap then my lumosity training and my blog. I will be glad to drop 10 more mg of Prednisone on March 10th. I will call for my bloodwork on Monday. I am very tired but I hope as I wean myself from the Prednisone that will get better. Chris Patrick hasn’t returned my text but I am not sure if that is an active number. I left messages with Andy and Dougie to give me his number but I haven’t heard back yet. I hadn’t taken into account all the extra taxes will have to pay with social security and my withdrawals from my AXA accounts but after figuring it all out, it will make a very little difference with what I retire on.

cheesecake and gift checks

I can’t say Thursday night was an easy night to sleep but it was a good night thinking about Maddie getting a full ride to Wake Forest. I ended up doing my piano work, knee exercises, weights and yoga, biking for 30 minutes, watering the greenhouse and napping a lot. I ended up leaving around 3 and met Claire at Greens and had a nice late lunch. Everything is going well for her and after lunch we went over to the Frosty Parrot to have some really good yogurt (I had sea salt, caramel and pretzel and it was delicious. Then I drove to Barnes and Noble, picked up a slice of double chocolate cheesecake for Maddie, stopped at my office for more checks and then dropped off the cheesecake and gift checks for Maddie and Claire. Back to my office for a nice nap, then I printed out the AXA disbursement form, filled it out and left it for Holly to fax. I didn’t hear about my numbers but I will probably check on Monday. I did my lumosity training and my blog and I am about to head off for dinner.

Maddie's Great Success

This is a wonderful, wonderful day. After the stunning disappointment of Greensboro, Maddie Gallo got a full two year ride to the Wake Forest master’s program. I talked with her and she was so, so happy and it lifted me up to the skies, the best news in years. Maddie sent me the Wake email and I started crying. I am so excited for her. Cathy finally got to read my poem and she really liked it. Mrs. Church was a very special woman and a dear friend. I took a walk to the orchard (though it was a bit slow) then napped then covered the greenhouse plants for the coming freezing weather, then headed for my bloodwork (which was almost painless) then back home for a long nap and then my leg exercises and 30 minutes of biking. Then I drove to Red Lobster for a live lobster dinner and then over to O’Charley’s for dessert, a celebratory night for Maddie.

A decent day

Today, Wednesday, was a good day. I slept okay until 6:30, got up and did my knee exercises and some piano, then went back to sleep. I decided that with rain coming in the afternoon I would go play golf early and that worked out almost perfectly. I got to the eighth hole in good shape to get a 54 or a 55, well within my goal of a 57, but the rain hit on my second shot (just off the green) so I will have to finish next time. I went to Amelia’s for the lunch buffet and of course ate too much but it was very good. I napped when I got home then I tried to do a wash but the AEP electricity was out and the washing machine kept stopping. The extension cord in the house was a couple feet too short to reach the generator so I walked down to the tractor barn and got out the 100 foot extension cord and that solved the problem. The generator started right up without any starting fluid and I did my wash. I also did 30 minutes of biking and 2 sets of weights and yoga. I talked to Gloria on the way in and Bryana is getting married partly so she won’t get deported. Her boyfriend is English and she will get dual citizenship. I will have bloodwork tomorrow and I will see Claire for lunch on Friday. Claire Gallo is pretty sick and she may have an ulcer. She certainly has rotten luck. I offered to drive Maddie on Tuesday and Thursday but Cathy refused the offer, saying She and Lou have it under control. I am worried she is overdoing it and is getting too stressed and is going to get sick but there is nothing I can do except offer. I looked at Hannah Hale’s paper and it is a bit too general for my taste but I gave her some comments and I hope they help. My blood pressure is better with the additional meds so that is a relief. My eye is healing but that will take a few more weeks.