Meandering Missive: A good, busy Presidents' Day

Monday, February 20, 2006

A good, busy Presidents' Day

Today was filled with many different things, and I feel good about how productive it was -- especially since I have such trouble with time management and time-wasting! (It also happened to be Presidents' Day.)

The most important thing is that today was my dad's birthday! Hence the festive userpic. He turned 83 today. Wow. Each year he's with is us a blessing; especially in light of his chronic health problems. Even though he doesn't read my journal, I still want to say: "Happy Birthday Daddy!" :) (his fave colour is blue)

I set my alarm a wee bit earlier than usual because I had an eagerly awaited chiropractor appointment today. And I didn't even feel horribly sleepy or sluggish upon awakening like I sometimes do. (Maybe my body knew it was waking early for a good reason, as I love going to the chiro!) It was a great appointment as usual; I really think he's the most sensitive, caring, and knowledgeable chiropractor in town -- not to mention the friendliest! My mom's been going to him for 5 or 6 years, and I've been going for 4 or 5. He and his son have a practice together, and the son is wonderful as well -- he learned from the best. :)

Afterwards, my mom and I visited a longtime family friend who had a mastectomy last week. Her surgeon thinks the cancer was localized and that the prognosis is good. She'll know more soon. She was in good spirits and looked good as well. We brought over some homemade spaghetti and (store-bought) garlic bread, because she doesn't really feel like cooking for a few more days. Her husband and daughter were there too, and it was nice to hang out for a while and chat with such nice people. :) Our friend is especially grateful to my mom, because my mom loaned her several excellent books on breast cancer and dealing with all the emotions that come with it. As some folks know, my mom recently passed her 5-year anniversary of being a breast cancer survivor! :) Hers was Stage I, thank goodness, and her prognosis was very good from the start. And now that she passed the 5-year mark, it's excellent!

My dad had decided, prior to today, that he wanted to go out to lunch, not dinner, for his birthday. And the place he chose was John's XLNT Foods, which despite the funny name is a restaurant where I can truly say: "I've never had a bad meal." :) It's a family-run establishment that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and has been around since the 1970s. It has such a large and loyal patron base that it's never had to advertise. The owners are Greek, and as such have a variety of Greek foods (my faves are the avgolemono, or Greek lemon soup, and the moussaka.) They also serve Italian food (of which my faves are the minestrone soup and the spaghetti/ravioli combo plate). And of course, they also serve good old American food, which I also love.

My dad's chronic health problems, BTW, are mainly his lung disease. He started smoking around junior high school age and didn't quit until his late 20s (I think?). It was when he was married to his first wife, so I'm not sure of the timeline. At any rate, he has advanced COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). The main component of it for him is emphysema, although he may also have some attributes of chronic bronchitis. He uses oxygen when he goes out of the house, because otherwise he gets too out-of-breath to safely go anywhere, as it's too hard on his heart otherwise. As it is, he has cor pulmonale, a condition in which the right side of the heart becomes enlarged and weakened, due to the strain of trying to circulate blood through the inefficient lungs.

In recent months, he was also diagnosed with a type of mild cognitive impairment that happens sometimes in COPD patients. This is due to the brain not getting as rich a supply of oxygen in its blood as it requires. The impairment is so gradual that it often goes unnoticed. Using oxygen more can help keep it from progressing, as can Ginkgo biloba supplements, which increase circulation, especially in the brain. He's even taking the drug Aricept, which is most often prescribed for Alzheimer's patients but is also used in people with other brain-related situations.

Gosh! That was a bit of a downer, eh? Sorry about the "too much information." Most folks here don't even know my dad. But it felt good to talk about him. Plus on his birthday it makes me think more about these things than on other days. *sigh*

ANYWAY... after lunch, we went on a wild goose chase to pick up his B-Day dessert. We first stopped at San Jose's famous Dick's Bakery for their famous Burnt Almond Cake (my dad requested the chocolate version). They're closed Mondays, however, so we next tried Bakers Square for a pecan pie, but they were sold out! :( My dad doesn't stand on ceremonies and said tomorrow would be just as good as today to get the pecan pie, so we'll try again!

As soon as I got home, I saw my two squirrel friends. Well, I'm trying to make friends with ALL the squirrels, but so far these two are the most responsive. I think they're a "couple", because I often see them playfully chasing each other around and around the big camphor tree. They also stay within eye-shot of each other when they're foraging on the ground for food. The more outgoing one I've nicknamed "Peanut". I'm not sure what to call Peanut's partner. "Goober" is a term for the peanut in the South, and although I'm not Southern, I think it's kind of a cute and funny name. In truth, I'm not sure which squirrel in this pair is the male and which is the female, but somehow I get the feeling that Peanut, the most friendly one, is the female. Not that it matters. :)

What matters is that BOTH of them now recognize me even when I'm quite a distance away. If they're in a tree, they climb down and scamper over. If they're already on the ground, they come even closer, sometimes even standing on their hind legs, as if to say "Okay, I'm here! Where's the treats?" SOOO CUTE! They also respond to my voice when I call to them, and they definitely also know the sound of the peanut bag! Each day they dib closer and closer to me, and are less and less nervous. One of these days I think I'll be able to hand them the peanuts, rather than throwing the peanuts at them. That would be nice, because they always get scared for a split second when they see the peanut coming at them, no matter how gently I toss it. (All animals, including humans, have an instinct to avoid being hit by a flying object! *chuckle*)

I haven't been able to snap a photo of them when they stand up, but hopefully I will soon (I love their white furry bellies!) In the meantime, here are two new photos of them on the ground. The first pic is the cutest, because the squirrel (either Peanut or Goober) was only 2 or 3 feet away. Look at that cute little mouth and those shiny eyes and fur! It was looking at me all quizzically -- probably wondering what the curious shiny metal thing was and if it was EDIBLE! (Sorry squirrel friend, it was only my camera!) What I like best about the second photo is the cuteness of the squirrel's little shadow. You can click either of the pix to view a larger version. After the pix, I'll finish describing my day.

In the afternoon, I took a refreshing shower and shampooed and conditioned my mane. My fave part was using the yummy Grapefruit & Wild Ginger conditioner by Nature's Gate Organics, whose products I love but can only find at Whole Foods Market. This particular conditioner smells like an orange creamsicle -- double yum!!

For dinner tonight, I'm proud to say I made another of my beef-and-veggie stir fry meals. It turned out delicious, too! I say I'm "proud" because I'm not a very good cook and am trying to build up my confidence in the kitchen. *blush* I prefer baking more than cooking, but one cannot live on baked goods alone! ;) is always encouraging me to "take baby steps" in the kitchen, and I'm really trying. Maybe one day I'll be as good a cook as she and her husband "DH" are!

Oh, but before dinner, I finally remembered to call up my old friend Freddy, who with her husband John own/run The Wild Bird Center of Los Gatos. I'd hoped she might hire me as part-time help as the Christmas season got underway, but she already had enough P-T employees and the season wasn't as great as she'd hoped anyway. Now that spring is coming, I thought I should check in with her again, but she still doesn't have any openings in her small group of employees, especially since she and her husband work a lot of shifts themselves. She said she'll definitely remember me if any of her part-timers leave and she needs a hole filled.

She and I have known each other for years, and she knows how much I love her merchandise and how good I am with people, so maybe it'll work out sooner than I think. :) The merchandise, BTW, concentrates on bird feeders, bird food, bird books, etc. but also includes general "nature-themed" things like field guides on flowers and mammals, garden accessories, plant- and animal-themed jewelry and gifts, etc. And yes, even squirrel stuff!! ;D In the meantime, tomorrow I'm going to give a follow-up phone call to SummerWinds Nursery, where I've already applied for part-time work and would be tickled pink to actually get it! I also have two additional job applications at two additional stores that I love and are extremely close to my home. One is Diddams Party Store; the other is Barnes & Noble. I hope to finish filling them out tonight and turn them in tomorrow. No time like the present!

Today I am feeling accomplished.

posted by ScaryShari @ 7:33 PM

1 Comments:

At 11:51 AM, Fran said…

Best to you on the job aps! I know what you mean about talking about those that are having health problems--sometimes people just don't understand our need to express what those we love and/or care about are going through. I think it must frighten some people. I am just thankful for my dear sister & co-workers when my wonderful Dad was so caught up in dementia. She works with those types of patients and is a font of knowledge. I would love to work at Summer Winds. I probably wouldn't get home with any money tho! Hope everyone enjoyed your Dad's B-Day celebration and even tho I don't know him tell him Happy B-Day for me. Mine was Friday.

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