Temp Up - Stock Market Down!

Mr. Indi called me at 3:15 to say that he was on his last bag of fluid (a saline solution to flush his system) and was feeling pretty good. I was able to pick him up at 4:00 p.m. and we were both happy to be back home before 5:00 p.m. - just in time to make a nice dinner of smoked turkey, cheesy potatoes and salad.

Well, what a day it was. I watched with mild amusement as the representatives of the two political parties threw blame at each other while the stock market melted down like a bar of tainted Cadbury's chocolate in the noonday sun! I really have no sympathy for the people who took out mortgages for houses that they couldn't afford but it seems that their greed is now costing everybody a lot of money. Mr. Indi's pension lost several thousands of dollars yesterday! Why? We have always lived within our means and I very much resent the idea of bailing anybody out. But - the government will do whatever it wants! Sigh!

The hot weather continues and my arthritis is not at all happy about it. The dark clouds didn't produce any rain but I heard the radio crackle a few times - so there was some lightning about. By afternoon, the mercury was up to 103F and the garden continued to gasp! The venerable weather man has promised a cooling trend by the weekend - Ha! down to 90F no doubt!

Mr. Indi was up very early this morning - working on his computer. He has had all of about 2 hours sleep - in 15 minute increments. I hope he will be able to rest as the steroids wear off.

The picture is of a grove of bamboo at Quail Gardens.

Will it Rain?

I shall take Mr. Indi to the chemo clinic at 9:00 this morning and then I shall stress out for the rest of the day while I wait for a phone call to say that he is OK and to go and pick him up. I hope everything will be OK.

There are lots of dark clouds around this morning and the forecast calls for a chance of thunderstorms - wouldn't that be wonderful?

The picture is of some pretty white flowers - Duh! you can see that! I took the pic in Redlands.

A Hidden Treasure

So, our first stop was the little town of Murrieta. Last time we were there, I had seen a signpost pointing to the "Historic Old Town" district and this time I wanted to check it out. Well, the "Historic Old Town" district is all of about 6 blocks long and is mostly ramshackle old houses - many of them boarded up. Sad really.

We parked the car and walked up and down both sides of the street - not much to see - but before we left we went into the antique store that is hidden behind the shade trees in the photo above. It was typical of many antique stores - an old house with rooms filled with tatty old junk that nobody wants - but lo and behold - I saw a wondrous sight! One of the rooms had been turned into a lovely little knitting yarn shop!

Anyone who knows me will understand why my eyes glazed over and I began to drool at the sight of all that lovely yarn! There was wonderful DK from England in a beautiful powder blue - and gorgeous silk ribbon yarn from Germany in a luscious orange. I thought I had died and been transported to knitters heaven. Sitting at a table in the middle of the room was the owner of the little knitting shop - a young lady in her twenties. She could see that I was overwhelmed with emotion as I fondled the balls of yarn - and when I took my own knitting project out of my handbag - she lowered her eyes in awe! At least, I think it was awe - or maybe she was thinking, "What is this barmy old lady doing with a ball of yarn and knitting needles in her handbag?"

Mr. Indi found me in the little yarn shop and reminded me that we were having a day out in order to help with his mental health and not to satisfy my unnatural desire to purchase more yarn than one can possibly use in several lifetimes. So we left!

The rest of our day was spent with lunch in Temecula - it wasn't bad but it wasn't good either - followed by a wander around more antique shops with an even bigger array of tat than we had previously seen! Does anyone ever buy any of this junk?

We were home by 4 p.m. and I made the most delicious dinner of pork chops and roast spuds and fresh green beens - ahhhh! Perfect! - But I do wish I had bought some yarn!

I Wish!

I wish I had a hammock in a shady spot where I could lie and read a book - but I don't so - Oh Well!

Me and him are going for a ride today - he wants to have a little outing before he has to face his chemo again on Monday. I can't decide where to go though. The weather is very hot here (forecast to be 105F today) so the roads to the beach will be jammed. I don't feel like negotiating the mountain roads so I suppose we will go to the wine country or other points south. I think I will just get in the car and let it take me wherever it wants!

Yesterday we went to Riverside for lunch. The food was good, as always - but, I have a sneaky suspicion that the waiter was pulling a fiddle by not putting the cash in the till. I saw him place the tab and money under a shelf near the cash register - why would he do that? Hmmmm! Makes me feel very uncomfortable - I hate dishonest people.

We watched the presidential debate last night - twas like watching grass grow! I do wish Senator McCain would wipe that stupid smirk off his face. We've already had 8 years of stupid smirks - I can't take any more! Senator Obama looked and sounded quite presidential, I thought. That would be a novel addition to the White House - someone who is presidential ! Just imagine! Still, I expect McCain and his ditzy side-kick will win. Well, at least she will provide us all with a few laughs as America slowly sinks into the sunset!

I took the photo at the County Fair - in the garden exhibit.

Go Dodgers Go!

Today's blog was going to be rather sad - I've had a sad couple of days - but in between the tears, there was some good news and smiles.

The Los Angeles Dodgers won the National League Western Division Conference of the Baseball race. Yea! I have been a Dodgers fan for over 20 years and this year the team is looking awesome - and that is in part due to the acquisition of the fabulous Manny Ramirez - but, there again, Nomar Garciaparra is pretty good too! And, mustn't forget the manager, Joe Torre - Great job Joe!

The picture is of Manny Ramirez ( found on the web - photo by Reuters) and now that the Dodgers are going to be in the play-offs, I really must get one of those Manny Ramirez baseball caps that have the dreadlocks attached! I have looked all over the web for one but it seems that I will have to go down to Dodger Stadium to buy one. Bummer! Dodger Stadium isn't that far away - maybe 50 miles - BUT it is soooooo awkward to get to and means negotiating about 5 different freeways through the middle of Los Angeles - Grrrr!

Mr. Indi asks if I would wear the blinkin' hat if he could find one for me. Of course! What do you think?

His Lordship is home today - he's had a couple of bad nights and can only go so far without sleep and - as it's Friday and not much happening at work - he's going to take it easy.

Up - Down - Sideways!

Mr. Indi will be having chemo again next Monday even though his blood test results where somewhat mixed. His PSA has crept up by 7 points to 93 - not a good trend. However, his alkaline phosphatase was down to 265. The alkaline phosphatase test measure the cancer activity in the bones. A normal reading is from 20 to 120 but a couple of months ago, Mr. Indi's reading was up around 450 so the downward trend is in the right direction.

The hematocrit reading is up from 28.3 to 30.0 and the hemoglobin is up from 9.7 to 10.0. This is good news for the red blood cell brigade and Dr. Dina told Mr. Indi he can skip his stab myself in the belly with a very sharp needle routine this week! Yea!

Even though the doctor visits are a big pain, we always enjoy seeing Dr. Dina - Dr. J's assistant. She is the kindest, gentlest and most compassionate little lady we have ever met. And when I say little, I ain't kidding. You could pick her up and put her in your pocket! OR - as Little Ronnie would say, " You could wear her on a charm bracelet." She's a love.

Mr. Indi is back to work today and I am off to the import store to get some beef pies for dinner. I'm having a a yearning for a soggy pie with chips and gravy! As far as my own doctor appointment - I gave up and my arthritis seems to be quite a bit better this past couple of days. As Ma used to say - most things get better - or not!

Angel Fish

I got a note from Mr. A to say that his friend has come up with the answer to the question - "What is that old blue car?" It's a 1956 Mercury Monterey. Well, who'd a thunk it. You certainly don't see too many Mercurys about any more - I think they went belly up donkey's years ago. Good job chaps!

Mr. Indi is home today because he has to see the doc about his blood test results. If they look good he will be going for chemo again next Monday. I am still trying to get an appointment and I think that if I can't get in to see a doc today, I shall go and camp on the doorstep of the clinic.

I hate to sound like a crotchety old lady BUT - here goes! My neighbor (2 doors down) is having some tile work done. I cannot for the life of me figure out what the heck they are tiling but there has been a chap with a tile cutting saw working in their front yard for at least a week now. He starts the saw up at 7:30 in the morning and is still sawing at 7:30 at night! Cor struth - they must be putting tile up the walls - on the ceiling - across the floor - down to the bottom of the garden! The saw is bad enough but when it runs it makes the other neighbor's dogs bark! Arggg. No peace for the wicked!

The picture is another from the floral exhibit at the Los Angles County Fair. I didn't get it quite centered - sigh!