Busy, busy, busy

12.VI.07 - MoM

It has been a busy day. My leg didn't exactly ache, but instead there was nasty cramping that began to bother me. I finally gave in to my first "pain" pill - one plain Tylenol and I did the job. I had a pretty good nap, divided in three segments. It is coming up 5 p.m., and for a second day I took another one. Hasn't had time to work yet. I did a little more walking today and I have given in to a Tylenol again this evening. The actual pain in the effected area seems to be improving.

The three ring circus started at 8:15 with the arrival of the home care nurse. She spent the next approx 2 1/2 hours delving into every possible physical/medical thing that every happened in my life -- all having to be written on a huge batch of forms that will be transferred to their computer. It turns our that her place in this operation with be to monitor me once a week for my vital signs. So much for all my worries about what to do with a nurse helper. I had 15 minutes to go to the bathroom and replenish my water supply when the therapy girl arrived. She is youngish with a 4 year old little girl, and could not look more Scandinavian. Turns out that the exercise that the PT gave me in das Spital are the exact ones she uses and they are quite easy to do while sitting my chair. It should not be hard to do them twice a day.

She was here about an hour and Charlie and Sandy arrived with lunch giving me 3 choices. I opted for the tuna salad with Pita bread, some slices salad additions, and some excellent sliced fresh apricots. I'd like to see Meals on Wheels to come near matching that. She also left me some roast beef in good gravy and little cooked potatoes for tomorrow's lunch. Sandy has been helping Charlie at Jane's then she stopped in to tie up loose ends for the day. Before she was quite out the day, our wonderful former neighbor that takes care of mowing, snow, and was here for us everything DoD had to go to the emergency room, came by with their two cute kids to check up on me. It was a sad day when they had to more across town to a larger house.

I should have no trouble sleeping tonigh

Tomorrow, Charlie has to be in town further for Jane's house, and will check in on me. I have easy to fix food. Sandy may get a chance to work on her garden again and squeeze in a little golf.

This afternoon, the summer intern from the local paper called, and she is interested in doing the interview that one of the other women at the paper had suggested after I met her at Dave Wood's birthday party. I am keeping my fingers crossed on the outcome of that. I know how weird things can sound when quoted and after being several months overdue for a haircut, I can only hope for a miracle if there is a picture. It is surprising after having lived here almost 20 years how few people I know, mostly trades people, some of Sandy's friends and a couple of neighbors.

Next week, I will see the nurse once a week for a quick check and the PT twice a week. Ann was planning to bring a lunch for us here this week, but next week should be better.

Think the house is cool enough although it is 81° still outside. It is either shut it off or use your throw as a shawl on my bare arms as I did yesterday.

* * * * *

Still continuing the letter DoD wrote to Jim Benson about travels during the visit from Suzy and Chris to us in Salfelden. This was dated 22.XI.85.

We messed up on the train the next day at Como. The train was 40 minutes late and we got on the first one that came by. Wrong train -- goes to Zurich instead of Basel and on the Frankfurt. We came to - and got off at the Swiss border - and after some hassling by Customs and waiting in what the kids said felt like jail -- we got on the right train.
In the meantime, Florence was to meet us in Frankfort and had been trying to find hotel accommodations all of us there. No luck -- big Messe -- (trade fair) in town so she had to settle for rooms for us at Mannheim, about an hour from Frankfurt and cancelled her plans to meet us. We managed to get to Frankfurt Airport the next morning with a couple of hours to spare and with only a small problem in our connection at Frankfurt to the Airport S-Bahn. I left the kids at the Airport and returned to Munich, where I met Florence, who had come up from Saalfelden that same morning. We went on to Garmisch-Partenkirchen for a couple of days of R and R before our Eurailpasses ran out and we had to return back to Saalfelden. (Somehow DoD had more train problems in that 1 trip than in all the others put together.
I guess Chris will have told you some of this stuff and about the apartment and given you some details. Had a good upbeat letter from Suzy yesterday and she mentioned enjoying Giverny and we did, too. I got some nice pictures there.
While in Garmisch-Partenkirchen I spotted a little Nikon camera in a window along with an Olympus. I did not realize how much I would miss a camera especially with all the pretty mountains around. the Nikon was not too much more than the OIympus, weighed about the same, and is automatic everything. It loads the film, sets the speed from the code now on film, has automatic winding, and just push a button and film rewinds itself. DoD says this one seems as if it is not just foolproof but damn foolproof -- just what I need. I just sent in my first roll of slides yesterday.
Still nothing further said about the downstairs apartment we want to add and nothing done on it yet. We see Frau Manhardt once in a while when she is rushing in and out of here but she does not mention it. I think I told you that she said we could have cable. [She had said okay when he asked if we could have buy a TV but had said no cable hook-up. I guess Herr Wontroba suggested that she should let us have it if we paid for the installation and left it in when we finally left.] With the dollar dropping, it looks as if it will now cost us over 00. They dug up the street this week and it is in as far as a box on the far side of the house. Hope we get it some day. (1st snow last week 6".)
Have you heard anything further from Aunt Dottie?" She called me just before I left for Munchen and told me about it [her serious facial cancer]. Does not sound very good. I now want to find a dermatologist in Salzburg as there are none here and I want to get some things like hers checked. I am such a worrier about cancer to begin with. [I had to wait until the summer to get checked at George Town Hospital and to had one removed from my nose, same place as hers.]
A couple of weeks ago I got the Aug Peoples that you had mailed in early Sept -- the only ones to arrive since you left home in Aug. Just in a nick of time. Thanks for them! Looking forward to more soon. Wish we could join you for Thanksgiving. Do not plan to return this year. Only perhaps in spring if we have to pry Calif off dead center. Don't tell Aunt Dottie!