Catching Up

OK, time to catch up a bit since a lot has gone on the last two weeks. Surgery is going to take place tomorrow, July 1. I'm waiting to hear from the hospital as to what time I will have to be there, but I'm guessing that I'll watch the sun come up on the drive over.
I took a day off today, to take care of some odds and ends that require two fully functional arms, like mowing the lawn, cleaning the fish tank, updating the blog, paying some bills and runnning a few errands.
Loretta and I will go for our usual Wednesday date night sushi meal tonight. Yum.
I made the mistake of contacting the doctor and hospital to try to figure out how much this is all going to cost. If anyone thinks that we don't need medical reform in this country they need a doctor. The hospital charges $69 a minute for use of the operating room, and I'm scheduled for two hours. I'm figuring that by the time this is all finished, my insurance company will be billed close to $25,000 or more. Thankfully I have a limit on how much I have to pay annually out of pocket, but it still isn't cheap. I asked the doctor's office if they would consider removing a kidney while they are at it that I could sell to pay the bill. She didn't think it was funny.
Looking forward to getting this over and behind me.

Life can change so quickly.

Last Saturday, June 12, we lost my sister and friend, Judy, to breast cancer. I knew early in the week that her time may be drawing near, so postponed the surgery until a later time so that I could be in Cleveland.

I am so grateful for friends and relatives who have been so supportive these last few days, especially Loretta and my family. Without you, this would be so much more difficult to bear than it already is. I take great comfort in knowing that you are there.

I am also grateful for Judy's husband, Frank, who has been right by her side during this entire time. I am sure that Judy was comforted by his never faltering love and care.

There is an old gospel song, "Going Home" that is based on a classical piece of music by Dvorak. I have always been a fan of gospel and spiritual music, but it's one of my favorites. Part of the lyrics are:

"Going home, going home, I'm a going home;
Quiet-like, some still day, I'm just' going home.
It's not far, just close by,
Through an open door;
Work all done, care laid by,
Going to fear no more.

Mother's there expecting me,
Father's waiting too;
Lots o' folk gathered there,
All the friends I knew,
All the friends I knew.
Home, I'm going home!"

Judy has gone home, and I will miss her terribly, but know that some day she will be waiting for me and I will see her again.

Rest in peace, sis.

Best Father's Day Gift

Ellen was here to visit this weekend and brought what might be one of the most thoughtful early Father's Day presents ever: The One Handed Mandolin Slicer. This will undoubtedly allow me to hone my one-handed cooking skills over the next few weeks. Nice! Thanks, Ellen!
Less than two days to go.

Still Practicing

I'm still practicing doing everyday tasks left-handed with various degrees of success. Eating is easy. Shaving is difficult. Loretta and I were in the store the other night, in the aisle with toilet paper, and I asked where the left-handed kind was.
Saw my chiropractor yesterday, Dr. Jim. Great guy and a very good doctor. He's going to help out with the rehab. Pretty much every time I have gone to see him I walk out feeling better. I met Jim when I was an extra in Opera Columbus' production of "Aida" a few years ago.
Loretta's birthday was yesterday and we had a nice dinner with friends and evening.

One Week to Go

One week from today is "the day." It sort of sunk in this morning when I turned the calendar page to June and realized that what once seemed like a good ways off is right around the corner.
Loretta and I spent an awesome long weekend in Niagara on the Lake, in Canada. We had great weather that enabled us to do some hiking in the Niagara gorge (not too close to the falls) on Saturday, and a self-guided bike tour of a few wineries on Sunday. Ask Loretta about her experience in hand feeding chickens and gathering eggs that were just laid. Nice!