bobmacliberty

Both of these are difficult for her. She doesn't like to take it easy...she always has to be doing something and can't just sit. And she doesn't like the way that I do things around the house. I cook differently, clean the kitchen differently, and do the laundry differently. We counted and this is her 10th surgery (of varying degrees of seriousness) so we're both kind of used to what it takes to get through the next few days/weeks. It's my job to make her feel comfortable and heal properly.

I'll add my congrats also. Being done with chemo is a huge milestone and a great reason to celebrate. From close personal experience with 2 family members, I agree 1000% that a positive attitude makes a big difference. I don't know how that actually works within the brain/body, but it definitely does.

I haven't been here in several days and I've missed a lot. I hope everyone is doing well, and hugs to those who need it. Micheline decided to fix her ongoing off and on back pain problem. You may recall that she was flat on her back for a few days during our big trip last fall. That was starting to happen more frequently, and she was being very careful (almost) every time that she bent and twisted. She hit a great tee shot on the 6th hole a couple of weeks ago, and in her excitement, bent over quickly to pick up the tee. Boom...done for the day (actually a few days). No fun constantly being concerned if/when it might come back. Yesterday, she had L4/L5 microdiscectomy surgery. I'm not a doctor, but this essentially removed the part of the herniated L4/L5 disc that was pressing on nerves and causing the problem. She had a little more pain than expected after the surgery and some nausea issues coming out of general anesthesia but she's feeling better now. She's able to walk around and any pain is being managed by Percocet (Oxycodone plus acetominophen). That should hopefully only last a few more days. If all goes according to plan, she can go back to regular physical activity (golf and working out) in a month...with a few weeks to spare before our daughter's wedding. 🤞

I'm fascinated by this. So you drive onto a train and the train shuttles you through the tunnel? I've taken the Eurostar a couple of times and always thought that there was a tunnel for cars to drive as well.

Congrats! Those blood tests are a cause for stress, and then a cause for great relief and celebration. I suggest a nice bottle of wine to celebrate.

I won't be watching but based on this tease, I'd better record it. Any hints?

We don't have any bunnies around here...geckos, squirrels, frogs, snakes, turtles, gnats, mosquitos, etc...but no bunnies. We did have bunnies in Ohio though and Micheline most definitely did NOT think they were cute. Whatever flowers she planted would get mowed down within a week. We trained our dog to chase them away, but they kept coming back.

Greg - I hope that both you and Linda can get your bodies fixed. Retirement should be a time of fun, not pain.

We suffer through. The hardest part is waking up early enough to see it.

You are much more adventurous than us. That must be at least 20 hours of driving plus a ferry. It would take us several days just to recover from the drive.

I was surprised to hear that he's worth close to a billion until I checked out his Wikipedia page. I didn't know that he co-founded A&M records in 1962 with Jerry Moss (Alpert & Moss...A&M). The list of artists on the A&M label over the years is simply incredible. They eventually sold to Polygram in 1989 for $500M and received an additional $200M as a settlement for a breach of integrity lawsuit against Polygram (whatever that means).

The wedding is September 9th...not too far away. My parents retired to Savannah and I used to go to the downtown area at least once a year, but that was probably at least 15 years ago. SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) has bought a lot of run down property away from River Street and refreshed it, so the downtown area is looking a lot better than I remember it. The old houses along the many squares still look great.

We awoke late the next morning and decided to go for a big breakfast (which we don't normally do) and skip lunch. We went to the breakfast buffet in the lobby restaurant called Turbine Market + Cafe. While not as extensive as the Windjammer, everything was fresh and the cooked to order omelets were excellent. We were about halfway through our breakfast when Micheline noticed the artwork above us, a sculpture rendering of the Lunch Atop a Skyscraper photo. We had already decided that we needed to go back there and spend a couple of nights, so we spent the rest of the morning checking out the rest of the area. There are several small gathering areas and fountains scattered about, and shops along the street. There's another rooftop lounge called the Myrtle & Rose Rooftop Garden. Although it wasn't open yet, we were able to go up and walk around. It had sort of an Alice in Wonderland feel to it. It would be a great place to enjoy a cocktail on a nice night. Chess set with different types of artifical turf as chessboard squares. There's a very nice rooftop pool area atop the 3rd building. I didn't see any chair hogs. We strolled along the river front to see what we had missed the previous night. I found a cool little Biergarten. Wish I'd seen that the night before. The smoke stacks from the original power plant and still part of the complex (including a private room part of the Chophouse that's inside one of the stacks) and the Talmadge Memorial Bridge always seemed to be in the background. We really enjoyed this place and will definitely be back, since it's only a 2 hour drive for us. If you've not been to Savannah since this area opened, I'd highly recommend it. Before driving back home, we toured the Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters. It was an interesting hour spent seeing how both the Savannah rich and their enslaved people lived in the 1800s. The house itself was ahead of its time in several aspects, including a complex indoor plumbing system before even the White House had indoor plumbing. The house also had many faux finishes, like Georgia pine wood that was painted to look like Oak, Mahogany, and even marble. Creating the faux finishes was more expensive than using the real material, and was therefore a way for the rich to "show off" to guests. Who knew?

Our daughter is in the middle of a bachelorette party weekend in Savannah. 11 girls in a nice, large Airbnb. We drove up to Savannah yesterday to get the house ready for their arrival...food, drink, decorations, etc. I also acted as chauffer from the airport. Once most of the girls had arrived, we left them alone to party without the old people. We decided to stay overnight in the JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District. The whole Plant Riverside District is fairly new (3 years) and a little further upstream than the River Street area that's been a highlight of Savannah for many years. There was an old power plant located there that has been converted to a really cool "upscale industrial" hotel and a bunch of restaurants/bars/shops/entertainment areas. It reminded me of a cruise ship on land in that everything you needed for several days of fun is right there, including a jewelry/art store 😁. You can take "excursions" during the day and go do the other fun stuff that Savannah has to offer. So with that cruise ship on land idea in mind, I thought I'd provide a short review of our stay. The hotel spans 3 different buildings with different "vibes". We were in the main Plant Plant building with lots of exposed brick, steel beams, ductwork, etc. They did a great job of maintaining the original power plant industrial character while creating modern and comfortable rooms. They have a lot of art scatter about, some of which was very unique (like a Royal ship). The huge main lobby area had a large chrome dinosaur suspended from the ceiling. We arrived before check-in, wanting to drop our luggage before heading to the Airbnb. I asked if they had any upgrades available (I have Marriott Bonvoy status) and they were able to immediately give us a corner room with a river view, which we appreciated. Our view, overlooking the river and Starbucks below. We then headed to the Airbnb where we unloaded a lot of supplies. Micheline stayed there to get things set up while I went to the airport. I had to practically drag Micheline out of there around 7:30. I think she really wanted to stay for the weekend, while I really needed to go get dinner. So back to the hotel we went. We walked along the river trying to decide where to eat, passing a few interesting areas. Our original plan was to eat at District Seafood, but the menu was mostly fried seafood, which we generally avoid. It was also all outside (partly covered) and it was beastly hot. We then headed toward District Smokehouse (BBQ), but it was similarly outside, so we went inside to Stone & Webster Chophouse. I started with a great Old Fashioned that used vanilla flavored demerara simple syrup and then had a perfectly cooked 8 oz filet. Micheline had a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc and some fantastic diver sea scallops. Add a couple of sides of grilled asparagus and pomme frites and we had a really good meal, although expensive. Fortunately, a stay at the hotel included a $33 credit at one of the restaurants to soften the blow. Sorry...no food porn. After dinner, we decided to check out the Electric Moon Skytop Lounge and get a nightcap. It's on the roof of the power plant building and is a high energy dance bar. The DJ music was thumping when we got there but it wasn't too crowded yet and we found a place to sit outside away from the music. Our view of the river from the rooftop. After a few minutes, a smallish cargo ship was being escorted up river by some tug boats, which I thought was an interesting contrast to the dance music being played. Savannah.mp4 When we first arrived, most of the people there were 40 and over. After about 30 minutes, the 20 somethings started arriving, including a couple of other bachelorette parties. Time for their night to get started, and time for us to go to bed. 😁

I'll add to what others have stated by saying that this is naturally a little scary to you. It sounds complicated, anything associated with the "C" word is scary in itself, and it's all new to you. However, it's not new to your medical team. They deal with this all the time and I'm sure they are fully confident. As @Sea Viewer said, ask any and all questions that you have. A positive attitude is a tremendous asset and full knowledge of what's happening really helps. Kick cancer's ass!

The Amelia Island Club

We had a great Fourth of July party at our club last night. We had some thunder late afternoon but never saw any rain and the evening stayed dry, although warm in the upper 80s. The estimate that I heard was 1200 people attending, ranging from older grandparents to little kids. Live band, great food, and an open bar made for a fun environment. FourthParty.mp4 The fireworks show was fantastic...choregraphed to patriotic music (except for the verses of Born in the USA, but I digress). WARNING...almost 6 minutes of fireworks incoming. Fireworks.mp4

Best of luck with your treatment. I guess it's good news that they won't put in a port. To me, it would mean that they are planning on 6 IVs and then done. One of the biggest advances made in chemo the last several years is the ability to manage nausea.

Thanks Graham. You are far too classy to do so, but I would have enjoyed if you had posted this instead. 😁

I'm not an RVer...just an inquiring mind. Have you ever used the Starlink system for internet while camping? With YouTubeTV, it would seem to be a nice solution for television AND internet. Although TV probably defeats part of the purpose of camping and 5G coverage is becoming more ubiquitous.

We'd do a Retreat Suite as well. One of the reasons that we'd pick Edge class. The Sky suites look very tempting. It's not clear but appears that the Sky suites themselves are not in the Retreat area, although you get Retreat access. Is this correct? Anything that you post, whenever you want to post it, would be greatly appreciated. I've done a LIVE and it indeed is a lot of work. I'd love to hear your thoughts also Dani! This is very, VERY tempting. Off to do some research... The Penthouse is out of my price range. I'm trying to convince myself to pay for an Edge Villa, which seems sorta like a Royal CLS. ABCs are a great cruise! I'll need to check that out as well. I've read that Eden is a must do. Have you eaten there?

I'm looking at Celebrity (Edge class) right now for our next cruise. It's interesting and exciting looking at a line we've never sailed before...sort of like cruising for the first time again. I'd love to hear what you think after your September cruise.

Mmmmmm. Little bits of heaven.

Spectacular shot!

🎶 Meet the Mets, meet the Mets, step right up and beat the Mets. 🎶 😜