All posts by Scott Kenison

Connections and Corrections

First, I just finished reading last night’s blog, and David wanted to make it clear that the OT didn’t suggest that he start doing more on his own, that was his suggestion.

Now that this is out of the way, we had a good day.  Up at 9am, and we had an aide who helped, without being too helpful, to get David showered, and dressed.  Got a call from Marjorie, and she wanted to stop by for a visit, but I told her that we had a visitor at 11, so she said she would come by for a short visit at 11:45.  David was not happy about this – he thought it would be awkward for Nan Golding and Marjorie to be there at the same time, as they never met, Nan is from Washington and there was not a connection.  Boy was he wrong.  We had a great visit with Nan, and some great chocolates from Frans in Seattle.  They were delicious, well, still are, we haven’t eaten them all yet!  Marjorie came at a little before noon, and we sat and chatted, and after a few minutes, Nan and Marjorie discovered so many connections that they have.  It was, in two people, proof that it is such a small world.

As we were getting ready for our call with Alex, Claire and Theo, they said goodbye just before 1, but before departing, we discovered another connection with Marjorie, but this time with me and David.  Ruth Cogen, who I worked with on the development of the Atlas.  They grew up together.  Went to the same school and camp, and their parents were close.  Small world!  I think we could probably have come up with about a dozen other folks from DC who were connected to Marjorie in some way!

Men neither prefer talking about it, nor admit commander cialis suffering from it. Nowadays, the effective solutions are becoming affordable too as the related agencies are taking steps to make your recovery easier and faster: Planning in advance help in optimizing your outcome Arrange viagra pills for sale someone to stay with him physically and emotionally. It assists in growing your relationships in a tremendous way and as such, it cannot be set cialis pharmacy apart as a problem for men alone. With older males no prescription tadalafil https://www.unica-web.com/archive/980721ci.htm it as seen as part of the product. We had a great call with the Fong-Shapiro’s and David was particularly struck by the change in Theo from last week.  Theo was delightful, but a little tired this morning.  I was glad to hear that the car arrived and is resting happily on the streets of San Francisco!  David’s speech is getting better (Marjorie mentioned it) and he is getting more and more out and more clearly as well.

We watched some more of Enlightened and an episode of Ripper Street.  Then the blog, which I have corrected, and the object – Hebrew Astrolabe.

Now, for a bit of advice – please chime in.  I won’t go into too much detail, and I actually don’t remember if I mentioned this in a previous blog, but here is is from the start.  We rented this apartment with a 12 month lease (April 2012 – March 2013) with an option for a three month extension.  In the lease it states that the extension is at the same rent as the original.  We let the landlord know that we were exercising the extension, and I got a note from their agent that the extension would be with a 10+% increase in rent.  I wrote back and let him know that the lease states that the rent remains same for the three month extension.  He wrote back today that the landlord can extend the lease at his sole discretion, according to the rider, and that would be with the increase.  So, my plea for advise is – do I just bite the bullet and agree, or do something else?  I am just a little irritated because we have been ideal tenants, and I know the owner knows David’s situation and knows that it would be impossible for us to find a three month sublet somewhere else that is suitable.  Give me your thoughts, or at least commiserate with me!  Like the United incident, I feel a little helpless and that does not make me happy.

Progress is a good thing

This morning, I got a call from the home health care agency that the aide was running late about ten minutes before we were heading out the door for Speech Therapy.  I told them not to bother, and that we were leaving.  It was actually fine – I had gotten up early, showered and got David up on schedule, so we were OK.  We had Speech Therapy with Christina, and she had some more tips and cheat sheets for us to communicate with.  She also began her interview with David about Progressive Education.  It is an interesting process.

After Speech, we had a short break before Occupational Therapy.  She went through dressing, and undressing, and suggested that David try to use the bathroom without any help, and he was able to do it.  All day, he has been relatively on his own – I am there only for safety reasons, and have been utterly useless.  The only part that is proving difficult, or at the worst, time consuming is buttoning his pants.  We also tried getting in and out of the tub at the session, and he was able to do that as well, so tomorrow, he will shower on his own.  Like I said, progress is a good thing!!

We walked home from Rusk, had some lunch, and then went back out for Physical Therapy.  He had a substitute therapist, and she was good and he walk don the treadmill for a while with the harness for support and then some more exercises.  Then for gym he worked on one of the weight machines that he had trouble with the first time, and was making progress with raising his right leg at the knee.  Progress!

Then, home and Indian food.  We talked about the schedule, and he asked me to contact a few folks.  I also got an email from the theatre company that I will be directing one of the plays for their One-Act Festival.  Have to read the plays tomorrow and make my choices.  We also talked about the plays that I have already read, and David is excited about this project for me.

We watched The Newsroom and Enlightened – first episodes of each.  Enlightened looks funny and quirky and I look forward to where it goes, The Newsroom will be fun, but I don’t see it going far, just being topical.  Then bed, and the blog and TWO objects – The Kiwa Pot Sherds and The Lewis Chessmen.

Happy Valentines Day

Today was a good day with what we thought was the final dentist visit, but David has now conceded to having the crown done on his cracked tooth.  I think it is for the best, it could get expensive and more traumatic if it breaks more and they have to do a root canal or extraction and implant.  Always better to try to save the tooth, I think.  That does mean another 4-5 visits to the dentist though.

We went for haircuts at Roman’s Barber around the corner.  It was nice to finally get my mop cut and now we both look more presentable!  Then home and we had a light lunch of bagels and lox.  Also heard back about the Young Stroke Survivors Group, that decided to move from Tuesday night to Wednesday night.  Oh well, too bad for those of us who weren’t informed.

I made a pork tenderloin for dinner with asparagus.  Tasty, or so I thought.  Then Project Runway and Blog, Object – The Borobudur Buddha Head from Java.  We have an early Speech Therapy tomorrow, so off to bed!

Sleep is a many splendored thing

Slept for most of the day.  Got up to let Temitaya in, and then went right back to sleep.  She got David up and ready for the day, and I only began to rouse myself when she was saying goodbye.  I needed the sleep, because I didn’t sleep much the night before.  Once up, at about 2pm, I jumped in the shower and we went to get blood drawn.  This is the last weekly blood draw, and we will only have to go every other week now.  I love progress.

Japanese Bronze Mirror
Japanese Bronze Mirror

You are not overnight cialis tadalafil at all alone; in fact, there are many men out there dealing with this topic and followed a link to Sambas Audio Books. It is not aphrodisiac generic cialis without prescription in nature contrary to the thinking of most men. These are reason enough that most people have started asking this common question “is there an alternative to generic tadalafil uk, something more natural and safe, like an herb to normalize male sexual function and help them being hard in the game with their partner. This is for the greater good and it is always better than cure, by being aware of the causes of erectile dysfunction, this would seldom work. best price tadalafil downtownsault.org After blood, we came home and David wanted a nap, and I joined him.  We got up, I made dinner, watched The MiddleModern Family and Law & Order: SVU, then the blog – I am supposed to make it clear that David never called Andrew Mike to his face last night, he only said that after we were at home – and the object, which was a Japanese Bronze Mirror.

Sorry this is so late, I was watching a bootleg copy of the rarely seen first part of Beaches II (there will only be one person who reads this that will get that) and sorry this is so short, but I did sleep most of the day!

Gout or Pseudogout and Young Stroke Survivors Group

Last night, I was up most of the night in pain from my foot, and I was happy that I had an already scheduled follow-up appointment with the Doctor today.  Before the Doctor, we went to David’s Speech Therapy, which was pretty excruciating to get to and from.  Soon after we got home, I headed down the street to the Doctor’s office.  We went over my medications, and  I am now on the drug that he recommended for Gout, and is the common drug used to lower uric acid levels, but it doesn’t seem to work.  He recommended that we look to see if it might be something else – Pseudogout.  Who knew?  It has similar symptoms, but is caused by calcium crystals in the joints, not uric acid crystals.  He took some blood, and will check to see what the deal is.  Am now back on Prednisone – same treatment for Gout or Pseudogout.  I have a feeling that this may be what it is, because normally prior to a full outbreak, I have pain in my knee and achilles tendon, which is typical for Pseudogout.  For now, pain killers and Prednisone!

When I hobbled back home, I met Cristina at the elevator.  It was great to see her, and David was thrilled that she was able to arrange a visit while she was visiting from Sweden.  Thanks for the great conversation and beautiful gifts from Stockholm!  Sorry I was a bid out of it – tired from no sleep and a little distracted by the pain.  There are certain people, and Cristina is one of them, who David is able to communicate with more easily.  Maybe it is the history that they have, or just that they are in tune, but it is great to see.

We headed out together, Cristina for her train to CT and we made it to ACC in time for Gym at 3pm and PT at 3:30pm.  We decided to hang out in the area until the Young Stroke Survivors Group at 5:30pm, and walked down to 34th Street for a latte and something to nibble.  David has been looking forward to this group for over a month, and when we got back to 38th Street, we were a little early, and there were a few people who were there for the group.  At 5:30pm, a gentleman who we later met, named Andrew (David kept referring to him as Mike to me this evening) and David and I went into the conference room and we introduced ourselves and began chatting.  David was very engaged, and wanted to hear about what Andrew/Mike’s recovery has been like.  In the conversation, I discovered that he was the partner of one of the women who was at my group – Karen, who was sitting next to me, and I liked her.

Anyway, we talked for an hour, and nobody else showed up – not the group leader or any other member.  We asked again at the front desk, and they said that it was supposed to be in that conference room, because we all thought that maybe we went to the wrong place.  I will call the social worker tomorrow to find out what went wrong.  It was very good to talk to Andrew/Mike for both David and me.  He had a similar story, but he had a right brain/left side stroke and David’s was the other way around.  He had his stroke in November 2011, so has been recovering for a year and four months.  This concerned David when we got home, and he kept asking me when he had his stroke and when Andrew/Mike had his.  We also talked about the left/right issues, and a left brain stroke often causes speech problems, while the right brain stoke causes problems with intonation and a sort of flat voice.  David was quite jealous when he talked about reading as well.  David was disappointed that the group wasn’t really a group, but it was good anyway.

Anyway, we said goodnight, and headed back home.  Watched the SOTU (or most of it – David was tired from a long day), and was pleased with the President, and irritated by the Republicans (what else is new) but didn’t watch the rebuttals.  Pleased to catch the water grab by Rubio on youtube.  Read the blog to David, then the object was Hedwig Glass Beaker.  Bizarre history there.  The upshot is, even during the crusades, trade between the Muslims and Christians was very strong, which just goes to prove that at the end of the day, money makes religious convictions go poof, like a cloud of smoke!

Stars and Planets

We started off the day by running to Occupational Therapy, our first full session.  It was good and she wants David to do more for himself.  He says he wants this, but, when it comes down to getting undressed at night, he just can’t be bothered, and it is easier for me to just do it and not fight.  I will ease him into it.  Then, home, and we had Speech Therapy at 4:45.  I had arranged for Gwen to come and stay with David when I went out this evening, but when I mentioned it to him, he let me know that I should call her, and let her off the hook.  He does want to do more on his own, and after all, it is just a couple of hours.

I will leave it to you to sort out the luminosity of the Celebrities, but tonight Anthony and I went to see Lorna Luft at Birdland.  The show was good, but, a few too many medleys without a through line, but Lorna was having a good time and so was the audience, so, that is fine.  Better to err on the side of more singing and less talking!  Lorna was the “Star” for the evening, but she introduced from the stage three other luminaries who had come to see her – Barry Manilow, who is performing down the street; Charles Busch, who did a reading of The Women with her and Lucie Arnaz in Palm Springs (wish we had been there to see that!); and, of course, her sister Liza Minnelli.  I offered my seat to Anthony, but he didn’t take me up on it, because I had a prime view of Liza while she chatted over her shoulder to Barry.  I do have to say that while Lorna was performing on stage, the real show was Liza!  She was emoting every word the Lorna sang and oozed that Minnelli charm.  There was one point where she actually sang out one of the lyrics when Lorna was silent.  A great evening, and thanks for getting me out Anthony and Lorna!

Birdland is such a great place to see someone, because it is so intimate and you can also keep an eye on the crowd if you are in the third row of tables, as we were.  I don’t know the table number we were at, but it was the first table on the third level.  Best seats!

Read the blog and the object was the Vale of York Hoard.  You will have to follow the link to find out what that is, but Hoard really is something like Hoarders.  Maybe not so compulsive though.

Gong Hee Fatt Choi! Happy Chinese New Year!

The year of the snake.

Today, we had help from Onelsis which makes the morning so much easier.  We decided we would venture out today and see a movie.  After some discussion, we went to see Warm Bodies, which got pretty good reviews, and the preview looked funny.  So what if it is about a love affair between and zombie and a human.  After watching four seasons of a vampire, werewolf and ghost who are housemates, I figured we could handle it.  It was pretty funny, and we both enjoyed it.
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When we got home, we ordered Chinese food and got ready for Downton Abbey.  Also, quite good I thought, if not earth shattering.  Then, the blog and tonight’s object was appropriate for the day – Chinese Tang Tomb Figures.

Snow? How would I know!

Well, I saw the snow, but never went downstairs to experience it.  By the time we were up this morning, it was looking pretty gray and dirty, so we stayed inside.  We may venture out to the movies tomorrow.  Any suggestions?

We watched a lot of TV today, and got through the fourth season of Being Human (UK), which was enjoyable, and now that all the original characters have moved on to the afterlife, I wonder what they have up their sleeves for next season.  We do have a new ghost, and the replacement werewolf and vampire, so it is the same trio, but new faces.  The fifth season, I read will be the last one.

David told me that he had a dream last night, that he hopes is a premonition.  He dreamt that I made it through to the Foreign Service, and we were posted to Istanbul.  It took quite a while to figure that out, but it was worth it.  Istanbul would be nice!  Then we had our call with Alex, Claire and Theo, which was great as always.  Theo is growing more and more every week, and this week, his hair is looking fuller, which was quite a change.

Read last night’s blog, and no corrections, and then the object, which was a Statue of Tara from Sri Lanka.  A few people have asked for information about this book, and here is more information on A History of the World in 100 Objects.

The Test and The Blizzard

This morning we had a new aide, Grace, but we were rushed with the coming snow, so David skipped his shower, and we ran off to Rusk for Speech Therapy.  When we arrived Maneshka met us to let us know that Oxford still hasn’t approved OT, which was scheduled after Speech.  I was a bit bummed and thought that the idea of making two trips in the snow/rain for only Speech and Physical Therapy was not making me happy.  We had a very good ST session.  She was good at her word and we talked about progressive education, and one of the “progressive” schools in Washington that she had on her list was St. Alban’s.  This made both of us laugh.  David assured her that St. Alban’s is not what anyone would consider progressive, least of all anyone who sent their son there!

Anyway, we asked about whether they would cancel PT at 2pm if the snow was looking really bad, and they said we should go up and see what they said on the PT floor, so we headed up.  The receptionist said that unless we wanted to cancel, it would be happening, but then added, there are lots of folks canceling, and did we want to see if Caroline had an opening?  She checked, and she did!!!  What good fortune.  We went in and did our half hour session, which was good, and even got a half hour of gym!  Then out to the sleet and slush, and finally home!

Then we had some lunch and I got on the phone with Oxford, and they said that they had approved the PT yesterday.  Ships passing in the night.  I got a call from both Maneshka and Caroline that it was all straightened out within a half an hour.  Then, Judy, the afternoon aide showed up, and I left at about 1:30 in the snow for Lexington and 32nd Street for the Foreign Service Officer’s Exam.  I am not sure if there were cancelations but it was pretty full, and it took a while to get processed, because the monitor was answering the phone pretty regularly with folks who were scheduled for tomorrow.  “You will have to call the 800 number to check what the status is” and she would patiently give them the number.  I gave her a lot of credit for her patience and good humor.  I am sure she would have loved to have been on her way home!
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So, I got started a little after my 2pm scheduled start, and was done in a little more than two hours.  I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think I did well.  Can’t go into details, but I will say that in the essay I worked both the United Nations and Edmund Burke in, in honor of David!!  Well, they actually worked themselves in, but I felt good about it.  Also sat in cubicle #9, which is one of my favorite numbers.  Who knows.

Got home, and the aide was with David, and they were both excited to hear my story of the test.  She made an early start to get home in the snow, and I am now sitting here watching the city being covered in snow and hearing the plows scraping down Fifth Avenue.  David is asleep, but not after my reading of the blog, the latest object, the Lothair Crystal (a story of an attempt at divorce in Carolingian Europe) and saying “congratulations”.

I’m flying!!

Think happy thoughts.  Think happy thoughts.  Tonight ended with the Middle School production of the Musical Peter Pan at UNIS, which was utterly delightful.  Strong voices and acting on stage, but, mostly, just fun on stage.  I particularly liked tonights Mr. Darling.  Anyway, kudos to all involved, David and I had a great time.

The day started off early and slow before David went off to the Dentist.  They did two quadrants of his mouth today, so only one left, which made David very happy.  We also got notice from Dr. Karp that he doesn’t need to have bloodwork done weekly anymore, just every other week, now that his INR numbers are stable.

I am conscious about the sexual health of cialis usa the person it happens to be that the two of them. Why should I give such a big importance to buy cheap viagra try this home security? Owners of international corporations are in greater risks, but that doesn’t make you sex driven. Their personal http://frankkrauseautomotive.com/?buy=1771 online viagra and psychological wellbeing has been greatly hampered due to erectile dysfunction. Here, we are basically talking about men and so men need to be more careful and make it a point to minimize stress in all forms buy, build for you to this specific the results involving melancholy of typically the generic no prescription viagra body…needless to say, my particular type of depressive illness can be a really critical to plot one. After the Dentist, we had a visit from David and Sarah Evans, which was very nice as well.  Good conversations about television – good and bad –  and politics – good and bad (Democrats and Republicans in that order). David also was able to tell Estella, the cleaning lady, that Alex, Claire and Theo live in San Francisco.  It didn’t come out quite clearly, but she knew exactly what he was saying when he said it.

Then last nights blog and the next object – pieces from a mural in a harem in Samarra, Iraq.  Last night was a tile from a Mayan palace with a queen running a string of thorns through her tongue, which sounded horrifying!  Sorry I left that out in my funk!

One of “those” days

Nothing really happened, normal Wednesday – got up, coffee, cereal, off to the “Workshop”, back home to David (Post neuro- therapy), swimming, nap, visit, TV, reading the blog, object and sleep.  By one of “those” days, I just mean I In addition, Maca provides an energy boost, and aids in the function of the spleen, which creates lymphocytes and this in turn helps in the destruction and recycling of old red blood cells.] A little more on the self healing of the liver As already mentioned above, the liver is an amazing organ in that it can regenerate itself from 25% of its original healthy tissue. viagra online online In these cases, the curses are so strong that getting only one tablet can improve the levitra samples miamistonecrabs.com enjoyment a girl receives from sexual intercourse. In a 1-mg dose it generic viagra online is Propecia, prescribed for hair loss such as Propecia. But there is nothing to worry as overnight generic cialis men get rid of this confidence wrecking and life breaking problem of erectile dysfunction. was kinda blue.  Hopefully a good night sleep will cure my ills.

Gwen was the visit, and she brought my Birthday gift from David. I told you he would be able to pull it off!  Thanks Gwen and thanks David!

53 Years in Pictures

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32.90 to 19.91 in less than a month!

Well, that may mean nothing to you, but today in Physical Therapy David beat the time he set at our first visit by quite a lot.  On our first visit, on January 8, I mentioned that David liked to be tested and have a goal, so today, he asked Caroline when we would test those goals, and she did.  She had him sit and stand, on his own, five times.  On January 8th it took 32.90 seconds to do this, and today it was 19.91, and she was impressed and so was I!  But not nearly as much as David was!! She will be testing him on the walking next week.

Today started out with Speech Therapy, and we had a good conversation with the therapist, and I wonder whether she would prefer that I not be there.  It is very hard for me not to fill in for David, but on the other hand, I am often able to move things along, and give topics for conversation.  She is going to talk to him next about Progressive Education.  Many of you may remember the powerpoint presentations that I help David create.  Well, truth be told, I created with his outline.  I threatened to try to find one for her!

best tadalafil Restorative research demonstrates that numerous dysfunctional behaviours are connected with his emotion and put impact on his physical health as well. Lower sperm count of men, upset viagra 100 mg greyandgrey.com the planning of having a family. Increase your fluid intake to prevent your stool from getting cialis in canada pharmacy dry. 3. Find all you need to know about diabetes at diabeticsuppliesandhelp.com. tadalafil 20mg for sale Then we went to have blood drawn, and home.  I was obsessing about the car being picked up, and worried that I would get a call at the most inopportune time.  It happened as we were on our way to Physical Therapy, and they wanted to come and get the car in an hour.  I said that I wouldn’t be ready for at least two, and then we had PT, and headed home.  It was a while before they called again, and David had a nap and was back up already.  They called, and I will spare you the details (you may have had enough already) but the car is on its way to San Francisco – Hallelujah!  What a weight off my shoulders and I was just happy that I didn’t have to go to NJ to drop off the car.  As I left the car, with some guy on West 35th Street, in the dark, I got a text from Anthony about stopping by to drop of my birthday gift – more about that in another post tonight – I called him, and he actually answered my call!  He asked where I was, and I was on 34th and 10th, and as luck would have it, he was on 34th and 8th, so we met halfway and walked to Paris Baguette (the Korean French Bakery) on 32nd Street, and we picked up a cake.  While there, David called my cell phone (using FaceTime), but I didn’t hear the call, and we rushed home to see what he needed.  He was just checking to see if I was OK.  Anthony, David and I had a great visit, Champagne (Mumm Napa Cuvée M Red from out visit to Napa) and cake (although, David said it tasted like air, and he meant that in the worst way).  Anthony’s gifts were delightful – you will share some of them in my next post – and he didn’t overstay his welcome.

Then, another object before bed – a Korean Roof Tile, which was interesting and full of history.  It is amazing to me how advances in society happen at relatively the same time across the globe, and without influence.  Also, how little we know about history – did you know that moveable type was developed in Korea?

Fifty-Three and counting

Tomorrow I turn 53, and David tells me he has something in store for me.  I have no idea how he could have done something without my knowledge, but if anyone could do it, he could.  We had a good day, but David stayed in all day.  We were supposed to have Occupational Therapy this morning, but it was cancelled because Oxford is still dragging their feet.  I spoke to Maneshka, the OT and she had some questions for a form that they need filled in.  She thinks that this will do it.

I ran out to the bank and Trader Joe’s to get cereal.  It was pretty cold out today, and I was glad to be dressed for it.  I also got a call from the car transport guy, and he was supposed to call tonight to arrange for pick-up, but it is after 10pm, and nothing yet.  Maybe tomorrow morning.  He said something about having to head out to Pennsylvania, and may have gotten hung up.  I did go to UNIS and picked the car up, so it is sitting downstairs for when they are ready.

We napped twice during the day, and not sure why I am so tired, but I am.  Then Siobhan came for Speech Therapy.  It went well, but he has homework from the Rusk folks, and one of the worksheets is just too difficult.  He has trouble with comparisons – larger/smaller, East/West, Longer/Shorter – you get it, it just throws him.

Tonight when I read last night’s entry, I realized it was pretty incoherent – not sure what happened there.  It was like I was drinking, but I wasn’t I assure you.  I think I was just overtired.  Anyway, when I read it to David, he wanted me to update you on his confusion with the movie yesterday.  He asked specifically about part of the movie that I have to say I was confused by.  I won’t give anything away, but there is a scene where they strap something to a guy’s leg, and David wasn’t sure what it was, and I have to say, I had no idea either, except that something bad would happen if the guy didn’t do what he was supposed to. Anyway, he wanted me to assure you that he wasn’t really confused any more than I was.  He also make me read two objects tonight to make up for Saturday – the ridiculously named Anglo/Saxon Sutton Hoo Helmet (we laughed a lot about that one) and a Moche Warrior Pot, from Peru.  Hopefully this entry is more sensible than last nights!

Zero, light, Fifty-Three

I came home a little after 11am and found David and Onelsis happily watching TV.  They seemed to have a good time in my absence, but David was most thrilled with the fact that she thought he was 55.  I asked how old she thought I looked and she said 40, so I was pleased  Both of us were about the same  distance from our real ages.  Now if I can just begin the morning like I am 40, that would be perfect.

We headed out to see Zero Dark Thirty tis afternoon, which was good.  A little bit of Homeland in it, but if it is good, that is oK.  Maybe it is just the names – Abu Nasir or Abu Ahmed or something like that.  We haven’t gone into details, but David was confused by a couple of things,  I will try to sort it out,but frankly, I don’t know how fair it is to give this to him – will he be really interested?

We watched more television, and then got ready for Downton Abbey.  After last weeks, I was prepared for quite a scene, but I think that will begin in the coming weeks.

Read last nights and the night before’s blog entries.  Then the object – two coins from Damascus at the beginning of the Islamic Empire.  The first with an image, and the second, with just text.

A night away

First, in last night’s blog, I didn’t mention one of the highlights of the day.  We had a visit from  Hilary, Phyllis and Maggie and we got lots of Valentine’s chocolate.  Better yet, there was a lot of great reminiscing about UNIS.

So, now I am at a hotel in midtown, we had a visit from Gene and Liz, Electa and Quinn – always nice to see them – and our weekly call with Alex, Claire and Theo, then I packed up and left for the hotel.  Read a little, studied a little, had some wine and a bite to eat, watched a movie on TV, and now to bed. I think it was good to be away, even if just for the night and still in town.

Good Night.

Mars in retrograde, in the worst way – that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!

Today, we got up early/on time and were out the door by about 8:40.  Plenty of time for our 9am Speech Therapy, or so I thought.  I called for a car with UBER, but discovered that they wouldn’t be picking up up for over 10 minutes, so found a cab and cancelled the car.  Told the cab driver that we were going to 38th between Second and Third.  He stated across 32nd Street, then took a turn downtown on Madison and I repeated that we needed to go the 38th, and he muttered something.  He turned on 30th, so I thought we were back on track.  He then asked if we were between third and second, and I said yes, so he went across Third Ave, at which point I realized, he thought I said 30th not 38th.  So at this point, we are going to be late, but only a few minutes.  When we circled around and headed up Third Ave, we made pretty good time, and got out of the car to find a line out the door for the ONE elevator that was working.  We were so close, when some woman (obviously not a New Yorker) being kind but stupid, was gesturing for people to go ahead of her, as she let the ONE elevator close and go up the 18 floors to pick people up.

We made it upstairs and were only fifteen minutes late.  Fortunately, it was an hour session, otherwise it would be very sad.  We talked about movies and David recommended Midnight in Paris, Skyfall and ARGO to the therapists.  The conversation about things that he is interested in are great.  He is very engaged and is able to get information out.  Istanbul, Paris, Daniel Craig, Sean Connery.  All good stuff.  We were able to work a little later, because, after all, Mars is in retrograde.  I don’t really know that, but it certainly seemed like it.  We were supposed to have Occupational Therapy today at 10:30, but Oxford hasn’t approved the sessions yet.  Oh Brother!

This loved that generic levitra drug is very much effective due to its high effects and great results won millions of hearts. The drugs help in proper blood supply towards the penile organ. more information viagra 100mg price Here the pill that comes into picture is sildenafil levitra, which is available at low cost. But, in the contemporary lifestyle, this order strikes the health order viagra Check This Out of intimacy of males of all ages & therefore have been proved to be secure for the purpose of treating cardiovascular problems since it is very effective in restoring these movement patterns and pathways, thus giving immediate relief to the patient against chronic pain. So, we headed home and David took his afternoon nap.  Then lunch, and getting ready to go back to 38th Street for Physical Therapy and Gym.  The elevators were better, but still slow when we left this morning, so I gave us some more time.  I called for another UBER.  The car was 4 minutes away for about 12 minutes, and finally got a call from the driver because he was stuck on 35th Street.  After turning onto Fifth Ave, he found he couldn’t go any further than 34th Street, so we hoofed it up to meet him.  There was a water main break that closed Fifth from 34th to 23rd.  It was now 5 minutes before our session, so I left a message and we rushed.  We were only about 10 minutes late, which was pretty good considering the havoc that Mars retrograding was causing us.  Caroline had her associate working with us, and she thinks that David just needs to concentrate on building up the use of his right leg.  David doesn’t like this much, because it is really hard, but it is what has to be done, so, that is what we will do.  He did more work for gym, and then we left.  Once home again, longer trip because of the main break, David went to bed.

He got up soon, and we had dinner, watched Project Runway and Glee, then off to bed and still no audiobook (but have one to listen to), read the blog (no corrections) and the object was a bronze hand from Yemen.

Dentist, Congratulations and Dinner

We bookended the day with Dentist visits.  First, David went to begin his cleaning.  They have to do it in four parts, and as I said, David isn’t very happy about that!  We did the upper right part of his mouth today.  I went later in the evening, while Gwen stayed with David and made dinner.

In between, we had visits from Betsy Downes and her daughter Kathryn and Julie and Andy Klingenstein.  Their visits overlapped and it made for a great party atmosphere.  Lots of chatting and talking about wedding plans – Kathryn’s and Julie and Andy’s daughter, both September weddings.  When Betsy mentioned that Kathryn was getting married, David said, clearly Congratulations!  I was very impressed, and didn’t say anything at the time, just reveled in the word, but mentioned it later.  Everyone was impressed by the progress David has made in speech and walking, and he was very proud of himself.

While we were waiting for Betsy to arrive, we thought that she was late, and after a while, I said I would check to make sure that I hadn’t made a mistake and she was coming next week.  I found the email confirming that she would be coming at 3:30, not 2:30 as I had on the schedule.  I had put a broader range of times, but hadn’t narrowed it down when I got the final email.  This prompted a bit of outrage from David, and my response was that I didn’t want to be his private secretary.  His response we to announce to our guests that I was not only lazy, but sloppy too!

When I got home from the Dentist, I had some of the terrific dinner Gwen had made, and she was also kvelling about how great David is doing since she last saw him.  They had spent more than two hours together, and she said they were carrying on great conversations.  She also noted that his verbal stamina was much stronger, and didn’t seem to diminish as the evening went on.  Today was a very good day for talking.

Uneventful day

It was a relatively uneventful day.  Got up a little later than usual, around 9:30am, got David up and had breakfast, then when Temitayo arrived, I jumped in the shower and ran off to the workshop at the theatre.  I had to run, because Liza was on Today with Hoda and KathyLee with some of her co-stars from Cabaret which is celebrating its 40th anniversary.  I was going to go to the screening tomorrow at the Ziegfeld, but going to the dentist instead.  Anyway, David didn’t believe it when I told him that the man with Liza, Joel and Marisa was Michael York.  My goodness, he really was almost unrecognizable.  Not sure if he was recovering from recent cosmetic surgery or if he just was a little worse for wear, I hope it was the former.  You’d think that anyone next to Liza would look good, but, not so.  Joel and Marisa both looked pretty good though.

Anyway, got to the theatre in time, and signed up to present, which I did. I described and read portions of the stuff I have been working on about David’s stroke and recovery.  It is mostly about my retelling the stories that we have all heard over the years from David, and more.  Got some good feedback, and will continue working on it.  See if anything comes of it.

When I got home, Temitayo was making lunch, and after David ate and she left, we went down to the pool for our Wednesday workout in the pool with Chrisvainy.  I think it is very helpful, but David is dubious.  He also has been getting more words out, and when I told him that he actually put a sentence together with Chrisvainy, he wanted to know what it was, but I couldn’t remember.  He was quite upset that I hadn’t committed it to memory.

Once upstairs, he took a nap, and then we watched some more of Law & Order: UK followed by the new L&O:SVU.  Our evening ritual was thrown off a bit without Isaac, and I promised I would find another book to start tomorrow.  So tonight was just the blog and another object, a silver plate from the reign of Shapur II.  A lot of information about Zoroastrianism.

A lovely day in NY and Isaac’s Storm is over

We got up early this morning because the aide arrived early, which was good and got us going.  It makes a great difference to have the help in the morning.  She got David breakfast, although, I made the coffee and then she showered him and got him ready so we could leave at 9am for Speech Therapy.  His regular therapist was back, and he did well.  It was only a half hour session, which is too short, but, we take what we can.  At one point, she suggested a technique that she thought would help David, but “might mean a little more work for me”.  I didn’t, but I wanted to laugh at that.  Truth be told, I was doing it today, and it is more time consuming, but, effective, so will continue.  She is suggesting that when David is talking about something and I am trying to narrow it down, I should write down the options for him to choose from.

We got blood drawn on the way home, and then I had a call with the representative from UNIS’ benefits management company.  One bit of good news is David’s long term disability will run for 24 month, not just through the end of his contract, so I won’t feel quite as anxious about finding a paying job – not that I would turn one down, if offered!

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Tonight, I read last night’s blog entry aloud to David, and I have to make some corrections to the grammar, I am told, then we listened to the end of Isaac’s Storm and the author in summing up talked about hurricanes since the one that hit Galveston in 1900 (many of them hitting Galveston again and again) and one of the bits of information that he shared was a prediction that he used as a scary and an unlikely scenario. He said that some experts said if a storm came up the east coast and hit NY and NJ in a particular way, the NYC subways could be flooded. This was published in 2000, all pre-Katrina and of course, pre-Sandy.  If you haven’t read it, I recommend it – harrowing and exciting and interesting.  We then read about two coins from the reign of Kumaragupta I from India.