Hey y'all, I did two consecutive Fridays at the Fresno PACE Senior Center and this am, my big Bruddah Kaliber , the Hammer and I met a Lin's Asian Fusion for a buffet lunch.
What wonderful, awesome folks they are 😁. My first meeting of an HU PCa gent, prior were just caregivers Mandi and Alison
We ate and chatted, discussing all kinds of stuff, and PCa too😜. Yes, I did sing random songs😂What a great time for all, gonna have to go up more. Thinking of going to Yosemite for my May bday and will stop to meet again.
We took pix together, but will let him decide if he wants to post them
Mahalo nui loa my Brother, beautiful words that you wrote. Ben is on the mend and Zoe was discharged and trying to walk a little. Ex wife out there taking care of Penelope, Ben's big sis
Have faith and hope— we had twin grandbabies born (c-section) at 28 weeks. One was under 2lbs. He is a walking talking sassy 4 yr old. Prayers for yours.
Mahalo nui loa My Brother, stable is good and hopefully tests go well. We all have that scanxiety awaiting test results 🤞Speaking of youth, this is a Hawaii guy
the hammer and I met up with Randy Saturday for lunch at the Lin’s fusion …. Randy is exactly as his pictures and activities suggest. A great guy , athletic, great conversation… fun guy. Even the hammer likes him and she rarely likes much of anyone I know lol. That’s saying a lot. Great QOL outing filled with absorbing chit chat.
Ima going to try to get him up here again for the orange blossom trail when it’s in bloom. Thanks again big guy , it was fun.
Soto zen Buddhist don’t have “ prayers “ but I’ll put Zoe and baby Benjamin on my “ transfer of merit “ board. I worked with nicu and neonatal for years and I know how scary emergency C sections can be for families unfamiliar with everything associated with it. Wishing for the best outcomes for both.
Rotflol …. No kidding, that’s exactly what it was. The hammer is very private and just doesn’t “ meet up “ with people that I’m meeting. Even decades ago, when I brought friends to the house, she would always stay in a different part of the house or leave and go somewhere. But I can no longer go by myself unless it’s quite local , reachable on my etrike. I have to thank her for helping me get out and meet up with Randy. That was way outside her comfort zone but she really liked the smooth and cool Mr Randy. lol A lot of my busy varied life ( before disabling cancer ) was quite atypical and might sound a little unbelievable ( home microphotography hobby , micro aquarium lab, home nuclear lab, laser lab, earth sciences lab , informal kayak guide guide, licensed UAV - drones flying Etc. ) fortunately I’ve saved a lot of pictures and videos and let Randy access those to see some of my unusual exploits lol. ( fly on the wall stuff ).
Randy loves to travel and savor different local and world ambiance and cuisine. It’s part of what makes him so interesting lol.
lol ….. there was a time when I did resemble this picture Rotflol. Thank you buddy . I look different in a picture than I do to myself in my bathroom mirror. lol
I’m getting tired , please read the reply I made to Randy near the bottom of the page buddy.
I looked thru my stash and found a Leticia made blue bracelet and light bulb went off to bring it up to give to her😁 as a peace offering. Must've worked as we all had a wonderful time.
Plus, she knows how you and I are here on HU, so she knew we meant a lot to each other and a meetup was our Destiny. So appreciative that she came down with you and for us all to meet/greet/grind foodz
Looking forward to another trip and Mahalo for buying lunch, next time it's my treat
And I love your esoteric interests and great pix!!!
What an awesome fun duo you two are, and I didn't get Hammered - she was very nice and engaging. A blasty blast with wonderful conversations, and Nom Nom food. Glad that she digs me, I dig her too, ya got a lovely Lady there Kal
I'm down for an Orange Blossom trip, I assume that would be when the Spring Bloom Colors are.
Yea, the Stars aligned for my working to fill in at the Fresno Senior center. Dunno if they'll need me anytime soon, but it's only 2 1/2 hrs away - no biggie, I enjoy driving with tunes on 😁 So an Orange Blossom Trip and a bday in May journey up there will be awesome.
Randy, so glad you were able to meet up with Kal and the Hammer in Kal's beloved Fresno. What a lovely time you all had. I will continue to pray for your daughter Zoe and little Benjamin.
Mahalo nui loa and YES - it was such a wonderful time that we had, just "talking story" as we say in Hawaii. I'm looking forward to getting back up there this Spring
First, May Ben John grow up to be as nice as his Grandad (The maternal one that is 🤡🤡). I think the invitation to your recent luncheon/gathering was lost in the mail. Not to worry I wouldn't have offered to pick up the tab anyway. The only disappointment came from the "Blowtorch" since she was looking forward to meeting and exchanging gossip with the Hammer.
Now back to "da kid".... youse guys picked the right given name initials for him. BTW Premie's tend to grow up to be big strong guys, so treat him right otherwise you'll pay the dues later. Make sure you give him a big kiss and a hug from me and put a little bit of salt on his tongue until he's old enough to except compliments by himself (wet your finger and put salt on it for his tongue). Just for info purposes the salt is to ward off "the evil eye".
Note: A Greek-inspired nickname for "Ben" could be "Bénis" (pronounced "beh-nees") which is a close phonetic translation of "Ben" in Greek, as the "B" sound is similar and "nis" is a common ending in Greek names. There isn't a Name Day for the name BEN.
From English Benjamin, from Late Latin Benjamin, from Ancient Greek Βενιαμίν (Beniamín), from Biblical Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין (binyamīn, literally “son of the right [hand]”). The Greek name day for Benjamin is December 29.
Mahalo nui loa Brother J, that's such a wonderful reply with such awesome detail about the Greek name days - never knew that.
Next time I'm out on the East Coast, I'll take you and Mrs Blowtorch out for lunch, my treat😁. And I dunno if Zoe will allow that salt finger, but ya never know.
I offered to go out to assist with Penelope (wife of Odysseus), the older sis. Zoe said that they have a nanny for that
Bring big BEN along......... somebody's got to pick up the tab.
τίποτα (típota) the same as nada in Spanish
BTW there's a statue of Melina in Athens. She became a heavy duty socialist politician after acting. She was married to Jules Dassin American film and theatre director, producer, writer and actor. A subject of the Hollywood blacklist, he subsequently moved to France, and later Greece (also a heavy duty socialist). He grew up in Harlem (Manhattan) and attended Morris High School in the Bronx (5 city blocks from where I grew up). You would never guess he (and the cultured me) grew up in the Barrio.....Keep smiling Gramps...
Yea, major QoLing with great folks is always a Splendid Thing. Music is stuck in my old brain and I can't control whatever pops up. Baby Ben an Zoe are stable so far, no news is good news.
Congratulations on your new grandson, Randy! I am glad to know that he and your daughter are each on the road to recovery. Is the 9-month old in your post photos really a "patient"? What can you do for someone that young? We'll be looking for photos of Ben soon!
hey buddy …. I’m back among the living, up and moving around finally. It’s been among the …. if not THE worse 9 days of my life. I definitely stared death in the face for several days there. Surprisingly…. it , at some point, was warm and comfortable and beautiful in it’s own way …..It wasn’t anything like I thought it would be. I didn’t let go, as alluring as it was , ….. just like I have with prostrate cancer . It’s just not time for me yet ….. I’ve still got some QOL’ing to do ……right buddy ? Intrusive thoughts creep in a little : like me as a zombie …. skin peeling away, eyeball out on cheek, one arm fallen off …. riding the rollercoaster at 6 Flags Rotflol. I digress, anyway it’s probably gonna take a few weeks to fully recover from this little party . lol
Got PSA and fasting A1C tests today at Kaiser. ( fasting is easy since I’m barely eating anyway Rotflol ) … then come back and lay back down and recoup ….prolly outside on the back patio for the fresh air . I have my “ bird buddies “ ( that I feed back there ) to comenserate with too. Rest and Recover is the game for the day for a while.
It was great seeing you for the first time , exactly as I imagined Rotflol. It’d be fun to do it again and I’d show you some of the exotic delights only locals know.
Sorry to hear that you have been scuffling. Sounds like you had some extremely difficult days. I'm glad you stared down the old grim reaper again (you tough old bastard!).
I hope now that the worst has passed you can regain some strength and soak up some QOL. Might be a good time to order in some of Cordova's Treats for a little self indulgence. I've heard that sweets help keep the zombie apocalypse at bay.
Slow morning myself, I'm sitting here drinking coffee and watching the birds in my back yard. Never ending source of low cost entertainment. I've got my Firmagon implant later today and the vampires in the lab are going to "suuuck my bloooud" as well. My PSA's been inching upward and I'm hoping that changing to Dexamethasone will level it back off for a while.
Rotflol …… spent the morning in combat running the gauntlet at Kaiser. Wanted PSA and fasting A1C , forced a few others on me. So far only automated tests are back. Everything same-o except platelets jumped up to 426. No doubt a side effect of my recent sickness. No biggie. When I left, the lab was running nearly 40 behind and more pilling on rapidly.
Thank you my brother … kinda feel like a new man lol, after the past 9 days. Fresh air and sunshine heals a lot I’m feeding my feathered friends too …. But the squirrels showed up and tried to hog the crushed peanuts. All of ‘em about ready for babies here, so I guess it’s all good. The sparrows come and play a chirping game with me when they are hungry and I’m out there. They like to play more than you’d think. They are far more intelligent than people think. They can make spontaneous … smart …changes in a chirping game you wouldn’t expect.
I hope you enjoy savoring your delicious cuppa, and socializing your bird friends too buddy. Hope you get in and out getting your implant. Love ya big guy
Oh yikes my Big Bro, I figured that you were outta sorts as there weren't responses to some of these posts - you're always pretty good about responding. I didn't wanna bug ya and figured you'd be back on whenever what got you down. But, dang from you description - that warm/comfy place was like the Sirens calling to Odysseus.
Damn straight ya got a lot of QoLing to do esp with Spring Blossoms upcoming with the recent rains in CA, maybe a SuperBloom. We had snow up here from that storm, it all melted away tho
Keep those insidious nasty thoughts at bay with FOOD and QoLing. Get out, grab some fresh squid salad from the Seafood Center when it's sunny enough - that'll boost your Spirits. Or ceviche/cervezas and sunshine will do it too
Hope the test results come out great and Yass to patio R and R.
And Yess it was so awesome to meet you and "talk story" even the Hammer joined in😁
I'm looking forward to more trips up there. In April, I may be heading out to visit Alison in AZ for a weekend, but no other plans, so when the weather permits, I'm so down/excited with a trip back up to Fresno, maybe a Sat and Sun
The hammer down sick with a 101.1 temp and tossing her cookies. It looks similar to the 2nd , back to back , illness I had. My palliative doc said the first sickness probably trashed my systems and my weakened immune system allowed the 2nd attack. If true, I probably gave that one to the hammer ….but it’s been nearly a week and half incubating … which seems unlikely. If she has a “ new “ bug here in the house , I might come down with another dab dang sickness ( bird flu ? lol ) .
Now, ima taking care of her Rotflol…. I can’t even take of “ me “. She had to drop me to unmount my echair , myself, at Kaiser and go park and go wait, her very sick. She almost wrecked the truck parking where I could unload. It took forever with poor hammer sick in the truck. I don’t have enough strength , yet, to sit up straight after my illness …. Rotflol , boy what a mess.
Well , I did get out and enjoyed some sunshine , even if I did have to rest against the back of the truck for a while, a couple of times ( while loading the chair ) and catch a breather in the chair … poor hammer in the drivers seat slumped over the steering wheel, fighting off throwing up … her head spinning. Rotflol. Well, it’s all ancient history now … we’re both comfy cozy at home now. Both of us sleeping most of the time. Her still VERY sick. Mannnnn, you just never know what nature can throw at you. You never expect to get in those kinds of situations . If I knew how, I prolly kudda / shudda asked for one of the yellow strippers inside to come out and help us. Ima probably gonna tuck that number on my phone , now, just in case. Might need to get hammer to urgent care tomorrow if her temp gets worse. She’s no spring chicken , as you know.
No Bueno with Caregiver needing a Caregiver, so glad that y'all manage to accomplish it all😁
Yea, ya might just give each other the virus back and forth, glad cancer isn't contagious LoL
Yikes, I witnessed the chore it is to get you onto a roller stool, to get wheelchair onto the lift and then into the truck - You da Man!!! You keep on keepin on Brother, that's so awesome.😃
R & R and sunshine, well not much sun for a couple of weeks at least up here, can't wait for Springtime weather, not cold, not hot. Fall and Spring are my fav times
Maybe it'll be fine for a trip up to cya in a couple of weeks, if not then into April. End of May bday will be up in Yosemite with and will drive back down thru Fresno like May 30 or 31st
Yea you did see us doing that fiasco lol. At Kaiser , with the hammer at the wheel of the truck ( too sick to get out ) …. I had to do it myself. I guess you saw the difficulty I have getting into the big ole truck, there are probably better ways to go about it, but it’s what I’ve got right now. Doncha feel lucky to have those springy legs and that pro athlete mobility ! Just went thru a large fasting test panel. PSA still holding.
Yea, same here, it’s gonna rain nearly a week , coming up. Seems like it’s always something, lately Rotflol
Omg ….. can you imagine if that happened here rotflol. all the winter produce eaten by 70% of the population back east would die. Looks mighty purdy tho.
Had a gut twisting bug myself last week. You and the hammer deserve major props for keeping going. Hope she feels better in the morning and that you avoid round III.
Fresh air and sunshine is the best therapy. Cloudy here, but skies are bright even so. A good day for flying kites (if you weigh enough to be able to stay on the ground).
Just finished the implant and blood draw. Hopefully, my PSA will have stopped inching upwards. Still low, but after 4.5 years with non detect levels, I’m obviously not thrilled that it’s doubling every 3 months.
You’re right about the bird’s behavior and song responding to individuals and changes in the environment. I’m convinced that the ducks and geese at our local park recognize the individuals who feed them regularly. I’ve observed the birds moving towards the car park when this one guy pulls in. He doesn’t even have to take his bag of feed out before they have him surrounded.
Every day I try to find something in nature that delights me. Today it was the woodpecker hanging underneath my birdfeeder while he craned his neck around the tray to reach the sunflower seeds. Beautiful bird, and a first time at our new home.
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