life in the old lane

Here it is: the long awaited 2014. There were fireworks last night. I was awake to see them. Carlton missed them.

Reflecting on 2013. The year wasn’t all bad. Carlton is still alive. And doing pretty well. Our relationship changed over the year. We are closer the bond is stronger. Little Carlton-isms just don’t bother me anymore.

Being old is hard. Having a partner makes it easier. We are explorers in a fearful wilderness. Nobody gets out alive. It is good to have someone to snuggle up next to when you get scared.

Other than keeping Mr C alive – my best action of 2013 was moving my IRA monies to a professional manager. It wasn’t easy – but it was a step towards accepting the time when I’ll not be able to safely manage my money. I like doing these things early. The money guy knows he is being taken for a “test drive”. Speaking of driving, I stopped driving when I was 65. There is absolutely no reason I can not drive. I just wanted to get that “giving up the car” thing over. Over while I am still able to figure out how to live car-free. The final piece of this exit planning will be moving to an old folks asylum.

Resolved for 2014

1. Stop saying/thinking “when I get old…” Face it: I am old.
2. Do Yoga 6 times a week
3. Read 60 minutes a day. This is uninteruppted. I have become scattered. I hope this will sort of get me re-focused. No more wandering over to Twitter mid-sentence. That is the plan.
4.  15 minutes decluttering everyday – my eternal battle with stuff.
5.  Cook more. Using “real” ingredients. Not frozen, boxed, canned, jarred or picked up at the deli.
6.  Get 10 pounds off. This is not a vanity thing. My knees and hips are starting creak. I imagine that having less Peg to haul around should help.
7. Keep walking.

Think it is time to put the reindeer theme back in the barn for another year.

We’ll be having our normal New Year’s Eve celebration. With Kindles and iPads. And coffee and beer.

If we are awake – we can see the fireworks at midnight. Carlton doesn’t like fireworks very much. But, I love fireworks. I might set an alarm in my iPod so I don’t miss them. They are being fired off  from the river in Alexandria. I am just assuming they will be visible.

At this instant – Carlton is watching his college team lose to UCLA in the 2014 Sun Bowl. And, the Sun Bowl is at UTEP – where I went to college.  Sort of circular.

Absolutely nothing, zero, zip, nada going on. Mr C continues to suffer from fatigue and a seriously toasted surface. I continue eating everything in sight.

We need a little Hawai’i. Coming soon. Coming soon. I hope. I refuse to do any planning. Some fine day – we’ll say – let’s go to Kona. And then, I’ll get tickets for as soon as possible. Who knows… They might even we go first class. Or not.

Here he is. The radiated Carlton. You know what happens when you leave stuff in the microwave too long!

I sprung for the SD card reader gizmo for the iPad, and the picture is my first use of it. I can see how it will be handy if I travel sans MacBook.

Speaking of travel, I am so ready to go somewhere … Even Woodbridge. I may be almost 70 years old, but I still have as serious case of “jackrabbits in my boots”.

Using the iPad today. And I just installed Tunnel Bear as my VPN. I am sure there are better VPNs but I doubt there is an easier one.

Carlton’s last treatment was delayed until 7PM. The machine was broken. But, it got fixed and he went over for his last treatment.

They hugged him and told him bye-bye. They also gave him a little gold plated angel lapel pin. That is a little disconcerting. Is he going to turn into an angel? I hope not! He got 5,000 centiGray units of radiation around his arm pit and right tit. Plus another 5,000 units directed to his sternum.

They told him that he will continue to get worse – fatigue and burn-wise – for about a week or so. Then – the recovery will kick in.

Maybe I get a picture of him tomorrow.

Over the last couple of days – this well uh art – has appeared in the next block. Photo was taken from my front porch. Will check it out in person soon.

 

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?  – Dr Seuss

Our holiday decoration is this little fake snow-globe on the kitchen window sill. And, in order to maximize my grinchy spirit – I installed the new tax software on my computer today.

Even in the best of times – we don’t do Xmas very well. And, this year – well – I am just glad that Mr C is still around to complain about Xmas.

Oh and tonight we will watch Die Hard 2 – our hometown favorite Xmas movie.

 

Only 3 more radiation treatments for Mr. C. Guess that is his Xmas present.

We delivered our holiday tips to the people who make life worth living around our apartment. That would be their Xmas presents.

One of the nurses I work with give me a big pan of completely home made lasagna. Another nurse give me a nice chicken casserole. With biscuits. Also got cookies, brownies, candy, cream puffs… They seem to have believed me when I told them “I work for food”.  No cooking for me! Guess this is my Xmas present.

I got in the elevator yesterday and the setting sun was streaming in the windows – I decided to see if I could fire off a picture before the doors closed. One of those shots that either work like you planned or you delete. Well, I was totally surprised to find myself in the image. And, it is not me, it is a reflection of me. Esperanza polishes our elevator into a mirrored “bronze” box. I am not sure how this worked. I was looking out of the elevator door – which was closing. You can see the camera in my hand. I am looking at the screen. My right finger is on the shutter release. The light coming in the door casts a shadow on my face of the camera. Oh well, whatever happens is what I planned!

It was 72° today. Shorts and ice coffee were the order of the day.

Carlton is really tired. Glad he only has four more nuke attacks. His skin has gotten rather red. And puffy. But, it is has not blistered or peeled. This is a today’s Good Thing.

Thinking about that reflection. I guess it is coming off the left wall or more likely off the left door jam.

We would like to wish everyone the best of the festive season – no matter what it’s called at your house. In pagan traditions, the solstice is a time to put away the things of the old year and look forward to the new. One observance of the solstice involves extinguishing all the fires in your home before midnight on the eve of the solstice and lighting a new fire the next day. This probably won’t be quite as symbolic if you have central heating.

The winter solstice falls on December 21 – the word solstice means “sun stopping.” The winter solstice is the day on which the sun reaches as far south of the equator as it gets, and is as such the shortest and darkest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. The solstice marks the rebirth of light for the coming spring.

The winter solstice also marks, among other things, the druid festival of Alban Arthuan – a time for bestowing gifts upon those less fortunate than ourselves. Out of this observance has grown the more popular tradition of gift-giving, Black Friday, last minute shopping, maxed-out credit cards and 70% off sales. May the goddess be with you during this season – but don’t blame her if you get socks again.

Nice sunrise this morning. Not too cold.

Mr C has four more shots of radiation. He’ll be all finished next Friday. Then, I wonder how will we know if it worked? I guess, if he is alive and well this time next year it worked. And if he isn’t – it didn’t.

On the downside, he is very fatigued. But, what exactly does he have to do except go get nuked four more times. After that he can read books, watch sports, movies and nap all day long.

I made some marvelous flashy progress at the volunteer job with an iPad App. One of those weeks when it is good to be a computer hack. Once I knocked out a prototype – with a little tweaking – I was able to get a working version up and put into operation is what seemed to be “no time”. Everyone seems to have forgotten how long I spent on the prototype. Gotta love being surrounded by technology muggles.

Today’s Good Thing: Sunrise.