27 September …

 

 

Later this morning I have an appointment with the surgeon for my pre-surgery workup.  I hope to have that out of the way before winter holidays. 

Mark is having his right knee repaired the twenty-fifth of October and we can’t both be down at the same time (we’re the cooks), so further plans will await his results.

~~~

Last Saturday was the next to last radio event for the year.  It was the Biketoberfest over in McCloud.

Mark was in charge of the club’s participation.  He had a full complement of volunteers and stationed George at the boat dock, Kamille at the Lake McCloud dam, and me at the “airport” as usual.  Then the calls began to come in.  One came down with something Friday night.  The other woke up saturday with a uncontrolled nosebleed.  So George and I stayed the same but Mark took over the station at the Lake McCloud dam and Kamille took on the SAG position.  It was Michael’s first event on his own as a new ham and he covered the Lakin Dam station.

Kamille had the most excitement with a drastic need for salt and pepper at one station, an over-the-handlebars accident needing as soon as possible dental attention, and an overheated, over extended participant needing a ride back to the city.  The rest of us just did the same ole stuff.  However, we did it well and there were no lost participants.

Paul spent the day with Mark.

There was fresh snow on the Mountain … and the weather went without incident except that the smoke’s effect on my sinuses and lungs was very evident.  I had been swallowing. spitting, and coughing for two days and went mute thursday and friday.  Then I was understandable on the radio all day saturday … although I sounded a bit more like a baritone than a mezzo. 

The weather held.  We were home (recuperating) by time for the evening news … and I was again mute.  There was no need to cook having been given food chits at the event which provided dinner.

Next (and last) event will be next Saturday.

~~~

Yesterday was the monthly trip to Medford.  This time John and Michael took us.

It was a lovely time of morning when we made the trip north … crisp with shadows. 

The madrones were beautiful.  They are shedding their bark and so the trunks and larger limbs are a very bright burnt orange.  I really wish I could have at least one on the property, but I’m told they do not transplant and can be grown only from seed so they are not something I can have.  Guess I’ll just continue to enjoy them on the trips north.  Oh well …

The crop of autumn calves seems to be early this year.  The fields were alive with baby animals.  Fun to see.

I saw only one alfalfa field still working.  It had been freshly cut, but the cut was not very tall or plentiful.

And no one seems to be taking in bee hives yet.

~~~

The appointment with the retinologist went much as usual.  They have switched back to liquid lidocaine from gel for numbing George’s eyeball. The reason was something about the gel preventing the disinfectant from being as effective as they would like.  But the liquid didn’t really work as well as the gel.  George seemed more uncomfortable this time than I remember seeing him since the first injection.

His eye is holding steady.  It would be nice were there some improvement, but at least things are not getting worse.

~~~

Last Friday I was to have gone to lunch with a group of the nurses with whom I worked so many years ago.  It would have been an eye opener.  As one said when she called me with the invitation, she had pictures in her head of each of us left from the last time she saw us … in some cases more than five, six, or ten years ago. 

Ones who were newlyweds when I retired are now grandmothers.

On Friday my throat was raw and I had no voice and so I didn’t go. 

I wonder how many will be left the next time someone decides to get us together?

~~~

Last week, on their way out to the school bus before dawn, Mark and Paul saw the mist/fog on the reservoir and in the swampy meadow.  Paul and I talked about it on the way home from the afternoon school bus and he now knows about warm water and damp earth when the air turns cool. 

Sort of spoils the wonder?

~~~

 

For Doug, here is this week’s AC picture …

 

 

and for all a final thought …    

All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

 So … ‘til next week …