12 Oakdale

I guess we are officially old: we went to Grant’s new doctor, and he walked out with 3 more appointments. Are doctors’ visits our new social time? (Yes, I know we are old; this was just an awaking.) The original reason for the visit was to get refills for the 6 medicines he takes. In the course of the interview, Dr. Mehta decided Grant’s shortness of breath was likely cardio not pulmonary, so he wants that looked into. Grant is to return to him in a month with all the information needed. First up was to make an appointment with his cardiologist who, it turns out is on medical leave, return unknown. Yes, her APRN was an acceptable sub. 7:00 AM appointment next Wednesday, on the other side of Orlando. The bone density test easily scheduled and fairly nearby. Blood work at Quest, check. Then the cardio person added an X-ray which might be done at the same time as the bone scan.  On the other hand, we have been healthy enough to keep busy. Two weeks ago, a family and friend filled trip...

Obsessing, rather than tackling the projects and decisions I must make has not helped with my tiredness. I decided to ignore the yard for a couple of days and work with my mind. First up was the plaques I must give out for the Town of Windermere Centennial Trees. Saturday morning, I downloaded the spreadsheet Vicki sent listing all the recipients. I added the others our Public Works director sent. I spent the next hour or so texting/emailing the 30 families, letting them know when I was available next week to present their plaque and take their picture. By the end of the day, I’d scheduled 9 families on Sunday, 2 more on Wednesday, heard from 2 people who had not received their trees (one lady thought a tree was being delivered!), learned 1 woman who moved and was selling her house, and arranged for several others who are now traveling to contact me when they get back.  Getting that process started is 1 thing off my mind. It will just keep rolling, although I am skeptical we will h...

The house is infested with miniature flamingos, peeking out hither and yon. I am still finding them: in the freezer, among my potted plants, on the workbench. It makes me so happy when I see one. Thank you, flamingo fairies, who I assume are Clara and Stephanie. Our flights from Sydney to Orlando via Las Angela’s were easy, and the app I followed to avoid jet lag seems to have worked. But I am tired, tired, tired. No matter. I had signed up for the Nation Garden Clubs’ Garden School 1, so I was up at 5:00 AM Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to be ready for class via Zoom at 8:00.  Lectures on basic botany, planting with annuals and perennials, and soil composition; a workshop on propagation; and what not to do in your garden (20 rules). All taught by professors or professionals. Starting on time, and ending with a test each day at noon. I passed.  I did fall asleep during the Tuesday session, but only brief nodding off. We had to keep our videos on the whole time so they knew we...

Definitely something I never wanted to see: the overhead sign on the turnpike which said, “Wrongway driver detected.”  It was already raining, so this seems like a good time to stop at the rest area just up the road and have lunch. If we didn’t meet that misdirected driver first. We were on our way to Fort Lauderdale for my Toastmasters club’s 60th anniversary party. The invitation was to dress like we would have in 1963. Most people thought hippies, but I knew better. My vintage wool skirt and white blouse, Grant’s madras shirt and khaki pants were what we would have worn. No jeans for us. I didn’t even own any. I dug through my jewelry and found my circle initial pin (PCS), and both my and Steve’s class rings, his worn on a chain around my neck. It still amuses me that Naples High School rings featured a swamp buggy on one side and the Naples pier on the other. No generics rings for us back then. I doubt that is true nowadays, if they even still have class rings. We’d both stuck ...

Saturday, we drove to Fort Lauderdale to see our friend Diane in  Crazy in Love , the musical production her adult theater student class put on. While she had a non-speaking part, the lead was played by Sam, a young man we knew at our old congregation. He loves to dance, sing and act, and has hopes of a career. Tough life plan. Orlando is full of those hopes, but I guess a few pan out. As a confirmed audience member, I enjoy our local theater groups having a large pool of talent to draw from. I get plenty of stage time through my EarlyBird Toastmasters group, with my (self-induced) commitment to speak and to tell a joke once a month. Frankly, telling a joke is harder for me than speaking.  But we’re there to learn and practice. The other weeks I’m happy to take whatever role is needed.  September 16th, the club is celebrating its 60th anniversary. We are invited to come as we were in 1963. Way too early for hippies: the Summer of Love wasn’t until 1967. I found an origina...