Goodbye June

I cannot believe that 2014 is half over.
Up at 6 am...out with Jean for dog walk at 7 am...breakfast at 9 am...Wal-Mart at 10 am.
Already hot by the time I went to Wal-Mart. 80° on my patio and my A/C came on around 10:45 am.
After I put all of my purchases away, I prepared a jug of water and tea bags to put out on the patio to make some sun tea. Also put my American Flag out on the porch to fly since this Friday is July 4th.
Going to be a busy week. Have my support group on Tuesday, have to do some shopping at Sam's Club on Wednesday. Want to get my car washed on Thursday and also have to do a little grocery shopping. My brother Keith will be coming on Friday morning to spend the holiday weekend with me and Hiker.
I was so mad when the president broke in on the news right in the middle of “The Young And The Restless”. I didn't want to hear about the illegal children that are crossing the border. Just send them back.
After lunch, I vacuumed the house and mopped the kitchen floor, then paid a couple of bills.
Got up to 95° here today. Only had one day that was over 100° in June.

Normal Sunday

By 7 am this morning, Hiker and I were in the car heading over to Central Park in Saugus for a morning walk. I decided I really need to get serious about walking more and watching my food portions. There were a lot of people over at the park with their dogs.
Did a load of laundry and decided to watch “Somewhere In Time” for about the 50th time. It is my all time very favorite movie.
It got into the mid 90's today, but didn't really feel that warm. I was able to keep the sliding patio door open most of the day and did not turn on the A/C until around 1:45 pm.

Last Saturday Of June

Didn't get out of bed this morning until 8 am. I was not asleep all of that time. I was watching TV since I woke up around 7 am. I really need to force myself to get up early and get out for a walk with Hiker when it's still cool outside. I know I keep saying that and hopefully I will eventually get myself to do it. We did get out for a short 1 mile walk this morning, but it was getting hot while we were out.
Did a load of laundry and wrote a letter to my friend Mary Lou who is a lady I met the first day I hired in at Lockheed back in 1968. She is now in her late 80's and lives in Virginia. She does not have a computer, so I have to always communicate with her either by phone or by snail mail. She likes me to send her photos of Hiker, so I have to write her letters a lot.
Put together a meatloaf and put it in the crock pot to slow cook. Even though I'll have some of it for dinner tonight, I make it mostly for leftovers so I can make cold meatloaf sandwiches.
I think Hiker swiped a Hershey's Miniature off of my computer tray while I was on the phone with my older brother today. I had just taken a couple of miniatures out of my fridge and was waiting for them to soften up a little as they are hard since I keep them in the fridge. I noticed that one of them was missing and I know I didn't eat it as they were still a little hard. If Hiker took it, she must have eaten the wrapper too because I didn't find it anywhere and if she had “hidden” the miniature, she would still be looking for it and she's not. I never give her chocolate because I know it is not good for dogs. I'll have to watch her poop and see if the wrapper shows up. She's been acting very sheepish, so I'm sure she took it. Hopefully just one small piece of chocolate won't hurt her.

Lazy Friday

Up at 6 am. Out for dog walk with Jean and her dogs at 7 am. Had breakfast and then headed to the bank to get some cash then stopped by the Dollar Tree and Big Lots. Put up a few patriotic decorations for July 4th in the front of my house. By 10 am it was already 80° on my patio. Got a text from my brother Keith. He was out in Rancho Cucamonga doing some sound monitoring for the company he is a consultant for. He said it was only 71° out there. Told him to send some of the cool weather my way.
For some reason yesterday, I kept thinking it was Friday and all day today I kept thinking it was Saturday.
Too hat for an afternoon walk. I was watching “The Ghost Whisperer” on ION TV and I fell asleep between 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm.

Had Lunch With Ben's Buddy

Hiker and I got up around 7 am this morning, had some breakfast then went and bought my lottery ticket and headed over to the Sam's Club gas station to fill the car up. It was overcast due to a thick marine layer. I wouldn't mind if these marine layers stuck around all summer so it wouldn't be so hot.
My friend Ed (Ben's best buddy) came up from Pomona, CA and took me to lunch at Round Table then we came back home and Ed played with Hiker for awhile.
Ed is the only person that it takes Hiker awhile to “get friendly” with. There is just something about him that she does not trust at first. She is fine after a minute or so with other people who come to visit, but when Ed comes, she snarls at him and nips at him. Finally after about 20 or 30 minutes, she starts to be OK with him. Ben always said that Ed was “strange”, so I think that Hiker senses that. Ed left to head back home a little after 2 pm.
It stayed hazy here all day due to that morning marine layer, but it helped to keep the temperature in the low 80s.
Ate so much at lunch that I won't need any dinner tonight.

Fun Day With My Neighbor Jean

Original plan for today was to catch the Metrolink Train at 6:14 am and head down to Los Angeles for another dry run of me going to jury duty at the Federal Court House, but since I got excused from the jury duty, I told Jean we had to figure out something else to do, so we headed down to the Gene Autry Museum of the American West. It is across the street from the Los Angeles Zoo in Griffith Park. They were having a special Route 66 Exhibit that we wanted to see, but we also went through all of the other galleries which included Native American Art and a lot of old west things like rifles, revolvers, old western clothes, etc. We really had a nice time there even if the place was being overrun by kids from various s summer camps. Seems like every time Jean and I go somewhere like that, we end up being surrounded by little kids. We were wondering if there was some way we could find out a day to go when there would be no kids (LOL).
I was told in two of the galleries that I was not allowed to take photographs, but I “sneaked” some anyway. They let you take photo in the galleries where everything stays year-round, but they don't want you taking photos in the special exhibits.
Anyway, I will be posting and emailing my photographs from today a little later once I get them uploaded to my computer and can sort them out.
There was a cafe at the museum, but we walked in and saw the prices and turned around and walked right back out and headed over to “Beautiful Downtown Burbank” (remember “Laugh-in”?) and had lunch at Fuddruckers. They have such good burgers. We were surprised that they were not crowded because we got there just a little after 12 noon.
Got back home just before 2 pm.

Me in jail at the Gene Autry Museum

Yummy lunch at Fuddruckers

Normal Tuesday

Went to my grief support group today, even though according to the senior center, we were not really there. They are supposed to get their funding next week. Small group today and we had two new people join us again. After the session, four of us ladies went out for pizza.
Wasn't too hot today. Got up to around 82° on my patio and there was a nice little breeze.
Hiker was funny this morning before I left. She has pulled the little round tail off of the big bunny toy I got her the other day. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth and she came to me with the little round ball of a tail in her mouth. She dropped it at my feet as if to say “look what I did mom”. Now that's all she has been playing with...the little round tail. I told her that she just wanted her bunny to be tailless like she is.

I'm A Happy Camper!

I think the other day when I was playing with my Wii Sports game, I may have pulled my hip a little. It has been sore for a couple of days. At least it's not like when my back goes out though. I was playing the Home Run Derby and I must have twisted too hard. I was trying to get some exercise since I have not been walking much. I cannot seem to do anything these days without hurting myself (LOL).
I have a big YIPEE YAHOO! today to share with everyone. I had not mentioned it, because I didn't want to jinx it. Last Friday night, I was watching a movie on Netflix. After the movie was over, I was sitting on the sofa and something in my brain told me to send a copy of the email my retinal specialist gave me about my eye injections to the U.S. Federal Court where I on-call for jury duty in July. I had sent them emails before asking questions about arrival times, etc. I explained my situation to them and attached a PDF copy of the email from my doctor. This morning I got an email back from them stating that I have been excused from the jury duty and that no further action needs to be taken on my part. If I get called for our local Superior court, it would be OK because I only live about 5 or 6 miles from that court house and they don't have long drawn-out cases like Federal Court does.
I am not a religious person, but I am a spiritual person. Don't know what others believe, but I think Ben's spirit helped me get out of it too. He never would have wanted me to have to go to downtown L.A. by myself, having to walk to and from Union Station and the court house. Walking by all of the homeless people along the way. I kept “talking” to him asking him to help me get out of it if possible and I think he “told” me to send the email to the court. I believe that our departed loved ones stay with us in spirit and help us get through our lives without them.
Did our Monday dog walk with Jean and the dogs. I had to call her after I got notified from the court to let her know that our trip to L.A. on the train Wednesday was not needed so no she and I are going to go over to the Gene Autry Museum in Griffith Park for the Route 66 Exhibit instead on that day.
Had to do some housework today and you all know how much I hate doing housework. But it does have to be done.

Summer Sunday

Been watching so many good older movies lately on Netflix. Ben and I never went to the theater, so I am catching up. Watched one last night called “The Accused” with Jodie Foster and Kelly McGillis. Very good.
I think I feel asleep around 10:30 last night. I woke up around 2 am with a stomach ache and I felt really crappy. Got up and took some Pepto and went back to bed. Hiker got me up just before 6 am to let her outside and I still felt pretty crappy, but I was hungry, which was a good sign, so I got a bowl of cereal and got back in bed and watched “CBS Sunday Morning”.
Around 9:15, Hiker and I drove over to the liquor store to buy our lottery tickets and then I got my laundry going and I went out in the front yard and cleaned up the front flower bed. Looks so much nicer now. It was starting to look like a jungle again.
Took my iPad out on my patio for a little while. It was about 72° and a nice breeze was blowing. Added some Amazon Prime music to my iCloud.
Have a few things coming up this week. Have my usual grief support group on Tuesday, even though the Senior Center said they don't have the funding for us to meet. Wednesday, my neighbor Jean and I are making another “dry run” down to Los Angeles on the train. We are leaving at the actual time I will have to leave the first day of reporting if I get called for jury duty. We have to catch the train at 6:14 am. We are planning on going to Philippe's for breakfast. Then on Thursday, my friend Ed (Ben's best buddy) is coming by and we are going to lunch at Round Table Pizza.
Stayed somewhat cooler today...about 82° pm on my patio this afternoon.

Sofa Saturday

Didn't fall asleep until around midnight last night. Let Hiker outside to go potty around 6 am and then went back to bed, but didn't fall totally back to sleep, just sort of dozed. Got up at 8 am and took Hiker out for a walk, but we did a short one because it was already almost 80° outside.
Had to fill my humming bird feeders after my gardener finished up the mowing.. Did a load of laundry. Watched a few TV movies and just played couch potato today.

The Heat Is On

Up at 6 am, out for a dog walk with my neighbor Jean and then Jean and I headed over to an estate sale in Saugus. Ginny, who is the sister of my good friend Judy is an Estate Sale Specialist and she has the sales every now and then. She has had me on her mailing list for years, but this was the first time I finally got to one of the sales. We got there 5 minutes after the sale started and the place was already swamped with people. Jean found I cute little padded side bench and I found a large decorative folding paper fan that will fit in the half-round window that is over my front door.
We drove over to Target because Jean had a bunch of cents-off coupons for dog food and dog treats. I saw a big stuffed bunny dog toy that I just could not resist buying for Hiker. When I first gave it to her, I think it scared her a little because it is big...about half her size, but she finally took to it and started dragging it all over the house.
By 10 am, it was already 90° on my patio. I'm afraid we are now heading for another very hot, hot, hot summer. Hit 100° by late afternoon.

Fun Day With Old Friends

We got out of bed around 7 am had some breakfast and then Hiker and I drove over to buy my Lottery Tickets. Beautiful morning, but didn't get out to walk because I'm waiting for the blisters on my feet to heal more. They are much better but when I walk, naturally my feet sweat and that does not help them to heal. I read that the reason we get blisters on our feet is because of friction which can be caused by moisture. The body creates a cushion (the blister) to protect the skin. Would you believe that I read that nylon socks are better than cotton socks because they cause less friction? I would think that cotton socks would keep the feet dryer, but I guess not.
Drove up to the Sizzler in Palmdale to meet up with some of my retired Lockheed girlfriends. We were all shocked when we saw that the price of the Senior All-You-Can-Eat Salad Bar went up. Last time we were there is was $10.99 and now it is $11.49. I remember when it was $7.99 several years back Always have such a good time with those ladies. We've all known each other for many, many years.
It got up into the mid-90s today and they are saying it is going to get hotter next week.

Pretty Good Day

Boy did I have some really strange and crazy dreams last night. But you know what? I don't remember a thing about them (LOL).
Got up at 7 am, had breakfast then headed over to the Auto Club to renew my registration on my Rav4. It isn't due until August, but I wanted to get it early in case I get put on a jury in July and end up on some long, drawn-out trial.
Left the Auto Club and headed over to Sam's Club to fill the car with gas. Have a trip up to the Antelope Valley tomorrow to meet up with some of my retired girlfriends from Lockheed.
After leaving the gas station, headed over to Stater Brothers to do a little grocery shopping. Started out with a small list but always end up buying things that are not on my list.
Got home and then took Hiker for a walk inside our gated community. Was about 70° which isn't really that hot, but I really ended up sweating a lot from the exercise. As we were walking by the community office, Hiker turned to go up the walk to the office because Hiker remembers that Marcie, who works in the office, once had some cookies she shared with Hiker. Little stinker.
After lunch, I drove over to Dollar Tree and Big Lots just to look around. Bought a couple of coffee mugs at Dollar Tree and I was looking at Big Lots for a hammock I had seen in their add. When I got there, they only had one hammock left and it had been opened, so I didn't want to buy it. Bought some stuff for Hiker...some Pupperoni and a new toy.
Got up to 80° on my patio. I am enjoying this somewhat cooler weather.

Had Our Group Session Even If The Center Didn't Want Us

Yesterday not long after I had sent out my daily email blog, I got a phone call from the Senior Center telling me that our grief support group would not be meeting again until July 1st. My first thought was that our therapist was sick or had been injured in some way, but they proceeded to tell me that the center was out of funds for their support groups. I called some of the members and several of us decided to meet for lunch since we were not going to have a group session. Then this morning I find an email from our therapist Judy Harris telling us that she was upset about how the center called us and that she has a personal and professional commitment to us and that she still wanted us to meet her at the center at 10 am and if need be, we would drive over to her office a few blocks away and hold our session there. So I started making phone calls and several of us met her in the parking lot at the center. So she basically told the leaders at the center that she was going to have her support session even if they don't have the money to pay her. There were only about 7 or 8 of us there, but at least we had our session. After that, four of us went to lunch and once again Paul came with us and he insisted on paying for everyone's lunch just like he did last week. He needs to stop doing that!
After I got home, I got a call from my older brother Ron. He had a follow-up with his doctor today after his hospital stay. The doctor told him he seems to be doing good and today the doctor did not notice any skip in his heart beat.
Weather was pretty nice here today. Once again we started out with the “June Gloom” but the sun came out. It was about 75° with some haze left over from the marine layer and a nice breeze.

Breezy Monday

Up early for our Monday dog walk with Jean and her dogs. We had a very thick marine layer this morning so it was nice and cool as we walked. We let the dogs play in my backyard for about 30 minutes. After Jean went home, I had some breakfast and then did some housework.
Got the email I had asked my Retinal Specialist for so I have proof to show the judge if I get called in for jury duty. It says that due to my ongoing eye problems that I need to have monthly treatments which will hinder my driving and reading for several days after the injections. Don't know if it will help me to get off. I also have the proof that I have an appointment on July 25th and another on August 29th. I'm just hoping I won't even have to report.
Was mad because CBS here in Los Angeles showed the Kings hockey team parade instead of “Young & Restless”. I hate it when they pre-empt my soap. I'll have to watch it tonight on TVGN. I could care less that the Kings won their stupid Stanley Cup.
We had a nice breeze coming in off the ocean today so it never even got to 80°. I hope that we have a cooler summer this year than we have had in the past 2 years.

Hiker and her BFF Sassy playing in the yard

Remembering My Dad And Ben

Three years ago on this date, my sweet Ben passed away after spending almost four months in the hospital. I cannot believe that he has been gone that long. I remember it like it was yesterday.
Watched a really good movie on Netflix last night called “Silverado”. It was a western from around 1985. Had a lot of really good stars in it too. Went to bed around 10 pm, but had a little trouble falling asleep.
Got up before 6 am to let Hiker outside and when she came back in, we got back into bed but didn't go back to sleep. I turned on the TV and watched “CBS Sunday Morning” and then we got out of bed.
I made some waffles for my breakfast and then Hiker and I headed out to get my Lottery tickets and then drove over to Canyon Country Park for a walk. Wanted to get out earlier than we did yesterday. It was in the 80s when we walked yesterday, whereas it was only 70° when we walked this morning. Also wanted to get done with our walk before everyone started arriving for Father's day cook-outs. I could already smell several BBQs being started.
I sure am having a lot of trouble with my feet lately. Seems I cannot walk much more than a mile before I start feeling blisters forming on the balls of my feet. I even put bandages and tape on the balls of my feet this morning and wore thicker socks than normal. Anyone have any suggestions to keep the blisters from forming? I need to get some as “blister pads” at the drug store.
Stayed below 80° here today.

My Ben

My Dad

Flag Day 2014

Stayed in bed until 8 am this morning. Wasn't asleep, but the bed felt so good, I just didn't want to get out of it. Got up and made some breakfast and then did a load of laundry.
I wish I had someone living near me who was a “gung ho” walker and would encourage me to get out and walk/hike more. I have gotten so bad lately about not wanting to get out. Don't know why. When I first retired and I was losing weight, I was “addicted” to walking and hiking. I would go out every morning around 6 am and sometimes take another walk in the afternoon. I would do at least 2 miles and it didn't matter what the weather was. I even walked in the rain. And what's really sad is that Hiker is getting very lazy about walking too. Sometimes she tries to hid from me when I'm getting her leash.
After the gardener left, I convinced myself and Hiker to go out for a walk. It was 80° and breezy and didn't feel too hot until we'd gone about a mile or so, then I started to sweat so we headed home. Had some lunch and watched TV which made me sleepy so I took a little nap.
Took a photo or my house with my flag out for Flag Day. I used to have a pole but the bottom of it rotted away and I didn't feel like getting another.

Not The News I Wanted

Did a dog walk and a little bit of doggy play time this morning with Jean and her dogs and then Jean drove me over to Kaiser for my follow-up with my Retinal Specialist. The injections did not do the job he wanted them to do. They helped some, but he said the Avastin was not “powerful” enough to stop the seepage from the blood vessels in the back of my eye. So in July he is going to give me an injection of steroids because they are stronger. He likes to start with the easiest procedure and if each procedure does not work, he then goes to the next one. We originally tried the laser treatments, and then the injections of Avastin, and next will be the steroids. I told him about my being on-call for jury duty in July and he told me to tell the judge about my eye problems and the regularly scheduled series of injections I am getting and that maybe they will let me off. I've asked him to give me an email or some sort of “proof” to show the judge if and when I go. My worry is that it won't get me off permanently but only get me postponed again. I think they will only let you postpone twice in a year and then they insist you do the duty. Guess I'll have to wait and see what happens.
I told Jean that she's going to really start to hate me because she has to continue taking me to my Retinal Specialist every month for the next few months. I was hoping he would tell me that the Avastin worked and that he would not have to see me for another 4 to 6 months.
I asked him again about going to get new eye glasses because I'm having trouble with up close reading on my old ones. He still said it was up to me but that he suggests I wait because he didn't want me spending money when I didn't need too. He asked me if I can see close up without my glasses and I said yes, so he said until we get my eye to a better state, he suggests I just take my glasses off to read and just wait to get new ones.
Kaiser was very crowded today and they were behind about 45 minutes with each appointment. The doctor told me that the computer system was very slow and that was backing him up on the appointments. Kaiser needs to upgrade their computer system to a much faster one.
On the way home, I took Jean to lunch at “The Islands”. I had never been there. They specialize in burgers and the one I had was pretty good.

Restful Thursday

Slept in a little this morning. For some reason, I felt really tired. I went grocery shopping and then came home and watched “Y&R” from yesterday on my laptop. I forgot to watch it last evening on TVGN since I was not home when it is normally on between 11:30 and 12:30 here.
Had to fill both of my hummingbird feeders. The house finches drink out of them more than the hummers do.
After lunch, Hiker and I went over to Central Park for a little afternoon walk. It was about 85° and starting to get a little windy. When we go over to Central Park, I take Hiker's expandable leash and I let her take me for a walk. The leash stretches out to 16 feet and she loves to roam around. She decides which direction we are going to take and I just follow her until she heads back towards the car.
Have to get up early tomorrow morning to do a dog walk with Jean and then she is taking me back down to Kaiser for my follow-up with my Retinal Specialist.

Another Day At Kaiser

Up fairly early this morning so Hiker and I could get a walk in before I had to get ready to go down to Kaiser in Panorama City to have the photographs taken of my inner eyes. It was very overcast (June Gloom) here this morning while Hiker and I took our walk down through Discovery Park along the dry riverbed and back. Perfect weather for a walk because it was nice a cool.
My neighbor Jean picked me up at 11:30 am and we headed down the freeway into the San Fernando Valley. This is the third time I've had an Fluorescein Angiography done. The doctor does not do the procedure. It is performed by a technician. Fluorescein Angiography is an eye test that uses a special dye and camera to look at blood flow in the retina and choroid, the two layers in the back of the eye. This test is done to see if there is proper blood flow in the blood vessels in the two layers in the back of the eye. The process takes about an hour to an hour and a half.
On the way back home, Jean and I stopped at Topper's Pizza and I treated her to a late lunch. I have to go back to Kaiser on Friday for a follow-up with my retinal specialist. Hopefully after that visit, I won't have to go back for a few months.
Only got up to around 80° here today.

Good Day At Support Group

Had a pretty good support group today. Had a new lady who just lost her husband two weeks ago. He passed away from Pancreatic Cancer. Also had a wonderful story from one of the other members Marina. She lost her son in a car accident awhile back. Anyway, she went to see Theresa Caputo (The Long Island Medium). She was a little skeptic as I have always been. It was at a theater in Cupertino, CA and Marina said there were about 2000 people there so she felt there was no way she was going to “hear from her son”. Well she because a true believer and now I am too. She said they never ask you any question ahead of time or ask you “trick” questions to get you to say something that might help Theresa “read” your loved ones. She said that Theresa knew that someone in the audience had their son's fingerprint on a necklace and Marina did. Theresa knew how he died and there were so many other things that she knew without Marina even saying a word. As she was telling us about it, I got the chills. I watch “The Long Island Medium” all the time and wanted to believe that there are people who can communicate with people who have passed, but always had that little bit of “I'm not sure”, but I really feel now that Theresa Caputo is the real thing. I would love to have a one-on-one reading with her but she is in New York and when she comes to California, she does large groups. I felt so good coming away from the session today.
Paul, our retired police captain in the group, took five of us ladies out for lunch at MiMi's Cafe. He is only the second guy who has gone to lunch with us ladies. We love listening to his stories about when he was a cop.
Was not as hot here today as it was yesterday. We had a really thick marine layer this morning and the haze stuck around all day. It was 82° on my patio when I got home from group.
Tomorrow, I have to go and have photographs taken of the insides of my eyes down at Kaiser. My neighbor Jean is going to take me as they will be dilating my eyes. We don't go until afternoon. I prefer morning appointments, but they didn't have any.

Hot Day...Stayed Inside

I was really wiped out after that yard sale on Saturday. I went to bed early Saturday night and slept pretty good, but when I got up Sunday morning, I still felt very tired. I ran a couple of errands and took Hiker for a short walk. I had a headache so I took an Ibuprofen and then settled down to watch a movie, but kept dozing off, so finally stopped the movie and then I fell asleep on the sofa. I slept for about 2 hours until the ringing of my phone woke me up. Hiker was in my face wondering why I was not getting up to answer the phone. I very rarely take naps and when I do, they are usually for about 15 or 20 minutes...never 2 hours. I don't like to take naps because they make my head fill like it is full of mush and boy, did I feel that way when I woke up yesterday from that long nap. I decided to have a dish of ice cream and then I tried to watch TV but my head was so mushy that I finally just went to bed around 8:15 pm. Fell right back to sleep and slept through the entire night. I know that when I take pain killers, they do make me drowsy, so I know that the Ibuprofen is what made me fall asleep.
Anyway...I felt fine today. Got up at 6 am and Hiker and I went for a dog walk with Jean and her dogs. I had to run over to Good Will to drop off a bag of clothes and then went by Sam's Club to pick up a few things. On my way there was a 3 car accident on Soledad.
Had on CBS waiting for “The Young And The Restless” to come one when the news started showing a high speed chase on the freeway. They were chasing a man who was wanted for terrorist threats. He stopped the car in North Hollywood and got out with an assault rifle and ran into a neighborhood where he got on the roof of a house. Then he came down from the roof and he barricaded himself in a house. Around 3 pm the police shot tear gas into the house and the guy came out and surrendered.
Got up to 100° on my patio today.

Sleepy Sunday

After the long day Hiker and I had yesterday, we hit the sack just before 9 pm and I fell right to sleep. Got up around 7:30 am and had some breakfast and then headed out to buy my lottery tickets. When we got back, I decided to take Hiker for a walk. We only did a very short walk because it had already started to get pretty warm outside. Need to get up earlier and get out before the sun starts to show up.
When we got home, I put a load of laundry into the washer and then I proceeded to file complaints with the “National Do Not Call List” website. There have been about 4 or 5 telemarketers that keep calling me every day, sometimes more than once a day. I do not answer these calls as I don't recognize the name or number on my caller ID, however, I do keep track of these calls and once I get too many of them, I report the number to the NDNCL website. I really don't think it does any good because the calls keep coming. What good does being on the NDNCL do if the telemarketers don't obey the laws? Most of the number I've been getting are building contractors. I go online and look them up. Seems that the majority of them are for solar panels or energy pane windows.
Went outside and sat on the patio awhile with my computer, but it was up to 80° on my patio by 10:45 am, so went back into the coolness of the house.
Don't know if it was the heat or the fact that I was still tired from yesterday, but I had a slight headache all day and didn't really feel like doing much. I was reclining on the sofa trying to watch a movie on Netflix but I keep nodding off, so I finally gave in and took a nap.

Community Yard Sale Day

Up at 4:30 am. Had to get up early to feed Hiker, put her out back to go potty, have some breakfast, get dressed and head over to Jean's house by 5:30 am to set everything up for the community yard sale. Took us until just before 7 am to have the “easy-up” in the drive way and set up the tables and put everything out for the sale. It always starts out slow because the people come into the gated community and start checking out the streets down near the guard shack. It takes them about 30 to 45 minutes to start showing up in our area. Then they come in big groups. I made about $55. Didn't sell much of what I had. Mostly made the money from the vinyl albums and 45's that I had. It was funny to see the younger people look at the 45's with a questionable look in their eyes. Don't think they had a clue what they were. I ended up giving most of the other stuff to the charity organization that comes in every year after out sale is over. They sell what we give them and all of the proceeds stay in our city.
It's always fun because all of the neighbors yell back and forth across the streets to each other and many of them sell food and soft drinks.
Hiker was such a good girl. She sat in Jean's garage with me and just watched all of the people milling around. She got to meet quite a few dogs too.
We were lucky in the fact that it didn't really start getting too hot until just before the sale was over.
Tomorrow we rest.

Here's Hiker watching all of the people going by:

Frantic Friday

Up early for a dog walk and then Hiker and I gathered up our yard sale stuff for tomorrow and took it over to Jean's where Hiker played with the dogs and I helped Jean get her stuff organized. Have to be there at 6 am in the morning to set up everything for the sale. It starts at 7 am.
Got a text from my nephew Matt while I was at Jean's house that he picked my brother Ron up at the hospital and took him home, so that was great news.
When Hiker and I got home, she went out in the yard to go potty and I as in the back bedroom. I heard her making a strange barking/growling noise that I have never heard her make before, so I went to find out what she was doing and she had cornered a rat or a mouse (it was kind of big) in the corner of the patio. Hiker was sitting on the steps near the door not knowing if she should approach it or not. I put Hiker into the house and got the hose and shot the creature with water. It ran to the corner of the fence and found a tiny place to crawl through between the fence and the house and got out of the back yard. Don't know where it went after that, but I hope it doesn't come back. It's the first one I've seen since back when I used to have bird feeders in my hard and they would come after the seed. We live in a hilly area near a dry river bed and we get lots of different critters.
After lunch, I called my brother to see how he was doing. I waited awhile because I didn't know if he would feel like talking. He had just gotten out of the shower. He said since he'd been lying in the hospital bed for 2 days, a shower was the first thing he wanted. They didn't put the heart monitor on him yet because they didn't have one available, so he will go back next week and they will put it on him. He sounded good.

Hiker OK...Brother Ron Still In Hospital

Well today was much better than yesterday. Last night, Hiker was still moping around and acted like she didn't want me to touch her. This morning she was on my bed lying on the pillow next to my head and she was wanting me to get up. She seems to be back to normal. She has been playing with her toys and running around the house and she was chasing the birds out in the back yard. This makes me feel so much better because I was so worried about her last night. I sat beside her massaging her back and I cried. She kissed me. I think she realizes how worried I was about here because she has been extremely lovable today, wanting to kiss me and get hugs. My nephew Matt went over to the hospital to be with his dad (my brother Ron). He texted me that the doctor said the reason Ron was feeling light headed and his heart was racing might be because Ron just started drinking coffee with caffeine again. He has drank de-caf for years and not long ago started drinking caffeinated coffee because he felt it would give him more energy. Around noon, Ron called me and said that they are going to keep him in the hospital another day and night. They want to have him walk around the halls while they monitor his heart and see if he has another “episode”. They noticed in the EKG that one of the valves in his heart may not be performing normally. He didn't like the idea that he had to stay there longer, but he knows it's for the best. They are also going to have him wear a 24-hour heart monitor for a month once they send him home. I started getting some of the stuff together that I am going to try to sell at our community yard sale Saturday. I take my stuff over to Jean's house to sell so she can park her car in my driveway. I have tons of old vinyl albums that I'm going to try to sell and some 45 records too. I also have a small bookcase and some beaded jewelry that I made and never wear. After lunch I went outside and trimmed a few of my plants. It was starting to get pretty hot, so didn't stay out there too long. Got up to about 90° here today and is supposed to be near 100° this weekend.

Stressful Afternoon

Got out of bed at 6 am. I had to let Hiker outside and feed her and then get ready to head over to the Toyota Dealer to have my Rav4 serviced. I took Hiker along with me and while they were working on the car, she and I went for a 4 mile walk. We got back to the dealership about 15 minutes before the car was done. It wasn't really hot while we were out walking, but I sure worked up a sweat. When we were at the dealership, everyone kept wanting to pet Hiker. I have to be careful letting people do that, because she is still quite skittish around strangers and she will sometimes growl and snap at them. I don't think she would bite down if she did get hold of them, but you can never be too careful. Most of the time, she warns people by growling when they touch her. She will let some people pet her and she it just fine, but then there will be times when for some reason, she seems to now like certain people. While we were walking, the balls of my feet started to hurt and I think I was starting to get blisters there. When we first got home, Hiker immediately plops on the floor and rolls on her back and she yipped. I didn't think much of it because sometimes she will roll over a chew bone and she will yip, but then I noticed she yipped when she went to jump up on the sofa and so I thought I'd check her feet to see if she stepped on something while we had been out walking. Her feet seemed fine, but I went to pet her near her but and she yipped again. I checked her hips and they seemed OK, but she act like she is sore near her anus. I thought maybe she needed her gland evacuated and I called Jean to see if she could check because groomers do that, but Jean was not home, so I left a message. Then I started to think maybe her hips were just sore after our 4 mile morning walk. Then a little after 1 pm, my older brother Ron, who lives in northern calls me and tells me that he has called 911 and is waiting for them to come and take him to the hospital. He called me the other day and said he's been feeling really weak and tired and he's been very light headed lately. I know his doctor put him on a new medication to slow his heart rate down. I keep thinking that is what is causing the problem. Anyway, I texted his oldest son and his daughter to let them know. Ron was so “worked up” that he said he didn't have time to let them know but he wanted someone to know so he called me. They are both working today so I told them when I hear anything, I would let them know. The last time this happened to my brother, they ran every test in the world on him and found nothing wrong. Last I heard from my brother was a text around 3 pm saying he was in ER waiting for test results. At least Hiker seems to be acting a little more normal. I gave her a chewable baby aspirin.

Out on our morning walk

Another Day At Group

Actually slept a little better last night, but still had dreams. I remember a little bit about a couple of them...I was visiting someone (don't know who) and we were getting ready to get in the car and head out for some sightseeing and I was looking forward to taking some photographs. That was one dream and then another one I was in a big hall of some sort...the kind where they hold events. I remember it was night time, but don't remember why I was there or much else about the dream. Up at 7 am and did my “normal” Tuesday stuff before I got ready to head over to the Senior Center for my support group. Had another small group today. Don't know what has happened to all of the people we were getting before. We have this one woman who comes to the group who is not a widow so we are all guessing that she is there for the first hour of the group which is for “emotional support”, but then she continues to stay the second hour which is our “grief support”. She is very annoying in the fact that she “talks down” to all of us. She seems to think she is an expert on EVERYTHING! She always uses big words to make herself sound more intelligent. There is nothing she does not have an opinion about. She does not go to lunch with us which is a good thing because our little lunch group always has a lot to say about her. Today we all found it annoying that she likes to pat herself on the back by telling us how she is always paying for someone's purchase at the store if they don't have the money or enough money to cover what they are purchasing. That is a nice thing for her to do, but she should not be telling everyone about it to make people think what a wonderful person she is. Those are the kinds of things you do anonymously. This woman is somewhat annoying every week, but today, it was like something got her all wound up and we could not turn her off. She is also very argumentative. Several of us noticed that our therapist was getting very annoyed with this woman today, but she has to stay professional. So now I'm home and Hiker is happy, so all is well.

Busy Monday

Up at 6 am for our Monday dog walk. I was tired from hanging out at the Montrose Street Fair yesterday. I watched a movie on Netflix and went to bed around 9 pm and actually fell asleep around 9:30 pm, however, I woke up at 11:24 pm (I remember looking at the clock) and I thought it was early morning so I must have been in a deep sleep. I went right back to sleep and started having strange dreams. It's the strange dreams that make me feel like I don't sleep well at night and I have no idea how to not have them. They are always strange and always different subjects. After our dog walk, I made some eggs for me and Hiker and then I headed over to Wal-Mart. I was so mad at myself when I got home. Sometimes my eyes are really bad when I try to read labels. I was going to buy some Lutein for my eyes and I thought that's what I picked up, but when I got home I realized that I picked up Lycopene which is a drug for the prostrate. The were right next to each other on the shelf and I just grabbed the wrong one. Don't think I need the Lycopene (LOL). Good thing it didn't cost me too much because I didn't feel like going back over there to exchange it. After watching “Y&R” and having lunch, I filled my two hummingbird feeders and then I cleaned the house. Hiker hid out in the backyard while I vacuumed. Felt a little cooler today. It was 87° on my patio.

A Day At The Street Fair

Even though I took a sleep aid before I went to bed last night, I could not fall asleep. I think I finally nodded off around 2 am. Hiker woke me up around 6 am to go outside and then we went back to bed until 7 am when I finally got up and got dressed, had breakfast and waited for Jean to pick me up at 8:30 am to head over to her friend Toni's house and then Toni drove us up to Montrose for the street fair. I think Ben and I went to the annual street fair many years ago and it was much smaller back then. Now it is about 3 blocks long and there are hundreds, if not thousands of people there. It was nice a cool when we first got there, but later it started getting really hot. I kept trying to find a place to get under a tree for some shade. Some of the booths had nice breezes blowing through them, so we would stop and pretend we were looking at the wares that were for sale just so we could get cool. The only thing I bought was a yard stake of a dog and I had them add Hiker's name to it. So many people brought their dogs to the street fair, but I would never take Hiker because it was so crowded and too hot and I'd be afraid she would blister her little paws on the black top. I really like Jean's friend Toni. I met her once before when the three of us went to an event here in the Santa Clarita Valley. We got back home around 1 pm. Hiker was happy to see me. She wanted her mid-day snack and she wanted to “help” me eat my lunch. Have a busy week ahead. Have our Monday and Friday dog walk with Jean and her dogs. I have my support group on Tuesday. Wednesday I have to take my Rav4 over to the Toyota Dealer for an oil change. I need to find a day to get over to Wal-Mart this week and then I have to start getting the things ready that I'm going to try to sell at our community's annual yard sale which is this Saturday.