As a follow-up to yesterday’s post.  Sylvia’s computer now holds her restored e-mail inbox and contact info.  I can “see” her computer from mine, but I’ve not been able to install the laser printer [connected to her computer] as a shared printer on mine.  It’s a driver issue.  I think I know how to fix it, but it will have to wait for a while.

At least Sylvia has a fully operational computer.  And the new one is fast–very fast.  Can you say, happy camper?  That’s what she is.

Looks like this is the day for yard work.  It will feel good to get away from these computers and get some fresh air and sunshine.

Short version: The transition is a pain.

Long version: Sylvia’s new computer has returned, having been repaired.  I have to move her address book and e-mail messages from the old to the new.  I’ve always had a hard time with this task, and Microsoft Office help is not very helpful.  Oh well!

Also, The default network name has changed so I’ve got to change that so that we can share network resources.  The laser printer is on a USB port on her computer.  My computer doesn’t see it.  I know what to do, but I have to find out how to do it Windows 7.

At this point I’m about to go off on a rant.  Before that happens, let me wish you a good day, sign off and get to work.

Monday morning I looked out the window and saw this little guy eating his breakfast.

Yum! Fresh maple seeds

As he reached for another helping, something must have caught his attention.  He turned and stretched up to better see down the lawn.

Looking, but still chewing

There was no threat just an unusual noise from the neighbor’s farm.  No threat?  No problem!  Time to continue the task at hand.

“I just can’t get enough of these.”

I watched a bit longer, but then left to go about my business.

Today

We have company coming today.  Brother-in-law, Rick with my sisters Clara and Maggie are coming for a visit.  Rick starts a new job on Monday, so he has a little bit of free time today.  We do this from time to time, and I always look forward to it.

Also, FedEx tracking indicates that Sylvia’s new computer is on the delivery truck and should arrive here later today.  This is the unit that she used for two days before it died.  I had bought it from a reseller on Amazon.com.  When I checked warranty status online before sending the computer to the manufacturer for repair or replacement, I discovered that six weeks remained of the one year warranty.  Do you think I’ll purchase from that source again?  Ever?  That’s right.  No way!

I need to harvest some rhubarb for Sylvia.  I think there’s some rhubarb crisp on our menu for today. :food:

It was a busy day today.  At the time I am normally eating breakfast, I was headed out the door.  I had eaten my breakfast and drank a half liter of barium prep.

Next stop was the hospital where an I. V. waited and another half liter of liquid.  After that, a C-T scan.  Then on to “the nukes.”  There I received an injection to prepare me for later.

An early lunch came next, so I ordered from the breakfast menu.  A couple of cups of coffee, eggs, bacon and rye toast.  Perfect.

Then, I drove next door to the podiatrist office.  I was early, but said I’d wait.  I did wait, but not for long.  “Naughty Netty” called me in and fitted the orthotic inserts to my shoes.  (I had called her Naughty Netty once, and instantly became her favorite patient.  That was her grandma’s favorite name for her.)  Later, Doctor Dave came in for a quick look at my feet before turning me loose.

As I was preparing to leave, the rain began to fall very heavily.  I settled into a chair in the waiting area.  A few minutes later, the rain had mostly stopped and I returned to the hospital.

I still had an hour wait, so once again the Nook came out and I read from the classic Sci-Fi series that I’m enjoying these days.  I can only read a very few printed pages at one setting, but with the Nook HD+ I am able to read for a couple of hours or so.  I am very happy about that!

Finally they called me in for the bone scans.  That took a long time.  But eventually it was done and I headed home to feed a hungry kitty.  I think Nellie was glad to see me.

Now I wait a couple of days for the results.  Sylvia felt very bad that this is her week to be with her dad.  As I told her, “He needs her more than I do right now.”  (But I do need her.)

Sunday evening the planets Venus, Jupiter and Mercury hung low in the western sky shortly after sunset you could see them there.  To an earth-bound visitor, there were less than 3 degrees separation between the three planets.  I had hoped to capture an image of that event.  Unfortunately, the western sky was obscured by cloud cover.

Fortunately, I had an opportunity on Saturday evening and captured the event in our camera.  The camera saw this:

I was pleased to complete the capture of this infrequent celestial event.  However to my eye, it looked more like this.

Sylvia left to spend the next week with her dad.  I’m hoping she’ll get a little rest while she’s there.  This last week has been more than a bit busy for her.

Nellie (our cat) and I will have the opportunity to  get closer.  She has been with us for 16 weeks now and the walls of fear and distrust have eroded greatly in that time.  She is still a bit shy.  I don’t expect that to completely disappear.

Memorial Day

Today, I’m remembering those who have served our country with honor.  Especially, I think of those who gave all.

Tests that were scheduled for today have been cancelled.  The hospital’s imaging equipment is down and in need of repairs.  We’ll reschedule once they are back in business.  It leaves me somewhat mixed feelings. 😯

Sylvia was having computer woes, so I bought her a new unit.  It worked for two days.  After that, it failed to power on. :banghead:  Now I have to send it to Texas for repair or replacement.    Aargh! :frustrated:

What’s next?

Yesterday, Sylvia and I started this season’s efforts on the vegetable garden.  Yes, there will be flowers in there too.  First we checked on the plants that went in last year.

Giant garlic looking good

The garlic plants are looking strong.  These were a gift from Sylvia’s cousin.  He’s the one that keeps entertained through items sent to me e-mail inbox.  🙂

We have two varieties of asparagus. The Martha Washington seems to be doing better

Perhaps I should mention that after I put the camera down the serious weeding began.  Pay no attention to weeds.  Please.

Rosanne asked about the rhubarb that we got from her and Dale.  It is doing great.  Rhubarb needs a lot of nutrition to flourish so rotted manure is what it needs.  Or llama droppings, and neighbor Meghan will supply us with some from her llama, Grace.

Rhubarb or pie plant makes the best pies IMHO

After the photo op, we pulled weeds and tilled the rest of the garden.  Today I have a very sore back.  But I feel good and am already dreaming of rhubarb pie.

I had expected to take Sylvia out for lunch after church yesterday (Mother’s Day).  Saturday evening, she announced that she had some pork ribs in the freezer and wanted to bake them for Sunday dinner.

That’s what she did.  She even fixed mashed potatoes!  We enjoyed that fine meal together and then spent a few minutes tidying up the house.

Our older son, Bryant, with his wife, Barbara, and daughter, Briana, (aka the 3Bs) dropped in a little later.  In addition to the beautiful handcrafted card for Sylvia, they brought pie and ice cream.  Wow!  How great is that?  We had a great visit, as we always do.  It was good to get caught up on the latest happenings in their lives.

In the evening we drove to the nearby (5 miles) sandwich shop for a light evening meal.  We shared a BLT on whole wheat.  It didn’t take much to top off our tanks.  Then we returned home and watched Sylvia’s movie selection, Salt with Angelina Jolie.  As Sylvia observed, “There’s a lot of action in that one!”

Then, as is our custom of a Sunday evening, we called our younger son, Scott.  We had what for us is a short conversation.  By then it was bed time and Sylvia said goodnight.  I was doing a couple of online chores and would follow shortly after . . . but sleep would elude me until very late.

Yet today is a good day.  The sun is shining.

Yesterday, Sylvia went with me to visit the urologist.  We already knew the outcome of the biopsy.  The doctor had asked us both to come so that he could go over the results and analyze them for us.  He also talked about pros and cons of various treatment options.

It is prostate cancer and it is of an intermediate to aggressive type.  (Not all prostate cancer is slow to develop.)  It wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but considering how fast my numbers had risen, I wasn’t greatly surprised.

Next Friday, I’ll be going in for CT and bone scans.  The purpose is to see if the cancer has spread beyond the edges of the prostate.  The good news is there is an 89% chance that it is limited to the prostate.  I think we caught this one early and that bodes well for a good outcome.

We’ve had a lot of info to process in the last 30 hours.  However, we have a few weeks to think, talk and pray our way to a treatment decision.

Sylvia summarized the situation well when she observed, “Well, this is going to put a crimp in you summer plans.”  She is right, but the survival rate for this is very good.  And we are both optimistic and confident about what lies ahead.

Sylvia has just returned from a stay with her father.  Last week, while she was there, she told me that her cell phone’s battery was nearly flat.  She had left the charger here at home.  She also wanted a couple of other things.  I offered to take the items to her.

While I was at her dad’s, I took some time for a stroll around the house.  With camera in hand, I went in search of . . .

hyacinth.  I found some growing in the lawn near the driveway.  Aren’t they lovely?

As I shot that photo, I saw a tulip blossoming in the ditch beside the road.  The tulips at home would open the next day.

From the ditch, I walked to the back side of the house.  On that side, there is a pergola that is covered in wisteria.  Our friend Vanilla had posted a photo of his wisteria in full blossom.  This far north, it takes longer for those blossoms to develop.

I activated the camera’s flash to provide light on the back-lit scene.  I was rewarded with an interesting effect.