Talked to our beloved for about 45 minutes. She sounds great. Has been in a great deal of pain but each day is a little better than the one before. Today is only nine days out of surgery. Five hours under anethesia leaves one very weak for quite awhile. She was very glad to be back home in her own little nest. As all of us are when we have been overly stressed. She has such a positive outlook and is glad she went ahead with this ordeal. Feel very lucky to count her and the rest of you as my friends. Very definitely not an ordinary person. Will continue to pray for her recovery. Nothing is ever as fast and easy as we would want. Always impatient. The Kaiser Hospital experience lacked a lot. Would not recommend it to anyone else. Seems to be the story of many hospitals these days. Anyway, continue to keep her in your prayers and positive vibes headed her way. She's a tough old bird and will outdo us all. (hahahah, Carol. Put that in just for your benefit. We are within months of the same age so am glad to be included in that sentence.)
Love ya, darlin,
Christi
talked to Carol
Thanks for the update Christi, I will be giving Carol a call today or tomorrow. Let us know what the doctor says on Thursday, won't you?
Yes, Christi...from one old bird to another (HAHAHAHA I love it!!!), let us know. Watered in my GH today and then slept for 5 hours!!!! Love it.
That's not in your usual schedule so keep it up. The body heals when totally at rest.
Aloha all,
Just spoke to Carol this evening, I am afraid I got her out of bed - 8pm is her witching hour! She has a lot of trouble sitting, so the computer is hard for her. However the little devil walked to her greenhouse and did some potting up today! Can't keep Carol on bed rest - it's too small a world for her!
She says that she is feeling better day by day, although she is still on medication to help ease the pain, but she is so glad that she had the operation and is moving steadily forward toward being free of the pain she had suffered from for years.
Thought you all would like to know,
Jenny
Thanks Jenny.
Carol! Going to preach for a minute. Walking is good. Working is not. Without thinking you may do something you have always done and mess up the good doctors work. My friends who have had TWO surgeries was because they were to eager to go back to their everyday activities. Please be careful. One problem being on the island...no trained physical therapist visiting you 3 times a week. The time will pass slowly for you but it will be worth it. Rest, my friend. I am looking at my garden right now and wondering how it will survive while I am "resting". If it doesn't, I will start over. Bob is very capable to taking care of the greenhouse...just give him orders. hahahaha
Love to all of you and yours,
Christi
When is your sister coming?
I seem to be telling myself every few mins "THAT can wait...everything else will need to be done, just add it to the list".
My benches are tall and the stools I use are also...so it is quite comfortable at my potting bench....
I rest a lot...I am back reading which I did avidly all my life. Reading for enjoyment took the back seat when we moved here...if I stopped long enough to read I was asleep!!!! Currently reading a Wallace Stegner I hadn't read before....
Miss youi all...
Carol
Not familiar with Stegner. Might just have to look him up.
Take care,
Chris
Ah, Christi...Stegner is magnificent! Up there with Ivan Doig and the other great American contemp. writers!!!!
C
Hi, everyone.
I have been away for a while. Suddenly, when I logon to Dave's Garden, there is never a new thread that was updated since my last visit. I miss everyone. What's this I hear? Carol has had an operation? Best wishes to you for a speedy recovery. Take it easy, listen to your body. Better yet, stop before your body hints you should slow down.
I'll be looking forward to updates. Keep well, all.
Sylvain, AKA Pu'hole.
Aloha Pu'hole, glad you're back! I have missed you! What has been going on in your world since you returned from your trip? You are going to have to do a lot of reading to catch up with us, we TropicKids move through life at top speed ...
Warmest Aloha,
Jen
Good Morning, Sylvain. We have definitely been missing you. Pray all is well with you and Gail. We of the nosey nature need a report.
Christi
When I realized that I was no longer any update messates from new threads, I concluded that these old threads had been dropped into oblivion. That's when I returned to Tropical Gardening and found all that stuff that had sprouted in my absence.
I have finished editing my cruise pictures (over 600 of them) last night. I'll drop them at Costco today if (and that's a big IF) I have time.
I am growing a bumper crop of weeds of all descriptions. The beds need mowing. I have to get down there and do it. It will be easier to work out there now that the condo nazzis are gone. I promised LouC some lobsterclaw heliconias before we left on the cruise. She's still waiting and the heliconias are still mocking me as I write this.
We are busy purchasing a house about 20 milles North of here. We are currently in escrow. We should get the bank's answer today. It's a foreclosure so we are getting a great deal for not much money.
I am also working 3 or 4 half-days/week at the real estate agency and doing whatever I can to drum up my realtor's business from home, using my computer. Real estate is slow put picking up. The business of real estate is much like making sausage: you feed the machine and sausage comes out the other end. And it's a hungry machine. In my spare time, I am attending classes at my realtor's association. You have to learn to use the tools at your disposal if you're going to be successful.
I am joining the local chapter of the National Councing for Aging in Place in my realtor's capacity. They are a non-profit organization aiming at helping the aging population find a home that meets their needs and offers advice on remaining autonomous in their homes as long as possible before they are no longer autonomous. I will attend their next executive meeting next Tuesday. I'll know more then. I hear I will be expected to produce real estate-related articles for their newsletter. I am already involved with such considerations in my own personal life so I should take to that like a duckling to water.
We just bought a new Xerox colour laser printer because I was tired of having inky fingers after refilling my inkjet printer. It works like a charm. I should have done this long ago.
Gail is still knitting items for newborn babies. Last week, a friend of ours came to get dozens of items and sets: baby blankets, baby caps, baby booties, baby, baby, baby! She gives them to her church's charity foundation who either sells them to produce funds for their organizations or gives them outright to expecting mothers. Gail is always very happy when her knitting helps out people in some way. Ya gotta love her; bless her heart.
There's more but I see people in the back over there yawning. Hey, you asked Jen.
Take care, all.
Sylvain AKA Pu'ole.
This message was edited May 29, 2008 9:42 AM
My goodness. Seems both of you are going at top speed. A house! That will give you lots of room for growing all of the tropicals you want. Actually I would think that this is a good time to get involved with real estate. Time to learn all the angles of what it takes to get a client into a house. Some many years ago I had my realtors license and let it lapse (dumb, dumb, dumb). Had children to raise and it took too much time away from them. Had a lecturer tell us that it was easy to "sell" a house. Hard part was helping find the financing for them. Would think that presents a particular challenge these days and I know you love a challenge.
Life is good.
Christi
Wow! There are certainly no flies on you, Pu'ole! How wonderful - and how very busy you must be! Just think - no more condo nazzis to deal with - Oh JOY!
Glad to hear Gail is well and busy knitting for all those babies, it must give her a wonderful feeling to know that each row carries so much love in it, say aloha from me...
When are we going to see pictures of the new place, when are you moving in, inquiring minds (or busybodies like me) want to know!
Aloha, my friend.
Hi, everyone.
Yes, these days find us very busy. We have made an offer on this foreclosed home. The bank haggled with us and we finally came to terms. We got the finalized and signed papers yesterday. We are now passed the offer's hurdle.
We now move into the inspection phase whereby we unleash a bunch of inspectors into the house so they can tell us where problems exist or will soon show up. The offer is contingent on the inspection's results. If it's a lemon, we'll pull out of the deal quicker than you've ever seen.
We loved the house because it features 2 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms (one with shower/tub combo and the other with a walk-in shower). The toilets are low so we'll have to replace those but that's not so expensive to do. The whole place is tiled in porcelain tiles. There is no step down to go from the living room to the Florida room. The Florida room is also tiled. The kitchen will need sprucing up or redoing but that's me: move in and redo the kitchen. The appliances are serviceable but I imagine I'll tire of them soon enough. I would rather buy my own than move in somewhere where the previous owner chose my appliances for me. I write this and I realize how picky I am. And we were so dirt poor when I was a kid. Don't get me started on that, please. Let's move on.
I have a few pictures, copied off the MLS system. I will soon have pictures of my own, since I will accompany the inspection team on the site. This house is a foreclosed villa in Delray Beach, FL. That's about 25 milles North of us. I hope I won't need snow tires up there. Here is the front.
Sylvain, A.K.A. Pu'ole.
This is a picture of what we call: the great room. It runs the length of the house. This shot was apparently taken from the galley kitchen's door. Like I said, I have plans for that kitchen. As I write this, granite contractors are rubbing their hands together and drooling in anticipation of big contracts. They can wait. We have a granite guy that will come in and do whatever we want for very little money, compared to his competitors. He produces nice work.
The 2 bedrooms are to the right of the picture. You see a section of wall covered with floor-to-ceiling mirrors on the right side at the far end. We are trying to figure out if we like that or not. The other bedroom's door would be right at the lower right edge of the picture. The Florida room is at the far end of the great room.
The former owner installed plantation shutters in every window. We like those. A few sheers here and there and we'll be in business. The windows are of a recent model. There is not a cracked pane anywhere and the screens are all brand-new. Hurricane shutters provide protection from the relentless Florida sun and the storm winds. They are recent and in superb shape. The recent model washer and dryer along with the hot water heater are located in that little building you see in the picture above, on the left, on the other side of the driveway.
We are very excited. We'll keep you posted.
Take care, all.
Sylvain, A.K.A. Pu'ole
Very nice. You have a blank slate to do whatever you fancy. Please keep us up.
We are nosey neighbors. More like good friends that are excited with/for you both.
Christi
Oh Pu'ole, the house looks great! What a blessing the tile floors and no step downs will be for Gail. The great room looks so cool and inviting, and how wonderful that the windows are in such good shape, and plantation shutters no less! I believe those are big ticket items aren't they? I hope all goes well with the inspection phase - it all looks so perfect for you and Gail, I can imagine how excited you must be.
Looking forward to further news and some more pictures!
Aloha.
Looks like a great house so far!!
We will be contacting the inspectors tomorrow morning. I'd like to be there when put the house under the microscope. They are the inspection firm we usually use at the real estate agency. They are called Brick Kickers.
Wish us luck. We would so devastated if the house didn't pass inspection.
Sylvain.
Got my fingers crossed. And praying for the very best for you. If the house doesn't pass, we wouldn't want you in it.
Christi
Crossing fingers and toes for you guys!!!
Now, we all know that the inspectors HAVE to find thing wrong in order to earn their keep! Hopefully they will be just minor things that you can live with Pu'ole!
Love their name!
In this case, I hope that they find EVERYTHING that is wrong or failing with that house. I want to know the truth. We are apprehensive because it has been vacant after the bank foreclosed on the previous owner at least 2 years ago. Why has noone picked this baby up? I'm no more clever than most of the bargain hunters out there. Deep down, I hope with all my heart that the house is fine but enquiring minds want to know. Plus, they are a trusted resource. I trust them way more than I trust the bank.
Today will be a busy day. Gail has a doctor's appointment at 11:30. Then there will be lunch followed to a bankruptcy furniture sale in Fort Lauderdale and a visit to the closer's office with the 2nd good faith deposit cheque.
Take care, all.
Sylvain, A.K.A. Pu'ole.
Nice house....Pu'ole...and a clean slate for you to create in/on!!!!
Carol! How nice to count you among us. Best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery. Keep us informed of your progress. We're all pulling for you.
Gail and I are both pooped. A high-end furniture store filed for bankruptcy in Fort Lauderdale 3 weeks ago. They are liquidating a couple million dollars worth of fine furniture at deeply discounted prices. Today, we purchased a dining room set, a bedroom set, a sectional sofa, an accent chair, a painting and a wall unit.
Got to go rest now. Tonight's featured dish: get ready for it... Kraft Dinner. We'll survive and go to bed early. We've been on the roads since late morning. My back is killing me. We're not getting any younger.
Take care, all.
Sylvain.
Know you are tired, but what fun! New house, new furniture... take your time and get to know your new digs...imprint your personalities on the house and garden...been a long time since I got to do that...will be watching and enjoying the process with you!
Sage and lavender warm thoughts being sent your way from Kwaj!
Yokwe,
Shari
While shopping for furniture in that liquidation place yesterday, Gail couldn't go through with her walker so what did she do? She moved the obstruction out of the way. Result: she's been in pain since then. When the time comes to move, I'll wrap her in bubble wrap and move her to the new house first so she doesn't suffer uselessly.
Today will be a day of peace and calm. I'll work on my real estate business from home.
Take care, all.
Aloha.
Sylvain, A.K.A. Pu'ole.
She is a very lucky woman to have someone as caring as you, Polarbear. I,too, am blessed by a wonderful husband.
Christi
And I'm lucky to have her. At the furniture store, I called her by one of the many nicknames I have for her: wifeasaurus. It seems the saleman's wife does not have Gail's sense of humour and he would suffer greatly, should he choose to address her like that. That's his loss.
Sylvain, A.K.A. Pu'ole.
My term of endearment from DH is "Gertrude". Hope I don't offend anyone if that is their true name. Don't know where it originated. On the 9th we will be married 47 years and I have forgotten a lot.
Christi
This message was edited Jun 5, 2008 8:39 AM
Oh Christi, Congratulations! Actually that is very funny to me! JB has been saying that we have been married for 47 years since the day we got married! He says it so often, that when I made him a Christmas Train (he collects trains), I put #47 on the engine. 47 permeates everything we do. Don't ever tell him to pick a number - it will be 47... It has been his or my number on every sports team we have been on. Most couples have a "song", we have a "number". Weird, I know.
Just as meaningful. Anything that is code for "I love you dearly" is just right for the ones involved. Met on a blind date in Jan. 1960, fresh out of high school. Guess we have loved only one another now for 48 1/2 years. Life is good.
Yokwe,
PK
Two wonderful people who found each other early. All the better to enjoy a wonderful life together. You are blessed in so many ways.
Love ya!
Shari
Gail and I will be celebrating our 31st anniversary Sept. 3rd. Come to think of it, I had better get on it. I still haven't purchased our tickets. We always go on a cruise for our anniversary.
When we were first married, I called her Granny Squares because she crocheted a lot of those. I never cared for them.
When a triangular flying saucer was observed for over 20 minutes by thousands of witnesses in the sky above downtown Montreal, I called her wife-a-zoid. Many pictures were taken and that made the newspaper's headlines the next morning.
Then there was "She-Who-Shouldn't-Be-Contradicted", heralding the advent of the BIG Men Who Pause.
When she got her first scooter, I called her Road Runner.
I always have some term of endearment for her: freckleface, coppertop, Gailzilla... there's never a dull moment. She also has nicknames for me but I can't relate those here. Let your imagination run wild. Have a good time.
Take care, all.
Sylvain, A.K.A. Pu'ole.
Let's see, there is sweetheart, darling, honey,....
Yes, Yes! There are also those.
Sylvain.
My husband isn't into cute names .... but I bet he thought of me as the "Wonder Wife." Wonder why I keep her, that is. He's been very patient with my hobbies over the years. Even built me a greenhouse. Yeah, I think I'll keep him.
Mary