The "It's Thursday and I'm at Dialysis. What???", edition.

iPad shuffled to L.T.D., "Love Ballad". It's Thursday and I'm right back at dialysis. What's up with that? Especially since I had a low blood pressure incident yesterday. 104/37. The BP was OK while I was reclining and when I sat up.  But oh boy, when I stood up. I felt it. What a time. I got put on early and got off a half hour early. All that beautiful extra time was negated on recovering from low BP.  This is the first time it happened at the Las Vegas clinic. Bah. The good news is I alerted the tech immediately, who in turn notified my nurse.  I received the saline and eventually returned to normal. It took most of the day to really feel better. At breakfast I put salt on my grits because I felt like I was with fighting my blood pressure.

Average White Band, "If I Ever Lose This Heaven".  So I'm right back here the next day. You must think I'm a glutton for punishment.  Well no. I'm going out of town tomorrow. For the weekend. I didn't want to go 4 days without treatment. I know what it feels like with an overload of fluid. I'm not trying to feel like that again.  Especially if I'm out of town or have to fly.  Ugh. So between yesterday and today I gained one kilogram of fluid. And that's being very cognizant of what I'm taking in. At this rate I'll gain 4 kilos over the weekend. :-(  I can tolerate removing no more than 2.8 kilos.  Sigh. Let's see how it goes. I'll report on Monday my total gain. I bet I'm the only woman you know who will discuss her weight gain!!!  Lol.  

Tavares, "Check It Out". On a brighter note, my home hemo training will start in about 2 months. Yay!!! Also I think I told you, Blue Cross of Micigan kicked me out. I understand. But remember the hell I went through to get it?  And I cannot get a comparable plan in Nevada. This because of grandfathering of plans Brian and I belonged to in Michigan.  And especially because End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). Oh well. I was able to enroll in a Medicare Part D plan. Reenrollment starts in October.  I'll revisit it then. At any rate, my drugs are through the dialysis provider. My bill was $700.00 less. (!). I'm good.

Finally, there is pretty much a different staff here today. Staff hours seem to be 12-14 hours on MWF or TThF.  Long days, but they work 3 days a week and not consecutive days. Of course there is always overtime and stuff. I get ridiculously cold by the end of treatment, so the Las Vegas sun feels soooo good. And that's the only time.  Lol.  

Signing off with Kem, "You're On My Mind". Tomorrow this time we're on our way to New Orleans. /excited.  Have a great weekend.

The "Becoming Las Vegas Residents and Exploration", edition.

iPad shuffled to Jimmy Ruffin, "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted". Classic Motown. Sometimes I think I am becoming accustomed to the heat. I think, though, I am moving fast to get to the shade or into a building. Yesterday we got to the Nevada DMV around 7:35 AM. It opens at 8:00 AM, but based on our past experience, we figured the wait would be a little shorter if we got there early.  When we arrived, the line was starting to wrap around the building. Lol. We may have berm number 50 or 60.  The god news was there clouds that blocked the sun. Still, it was better than being number 424 and seeing "Now Serving Number 302". :-/

Barry White, "Practice a What You Preach".  Once the doors open, we move pretty well. Their system is pretty good and appears equitable. You go to the desk and explain what you need, you get a number and then wait. There is a giant room with about 40 numbered stations. You are called to a station via automation. And there is a leader board indicating which numbers are being called and which numbers are being served. Well, that's the way it was last week. They switched to a new system yesterday. Of course. 

The Stylistics, "People Make the World Go Round".  The new system.  We still go to the desk and explain the type of service we need. Then they ask for your phone number and first name. I give my phone number, "313..", the clerk says,"702..", I go, "313" and the rest of the phone number.  Yeah because no is moving to Vegas and every one has a 702 area code. ;-/   Apparently you get called by the last 4 digits of your phone number, instead of a number they give you.  In addition, the leader board displays the " next number".  The clerk tells me in case of duplicates, blah blah blah. Yeah, I didn't pay attention.  I go and wait. Now instead of listening for a number they gave me, I have to concentrate on listening for the last four digits of my phone number.  Seriously, who really knows their phone number like that. We don't call ourselves. ;-(  Needless to say, there was confusion. 

Aaron Neville, "Tell It Like It Is".  I got called after about 20 minutes. Brian found the marriage license. Excerpt DMV says it was a copy. The need one with a seal. Yes.  I was pissed. Anyway, I had to order  an original from Wayne County.  Cost and shipping and "fees" was  $50.00 or so. (This equals Pat With Attitude).  We'll try this again next week. Oh yeah, Brian got his new license with no issues. Grrrr.  

So after that little event, we went to the credit union, then off to breakfast. We've been looking for breakfast spots to go to after dialysis.  Because, you know, I am ravenous after treatment. In Detroit, Noni's Sherwood Grille was our Monday, Wednesday, Friday breakfast hangout. So here in Las Vegas there are a quizillion restaurants. And I'm not talking casinos. We've been to The Egg and I, IHop, Omelette House, Hash House A Go Go (good but massive portions) and Blueberry Hill.  That being said, I usually get 2 eggs over medium, sausage links, hash browns (I mix my eggs in the hash browns and some hot sauce) and toast. Yesterday we ended up at Mary's Hash House. We found breakfast nirvana. Lol. Home made hashes, corned beef, roast beef, chicken, vegetable, lobster and more. Stuffed french toast. Home made jellies..apple jalapeño, peach and others. Massive cinnamon rolls. While we're pigging out on the corned beef hash, Mary herself comes out. All we can do us give her a thumbs up as we're savoring the food.  Lol. Oh and the coffee..mild or strong. Mary's Hash House?  Winner.  Ding ding ding!!!!

Kool Moe Dee, "Wild, Wild, West". I also wanted an Olga's a few weeks ago, but they're not here. I found a Greek Restaurant. Well I don't ever need Olga's again. The Gyros were massive and absolutly delicious. We'll be back there also. I noticed a Pakistani restaurant.  We'll have to that one day. :)

Signing off with The Originals, "Baby, I'm For Real".  No blog on Friday, will be on the way to Nawlins, New Orleans. I will be doubling up on treatment by going tomorrow. I told Brian I'd be good and dry for the weekend. Not that I plan on overloading on fluid intake, but still being on the safe side. Have a great Wednesday. 

Mary's Hash House

The "Still a Lot To Do, But We've Got Nothing But Time", edition.

iPad shuffled to Eric Benet, "You're The Only One". I caught a cold. That implies it was thrown to me. Fess up. Who tossed me the cold?  Well I'm not throwing it at anyone.  As far as cold go, it's mild, but catching anything is frightening when you have failed kidneys. We are so susceptible  to infections and then all kinds of stuff can so bad so quickly. Ugh.

Jackson 5, "The Love You Save".  So now where getting ready to head to New Orleans. My sister in law planned a birthday celebration weekend for my mother in law. So we're going. I've never been to New Orleans. We also sprung for Shawn's ticket (yes I spoiled my ONLY child). But she's earned it. Anyway, my sister in law is taking care of the accommodations for the girls, her daughter and Shawn. Yeah, they're both spoiled. And college graduates.  And both in grad school. And both fairly independent.  Yes, a trip to New Orleans would have been outside of their budgets. That's what parents are for. :)  

The transportation from Champaign Urbana is a challenge.  But then there are options. Does she leave from Chicago, Indianapolis or St. Louis?  Yes, Champaign Urbana is pretty much eqidistant from all 3 cities.  In the middle of nowhere.  Lol. We discussed options, flights, times, transportation to the cities.  We finally decided leaving from St Louis. It was the least expensive and easiest to get too.  Anyway. I am so excited to see my baby !!!! 

Stevie Wonder, "Send One Your Love". Ugh. It's getting cold in here.  But I have my nice large  westie fleece throw. It keeps me warm.  I need my hat. My head is getting cold. Yeah I found a place to get my hair cut. It was getting out of control. The guy was a bit dismayed I wanted my hair cut so short.  He says it's so curly. I explain to him about 2 weeks it would turn into Godzilla hair.  Lol. So anyway with it so short, my head gets cold during treatment.   The nice thing is stepping outside after treatment and the temperature is in the  mid 80s!! Uh oh. Someone is being taken out by EMS.  I have no idea what happened. The lady seemed aware.  

Aerosmith, "Dream On". Ok. People were like, "You're moving to Vegas?"  But gambling!!!!! Believe it not there is more to Las Vegas than casinos!!  Who knew?!!!  That being said, we're going to try different Sunday brunches. About every 2 weeks or so.  We went to The Orleans. They had crawfish. I watched some guy pile his plate impossibly high and full of crawfish!!!   Lol.   Anyway. The food was good enough. They had a mexican Eggs Benedict. Yum. Dad says he saw a seafood enchilada.  I told him to try it. He did. He liked it. Lol. We've got him trying new foods. He's liking it. His new love are snow peas. :)  

Signing off with The Dramatics, " Toast to the Fool".  We got the desks and have set up some nice workstations with our desk tops.  Need to do a little more.  Also it's time to replace dad's computer. I'm thinking and all-in-one will suit his needs. Have a great day.  Getting sleepy.  Lol.  Photo of my throw covering my legs. And me with headphones.  Eh.

The "Wedding in Winchester", edition.

iPad shuffled to The Roots, "What They Do". The wedding was Sunday at 6:00 PM. We sleep in, eat breakfast, go to the movies.  Now it's time to get ready. We dress. And head to the wedding.  Except we don't know where it is!  Along with a few other guests...the LA guests. Lol. We get directions from the desk and head on outside, around the corner, down the road, down the steps by the waterfall. Oh look there's the brother and sister of my friend.  And there's the son of her husband. We're at the right wedding at the right place.

Luther Vandross, "Anyone Who Had a Heart". Brian asks friends of bride or groom?  I say it doesn't matter.  Christa is the daughter of our friend and Aaron is the son of our friend's husband, who us also our friend. :)   We find a seat and settle in. The DJ was playing music. I wasn't familiar with it. I pulled out the cell phone and used my Shazam app ( thanks Shawn! ). Eventually the seats filled. The groom came, all smiley and stuff. Then the DJ starts to play....  "Baby I Love You", Aretha Franklin !!  And here comes the bride, escorted by her mom, my friend. One of the best entrances ever!!!  I'm really liking these non traditional ceremonies!  :)   The wedding party consisted of a maid of honor, a matron of honor, a flower girl, a best man, a groomsman, and the son and daughter of the groom. The ceremony was short and sweet.  The said their own vows. 

The Moments, "Look At Me (I'm In Love)".  Heh. They certainly looked like they were in love.  Aaron had a big ole smile all night. ;)  Christa also had a big ole smile.  I always remind Brian that he  didn't smile during our ceremony. It was serious business!!!!!   Lol. Anyway. In attendance were family members, ages in the nineties up to 99. How cool is that?  After the wedding, we climbed back up the stairs by the waterfall, crossed the street, walked around the building and we end up at the cocktail area. Hor d'ouevres and drinks.  I'd had enough drinks the day before. I got ginger ale. Need to watch the fluid. (Had a slushie at the movie earlier...sigh).  Not too much longer before we were led into the reception area.  We were at table number 2. 

Beyoncé, "Me, Myself and I".  Ugh. I have a cold. :(   Table 2.  Sitting with family members. And the officiant of the wedding ceremony. Dinner was pretty good. They gave us bags and we filled it up with candy.  I traded all of my chocolate for Brian's smarties. No chocolate for me. My phosphorous levels would spike. And that's bad. Same with the cake. I traded my chocolate piece for his caramel(?) piece. Lol. I was too full by then anyway. Dinner was steak, asparagus and a risotto. It was pretty good.  Oh yeah, the family we met were  veterinarians from Montana.  We got some cool stories about that.  

After dinner, toasts were made.  The sweetest was the daughter of the groom expressing her love for Christa.  She got a little emotional, but got it out. No doubt she loves her dad's new wife. :) the final toast was the dad.  Explaining how he was the father of the bride and groom.  And proud as hell. :-D. Remember, he married the bride's mother 16 years ago.  

Aretha Franklin, "I Say a Little Prayer".  Now the party starts. And it is a party. The DJ kept us dancing. But eventually all things come to an end. Brian and I stayed as long as we could.  We took pictures. Got lots of hugs. Made new friends. And just enjoyed ourselves. It was just wonderful seeing our friends and seeing them so happy. And the love and joy of the bride and groom was palpable and infectious. Congratulations Christa and Aaron. I hope you find my suggestion card for a happy and long marriage!  ;-)  Oh yeah.. Her dress was one of most beautiful dresses I've seen. That good underlay was gorgeous and Christa look so good in that dress. Perfection! 

Signing out with The Isley Brothers, " For The Love of You".  Yeah. Go find your dance partner and just dance :)   Temps are cooling own out here. I need my marriage license to get a drivers license (wtf?)  and I caught a cold. In the desert. In summer. What's that about?  Lol. Have a fabulous weekend.  Oh yeah, dialysis angle?  I still drank too much fluid last weekend. Way too much. It's back under control now. I just need to slap myself. Bah.

The "Westminster, Not Denver, Colorado", edition.

iPad shuffled to Phyllis Hyman, "When You Get Right Down To It".  We received an invitation to a wedding in Westminster, Colorado, about 30 miles northwest of Denver.  The daughter of good friends.  With the invitation in hand, it was time to plan. The wedding and reception were in the same hotel, The Westin Westminster. Ok. First order of business, airline tickets.  Ah. Southwest is the Las Vegas hub. Flights were quite inexpensive.  And there's a reason. No assigned seating. You can pay extra to get on the plane early.  I didn't see any seats that warranted an extra $15.00.  Lol. Anyway, the flight was only 1.5 hours.

Parliament, "Flashlight". Chair dancing!!  Next was making reservations at the hotel (resort?).  We got the wedding guest rate.  Cool!  Now what about transportation to the hotel from the airport. The distance looks far on the map. I thought I saw the hotel had transportation. I read reviews. Sounds nice. Well the hotel doesn't have transportation. I let it go. 

Nicole Henry, "Waters of March".  Saturday morning we're off. Uneventful flight. A wheelchair meets me. I still use a wheelchair in airports. I think I can make it, but carrying my bag o' stuff weighs me down. I get a chatty attendant. He's Ethiopian. We see a lot of Ethiopians working in the Denver airport. He stays with us while getting our (1 bag) luggage. Then he asks about transportation. We let him know the hotel.  He says he has a friend who will take care of us. ("Warning Will Robinson" .. Arms flailing). Well Denver airport has quite an extensive ground transportation system. Buses, taxis, limos and big ole Tahoes and Surburbans. He takes us to a Tahoe and the friend immediately takes the luggage. I ask how much. He quotes an interesting rate. I go to the taxi area. They give me pretty much the same rate. I try to negotiate. The driver wasn't having it. BUT the guy behind him jumped at my offer. :)  We're off to the hotel!!

We skirted east of the city.  We could see the Denver skyline. Anyway. About 30-40 minutes later, we pull up in this luxury Tahoe to a hotel where people welcomed us and opened doors. Let's just say the customer service was fine. The lobby was huge and inviting. We check in. Get our room.  Then head to the restaurant. I get in touch with my friend. We'll all meet in the restaurant after the rehearsal. We did. And we had a great time. Yes I had a drink...or 2. And yes. I paid the dialysis price on Monday. :-(   <---Dialysis angle. 

Young MC, "Bust a Move". Fast forward. The wedding was 6PM Sunday evening.  The hotel specializes in weddings. When we arrived on Saturday there were 3 weddings in progress. Christa's was outside, down the hill by the waterfall. Oh did I mention my friend and her husband met playing the online game way back when?  Yeah they got married 16 years ago. Did I mention her daughter married his son?  No they are not related.  Well they are now, by marriage. :)

Signing out with Usher, "There Goes My Baby". I wasn't trying to make this a 3 day story, but there you go. I'll finish on Friday. I'll post some photos today. Brian has some more he needs to send to me. Oh yeah, Sunday afternoon we saw Guardians of the Galaxy. There is a movie theater near the hotel.  It's actually some kind of entertainment center complex area. About a quarter mile or so walk. The move and visitors has put us a bit behind on our movie viewing.    I want to see Lucy and the James Brown. Neither was showing at the Westminster AMC. :-p  And now I want to see Guardians in 3D. :-)

Have a wonderful day!!!

The "Now That Was a Fine Weekend", edition.

iPad shuffled to Chicago, "Call on Me". Horns. :)  Brian and I flew to Denver Saturday morning. We were invited to the wedding of Christa and Aaron.  Ok ok. I need to back track don't I?  It goes back to at least 1997. Remember when I told you about how I play online video games?  I'm going to have to and find that entry. Long story short.  My online virtual friends became real life friends. How does that happen?  While questing tou talk (type). Sometimes while playing life interrupts. You go away from the keyboard, AFK.  You come back and explain why you left. Maybe the coffee was ready. Maybe the phone rang. Maybe the cat chased a snake across the porch.  You know.  Life. And you explain why you were AFK. Then you might ask where your partners are from. In my case the were all from places I wasn't planning on going. Lol. Minneapolis, Winnetka, CA, St Joseph, MO, Florida, Australia(!).

Well one day announced I was going to Florida for business. Disney World to be exact!  The friend from Florida, Jacksonville, I think, offered to meet me at the hotel. We met, spent the day together and had a great time. I need to add this was in the 90s and most of didn't have digital cameras or scanners. We had to give descriptions of ourselves before I left. (No wifi). From that point the travel started for all of us. Whenever I'd go to Las Vegas , the California people would come to Las Vegas go meet us. They even spent Thanksgiving Dinner with us. We found we had more in common that we ever realized.  We sound like we'd been seperated at birth. Even our husbands were police officers.  They were invited to my parents 50th anniversary party. And they came!!  Also at one point, all us met in Las Vegas...not the Australians, but the rest of us.  We had a ball!! 

 Beyoncé, "Love on Top". We know how our kids are doing.  One day I'm told Christa is getting married. I get the invitation. Yes, I know Christa lives in Denver. I'm not surprised the wedding is there. It's also smack dab in the middle of us trying to move. The wedding was also the catalyst to set the date we moved to Las Vegas.  I didn't want to fly from Detroit to Denver and back. Then fly to Vegas.  I moved  to Las Vegas on July 25.  Brian came out 2 weeks later. We left for Denver one week after Brian arrived. :-)  

Kool Moe Dee, "Wild Wild West".  I'll tell more on the next entry. What's my dialysis twist? Ugh. I have several of them.  The first is I didn't want to dialyze on this trip.  Was smart of me.  I'll tell you why later. Anyway. I'd scheduled the trip before I moved and knew what my schedule was like.  We left Saturday morning. This was fine as I had treatment Friday morning. My return time was Monday at 1:30 PM. This meant I'd miss my 5:45 AM time.  I requested and received a later chair time. In other words, I arrived here for dialysis directly from the airport.  With about 10 minutes to spare!!  Explains the late entry :-)

Signing out with The Jackson 5, "Looking Through the Windows". Have a great evening!  I'm hungry. I'll be getting off about 10:00 PM EST.  7:00 PM my time though.  Lol. And we had to deal with mountain time. We're really not sure what time it is anymore!!!!!   Lol.  

The "So Much Time. So Little To Do. Not", edition.

iPad shuffled to Stevie Wonder, "Go Home".  Thanks to Willie Wonka for today's title.  One of my favorite movies. I still want to go into that room of candy. I want a butter cup. :)  Can you believe it's been 3 weeks since I moved?  We've got some routines like dialysis, of course.  Dad has some routines that he pulled us into.   But we still have things to do to settle in. The china hutch from the dining room is gone. The dresser from the bedroom is gone. That opened up a lot of space. We removed some of the decorative items. We still have 2 (quite full) curio cabinets to empty and remove. And even though dad got rid of all of the china, there are at least 24 regular dinner place settings in the kitchen cabinet.  *sigh*.

Jill Scott and Jeff Bradshaw, "Slide".  So now that we've removed those large pieces of furniture, what are we going to do with that space?  Well we need to get 2 desks for our computers and something akin to a little office space for both of us. After much measuring and thought, we purchased two desks and a snazzy looking bookcase for the printer to put against the wall that held the massive china hutch.   The area we cleared out in the bedroom will be my setup for home hemodialysis. (Thought I forgot about that, didn't you?  More on that later).   We're discussing more changes. Mom was old school, so the living room was a for company only living room. Now that there are 3 people in the apartment, we need to spread out. We'll be getting new furniture and doing a new layout to make it a living area.  But we have time to get that done. 

The Dramatics, "Welcome Back Home".  Ok this center has wifi.  I have to sign in to the guest network. That's fine.  Except while I'm typing the blog, it times out on me. Often. Grrrrr.  Got a concert coming up in September, a Soul Fest.  The Stylistics, The Three Degrees, The Chi-Lites and wait for it. The Dramatics!!!! Yes I know it's not the original, but it is LJ Reynolds. Ok.  I've gone off track.  My wifi problem.  I think if I save more often, I won't get timed out.  It gets real annoying having to log in to the portal every 1/2 hour. :-(  

Missy Elliot, "Work It". I finally met with my social worker. I had to answer a lot of questions. You know. An assessment. Anyway, my take away was 1-I'm a great candidate for Home Hemodialysis (HHD). And 2-I can transfer my eligibility for transplant here. Not only that, the wait list is 18 months in Nevada  versus 3-5 years in Michigan. And damn. I just remembered I forgot to fill out the form. I'll have it by Monday. That was great news!!!  She suggested if I get to moving, the transplant could occur before the training for HHD is complete.  We'll see. ;)

Finally, Brian and I are heading to Denver this weekend for the wedding of a good friends daughter.  I've never been to Denver. Am looking forward to it. Oh yeah. Mike and Ethelene are still in town. Mike, Brian and I will be riding on the world's highest Ferris wheel today!  

Signing out with John Legend, "Used To Love U". "Holla holla holla". The car was supposed to be delivered yesterday evening. I'm not panicking yet. You know how you have to hold yourself in check?  That's where I am. Have a fabulous weekend!!!! 

The "We're Changing", edition.

iPad shuffled to The Esquires, "Get On Up".  Yes we are changing. We did the change of address in Detroit. We had to do a family change because sometime mail still shows up for Shawn.  We have to change from Michigan to Nevada drivers licenses.  We have to change the cars license plates to Nevada. I've had to change my health insurance, my Medicare Advantage plan. I was Blue Cross of Michigan.  See the problem there?  Once the new dialysis center started billing, Medicare and Blue Cross went nuts. Hey, hey you there. You moved!!!!  Red alert!!! Red alert!!!!  Lol. I notified Medicare online. Called Blue Cross. And changed my provider online. Brian had to change his medical also. I attempted to change my address with the pension department. I ran into THAT city employee.  :-(  The one that gave us the bad reputation.

Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again".  We also needed to get rid of some furniture in the apartment. We need to change the layout of our bedroom. Getting rid of the dresser and using 2 chests instead. Getting  rid of the massive dining hutch in the dining area. Get rid of the 2! curio cabinets and all the figurines inside the 2! curio cabinets.  We'll purchase 2 desks for the computers and a file cabinet for documents and storage. I also need to create space for home hemodialysis. Lots of things to do.  Lots. Well we only have 3 small boxes left  to unpack. Brian tells me one is my winter clothes. Bleah. 

Aretha Franklin, " Running Out of Fools". No, it's not "Ship of Fools". She did seem to sing a few songs about fools. Just warning us, I guess. Lol.  The car is being shipped, but it's packed also. I know the computers and some artwork we did get rid of. I don't know what else is in the car. Well I do know some documents and records. And while we're adjusting, I'm still dialyzing 3 days of week. And we're heading to Denver this weekend!  I need a haircut. I need a manicure and pedicure. We need to pack. I scheduled the trip before I had my dialysis location and time assignment. We leave Saturday, which is fine. But we return Monday afternoon. I'll miss my Monday 5:45 AM chair. Yes, I already talked with the scheduler. I'll be going straight from the airport to dialysis. :)  I'll have to something similar in 2 weeks. Got another trip planned. We'll discuss that later.  Oh yeah. The truck that's shipping broke down in Missouri. :-/  The truck got replaced. Car is now scheduled to arrive Thursday afternoon.....

Doug E. Fresh, "The Show". Sampling Inspector Gadget. Lol.  And we have visitors this week. My friend Mike, a retired coworker, Ethelene and her friend. I knew they were coming. Mike usually comes to vegas this time of year. :)  We hung out yesterday.  I had a great time. Hadn't seen Ethelene in a long time. Dad wants to see them,so I think we're going out to dinner this evening.  I'm going to like when friends and family decide to pass through Las Vegas. :)   

Logging out with The Dramatics, "In The Rain".  :-(  Not the right song for my Detroit friends and family. Hoping all is better.  Shout out to Brian. I forgot my iPad this morning and he brought it to me. This is after he drove me to dialysis. He'll return to bring it to me AND he'll return to pick me up. 3 trips. You see why I'm crazy about him?  <3  Have a fabulous day. It's staying under 95 here today!!!  Arghh. The wifi here makes me sign on every hour. Ugh.  

The "We're Enjoying Dad", edition.

iPad shuffled to Rob Thomas and Santana, "Smooth".   Brian is in the house!!  Friday felt like Christmas Eve. His flight was scheduled to arrive  at 9:15 PM.  Dad was tracking the flight. Yes, my dad knows how to track flights, even bringing up the flight path map. "He's over Colorado now".  "The flight left early!"  "The arrival time has been moved up". The plane arrived at  9:12. Lol. We were at bagge claim by 8:50.  We people watched for a while. And then what do know?  He comes Brian strolling toward us waving. :-D  I hug him like I haven't seen him in two weeks!  ;-)  We gather up the bags and we head....home. :)

The Natural Four, "Can This Be Real". Saturday morning Dad took us to a breakfast buffet at Boulder Station. Boulder Station is the casino of choice. It's a "locals" casino.  Discounts and points. We'll be taking advantage of the $6.00 movies on Wednesdays. Saturday we had to get hangers for Brian. Yes,  I used all the hangers. :-p  I also bought a Dutch oven. I felt lost without one.  We have to look up to see where stores are located, the map out a route. We had a nice tour of the south side. Lol. It was new and shiny development. We also found where the  big trucks hang out.  We finally stopped at a Hispanic supermarket, Marianna's. I thought I might fresh salsa there. Man, I thought right. So much salsa!!!  I'm a salsa fanatic and I ended up in salsa heaven!!!  

Parliament, "P. Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)". Get that head moving!!  I had to look at each type of salsa to read the ingredients. I settled on tatemada.  Roasted jalapeños, Roma tomatoes and I forgot the rest.  I'll look it up when I get home. That salsa was the bomb!!!  And hot. Not so hot that you are misersable for a while, but enough that you revel in the heat!  Yum!  We also bought a bag of tortilla chips...for $1.50. And the bag was huge!  Anyway, we'll be going back to try more salsas. And other products. And we'll probably visit the restaurant in the grocery store. I really like Mexican food.  Apparently I'm in the right place. We've been thinking about stopping at a pupusaria. That's for another time.  Oh yeah. Outside of the grocery store, employees were cooking...tacos and other treats and had big jugs of drinks that looked sweet. It was too hot to investigate. 100 degrees and they're cooking!  I'm just trying to get inside to air conditioning.  Lol. 

Kem, "You're On My Mind". Brian's been unpacking the rest of the boxes. I think we had 9 boxes total. I found the rest of my purses and shoes.  And my winter clothes. Dad says we probably won't need the really heavy clothes (Big Ass Grin). We also ended up putting some of the stuff we brought in the donation pile. Going through stuff a second time, you realize you don't need it. No....my shoes and purses stayed. Lol. Did I tell you that I did give away my collection of Coach bags?  Bags from the 80's and 90's.  The heavy leather bags. I wasn't using them, nor was I hoping to use them again.  Even the briefcase. Anyway, I had to deal with Moms collection of assorted purses and her collection was much larger than mine!  And yes, there was even more jewelry. And we found 10 umbrellas and candles in the vegetable bin in the refrigerator. So they won't melt, I guess. Gave it all away except the umbrellas. I'm questioning that now. Lol. 

Nelly, "Hot in Herre". Not hot in here, hot out there!!!  Lol. Trying to dance in this chair. Car will be here tomorrow. Think I'll hit the hot tub tomorrow morning. I'm still enjoying my self. The heat is a bit much. I'm confident I'll acclimate. ( I may be delusional - lol). I actually have nothing on the dialysis front. I posted a link for information, thanks to Devon Texas, on bring a live organ donar on Facebook. I can add the link here. You never know if you or a family member might want/need to donate. It's a daunting decision. But it happens. I know three people who gave a kidney to family members.   I need to get on the transplant list here. I'd like to talk with a social worker soon to get that process started. As I stated before, I'm supposed to meet with my care team this week, so I'll bring it up then. Again, back in Detroit there was always at least one social worker available every shift every day.  Ah well. 

Signing off with James. James Brown, " Get Up Offa That Thing".  Horns.So.Tight. Dance time.  How's the weather there?  I haven't checked. I'm still dealing with 100+ and the "monsoon".  I shouldn't laugh.  The flooding is real. I keep getting flash flood alerts on my phone.  Have a great Monday!!!!

Living Donor Assistance

The "Brian is Arriving Today!!", edition

iPad shuffled to Barry White, "I'm Gonna Love You a Just a Little More". Who doesn't like Barry White?    Before I get to Brian I want to do an update on the treatment center.  It's a 40 chair center. It's larger than the other Davita centers I've visited, but still not as large as my previous center. Some things are the same some are different. I don't think anything is necessarily better than the other...just different.  Then again Northwest Detroit Dialysis Center (NDDC) my benchmark.

I've yet to meet my nephrologist here.  At NDDC I saw my doctor every week. Every Wednesday he walked around that corner around 9:00 AM like clockwork. When he was out of town, he had his associates cover his rounds. Here, I've met three physician assistants who tell me my new nephrologist is really nice and good. I can't tell you if he is. I haven't meet him. Plus I've been told he comes once a month.  And so far the physicians assistants just talk a lot, but I'm not getting any action ( lol. I didn't know how else to word that ).  I have a meeting scheduled with my cars team next week. That'll be fine. 

Tavares, "Remember What I Told You". My nurse is nice. She reminds me of a tech at NDDC, Evelyn. I've yet to meet a social worker. At my previous center, we all had access to all of the social workers.  I'd like to talk with one. I want to start the process for home hemodialysis.  I'm not really complaining. I'm just getting adjusted to my new center and the processes. The staff here are nice. The dietician was eh, but then again who wants to hear someone tell you what you can and cannot eat and "gently" let you know your labs are a bit high....and it's your own fault anyway. Lol. Finally I've got an odd phenomena to relate. My fluid intake is less out here on the desert. I'm coming in with less water weight gain here than in Detroit. Maybe I'm more cognizant of my intake. You might suggest I'm perspiring more.  Perhaps. But I'm not outside that long. Lol. Whatever. It's working. :-)

Brian is arriving this evening!!! Hooray. The last of the furniture was removed yesterday evening. The house is empty except for the appliances and some items the buyer requested. What did they request?  I'll tell you. Some of it makes me chuckle. But they got no argument from us.  Ok.  He wants the piano. When the prospective buyer came to look at the house, he saw the piano he sat down and started playing while his family was looking at the house. Lol. He wanted the microwave. He wanted the dinette in the breakfast room. That was already gone when we got the offer. Finally he wanted the desks and chairs in the basement.  We were ok with everything.  Brian was relieved he didn't have to move the desks. One was one of them was an old 60's style office desks he got from a City of Detroit surplus sale. My former coworkers know exactly what I'm talking about. Those things are sturdy and heavy as hell. Lol. 

Funkadelic, "Standing on the Verge of a Getting It On". Ha. When was the last you heard that?  Last night Brian had to stay in a hotel. I called him homeless.  Utilities have been shut off. The car is on it's way.  We've dropped the microphone. He boards the plane with a one way ticket. We said we were moving to Las Vegas!  The time has come. :-).  I'm loving it here and it will be just that much better when I see Brian heading toward the luggage carousel at McCarran Airport. I'm so excited!!!!   And yes, you know I'll have extremely fond memories of Detroit. However I won't miss waking up to 10  inches of snow.  Or driving down wagon wheel ruts to get off the side streets.  Lol. 

Signing off with The Guess Who, "Undun".  My family has left Michigan. My child has officially become a resident of Illinois. She'll be there several years while works on her doctorate degree ( sorry I just get insanely proud of her when I say that. I always try to tone it down ).  Brian and I will become residents of Nevada.  I'm looking forward to this. :-). Have a fabulous weekend.

The "I'm Settling In", edition.

iPad shuffled to Eric Benet, "When You Think of Me".  Roy Ayers is playing the heck out of the xylophone.  Well color me embarrassed. I did a search on Roy Ayers xylophone.  The search brought back the blog. Google informed me that  I've written about Roy and the xylophone twice already:  September, 2013 and January, 2014.  Yikes.

Steely Dan, "Deacon Blues". I'm settling in here. My mail has been arriving. I needed a manicure and pedicure. The salon I went to was ok, but there are a few others I'll try out. I need to find a salon to cut my hair. I've figured out how long it takes to get to dialysis. 15 minutes.  I still have one box to unpack. It contains my winter clothes. I'm getting used to waiting 2 minutes at some traffic lights.  I'm bummed out because I haven't found anything resembling Ekrich Smokey Links sausages. The tiny ones yes, but not the breakfast size.  However, there are a few (a lot) of grocery stores I've yet to check out. The sheer number of grocery stores and chains is amazing.  Detroit is getting the shaft. >;-(

Isaac Hayes, "Joy, Pt. 1". Brian arrives in Vegas Friday evening. I miss him. But he's finishing up the move.  The transport company picks up the car today.  The utilities are scheduled for shut off on Thursday. :-)  The sale of the house is moving forward. Dad wants Brian to take photos of the empty house. He can't believe we got everything out.  I think I watched enough Clean House and Hoarders. I had no problem throwing stuff out. My final tally was 1 large suitcase, 2 medium moving boxes and 3 storage boxes... For my paperwork. Medicare, Blue Cross and Social Security sends a lot of paper. :-(.  

John Legend, "Used to Love U".  Dad got rid a lot of stuff here. Maybe too much.  Lol. I needed a frying pan. There was a large one and a small one.  I needed something in between. I couldn't find measuring spoons.  I needed a small baking pan.  I found huge casseroles. Lol.  It's ok. I improvised.  I made the cornbread in a small cast iron skillet.  Like the old folks did.  I was reduced to using Rachel Ray's "palmful" for measuring.  It worked out ok. Lol.  

Once we decided to move in, we needed to purchase a new bed.  We actually bought one and it was  delivered before last Christmas.  We need to get computer desks. Some furniture will be moved out. I think it'll work out. A few years ago Shawn and I did the a wireless setup in the apartment. We chuckle at all of the electronics. Phones, tablets, laptops, desktops. Once Brian gets here we'll do some rearranging. And some exploring.  I am so looking forward to seeing him. 2 weeks!   Haven't been separated like that since he was in the Air Force Reserves. 

Signing off with Tamia, "You Put a Move on My Heart".  In my little treatment area, everyone is asleep but me. Lol. That's familiar.  Maybe one day I'll be able to fall asleep at dialysis. Oh yeah, I miss my dialysis blanket. It's a nice size fleece throw.  I'm using a blanket mom got as a gift from a casino. I'll tell you about casino gifts one day.  But it's not my blanket.  It's smaller and not as think and city.  And I'm cold right now. :-(   Heh. It'll be about 90 degrees when I get outside.  I'll bask in the sun until get in the car and turn on the air conditioning. Oh yeah. We're in some weather pattern where Vegas has experienced 6-7 consecutive days of unseasonably cool weather. Double digits instead of triple digits.   Uh yeah. Of course.  Rofl.  Have a great day. :-)

The "It's Monsoon Season. Huh???", edition.

iPad shuffled to The Delphonics, "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time).  Produced by Thom Bell. You know, the Stylistics guy. He worked with the Delphonics before the Stylisyics.  Ok. Monsoon season. What hadn't anyone told me about this before?  I thought I was in the desert. Harrumph!  Dad sort of mentioned it last Sunday. And it did rain, there were flash flood warnings and there was heavy flooding in the mountains.   Flash flood warnings all week. My Android keeps sending me warnings. Some nights I'd see impressive lightning to the east.  Well yesterday it finally rained where we are.

"Luck Be a Lady", Frank Sinatra. Look, I like Frank's voice.  I like the horns, the big band. I like the arrangement, the beat and the tempo.  I drove to the grocery store. Yes it was....raining. I used the 3rd setting on the intermittent windshield wipers. Lol.  It was also 79 degrees!!!  I stepped out side and felt....not chilly but I had been getting acclimated to 100+ degrees. Lol.  The weather was pretty much like that the rest of the day. Last night was another story. The lightning was closer. And it rained. It was pelting the windows.  This morning it was a steady rain, but it was kinda light.  Dad reminded me that the roads get slippery from the water  and oil and Las Vegans aren't the best drivers in the rain. 

Chicago, "Call on Me". I leave for treatment at 5:15 AM. The traffic is light. And with the exception of Desert Inn, traffic is exceptionally light on the streets I take to get to the center. ( I'll tell you about Desert Inn Road/Street/Freeway one day. ). When I drive on Valley View, I'm the only vehicle, all the way from Deset Inn, about 4 miles. Right now I've got the news on and there are many accidents due to the rain on the freeways. Really?  Lol. Vegas freeways are treacherous on a normal day. Wet roads apparently make the drivers lose their minds. Anyway, when I left home this morning, the skies to east were clear, but it was still raining where I was. It's supposed to rain the rest of the day. 

Where I live there are 3 (chain) grocery stores within a 2 mile radius!  Being from Detroit where there few chains in the city, I'm giddy!  And yet none measure up to a Meijers.  Lol. Sidetrack note.  Apparently I downloaded a version of George Clinton's Atomic Dog with Coolio rapping. I like it!  Back to the story.  I still have a few more grocery stores to hit up. Oh yeah, at one, Smith's, were a Kroger products.  And on a radio commercial, I heard the same music as the Kroger music. It was a Smith's commercial. Lol. There are also Hispanic chains. I'm gonna try those also.  I liked shopping at the Hispanic markets in Detroit. Dad and the dietician said produce is less expensive at those supermarket.  If only I could find Ekrich Smokey Links. :-(

The Roots, "What They Do". Like watching them on the Jimmy Fallon Show.  Haven't been able to stay up late enough here yet.  The older I get, the longer it's taking to adjust to the time zone change.  The other day I realized my family is scattered over 3 time zone. Brian is in Eastern, Shawn is in Central and I'm in Pacific. *sigh*. She coordinated a 3-way call with our cell phones yesterday. We think she's a technical wizard.  Lol. 

Signing off with Teena Marie, "Portuguese Love". I miss my friends and family. I love you.

The "Its Been a Week", edition.

iPad shuffled to "Going in Circles", The Friends of Distinction.  I apologize for the poorly written entry on Wednesday. I went back to read it later and I was embarrassed. All I can say is some days are better than others.

Last week this time ( Eastern or Pacific ?)   No matter. 6:05 AM EST I was on my way to dialysis. Or 6:05 AM PST equals 9:05 AM EST.  I was at dialysis. Lol  whatever.  Well, I'm at dialysis now. Getting settled in to my new treatment center. I'm driving myself to treatment. Brian is just a little distressed that I'm doing that. He's been driving me for over a year, my helicopter husband. It's ok, though. He knows where I'm going here, how far it is from home and my route. I kinda like going by myself. It is a matter of how functional I am. Here at this center, at least first shift, it appears most patients have transportation, rather than drive themselves. 36 chairs and about 10-11 cars in the parking lot. 

Chaka Khan, "Feel For You".  If I tried that opening rap, my tongue would tie up in knots.  At the center, several of the staff not only remember me, they asked about Dad. :)  My tech is nice. I'm getting used to the differences.  At first I thought I had to be called back to the treatment area, but I can go into the treatment area when I arrive.  Apparently that's what first shift patients can do. Hooray for first shift!!!  I met and talked with my nurse the first day.  I signed a cartload of papers. I met my nephrologists physician's assistant on Wednesday.  I still have to meet my social worker, dietician or nephrologist.  

"Ready or Not", The Delphonics.  I still don't know what a Delphonic is. Anyone?  I was told the nephrologist comes around once a month. ;-/  My neph at my old center was there every Wednesday like clockwork. He just had a birthday. He's 80. I'll miss him. He was a character, but he was compassionate. He was invested in me trying to get to Vegas before Mom died. He informed me about my dialysis options. He was like that with all of his patients. He was also the neph for my partner. :)  I've digressed.  I've been told my new neph is nice. We'll see. He's got some big shoes to fill. :)

Terry Callier, "Ordinary Joe".  I didn't elaborate on the sunrise on the last entry.  The apartment is on the 2nd floor of a 5 story building and faces east. Understand that there are not many high rise buildings in Vegas, except for the strip. And Vegas is in a valley surrounded by mountains.  In addition, the city goes downhill toward the east. From the windows in the apartment I can see the mountains to the east with no obstructions.  In addition at night I can see the lights of the city all the way to the foot of the mountains.  I just got interrupted by my dietician. No takeaway. Dietician is dietician. Don't eat this, watch that. Blah blah blah. She is nice and enthusiastic. She did have some solutions about the wretched Medicare donut hole drugs.  But I'll be out of the donut hole after the August refills. :-D  Oh yeah. I have one  prescription that will cost less at Walmart.  That makes me kinda ragey because I'm not a Walmart shopper. Dilemma. 

Stevie Wonder, "Send One Your Love". Hadn't heard this in a while. Pretty song. It's nice to rediscover music and artists. :)   Back to sunrise. The sun comes over the mountains with a spectacular spray of colors.  On dialysis days, the sun is still not up, but it's trying, making the sky glow with pre sunrise colors. 

Jackson 5, "Maybe Tomorrow". I loved this song in 1973.  I still like it. You know I'm still and will always be a Jackson 5/ Michael Jackson fan. I am not ashamed!  Finally, my center in Detroit was on the lower level. I called it the dungeon.  That was based on location alone. The staff were not dungeon masters.  Lol. This center is a single story facility  with windows. I might complain that I'm not by a window, but I have a slight obstructed view of several windows. It clearly brightens up the place. 

Signing off with "Super Woman (Where Were When I Needed You), Stevie Wonder. I'm counting down the days before Brian joins me. I miss him, but we talk and text often. My family is spread out across the country.  We're in different time zones. :-(  That's life, isn't it. Life is good. :-)