The "The First Time...Will It Happen Again", edition.

Good morning.  A blog is a nice thing to have.  For me, it's been an outlet for my journey of kidney failure.  Of my ESRD (End Stage Renal Disease). A lot has happened to me and my family that has had nothing to do with ESRD. I've written about that. Shawn graduating from college..with honors!  A trip to Disney World, the passing of my mom, moving to Las Vegas, starting home hemodialysis and sticking myself. Even mundane details of our day to day life. 

Well. Late last week, Brian and I decided to go swimming in our condo pool. We've meet a few residents in the "backyard". We've met the neighbors down the hall. They're kinda fun. We met some ladies who showed us where the fresh herbs are growing and give us weather and cooking tips. We met 2 more ladies who were barbecuing around the holiday. Brian has a few folks who walk around the condo on the walking path. 

We'd seen this one lady several times. Once when Dad, Brian and I went down for Dad's weekly dip in the hot tub, the lady left as we neared the area. Dad said hello, but she didn't answer. I assumed she didn't hear him...  after all were in a age 55+ facility. Hearing problems are sure to exist.  (Lol). Brian and also saw her a few times when we'd go to the pool. She'd leave when we approached, but we didn't think much of it. 

On this particular evening, we went to the pool on the evening. Going swimming at an outdoor pool when its 100 degrees in the desert is the same as jumping a skillet with a little water.  Just walking to the pool is dicey with the sun beating down on you. Where 15% humidity is considered high. BwhahHa. Our routine is to go in the pool for a while and finish up in the hot tub. There were 2 people we hadn't met in the hot tub. Now this is a condo community, it's not unusual and almost expected that you share the hot tub with whomever wants to get in. And that's fine. It's a nice way to meet people on the community. 

The timer for the hot tub is 15 minutes. Well the timer went off and the the people on the hot tub didn't get out, they reset the timer. Brian and I were ready to get in the hot tub, so went on over. We acknowledged the man and lady in the pool. The man was nice and engaged in conversation. The lady said nothing. We did introductions. The man told us his name. I had to ask the lady her name. Man. She spat that name out at me. "Blanca". I could feel the attitude. It was apparent from body language and attitude she did not want us in that hot tub. She frowned and pouted and eventually turned her back on is in the hot tub!!  Lol. That meant she had to get on her knees on the "seat" and presented her ass to us. To say we were amused is an understatement!  The man in the pool raised his eyebrows. We continued the conversation and ignored her. 

She eventually got out of the hot tub by climbing out the side, not even bothering to go to the stairs. She went and sat in a nearby chair and pouted some more. We thought the guy was with her, but he wasn't. He said his good byes and got out after a while and headed to his apartment. I suppose that since Brian and I didn't get out, Blanca had even more attitude and eventually left. 

I was surprised by her actions. And yes, this is the same lady that would leave whenever Brian and I came near the pool. We're actually looking forward to seeing her again. I'm not sure if she thought she was insulting us. She wasn't. She amused and more importantly she let us know we had power over her and we can chase her away from something she likes. 

All that being said, I've never wxperienced any behavior like that before. And it's especially odd, considering the diversity in Las Vegas. Anyway a few days later we get this guy in South Carolina who admits he wants to start a race war. I'm glad I know where Blanca stands. The problem is the others. I don't know how others feel. The ones who smile in your face, who'll pray with you are the ones that will kill you. I can't speak for others, but I, as a Black person, am always on guard. 

Well that's my story for today. We made a nice pasta dish the other day. 4 pints Grape tomatoes, halved. 6 cloves of garlic, minced. 18 leaves of basil, julienned. 1/2 cup of olive oil. Salt, red pepper flakes and pepper. Cover it and let is macerate for at least 4 hours. Cook angel,hair pasta, Al dente. Add pasta to tomatoes. Add fresh 1/2 cup grated Parmesan to the pasta. And addition basil. Serve. Have additional Parmesan on table. Eat. Enjoy. It is so fresh!  And it tastes even better the next day!  

And yes dialysis keeps on keeping on. A few minor, and I mean minor, hiccups every now and then. My labs are still good. My skin seems to be getting much thinner and vulnerable, especially on my hands. My right hand looks like it's been through a shredder. It could be the meds. The doc thinks the asceptic technique is the problem. Constant washing with hot water, purel and the gloves. I'll be seeing a dermatologist...in August. :-/  Hooray for HMOs (insert much sarcasm). 

Hot weather here. Hot weather advisory!  Stay inside. Highs around 110-112. Yikes!  But it's not as bad as last year. We e acclimated!  Have a great weekend!  

The "I'm Living in the Desert", edition.

Good morning. It's been a while. Sitting in the dialysis chair was the reason I started the blog.  But now I'm at home, dialyzing in the evening with Brian to keep me company, blogging is the last thing on my mind during dialysis. 

So. Apparently this past month of May was unseasonably cool for Las Vegas. I think it was perfect weather. The temp never went above 90. But yes, the sun was killer.  Well June is back to normal. Today the temp will be 104 and rising for the rest of the week. Lol. The weather guy is calling one day a breezy 107. Ha!  It'll feel like a blast furnace. The good news is yesterday was 100 and it seems as if Brian and I have acclimated to the temp. More or less.  I was a bit taken aback at the number of people driving around in convertibles. Ugh. 

We've been in the water.  A lot. We have deep water fitness 3 days a week. We also go the pool and hot tub at the condo on off days. I had to purchase 2 more swimming suits. The chlorine does a number on swim suits. We're also painting. Brian is trying his hand at oil painting. I passed. Acrylic and watercolor are hard enough. Lol. My calling is not painting. No talent whatsoever. But I am enjoying it and sometimes, if I look at my works of art  with squinty eyes, my paintings look absolutely mediocre !!!  Lol. 

Nothing special on the dialysis front. My labs are still good, except I still need to up the protein. *groan*. The doctors have scheduled me for a bunch of tests. The regular "fun ones, mammogram, colonoscopy. Lol. And a few more. I also will,be seeing a dermatologist. My right hand seems to be thinning out?  I may be having an allergic reaction to the hand sanitizer, or the soap, or the gloves. This sucks because I need all of this to prevent infection. It's to the point that if I scratch the back of my hand lightly, I break the skin. ;(  Could also have to do with the chlorine from the pools.  We'll see what happens. 

That's it. Our lives are exceptionally normal. That's not a bad thing. I still trip into the rabbit hole and Brian pulls me out. Brian, Dad an I are enjoying ourselves. I'm planning our Fourth of July meal for our friends and am looking forward to having them over again. My only is issue is I want a pet. Ah well. If that's it have nothing to complain about.  

Have a great day. It's 6:30 AM here and it's already 85(!). Yes, I need stock on sun block. Lol. 

One of my acrylic paintings. 

The "We'll Call The Trip a Sucess!", edition.

Good morning!  We're back on the desert. And guess what?  I've spent most of life in the Midwest.  And I was quite happy to return to the desert. Lol. Our last day in Champaign was cold and wet and windy. And we didn't have jackets. Or long sleeves. Or closed toe shoes (well I didn't have closed toe shoes). I was cold for the last 24 hours. :-(  I turned on the heat in the hotel room. Hey. It got down to 52 degrees. Brrrrrrr. And did I say it was raining and wind?  Raining hard!  And of course that was the night Shawn's friend invited us to her Hawaiian luau. Arghhh. This is the second time I've somehow managed to delete paragraphs. Save often. 

The luau was held in a garage on a wet and windy and did I say chilly, evening. Brian and I were the oldest folks there, except for a couple of archeology professors who looked like they may be older, but who can tell anymore!  Lol. The talk was archeologist talking archeology. But Shawn's friends did come and introduce themselves to us. Very nice. And they love Shawn. :-)  Anyway.  Shawn allowed us to us to leave after a while as long as we would pick her up. We were all on that. Anything to get out of the cold and windy garage.   lol. Got back to the hotel and turned on the heat.   

Prior to the cold and windy day, we had a great trip. But any time we spend with Shawn makes for a great trip. We admit to being those parents. We travelled cross country just to hang out with our kid.  However and whatever she wanted to do, that's what we did. Day one was grocery shopping. You know we have to fill the refrigerator and cupboards of our grad student!  We even shopped for the grandcat. I also fixed her a fairly large pan of the Gruyere macaroni and cheese. We also prepared a Greek pasta salad and had the fixings for the baked beans. The next day, she fixed lunch for us. A linguini, roasted pepper, Brie dish. Was delicious!  

She took us to several local restaurants. And a really nice cheese market. The cat food came from a horse feed store. Lol. We clearly got the most comprehensive tour of Champaiin-Urbana that we'd ever seen. Lol. I also learned why my first choice hotel was booked so far on advance. UIUC was hosting the regional games for the NCAA baseball tournaments. And the hotel is just blocks from the athletic complex. Oh.  Saw the presidents house..mansion. And am always tickled seeing stores backed up by cornfields!  

Dialysis went pretty smoothly while there. I had to use the bed, instead of the chairs. I need to have the ability to lay prone if my blood pressure drops. It kinda helps stopping me from passing out. But the treatments ended up being mundane. Which is great!  After the last treatment we needed to discard the needles. You know sharp pointy hazmat things. The Davita clinic in Champaign agreed to discard our needles and leftover supplies. When we arrived with our stuff, I was greeted by a tech who remembered when I visited. She greeted me with a hug and a kiss. :-)  

Leaving Illinois. was just as much as a nonissue as leaving Las Vegas. Thrifty car rental got that 99 pound box on the shuttle bus. It's to big to fit under the luggage rack, so it was just in the middle of the bus floor. Lol. Eh, I am positive that that's a safety hazard, but......  Anyway. United took care of everything, all of our medical equipment. We were not charged for anything that was labeled medical equipment, including our portable dolly/cart to lug the box. All total was 4 checked items. No charge. When we landed in Las Vegas, the wheelchair guy actually took me from the gate, to the baggage claim area...and the United area is in another terminal altogether. And we rounded up a skycap who assisted with the dialysis machine. They took us directly to car and loaded the car. Whoo hoo!  All we need now is Dad's hired guy to unload it this morning. And we'll do treatment this evening. I can travel with this thing with planning and I'm raring to go on another trip!  

We had a great time with Shawn. The weather was great through Friday, but it didn't make any difference.  We spent time with our kid. She's doing great. She's formulating her thesis. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when she submits it. She'll get her masters next year, on the way to the PhD. She's happy, she's excited. She loves archeology and all of the possibilities. And you know, if she's happy, I'm happy. Looking forward to seeing her again 

We made it home. We unpacked, the went to the hot tub in the moonlight. <wink! wink> I'm digging the desert!  Lol. It was 100 degrees when we landed and it felt so good.  I'd been cold for the previous 24 hours, including in the airplane. lol. Hot here again today and I'm not complaining. Back to the schedule this week. Water work out this morning, resume our painting classes this week and planning for a trip to visit friends in LA in July!  Have a fabulous day. And here's hoping the Midwest dries out and gets warm!!!  

Photo of UIUC sign and an image similar to the kid's apartment. Imagine a cat in the window!