MUDSLIDE!

Got your attention didn't I? We'll get to that in a minute, but first I wanted to share this timely review:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/health/28zuger.html. Sadly, medicine is not what it used to be. In fact, just last week while at the symposium (their fancy word not mine!), I kept thinking to myself--self, do you really ever want to be a part of the medical machine again? And the answer is, probably not. I'm pretty cynical when it comes to medicine these days. It's long been the case that 90% of all radiology procedures are normal. Now, however, that figure is probably even higher as more and more unnecessary procedures are performed to CYA. As well, patients share some of the blame because they want more and more tests done after "researching" their conditions online. I abhor drug advertisements and all that goes with that. Why in the world prescription drugs were ever allowed to be advertised I will never know. WHO, but the drug companies, does it profit? Don't get me started on all the drugs given preventatively--what a scam in my book. Having worked for so long in medicine I've seen fads come and go. For a time they are dead certain that one thing causes something, only to find later, that it isn't so. Meanwhile millions of patients are put on drugs which carry horrible side effects. I'll take my chances thank you very much!

As I type the cable guy is here trying to find the problem with our phone, which is dead. Saturday afternoon Dave called my mobile checking on Ginger. Because I've only got a 300 minute plan the first choice is always our home. He explained he'd called multiple times only to hear it ring and ring. Picking up the phone, I discovered no dial tone whatsoever. Maybe the line was cut outside during all the hullabaloo? We'll see.

The museum was dead as always today with only four people, all of whom did not want to pay the modest fee of $5. For many years the gardens were free during museum hours, however, this year the admission charge applies to the gardens as well. Frankly, they need the money. Two women came in, one complaining that whenever she has out of town visitors she always like to bring them to the gardens. If you can imagine, one of the women was visiting from France--and she can't afford $5.00? They left. Reminds me of a woman at my booth last Sunday. Her adult daughter was interested in buying, as was the woman until she realized the 8x10 print was $9.00! "Too steep!" she said. Indeed. Leaving she said, "Here's something for you." The Watchtower. Yikes!

Have I kept you in suspense long enough? Well, enough already. Let's get on with the show!
This morning, while still dark and rainy, Daryl arrived. I took this through the window, so not great, but you get the idea:

Not only did he chip the tile off, but he removed the deep end steps, and cleaned up the edges a bit.

Serious rain began while I was driving home from my dreaded grocery shopping. Not a great time to have a sea of dirt out your back door! You may remember I mentioned the need for better drainage in the back yard and now you see I wasn't kidding. Imagine if the deck were still there!

Please note the gusher on the left side of your picture. Once again, some structural changes, that will never be noticed by anyone, should correct this problem. The roof of the sunroom has a bit of a dip in the middle causing the gutters to function poorly. As such, Bruce cut a large hole in the gutter and installed the rain chain. Problem is that the hole gets filled with tree debris, leaving water to pond in the gutter. I had to venture out there with the broom, pushing the stick end into the hole to release this torrent. At least the brick paver path still looks good! I believe tomorrow, if the weather holds, they will be working on lifting the roof a bit and installing a larger gutter.

Another view of our own personal gusher! Something super unexpected occurred in the last few weeks. Our next door neighbor painted his house. Oh yeah, I told you that already didn't I? Whatever. Anyway, it blends perfectly with the fence which makes me very happy.

The photo below is to give you a comparison. See how little water remained after he ran the pump yesterday afternoon? Do you see all the spottiness and discoloration? One of the reasons for all this!

 Here's around 3:30 this afternoon as the mud began to fill the pool.

You may have trouble seeing this, but then again, you may not. A second gusher in our yard! Look at the water pouring into the pool in the photo below! I stepped outside during the rain, thus all those little drops!

At first I think it was coming in where the skimmer used to be which is the mud stain in the foreground. Because there is still such a downpour going on I can't yet tell what's going on. I'll let you know.

Enough of the ugliness! I'll leave you with a few shots of the holding pen:

The gorgeous yellow Alamonda peeking out through the bench back (second holding pen):

And finally, my first butterfly encounter with the new Jatropha tree. Apparently they are serious attractors of both butterflies and hummingbirds. Now, wouldn't that be something to see a hummingbird? Actually I have a better photo than this one, or at least crisper, but I kinda liked catching this one on the run!

Once again, there will be beauty in our lives. I don't need to remind you that patience is a virtue.

I've Been Nailed

Driving to the set up on Friday night a warning light came on in the MINI, never a good feeling. Turns out I found out today that I had a nail in my tire, fortunately the run-flat tire was not ruined because they are seriously expensive.

During the inspection the mechanic noticed a coolant leak, a much more serious problem underscoring my belief that nothing happens coincidentally. He was willing to fix it right then and there, but my appointment time was nearing and I had to take off. Additionally I saw the new MINI Clubman and boy is it cute. It's about 9 inches longer than mine with a fancy two door opening in the back; they even have a new color, milk chocolate! I'll be returning on Thursday afternoon to fix the other problem.

I always go out to my old hospital for tests because I know I'll be treated well--today was no exception. Arriving at lunch time is not the best time to see old friends, however you can't have everything! Lying on my back for 2 1/2 hours was the hardest part aside from the IV. The technologist said I'd probably be bored, honestly I wasn't. It is pretty cool watching the radioactive material go from your arm to your heart, down the aorta, and taken up by the liver then excreted to the gallbladder. I'm not sure if it was normal or not because a few things looked weird to the tech, but they are possibly normal anatomical variations--we should know something in a few days. I brought my Shuffle along to keep me company, chatted with the tech--the time went by pretty quickly. While doing my radiology training in 1971 I rotated through Nuclear Medicine which students today no longer do. Memories of those challenging days came back as I watched the scanning. Of course today's camera is more sophisticated, but really not by as much as you'd imagine. When I trained there were only two imaging modalities, x-rays and nuclear medicine. Today the revenue sources have expanded greatly with the invention of medical sonography (you think of it as ultrasound), CT scans, and MRI. When MRI was first around it was called Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging, as you are well aware, they dropped the nuclear part from the name.

Tomorrow the show goes on the road once again. Nearly done with the packing up in the rain, a woman from Universal Studios came by, apologizing for the late notice, but asked if I'd be willing to come out to one of their sound stages for a one day event for the 13,000 employees. Hmmmm....free lunch, free tickets to Universal, possible sales...really a no brainer. Lisa will be my sidekick. I'll set up similar to the little market with browse baskets, a table easel, and my upright easel for the larger prints. What can it hurt?

Driving home from Mr. Rogers this evening I saw a new sign where the Urban Target is being built--a TJMaxx is going in one mile from the house!!! I'm not a big cell phone user but this news required an immediate call to Maureen...darn it, she didn't pick up!

I took Bruce out for pizza and wine last night with company funds to thank him for all he does to ensure our success. My sweet boy got up to catch an early flight to Pennsylvania where he'll be till Thursday night. boohoo!
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Listening to: Nina Simone - Feelin' Good (Joe Claussell Remix)
via FoxyTunes

"We understand backward but live forward."

I read that yesterday in an article in the Times about medicine. The credit for that statement goes to Kierkegaard. The title of the article is: Medicine, Constantly Redefined and Redefining Lives, written by Dr. Elissa Ely. The crux of the article is that often physicians make a diagnosis with the current information available, only to find out later that they were wrong, or gave medications that did harm. Here's what she wrote: The ground beneath professional feet should grow firmer over time-one ought to feel more certain of what one knows. But the more I know, the more I am afraid."

My internist has acknowledged as much. I have cried many times in his office telling him that something is wrong--why can't they tell me what. He said the longer he practices medicine the humbler it makes him. He is a very decent man, about my age, the son of an Iowan farmer. He is one of those doctors who is really in it to help his fellow man--he told me he would be ashamed to see his father if he had done it for any other reason.

All that to tell you that my twin nemesises have come calling. So much so that I had to take both a nausea pill, and a pain pill on Monday night. Normally I just live with the dull pain, but Monday was just too much. Consequently I was slow moving for much of yesterday. I slept on my heating pad last night rather than take anything again. Hopefully today I'll feel perkier.

I had a lovely chat with Matt on Monday evening. He is doing so beautifully in London--but, you knew he would, didn't you?

Dave turned in the biggest deal of his career yesterday. It is astonishing how much money he makes. He called on the way to the appointment confessing to nervousness which was only just striking him. I told him that was how he was supposed to feel.

Alissa has a phone interview for a job in Chicago! Wouldn't that be marvelous if something comes from it? Matt has offered them the use of all his furnishings left in storage in Chicago. It would be a win-win situation for both parties. Hurray for families!

The blue heron and I are looking at downtown Orlando from a different vantage point in this picture. If you've never been to Orlando you probably can't imagine the amount of water in the city. There are lakes everywhere. According to my geology professor it is because Florida was completely submerged underwater until 30 million years ago. Whatever the case, it makes for beauty.