Dear Family, Friends, and Diary,
This is the start of another month and, for me, another year. Over the years, my August 1 birthday celebration has been a good occasion for a mid-summer barbecue with family and friends. This year, I opted to avoid guests, except for me, Marianne, and our resident doves. With the resurgence of Covid infections, parties seemed unwise, even for the vaccinated. Besides, the potential for the return of the elephant had me and Marianne more somber than usual.
Of course, I was given free reign for meal choices and we started with a 40 minute Tesla drive north to Coarsegold for breakfast at The Wild Fig Kitchen. We got there right at their 9:00 opening time and discovered a couple dozen other folks had decided on a nice Sunday breakfast as well. We went to the end of the line just as another gray Tesla drove past and parked. They're everywhere.
The Tesla couple got in line behind me and, as is customary, we started a car chat: "Love it." etc. And that started a remarkable conversation. Tesla owners Jennifer and Dan became new friends. As a school teacher she and Marianne had lots to talk about. As Kaiser cancer patients, they had even more. In between, they listened to our stories of overseas life and did not glaze over, as most folks do when we ramble about our un-relateable stories. And a quiet Dan explained some of his job as a Forest Service Fire Captain organizing fighters in yet another busy California fire season. Breakfast turned out to be a birthday party with friends after all. We need to stay in touch.
Back home, we did very little and that's OK on birthdays. The Fresno heat makes outdoor activities almost impossible and even chased Marianne out of her Art Hut. The air conditioner and swamp cooler keep the uninsulated box habitable only to a point. I spent my 75th birthday reading, surfing YouTube, and watching the 202-2021 Olympics. All good.
I had requested a pizza dinner, a Chicken Tikka Masala pizza from Curry Pizza. This may not be traditional birthday fare, but it sounded right - and it was. For desert we brought home a pint of Ampersand Ice Cream, more traditional I suppose.
And that was how we ended the quiet birthday.
On the 2nd, we sent birthday wishes to Gabby and Chris. Generally, we celebrate one of their birthdays in person, but this year it just didn't work out. Yet one more didn't-work-out for 2020 and 2021. Meanwhile, our new pair of doves have grown big enough to leave their porch-home pretty soon. Kids do grow up and move away.
Tuesday was a normal Tuesday. I walked a little, passing by the nearby decorated garage. Neighbor Tom was commemorating ZZ Top's Dusty Hill, yet another music icon passing. At 72, he'd been playing for paying audiences since he was eight. I've included flowers for him and the other elderly rockers out there.
The rest of the day was worrying, mostly. Marianne had a biopsy scheduled for the next day and that served as a serious distraction. However the big deal for the day was the graduation of our little doves from their porch nest to exploration of the back yard. (I worry about stray cats when they are in this not-quite-good-flyers condition.)
We ended with the distraction from Adrienne and Tuesday Zoom Cocktails.
The Wednesday trip to Kaiser was set for 1:30, but about an hour earlier, Marianne's heart went to an irregular double-time beat. She downed her pill-in-the-pocket emergency medication, but that was not enough. At the hospital, the radiologist said a biopsy would not be wise and they rescheduled for Saturday morning. Back home, it was another pocket-pill, plus a regular heart pill, plus rest in Mamo's chair. The wayward heart slowed a bit, giving us a basis to avoid the Kaiser Emergency Department since those have never been great experiences.
Exhausted, we both fell asleep early. Everything was in order when we woke up.
The day was peaceful enough, and included a couple visits by the little doves. They returned to the nest mid-day and, at the end of the day, they sat on the wire above our yard and said hello. It's a cute distraction, and we appreciate distractions.
Friday morning I went to "the office" to write this diary. It helps me to handle my part of the worry going around. Marianne went to the art studio, in part for the same reason. The day passed quietly, mostly the sound of an elephant nearby. We were very glad for another Zoom distraction, the Friday Game Night with Brian, Jen, and Geoff. For another distraction, I started a puzzle, one with lots of color and memories from the 1960s. I guess memories help?
It's Saturday morning and the Kaiser appointment is set for 8:00 am. From there, 3-5 days of more worry. And then?
John and Marianne