Earthquake in Japan...and a Friend Who's There

(I'll post an update on Hub's surgery later today or tomorrow.)

We have a very good friend who was born in Russia but whose family emigrated to Japan when he was a boy before coming to the US in the 1960's. Yuri is Hub's long-time friend from San Francisco, and he's the fellow who often comes to stay with us here in Seattle and to Hawaii to hang out with us when we are there. He is also a nuclear engineer, although he retired a few years ago. As soon as I heard about the earthquake, I emailed him asking about the nuclear situation there. I got this message back during the night, so I just read it when I got up this morning. He does go to Japan frequently, but I had no idea he was actually there right now! Often he goes to remote areas, but fortunately this time he was fairly close to Tokyo. His text reply was sent about midnight, before the Fukushima nuclear reactor explosion occurred. (I guess an explosion does not mean that a meltdown has occurred, thank heavens).

Dear Grace
Last night I slept in the lobby of a hotel which was full of people
Today some rail is working so I am back in Tokyo.
The strong quakes continue and lot of tsunamis are doing heavy damage.
The Fukushima nuclear plant is overheating since the cooling water is gone.
Radioactive steam is being released to prevfent a blowout of the reactor.
Four of the nulcear plants are closed (about 120 miles from Tokyo) and ten mile radisu is evacuated.
There is another strong quake as I am typing. It feels hopeless.
God willing I can take my flight tomorrow if the Narita airport opens and if the access rail is available.
The tsunamis are doing a lot of damage (the flooding goines 10 kilometers into the city)
Ten thousands of homes are swept out to sea and power is bveing rationed.
My cell phone is always hjammed.

Yuri

I emailed back telling him I am so relieved that he is okay. He replied "Only the good die young." I guess even in a tragedy like this, people can still have a sense of humor. I feel so bad for the people in Japan who have been affected, but (selfishly, I guess) I'm just so glad our friend is okay.

P.S. Did you know that during major emergencies, when cell phone calls may be jammed, texting and email often still work?

Geese in Love

This morning I woke up to a commotion on our roof…It's mating season for geese, I guess. They were up there clomping around and honking loudly. This happens a lot in the spring. I'm surprised B doesn't get upset because he's so easily disturbed by other noises, like rain, hail, and wind. But apparently geese tap-dancing on the roof is not one of the noises that bothers him (or Hub either, who can sleep through anything). It went on for quite a while, and I couldn't sleep, so I finally got up. When B and I walked around the house for B to do his business, there they were:

Goofy Geese

The ball was a lot of fun last night. It was at the Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle...the food was just okay and the drinks were very expensive. But everybody looked really nice, and the band was good. In fact it was so good that Hub, in spite of his knee, actually got up and danced 2 dances with me.

I've been thinking about next week. As I said, Hub's surgery is at 10 a.m. Tuesday, and they expect to release him Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. They really like to push people out of the hospital quickly, which is okay considering the germ factories that hospitals are. Anyway, once Hub gets home, I need to be with him all the time for about the first week. He'll be on a lot of pain medication and will be sleeping a lot, so other than the time he actually needs tending to, I'll just be sitting around. So I'm making a list of projects to do around the house. Stuff I usually don't get done, like cleaning out the drawers and shelves in the bathroom. Sounds like fun, huh?

Another thing I'm a bit worried about is what we'll eat. Not for me, but Hub does all the cooking (which is always excellent) and I don't know how. Seriously, about all I know how to do is make salads and boil eggs. And hub deserves to have decent food while he's recovering. So, I've been thinking about using our crock pot. We're still going to try to stay on low-carb as much as possible, so does anybody have an easy low-carb crock pot recipe (or two) you could share with this total cooking novice? I'd really appreciate it.

Not sure if I'll have time to post for a few days, but as soon as I can, I'll let you know how things are going.

Happy Saturday!

Good morning, everyone! It has been another busy week, so I'm sorry I wasn't able to post earlier.

We had B's teeth cleaned yesterday. He was at the vet's almost all day because they have to anesthetize dogs in order to perform the cleaning. After our last awful experience with him being anesthetized, I felt guilty but I left him there a couple of hours extra so that he could recover more before I brought him home. This was his first teeth cleaning, but he was a real trooper and this time didn't seem so crazed from the anesthetic. Now his teeth look so lovely and white. They did have to pull 2 small lower incisors which were loose, but the vet said this was no big deal. We also found out he is missing 4 teeth (a matching pair on top and bottom), which apparently never grew in. Again, supposedly it's not unusual or a big deal for dogs to be missing teeth. According to the vet, "He still has lots of teeth." With the missing 2 front teeth, he has the gap-toothed look of a 6 year old kid. He is so adorable. I wish I could get a picture of his smile when he takes a treat (that's when I really notice it), but he is a bit camera phobic, unless I can catch him off guard.

We found out yesterday that Hub's surgery is scheduled for 10 a.m. on the 8th and we have to be at the hospital at 8:30 a.m. I'm glad it is in the morning, as the longer we wait that day, the more nervous I know both of us will get. The medical supply people brought a bunch of equipment yesterday in advance of the surgery, including a machine called a CPM. He will need to wear it 6 to 8 hours a day to keep the knee joint from freezing up. All I know is it looks like a torture machine.

Today was weigh-in day, unfortunately no change in weight, but I do continue to lose minuscule fractions of inches off my various body parts. So I think I am gaining muscle with the new workout I'm doing which involves the kettlebell and other weights. And since this way of eating is not difficult, I shall not get discouraged. Today is cheat day, but so far I've not had anything to eat, just one cup of coffee with cream. For me, one reason I look forward to cheat day is because not only do I get to eat whatever I want, I also do not have to eat if I don't want to. Which I don't want to in the morning. I am not an eat-in-the-morning person normally.

We are going to our Firefighters Ball tonight. This is the first time our firefighters have put on a formal dinner dance. Hub doesn't really like these types of events, but he is being a good sport and agreed to go. According to the invitation, department members can either wear their dress uniforms or formal attire. Yeah, right...I'm going to wear my heavy wool, double breasted jacket, white button-down shirt, tie, wool slacks, and regulation patent leather flat shoes to a DANCE....NOT! (For one thing, I'd be sweating before the first dance.) Instead, since no one who will be at the ball has seen it, I'm wearing the same dress I've had for almost 3 years and that I've worn for the last 5 formal affairs we've gone to (weddings, class reunion, charity auctions). It fits whether I'm 5 lbs heavier or lighter, because the material is very stretchy. Hub, on the other hand, had to have his suit altered because the pants were ready to fall off. Yay, Hub! He's done very well on this plan, and so far has lost about 20 lbs.

The weather has been very strange lately, raining hard one minute, sunshine the next, then rain and even hail the next. But right now it looks pretty nice, so B and I will go to the park. We probably should go soon, because it could change.

Take care everyone, and enjoy your weekend!