Well, 2010 is not starting out so well. I was scheduled to have my left
knee replaced on January 12th. As luck would have it, I contracted
pnenumonia (sp?) and spent the evening of New Year's Day in the ER. This
pushed my surgery date back until February 5th.

On January 30th, I was involved in a serious car accident. I wasn't
moving, just waiting to make a left into a parking lot when two cars
collided at a fairly high rate of speed and one on those cars hit me. They
back boarded me out of my truck and took me to the hospital, pretty scary.
They were being careful because I told them about my legs. I was treated
and released but I do have to see a specialist because my shoulder still
hurts (it slammed into the door).

My truck, a 2003 Escape, is totalled. At first the insurance offered $7400
but upped it to $8000 after we provided receipts for brand new tires and a
few other things. We will also get another $500 for the deductible once
it's all settled since I had no fault at all in this.

We were having a hard time finding a decent replacement for $8000.
Everything was old or had high mileage. I was getting pretty depressed
since I didn't want to go into hock for another car. I loved my Escape and
planned on keeping it a while.

Hubby went out today with his friends and found a 2005 PT Cruiser with only
48,000 miles, all the features I want, really clean for only $7500. The
only thing I'm not crazy about is the color, off white, but the price and
everything else was right. Another couple was test driving it while he was
there so I told him to buy it. The dealership let him drive it home to
show me since I'm recovering from surgery and it's a deal.

My surgery went well but that's where it ends. The hospital as terrible.
It had the worst food I've ever had in any hospital. The pot roast was
crusty and curled up at the edges and my bagel was frozen! I could
actually deal with some of that but the food had no flavor at all,
absolutely none!

Since it was my stepdaughter's 16th birthday and she was over that weekend,
I didn't want my husband to drag her into the city to visit. Luckily, my
room mates son in law got me some soup. It's all I ate for 3 1/2 days.

The pain management team was terrible. They couldn't control my pain in
the hospital. They would not listen to me when I told them I had been on
painkillers for a while. They sent me home with way less pain management
then I needed. My surgeon was furious. They even wrote different
painkillers on my discharge papers than the ones they gave me.

The social worker did not do her job and I was without a CPM machine
(continuious passive movement) for two weeks until my doctor's office got
me one and then Visiting Nurse dropped the ball when my physical therapist
went on vacation and didn't send a replacement.

I could go on and on about the aftercare. Maybe I had it too easy with my
other surgeries but I never had to deal with this level of imcomptence
before.

I hope the year improves!

I'm not going to an amusement park! My husband is going to Cedar Point
with his son and daughter and I'm staying home! Woo Hoo. As I've
mentioned before, I really don't do amusement parks. I don't like heights
and I can't walk a lot. That usually means they spend the day at the park
while I tool around town or hang at the hotel. It's not bad but it gets
old...quick.

This year they wanted to go to Cedar Point and he wanted to take his son.
Usually when we travel, my mom comes to take care of the pets and his son
backs her up. She can't walk the dog, just let her out in the yard so he
walks her. Since he's going, I said it would probably be best if I stayed
home and took care of the pets.

WHAT I AM DOING...

I'm going on a cruise! We booked a cruise to Bermuda in October. We have
a fantastic penthouse suite in the front of the ship. I had booked a
smaller suite and, when I tried to use some upgrade certificates to get a
better suite, they told me you couldn't use them on suites. I wrote a very
nice e-mail to them and they offered us the better suite. Then I noticed
an even better suite available in the same category. I figured, why not,
I'll call. At first they told me it would be more money. I said "no
thanks" and she put me on hold and came back to say she moved me. It's a
378 sq ft suite as opposed to a 314 sq ft. It just goes to show, be nice
and be prepared to accept no as the answer.

I can't wait. We went on a cruise to Bermuda on our Honeymoon. I loved
Bermuda but the ship was so so. Since our last cruise, I know what I'm
looking for in a ship and cabin so we had a great time then (not that we
didn't have a great time on our honeymoon) and I'm sure this cruise will be
great.

Funny story about our honeymoon. We got married on a Friday night.
Partied most of the night, stayed in a hotel then went home to get ready
for the cruise. By the time we sailed I had only had a few hours sleep and
was a tad hungover. We sailed, got ready for dinner and as we sat down to
dinner, I got really nauseous (sp?) I left dinner to go rest and got cold
so I changed into my sweats. Hubby came back from dinner and was expecting
a romantic first night at sea. Instead I'm lying in bed, covered up to my
neck with sweats on.

Sorcha is getting much much better. She even wandered upstairs the other
day for the first time! She sits on my lap more often and always wants to
be petted. She's starting to be very vocal when she wants something
but...

She got into it with Moo one day. She scratched Moo's back and I didn't
notice it right away. I saw it Saturday and could tell it was infected. I
called my vet but they couldn't squeeze her in so I took her in Monday (I
cleaned the wound as best I could all weekend). The vet had to put her
under and drain the abcess so I had a "stoned" kitty Monday. She's on
antibiotics (which she takes like a champ) and painkillers. She's not
happy about this situation and hides most of the time. I also thing she's
not happy about the bandage "T-Shirt" they put on her but it couldn't have
been worse, she could have had an elizabethean collar on, you know the ones
that make the animal look like a satellite dish.

We adopted a cat. She's two years old and half siamese/half torti, very
unique looking! She has siamese eyes and a black vertical stripe on one
side of her face and a brown one on the other side. We decided to give an
older cat a chance at having a "forever" home.

She's a little skittish but getting better. She spent the first two days
with us under the futon in the guest room. She now spends most of her days
with us in the living room but still doesn't like to be picked up and won't
sit on my lap, she'll walk on it but won't lie down. She loves to be
petted and brushed and will now take treats out of my hand. We're being
very patient with her and it seems to be paying off.

Her name is Sorcha which means little bright one in Gaelic. The shelter
had named her Mocha and I really didn't like that name but I wanted a name
that sounded pretty close. She does answer to her new name now.

Another of my cats, Tazmania, passed away last night at 11:20 PM. She had
been diagnosed with renal failure last year but was doing well with sub-q
fluids. Like Harley, she stopped eating and then stopped drinking. The
vet had me increase her fluids which usually bought her around but it
didn't this time. She had a seizure and died. We were both home with her
and I was petting her and telling her it was OK. I think she missed Harley
a lot.

I found her on October 31, 1994 outside an Italian restaurant. She would
con people out of their leftovers. I attended a Halloween party there and
took her home. She went without a name for a week until she started
running around my apartment. I said "stop that you little devil" and
Tazmania came to mind.

She was always the most aloof of my cats and would only give you attention
on her terms but when she did, she really turned on the charm. She was a
handful. She got out several times and I had to trick her back in with
food. She eventually caught on and would just stay out of arms length.
She got out once and hid under the bushes in the front yard. My
stepdaughter and I must have been a sight lying on our stomachs trying to
lure her out. The funny part was if we left her alone, she would calmly
walk out and wait by the front door.

She's now with her good friend Harley and my other cat Sal. It's just Moo
and Liberty (the dog) now.

I came home from work today to find my beloved Harleycat dead. She had
been ill for a while and took a turn for the worse in the last couple of
days. She wouldn't eat or drink. We discussed putting her to sleep last
night and were going to call the vet this afternoon but she didn't make it.
She was almost 18 yrs old.

I found her on a cold, rainy October evening in a park. I think she was
part of a litter that had been abandoned because she was just too friendly
to be feral. I took her home with me and she just took to me immediately.
It was late so I couldn't find a place to buy a litterbox but got some
litter, food and an aluminum roasting pan to use as a litterbox. She took
to the box right away and almost immediately took to sleeping on my pillow
wrapped around my head.

I know she's in a better place now and had a good life with me but I'm
still really upset. She was also my husband's girl. She took to him right
away and she didn't always do that.

That's exactly what my surgeon said when he looked at the x-ray of my left
knee. I love my surgeon! He's very down to earth.

I went for a follow up appointment and mentioned I was having some knee
pain, nothing bad, but I asked him to take an x-ray just in case. He read
the x-ray and that's exactly what he said. Now I have to go for an MRI.
He doesn't know if it's the Osteonecrosis showing up in the knee now or
something called Paget's Disease. From what I read, Paget's Disease sounds
like the lesser of the two evils and can possibly be treated with
medication if it hasn't advanced too far. He also thinks whatever is going
on in my knee might be why I'm still experiencing so much pain in my hip,
it could be referred pain.

I just dread another go round with all this. The MRI, the follow up, the
possible need for more surgery. It's gets to be so very much to deal with.
What's worse is we are having some problems with my husband's benefits.
His employer has not been paying the union for his (and all his fellow
employees) share and the union keeps putting them on hold. The problem is
that his employer is owed about $10 million from various government jobs
and we all know the government is slow to pay. We do get the stuff
approved but it's on a case by case basis. I'm sure getting this MRI
approved will be a nightmare.

Our 10 yr old RCA bit the dust yesterday. It just won't power up. I can't
complaint, we got a lot of use out of it. It's on almost every day from
noon to about 10PM and longer on weekends.

We are probably going to get a Flat Screen LCD HDTV, 32 ". Anybody have
any pros/cons/brand recommendations?

We're lucky that we have almost every major retailer near us and one local
one, PC Richard and Sons. We've gotten good deals from them before. A
co-worker got good deal on a Samsung Flat Screen at Sears (ducks while
Venice throws something). We've had good luck with the Samsung brand.

We'll probably head out shopping tonight. I'm tired of watching movies on
my laptop. We have a TV in the bedroom but if I watch in there, I'll fall
asleep.

My younger sister took her own life. She suffered from depression for most
of her adult life. When younger, she self medicated with alchohol and
illegal drugs like many depressed people do. The family finally stepped in
and "tough loved" her into rehab.

She came out clean and sober and was in treatment for her disease. She
went back to school and became a teacher. She first taught in St. Paul and
then in Farmington, MN.

She loved teaching and a true testament to her teaching was the number of
past and present students who attended her wake and funeral mass. The
church was so packed that people were in the basement viewing it on closed
circuit TV.

I happened to meet one of her students here in NY a few years ago, small
world huh? He told me she was the best teacher he ever had.

I am glad I convinced her to join us on a family vacation in July of 1998.
She was reluctanct to go but I convinced her. The whole family rented a
house on the Outer Banks. It was the last time many of us saw her.

So V, I love you and miss you every day.

especially now that I've been a part of PFB and I hear about different
restaurants. It's a chance to try restaurants that are not in my area.
One year it was Sonic when we were in North Carolina (so, so). Last year I
tried Chic Fil A on the way to Williamsburg. I liked it and wish they had
one in my area. Hubby and his daughter ate at Wendy's. How boring, we
have those at home.

Last night we ate at Red Robin. I was impressed and would go back. We
were seated promptly. Our server seemed a little new but that was OK. My
husband had one of their speciality burgers, Whiskey River something or
other, my stepdaughter a straight cheeseburger and I had the appetizer
portion of Buffalo Strips and Fries. My strips originally came out
non-Buffalo style but was fixed right away. The appetizer portion was so
big, I still took two back to the hotel with me.

One thing that really impressed me is that the manager stopped by every
table. He didn't just ask "is everything OK?", he made a little bit of
small talk with everyone. It turned out he was originally from a town near
us.

I went back this afternoon because my husband really liked the soda glasses
and I knew they were for sale. We had all gone to the factory and the
museum earlier and they were off to the park. I said to myself "self,
might as well have a margarita and some lunch while you're here" so I sat
at the bar. They had newspapers laid out to read and I had a soup and
salad combo. So I had a nice margarita, some clam chowder and a salad. I
really enjoyed it.

I think hubby wants to go to Cracker Barrel tonight but it may be too late
when they get out of the park. It's 15 miles away. He loves Cracker
Barrel and insists on eating at one every time we go away. I can take it
or leave it. I don't hate the food but it's heavy and I don't really eat
that much. My stepdaughter will usually share an entree and each take one
of the sides.

So, what restaurant or food do you look forward to when you travel?

We're in Hershey, PA right now. We arrived last night and will leave
Saturday morning. Hubby's job is so crazy right now that he could only
manage two days off.

We had a little bit of a rocky start. It looked like our pet sitting
arrangements were not going to work out and that I would have to stay home
but, in the end, they finally did.

It took us forever to get out of NYC due to that stupid GPS. His daughter
and I are ready to throw that thing in the sewer. Last year it took us
through the heart of DC rather than around, despite my telling him that
going around was best. This year it took us through downtown NYC.

Honestly, we've lived in the NY area all our lives, I don't need a stupid
talking box to tell me the best way out of the city and west to PA!

We booked a nice suite in the Hampton Inn and Suites. I highly recommend
them if you are in the area. There is even a kitchen with a fridge, two
burner stove, microwave and dishwasher. If we were staying longer, I'd be
able to make a meal or two. The room was spotless, the staff is great and
even got me the room type I asked for, first floor, near an exit. I don't
need a handicapped room but I don't want to risk the stairs in an
emergency.

AAA Travel made all the arrangements and I couldn't be happier with their
service. They were the ones that helped us out when my husband got stuck
in Richmond.

They're off in the park and I'm getting ready to explore the town.

that I don't know how to handle.

I have four animals. The cats, Harley, Taz and Moo and the dog, Liberty.
As you can see from below, Harley has had some health issues and still
does. She has recurrent UTI's. She's better, home and eating, and I just
dropped another urine sample off at the vet. I'm assuming she will need
another round of antibiotics as she still has some blood in her urine.

Taz recently took ill and has been diagnosed with Chonic Renal Failure.
It's fairly common in cats. My cat Sal died of it although I nursed him
through it for about 1 1/2 years.

We've been going to the same vet for over 7 yrs except for a short time.
The practice currently has three vets, Dr EB, the founder, Dr DB, his new
partner and Dr NC, their associate.

I like DrEB and love Dr NC but took an instant dislike to Dr DB.
Fortunately I never had to deal with her much. I always made sure I got
one of the other two. I just never liked how she interacted with the pets,
their owner and the staff.

As luck would have it, Dr. NC ordered a kidney flush but Dr. DB was the
only vet there when I bought Taz in. She did a couple of things that
really upset me. One was a hand dismissal when I suggested either separate
charts for each animal or at least, dividers. I found the charts very
disorganized and at one point she told me "Oh I see Taz is on Clavamox".
No, she's not, Harley is.

OK, I can deal with that but here is what really upset me. She's going
through the chart and says "I see Taz is not your only cat with kidney
trouble, what are you doing to these cats?" What am I doing? Feeding
them, housing them, loving them! What kind of question is that? To be
honest, it's my third cat with kidney trouble, Sal died of it. It's COMMON
among cats. Maybe she didn't mean to accuse me of something but that's
what it felt like. There were more issues but it would take too long to
write them all out.

At this point, I don't want this women treating my animals but I don't know
how to approach the owner. I don't do confrontation well so I'm thinking a
letter requesting she not treat my animals.

What do you folks think?

Harley the cat was being treated for a UTI. She was doing OK and
responding to the antibiotics and then took a turn for the worse over the
weekend. She was eating less and less until finally last night she
wouldn't eat at all, not even baby food.

I took this morning off and took her to the vet and they are keeping her
for a few days. She's dehydrated, which I knew, but her infection has
spread and is possibly in her kidneys. She's getting IV fluids and
stronger antibiotics. She's also getting Pepcid to help improve her
appetite.

She's an old girl, 17. She is also my first girl. I found her in a park
17 yrs ago on a cold October night. I know she isn't going to live forever
but I hope she pulls through this.

On the plus side, she did have enough strengh to fight me when I put her in
the carrier. She's a fighter!

I finally got fed up with all the power outages on my block (see my post to
LIPA). We had another one Thursday morning and the power was out for about
5 hours.

I wrote to "Newsday's Consumer Watchdog", a weekly column where they help
people with issues. She contacted me today and is coming tomorrow to
interview me on tape and take some pictures.

Oddly enough, I grew up with the editor of Newsday. While I did copy him
on the e-mail I sent her, she said he didn't ask her to take up the cause,
it had enough merit on it's own. I had mentioned him during our
conversation because I wanted to see if that's why they were coming or
not.

I'll let you know when it will be published. The column and the interview
will be available on their website.

Today when I came home from work there were about 1/2 dozen news vans up
the block from me. I went online and found that they took a woman to the
hospital. She was infected with bird mites! They had to call the Haz Mat
unit to take her and she's in quarantine.
They said she was covered in them.

To locate the store google "Levittown Bird Mites".

I did some reading about them and all I can say is "wow", they are more
invasive and harder to get rid of then fleas.

Now I got the itchies!

Hubby was on his way back from Myrtle Beach Bike Week. I had finally
breathed a sigh of relief because he was on his way home. After what
happened on his last group trip (the accident), I just wanted him to return
home safe and sound.

I was out to dinner with my neighbor last night and saw I missed a call on
my cell. Before I could call back, he called again. As luck would have
it, he was stuck on the side of I95, outside of Richmond, with major engine
trouble.

His H.O.G. (Harley Owner's Group) membership paid for the bike to be towed
to the nearest dealership and his fellow riders were still with him. They
checked into a local Super 8 dive for the night but I was left with making
the arrangements for him until at least Tuesday.

I found a Comfort Inn and Suites close to the dealership and called AAA New
York Travel to make the hotel arrangements. They also arranged for a
rental car at the Richmond Airport for him since only the airport locations
were open.

Thanks to all I learned on this site, his hotel is fully cancellable and I
called our regular insurance carrier to verify he is fully covered for the
rental car. Yeah Planet Feedback!

I want to post about AAA New York Travel but they are not listed. The
agent made all the arrangements in less time than it would have taken me
online.

(with a nod towards the Sound of Music)

I admit, I'm at my wits end with this guy. I can handle him commenting to
me with his snide remarks and I know Redhead can handle him but he's really
crossed the line with his remarks to commenters like NicoleF and MelissaS
to name a few. These ladies are among the kindest most sympathetic posters
here and still he spews his bile towards them.

I'm sure someone like him has been here before and I don't mean Clete. Has
there been? Was it handled by PFB management?

Ignoring him doesn't work so pulling a Clete won't do any good. Responding
to him doesn't help either, he's the king of the last word and won't let an
issue rest. He's keeping letters in the Top 25 that should have died off a
long time ago.

In real life, this person would deserve a beating but that doesn't work
online. I do know an ex-marine who would be happy to dish it out for
me..LOL

So, what are your thoughts? What's does PFB think about disruptive
commenters? I'd hate to lose some valuable contributors again because of
one person.

Yesterday we took my Mom to lunch and a play for her 86th birthday, which
was last Monday. My sister made all the arrangements and the plans were
similar to a military incursion!

She found a theatre that was handcappped accessible, not all of them are in
NYC because they are landmarks. She made sure our seats were in the last
row of the orchestra so Mom did have to walk down the steps and made
reservations at a nearby restaurant.

Muster was at 11:00 AM at Mom's with a departure time set for 11:15. Lunch
reservations for noon and a 2PM show.

We were lucky enough to find a parking spot right across the street from
the restaurant which was only 1/4 block from the theatre and had a nice
leisurely lunch.

We saw "Crimes of the Heart". It was OK but not really my cup of tea. For
some reason I thought we were seeing "South Pacific" but I guess my sister
couldn't get the exact tickets she wanted.

My sister is amazing with her planning. "C" was the planner, I was the
driver and "B" was in charge of Mom...LOL.

The only cloud on the entire day was the fact that the woman in front of us
had so much nasty perfume on that I ended up with a major headache that I
can still feel today. Why do people do that when they know they are going
to be in a crowd? I'm just happy B had a cold and couldn't smell it. She
gets really bad migraines and that would have definitely caused one.

This is our weekend to have my stepdaughter over. My husband has something
to do out of town tonight and won't be home until noon tomorrow. He spoke
to her and gave her a choice of coming tonight and spending time with me or
coming tomorrow.

She chose to come tonight! She wants to spend the night with me.

are going to the vet this weekend!

We have a small colony of feral cats by work that we feed and have built
shelters for. This weekend they are being "Trapped, Neutered and Released"
by a local group. This is being done for free.

They do this to feral cat colonies to try and control the population. They
also give them a check up and vaccines. Some people think it's cruel to
release them but these cats will never be socialized and therefore never
adopted. If there are any young kittens in a colony, they will try to
socialize them. For feral cats, these guys have it pretty good here. They
are fed daily and have three insulated shelters to sleep in.

I will no longer respond to any post written by that blow hard know it all,
Keith C. He reminds me of the co-worker no one wants to attend a meeting
with because they just go on and on and say nothing and they always have to
get the last word in.

Well, I was driving to work this morning and I saw a dog loose on the
median of the highway. I doubled back to see if I could find it and get it
into my truck to take to the shelter but it disappeared back into the
wooded area of the median.

I decided I would call Animal Control when I got to work. Before I got
there, I saw a Highway Patrol car and pulled over to tell him. I figured
it could be dangerous if the dog tried to cross the highway and caused an
accident. To my suprise, there was no cop in the car!

I get to work and locate the number for Animal Control. They're not open
yet and the website says to call the Bureau of Public Safety. I call them
and they take the information but tell me to call 911. I didn't think this
was a 911 issue so I decide to call the Highway Patrol. Of course, I can't
locate a number for them so I call my local precint. (the officer who
answered was shocked that Public Safety told me to call 911 and thanked me
for calling directly) He connected me to Highway Patrol and they advised
me that they were on the scene with Animal Control. I felt much better
knowing the maybe something was being done.

I felt so bad for the dog, it had a collar on. It must have gotten onto
the median at a time when traffic was light and couldn't get off. I hope
they can locate the owner.

I guess my good deed paid off with some karma since I didn't get a ticket
for my illegal left turn.

My cat ears that is. I always wear my cat ears to work on Halloween. I
took them off when I left the building. I stopped in 7/11 for cigarettes
and headed home. I was stopped at the light and noticed a cop behind me.
I knew I had made an illegal left turn out of 7/11 but everyone does (OK, I
know that doesn't make it right). Since he didn't put his lights on I
assumed he didn't see me. I stopped at the next light and he was still
behind me and again, no lights. I make my (legal) left turn onto the
highway and on come the lights and he pulled me over.

OK, license, registration and insurance card. I told him straight away I
didn't have the registration, that it was in my husband's wallet. OK,
license and insurance card handed over. I found that the insurance card
expires tommorrow!

Officer: Where are you coming from?
Me: Work, I work right over there at ABC Company
Officer: Did you stop anywhere?
Me: Yes, 7/11. Oh, that's right, no left turn out of that parking lot.
I'm sorry.
Officer: You must know that if you work at ABC Company, you must go there
often.
Me: No, I don't drink coffee or eat any of their food so I only stop once
in a while for cigarettes.
Officer: OK, I see you have a Motorcycle endorsement on your license. Do
you ride?
Me: yes, I do
Officer: Do you currently ride?
Me: (finally getting the hint, I have a handicapped parking permit) Well,
I haven't ridden in a year due to surgery.
Officer: Oh, just curious since I saw the permit
I'm going to let you go this time but don't do it again.
Me: Thank you very much officer, again, I apologize.

I think he waited until I pulled on the highway since he was Highway
Patrol. I was nice, polite and didn't argue with him. This was the first
time I've been pulled over since 1980 in Manassas, VA.

Yesterday was my 5th Anniversary.

When we got married, my husband gave me my mother's wedding band. He
always joked that he got off cheap and I always told him that I would get
him back in the future. I told him that for our 5th, I wanted a channel
set diamond anniversary band.

I've mentioned it a couple times over the years but never really pushed the
issue. This year we were talking and we decided that since it's been a
rough year financially for us, we wouldn't exchange expensive gifts.
Honestly, I'm always just as happy with some flowers and a card, I'm not
the type of person who has to get the most expensive gift for every
occasion.

I went to the Harley dealership and got him a replacement flag for the one
that got damaged in the accident. (I had to jump through some hoops to get
it too since they don't make them anymore). He came home with exactly what
I wanted, some roses and a card.

Shortly before dinner he asks me if I'm going to the store. He keeps
pushing the issue saying "well, you always need something at the store". I
finally ask him why he's so insistent I go to the store and he says "well,
the truck needs gas and I'm really tired". So I'm like, OK, I'll go to the
store and then I'll go get you gas.

I get in the truck and on the front seat is a little gift bag with a ring
box in it. Yes, he got me the channel set diamond anniversary band! I was
floored! I couldn't believe he remembered and I was a little upset that he
spent the money. He told me that he's been saving up for it for a while
and the jewelry store happened to have a really nice one at a good price.

He did say he was looking at another one and if I wanted, I could see that
one and the jeweler would let him exchange it. It's more expensive though
as it has bigger diamonds. I told him absolutely not! I love the one he
picked out and I'm keeping it!

Just when you think you got them figured out, they go and suprise you like
this.

Those were hubby's first words to me when I picked up the phone last night
about 6PM. "Hi, I'm OK". You know what the next words were, "I went
down". He was in an accident. He was breaking, slowing for a turn and the
next thing he knew the bike went out from under him and he and the bike
slid. He clipped another rider who also went down.

He's banged up, road rash, cuts and bruises, mostly on his right side. He
says his head never hit the ground and he was protected by the engine
guards on his bike (a big touring model) and he did have jeans and boots
on. His t-shirt was ripped to shreds and his back was all scratched up.

The other guy is OK with only minor damage to his bike. His bike is still
rideable but hubby's is not. The front fender is damaged, the right saddle
bag and the tour pak. He doesn't think there's any engine damage.

The bike is on it's way back to NY and hubby remained in Delaware, someone
loaned him a bike to come home on. His plan is to stay there today for the
races but that may change when he wakes up today and really sees how much
pain he's in. Of course, he refused to go to the hospital but I'm going to
insist he see the doctor tomorrow.

Luckily we have full coverage on the bike which will cover his damage and
his friend's. When it rains, it pours in our family!

Well, at least for the weekend. Hubby took off on his bike around noon to
head down to Delaware with some of the guys from his club, Local Union #3
Motorcycle club.

They are meeting the head of the internation union (International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers), Edwin Hill. It turns out that Mr. Hill
also rides a Harley Davidson and he heard about their club as it is the
largest motorcycle club in the union. Mr.Hill is also a NASCAR fan and is
going to be in Delaware for a race. He will ride up to Mike's Famous
Harley Davidson and meet up with the club and then ride down with them to
where the races are.

This is a big honor for them and he's been looking forward to it. They
made a set of "colors" for Mr. Hill. Colors are usually a leather vest
with the club patch on the back.

If anyone is familiar with the East Coast, Mike's Famous is a huge harley
dealer right on the Delaware side of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. You can
see the Harley bar and shield from 95. We usually try to stop there when
we are travelling along 95. It even has a pretty good restaurant and very
clean restrooms if anyone is ever looking for a place to stop.

So what should I do with all my free time this weekend? I think tonight is
a nice bottle of wine and a gyro.

I've been trying to come up with some different dinner ideas and one of the
things I decided to look for a recipe for is Beef Stroganoff. I do have a
recipe for it that I make in the Crock Pot but that's made with leftover
roast. I wanted to make a true version of it.

My husband called me a little while ago and asked if his friend Benny could
come over for dinner (more about Benny in a minute). I said of course and
then he said Benny had a special request. You guessed it, he asked for
Beef Stroganoff! He said he's been craving it for a while. So I'm off
after work to get the ingredients.

A little about Benny. Benny is a big, loveable guy, a biker/electrician
like my husband. Benny's had it rough the last couple of years. About two
and a half years ago his wife of 20 yrs tells him that she is gay and has
been having an affair with another woman. They decide to continue living
together but leading their own lives. Benny finds a nice woman and is
happy for a while.

Two years ago he was in a serious motorcycle accident. He was riding, with
his girlfriend on the back, out here on Long Island. They were on the
Southern State Parkway which is a very curvy road. They were in the left
lane and came around a curve to a pick up truck only doing 35 mpg in the
left lane. Benny did an emergency swerve maneuver which probably saved
their lives but his left knee clipped the truck and they went down. (a
biker term for a crash) Their helmets protected their heads but Benny had
a lot of broken bones and road rash. He spent more than a year in
hospitals and rehab centers and will never be right again.

To make matters worse, his girlfriend sued him for millions of dollars.
All she had was a broken leg and some facial lacerations. Luckily, the
driver of the pick up truck admitted that he was going way too slow and
most of the fault was assigned to him.

Poor Benny had to retire as an electrician on a disability, he will never
walk right again. (his injuries were compounded by his size) Then his
girlfriend broke up with him. So now he lives alone in a "union sponsored"
apartment with only his russian home health aide for company. My husband
goes to see him as much as he can and takes him out to eat and such.

So you can see that I can't deny Benny his craving.

We went over to my friend Terry's house for dinner. I haven't seen Terry
since my wedding in 2002 and, of course, did get a chance to talk with her
much there. Before that, I think the last time I saw her was in 1998 or
1999 since I remember her son, born in 1997, was still in diapers.

I've known Terry since right after high school. We went to the same high
school but didn't really become friends until after that. (we graduated in
1975).

When she married her first husband, a Marine, I was in her wedding party
and visited them often, first in Yuma, AZ and then when they moved to
Northern Virginia.

They divorced and since I was single, her and I spent a lot of time
together and even travelled together.

She remarried and moved to this (Williamsburg) area and life got very much
in the way so we didn't see each other much. When I planned the trip to
Williamsburg, I went on Mapquest and was so happy to see that she was
close.

We planned dinner at her house. She made a pot of Chili as I told her not
to fuss. I was a little concerned about her husband and mine as to whether
they would get along. Long story short, we couldn't shut the two of them
up and they were the reason we were there so late getting back. I had
always got the feeling that her husband didn't care for me much but I may
have been wrong. I felt very welcome!

They have a house on the York (I think) River with a dock. They have crab
pots and we all went out on the dock to see the catch. I held a live
crab..yikes!

Terry and I chatted and just caught up on life. I'm glad my husband met
her and her husband. In the past, when I mentioned I'd like to visit them,
maybe when he's traveling with his bike club, I was met with resistance. I
don't think I will be anymore since now he knows who I'll be visiting.

OK, we made it. Only one fight on the way down. I told hubby to take the
Ft. Mc Henry Tunnel when the GPS was sending us through the Harbor Tunnel
(the NOVA folks will know what I'm talking about). He just would not
listen when I told him that either way would get us to I95S so he had the
GPS do another route which took us right through the heart of DC.

I went to Chick Fil A for the first time ever in Maryland. I have to say,
it was pretty good. I had a classic Chicken sandwich, waffle fries and
lemonade. I put Buffalo sauce on my sandwich and it was pretty tasty. The
restaurant, including the restrooms, was very clean and the service was
fast. Hubby and my stepdaughter went to Wendy's, boring, why not try
something we can't get by us.

We nibbled on Cheetos (a family tradition for road trips), fresh fruit and
water that I had packed for the rest of the trip.

We found our hotel, Courtyard by Marriott, with no problem and so far it's
been great. The front desk remembered my request for a balcony and to
advise housekeeping to strip my bed. Due to my allergy to dyed and scented
laundry detergent, I bought my own sheets and towels. It's a pain but
better than getting a rash and taking Benedryl for days. I didn't own king
size sheets so I found a nice, 300 counts set on the clearance rack at
Kohls for $35. I figured instead of borrowing them from my neighbor, I'd
buy my own. I'm sure this isn't the last hotel room we'll get with a king
size bed.

The family suite is spacious and well appointed. A fridge, microwave and a
TV in each room. It was very clean with the exception of a few hairs in
the shower but they came right up to correct that.

We ate at Cracker Barrell last night and hubby at too much (my stepdaughter
and I shared a meal and appetizer). He was up all night until I finally
went down to the lobby and got him some Tums in the convenience store they
have.

So far, so good. I dropped them at Busch Gardens this morning and I kind
of drove around getting the lay of the land. I'm going to Jamestown
tomorrow and probably shopping on Thursday.

Keep an eye on things for me!

First a little background. My husband has very little family, mainly just
his sister. There are some distant relatives but they live out of state.
As a result, he's kind of adopted his sister's husbands family as his own.
He considers them his family and calls P and J his nephews.

J is getting married on September 2nd. Of course we are invited and
responded that we would attend. Well, I found out Sunday that his ex-wife
is also invited and is attending. I found this out by accident when I
mentioned taking my dress to the cleaners so it's done in time for the
wedding. His daughter was with us and asked "What wedding?". I told her J
and V's and she said, "Oh, I'm going to that too". Since I know our
invitation did not include her, I asked her if she was coming with us. She
told me no, she's going with Mommy.

I fully understand the fact that the couple is free to invite anyone they
choose. What I'm upset about is that no one told us. If my stepdaughter
hadn't said anything, we would have been completely suprised by her
presence. At this point, I DON'T want to go. The only reason I'm still
thinking about going is that I know I look HOT in my new dress. LOL.
The woman's hate for me and my husband is palatable. The closest I've ever
been to being in a social situation with her is when we attended my
stepdaughter's play and she was behind stage. Even then, I could feel her
glare.

I also want to add that I've never really felt truly accepted by my
husband's extended family. No one is outwardly mean but there are little
things that let me think that they miss the ex. When we get closer to
Christmas, I'll tell you my Christmas Eve story with them.

My husband says he'll go with whatever I decide. He's a little upset about
this too. I just don't know. As I said, at this point, I really don't
want to go.

Your sarcasm is not appreciated.

I know in time you will come to appreciate my postings on your blog in the
spirit of peacemaking and friendship. Yes, I know there has been a little
bit of tension between us at times on the other side of Planet Feedback.
That often happens when people bring different perspectives and points of
view to a community. However, these different points of view ultimately
enrich a community. I bring the view point of a consumer advocate, while
you bring the point of view of a corporate advocate, with a special passion
for defending the interests of the telecom industry. However, your blog is
a neutral place where we can meet in peace! You may not appreciate it now,
but I am confident you will appreciate it in the future! And that is why
you can look forward to me being a constant and enduring presence on your
blog!