Continuing on the Freedom Trail

We got a late start this morning but still walked a lot of the Freedom Trail.  The boys are taking part in a Junior Ranger Program  and have to visit several sites of the Trail, plus answer questions, get their books stamped, etc.   They need stamps from two sites that we haven't been to, so tomorrow morning I've offered to walk with them to the two sites.  I'm not sure how to get there, but rely on the boys who are super-smart and can understand directions!  It's hard to believe I was once that good at it!

I will be sorry to leave Boston after the short walk on the Freedom Trail, but time marches on and we will go back to New York tomorrow.  I have absolutely love being with these two grandsons, even though they enjoy bickering with each other.   They are growing up so fast, and really treat me with love and respect, and I certainly love and respect them.

I am so  irritated with my Apple computer I am seriously thinking about getting a Windows-based computer when I get back to CA.  For some reason I am having lots of trouble doing what I normally have always done, like download photos into my blog.  All of the sudden things have changed so much and I don't know how to fix it.  I'll see if one of my grandsons can fix it tomorrow.

Day #1 in Boston (CORRECTION)

We arrived in Boston this morning to pick up Joshua, who had been attending a week of S.T.E.M. training at Clemson College  CORRECTION:  BABSON COLLEGE!  (Clemson is in Carolina).  We're staying here for two days, and I've just spent the first day walking about 6 miles around Boston.  I think we will walk the "Freedom Trail" tomorrow.  Since I'm still having some aches and pains in my ankle and leg, I'd say I did pretty well today.  Hope I can get back out and walk tomorrow.

I have always loved this city the few times I've been here, and this is no exception.  It is simply a beautiful city.  I took some photos from my hotel room this morning, but didn't snap any while we were out.  Hopefully I'll remember to take some tomorrow.  It's very crowded, no doubt because the tourists are here during the summer months and no doubt many of them are here for the fourth of July.

I have loved being here with family, but I have to give special praise to my daughter-in-law Sandy.  She is so aware of my failing eyesight plus the trouble with my ankle, and she is always helping me in so many ways - especially to caution me when there is a curb or a step I need to watch out for, and other situations where I need help.  She gives me a hand in a way that it's perfectly natural and I don't feel like the dumbest or most helpless person in the world, which I probably am.

These photos were taken this morning from my hotel room.  Click on a photo to enlarge.

This is Boston on a slant!

 While I'm at it I want to post a photo I took about a week ago in New York.  These are the strangest skies I've ever seen, and they certainly aren't natural.   It looks like the pilot of the plane making them was having fun blowing smoke rings!  It was taken at the Clearwater's Music and Environmental Festival that Ara and I went to about 2 weeks ago.

I'm going to stop now but will try to post more tomorrow.

Waiting -

I have been waiting for the results of one more blood test but it looks like it will take several more days.  The urgent care center had recommended that I see an orthopedic doctor and called me just now to see if I had done so.  I told her I was in NY, all the way across the country from home, and that I didn't intend to see a battery of doctors here and then leave in a couple of weeks.  I asked about the remaining test and she told me it was indeed related to Lyme Disease, so darn it!  I'm not out of the woods yet.

Since I've been here there has been a super crossword puzzle in progress on the dining room table.  I haven't kept count of how many we've finished, but it seems there were several different ones.  My d-i-l Sandy, and grandson Joshua, are both avid puzzle workers.  Her birthday is at the end of this month; I was looking for a gift for her and found a 3000 piece puzzle online - a beautiful picture of NYC - and ordered it!  We've been working 2000 pc. puzzles and an even larger one will be a great challenge!   I think when I get back home I might work some of the older ones I have, as well as maybe buy some new ones.  I will get the ones that are around 300 pcs however, as my 1000+ puzzle days are over!

I've been  having problems lately with my Apple computer (2012 model).  I need a new battery as well as a new charger, but I'm wondering if I should go back to a Windows based computer.  Apple is not getting great reviews, especially now that Steve Jobs is gone.  The phones and computers are problematic, and a Windows based computer would not be as expensive as replacing it with an Apple.  I wonder how hard it would be to go back to Windows - I remember it as being nothing but problems before I switched brands back in about 2009.   Does anyone out there have any experience going from Apple to Windows?  Or do you have a lot of problems with either system?  I think if they didn't update them so fast there wouldn't be as many problems.  As a retired person who surfs the internet and uses email plus a few other programs, I don't need the incredible power and speed they keep coming up with.  I just want a machine that is reliable and will do the simple things I want it to do.   I'm probably asking too much.  

I'm going with Sandy this afternoon to visit their chiropractor, and hope he can help me with the pain I'm having.  I want to be able to comfortably walk around Boston when we go there.

Test for Lyme Disease is negative!

I just received the call I've been waiting for.  The results for Lyme is negative.  They are still waiting for the results of one test to come back, and after asking the person at the Med Center to repeat herself several times, I finally quit and said OK.  I have trouble hearing on the phone to begin with, and many people either speak too fast or blur their words together and I often just don't get it.  As an afterward, she said something about the spine, so maybe that is causing the pain in my ankle.  I've gone without Advil yesterday and today and the discomfort is not as bad as it was, although it still hurts when I stand up or go up and down steps.  I'll live!

Thanks so much for those who sent me good vibes and healing thoughts.  I am so relieved, although puzzled by what could be the cause of it.

Time is Flying!

It's hard to believe June will be coming to an end in a week.  Mike drove Joshua to the college in Massachusetts where he will be taking part in the S.T.E.M. program during the coming week.

I am really looking forward to getting the results from the Lyme Disease tests, as nothing has changed in the swelling or the moderate pain I'm experiencing.  I take an Advil in the morning and it usually gets me through the day, but I worry because I get side effects if I take ibuprofen for any length of time.   If anyone reading my blog has had treatment for Lyme's, please let me know what medication you were given and for how long.  I'm worried about the eye surgery coming up in about 5 weeks and don't want to have to delay that.  I've read that Lyme's can affect a person's eyesight and that might  explain why my sight is growing dimmer at a much faster rate than before.  I hope it can return to "normal".

I would love to be spending more time outdoors, although the mosquitoes can be pretty bad at times.  I don't need to add another disease to whatever might be wrong with me as it is!

I wish everyone a good week coming up, and appreciate getting some good vibes as well.  If old age gets any worse then I don't know how I'll handle it.   :-)  I still consider myself a lucky person to have the great family and friends that I have.

I did it again!

I was on the last sentence of a new blog post when I lost everything.  It makes me so mad!

I went to Urgent Care this morning and there were no sprains or breaks in my ankle - nothing could be found to cause the pain and swelling.  So they took blood tests to see if I have any tick-borne diseases.  I didn't think it could be related to ticks since I have no marks or spots to indicate I've been bitten.  They told me however, that some people don't have the usual evidence of a tick.  I'll have to wait until the first part of next week to find the results of the tests. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend - it seems like I've written this only a few days ago and lost a couple of days out of the past week!).  I'm mostly sitting with my left leg propped up.  It really is getting old and boring and it will be so great to be able to walk a daily mile or two soon.

A quick update

This is just a quick note to say that I am still here and enjoying family life, but that somehow I hurt my ankle without realizing how or why it happened.  My left ankle is a bit swollen and painful when pressed and I don't have a clue how it happened, but it's been bothering me since last Sunday.  I should go to an urgent care center to get it checked out, but to tell the truth, I wouldn't care if I never laid eyes on another doctor!  I may go in the next day or two if the discomfort persists.

Yesterday I attended the "moving up" cememony for my oldest grandson, who is leaving elementary school for the next stage of his education which I think is called middle school.  Back when I was in school we only had grade school (1-8) and high school (9-12).  Josh is at the stage of a boy's life when he can act so grown up and mature, and then switch immediately to an annoying kid.  This happens when he wants to aggravate his younger brother.  Having had 5 younger brothers and 3 sons, it all comes back to me.  Also I find it never ends as even when they are grown the competition is still there, usually driven by the oldest boy.

I wonder if I should stay off my feet and allow whatever is wrong with my ankle to heal, or to walk and get some exercise.