New iPad - new iPad classes - train trip

Still waiting on Manfred's passport to book the ship. Other things are still pending.

My iPad was having troubles, so after some weeks of trying to fix it, Apple finally replaced it!  So my iPad is now brand new. It's hard to use now because passwords and some settings have been lost, but it's quicker and smoother. I got a new Zagg cover for it, too.

Friday, the day of iPad exchange, we went on the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railway -- an authentic old steam train used to transport loggers in the old days.

And, on Wednesday, the 22nd, we had another pair of iPad classes at our good old Senior Center in Port Angeles. I had a co-teacher who will now carry on the classes, because it's a long drive for us. 

Planning Europe Trip

We have been working on options for Europe this Fall. Manfred wants to go and return by boat 'cuz flying is so awful these days. This is what it looks like now:

August 30 - fly to Ft.Lauderdale,  Alaska Air, non-stop

Sept 1 - take World's biggest cruise ship, Royal Carribbean Oasis of the Sea to Barcelona. 

Sept 13 - arrive Barcelona

Sept 16 - take overnight ferry to Rome

Sept 17 - arrive Rome, take train to Florence

Sept 18 - see David 

Sept 19 - take train to Innsbruk 

Sept 21 - rent car, drive to Fussen/Neuschwanstein and back

Sept 22 - train to Saltzburg, rent car,
.                  drive to St.Gilgen to stay @ Annalise's place

Sept 23-Oct 4 - visit w/ Runi, visit Salzkammergut,
.                            go to Munich for Oktoberfest, etc.

Oct 4 - drive to Maria Alm to stay in RCI condo one week

Oct 11 - drive back to St.Gilgen for 4 more days

Oct 14 - head for Rome

Oct 17 - board Celebrity cruise in Rome for Miami

Nov 1 - Miami, see Rick & Karen

Nov 5 - fly back to Seattle, Alaska Air, non-stop

We will get a Eurail Pass for the trains. 

What's booked is the flights to/from FLL, the RCI conco, and Annalise's place. 

Cruises can't be booked yet because we're waiting for Manfred's passport. He let it expire and now it's holding up the works. 

Now the new boy-cat is gone, too!

He seemed to be right at home, but after 2 or 3 days of coming and going outside, he didn't come back any more. It was raining and Bill closed his window, and I don't think he had learned how to jump up on the other window. He was the one most wanting to go outside, so maybe he's just a born vagabond. Manfred pictures him with his toys wrapped up in a bandanna on a stick.

At least we still have feline supervision -- a Wink without a Tiddly.  She is very demanding of brushing and petting. 

Bill stayed with us for almost a month. Now I'm starting to plan a trip to Europe, looking at travel by ship. We both have to admit that we can't get around like we used to. I get a backache after a trip to the grocery store. I will see if I can find boats both ways and then just visit Sintra, St Gilgen, and one other place. 

Mercutio is gone, new cats are here

Mercutio just didn't come home.

We waited for 10 days, then went to the Poulesbo Animal Shelter and got 2 "barn cats" - cats that have lived outdoors, and are free. A tabby male and a tuxedo female, both young, both very scared of people. They stayed hidden for several days, but now they come out.

We call them Tiddly (boy) and Winky (girl).

More iPad classes

We went to Port Angeles to teach 2 iPod classes: a beginners’ class from 11 to 1p.m. & “advanced” from 2 to 4 p.m.  There were not so many people, but it was beaucoup fun.

Bill was supposed to come, but then he had to go to a funeral. 

We have given up on Mercutio, and arranged to get a shelter cat, and maybe two. 

Mercutio is Missing

Where could he be?  He has been gone for 2 nights, now.

He was eating very well, very demanding: canned pet store cat food, wild sockeye salmon canned by Bill Jones, some dry kibble soaked in water, and mice or birds 3-4x/wk. he was putting on weight (when he was sick he became a bag of bones), shiny coat (brushed daily). 

We are so sad. The house is no good without him.

Tacoma day

 We went to the Apple Store in Tacoma. The speaker on my iPad was sounding terrible - they fixed it. 

  We wiped the drive on the older MacBook and installed Snow Leopard. Now it is ready to sell. I'm just hoping there was nothing on there that we need/want, because I forgot the external drive, so couldn't back up anything. 

Then I got the sticker/skin removed from my iPad, and got new Zagg covers, front and back. Looks like a different device. 

Goodby to the Blue Flames. It was pretty scratched and tattered. 

iPad class @ Senior Center

Yesterday I actually taught a class about iPads at the Port Angeles Senior Center!

I never saw such happy people!  It just goes to show you -- get an iPad and you will get happy.

They want me to do another class, iPad 2, and I want to also. It was so much fun. 

It was supposed to be limited to 8 people, but 9 got in before someone cut it off, and still others wanted to come.  So I might be able to give another beginners class as well.

  

My so happy Mothers Day

I actually got a FedEx package marked "Shari's Berries".

What a thrill! -- They have been advertising like crazy for the last 2 weeks those unbelievably beautiful strawberries coated with various chocolate concoctions. It was from Richard & Karen, that most wonderful son and daughter-in-law.

The ads say it's an unforgettable present, and they are 100% correct. The most delicious mix of two of my fav things. Yum!

Choo choo... Hello

Manfred just received his train-telephone from Chuck and Diane. It is very good-looking, and it not only whistles, it makes all the chuffing and clicking and screeching sounds of an old-fashioned steam engine pulling into a station.

Finally....

Flus and cough are mostly gone, terrible backache is gone, I think the tapping helped me, but I still feel terribly weak. Can't do much.
Manfred still coughs, can't do much, either.

Mercutio is still thin, he eats a little, then quits. Still catches creatures and sometimes eats them.

Now then....

Bill Jones returned to Canada on the 23rd. When we drove him to Port Angeles to get the ferry to Victoria, we visited the Senior Center, and I agreed to teach a class about iPad. It will be next month, May 22. I will probably also go to the Senior Center Fair, to give an Intro to iPad. I have this little campaign going to convince people, especially older people, that the iPad is the new computer. 

Mercutio is still very thin, he eats, but not enough. Manfred is feeding him. Mostly canned cat food and canned salmon. He hasn't brought in any critters, lately. 

I still feel very weak, from the cold I had, but Rosemary reminded me about EFT Tapping, and I used that to stop the cough. Manfred, too. Silly of me to have forgotten about it. 

Update...

Bill is visiting us, it's been a long time since the last time.

Robin is here in WA, giving 2 weekend clinics near Ellensburg. 

And I have a horrible cold, started about 4 days ago.
Tonight is a total lunar eclipse. 

The cherry trees are flowering and the fence got fixed. 

Robin visit

On Tuesday, April 15, Robin drove here from Ellensburg, where he is giving 2 weekend clinics, for lunch and a look around.  Then he went to the airport to pick up Natalie for their stay in Seattle.

My cold continues -- it's even more horrible.  Lunar eclipse was socked in, as usual. 

New WorldMark Credits are in

On April 1st (April Fools Day) our WorldMark credits were renewed (no joke). We have 17,000 of the expensive credits bought from WorldMark, and 5,000 cheaper, bought from 3rd party credits. So we now have 22,000 new credits, plus 1,600 left over from last year. 

We have used credits 4 times since our stay in the wonderful resort in Hungary. 

We stayed a week in San Diego in Dec. 2012, and 

in 2013 we spent a week in Leavenworth WA in May,

 then 5 days in Long Beach WA in September,

 and 5 days in expensive Indio CA penthouse in December. 

Spring is ....l.

Flowers are popping out all over the place. Some days it's sunny, some days it's rainy. Temperatures are cool, 40s and 50s.

This is the view from our front door.

Other pics snapped around town.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Manfred went to SoCal & Mexico

On Monday, February 24, Manfred flew to San Diego, where he was picked up and taken to his dentist's office in Tijuana. His lower denture had gotten very loose, and eating was difficult. The dentist replaced the screws with gold ones, and said they cannot loosen again. Ever.

Then he went to Encinitas and spent 2 enjoyable days with friends Chuck & Diane. They visited a retirement home that is very nice, and very expensive. He took a jar so they made Kombucha Tea. 

On Thursday, Feb 27, he flew back to Seattle. He left his car at the bus stop (a gas station) so he was able to drive home, with the GPS and toothbrush I had left behind.

Mercutio had a terrible time - UTI

Poor Merky.

First he had a traumatic experience. There was a horrendous wind storm on the night of Feb. 12. It was raining and blowing like crazy all night. Mercutio went out, but he couldn't get back in the house because the overturned garbage can he uses to get up to the window had blown away. He could jump up to the windowsill, but there was nothing there he could hang on to, so he always fell back. I actually heard him, but I thought it was some branch hitting the house. I never imagined he could not just jump up and come in, even without the can.

Manfred found him the next morning, soaking wet, huddled under the little deck at the back door. There is nowhere here where he could be sheltered from the wind and rain.

Then next day, Valentine's Day, we woke up to find he was not well. He was crying, and obviously in distress. I thought he might be afraid to go outside, because of his bad experience, and it has been raining most of every day since then so outdoors was very soggy. So we made a little litter box for him inside. He tried to pee, but seemed to have difficulty and kept going back to try again. 

I have had urinary infections before, so I know the symptoms. So I started researching the Internet. Seems UTI - urinary tract infections - are very common among neutered male cats. Without the testosterone and other things produced in the testes, the length of the urinary tract makes them susceptible to infections, and even blockage. It's extremely painful. 

We called the vet hospital where we got him. They couldn't see him until Monday, unless it was on an emergency basis costing hundreds extra. I didn't want to go there anyway, so I looked for a holistic vet. The closest was Silverdale, and the were not open until Monday, so we made an appointment for Mon.

So he had to suffer the pain for 2 more days. 

But we immediately took away his dry cat food and started feeding him canned food and distilled water. I also got him some pain pills for UTI for people, and gave him a tiny crumb.  

By Sunday night he seemed to be back to his old happy self. No more crying and acting miserable. But we took him to the vet on Monday, anyway, just in case. He analysed a urine sample and said he had a bladder infection, cystitis. He gave Merky a shot and gave us medicine to give. Something to make the urine more acidic (or more alkaline, I forget which). An antibiotic (of course, despite the fact that cystitus is seldom caused by bacteria). And something else to give after the 10-day antibiotic treatment to reverse the pH imbalance caused by the antibiotic, I think, or maybe to break up crystals. We gave them to him on the first day, and then no more. Cost about $240. More than the cost of Manfred's trip to his dentist in Mexico. Never think buying cheap (dry) cat food is saving money. 

Another vet said the traumatic experience of being locked out in the storm was most probably the cause. 

It snowed again !

 Little did I know, when I posted these photos, that Google would create snowing GIFs and put them on Picasa like that. I just stumbled on them, by accident, much later.  

    

Seahawks trounce Broncos - SuperBowl XLVIII

Yuk!

If it had been a good game, I would not have minded at all. Seahawks are, after all, my 2nd team.  But it was a disgusting, pathetic blowout. 43-8. Like SBs used to be in the 80s.

The hawks were fired up to such a high pitch that you could almost see the sparks fly. Broncos were like "OK, let's get this over with."  They were totally unprepared for the intensity of a team that has been the last class underdog since birth finally making it to the top. And the 12th man was there in spades - Seattle fans outnumbered Broncos fans 3-1!

Everybody in WA is ecstatic. So it's Ok. I just wish Denver had not been so complacent.