Art in the City

Thursday we took Winnie by herself to shore to see how she would handle after getting a few tips from Vicki. She did ok for a while and then seemed to be done with it, and was all “where is my boat?? It was cute and when we got back to the dinghy dock she ran for it and even knew which one was hers…not bad for a youngin. When we got back to the boat we saw that Foster has learned to open the hatch doors. He looked very sad and when he saw us his little ears went back and well, see for yourself below…poor puppy! He didn’t leave my sight or my lap for the rest of the night. One thing is for sure…he is my little buddy…and I love it…l really do! Ha ha.


We took some beautiful pictures of the waterfront as the sun was setting. We got some shots of the various art sculptures that are a staple conversation piece associated with San Diego’s Embarcadero. I love walking by the old tall ships, the navy carriers and the old submarines..it never gets old.

On another note: We have come to recognize a lot of the local homeless people and when the two new homeless ladies showed up last week, Katie and I went through some of our winter clothes and a few food items and left them a donation marked “Free.” ( The gentlemen kind of stick to themselves, whereas the ladies are chatty and visible). It was “gobbled up” so to speak almost immediately.( yes I could offer cash, but....well I won't get into that). We saw these ladies proudly parading around in their new “garb” that same afternoon. It made me smile.

Yesterday I got my chest x ray done. Katie got to go in me and saw a void which means that I may still have some issues. Monday I have my official appointment. Lately I do have a bit more tightness in my chest, but I have been much more physical as it drives me nuts to sit still….( Joyce, I do try to…but it is SOOOOO hard!! ) I have opted for the bus instead of the bike and I can’t wait for that to be over with. I know I know…in time, yet I want to get up and go…so much to do, so little time, and yet what is it we are doing? Enjoying life.

Below are some pictures of some of the “artwork” and the dinghy dock and well a full on picture show....

Katie's Vlog3: Mom's home!

Katie has done it agin...I think she has potential in the industry of video editing...be sure and give her a thumbs up!

Sunday Sail Video

Have a looksy at what we've been up to... :o)

Sunday Funday

Sunday was Funday.


We headed out for the coast after hearing that there was a small craft advisory. We were like “Yeah! That means wind!!” They also kept broadcasting that there was a high surf warning too. After living in and sailing in and out of Half Moon Bay ( home of the famous “Mavericks” waves ) for a year and a half we were also curious to see just how big they get here.

We have left out of the jaw in HMB with waves as high as 14 ft right off the bat with screaming wind…now that will wake you up first thing in the morning!!haha

So the truth of the matter is…the waves were more like 6 foot swells with a high of maybe 8 or 9 feet and they were spaced far enough apart to make me miss the “heavy breathing” of the northern water.

Now don’t get me wrong, we had sun, heat, wind ( about 10 – 12 knots ) and I absolutely loved it!! There were quite a few others enjoying the beautiful weather that we were blessed with in the month of January. No jackets, (yes Joyce I was sailing in my skirt with a tank top this time!!haha!) It was like that until the sun set.

We ended up making it to the border of the Mexican/American waters and turning around. They have told us that we have to have Mexican fishing licenses in order to be in Mexican waters. If there is even one hook…well since you could see the agents from both countries hanging out, we decided that we had better not chance it. So for now, we may or may have not sailed a few hundred feet into Taco Land….”Dos Ceveza’s Por Favor!!”

It was a fun day. Stew drug the line and ended up pulling in a huge piece of kelp with a little angry crab attached to it. We checked him out for a while and gave him back to the sea where we will wait until he has grown…than…..yum!

We did see a pod of grey whales about 800 feet off the stern. Try as we might to get a photo or a quick video…well we just stood and watched in awe…next time. They are amazing and I never get tired of seeing them….dolphins too, although the dolphins didn’t make an appearance until after dark and inside the channel. They danced around the boat chasing fish and you could hear them clicking. Awsome!

I was hoping that while Mike and Vicki were here we would have been able to take them further out, but the wind gods were not in our favor that day. Sunday the winds held steady and even picked up just as we were entering the bay. Once around the entrance, the wind died down from the shelter of the hillside making for a pleasant welcome into San Diego after dark.

I will post pics and video next time I go to shore.

A visit with friends

We were fortunate enough to have a visit from Vicki and Mike yesturday. We met up with them and had a lovely BBQ followed by a sailing tour of the city front and bay until the sun dropped and the lights were on. It was so nice to visit, laugh, sail, and tell stories. I did feel bad that the entire time we were sailing, Foster had horrible gas...I mean "what did he eat??" kind of horrible...it made for a lot of giggles and a lot of heads poking around the dodger!Ha Ha (Stacy, be thankful you missed that one!). Vicki and Mike are a great couple, so down to earth and easy going...perfect sailing companions...which one day we hope to meet up again, on the water, and a little further south...so to them I say...."Are you really gonna quit and get your boat ready yet?" Ha...just teasing. Glad we caught ya.

A great day overall with friends. It is funny to me just how many people we have met down here from up north or even outside the sailing circle...San Diego is the place to be I guess!

I am doing so much better. I feel a little bit of tightness in my chest when I move around and raise my heart rate, but other than that, I feel terrific! Thank you for all of your continued prayers and well wishes. I go into my check up on the first of February and hope to come out shining!

Alot of you have asked about more videos...well we are a little behind but Katie and Stew are getting a few more ready. I know I enjoy them, and glad you do too!

Tomorrow we may take a day sail and go out into the ocean once again and see if we can't race the dolphins...I love this area, the sun is always shining, the air is sweet, the sunsets are absolutely gorgeous....and I can't wait to drop further south...yada yada yada...broken record! :o).

Now for some pics!

Momma's Day Out!

I was going to post this last week but didn't have the chance to....so.......here it is.

Yesturday the family took me for a lovely evening sail. It has been a while...it was warm and sunny, and followed up by an almost full moon night sail back to our cozy little anchorage. The amazing thing about sailing down here is, this IS winter time and well you just don't get days like this back in San Francisco Bay. It is a rare treat to be out on the bay in the same conditions...to all those who know what I am talking about I say...."Come on down and we'll have a race!!" haha...here is my short little video...

Out and about

Tuesday was my first day out and about. I walked about a 1/2 mile alltogether. Neil has to remind me constantly not to overdo it. It is so hard as I feel so much better and I think the decision to come home and be with my family instead of waiting it out in the hospital was the best choice. Looking at the records from the hospital it seems so bizarre to read that 2 weeks ago my left lung was full of fluid and almost 90% collapsed from it. I think I am close to 15% now and hoping for the very best outcome. My hope is to end up with less than 5% permanent damage. (The doctors have let me know that there is a chance of some permanent damage, but I am confident that I will recover well enough to not even notice). I am still on medicine and will continue to do so for the next week and a half. My pain has gone from an 8-9 out of 10 to a 4-5. I still get a little dizzy when I move around and the medicine makes me nauseous, so when the boat is rocking…I feel like a “nubie” on the water and try not to blow chunks!! Ha ha. It is weird when you have gone from riding your bike every day and walking around so much to sitting and resting and when you do want to get up and go, your body says, “I don’t think so” and simple acts of climbing the steps to go outside or making the bed feel like Olympic events. Yet, there is progress and I am thankful for every day.
The weather has been spectacular for January. It has not dropped below 60 during the day and the nights have been fairly dry. Neil and I are talking about getting a mooring ball or looking into getting a transient slip for a few months. I think it is safe to say that we really cannot “go and do” too far away until his issue with his back is finished. This also means that San Diego will be our new home for more than just the winter. We need to do some “re-grouping” so to speak. If all goes well both kids could realistically finish school this year…can you imagine? We shall see. We do want to make family fun time the biggest priority overall.
It seems like once you say “ok, we are here for a while” you can go ahead and relax. So here's to relaxing!

Katie has made another video. She has a few more to post soon. Her and Stewart have made some pretty goofy ones too! They have such a great imaginations! Check this one out:

Time to go home

I get to go home at around lunch time today. I will be on a rest and recoup mission for at least one week and I am so happy to be going home, to be with all my family, and just relax and have some good quality family time. I am not sure how long it is really going to take to fully recover from all of this but one thing I do know is that I am not going to take my health for granted anymore. I have had problems with the flu over the last few years. Seems like every time one was going around I would catch a little bit of it. In Richmond it felt like we were under the weather for the entire stay. What I found out was that I may have been harboring this in my chest for years and it finally came to a head. I also may have just been exposed to a very nasty bug at the right time. More than likely it was the first. If you don't hear from me for a couple of days, not to worry, I am resting. Thank you to everyone, including the doctors and the wonderful nurses here. Especially thank you to my lovely friends and family for all of their support. I cannot wait to go home!

Homeward Bound

Tomorrow I get to go home, with stipulations. My lungs are still not 100%. I have a partially colapsed lung and some fluid and gunk in the left lung. Now it does sound worse than it is. I will be recovering now at the same rate whether I am here at the hospital or at home. I have to stay on some heavy duty antibiotics for the next few weeks. I have a breathing exerciser that I have to stay faithful to hourly for the next few weeks as well. I will need pain medicine until my lungs open up properly or until they have healed enough that I don't feel huge discomfort. I can definately feel the holes where the tubes were when I breathe. I can walk around fairly well now and my legs are almost back to normal. I have lost nearly 10 liters of fluid from them. I am a bit nervous as I will have to be overly cautious of public places with lots of people in an inclosed area...ie, grocery stores...coffee shops..etc...but if I do go into these establishments the need for a mask will be great. So I will get my packages of masks and wear them like you would a coat for a while. Neil and Katie have been thoroughly scrubbing the boat and I will be returning to a very clean and welcome boat. Stewart has been keeping me company here at the hospital for the last 2 days, I am happy he is here. The next two weeks I will be just resting and focusing on getting my lungs opened up. I will have a follow up in about two or three weeks and have another chest x ray to see how I have progressed. So it sounds like I am not out of the woods completely but I am better and on the road to recovery. Thank you to all of you for your prayers. Without them I think I would not be going home just yet. There are a few others on this floor who have been in here with the same thing for a month or better. I do not want that!! Cheer me on!

Goodbye Chest Tubes, You will Not be Missed!

Today they took out my chest tubes. The pain associated with them just "yanking" them out was hard to bare but the after effect of not having them in has been nice. The plus side is I can freely walk around. The swelling in my legs has gone down, in fact I think they said I have lost close to 8 liters of fluid from my legs, and still going. The lung which had the tubes in it however still has some fluid in it and is partially colapsed. They have taken me off of the oxygen and lowered my pain medicine down to 1/3 of what I was getting...this was all a bit hard to take.

It seemed like too much all at once and it left me a bit on the emotional side this morning when I was told to grin and bear it. Nothing like going cold turkey after being so careful to keep the pain to a minimum on the previous days.

I am to have another chest x ray tonight to see what everything looks like. They are saying they may send me home tomorrow with antibiotics and pain killers. I am nervous that I am still not 100% and the fact that my lung is "sticking" to itself and to the gook, is not making me want to leave until that issue is resolved. So.....we shall see. Pray they are not trying to rush me out just so I can come back in with the same problems. I would rather have it all gone, or at least have my lung fully opened up...I am complaining now because I am concerned....anyway...Thank you for all your prayers and I will keep you posted.

Penthouse Suite

"Movin on up to the east side, to a deluxe apartment in the sky eye eye eye...I finally got a piece of the pie!" (Sing with me)

Well I am now on the top floor of the hospital which is referred to as the penthouse suite. I have my own private room that comes with an incredible view and a cozy little cott for one guest. It is all inclusive...looks like I got my spa treatment afterall. Ha Ha.

Now as far as my status goes....Over the last few days I have had numerous tests once again. This includes an EKG, and another chest test (can't remember what it is called) where they do and ultrasound on my heart and all around the arteries, ventricals and tubes. I have had ultrasound on my liver (this was because my liver showed signs of damage a few days ago) along with my gallbladder and a few other organs. I have had about 4 chest x rays and one more CT scan. They added more fluid to my lungs in hopes of flushing some of it out. They have done this before without hitch. This time they pumped in 50 cc's and only 25 came out...then the tube readjusted itself causing a huge amount of pain. After doing a chest x ray and than the CT scan they found that the suction hose had slipped and was sucking the lung wall which is why I was in pain. So they shut it down for the night and we will start over tomorrow.

They switched antibiotics and found this to be the cause of the liver issue. The new medicine does not attack the liver like the first one so that issue is over with. All the other organs looked good along with my heart. I do have an extra piece of "tissue" that is in one of my ateries. It does not harm or hinder me. They said it is more like an eyesore. I was happy to hear my heart is very strong.

The swelling in my legs and sides is still pretty high. I am elevating my legs, on diuretics and trying to walk when I can. I have to be on oxygen at all times as I only have one good lung right now.

The word for tomorrow is that I may need surgery on my lungs and chest in order to remove any additional pockets once the tubes come out. I may need to stay with the tubes for 2 more days, followed by possible surgery and a few more days for antibiotics. They want to ensure that I come out of it with no permanent lung damage. The other good news is that from my stupid days of self indulgence....ie. I smoked ciggarettes when I was younger....that my lungs have made full recovery after being without for close to ten years now. Phew! And kids.....DON"T SUCK BUTTS!!!

Tonight Katie is my guest in my penthouse suite and tomorrow Stewart may take her place. I am so very thankful for them alowing my family to be in here.

Thank you for all the phone calls, cards, and emails. I didn't realize what a tremendous extended family I have and how fortunate and thankful I am for it!

Keep me in your prayers, and love to you all!