Decisions, decisions

My Connecticut sister is living through the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. She went out early on Monday. She found a merchant that had 72 generators and five pages of names on their wait list. She had a feeling she would be one of the fortunate ones, so she sat on a sand bag outside the store for three hours until her name was called. That was a high point...running out of milk, bread, and peanut butter is a low point. She says she can go without eating, but she worries about the rest of her family. Cell phone coverage is sketchy, at best. I try to provide moral support. This is one of those times when you take it one minute at a time.

Apparently, September is hurricane preparedness month. I thought that came in June. So, fellow Floridians, prepare for a hurricane. You can download the Suncoast Hurricane Guide at http://www.mysuncoast.com.  On the web site, click on The Official Suncoast Hurricane Center tab on the left. This will take you to another page where you will have access to an online version and a PDF version of the 2011 Hurricane Guide.  Pick one before it's too late and you're scrambling.

I started my own search for a generator. Besides all the usual overwhelming questions, the question arises to select between a portable or standby generator. From what I read, both require maintenance. I was looking at a portable version over the last few days. The price on that one just increased $70.00. Is that a sign of things to come? Then there is the issue of the transfer switch, hiring an electrician, and so on and so forth. It's a project...albeit one that is best done before the need arises. A little charcoal grill might even be nice to have. I had a propane Weber grill, but on the spur of the moment, I gave it away to someone looking for a grill on http://freecycle.org.

The cardiac cath lab at MMH has been busy for the call team this week. I was on call Monday and Tuesday. When I went to work on Tuesday, Dennis, one of my favorite colleagues, asked if I was on call. I said, "No! I was on call Monday and the weekend." Much to my surprise, I was on call. I need the hours, so no complaints here.

Around sunset when I was leaving MMH on Tuesday

Before sunrise when I was going to MMH today

I did a case in the Electrophysiology Lab this morning. While I was over there, I was informed by Liz, one of the other nurses, that the call team plus two staff would be staying today. Everyone else was being sent home. I wasn't on call, so I volunteered to be one of the two who would stay. The case finished, I wrapped up the last loose ends, and went over to the cath lab to see what needed to be done. There were two other cases, but they weren't scheduled until later.  The supervisor saw me, not that I was hiding. With her eyes bulging out of her head and her voice as nasty as she could possibly make it, she barked, "I only need the call team. I do NOT need any more help!" Hmm, what suddenly happened to the call team plus two. Am I a mind reader? Would I even want to be able to read that mind? I wanted to say, "Oh Honey, you're wrong. Without a doubt, you need help, but you're also correct, it's NOT any kind of help that I can give you." Talking professional psychiatric help here. Go get some, take your medication, and sit down! I have to say, her behavior is so disturbing that it begs the question, "Is she receiving a bonus for being hateful or does she come by it naturally?" 

I was talking to John last week. He's a rep that does a lot of cases at MMH. He's also a nurse and he's one of the most skilled professionals I know. I mentioned that I'm going to write a book and added, "They're all going down." We laughed and he said, "You are? So am I! We should compare notes." I promptly replied, "No, we should not compare notes. In fact, I'll have to get out of town before my book gets published." 

I try to be discriminating; however, the lines are beginning to blur about what goes in the book and what goes in this blog. I have a feeling the foregoing was slotted for the book. I might have to leave town sooner than expected. What a pity, especially when the morning started out so pretty. What do you think?

Good night, Irene

It is so totally bizarre to me that Florida was unaffected by Hurricane Irene while the eastern seaboard and the northeast were hit so hard. Millions of households are without power, my Connecticut sister among them. She has a large tree in her front yard that is creaking, and she fears that the high winds and soggy ground will cause it to fall. I sympathize with her and all the people that are living through this nightmare.

I'm on call this weekend and was called in twice for two cases early this morning. Sleep disruption and crawling out of bed for a STEMI alert is far better than sleep disruption due to weather emergencies. It's times like these that remind me how fortunate I am.

The first STEMI was cancelled not long after my arrival at MMH. The second STEMI wasn't a STEMI, but we didn't know that until after we did the cardiac cath. The EKG wasn't readily available, and the patient described his chest pain as 3/10. After speaking with the patient, it turns out he's constipated and suffered some issues while sitting on the toilet. Don't laugh. Remember Elvis Presley? I asked the doctor if he consulted someone to deal with this patient's problems. He didn't; nor did he order anything to relieve the problem. Oh well, life goes on...and I got to capture the sunrise on my way in.

You have to look hard to see the sun.

It's just to the left of the skinny palm tree below the lowest palm fronds.

In real life, the sun was a large beautiful red ball.

All this call time is interfering with by biking. Although Ralph and I have a plan that allows me to ride, it's still a tough decision to go when on call. To make things more interesting, my last three rides ended with me getting caught in the rain.

Once I decide to go riding, I can't decide to come back home in a timely manner, no matter how black and threatening the skies. I have a tendancy to think that I'll ride out of any storm. Or, I think the storm is much farther east when in fact it's right on top of me. Must be my do-rag is too tight on my head. It constricts the blood vessels to my brain preventing ozygenation and thwarting logical decision making.

I don't know. Would you ride with that sky overhead?

I don't like getting caught in the rain, but since it seems to be happening so often, I don't worry about it any more. I'm just not sure if it's good for my bike or my miniest of laptops, my handy dandy cyclocomputer. Time will tell.

We're having daily events at Carmella's Casa Italiana. And in the mist of all the event planning, our POS went down taking the ability to process credit cards with it. We have use of the back POS; unfortunately, processing credit cards can only be done on the front POS. We expect delivery of a new POS on Monday. The company who handles this equipment matter-of-factly informed Ralph on Wednesday, August 24, that our tech support ran out on July 31. Seems to me an email regarding this would have been nice. So, at the drop of a hat, we had to charge the yearly fee to get tech support with this problem. The alternative was $175.00 per hour for tech support. The hardware and software are so testy from this Naples company, that one doesn't dare NOT have tech support, so of course, I paid the yearly fee.

Our customers have been very understanding about cash only. There's an ATM machine at the convenience store next to us, and some customers have utilized it. We in turn gave them a ticket discount to overset the fees involved with getting cash.

It's funny, when the computer came, everyone had a fit. Then, when it dies, they have a fit. It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. What do you think?

Business is increasing and Carrie finds a check

Heart disease must be well maintained in Bradenton, because the cardiac cath lab was slow on Friday and we were all kicked to the curb by 1200, even the call team. I was part of the call team. There was a scheduled case for Saturday, and I was hoping not to get called in for the rest of the weekend. So much for hope, because we were called in at 2215 on Friday night, just as I was unwinding and considering a shower. Perhaps heart disease isn't so well maintained after all.

On Friday afternoon, I called Deb at the restaurant around 1640. I was due to be there by 1700. There were torrential rains in Sarasota at the time of my call, so I was reluctant to leave. I can drive in torrential rains, as well as snow, sleet, hail, and whatever else Mother Nature throws our way, but the rest of the Floridians, not so much. We've already covered the weavers and creepers on another post. Deborah had a delivery pending. Since that was the case, I told her I would leave and recommended she stay in the restaurant to keep things under control in case it got busy.

When I pulled into the restaurant, all the parking spaces were taken, except for one space down by Bruce's Taxi. I parked there. For some reason, I figured all the spaces were taken by the accounting office, which is weird, since it isn't even tax season.

Imagine my surprise when I walked in the restaurant and all the tables were full! I made an announcement thanking everyone for coming in and stated, "I can cry because I am so happy to see all of you!" Everyone was pleased and the night continued in the same way...and into Saturday and Saturday night! So, we just completed the best week we've had since early May. Thank you God and people. We are all very grateful and elated!

This is Frank and his family. They come in every Friday night. We put table one and table two together to accommodate what is typically a party of seven to eleven people. On Friday, there was a table of two sitting at table one which prevented putting the tables together. The diners graciously offered to move to table three, and we comped their beer. Everyone was happy!

Frank Jr's face lights up as soon as he sees Ralph. In fact, he looks clear through me to see Ralph, which is a blow to my ego. I consider myself to be a beautiful woman....but then Frank Jr isn't there for a beautiful woman; he's there for great food, so thus his joy in seeing Ralph!

                                    Is this not the face of a beautiful woman?
                                                     OK, NOT.
                           But this was right after donating blood and I just wanted to die!

Frank Sr times me when I go on delivery. Once when I left on delivery, I told him I would take a long time because this particular customer loves me and hasn't seen me for awhile; therefore, the customer would want to hug and talk to me. Yes, there are some customers who prefer me over Ralph! Anyway, the whole table awaits my return and Frank Sr gives me my time. I threw him for a loop this week when I got back in two minutes. I hand carried food to Bruce's Taxi, which is right down from us. Of course, I'm not telling, I just let them think I am super fast.

In addition to all that, we previewed the new Great Balls of Fire appetizer. They were a big success with the customers who tried the free samples. Of course, Ralph, Deb, and I loved them because we love hot and spicy food! It also comes in a sub and pasta dinner.

                                    Great Balls of Fire Appetizer for $5.29

Some of you will remember my biking travails from last month. After the warranty work was completed by the Village Bike Shop, I sent email to Mark, the customer service rep at Nirve, requesting reimbursement. He agreed to send a check. I remembered all this on Friday night as I was trying to fall asleep. It seemed like the check should have been here. I have this penchant for throwing mail unopened into the recycling bin. I figured there would have been a Nirve return address that I would have seen and I would then have kept that piece and not recycled it.

When I came down from my room on Saturday morning, I saw a white piece of paper laying the the drive way. I thought it must be a flyer from someone offering to spruce up my zen garden and didn't give it another thought. A little later when I was in the garage and getting ready to leave for MMH, I saw a post card that I must have dropped when I brought in the mail on Friday night. It was at that point that I reconsidered what the white paper was in the middle of the driveway and went out to retrieve it. Right, it was the check from Nirve. I don't know how it wasn't blown away in the torrential rains we had that night, but I'm sure happy it wasn't.

So, with the dramatic increase in business at Carmella's Casa Italiana and finding the wet Nirve check in the driveway, I pretty much believe that God is watching out for me. Sometimes I tend to forget that. How about you?

Yin and yang

My zen gardening reflects my hectic and chaotic life rather than serenity and tranquility. I grew two pineapples this summer. One was rotten by the time it was picked, and the other one was sweet, tasty, and made me wish for more. Could that be yin and yang? Nevertheless, next year I'll do better and pick them on time. 

My angel's trumpet was sadly infested with two different kinds of bugs and my soapy water mixture was not helping. The bugs got so out of control that I pruned the plant all the way back and I bagged the buggy leaves and tossed them in the trash. I was concerned my desert roses would be affected. So far, the desert roses look beautiful. The bigger of the two is blooming steadily. Maybe I won't through in the trowel after all.

                                                   I think it's going to survive.

Regarding my other passion, biking, last night I not only waited for five minutes, I waited for two hours for the weather to clear. I left at 1915 for my bike ride. I said to myself, "Self, it's late. You won't get in 16 miles. Sun sets at 2011. Best to be home before then. Just be glad you're getting any kind of ride in."

One road led to another, I rarely listen to those inner voices in my head, I was having a grand time, and I wasn't watching the clock. Suddenly, though, I was watching the clouds, hearing the thunder, seeing the lightening, and ultimately feeling the rain drops. I figured it would pass like it did the other night. It didn't pass. It got darker and darker, and then it was raining, a lot. It was very dark, and since I don't have a light on my bike, I couldn't take the fastest route home. The fastest route was in the street without a bike lane. I've already told you about the weavers, creepers, and how most of the time I am invisible to drivers and other walkers, joggers, and bikers. Sometimes my cloak of invisibility lifts, but since I want to live, I wasn't taking any chances. I took the long and safe way home.

      This is how it looked at 1945. 

It was black by the time I pulled in my driveway at 2045.

In the end I completed a 12.57 mile ride, about three miles in the rain. I was fairly wet when I got home, but it wasn't as bad as I always figured getting caught riding in the rain would be. I said to myself, "Self, you think you're brave, perhaps you're stupid." I didn't feel stupid, but I was cold.

When Ralph got home from work he looked at the thermostat. He said, "What's going on in here?" I explained I was cold from riding in the rain. The thermostat was set on 83 degrees. He was hot and neither amused nor sympathetic and turned on the A/C. I took a hot shower and called it a night. Could this be more yin and yang?

There's a time for everything under the sun

Oh, for crying out loud! How could what started out to be such a fabulous day turn to crap so quickly? Let me begin yesterday. I went out for a 15 mile bike ride that almost got aborted at 3.5 miles due to a few sprinkling rain drops. When I got to the area to push on or go back, I decided to head home but to do my normal cut ins and cut outs. I have this affinity for cul-de-sacs, parking lots, and basketball courts. It's not easy to create a 15-16 mile ride in a 4-5 mile radius from the house. There's bound to be a certain amount of repetition. Anyway, I would be close to home if the skies opened up, and hopefully, I wouldn't be too wet when I arrived. The skies actually became clear, and I got to complete 16.35 miles. Oh happy day! Life is good!

I didn't see the baby foxes that were out on Monday evening, but I did see these feral kittens. There were three, but I couldn't get all three of them in this picture without using a wide angle lens, in which case you then wouldn't have been able to see any of them. If you look hard, you will see two.



So, I don't know if it was the evening bike ride, but last night I got the best sleep of my whole entire life. OK, that's an exaggeration. Let's say it was the second great night's sleep of the year and if sleeping was a college course, last night I would have gotten an "A+." On a typical night, I get an "F".

Although I overslept by a few minutes, I arrived at the cath lab on time and in time to catch the sunrise and the moon. Because it's slow in the cath lab, I was one of three employees permitted to go in at the usual 0700 starting time. Starting time, flex time, break time, lunch time, sick time, vacation time...there's a time for everything. Had I used my college time to become a lawyer, I'd now have travel time.

           

And because it stayed slow, all but the call team were kicked to the curb by 1400. I was OK with that because I envisioned another 16 mile bike ride. Then this started just as I was thinking about leaving the house to ride.

 

      

No, that's not a view of the Amazon or a tropical rain forest on the left. That's the view out my front door! And the other photo is the lanai.

Like I've said before, if you don't like the weather in Florida, just wait five minutes, so I'm blogging and waiting.

As you would expect, business is picking up at the restaurant this week. Last week was pretty slow. I have no idea where the people were eating, but they weren't eating pizza or Italian at Carmella's Casa Italiana.

Deborah has perfected the "Great Balls of Fire" recipe and they are now available as an appetizer, sub, and entree with pasta. We'll be holding a T-shirt raffle, so be sure to get your name in the fish bowl for the drawing. Check out the home page of our web site if you really want to laugh: http://casa-italiana.info/.

Last but not least, we've partnered with First Federal Bank and their Gen Gold card. Holders of the card will enjoy a 10% total ticket discount. I recommend you get the card. Find info here: http://gengold.com/. Don't worry, we aren't listed yet in the line up of restaurants, but if you show up with the card, you will indeed get the discount, not to mention great food and exceptional customer service where everyone knows your name, eventually! Right, that's where the "Brain" cubes come in.

OK, it's time to put on my do-rag and go for a bike ride. Catch you later!

Of playscapes, bed, and bike rides

I went for my 15 mile bike ride on Sunday and I even took a bottle of water with me and managed to get out there before high noon. I'm happy to report that I didn't have heat stroke by the time I arrived home. Had a great ride!

One of the places I ride is around the professional park. They recently added a playscape to the back parking lot, and now they have the parking lot dug up in front of the basketball court. Riding through the basketball court and around the basketball hoop is my favorite place to ride in that area. Now that the playscape lot reconstruction is going on, I can't do that.

                               Playscape, basketball court, and reconstruction

When Donna, my Connecticut sister, learned of the playscape, she said, "What a great idea! Leave the kids outside playing while the adults are inside shopping!" Well, that's wrong on several levels. One really shouldn't leave their children outside playing unattended in parking lots. It's easy for Donna to say, since her children are close to middle age. (OK, that's a gross exaggeration; her children are not that old.) And, this is a professional park, not a shopping mall, so there's no shopping going on. It's a fun idea, but so far I haven't seen any playing going on.

You're probably wondering what's so great about riding through and around a basketball court. I just enjoy it. When I was about 12 years old, my favorite place to ride was down the 4th Avenue hill with no hands on the handlebars. We lived on 5th Avenue, which had a better and steeper hill, but I couldn't ride down there because invariably my mother was home and if she saw me, she surely would have had something to say about safety. I guess. This is the same mother who gave away my two favorite board games (Monopoly and Life) and my bike that I loved without ever asking or telling me!

Haven't reached the point where I can ride with no hands. I see the kids doing it all the time while texting. I tried to get the cap off my water bottle and almost crashed into someone's mailbox. Whatever! I'm just glad I'm riding. My first bike as an adult was a 12 speed Schwinn. I took it out of the store for a test drive, went about 10 feet, and promptly fell. Must have been the skinny tires and all those gears tripping me up. Never fell again on the bike, but never really liked it or got the hang of it. Oh, Donna did just fine. I would jog and she would join me on the Schwinn. To hear her tell it, we went 20 miles at a time. Hmmmm, she might have been able to ride 20 miles, but I know for a fact that I couldn't jog 20 miles.

It was the green bike in the Regions Bank ads that caused the biking fever to burn again. I wanted a bike just like that with fat tires. After much net searching, I found the Nirve Island Flower one speed cruiser and I was in love. The rest is history!

                                                    Regions Green Bike

When I was 12 years old, I wonder if I realized I'd be riding a bike and loving it again after all these years. Of course, when I was 12, I could only picture myself at 16 when I could drive a car and then at 18 when I would be a high school graduate. At various times I pictured myself as a lawyer, a teacher, and a nun. I just can't say I remember ever picturing myself this OLD. Oh God, now I'm thoroughly depressed so I think I'll go to bed...or perhaps I'll go on a bike ride.

Life is good

Carmella's Casa Italiana has partnered with Rosemary Chambers, a local Avon representative. Rosemary has agreed to include our take-out menu with the next edition of the Avon book. Rosemary and her husband, Paul, came in the restaurant yesterday afternoon. She used to come in years ago when the place was Frankie's. (OMG! If you go to http://www.yellowpages.com/ Frankie's is still listed with our address and phone number! Good Lord, is that information never updated??) Rosemary and Paul were totally impressed by the food, portions, service, ambiance, and plates. She ordered the baked ziti special, which is our signature dish! Paul ordered a 12" pepperoni pizza.

Oddly enough for a Friday, we closed the restaurant 15 minutes early. Considering this is the weekend of the full moon, we fully expected the crazies to be out and to have a wholloping good night! I was talking to one of the guys from Bruce's Taxi and he said, "Things are really dead. I don't know what is going on!" I wonder if the ring around the moon had anything to do with it.

We wrapped up the night and had energy to spare. Loretta James Band (http://lorettajamesband.com/)  was playing at The Flying Dog Cafe, so we all agreed to go. Deb knows Bruce, owner of The Flying Dog Cafe, so it's always fun to patronize area businesses.

                       Suzanne & Amber, the bartenders, are in the background.
                                    If you want a better look, just go there!

                                                    Loretta James Band

And to add to the fun, Melanie Massell was also there, and at the end of the night, she surprised us and sang with the band!

                            Melanie Massell singing with the Loretta James Band

How bizarre that a bad day in business turns out to be such a great day in life! Life is good.

Zen gardening

My bromeliads, pink and red, are in full bloom. I have a lot of them in the front yard and side yard. Some of the ones in the side yard were destined for the yard waste pile, but I waited too long to toss them and they took root. After that, I didn't have the heart to rip them out of the ground a second time.  I wouldn't mind if the neighborhood plant thief  came and took a few bromeliads since I have so many, but that is typically not how she works.

One desert rose, hidden on the lanai, is in bloom, and my angel's trumpet cutting has yellow leaves and white bugs. I treated the angel's trumpet with soapy water. The web site instructions say to spray daily until all signs of the pests are gone. I'll do this everyday and see how it goes.

                            Large desert rose, small desert rose, angel's trumpet

My two pineapples are almost ready to be picked and my pepper plants are still small and not very productive. My time spent in the garden is very limited, and it shows. Oh well, as soon as I'm rich I'll be able to take some down time to work in my garden!

And speaking of garden, I don't even cut the grass any more. Ralph has happily taken over that chore. Did I say happily? I'm thinking it must be very happily, because this past Saturday he told me my mother wanted me to take her on an errand. He said he would do it for me but he had to mow the lawn. I found out later that she asked him to take her. I went on a 15 mile bike ride on Saturday and was in the middle of a potential dehydration/heat stroke event when he assigned this task to me. Surely, he wasn't trying to kill me, was he?            

Manatee Memorial Hospital is participating in the 2011 Sarasota/Manatee Heart Walk on Saturday, September 24 at Payne Park in Sarasota. Feel free to visit http://sarasotamanateeheartwalk.org/ for all the details. Heart disease continues to be the number one killer of men and women in the United States. Walking is the best activity that you can do for your heart. I know, I prefer biking...I'm just saying. Do what you want, just do something. I'm talking about exercising. You'll also want to eat a heart healthy diet and control your weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol.

Recently I bought seven new scrub hats for work in an effort to stimulate the economy. I was wearing a flamingo scrub hat that I found in my closet. All the guys at work hated it, but the patients and their families loved it and so did I. And that's all that counts. When I went to work yesterday wearing the first of the new scrub hats, David, one of the nurses promptly remarked, "And the hat just isn't working." I promptly told him there are six more where that one came from and eventually he'll see one he likes.

Let's face it, I am fully aware that I do not look very attractive in scrub hats. They are a necessary evil when working in the cardiac cath lab, so I just go with it. Since I don't really have a choice, I strive try to wear fun hats and forget about them.

Carmella's Casa Italiana is running some new specials and introducing two signature sandwiches and a signature dish. Visit our web site http://casa-italiana.info/ for information as this news unfold. (Donna, the news is 'unfolding,' so it won't all be there at once.")

I wasn't in the right place at the right time this morning to capture the sunrise. I feel compelled to take these pictures because soon the sun will be rising too late for me to see it. Also on my agenda is going to the beach to see a sunset. Haven't done that for way too long.

                                                     Just after sunrise

The price of gas is going down and we made it through another day. Stay strong. I see something on the horizon. Could it be hope?

This is a not good time for a melt down

Well, I was off living my rich fantasy life and gathering new blogging material. My task now will be not to overwhelm you with information. Given the amount of driving I've been doing, it's a miracle I'm even here at all. Florida continues to abound with the creepers and weavers, and I seem to spend most of my time in "invisible mode" whether I'm in my car or on my bike. Of course, I have a horn on the car if I can't get out of the way of the weavers, but my tinkling little bike bell is decidedly ineffective against the weavers who find their way into the bike lane. Your smart phone has a ring tone "bike bell," and yeah, that's how my bike bell sounds. See what I mean?

The Nirve made it out of the Village Bike shop and I finally went out for a 15 mile ride on Saturday. I came in after 14.2 miles to get a drink. It was hotter than hell and I was getting parched. Some young entrepreneurs had a lemonade stand on the corner, but I had no money, so I had to go home to get a drink. Later, when I went out again, this time with money, I did indeed support the local entrepreneurs. We had a chat and it was fun to interact with the kids.

In case you haven't noticed, the days are getting shorter. This is great for me because I get to see the sunrise, once again, every morning. It will be like that for a little while longer. This is the sunrise from this morning, in case you missed it.

By now you know there's trouble on Wall Street related to the current economic challenges. Yes, your stocks and your 401k are taking a dump. I received an email the other day encouraging us to "embrace risk." Frankly, I'd rather embrace risk by skydiving or bungee jumping. My money has been at risk just one time too many.

That being said, this is good advice. Try not to go into panic mode and don't do anything while you are feeling desperate. Turn off the TV and tune out the doomsayers. Take a walk or a bike ride. Clear out the cobwebs, because this too will pass. We're strong and we will survive...like the Gloria Gaynor song!

Hmmm, or should we take Timothy Leary's advice, "Turn on, tune in, drop out." What do you think?

I must not be from Conshy

Thank you to everyone for the numerous emails I received about the blog. When I am not blogging, I am out gathering blogging material and living a rich fantasty life. Since I've been gone for two or three days, I have lots of material. Unfortunately, I don't have time to blog right at this moment; but I assure you, I will be back soon.

That being said, one of the things I've been reading on Facebook (via my BlackBerry) are tons of entries about "You know you're from Conshy when...yada yada yada." Judging by the obsessive volume and the content of the posts, I discovered I must not be from Conshy. I think, perhaps, I must be from somewhere exotic, like Connaughtown. Remember The Curve Inn? Yeah, sure you do!!!!!!

Just wait 5 minutes

I'm on call today, so sadly I can't go riding. It's a dubious set back, because there were raindrops on my windshield during the drive home. I went for a short cruise around the neighborhood when I first arrived here, and I felt a few raindrops.

I took a right toward the cul-de-sac, gave the bike bell a few rings because it makes me feel like a kid again, and as I turned around the circle and headed out, that same teenager from the other day was sitting on the hood of the car in her driveway. I'm sure she heard me ringing the bike bell and if she didn't think so two days ago, I'm sure she now thinks I'm a little bit insane.

This is my bike. If you look real hard, you can see the pink bike bell on the right handle bar.  And yes, that's the basket that makes me feel like Dorothy from the "Wizard of Oz." Of course, my "friends" at MMH cardiac cath lab think it's more reminiscent of the Wicked Witch of the West, because oddly enough, that's how they think of me. (And I get up at 5:10 am to work with these people.)

Speaking of the raindrops and weather, Ralph, the John Scalzi Weatherman Wannabe, isn't home to glance at the southwest sky to tell me it's clear. As you know, I ride in the northeast. Anyway, the other night after he proclaimed the sky clear, he was watching "Hells Kitchen" when a brief weather report was shown during a commercial break. In surprise, he said, "There's a tropical storm in the Atlantic that's possibly headed toward Florida." I looked at him and quietly replied, "Yes, that would be T.S. Emily. They have been talking about it all week". Mentally, I ripped off his Wannbe Weatherman crown from his head and threw it into the air and exclaimed to myself, "AHA, you don't deserve this!"

Donna, my Connecticut sister, is enthralled with my bike computer! Yes, it's the miniest of laptops and it fits on the stem between my handlebars. It tells me all sorts of information, like the time, distance, mph, how much water to drink, and what to have for dinner.

And speaking of dinner, last night I had cheddar cheese pretzel pieces and Doritos. The Doritos were in honor of my ex-husband. I wanted to know what it felt like to lay around and snack! Not a bad feeling! Now I understand why he did it whenever he was home.

I got lots of emails regarding Deb's find, Dr. Oz's "Brain" Cubes. Many of you wanted to know if you should buy cow brains or sheep brains. Well, feel free to visit Deb at Carmella's Casa Italiana ( http://casa-italiana.info/ ) and she will gladly discuss the recipe with you.

She was going to make them and give me a tray. Then she changed her mind. I think she remembered my midnight ice cream snack attacks, so instead of the "Brain" cubes, she's going to make me ice cream. Works for me.

OK, I won't keep you in too much suspense. Did you notice the quotation marks around the word "Brain?" When you see that, it means brains as we know them are not involved in the recipe. Please don't purchase any cow or sheep brains or any other kind of brains. These cubes are for your brain! You don't make them with brains.

  
The sky is clear is all directions. Means nothing to me since I'm on call. STEMI alert trumps my biking. I have the whole house to myself and this is a great time to be productive. I'm going to vacuum and clean my bathroom. Hmmmm, there are no witnesses. The cats and birds don't count. I'm going to lay around and snack!
 

Northeast sky->where I bike

Southwest sky->where Ralph checks the weather

 

If you don't like the weather in Florida, just wait five minutes.

 



Watch out for bikers

This morning, the drive to MMH was rather carefree and fun. I reflected on the numbers we did last night at the restaurant and Deb's latest health find, Dr. Oz's "Brain" cubes. The weavers and creepers desperately clutching their cell phones and Starbucks did not affect me. The sky was blue and pink and I captured a postcard perfect picture of the sunrise on my way into the hospital. To make things better than ever, the National Debt Crisis was resolved (for now) and my bike was ready. Essentially, that means two fewer reasons for sleepless nights. Oh happy bedtime!

I picked up the bike after work. For once, I wasn't bothered by leaving work early. As soon as Ralph unloaded it for me, I took it out for a short ride around the subdivision. OMG! The ride was so quiet and smooth, that I shouted with joy. A neighbor teenager happened to be sitting on the hood of a car in her driveway, so I gave her a big smile and enthusiastic wave. I'm sure she thought I was just some crazy adult who lost her driver's license and finally had wheels in the form of a bike.

I was only gone for a few minutes because I had to put on my bell, basket, and bike computer that I removed before I took the bike in for repairs. That took about 30 minutes. I also called the Village Bike Shop to share my joy and the manager thanked me for calling and said, "Typically, we only hear the negative, so it's good to hear the positive for a change."

I headed out for my usual 15 mile ride. As I was getting ready to turn left to leave my street, a car was turning right into my street. No harm done; however, I didn't see the car behind that car so I wound up crossing in the second car's path. The driver wasn't too happy because as soon as I was out of the way, he sped up and went roaring through the subdividision. Really? The speed limit is 30 mph, so that little show of pedal to the metal wasn't necessary. Apparently, some people just don't like bikers.

I wasn't out there very long, and as I went northeast, I noticed the sky getting darker. Sure enough, I felt one rain drop. I debated about what to do as I kept riding farther from home. Dark clouds mean only one thing in Florida, especially during the rainy season. Despite that, I figured I take my chances. Then it started to drizzle. No choice but to speed it up and take the shortest route back home. After all, I have that sophisicated equipment on my bike, i.e, bell, basket, BlackBerry, and bicycle computer, and riding in the rain just isn't my idea of a good time. OK, only the last two items are sophisicated. I don't want my belongings to get ruined if it can be prevented and wet T-shirts are just messy unless someone is buying drinks. I made it home, slightly out of breath, but dry.

Ralph was surprised to see me back so soon. I explained about the rain. He looked out the window and without hesitation emphatically said, "The sky is clear." What? Is he trying to be competition for John Scalzi?

Well, that was here at the house. I was a couple miles northeast of here. Twenty minutes later the sun was out. Like I said yesterday, "Don't ask Ralph."

Don't ask Ralph

Stan, pastor of Church of the Cross, was in Carmella's Casa Italiana this afternoon with his wife, Karen.  Church of the Cross is sponsoring a "Back to School Bash" for the kids in the Bayshore community. Visit http://www.cotcfamily.com/ for the details. It's a worthy cause. And remember, we must educate these children today, because tomorrow they will be running the country when we are in our dotage. Just saying..... On a serious note, I am honored to be able to contribute.

Ralph & I had movie night on Saturday. We watched Adam Sandler's "Just Go with It." I'll be the first to admit I'm not the best movie companion because invariably I fall asleep. As I mentioned in a previous blog, I'm a highly trained professional, and as such, I have to get my 40 winks whenever I can.

That being said, I did not fall asleep during this movie. I was not very attentive in the beginning because I was downloading pictures to the Carmella's Casa Italiana web site from the 4th year anniversary party. I made the mistake of encouraging the readers of my blog to go check out the pictures....and sure enough, my sister, Donna, was right on it and saying she couldn't find them. Yes, because they weren't there. 

Ralph is a very quiet movie watcher. Of course, so am I because I'm sleeping, especially if it's a movie about zombies, monsters, killing, torture, or inhumane treatment of animals.

This was a comedy and a bit of a love story, so it was easy to stay awake. So, imagine my surprise when Ralph says, "That's Dave Matthews. You know, from Dave Matthews Band. He had that hit single." And on and on and on. Shocked by this big explanation of Dave Matthews, I was compelled to say that although I couldn't pick out Dave Matthews from a police line-up, I certainly know who he is and indeed I have his CD. I added that I think it's red and bluish gray in color. Frankly, it sounds right, but it's unlikely I'll be searching through my extensive CD collection (that I just packed away) to check my memory.

Given this exchange, I thought it was OK to talk. So I asked Ralph where the freaky character with the thick glasses came from. And I asked if Adam Sandler's character was a cardiologist or a plastic surgeon. And I asked what exactly was Jennifer Anniston's job.....

It wasn't OK to talk. So I gave up asking questions. Next time I plan to stay awake during a movie, I'll pay attention from the beginning. Sorry Donna, if pictures need to be downloaded, they will have to wait.

There was an animal scene. Like I always do when animals are involved, I watched all the credits until it got to the bitter end when finally I read "The Humane Society monitored all animal scenes. No animals were harmed during the making of this film." And while I was feverishly reading all the credits, I learned that Nicole Kidman had a dancing body double in the movie. What am I talking about? Well, don't ask Ralph! I guess you'll have to watch the movie, because I'm not talking.