I don't like to clean. I'm also not very good at it. I don't know if that is because I don't like doing it, or if not being good at it is the reason I don't like to do it. I was thinking about this yesterday as I washed dishes and did laundry. There are many things I love to do that I am also good at doing, for instance gardening (although you wouldn't know it this year), writing, cooking. Are there any things that I am good at that I don't like to do? Or that I like to do but am not good at doing?

Recently, I watched My Dinner with Andre, a suggestion from the author of a blog who always gives great movie recommendations. Both Bob and I found it thought-provoking, and something we wouldn't mind watching again, so I ordered it from Amazon (I originally got it from Netflix). I took some notes on the discussion Bob and I had afterwards, emailed them to the blogger - and here is her post. (Is this my fifteen seconds of fame? Or maybe that was when my skirt fell down years ago in a department store?)

Something that I forgot to write on my list of discussion items was that we noted Wally's infatuation with his electric blanket, and Andre's lamenting that technology cuts us off from nature. Today, electric blankets are almost a thing of the past (comfortable as they may be, they are just too scary health-wise). Then, we have no air conditioning this summer, because Bob can't lift the units, and with the cool and rainy weather we haven't felt the need to have someone else come over and help us put them in the windows. We didn't have A/C for years, until finally we snapped in a heat wave and got one. That was followed by another, and another, until all three levels of our house had one. We eventually got one for Samsonville too. They ran nonstop all summer. There is something good about being connected to the weather (although if August is 90 and humid, I may relent).

Tuesday night we brainstormed a list of questions, because Bob had an appointment with his plastic surgeon Wednesday morning and with his general surgeon in the afternoon. I went in both times, before this I just sat in the waiting room, but Bob wanted me to ask things and also hear the answers. The plastic surgery appointment was a regular one, but the general surgery appointment was more of a Q&A session, not a check up.

Both doctors are extremely nice, but the general surgeon is especially nice. I think he would probably have been better suited to being a GP, in terms of his personality. He brought a resident with him, and she said nothing, but I think she was probably there so she could see how to handle patient concerns.

We went down our list with each doctor - in some cases we had different questions for them, in others we asked the same things to each of them. It sounded to me as if the barrel stomach / pot belly outcome from this next surgery happens to almost everyone, at least to some degree, so Bob will very likely wind up with a larger waist than he has now, and it will be a permanent change in his body. This was the one area where the plastic surgeon did not seem especially concerned - he said Bob has a belly already and it seemed like he was thinking, "why would you care?" (I guess he doesn't understand that after losing so much weight, it is disturbing to learn that your waist will increase regardless of those efforts.) I am not sure he would have been as honest about this outcome if he didn't know that Bob had watched the surgery video on the internet.

Bob said he could understand the plastic surgeon's attitude, though. After sitting in the waiting room - there are only three types of people there: beautiful people getting boob jobs, face lifts, or botox, a couple of people who are there for some exotic serious surgery (like Bob) that the plastic surgeon specializes in, and then the majority: morbidly obese people who are getting lapbands or gastric bypasses, or having tummy tucks etc. to remove excess skin from bariatric surgery weight loss. So, Bob said the plastic surgeon probably is disgusted after having to deal with all those fat people who bring problems on themselves. [One bummer for Bob is that a lot of people assume he has had bariatric surgery, not that he lost weight on his own; or that his weight loss is the cause of his current problem. Both things are not true.]

He told Bob that he cannot give him a cosmetic navel - too much other stuff going on during this surgery.

He will probably use porcine (pig) mesh, since it is the strongest next to the synthetic. (This kind of freaks me out since I am such an animal rights person, but I am trying to keep my feelings to myself.) He will have three drains. He will likely still be infected, but with a biological mesh, the body can eliminate it.

We mentioned Bob's RA to the plastic surgeon. The general surgeon already knew about it, but we wanted to be sure the plastic surgeon was aware of it too. I asked if Bob's body might be rejecting the mesh because of it and also might reject the biological mesh for the same reason. The plastic surgeon wasn't aware of a connection - he said he didn't think so but I could see he made note of it. Probably will have a resident do some research on the subject.

The general surgeon visit was much more comforting. He told us that he doesn't want Bob to have this surgery, even more than Bob doesn't want to have it, but he sees no other way to clear the infection, the synthetic mesh has to come out. He said he can control the infection indefinitely with antibiotics, but Bob really can't stay on them forever and once they are stopped, the infection will flare. He said the mesh won't be grown in and will be easy to take out, because the infection prevents it being grown into his body, even after this long.

Bob will be in the hospital about a week, and will probably be out of work about 6 weeks, but the general surgeon said that Bob can work from home or even go in part-time as soon as he feels well enough - maybe 3-4 weeks after surgery. The same is true of driving - he said as soon as Bob feels well enough, he can drive - maybe as early as 2-3 weeks after surgery.

I really pushed on how many lifelong limitations Bob will have - I have thought what they have been saying is BS (that he will be able to resume a nearly normal life). I said, we really want to reduce the risk that he will have a recurrance (about 30 percent do). So, they were more honest - the plastic surgeon said no air conditioners, no refrigerators, in fact, no coolers full of ice. The general surgeon said 25 pounds will be his limit. So I guess my increased activity level will be a permanent part of my life - not a bad thing, actually, since I have always exercised my brain more than my body (one benefit for me has been a drop of about 10 pounds, to my college weight).

I also requested a private room for Bob's hospital stay. The general surgeon said he can ask, but not guarantee. This is something that I plan to really insist upon. If I don't get a guarantee from the hospital, Bob is going to ask the boss of his boss to contact his high level contact at the hospital. He had offered to get Bob a referral to a place like Presbyterian in NYC - which Bob isn't interested in - so this should be a piece of cake for him.

I told the general surgeon that I want to be kept better informed when Bob is in the recovery room, and he immediately said that this is my right and he agrees and will be sure that happens. (Last time I sat there in the dark for hours, wondering why it was taking so long, when he was throwing up, having blood pressure drops, etc.) I told him I am not the type of person to freak out so I need to know what is happening. I asked that the surgery be in the morning, and this he could not promise - but he said it will be during the day. Neither of us was happy with that, so Bob may contact the plastic surgeon (since it not definitely being in the morning may be his call, not the general surgeon's).

I asked how they are going to be sure that Bob doesn't get the complications (puking, blood loss) that he had last time. He said the pre-operative testing will help, and the anesthesiologist will be made aware, so they will reduce the chance - but can't guarantee it won't happen again. I guess Bob must just be very sensitive.

After all this, the general surgeon said "these are easy questions, are you saving the hard ones for last?" And we said, yes. Bob told him, I want you to put on your faculty hat while we discuss this. He whipped out the journal article that the Pakastani doctor wrote, and the email thread that he has had with him. The general surgeon took the article, said "oh, it's in English," looked it over. We could see he was surprised that we found it, and he was not familiar with it. Also, he was impressed with it - I think he suspected after speaking to Bob on the phone that it was some piece of crap from a nutjob on the internet, not a real peer-reviewed academic journal. He also seemed surprised that Bob had emailed the doctor, and that the doctor had responded.

He wasn't encouraging at all about being able to use the same approach - he said it isn't standard practice in the USA. He had questions about how the 13 patients are doing today, whether they still need to take antibiotics or have needed additional treatment (our impression from the Pakistani doctor is no.) He wasn't familiar with the antibiotic (it isn't approved by the FDA for use in the US) and he wondered if we do have something in the same class. I told him that it is widely used in Canada, Australia, Europe... and I guess Pakistan (both the general surgeon and the resident laughed when I added that, and then chuckled again when I said it is approved for veterinary use in the US, so I guess if our dog ever had a mesh infection he will be fine).

Bob explained that we learned there have been 51 adverse reactions to it (liver damage) and that in Europe, they have developed a genetic test to see if you can take it - apparently Northern Europeans are more susceptible to side effects, which would explain why it is more widely used in Pakistan and not available here. Anyway, he kept the journal article and Bob is going to forward to him the emails he received from the Pakistani doctor.

Something else the general surgeon told us is that he only has had 2 patients get a mesh infection. He said he really appreciates that Bob came back to him, because that doesn't usually happen. He said that he has seen many more than 2 with infections because when someone gets one, they generally change doctors. So he takes new patients who have infections, but had the original surgery done by someone else.

Bob said, hey people buy lottery tickets and expect to win, and the odds are much better of getting an infection than of winning the lottery. I think the general surgeon could tell that we are pretty skeptical, so he said, you can't have all the bad luck. This time it will go well, you will be swimming in your pool next summer.

Bob is pretty comfortable at this point. He is not happy about the pot belly thing, but he said he will work on accepting that and maybe he will have good luck and be one of the few who don't get it.

One good thing, they were having a Brooks Chicken BBQ at the hospital, so we took that as a sign. We got chickens for Thursday (Wednesday evening we went right from the general surgery appointment to Lark Street and ate out).

Later in the week, he got a call from the holistic doctor's office - the lab results on his drain effluent came back. So he has an appointment with them tomorrow.

We've entered the phase where we are having a good time and entertaining ourselves - since he is facing such an ordeal, and will be laid up for six weeks. Friday night we went to see a community theatre group's production of The Producers. And we are doing the restaurant circuit, even more than usual.

I was in Samsonville from Thursday to Monday - attended the HS reunion Friday and Saturday nights. Had a good time! The trip set me back a little in terms of work, but not too bad. I am not 100% caught up yet, and tomorrow I have to accompany Bob to several doctor's appointments, but I should be OK (as long as I get right back to it on Thursday. Class ends 7/31 so there is no time for procrastination.

We've had a several day stretch of no rain - it hasn't been hot, though, especially at night (I'm not complaining). Tomorrow, I am headed to Samsonville for my 30 year high school reunion. I'll be back Monday. So, I have been working diligently to be sure I am not at all behind in the class. I don't my trip to cause a backlog. This afternoon, I have to weed whack.

Finally, a day where the tomato plants might just grow a little.

Work continues...and continues...and continues on the street.

Bob's third surgery is scheduled for August 6.

My sister has a new painting blog.

The Samsonville weekend worked out fine. The weather was gorgeous (and since then it has resumed raining). The pool looks good but it wasn't warm enough to swim. We sat on the deck and had lots of company. The 4th was more low key than usual but that is OK. I will be back down there in two weeks (for my 30 year high school reunion).

The class is now at 40 students. There are a couple of others who probably should drop. They have until the 29th (only two days before the semester ends, which is odd) so it isn't crucial yet.

The crew has been working on the road nearly nonstop near our house. I'm still not in the mood to complain since it has been such a long time coming - but it will be wonderful when it is finally done.

I have resigned myself that the garden isn't going to amount to much this year. Bummer!

Add / drop has ended; the enrollment in my class is 43 students!

Work has ceased on the road, I assume they have the day off for the holiday. Still can't park in front of the house, which will make loading the car a challenge. We're off to Samsonville for the first time since Easter.

We had such a downpour last evening that there was a river running down the hill, and the ravine had a stream at the bottom. All the work on the street has corrected any water from coming into our basement when it rains, and I was thrilled. We would have had several inches in the past. (And given Bob's condition, it would have been me mopping it up.) It also didn't cut a path through my garden. Instead, because they had the sidewalk dug (and the markings for the curb were in, I'm sure they planned to put it in today), the water raged down the future sidewalk, and poured into my neighbor's yard. As a result, today they are having to do a lot of re-work - once again, in the rain. We can't park in front of the house until it is done.

I'm sure that the heavy rain did nothing good for the seeds I planted. A decent harvest this year doesn't seem possible.

Bob went to a holistic medical practice yesterday, and his regular GP today. Of course, the GP just validated everything the surgical team has been saying. He felt a lot better after going to the holistic practice. That's the kind of second opinion he needed.

As of today (the last day to drop without getting "W"): I have 44 students.

Work on the street continues. Our so-called sidewalk was completely ripped up yesterday. Now it is quite a drop from the porch door to the street. They are doing a very neat job. They did break one of my tomato plants, an heirloom that was planted near the sidewalk, in the upper bed. It was the Cherokee Purple. I think I may have salvaged it last night, though. Its little stem wasn't completely snapped, so I tied it up, gave it a drink, and it still looks OK today. Even so, I am glad about the work. It was a long time coming. It will be nice when it is done, although I am not eager for cars to resume speeding up Green Avenue again. Some still go too fast, even with the obstacle course.

Today they are working out there again. I hope they don't damage any other plants. I am a little concerned about the storm. They have not taken a break, even with rain, thunder and lightening. It isn't a terrible storm, but still. I resisted going outside to tell them that common sense should dictate that they go sit in their pickup trucks until the lightening stops. I suppose they are under a deadline, but regardless, you think they would know better.

On another subject, I am keeping myself 100% on top of the class at this point. Not sure whether things will stay that way, but it is an effort to even out my workload, take precautions just in case complications in my life arise, and strengthen class community. We'll see if it works. The enrollment right now is 45. That's my largest class ever, whether in the classroom or online.

Back to gardening, the beans are all up, but the cucumbers seem to have been eaten by birds (or maybe the seeds rotted), so I re-planted today. A few days ago I saw a female Cardinal in the garden, pecking away. I watched anxiously, not because of the seeds (although I admit to being a little worried), but because she seemed to have trouble figuring out how to get out of the fence, and I was wondering what to do if I had to intervene. I also re-planted a few of the beans, because some of the plants had the leaves chewed off, leaving only stems. Not sure whether slugs were the culprit (with all the dampness, probably), or a groundhog. This morning I saw a half-grown groundhog tangled in the fence, and again, I watched and worried, equally about the plants and the critter. I opened the kitchen window and hollered, "now you get out of there," and s/he stared right back at me. I don't know if s/he had gotten into the garden and I noticed only on the way out (after eating my beans), or if the fence worked, and s/he was tangled from the outside.

In both cases, nature took care of itself - the Cardinal flew away and joined her mate on a tree stump after a few tries, and the groundhog got free of the fence and scampered down the hill, accompanied by another groundhog that was at least as big as Sophie (and much fatter). What a relief! Slugs I don't like (and if they were the cause I will get them to drown themselves in beer) but the Cardinal was beautiful and the groundhog was adorable.

When the rain clears, I must get a picture of the rosebush near the garden to post here. It is especially gorgeous this year!

I'm sorry. Pabst, winner of the ugliest dog contest, is adorable!!

I've had a few things in mind to post here lately (including how irritated I was over Roger Ebert's review of My Sister's Keeper...but since I haven't seen the movie, I decided that would keep). Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, what can you say? As a teen in the '70s and young adult in the '80s I admit to feeling sad.

Bob's doing well, although the third surgery is becoming more likely. Still hoping that turns out to not be the case. The weather has changed from continuously overcast and rainy, to sunny during some parts of the day, raining during others. The endive is up!

What motivates me to write today, though, is that yesterday, faculty received an email about changes in textbook ordering, sparked by revisions in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Opportunity Act. We have to have our book orders in by October 1 for Spring and March 1 for Summer and Fall. This is supposed to enable timely access to affordable course materials for students.

Although those dates are very early, I don't have a big problem with the deadines (I usually get mine in kind of early anyway), and I do believe in helping students with making books affordable (I have copies of all of mine on reserve at the library), but I am concerned about one aspect of the legislation, "Reference to this textbook information on any printed course catalogues." Anytime I have referenced the printed course catalogues, there are many things in there that are out of date - making the information available online is not much of an issue, but I don't think the printed versions are revised very often. Since I change some books about once a year, does this mean that out of date information will be in there? And then students could have purchased obsolete materials and expect faculty to accommodate them? (Might this force faculty to change books less often?)

How did this slip through from the Feds without so much as a whimper from colleges?

Wow, a summer day! I planted endive and marigold seeds. Next up, cucumbers, beans and more marigolds.

The construction on our street is really moving along today - they arrived at 6:30 AM! I guess they wanted to take advantage of the weather.

The sun came out briefly - I ran outside, planted the parsley, oregano and coleus, did poop patrol, picked up all the dog toys and put them in the washer (Sam takes them outside - there must have been 20 plush toys out there), and weed wacked.

Tomorrow, I'll plant the seeds.

The weather is starting to get to me! Not raining at present, but it is so gloomy. To look at things in a half-full way, if it was warm and sunny, we would be pining away for the pool and Samsonville - since we can't go there, it is less bittersweet.

But I want to plant the seeds! I got two parsely plants, oregano and a coleus over the weekend. I think I will plant them today, whether it is raining or not. Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day (I'll believe it when I see it), and if so, I will get the seeds in and weed wack. The grass loves all the rain and soon it will be up to my knees.

Class starts today. 51 students enrolled! They all won't stay in, though.

We're having a (brief) break in the rain, so I planted the rest of the tomatoes. This year I planted fourteen, representing nine varieties. In the garden I have three heirloom plants: Arkansas Traveler, Stupice and Wisconsin 55, plus two Big Boys (a hybrid). In the flower bed, I have one heirloom: Cherokee Purple, as well as four Big Boy plants. In containers, I have four heirloom varieties: Chadwick Cherry, Yellow Pear, Burbank and Marvel Striped.

I already planted regular basil, an Aconcagua Sweet Pepper, Holy Basil, Peruvian Purple Chile Pepper and Purple Di Milpa Tomatillo in containers, also some marigolds here and there, a geranium and two hanging baskets of petunias. The chile pepper doesn't look too good, but the others are doing OK (the regular basil is thriving).

It looks like the rain will finally stop on Monday, so I'll plant the cucumber, green bean, endive and marigold seeds on Tuesday. I had planted lettuce and parsley seeds, but with the rain, hail and cold, they didn't amount to anything.

This is the latest I've ever gotten the plants in. It had better be a warm September or the harvest will be pitiful! Except for the number of tomato plants, it is a lot less than I usually do. Life has been too turbulent, and the weather hasn't cooperated. Nothing planted in Samsonville, of course - although last fall we put in some perennials, including Hydrangea - hope they are all thriving!

Bob went into work today for the first time - he is approved to work half-days.

I purchased the domain name www.gullybrookpress.com from yahoo in 2002. It redirected to my AOL hometown site. I remembered that I should have it redirect to my new verizon site. I was able to get into my yahoo account, but apparently I didn't use it to buy the domain. Finally, after days of emailing help, I figured it out and it now redirects to the new place.

Now, I have to finish all the virtual museums that are under construction, and it will be all set.

I took advantage of the nice day and rototilled my garden! I only planted the tomato plants and some marigolds, though. We are supposed to have rain for several days in a row and seeds would rot. My ankle held up pretty well, but lugging the 'tiller around wasn't easy.

My summer class is all ready. It starts in a week, but students have access now.