Started my day off by visiting the greenhouse in Glen Rose, where zI purchased two olive trees for my wife, two small lemon, and two small lime trees to share with our son.
Thence to the bank to provide my wife the funds to pay our dog walker. Then to Walmart to buy some hose fittings and on to zFresenius to have my catheter end changed and to complete my quarterly adequacy test.
I followed this by a visit to our local greenhouse where zI purchased eight sweet 100 tomato plants to share with our son. Pn the way back home stopped at the grocery store. Have to water our plants and then hit the shower. Pretty typical day.
Have an adequatecy test ongoing today and tomorrow. No big deal. It’s just a pain to lug in the drain fluids which are heavy, and remember to urinate in the provided container.
Weather broke – again here in N Texas. Today, beautiful sun and in the high 70s. I celebrated by visiting our favorite greenhouse and buying four Meyer Lemon trees and an olive tree. Two of the lemon trees are for us; the remainder are for our son’s new greenhouse which should be operational in a matter of weeks. I’ll post a video of it as soon as it’s up and running.
Meanwhile, enjoy the hand you’re dealt; it’s the only hand you can put in play.
Back in the day, when I was in high school, I attended frequent weekly dances where we either slow danced or did some form of what was then (1954-1956) the boogie woogie. All of us had our moves, some better than others. I was at the lower end of the dance spectrum due to lack of practice. For don’t you see, my mother was an avid Seventh Day Adventist and their faith, frowned on such activities especially those held between sundown on Friday and sundown on Saturday. Since the biggest open dance was held on Friday night at the YMCA, I was by default deprived of this form of enjoyment. So this leads me to today’s story, a dance called “Walk of Life” that is really neat by Sven Otten.
Sven Otten, born in 1988, is a German dancer and web video producer who gained international recognition through his YouTube channel1. He became famous for his unique dance style, which he calls “Neoswing,” a combination of swing elements and modern dance moves12.
Otten’s journey to fame began in December 2012 when he published his first YouTube video1. His second video, featuring him dancing to Parov Stelar’s “All Night,” became his breakthrough hit, amassing around 50 million views14. What makes Otten’s story remarkable is that he learned to dance by watching YouTube tutorials in his room.34
Otten made his first TV appearance on “Got to Dance” in 2015 and has since been featured in several TV commercials1. He has become particularly popular in Italy, where he is known as “il ballerino de la TIM” for his role as a brand ambassador3.
Otten’s YouTube channel, where he is known as JustSomeMotion (JSM), has continued to grow. He created a Dance-Academy on his channel to teach his style to others35.
Beyond his success in Germany and Italy, Otten has also gained popularity in Brazil as an ambassador for Telecom Brasil and has been making waves in the United States3.
Sven Otten’s unique blend of dance styles, combining elements of UK House Shuffle, Electro Dance (Tektonik), and Charleston, has inspired many imitators worldwide23. His success story serves as an inspiring example of how passion, combined with the power of social media, can lead to a successful career in dance and entertainment.
Friday morning, I woke up with vertigo. It was a mild case that came and went, but it whacked me nonetheless. My wife gave me the medication for vertigo recommended by both my GP and urologist, and I was able to solider on.
Friday evening, I had problems setting up the cycler. It would not recognize the bag on the heater tray regardless of what we did. I ended up shutting down and replacing the cassette which cleared the problem. First time in over 800 dialysis sessions that I’ve experienced a faulty cassette. Be advised it could happen to you.
Dialysis is, at this stage, over two years in, merely an inconvenience. Yes, I have to take sit-down breaks, but who at 86 doesn’t?
Today I vacuumed and cleaned our BMW’S dash area with a detailing brush. I then cranked up our truck and went up to our local greenhouse. There, I bought 18 3 cube bags of mulch, 20 bags of compost/manure, and six tomato plants.
Upon arrival home, I switched vehicles to our X5 and accompanied my wife to Krogers, where we dropped over $400 and didn’t buy any meat. Oh, there was a lunch enroute.
Had about half an hour to catch up on the news before starting my evening dialysis routine. Crank up the Cycler, take a shower, take care of the catheter area, take care of the latest cancer removal area, and lastly, apply the chemical cancer treatment to the back of my head.
I’m currently doing a 2l static fill, then supper, then a little Acorn tv, then to bed in the 2100 timeframe where I’ll hookup to the Cycler for the night, arise about 8 or later, rinse and repeat.
Yesterday, my wife was vacuuming our golden retriever on our back patio. Goldens tend to shed quite a bit, make that gobs, and vacuuming is a way to prevent an abundance of dog hair everywhere inside the house. This is especially important for those of us on dialysis. I was struck and very impressed by his demeanor during this process. Most/many dogs are utterly afraid of vacuum cleaners and fight and/or are dubious of any grooming. Not Dickens as you can view in the video below. He just laid back and essentially went to sleep. Perhaps we should take direction from him and not sweat the stuff in life that we can’t change but just have to endure – like dialysis for instance.
This past Friday, I had my monthly dialysis team meeting. Nothing astray to report – leaving my BP meds alone and admonished me to up my protein ontake.
Saturday, my wife and I drove down to a little out of the way nursery where we ended up buying $157.00 worth of plants. They did have tomato plants so I filled out what is needed to complete our tomato’s bed. Video to flow. Also bought three vining clematis plants fir the new trellis. Had two lettuce plants , but Golden Retriever ate them. Go figure.
I’m at dermatologist where he just cut out another cancer spot on my left temple. It is a Moh’s surgery, so I have to wait until the stuff removed is deemed clear of cancer cells before buttoning up the area.
Yesterday, our lawn crew moved ten sprinkler heads that were alongside the driveway where they were prone to being ran over by cars to the center of the respective beds. They also put down all the mulch we had.
The Dallas NBC news just reported that we should have no more freezing weather this spring, so the tomatoes and zucchini plants we have already planted should be good to go. They are doing nicely, BTW.
I’m in a procedure room waiting for results. Was told need to use chemical salve on a couple of places behind both ears. Looks like a good time and place for a nap! Later – ZZZZ
Been extremely busy in the yard with the more moderate temperatures here in N Texas. Yesterday I planted outside five tomatoes and six zucchini plants which at first blush are doing fine. I also planted five flourabund roses which required large holes for the roots. While I was resting I cut down four trash trees to open up space for the two apple and two peach trees that are enroute.
So what’s the point? For me, that dialysis does not HAVE to slow you down. With proper prior planning and grit you can still get things done.
By the way, a local recent college grad, sport management degree, is between jobs and placed an additional looking for dog walking jobs. We took her offer and now Dickens is being walked for an hour MWF. Life is indeed good!
I’ve been busy working on the trellis in our backyard. See below for what it looks like in a finished form. Yes, 86-year-old dialysis patients can achieve goals involving work.
