Portland (06/12/2005)

This week started in Portland, and ended in Seattle. While we were in Portland we spent time with my sisters who live in the area. I did some window shopping with my sister Christine in a new outdoor mall near her house. We had fun. I love to window shop. I like to look in the most expensive shops and not pay any attention to price. I like to see the latest stuff available without any intention to buy anything. We spent time looking at ideas for furnishings for the new house in Arizona. Later all six of us (Rich and I and both sisters and their husbands) went to see the latest Star Wars movie. It’s hard to realize that the first one was so long ago. I prefer seeing these movies in the theater with real movie sound.
We are now staying in Seattle at the Lake Pleasant RV Resort in Bothell. This is the same place we stayed at before we left Seattle last fall. I spent some time at my old office and had lunch with my long time walking partner, Natalie. We used to walk every day and do 1 to 2 volksmarches (10K walks) a week. Neither one of us can walk that far right now. Natalie injured her back and is still working up to a 10 K walk and I am out of walking shape. Both of us could walk a 5 K but not much more. Volkmarching is one of the things I hope be doing again in Tucson. I also spent an evening with my quilting group. I got to talk some more about the great places where I have been able to work on quilts. Several of them work for my old office so I also got more opportunity to get the latest on what is going on there. They are in the middle of major changes. It’s funny, but things looked pretty much the same (except for no pictures on the walls as they are getting ready to move to a new building) but underneath the sameness exists quite a lot of change.
I took Max into a do-it-yourself dog groomer shop and finished his bath and haircut. I had hoped that he would like the hair dryer at the shop better than my dryer at home but he hated it. So from now on I guess I will do it at home with my equipment.
Next week I start my medical visits and tests. On Monday afternoon I am having a baseline photo taken of my optical nerve. I have increased pressure in my eyes (glaucoma) and the doc wants to be able to see any changes in the future. On Tuesday morning I am having my teeth cleaned and in the afternoon I am having lunch with one of my work friends and visiting my old office again. On Wednesday morning I have an appointment with my regular doctor, and in the afternoon I see the ophthalmologist. On Thursday morning I get the cancer tests (blood tests for bone and liver cancer) and I see the cancer doctor. Hopefully all will go well.