birthday bucket trip to Paisley park

One of the things on my bucket list was to visit Paisley park in Chanhassen, MN. It's the studio/home of the late great musical genius Prince. I ordered the VIP tixs were you get an extended tour of his facilities and a flash drive of the only photograph allowed to be taken in the studio (see above taken by the tour guide).
Chanhassen, MN is about a 20 minute drive from Minneapolis. It reminded me of Windham, NH. A rural area with small patches of new developments. On the outside, Paisley park looked like a big white warehouse something like a car dealership. On the inside was something different. It remains as a working studio.
You walk in the foyer and you see the very "Prince" like artwork of doves, clouds and his symbol with funky purple furniture. You can see his two doves in a large cage (Divinity and Majestic) on the second floor. I wanted to go upstairs to see them up close but guests were only permitted on the first floor. (The elevator were he passed was closed off and covered with a faux doorway) Above it held his ashes in a mini "Paisley park" glass case. I felt kind of sick and sad seeing that. Whereas the rest of facility had so much electric energy.
There were rooms with a lot of his persona presented during the many phases of his musical history. Oh the clothes and shoes...and his famous Purple rain motorcycle. It looked so big in the movie "purple rain" but it was a 440CC Honda ( a rebel). There were displays of his pianos and many guitars (the flying cloud) and of course, awards. There were at least two dance clubs for after hour parties. Oh I would've loved to go to one of those. Music was playing constantly and I couldn't decide which was my favorite song because I had lots of favorites. My legs were itchy from the music and couldn't help myself but to dance around in just about every room.
And of course, I had to eventually use the bathroom.
It was one of the cleanest bathrooms I've ever been in and it smelled nice too. One odd thing was there were no windows in the facility except for a giant glass skylight pyramid in the foyer.
I didn't want to leave. The artistic energy was everywhere.
When I got home I was so inspired I did my living room over in purple and funky furniture. And I am working on some new art work too. I made my husband sit through "under a cherry moon" because the music is so awesome. (He liked it )
I had found out earlier that Sheila E, his most talented percussionist, was in concert at the Big E right here in Springfield, MA!. And would you believe it was on my birthday.
I had to go.
I managed to horn my way up to the very front of the stage. She looked fantastic and whoa, what a talent.(see photo above) She has a new CD out called "Iconic". I like her version of "Jesus children" better than Stevie Wonder's version. I held up a sign that said "we all want a love bizarre" and she took my sign when she sang/played "love bizarre'.(!) She then came off the stage and walked right over to my husband and played a guitar solo right in front of him! She was so close to him that she almost bopped him off the head with her guitar! I thought to myself, "Oh my God are you f*&%ing kidding me!?!" I have it recorded, if you don't believe me. I gotta say, that was one if not the BEST concerts I've ever been to. What a freakin' blast! I was completely drenched with sweat from dancing (and it was about 80F)
Wow...
Did I have a totally pissa birthday month or what!

July 16 2017 dive #1011 & Oct 1 2017 dive # 1012

Ok I know this looks strange writing about a dive in July and then a jump to October. I haven't had too much access to the computer to sit down and type for one thing and I haven't been diving as much As I would've liked due to travels, illness and funky weekend weather (winds ripping out from the north. There were sunny days but tough for boats getting out of the slip).
Sooooooo here is the summary:
July 16 2017 dive # 1011
On aboard Easy Diver were Captain Fred, first mate Chris, Pete Jackie, Andy and Cate. Winds were from the SE. A pleasant day at Folly Cove. Water was chilly at 47F at 30 ft. Viz murky at best at 10-15 feet. A lot of debris due to massive amounts of fish poop! Huge schools of fish entered the cove leaving copious amounts of brown pellets. It was interesting but gross. Alot of boats were anchored at Folly. I counted 17. Still a wonderful day hanging out with friends and talking about the schooling fish (and poop)
Oct 1 2017 dive# 1012
A light wind from north but a sunny bright cool day. Fred, Chris, Cate, Jackie and Sofia (Cate's grand -daughter) were present on Easy Diver. I brought my wet-suit but wasn't sure I would be going in. And then Chris, Cate and Jackie went in and I got jealous so I HAD to go in for a plunge!. You just never know if something cool would be swimming by. The week or so prior Jackie and Andy spotted a torpedo ray. We anchored in Folly Cove. Water was 62f on the surface. I am sure below 10 feet the temp readings would be different. Over by the rocks it felt warmer and the viz was better. I'm still trying to milk out the "summer" as if licking the last crumbs out of the bottom of the cookie bag. It was a nice day and it's so nice to hang out with cool friends.
And yes, we ARE cool!

July 2 2017 dive # 1009 & July 9 2017 dive#1010

July 2 2017 dive # 1009
First dive of the season
I was invited aboard Easy Diver. Needless to say I was thrilled. It's always great to see my pals-especially out in the beautiful summer weather and doing something fun.
It was a sunny hot day with the wind out of the SW.
Aboard were :Fred, Pete, Chris, Amy, Andy and I.
We anchored at Folly Cove. It the  Perfect place for the first dive of the season.
Chris, Andy and I got in the water but the water was reeeeeeeally cold. The viz was spectacular at 35 feet. There was huge schools of (what I think) menhaden fish. Left in their wake were millions of little brown pellets. Fish poop! The water temp was 45F at 10 feet in the shallows. It definitely woke you up! We just did one dive and then feasted on an array of snacks shared by all. Not a bad day, eh?

July 9 2017 dive# 1010
Picture perfect day. It was one of those days I just felt grateful.
Grateful to be with my friends, grateful to be invited aboard Easy Diver, grateful for feeling clear headed(no migraine) and grateful to still be able dive and manage myself.
We had a full boat today. Fred, Pete, Chris, Andy, Alan H, Cate, Amy and Alex.
 We anchored off of Grave's island. There was a lot of boat traffic and limited places to anchor out of other boats wakes. Tried to anchor at SS New Hampshire but another boat was anchored there.Wind blowing out of the SW. Cate brought me my tank hydroed, tumbled, visually  inspected and rethreaded the valve so it wouldn't leak air. Brilliant girl.
Water temp on the surface wasn't bad (I didn't check it) but at 32feet the temp was 43F. There was a lot of floating stringy protein debris (what we call "whale snot") At the 32 feet the viz was much more clearer and no whale snot but it was intolerably cold. I saw a few Pollack fish, one lobster, a skate and large crabs.
Afterwards,we anchored at a different spot with less boat wash to enjoy our lunch.
Seriously, it was a perfect day. The whole world would be jealous of us! ha!

summer reads

Ah! It is that time of year for summer reads.
I just finished reading "My most beautiful" by Mayte Garcia. Mayte was the former wife of my musical idol "Prince". She wrote of her life and their life together. Reading it was like being on a roller coaster. Talk about extreme highs and lows in both their creative lives together (and as well as when they separated) If you're a Prince fan (and Mayte fan as well) this is book is a must read!
My next book that I plan to read is "Unlikely Companions-the adventures of an exotic animal doctor" by Dr Laurie Hess. I tend to gravitate towards these kinds of books about veterinarians. I also read, "Pets on the Couch" by Nicholas Dodman DVM. This book was given to me by my cousin as a gift.
With that being said, two of my favorite people have books being sold on www.amazon.com.
"The Wreck of the Chelsea" by Fred Calhoun. A fun read especially if you are a scuba diver and from the Boston area.
And, "Letters from Apizaco" by my cousin Kim Kudym . It is a collection of letters and diary entries from my (then) 17 year old foreign exchange student cousin living in Mexico . This journal, through the mind of a 17 year old, was hilarious and blatantly honest. She also included photos and "drawings" which added to the story. I do believe her time spent in Mexico was a defining moment in her life. She later became a bilingual teacher for many years.
Have fun reading!

aftermath

I feel like one of those rumba vacuum cleaners that just bang around into the walls aimlessly. Not really knowing what to do at this point.

My mother had no funeral nor wake nor service.  I can't explain how I feel but it feels empty. This seems to be the "new" thing that is done these days. No funeral nor wake. Maybe because of the massive expense or maybe because people can't cope this drawn out ritual .The same thing happened to my friend Marilee. I still find it "wanting".

Regardless, I understand and respect my mum's decision.

 I spent yesterday digging up old photos and put them in a collage along with a police troll doll, his license plate from his beloved truck and a small wooden house jewelry box he made. I displayed them in my living room. Some of the photos made me laugh because most of the photos I have of him is of being a wise ass smiling. One of my favorite pics is one when he looks about 30 years old with flour all over his face, another with him standing in front of his ford fairlane, and one standing next to me with me in my dive gear after diving in the GOT.

Life hadn't been easy for the past 20 or more years as he slipped down a path of mental decline. Horrendous monumental temper tantrums, pathological kleptomania, alcohol abuse and treacherous irrational behavior. I go through stages of both anger and sadness.

I try to focus on the funny and good stuff.

If there is a heaven I hope he driving around in a big ass truck with "Tony" (his dog)along Hampton beach listening to some sports event along with his mum.

June 22 1938-May 10 2017

On May 10th, my Father passed away.
He had been sick for a very long time. That day I visited him at Rockingham county nursing home like I usually do on Wednesdays. "George" the therapy dog comes to visit him on Wednesdays and he was there that day. If he is having  a "bad' day -which means he was belligerent and agitated- George's presence would calm him down. George has provided a great deal of comfort for him. He suffered from dementia, Parkinson disease and diabetes.
Diabetes is what really caused him a great deal of suffering. He had  small cut on his foot that never healed and eventually turned gangrenous and spread. It was absolutely horrendous.
* If any of you readers are diabetic or have friends/family with diabetes let me tell you this is not a illness you can ignore. It is a diabolical disease. Don't think for one second that piece of cake won't hurt you or that you can just adjust your insulin or skip meals. That little cut on his toe made his feet rot because of the diabetes.
When I saw him that day I kind of knew that this may be the last day I see him. He looked so sad. I had to hand feed him water. He was so drugged up on pain medicine because of his feet. George sat on his bed and he held George. When George left and he closed his eyes. I told him I'll see him later, maybe on Friday.
I couldn't sleep that night and strangely, one of my stuffed animal mechanical toy(kakapo parrot) was making this nonstop malfunctioning "eeeeeeeeeew eeeew". I couldn't shut it off.
At 11:58pm Wednesday I got "the call' from the nursing home.
He died on his Mother's birthday.
He is no longer suffering and is at peace now.
I have no words right now.
I'm just sad.

Patches poop

Last weekend I found blood on the floor. I thought one of the birds must have broke a blood feather perhaps flying into something. I checked all the usual suspects and couldn't find the source. Meanwhile Charlie and Patches (gay bird couple) had been vigorously "feeding" each other. I didn't think too much about it.
The next day, I found more blood in the same area near Patches cage. I noticed Patches hadn't been touching his food. The blood had to be coming from Patches. He didn't break a feather so it had to be coming from his mouth or bum. Needless to say I took him to the vet.
He wasn't eating or pooping. Anything he tried to eat he threw up. He was dehydrated and weak. Something was wrong. He spent the day at vet in ICU. The blood tests showed 'something" but was inconclusive. He did have a bacterial infection but something else was going on. He was prescribed baytril for the infection and metacam for inflammation. I was hoping the next day I would see some improvement but he kept throwing up and not eating.
The next day we got a "jackpot" of snow localized to our region. Everywhere else got a few little inches but we got at least 7 inches of heavy wet shit snow.
I panic every time it snows. I have this fear of being buried alive in it.
I hate the shit. I hate the winter.I don't think it's "pretty". I hate stupid fucking snowmen motif. I got up at 5:00am shoveled, snow-blowed, and pick axed the snow and ice for two fucking solid hours. And thank God I did and cleared the driveway because when I got the birds up for their morning routine Patches was not doing well at all.
I called the vet and thankfully because of the snow they had cancellations and told me to come right down. So I bundled Patches up and drove through the snow to the vet's office 20 miles away. They did more tests checking for possible lead poisoning and an x-ray. They tube fed him and put him on oxygen. The tube feeding forced him to poop and they found he had avian gastric yeast. It's a nasty fungus and difficult to detect.
The medicine to treat it is specialized so I had to go to the only compounding pharmacy in the area over in Beverly another 20 miles away. I was still cursing the friggin' snow even though it had stopped....briefly. I got Patches his meds: Amphotericin. This is the same pharmacy I got my pigeon's specialized meds as well .He has to take this medicine for a month (along with the baytril for two weeks) and I have to pick up his second dose of amphotericin in two weeks because since it is a compounded med which becomes unstable after two weeks.
Ah! The things I do for my birds!
Well after his initial dose, he started to pick at his food. No vomiting. The next day, he ate more, pooped and called out  to Charlie. I feel confident that he is on the road to recovery.
I am worried about Charlie since Patches had been "feeding" him. (It is form of affection when they barf up food into your mouth ) Charlie will go to the vet next week for check up to make sure he doesn't have the same illness. I will have to keep them in separate cages as well.
I just feel relieved (and grateful)that the vet found Patches' source of illness.

gym rat

I've worked out for years in my basement gym I've affectionately called "cell block 9". As of lately I just couldn't achieve the muscle mass with the equipment I had. If anything, I was re-injuring old injuries.
One of the Zumba teachers at the senior center suggested (and gave me a 10 day pass) that I should go for a more advance Zumba class and that her gym offered kick boxing as well.
I figured I'd just try out the 10 day pass for fun. At first I was a bit overwhelmed by the size of the gym and it's facilities. I had been a active member of a similar gym in Sudbury but it wasn't as big or as diverse .Regardless, at the time, I was bit of a gym rat. Well after using the pass for 10 days I decided to join.
There are two weight rooms : one massive one with every kind of machines, weights, etc..that the serious muscle guys (and girls) work out in. And there is a smaller one for "ladies only" that I like. All the machines in the "ladies only"are pretty much adjusted for smaller ladies. This gym has a pool, basket ball court, racket ball, boxing area, a million and one tread-mills and bikes, and an indoor track. I prefer indoor tracks over treadmills. I hate tread-mills because they make me nausea.
I've been trying out pretty much all the classes they have to offer. So far, I like the kick boxing Zumba and pilates classes the best. I tried the step classes and core building classes and they are torture. The spin classes I think are just stupid and gross (but they are soooo popular). Spin classes consist of riding really fast on a stationary bike squished together in a small room. I don't get the attraction.
All of the classes incorporate push ups, crunches and squats in the mix. I noticed in less than one month I no longer have any "loose change" on the back of my thighs. I'm getting back the hardness in my arms as well. There are some serious fit people at this gym. And as I trot around the indoor gym I check out all the "Vin Diesel" types lifting weights.
I have an appointment with a personal trainer in a month (she is booked up far in advance) but so far I am achieving what I set out to do.
Yeah, I'm a gym rat.
It really makes the winter months pass by.

happy 2017

Happy (belated) New Year!
I haven't had time to sit down and write so now I am doing it.
2016 has surely had it's ups and downs.
The "downs" of 2016 were:
1) My health conscious cousin getting diagnosed and undergoing chemo therapy for stage 4 ovarian cancer
2) Dive buddy Fred diagnosed and treated with chemo at his ripe ol' age of 81 for leukemia
3) The sudden passing of my dear pal Marilee
4) The sudden passing of my super fav 80's icon Prince
There were other not so happy moments as well. Some of them I probably blocked out of my head.

On a more positive note for 2016: I went to Bonaire twice, tried paddle boarding, kayaking, joined a church reading group, worked out doing Zumba classes and completed three paintings.

My 2017 "New" years resolutions I hope to complete are as follows:
1) try kick boxing class
2) eat a better diet (less chocolate cake /eat more protein instead)
3) drive a corvette
4) visit Paisley park (Prince's house in Chahassen, MN)
5) dive more

I hope with the new US president everything will be ok. I hope for peace, unity and prosperity.
My cousin had endured her chemo treatments and as of today, she is fit and clear.
My sister worked and lived in Thailand, but it wasn't what she had hoped. She was isolated from friends and family and kept getting attacked by native monkeys. She is now without a job and a house. The good part is she applied for jobs in the US. That would be a big help for her to live with my mum. Life changes so you make the best of things.
As far as my New year's resolutions I've already completed two on the list.
I joined a local health club for more advanced Zumba classes but more importantly that they have kick boxing classes! I am now an official gym rat. I am having a blast at the classes!
With that, I've tweaked my diet. I try to stay away from sweets and focus in on stuff I'm suppose to be eating rather than stuff I shouldn't eat.
Since I've been working out constantly in the gym it makes the winter more bearable.
In the spring time, I plan on going out to visit Paisley park.
Stay positive, stay safe, stay healthy.