Learning about produce, starting with peaches

One of the reasons I agreed to move to Tallahassee was the close proximity to real peaches. There are those of you in the lower 48 that take your peaches for granted. Alaska has a hard time getting good peaches. While in Alaska, I have had a few decent peaches. A little sweet, sometimes some juice, but I knew there had to be more to it.

Last Saturday we went to a sidewalk market and I bought a bag of peaches. The peaches were hard, which gave me a bit of anxiety, harking back to my Alaska peach experience. But I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I decided to try one in the car; I was that worried about it being an Alaskan peach. Oh my, oh my, oh my! It was already better than every peach I had ever had in Alaska. It was juicy and slightly sweet and the texture! I was starting to understand why people liked this fruit. Even to my untrained palate it was obviously not completely ripe, but on its way.

So today I went through the rest of the bag and discovered the bruised peaches were the sweetest and those not bruised were just a little less sweet. Oh, man, I am in peach heaven. Imagine if I lived in a high peach producing area! I am thinking we might need to take a little road trip in a few weeks. I’ll see what peach stands need my help!

Does anyone know if you can have too many peaches? You know, like you can have too many pineapples?

Cable, cable, cable...

We had satellite for nine and a half years and we rarely had problems with reception and when we did it was always related to the weather. In the condo it was wind and heavy rain. At the house it was heavy snowfalls.

We have had cable for two and a half months. We have had approximately the same number of problems during that time as we had for the entire nine and a half years we had satellite.

In Juneau, choosing satellite made economic sense. It looks like it will be for different reasons in the lower 48.

Along the same vein, we chose to not get a dvr with our cable because the price was so much higher. We are now regretting that decision, because I start to watch “my stories” and I do not want to miss the end. And now they really know how to keep you glued, because they start the next show just after the first bit of credits start from the last show. You almost do not have time to grab the remote.

What are my stories you ask? Pretty much anything Law & Order related and a few copycat shows. Which pretty much means there is always something on to watch.

Up-Coming Travel

Derek's new job entails a lot of travel. A LOT! He has already traveled a number of times this spring and the remainder of the summer will not be any different. We had always planned to go with him a few times to take advantage of the road system (LOVE it! :) The foot and unsold house thing has dampened my enthusiasm somewhat. However, he will still travel! I will hopefully be walking by July when he will be going to DC!

I was wondering if anyone would like to join us at one of his destinations. I know we will be traveling in the heat of summer, but it cannot be helped. If there is somewhere else close to these locations you could meet, let me know!

mid-July in Washington, DC
early August in Montgomery, AL
mid- to late August in Atlanta, GA

Email me for specific dates (Derek is paranoid about posting them) if you are interested in meeting up with us.

Zucchini

Here is Molly in her lovely new "zuchini."

She really had no concept as to what the big deal was about bikini's. I kept telling her I wanted to see her cute belly sticking out of her bikini.

Derek thought it was funny that she already knew how to sashay her butt around. But really, it is the here's-my-belly-"bizuchini"-dance.

The 4 year-old mind

I love this stop motion video. It is a basically a sales video, but it is not a slick production.

I thought Molly would like it as well. Mid-way through the video I realized, nope, no go. She asked at every new scene what is it? What's that? What's happening? What's going on?

We turned it off.

Boring and Bored

We still have not sold our Juneau home.

My mom arrived and did most of the cooking and left.

My in-laws are here.

I had a purple cast for 5 weeks. Now I have a removable walking boot. I have to wait at least another 5 weeks, maybe longer, before I can walk.

H2O

In my experience, when you need hot water, you run the tap until the cold water runs out and the hot water reaches your faucet. Now that it is starting to get warm in Florida, I have noticed the water in the pipes is warm for a while before I get cold water. This is the first time I have had to wait for cold water.

Capital Regional Medical Center

Valet service at a hospital? For a moment I thought I was in California. Then we walked into the rotunda entryway, complete with green stonework and wood paneling. It must be California.

This surgery was different than any I have experienced before. The pre-op procedure was the most thorough collection of my medical history I have ever experienced. Everything was discussed from my adenoids being removed to ulna nerve problems and my oxycodone intolerance. The next day the anesthesiologist asked me a few questions and we found one that pre-op missed, my past hiatal hernia issues. Apparently hiatal hernia's can be a problem with general anesthesia. So, I took some disgusting liquid to get rid of any remaining acid in my stomach (which, btw, was described as tasting like SweetTarts, yeah right SweetTarts!) and a Pepcid to prevent future acid.

The orthopedic surgeon performing the ORIF told me a few choices I had regarding anesthesia, which were then contradicted by the anesthesiologist. I was dismayed at the complete lack of communication between the doctors. In Juneau, I have heard anesthesiologists and doctors have a professional disagreement about my care, but at least they were talking.

The hospitals chaplain joined Derek and I for a moment before I was taken away. He kindly talked to us about where we might be religiously in our future (turns out 25 years ago he was throwing up and in a fetal position on the floor asking for gods help, not exactly the same position we were in) and then said a prayer for my surgery. Hmm, I can hear my father groaning now.

I went in at 9:30 am and they were telling me the time again at 2 pm, so the surgery was around four hours long. My doctor told Derek he was able to use less screws, etc then he expected because once he moved one of my metatarsals the rest moved back into place, he left one permanent screw to fuse a section of mangled bones together, three larger temporary screws, and I have one spot where the cartilage was badly damaged (which might give me arthritis trouble later in life.) Some good news, some bad, but at least this surgery is behind me.

Recuperating over the last few days has been boring, tiring, painful, and drugged all at the same time. This is the first time I have actually felt pain reliever work. I have always skipped pain meds after surgery because it didn't change anything. This time I am all about the pain med schedule.

Now I am on the long road to recovery. I really appreciate all of the good wishes everyone is sending my way. It really helps!

Spencer

Spencer, Spencer, Spencer...

What can I say about Spencer? He is handling the transition, at times very well and other times not so much. Tonight, at bedtime, he just decided he was done with me. He crawled off the bed and ran to Derek. Next thing I know, he's screaming for "Mama" in his room. Derek spent an hour in Spencer's room with him screaming. Spencer then ran to me and, after laying with me for a bit, started screaming "Daddy!"

Still Sunny

I still remember moving to Alaska in the middle of summer. I could read all night long without a lamp! Wonderful! While in Fairbanks, it was lovely. The sun would never come up or it was up all the time. I loved it. Of course, I was in college so my schedule was pretty flexible. In Juneau we never saw it because it was overcast most of the time. When the sun was out everyone kind of goes fever pitch crazy, trying to be out in it as much as possible. Derek once commented three weeks into a sunny spell that he could not wait for it to rain again so he did not have to feel obligated to go outside all the time.

Since our arrival, we have heard constantly that this is the best time of the year; this is the prettiest time of the year, etc. Derek and I see the trees don’t have any leaves and a few azalea’s and cherry tree’s blooming, but not enough to knock your socks off. Finally someone explained that Tallahassans (Tallahasseeans?) hate the sun. It gets so hot in the summer that the cooler period is much looked forward to and appreciated.

Since our arrival the trees have started to leaf and wisteria is blooming. Together they make a very pretty package. Our apartment is in the middle of a nature walk that looks like it would be quite nice to walk or ride a bike through. I think by the time I am able to walk, it will be very hot, but I hear mornings are a great time to get outside (or the only time.) When I am able, I will let you know.

Miscellaneous Daily (shall I bullet them?)

Happy Birthday Matt!

We signed a lease yesterday. Offer on the house, come on down! Tonight is our first night at the new apartment. It was a late night for the kids, but overall, I think it is already much better than the hotel. I will try to post pictures in future posts.

Found on my new bed tray:

Warning:
Do not drop. The construction of this product is not intended to withstand impact on hard surfaces.

I see duct tape in this tray’s future. For those who know my lovely quirky father, the tray is equivalent to his cutting board. Except I am not worried about overheating, I just need a surface to place a computer while in this situation. Now all I need is a butler to serve me tea and biscuits.

I managed to rearrange most of the furniture in the apartment, but I tried to start a load of laundry and just about killed myself. I can shove and pull, but not carry.

I am currently without an internet connection and am writing this in Word. It’s harder to be without internet than it is to be without phone or tv. I was able to briefly check email on an unsecured network, but it was very fleeting. My favorite activity is finding services in town and without Google I am thwarted. I am sure there is a phone book somewhere in the apartment, but it is just not the same.

We have hired a nanny until my mom’s arrival. I am always around because I have nowhere else to go and Spencer wants me when something bothers him, she is expensive and was late the first day, so at times it is awkward. But she is very nice and puts up with our situation, so overall I am happy with how things are going.

Derek and I were in the car today without children for the first time in over a month. Crazy! Then I went to the store by myself too! Usually Derek is with the kids and I feel like I have to hurry when I go to the store by myself; this time I was able to go all over the store to find what I wanted. (Actually, this was a necessity. I still cannot find my way around some of the stores down here.) It was kind of fun tooling around in the handicap cart.

Renting in Tally

It looks like we are going to sign a lease tomorrow. Since we only have one car, were trying to get a place within walking distance for Derek. But now, unfortunately, that concern isn't as high on our priority list anymore. We found a place where the wheelchair will fit through most doors, it has a nice grassy area out the back porch, pools, fitness center, business center, billiards, etc, etc. I am now worried we will find it so comfortable that we will not want to move out when the time comes.

So, now it is time for the really great offer on our house to come in. Every time we make an inch in commitment down here we get an inch of commitment from someone on our Juneau home. We will have to take the full plunge down here on an apartment before we get an offer on our house up there, I am convinced of that.

Surgery

I guess I was in denial about surgery.

I got a call informing me of my surgery schedule and a few moments after hanging up I had a minor panic attack. Unfortunately, I keep having them. I have had surgery before without worry, so why am I panicking now? Our lives are in such upheaval, I wonder if I am just reacting to an additional unknown outcome.

I really want to put this all in the past and move on, so I am trying to face everything head on and deal with it as soon as possible. Who knows if it's working; I'll find out when I realize I am in denial again.

Welcome to Tallahassee Driving

On Tuesday, I was driving south, on the inside lane, to Costco and a man came out of a side road and crossed traffic to turn north. Only he stopped in the middle of the southbound lanes. It took me a bit to realize he was not going to get out of the way. I slammed on the breaks and thought to myself "Huh, we are not going to miss."

And we didn't miss. I hit his driver's side, front quarter panel (of course, that is just the impact sight on his car, there was a lot more damage than the quarter panel.) I remember a weird sensation in my face and a lot of foot pain. I couldn't get the car to stop after we hit, so I put it in park and got out to get Spencer. As I was going around the back of the car, a man ran over to us and asked if I was ok. All I could say was "My baby." He responded with a bit of panic,"You had a baby in the car? Oh, good he was in a car seat." For some reason the first thought I had was, really he's not a baby, he's a toddler. In that moment, who really cares?

Spencer was crying up until I started to get him out of the car, then he quieted down. While we were sitting in the median waiting for help, he kept saying, "Mama!" and pointing to the cars going by. He has been doing that for a few weeks when he sees cars drive by and they are very exciting to him. Basically, this was just another exciting place to look at cars driving.

Spencer and I took the ambulance to the hospital, where they checked us both out. Spencer took everything with a grain of salt, but a little before the doctor came in he became a squirmer. The doctor said he obviously was doing fine. They x-rayed my foot and decided I also needed a MRI. The doctor told me my foot is bad and I needed to go to an orthopedic surgeon.

At the orthopedic surgeon yesterday I recieved confirmaton that I have a Lisfranc fracture along with some other bones in the same area. From what I can tell, a Lisfranc fracture is a dislocation of the bones as well as all of the bones breaking. So, my 2nd, 3rd, 4th metatarsels are broken and dislocated and some of the bones above the Lisfranc area are also broken.

This means in a couple of weeks, once the swelling has gone down, I will need surgery, complete with screws, pins and maybe plates. Recovery includes physical therapy and is about 4 months.

When I told the ambulance driver what had happened, he said,"Welcome to Tallahassee driving!"

No GPS!?!

This morning it was very foggy. I was surprised because I have only experienced that much fog on the coast or in the middle of a Fairbanks winter. The fog blocked satellite communication with the GPS. I had actually decided to not worry about the GPS because I knew where I was going and basically how to get there. Later I realized it was not working anyway.

Spencer and I ran errands ending up at Costco. He really liked the kitchen supply store btw. It had a plethora of fascinating items. I gave him a tray and some small pitchers and he was happy the entire time I browsed. At 11:15 we left Costco in a big hurry (more like a slight panic), as Molly needs to be picked up at 11:30. I realized I could easily get us back to her school, but I was not at all confident I could do it in a hurry.

I looked down and lo! The GPS was finding satellites (eight to be exact.) Then I realized it was sunny. Am I already accustomed to the constant presence of the sun? I think it's because I still think we are on vacation. We have been on longer vacations, so maybe when we move out of the hotel and can count our time here in months and years, instead of days and weeks. So, what I am saying is maybe when it's no longer vacation, I'll get sick of the sun? Hmm. Well, to be honest, I might. It's still a long way out.

I arrived at Molly's school right at 11:30.

Derek sez: I probably could have used the GPS today. My first attempt at driving back to the office from FDOT central involved a 5-10 minute detour while I discovered that not all Meridian Drives are the same. Some take you about 3 miles out of your way as you're trying to hurry to eat lunch and check your email.

Playtime

GPS fun #1: pick a point in which we have not yet traveled and have it get us in and out while running errands. We are seeing some interesting neighborhoods. GPS fun #2: find parks with playgrounds. The GPS does not list city parks, so we have had to find an outside source for those, but once I enter them in the GPS it’s playtime for the Soden’s! The neighborhoods with parks all seem to have incredibly expensive houses as well. Luckily, we do not have to pay to play in the park.

Molly informed me last Monday that Lafayette Park only has swings and slides, nothing interesting to play with. We need to go back to Myers Park, because it has different, interesting things to play with. Lafayette has a fairly extensive play structure, but Myers has an excavator and some bouncing thing and a less extensive play structure. Winthrop Park used to be the favorite because it has a huge play structure and a bunch of extras, but it doesn’t have an excavator! I can’t wait until I accidentally assume she wants to go to Myers Park and have a tantrum to deal with once we arrive because Myers isn’t as good as ______ Park.

Library Catch 22

Our plan was to get down here and, in the first week, get our drivers licenses and library cards. Before we moved we checked the DMV page to determine requirements for changing our license. We just needed an unexpired license from another state and the vision test. Great! To get our library card we needed our Florida license. OK! We were going to be able to get those two tasks knocked out on the same day!

So, on said day, Derek walks into the DMV to get his license and they tell him he needs two forms of id and his birth certificate and social security card (or some combination). Turns out we left all of that paperwork in our files in Juneau. Which means that they were packed by the movers and are on their slow way down here. In fact we were not going to access any of our stuff the movers packed until we moved into our new home (which might be six months away!) So, the drivers license might have to wait a bit. BTW, it turns out they changed the requirements in the three weeks between our checking and our walking into the DMV. Another side note, everyone down here has been incredibly nice and polite and as helpful as possible. The DMV lady was the first person who was not.

Now the library card. Luckily you can also get one with proof of residency like a lease (maybe a title transfer?) Since we haven't sold our house yet, we are putting off making new living quarter decisions. However, life in a small hotel room is getting old. The kids immediately start hurting each other or the cats when in the room for any length of time and we are not getting cleaning service because they are afraid of letting the cats out. (I respect this actually. Albert has already gotten out a few times.) So, a lease and a library card may be in our near future!

Do you know how dreary life can be without a library card?

Lost Shopping

Lost, Lost, LOST! Today I took a detour in the downtown area. And holy cow! That place is a spider web. It’s not really that confusing, nor are you really that lost, but I was trying to follow the gps at the same time. (Side note: Derek’s old co-workers generously gifted him a gps.) It has been incredibly handy. Up until Tallahassee we were using it in already familiar territory in California. There we used it as a test. It told us some funky stuff, but we took it with a grain of salt and went with what we knew rather than blindly following it. I have done quite a bit of research on Tallahassee, so I knew the lay of the roads pretty well. I still maintain this is true to a certain extent. The problem has been the downtown area. None of the maps I have looked at have been all that specific on downtown routes, so seeing the organic and crazy nature of the roads is not that surprising. It has been difficult understanding what the gps wants me to do. I just don’t have the downtown knack yet. I worry I will use the gps so much that I will miss the clues for the different roads. But then again, I know I am over worrying this point.

What has been fun is learning what to ignore from the gps. To go to Target (those four simple lovely words!) it wants you to turn around in some neighborhood and back track a bit, etc. And right in front of us is the road that leads down to Target.

Can I now mention the lovely shopping here? Let’s see, we have only been to Costco (yes, it’s bigger, but it’s not hard for any Costco store to be bigger than Juneau’s), Target and New Leaf Co-op (which is equivalent to Rainbow or a smaller and local version of Whole Foods.) I have to say, prices are the same as Juneau’s prices. Which is terribly disappointing. There are a few items whose prices are higher (yes, higher!) or lower, but generally they are around the same price.

Oh, I forgot Wal-Mart. It is surprisingly hard to find a clothes drying rack in town. I had to go to Wal-Mart.

Saying Goodbye

Leaving Juneau was surreal. Living here (oops, I mean there) 10 and a half years, wondering if I would ever be able to leave. Knowing it was all about Derek’s work, would he ever want to leave this job? I think he might have been happy to work there a bit longer if I didn’t want to leave, but this opportunity fell in his lap. Admittedly, he had to work hard to actually get the position, but thanks to Elmer and Drew looking out for Derek, he might never have applied for this position.

The day left we had a great morning of saying goodbye to Juneau. We accidentally checked out a book from the library called “Goodbye House.” Molly took it very literally, if not seriously. We had to say goodbye to the rooms, ceilings, walls, backyard, and everything else. On our way to the house (we went via Mendenhall Loop) we said goodbye to our memories on that road and on the way back we went via Riverside and said goodbye to everything there as well. It’s funny, sitting here now I think of all the memories I forgot. (Molly’s first movie theatre experience, glacier walks, the pictures I always wanted to take, but didn’t)

By the time we got back to the hotel to check out, Molly was done with this game (and both kids were tired) and it was a struggle to get to the airport. It was a mixed blessing to get on the airplane. We all were exhausted and cranky and I was a bit sad. I think I was the only one awake to look out the window and say a final goodbye to the snow-covered town.