hp's blog

Romeo & Juliet

nobody@vox.com(hp) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 09:09:39 -0700

Last night, we went made our annual pilgrimage to Luther Burbank Park for Wooden O's Shakespeare in the Park. This year, the production is Romeo & Juliet, which inspired Drake to pull out (and play) all related musical works that we have in our collection:

The Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy by Tchaikovsky

Romeo and Juliet Ballet by Prokofiev (which we saw this past season at Pacific Northwest Ballet).

West Side Story (a very interesting-sounding bilingual revival planned for February in New York)

Romeo and Juliet Choral Symphony by Berlioz

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It couldn't have been a more perfect evening for a picnic and theater in the park.

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The last scar post, really

nobody@vox.com(hp) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:23:59 -0700

OK, here is the progression. I did this up so that anyone else considering using Restylane to improve a facial scar can see at least my results:

Before & After

[1] The scar at 7 months, pre-Restylane treatment

[2] A couple of hours after the treatment. I was pretty sore that evening and somewhat the next day, but the following day was much better.

[3] 5 days after the Restylane

I am really pleased with the result! And I've definitely decided against the scar revision surgery - I feel like the scar now is barely visible. I'll have to maintain the Restylane every 4-6 months, but from what I understand the maintenance treatment is less involved that the initial treatment. Maybe I won't continue this forever, but I think I'll give it a go for a year and then re-assess.

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Freedom Filin'

nobody@vox.com(hp) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 20:47:57 -0700

Freedom Filer

I got this mostly set up today to replace our existing filing system. It took me longer than expected - putting the labels in the plastic thingies and then in the folders. But I love how the system is setup and organized. Really there wasn't much thinking involved - they've got that worked out and essentially that's what you're paying for. They sell completely assembled systems for folks not wanting to fuss with the folder set-up. I can appreciate the benefit of that!

Anyway, this is one of those projects that when complete is extremely satisfying. And I really wanted to get it done before Drake comes back on Tuesday. So this final big "to do" project is (just about) crossed off the list.

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The deed is done

nobody@vox.com(hp) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:01:44 -0700

I got my scar shot up with Restylane this afternoon and I think I'm going to be really pleased with the outcome. Right now it's red and swollen and I'll probably have some bruising, too. But I see the fill-in effect and the nurse thought I should have a very good result. The injections seemed to go on forever. It hurt more than I thought and I'm more sore now than I thought I would be. The Restylane web site answers the "Does it hurt" question saying "Some people may experience the treatment as a mild discomfort." Hmmm. Maybe it's different treating a scar - as I said it is still tender to the touch in spots, particularly in the area right over my eyebrow. But the treatment did hurt. And it hurts now.

I'm supposed to take it easy tonight - regularly ice my forehead. So I think I'll go to audible and choose a new audio book to listen to.

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OK, Mr. Scar...

nobody@vox.com(hp) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:17:23 -0700

Scar

Here's my scar at the 7 month mark (almost to the day). The plastic surgeon wanted me to wait until this month before considering scar revision surgery. So, here we are.

I've decided to try some Restylane (filler) injections - something the surgeon encouraged me to try before going the surgery route. Hey, I'm all for avoiding surgery, so I made the appointment today to get the injections. I could have done it earlier, but I wanted to see how much the scar would improve on its own before taking any action. Even at 7 months it's considered a "young" scar. I'm going to try to get the injections covered by my insurance, but I've been warned they will likely consider it non-essential (for cosmetic purposes).

I'm a bit uneasy about about the injections. The scar is still tender in spots. But interestingly enough, my hairdresser linked me up with another stylist at the salon who has a facial scar treated with Restylane. This gal was very pleased with the outcome and encouraged me to give it a go. Her scar was more complicated than mine (the result of an accident), so she wound up doing revision surgery + Restylane.

I'll post some follow-up pics a week after I get the treatment, after the swelling will be 100% gone.

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Some belated spring cleaning

nobody@vox.com(hp) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:51:40 -0700

Drake's is out of town - with his folks near Calgary, Alberta - for a family gathering (60th wedding anniversary) on this father's side. We'll be visiting his folks in west-central IL - together - in August, so I sat this extra trip out as I'm pretty thin on vacation time these days.

I've been laying low this weekend, working through some cleaning/organizing projects. My goal is to have everything in tip-top shape by end of day tomorrow. The only project that will be left for the coming week is switching our filing system over to FreedomFiler - I've ordered the supplies, but they haven't arrived yet. And also getting updated full DVD backups of both computers to our safe deposit box. With all the little home organizing projects checked off my list, I'll be able to focus 100% on summer fun!

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Our neighborhood, as usual, was party central for the 4th of July. We've got a great view of the fireworks from our neighborhood, so there is a big influx of people (and alcohol consumption). Drake and I usually stay home and watch the fireworks from our place, so I upheld that tradition. I got out early this morning to run errands, and as I predicted, it was super-quiet everywhere I stopped. So I was able to zip in and zip out quickly.

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Just talked to Drake; the 60th anniversary celebration was today and it sounded lovely. Sheesh, we'll be looking to do that for his folks in the not-too-distant future (2011). For their 50th, we orchestrated a surprise party. It was quite an undertaking to pull that off. Actually, we unveiled the surprise the morning of - wrapping up one of the invitations we sent out as an "anniversary present" for them. We didn't want to give them a heart attack (figuratively or literally) with a complete surprise.

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OK - think I'll get ready for bed and crawl in and read for a while...

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Mood board: dining room

nobody@vox.com(hp) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:12:14 -0700

Just some ideas

Drake's out of town, but before he left, he unveiled the dining room chairs he's been working on. They are, of course, gorgeous. However, they are not 100% done. In fact, the final touch - the cushions - were the big surprise. He is going to cover them in the vegetable-themed needlepoint covers that my mother made years ago (see the circles in the above to get the idea). Each cushion has a different vegetable, which has a shadow-effect so they really look dimensional. My mother had these custom-designed for her and she worked on them for about 10 years off and on. They are incredible.

So, now I'm thinking about a little redecorating in the dining area to play off the cushions. Heehee. It's the law of home decorating isn't it? Change one thing in a room and the dominoes start falling... maybe some new table linens... different wall treatment... some bold, colorful serving bowls...

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Unsettling police action in my work neighborhood

nobody@vox.com(hp) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:49:14 -0700

About 10:30 this morning we heard an unbelievable number of sirens descend on the street that runs north of our office building. It's the type of thing where you know something really awful has happened nearby. Shortly afterwards, there were helicopters. Then, there was the sound of yelling and at least one person in our office heard shots.

Crime scene

What was happening was a stand-off between a bank robber and the police. The "yelling" we heard was actually the police over a loud speaker telling the suspect to get out of the vehicle or he would be shot. The suspect refused to exit the vehicle, and showed his weapon, so the police opened fire. The man is now in critical condition at Harborview. Full story is here.

Several blocks were still sealed off as a crime scene when I left work.

Luckily, nobody else was seriously hurt. There is a daycare center in that block and they shuttled all the kids into an interior room without windows during the incident.

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A little something along side BBQ

nobody@vox.com(hp) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:35:59 -0700

With 4th of July upon us, my latest post at Ward Street Bistro is a corn fritter casserole. Great with BBQ! And super-easy to make.

Easy and delicious...

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The road back...

nobody@vox.com(hp) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:33:31 -0700

I've been inching my way back into triathlon shape. Last year, with my Dad's illness and time in Chicago, I didn't race and training was limited. I was already coming off my torn calf muscle, and struggled with my running. Then in early November, I had my skin cancer surgery, which required me to not stress/pump blood through the incision to help minimize scarring. Then the holidays came along.

I finally started back on a regular training regime immediately post-Christmas. This is one of the few times I "felt my age" (50). It's been a slow road back, focusing a lot on strength training and flexibility.

This stretching routine rocks!

So, now I am feeling like I've got at least some level of base fitness back. But I'm not feeling particularly driven to race for some reason. I've not registered for anything - yet. Maybe I'll gain some racing desire as the summer progresses.

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In other racing news...

Unbelievably, about 400 people (of about 4800 registered) missed the start of this weekend's Seafair Marathon because there weren't enough shuttle buses to get people to the start. Can you imagine the scene that must have been? 400 people missed their race! After all that training! Seattle Times story here.

Some of the 4200 that did make it to the start

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