Update

Oh, my, where has the time gone???  So much has changed in the last 11 months.  I am now looking for a full time job.  We are in the process of applying for a loan to purchase another old, old house across from Tower Grove Park.  We should know in the next couple weeks.  So, if we get this place, I will never have to worry about what to do with any "extra" money I may run across.  I may need a full time job just to fix this place up.

Happy Friday!!!

Foot Update

I have been out of my "boot" for about 3 weeks now and seem to be getting around OK.  My foot still swells up and so I am icing it a couple times a day.  I am also trying to be diligent about doing my daily exercises.  I am looking forward to my December 9 surgery when the doctor will remove the three screws from my foot.  I am hopeful that that will reduce some of the swelling and allow me to get back some foot flexibility.   (I still can't get my foot in my mouth yet although I am getting pretty close!!)  :-0

Foot Update

What a day.  I called my ortho doctor's office this morning because I found a=
little lump on the outside of my foot about 2 inches above that knobby bone=
.  It hurt whenever I touched it or my other leg touched it.  I thought mayb=
e I caused this when I felt on my foot the Sunday before this last one when I=
feel forward in my wheelchair on my bad foot.  I thought I might have dislo=
dged something or messed up my foot somehow.  But I did not want to call the=
doctor just because of this so I wanted over a week and it was not getting a=
ny better.  At the same time, I noticed one of my sets of stitches was getti=
ng a little red. =20

So, when my doctor's office called back, they wanted to see my right away (m=
ainly due to the redness in my stitches).  They had an appointment this afte=
rnoon (Tuesday) at 2:40 or one on Thursday.  The one for today was around 20=
miles away but I decided I did not want to mess around with a possible infe=
ction.  So, I went to the doctor today.

I actually saw my doctor today and not one of his assistances.  They took an=
other full set of x-rays.  When the doctor came in, he said it looked like I=
had a stitch infection.  I asked him what caused that.  He said it could be=
one of many different things.  I asked so it wasn't bad stitching by the do=
ctor????  He said no, the stitching was amazing.  :-)  After that, he took s=
omething that looked like a qtip and started digging around in my stitches. =
Man, oh, Man.  And then he squeezed it and squeezed it and squeezed it some=
more.  I think the got everything out.  So, it started draining some. =20

The doctor did not seem very compassionate and I mentioned something to him a=
bout that.  He said something about he did not get much sleep last night due=
to our storms and so he was tired and so his bed side manner was not in top=
form.  I told him I had not slept very well for 3-4 weeks.  He was not impr=
essed.  I told him it might be a long week for him since this was only Tuesd=
ay.  (On my way out, I did look for him and tell him I hoped he did get a go=
od night's sleep!!!)

Oh, where was I.  After cleaning out my stitches, he said he was going to pu=
t on a hard, windowed cast.  I was not exactly sure what that was but they e=
nded up putting on a hard cast.  Then, the nurse sawed a hole in the side of=
the cast.  That was pretty exciting.....  She opened it up and said I was t=
o change the medicated patch once a day.  Then, I was to put the little cast=
window back and wrap everything back up.  They also prescribed me some anti=
biotics to take twice a day.

Then, he checked the lump on the side of my foot.  He did say he could feel i=
t and I told him it hurt when he was messing with it.  He was not sure what i=
t was but decided to prescribe an MRI.  He had a little MRI machine that he u=
sed to look at it and take some pictures but don't think he could tell much f=
rom that.  So, I am supposed to get a call within the next 48 hours to get m=
y foot MRI.

The doctor said he would take another look at my foot in a week.  So, I gues=
s I need to make an appointment.  I got out after 4 p.m. and I think they cl=
osed at 4 so no one was around to schedule an appointment so I am going to c=
all tomorrow on that.  Then, after that appointment, my normal appointment i=
s just a week away.  I guess that is one way to make these last two weeks fl=
y by.

So, I didn't think I really had any good news to report but actually there w=
as some.  The doctor had looked at my x-rays and indicated that they were no=
issues with the hardware (screws) that he had put in my foot.  Originally, I=
had thought that maybe the lump on the side of my foot was related to my wh=
eel chair incident (or maybe got aggravated when I feel outside a restaurant=
last week).  So, I guess those two stupid things did not mess anything up.

I am just hoping that I don't break anything else before I get this cast off=
.  It sounds like I am still on the path of now having this hard cast on for=
a little more than two more weeks. Then, get checked on and then I am guess=
ing I will also have some kind of a cast on for another 4 weeks during which=
I hope to be able to put some weight on my foot. =20

I think I am going to be so excited that I think I am going to finalize all m=
y travel plans to see all the folks I have not visited yet.  I am feeling th=
at I am getting to the age when I can't just think I am going to be around t=
he next day... SO, I need to get all my relative visits in as soon as I can a=
s I don't think it is fair to only "bug" some of the family and not the othe=
rs!!!!!

So, be warned.  Well, I guess that is about it for now.  I mentioned to one o=
f the folks there about my not being able to sleep.  She just mentioned agai=
n to take the anti nausea medication they gave me.  So, I guess, I may try t=
hat again.

So, that is the latest on my foot.  I can't wait to get this foot issue behi=
nd me.  I think I am going to need to get a job just to pay all the doctor b=
ills.

I hope you all are doing better than me!  There has got to be a lesson in he=
re somewhere.

Foot Surgery Details

Foot Surgery Details

I injured my foot on July 8th playing tag with some kids at a park when my left sandal when perpendicular to the ground and my foot when the other way.  I went to the Mercy ER and had x-rays. The doctor said I did not have any broken bones and that I should be fine in two weeks.  Well, two weeks turned into three weeks and my foot still had issues.  I was referred to an orthopedic doctor who took some additional x-rays and diagnosed me with a lisfranc injury.  I will be having surgery some time this Tuesday, August 5th. 

I am supposed to get a call on Monday letting me know when my surgery is.  After the surgery, I am not supposed to be putting any weight on my foot for at least six weeks.  I am not really looking forward to spending that much time on one foot but I guess I will see what will happen.  A friend of mine loaned me his crutches and I have been "practicing" with them the last couple days.  I have been very fortunate to get into the doctor so quickly but I still am getting tired of waiting to get this done so I can get on the road to recovery.  Below are some details on the lisfranc injury.


Checked with Jill. Dr. N is very qualified and highly recommended. Got EKG and blood work done today. At DMV for handicap sticker.

Dr. N's office just called and so here are the technical details to go along with my laymen's explanation below. The main problem I have is called splay. This is where the foot bones spread apart when you are walking. There is a lis-frank joint that supports your foot arch. This is what they are planning on fixing. They said you could google lis-frank and get lots of details on that. They explained if I don't have the surgery that I would develop arthritis in the foot which would not be very pleasant. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and thought I would just double check with Jill to verify they were 100% comfortable with Dr. N's recommendation (which I am sure they will be)!!!

It sounds like I will have a soft cast for a short while and then larger get a hard cast. I am sure all of you will give me a HARD time!!!

ok, here are the details, at least how I understand it. My original ER doctor indicated that per the x-rays there were no broken bones. After having the problem with my foot (past 3 weeks), I was referred by Dr. H to Dr. D. His associate took a look at my foot and then ordered some extra x-rays. They to several different angles and also did a couple with me pushing down on my foot.

When Dr. N came in, he mentioned that the "load bearing" x-rays revealed the problem. Again, I think he mentioned there were no broken bones. He said if I looked at my foot, I could see it was not "pointing" in the same direction as my other one. The impression I got was the one of the main tendons or muscles going over the top of my foot may have been torn or detached. He mentioned there may be some bone spurs that need to be taken out. Then, I am guessing the screws would be used to reattach whatever had come detached.

He seemed to know what he was talking about and his waiting room was full. He was a younger guy (maybe a little younger than Dr. H). Anyway, I am comfortable that if Dr. H referred me to him that he should be good.

When he mentioned surgery, I asked about my trip to Portland. He mentioned that with surgery, there is always a risk of blood clots. It would be better to not risk flying that close to the surgery. Plus, I did not really think it would a lot of fun hobbling around on crutches since I will need to do that for 6 weeks.

I think that is the gist of my diagnosis. I did call Dr. N's office to see if someone could call me and make sure I got all of this correct and provide me with any specific details that I might have missed out on.

I hope this helps. If you saw my Facebook post, you have seen the big, black, boot I am wearing. So, it is going to be hard for me to get this foot in my mouth (at least for a while)!!!

P.S. The doctor said I would need to have someone drive me home after my surgery on Tuesday but I asked myself "What would Navin Johnson do?" Well, before I could answer, N called to let me know that M had told him what happened. He said they could drive me to the doctor and back.

Lisfranc injury - http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00162

Lisfranc (Midfoot) Injury-OrthoInfo - AAOS

orthoinfo.aaos.org

Lisfranc (midfoot) injuries result if bones in the midfoot are broken or ligaments that support the midfoot are torn. The severity of the injury can vary from simple to complex,...

What I Did On My Summer Vacation (Cont.)

After Adela finished her nap, Jodi gave her a little snap.  We decided to get out of the house and do some shopping.  Now, here is a funny story.  Jodi asked Adela if she wanted to go to a mall.  Adele said “Amal”.  Amal is a friend of Adela’s.  So, everytime Jodi asked about going to a mall, Adela would say Amal.  Jodi started asking if Adela wanted to go to THE MALL!!!

So, we walked over to the center and picked up the car which Donnie had left there.  We went to the shopping center.  We decided to eat at one of the popular hamburger places.  We each had a cheeseburger and shared a fry.  Jodi tried one of their new deserts – some ice cream concoction with I think some blueberry crisp in it.  We wondered around the mall for about three hours waiting for Donnie to finish up helping his friend move.

We had some pretty exciting times.  We were just a couple minutes from the shopping center when Adela says “Pou Pou” from the back seat!!!!!  I just wish I could have seen Jodi’s face but I was sitting in the back set with Adela.  Need-less-to-say, we made it to the mall in record time.  I was assigned the task of distracting Adela.  Hum…I have had a lot of training in almost 35 years but nothing to equip me for this.  Somehow we made it to the mall, parked in a space barely larger than a sardine can, raced into the mall, and Jodi ran ahead with Adela.  False alarm!!!

In the mall, we were in a store that looked like Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  Adela really loves this place because they have all kinds of expensive kid stuff.  She immediately found a doll which she fell in love with and a baby carriage to stroll her around in.  Adela took her new baby everywhere.  There was an area where there was a refrigerator which had all kinds of stuff in it.  Adela took some of the plastic eggs and stuck them in the tea kettle.  How cute??

Then, we wandered through the bedroom section where Adela tried to tuck her baby into one of the adult size beds.  Adela found a new 4 place tea setting which she really enjoyed sharing with her new baby.  We probably spent 30 minutes in the store and at the end were trying to figure out how we were ever going to get the baby away from Adela which her being really, really, upset.  Just when we were about ready to leave Adela says “Pou Pou” again.  Jodi grabbed the doll, placed in on the nearest shelf and was off with Adela to the nearest restroom.  I was left to put the doll back and follow up with Adela’s stroller.  This was the fastest I had seen Jodi move in a long time.  When Adela and Jodi came out of the bathroom, again, it was another false alarm.  There was a third occasion when this happened but I don’t recall the details.  All this “Pou Pou” stuff seems to be running together.  J  But we did end up with another false alarm.

We did have a really interesting thing happen with Adela.  We still had about 30 minutes or so before we were supposed to me Donnie for supper at PF Chang’s.  We were strolling in front of the supper market area which was really noisy.  Adela turned around and looked at Jodi and pointed to her diaper bag.  Jodi thought Adela wanted something to eat but then Jodi realized her phone was in one of the zipper bags and when she got it out, it was ringing.  Somehow Adela had either heard or felt the phone.  Neither of us had heard it.

Donnie met us shortly and we went to PF Chang’s for supper.  Donnie ordered a lamb dish and since Jodi and I had eaten just a few hours earlier, we decided to share a different lamb dish.  We also had some tea and water.  For our appetizer, we had a large bowl of egg drop soup which the four of us shared.  By the time we were done, everyone was pretty full.  However, on the way in Jodi had seen this delicious chocolate cake that she decided looked like a good desert.  Donnie and I indicated we were not interested in desert.  Jodi kept insisting that “we” should order a desert.  So, while Jodi took Adela off to play, I told her I would order the desert.  When I got the desert menu, there were several chocolate items on it.  The chocolate cake desert that I thought Jodi wanted indicated that it was a desert for four people.  So, I was not sure that is what Jodi wanted.  Donnie got Jodi to come back to our table to verify her order.  Jodi indicated that that was the desert that she had seen but she did not know it was supposed to serve four people.  Well, I ended up ordering the desert.  I was sure that none of it would go to waste (not waist).  When it showed up, it was a pretty good size piece of cake.  It had some sliced strawberries with it which Adela loved along with some strawberry sauce.  It also had one side covered with miniature chocolate chips.  In-between the different layers, there was also layers of chocolate frosting.  Even though Donnie and I were not interested in desert, we were pretty good helpers.  Jodi did manage to save some for a take-out bag to come home with her.

Right before we left, Jodi took Adela to the restroom to make sure we would not have any issues on the way home.  Adela has been doing great with her potty training which just started two days ago.  When we got home, Jodi took Adela to the potty and we finally had some success.  We relaxed some and then it was time for Adela to have a bath and then go to bed.

After Adela went to bed, we exchanged copies of the different photos we had taken.  Since I got here, I took over 500 pictures / videos.  I think Jodi gave me about 1300 photos that she had taken.  After that, we watched a couple of the shows that I had recorded for Jodi.  The Bentleys have hit the hay but since I have not been sleeping very well, I thought I would finish up my blog for the day and post it out online before heading to bed.  It is 73 degrees so I hope I will have a better night’s rest.  I am guessing I will not sleep too much tomorrow night as I have to be at the airport probably around 5 a.m. for my 7:10 a.m. flight out back to St. Louis.  I am sure that will be a short night’s sleep if I get any!  It has been a great trip!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Day One and Two – Thursday, May 22 and Friday, May 23^rd

My flight out of St. Louis to Chicago was scheduled to leave at 4:06 p.m.  I only had a 55 minute layover in Chicago and so I thought my connecting flight might be kind of tight.  At first, I thought I would be flying into one terminal and flying out another.  So, I thought I would have to go through security again.  We checked before my flight and found out that I would be flying into and out of terminal C so I was feeling better that I would be able to make it.  I am going to be copying some of my Facebook posts so I don’t need to retype everything.

Flight from St. Louis to Chicago

On board (not bored) my flight to Chicago.  I have 55 minutes to make my Frankfurt flight!  Fortunately, I do not have to chance terminals; just need to go a few gates away (C7 to C18)!

Here is a funny story for you... Got to United baggage check-in and was adding ID tags to all my bags.  I was waiting for an attendant to show up at a station.  A couple guys asked if I was checking in. I said yes; I was waiting for an attendant.  They said it was self service. Doh!! 

In Chicago

I made it into Chicago but we docked at C1 instead of C8 so I had a few more gates to travel.  I had about 55 minutes to make my Frankfurt flight!  Fortunately, I do not have to chance terminals; just need to go a few gates away!!!!I was thinking C8 would be just another normal gate but boy was I surprised.  I guess I should have known that since this was an international flight that things would be different.  When I got to Gate 8, there was a huge crowd of people.  There were lines of people for Groups of One through Six.  There was a flight board off to the side which I had to wade through the crowds to get through.  I wanted to make sure I was at the right gate since I had less than an hour to make my first transfer.

I was relieved to find I was at the right gate.  So, I waited in Group 4 to get funneled through security.  When I finally got up to the front of the line, I was told I needed to have my passport verified and I needed to go through another line.  I was glad to see that there was nothing noted anyway that you needed to do this.  Typical airport friendliness.  I finally got my passport checked and went back to my Group 4 check-in.  When I got back in line, the line was twice as long as before stretching out into the main airport walkway.  It seems that Groups 3, 4, and 5 were intermingled since where Groups 4 and 5 were supposed to be lined up, they conveniently had located a money exchange desk.  More typical airport lack of planning.

While I was waiting in line (again), I heard someone say that Obama flew into Chicago around 5 p.m. and they had diverted some flights!!! Oh boy!!!  I am just glad that my fight made it in ok.  It looks like my plane is here.  Good news...I heard one flight to Cleveland got cancelled.  With this long line to board, I know there is no way we are going to make at 6:15 p.m. departure.

Flight from Chicago to Frankfurt

On board (not bored) my flight to Chicago.  I am getting ready to take off will need to go onto stealth mode.  I will post more when I can.  We are still waiting to take off.  One of the back doors would not "arm" so they are trying to find a maintenance man to check it out!! Please stand by!!!  I may be staying at my next stop as I only have two hours and 15 minutes lay over.  We are already 42 minutes delayed so my connection maybe tight at Frankfurt, Germany.

They are disarming all the doors and the pilot just announced that we would be allowed to leave the plane.  Oh, wait, the three maintenance men just let the captain know that the door has been fixed and we are getting ready for take-off. We shall see.  We are backing out now. Hopefully, we will take off shortly!!  We are taking off 70 minutes late!!  Make that 80 plus minutes!  Well, we finally got off from Chicago 90 minutes late.  So, this means, I will have 45 minutes at the most to make my next connection.

In Frankfurt

I finally got off the plane at 11:30 a.m. trying to make a noon flight.  I found out my gate number and the guy said I needed to get there ASAP.  So, I started racing off to my gate.  I was not sure how far it was but it seemed like half way across the world to me.  I had two heavy bags with me.  My laptop bag had two computers, two iPads, and all the associated accessories and a few other items.  My other carry-on bag had five pounds of chocolate chips, about 6 pounds of coffee, a pound or so of gummy worms, some books, my shaving kits and a bunch of other stuff.

I raced and raced and raced to the other gate.  I was sweating like a pig and my heart was pounding.  I finally make it to where I thought I gate was to be but it just ended up being the train to my Gate and I just missed the departing train.  The next one was in two minutes!!  Also, about 10 minutes before I had heard an announcement that everyone taking my flight should be on board!  YIKES!!!

My train finally showed up and I got off at terminal B.  Then, I raced, and raced, and raced some more.  I thought I was going to die.  I kept heading towards terminal B.  Terminal B had about 100 different entry points.  I think Gates were divided from 1-21, 22-41, 42-49, 50-60, and then another set of 60 and above.  I raced down the hallway towards the last set of gates.  Now, I ran and ran and ran again.  Finally, I got to the security check point when they needed to rescreen all my bags.

I took out each of my computers and iPad, then my money, shoes, belt, cell phone, wallet, mint container, etc.  I decided to wear my money belt through since I knew it would be too involved to take it off.  My money belt set off the alarm and so the security guy decided to “wand” me all over my body.  He eventually did have me take off my money belt anyway.  Finally, I asked him if he was going to have them hold my flight for me.  He said, OK go ahead.

Once through security, I just threw all my stuff (belt, cell phone, money, watch, etc) into my carry-on bag.  I figured I could get dressed on the plan.  When I finally got to the boarding area, they had to check my passport again.  I finally got my ticket.  When I handed my ticket to the ticket agent, there was a problem with it and so he had to double check it.  By this time, I think it was about two minutes until we were scheduled to leave.  I finally go allowed through ticketing.  Then, I still had to go quite a ways down a couple long halls and some stairs to get to the airplane.  I think I finally got my baggage stored and to my seat about 6 P.M. the time we were supposed to fly out.

Again, I was sweeting worse than ever.  I had my one carry on with me and when I got to my seat (the second to last on the plane), I decided to get dressed.  I put on my belt and my money bag and loaded my pockets again.  I had to keep wiping my forehead and neck to try to mop up some of the sweat.  It had been really crazy but I had made it to my flight.

Interestingly enough, we did not take off for about another 30 minutes.

Flight from to Frankfurt to the Middle East

This leg of my flight was to be only about five hours long.  Once we got going, it was pretty uneventful.  I had supper and watched a couple movies.  We made it in only about 15 minutes late.  I was not very hopeful that my luggage would arrive since I had been 0 for 2 in my last trips.  This time, it did not take too long for them to unload the luggage.  I also was watching as I was making the long trip from where we got off to the baggage claim to make sure I noticed where I had to go to claim my lost luggage.

In the Middle East.

I had filled out my entry card to get into the country.  The line this time was really short.  There was just one lady ahead of me.  I got in without any trouble.  As I walked to the baggage claim area, I noticed the counter where I knew I would be going to find a claim for my bags.  I waited for a few minutes but no bags were to be found.  I was about to head out when I saw some folks who came with me from Chicago who had ALL their bags.  They encouraged me to go back and look again.  I went back and spent another few minutes looking for my bags with no luck.

I went to the baggage claim area where there was only one person ahead of me.  Things worked out pretty well (I guess the third time is the charm) and it did not take me long to get the paperwork I needed.  When I was done, there was a long line behind me.  On my last trip, I think this part took me 90 minutes.  This time, I think I was done in about 15.  So, something is getting better.
\

I put my two carry-on bags on a cart and went out to find the Bentleys.  I was pleasantly surprised to see Jodi and Adela there along with Jodi.  I think Adela was kind of shocked but I think by the time I got out to meet them, she was glad to see me.  So, I finally made a successfully completion of my latest long distance journey.

I was able to sleep from 10 p.m. until 1 a.m.  I laid awake for about 30 minutes listening to the rosters, dogs, bugs, and traffic.  Then, things died down some.  I finally decided to get up and work on my travel log.  While I was working on my travel log, I also copied 12 GB of TV shows and other material to a smart drive to pass along.  I am finishing this up around 3:30 a.m. so I guess I will try to go back to bed.  Today will be another big, exciting day with the Bentley family.  I have not heard anything from Adela so I am hoping she will take a break from her normal schedule and sleep through the night.  J

Saturday, May 24^th

After I went back to bed around 3:30 a.m., I laid awake for a while.  But the next think I remember was waking up and looking at the clock.  I think it said 7 a.m. so I did get some sleep.  I forgot to mention that after we got back from the airport, Donnie had supper cooking in the oven.  He had some chicken, potatoes, and tomatoes in one dish.  It was pretty good.

This morning when I got up, Donnie said that he had gotten texted that my luggage had arrived at the airport.  So, we decided to go get my luggage ASAP before traffic got bad.  We left around 8 a.m. and headed to the airport.  It was interesting in that they had closed the main highway going to the airport so Donnie had to find another way to the airport.  It did not take me too long to get my bags.  I had a little communication problem with the security guy who kept asking me my Father’s name.  He finally asked my Mother’s name and then let me in.  (I think he just gave up.)

When I got to the luggage desk, the luggage area was still locked up.  The guy at the desk said he would call someone and they would be there in 5 minutes.  While I waited, I noticed a big line of luggage by the luggage carousal.  I thought about looking for my luggage there but figured they had placed it in the locked area.  Before I could check, the guy opened the luggage room.  I looked all around the room and could not find my bags.  Later, the guy told me to look at the other luggage outside of the locked room and I found my two duffle bags there.  I loaded them up and we drove back home.

We spent the next hour or so looking through all the stuff I brought.  The big hits with Adela was her new purse which included a cell phone, coin purse, hanky, and sun glasses.  Adela also got a small doll which she really loves.  The big hit was her kitchen broom.  Adela just loved sweeping all the floors.  She made a really excited squealing noise which was pretty funny.  Adela also got a bunch of books she really liked but I think Jodi was more excited.  Jodi and I unpacked, sorted, and then hung up all of Adela’s new clothing.  Adela was really excited about a couple pair of sandals she got and a pair of boots she tried walking around in.

Adela took about a two hour nap before lunch.  We had a quick lunch and then went out for a short walk to a close by “zoo”.  Adela and I went through the zoo while Donnie and Jodi went to the café there.  We walked home and later had pizza for supper.  Jodi, Adela, and I made a quick run to the store while Donnie was working on the pizza.  After Adela was put to bed, we watched a couple episodes of Survivor.  Also, during the last couple days, we had some people drop by to pick up the stuff that I brought over for them.  Now, everyone is in bed and I will head that way after I finish this up.  I was supposed to take a sleeping pill to help me sleep through the night but I forgot to ask Jodi for it before they went to bed.  So, we will see how things go.  Tomorrow, we are supposed to go out site seeing and will probably spend the night out so I am not sure when I will have access to the internet after we leave tomorrow morning.  I may take my computer so we can watch some more shows so if we do that I can see about updating my travel log.  I guess that is about it for tonight.  So, I better head off to bed.  It is after 10:30 p.m. which is pretty late for me.

Sunday, May 25^th

Today, we skipped church and did a trip to Batroun, a small town north of here on the coast.  It is a smaller town, kind of out of the way but it had some really interesting sites.  We stayed in a really great hotel right off of the beach.  They had an indoor and outdoor pool.  We spend most of our time on the beach.  Adela loved that.  The weather was beautiful and so was the scenery. We ended up eating at the hotel restaurant which was a mistake.  I ordered chicken cordon blue.  When it came out, I thought it was a couple fish cakes.  It had a fried outside and a little chicken and cheese on the inside.  We wondered why no one else was eating there but we just thought it was early.  For lunch on the way, we had McDonalds.  On the way out of Beirut, I think we stopped and had some ice cream.

Monday, May 26^th

We were able to stay in the hotel until 1 p.m. so Adela could take her nap.  We did stop by the pool before we left so Adela could get some last pool time.  Jodi was going to go in the water with Adela but the lifeguard said she would need a bathing cap to go in the water.  I checked with the front desk and they wanted $4 to rent a cap so we passed on that idea.

We asked where a good local place was to eat.  We went there but it was pretty hard to find.  It was up the mountain some and off the beaten path.  You had to know where you were going to find it.  We finally found it and there was a very small sign by the restaurant.  We had to park out on the narrow street to get there.  Then, we had to walk through the neighborhood to get there.  We finally found the place.

We ended up ordering the sea bass, French fries, and some other stuff.  The fries were great.  When the sea bass was served, it still had the head, tail, and bones.  I guess that is the way they get the weight up since you pay by the kilogram.  That was an interesting meal.  But, I had some of the best French fries ever.  They also had real catsup.  The hotel restaurant we had eaten in the night before had little catsup packets where the catsup was very runny and tasted pretty bad.  The good part was that there was not enough catsup in the packets for more than two French fries.

We had a scenic ride home.  We stopped and saw some castle ruins and a local winery.  The winery was closed but the guy unlocked it for us and gave us a tour.  After we were done, Donnie bought a bottle of wine.  We watched a couple episodes of Survivor after Adela went to bed.

Tuesday, May 27th

Today, we visited Donnie’s English class with the Syrian kids.  Jodi and I actually helped read a couple books to the kids when we broke up into small groups.  The kids were really excited about school and learning English.  Jodi also took a short video of the class as she is working on a video for Passport for the summer.

We visited some friends of Jodi and Donnie who are planning on moving to the US for a year.  They have four sons and it sounds like they have decided on St. Louis.  So, Jodi and I were answering whatever questions they asked.

We visited another friend of Jodi’s who lives at the center and has two small kids.  We also visited a Muslim lady from Syria who lives a couple blocks away from us.  I got to eat some special Syrian food, then got some fruit and tea and finally some nuts.

For supper, Jodi make pizza.  Donnie bought a piece of furniture from a friend who is trying to relocate to the US.  Donnie brought the base over in his car and I helped him bring it up to the apartment.  They larger, top part is supposed to be delivered by a truck probably tomorrow.

We watched a couple episodes of Survivor after Adela went to bed.

Wednesday 28^th

Today, Donnie and I ended up going and getting some vegetables and fruit at the local market.  We also stopped by and got some nuts.  We had tacos for supper.  The lady friend of Jodi’s from Syria that we visited from yesterday, stopped by today to visit.  A bunch of stuff that people bought was delivered to the center.  Donnie’s furniture top was delivered there.  Not sure how that is going to get over her.  We were over at the center so Jodi could baby sit for a friend who was teaching an Arabic class.  We watched a couple episodes of Amazing Race after Adela went to bed.

Thursday, May 29^th

Today, at 9:30 a.m., we are supposed to be going to a park with the Syrian kid’s class to the park to celebrate their last day of school.  The kids were really excited to go to Yuppi Park.  We took about 13 kids there.  It was kind of expensive but the kids really enjoyed it.  They had a zip line, trampoline, and all kinds of things to climb on.  Jodi and I left about 11:30 to bring Adela back for her nap.  We stopped to get some ice cream on the way home.  Adela got put down now and so I am catching up on my journal and Jodi is working on some Bible stuff.  I think Donnie is going to go to a movie and do some grocery shopping on the way home.

Friday, May 30^th

In the morning, Jodi had her woman’s Bible study at 11:30 a.m. until about 1 p.m.  Jodi baked chocolate chips cookies for her woman’s group.  They were really good.  We got to eat the ones that Jodi left here for us.  While Jodi was gone, Adela took a nap and Donnie and I just relaxed.  I think Adela had about a three hour nap.  Donnie, Adela, and I were just about ready to leave when Jodi came home so she was able to join us for the Silk Museum.

We went to the Silk Museum which was not too far from here.  I learned a lot about silk worms and how silk was made.  The really interesting thing was that the museum that we went to used to be a factory but due to the war and economic conditions was converted into a museum.  So, silk is no longer made anywhere in Lebanon.  Another interesting thing about the silk production process is that to get the silk out of the cocoon that they are boiled in hot water until they soften.  Then, you have to find by hand the beginning of the silk string.  From what the lady said, this is still done by hand today.  In most cases, it takes more than one cocoon to make a one silk string.  Sometimes, 7-10 cocoons are needed to make one string.  The cocoons that are not used to make the silk string are used to start the reproduction cycle all over again.

Speaking of the reproductive cycle, that is very interesting too.  After mating, the male silk worm dies after about two days.  The female silk worm is born blind (which helps the mating process) and her whole responsibility seems to be the laying of her eggs.  After mating, the female lives for around 10 days.  We got to see an old man running a silk lave.  We also got to see some of the many different male and female silk fashion outfits.  Adela got a free chocolate treat from the lady in the store.  Adela seems to get a lot of free stuff where ever we go.

Friday night, the Bentleys hosted an English worship service.  It was supposed to start at 6:30 p.m. and I think most people made it by around 7 p.m.  I counted 23 three at the beginning.  A little while later about another 10 people showed up.  We had a good mix of men, women, kids, and babies.  We had a time of singing songs and then a friend gave his testimony.  In the middle of our singing, we were told that the street out front was closed off.  A few minutes later, we saw a large procession of people stopped out in front of the apartment singing.  They had a small statue of Mary and seemed to be celebrating some holy day.

After Jimmy’s testimony, we had refreshments.  The Bentleys provided nuts, watermelon, popcorn, juices, and water.  Someone also brought brownies which were a big hit.  I think most people left by around 8:30 or so.  We cleaned up and then we watched an episode of the Amazing Race.  Donnie went to bed but Jodi and I watched the final “Amazing Race” show otherwise Jodi would not have been able to sleep.  So, we were able to finish up both the Survivor and Amazing Race shows.

Saturday, May 31th

Today, maybe a long day.  I went to bed last night at around 10:15 p.m.  I could not get to sleep and then around 11:50 p.m., I heard a large explosion and a burst of light.  Someone had set off a huge fireworks display.  It was like something you would hear after a home run at a baseball game.  I thought it would wake Adela for sure.  But, I guess, she did not hear it.  My windows were open while Adela’s were closed and her wooden blinds were down so I am sure that helped.  When I asked Jodi about it in the morning, she said she had not heard anything either.  I think I finally went to sleep about 1:30 a.m. or so.  I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and then laid in bed.  At 6:00 a.m., I closed one of the blinds because the sun was starting to shine in.  I also closed the window.  At about 6:30 a.m., I closed the other set of windows and blinds.  I laid in bed a little while longer and then decided to get up.  Donnie made pancakes for breakfast so we are ready for the day.  Then, Donnie went out and got an internet card with Adela.  Also, this morning, I copied some Arabic BSF files that Jodi had gotten from a lady she knows.  She wanted me to give them to Linda for her new friends.

We are not sure yet what we will be doing today.  We could go visit some friends that live an hour or two away or we might just stay home and relax.  Donnie is going to help a friend move some off his stuff out of his apartment.  They need to be out today.  Jodi, Adela, and I are going to relax at home.