Message 822

Yesterday afternoon I went to San Mateo for Annie's birthday party. It was just family, but Annie's school starts this week, so Vanessa is going to pass out invitations at school for her kid party to be held soon. I finished reading The Economist and started Science.. I also worked some more on my memoirs. In the evening Mimi and I watched a DVD of the Vietnamese movie The Owl and the Sparrow. It was quite a nice feel-good movie that gave a good view of modern-day Vietnam. Lots of people riding motor-scooters. I give it four stars. Mimi wants me to mention that she got my fever too, and now everyone at the nursing home has had it too.

Message 821

Happy Birthday to Annie who today is three years old, and Happy Labor Day to everybody. I finished most of The Economist yesterday but I still have a few pages to go. I have worked some more on my memoirs for the last few days, so it has not been entirely abandoned. Last night I watched the new Inspector Lewis episode on Masterpiece Mystery on PBS. Ginny and Andrine called me yesterday for a nice chat. Andrine and Joe are in Atlanta, and are about to go on a cruise. I think Chris and Linda are on a cruise now. I am glad to be retired from cruising.

Message 820

I am so glad to be feeling normal again. Sickness is a bummer. Last night Mimi and I were picked up by Larry and Judi to join the Ariagnos, including Marci's sister Ellie for dinner and a movie. We ate at a Turkish place around the corner from the theater in Redwood City, and also across the street from the Vietnamese place we ate the previous Saturday. The food was very good. I had the salmon, but the lamb shank looked like it would have been good too. The movie was George Clooney in The American. It was very well made, and the photography was beautiful in Italy and Sweden, and the supporting actresses were all beautiful and looked good nude, but the story was just another James-Bond-type of thriller with lots of double-crossing-agents, so I give it only 3.7 stars.

Message 819

I feel a whole lot better today. Mimi and I just got back from having coffee at Starbucks with Helen and Jim and Joan and Dave. Last night we watched a DVD of the German movie Vitus. It is about a child prodigy struggling to make a life for himself in spite of his handicap of being smarter than all of the adults as well as the children in his world. Among other things he is musically talented, and I especially like movies based on music. It reminds me somewhat of the movie August Rush. I give it four stars.

Message 818

I spent most of the day in bed yesterday, some napping and a lot of TV-watching. I had a can of clam chowder for lunch, but I was not hungry for dinner. In the evening I watched the San Francisco Opera production of Mozart's Don Giovanni. It was a whole new cast from the copy I have, but I thought it was well done. I had a good breakfast of oatmeal this morning. We are having our third hot day in a row, but I think it may cool down by tomorrow. I hope maybe to be able to take a shower this afternoon.

Message 817

I had a fever last night, but I feel a lot better this morning. However, I decided I was a little too shaky to go to Heidi's Pies, so I called Vanessa and asked her to convey to Reggie and Henry that I would see them next week. Yesterday was Beech's first day back at school. He is starting first grade now. I picked him up at 12:45 PM and took him to lunch. There were no spaces in the McDonald's parking lot, so I took him to Taco Bell. We each got a soft beef taco, nachos, and a mango smoothie.

Message 816

I just got back from refilling my prescription for inject able antibiotics from PAMF. When I got home, I realized they had neglected to give me the two syringes. I will just estimate half of the ampoule to mix with the saline solution. Last night Mimi and I watched a DVD of the movie Greenburg. This movie has gotten so much publicity, like an hour on Charlie Rose, that I was disappointed that it was so bad. I was very impressed with the performance of Greta Gerwig, but the plot was too unappealing. I give it 2.5 stars.