Under the Knife

Brad reported to Nuffield Hospital today at noon. He's scheduled to have keyhole surgery on his right knee today. He'll be put under general anesthesia but it is outpatient surgery. He's been having trouble with his knee for several months now and decided to have it checked out by Harrogate's knee expert, Mr. London. Mr. London, a member of the Yorkshire Knee Clinic, is an orthopedic surgeon but apparently the British do not always the title of Dr. when referring to doctors. They also refer to a nurse as "sister". Anyhow, Mr. London is said to be the local knee expert -- he does the knees for the Cambridge rowing team. What better credentials could one ask for? Mr. London says that Brad has torn the cartilage in his knee. He will perform arthroscopy to take a look at Brad's knee and clean up the torn cartilage.

When Brad checked in at the hospital he was escorted to a very nice private room, nicer than some hotel rooms we've stayed at. I'm told the food is very good at Nuffield, a private hospital in Harrogate. The menu for dinner is brought to the patient inside a leather binder. The patient can choose from a few entrees and can also arrange to have dinner with his or her spouse. Brad is supposed to go home today around 6 p.m. but if he has to stay overnight it shouldn't be so bad.

While in his room he was visited by one member of staff after another. One person checked his blood pressure. Then he was shown some exercises to do after the operation. Another went over post-op procedures. Each person confirmed that it is Brad's RIGHT knee that is to be operated on.

After awhile I had to leave to run some errands. I was instructed to call up at 4 p.m. to see when he can come home. When I called they said he'd be ready to leave at 6 p.m. -- right on schedule! He is home now and moving around a bit gingerly. He has been instructed to take it easy over the weekend and should be able to go back to work on Monday. In about 4-6 weeks he should be back to normal activity.

Third Best Again

Yet again the area we live in has been deemed to be third in a UK statistic: Only two other locations have more microbreweries than North Yorkshire. Read all about it.

Birds, Butterflies and Dragonflies

Today I went on a bird walk in Staveley led by Nigel, our local outdoors expert, and Robert, a dedicated naturalist. After a rather cool and gray weekend, today turned out to be rather hot and sunny. Nice weather for sunbathers but not so for bird watchers. Nigel and Robert stated that this is migrating season and a day like today is perfect for traveling, which is what most of the birds must have been doing as they weren't hanging about in Staveley. Even so, we did tick off quite a few species on our list, including: kestrel, lapwing, little grebe, great crested grebe, grey heron, pochard...and our crowning achievement...a kingfisher! I was amazed at the huge flocks of lapwings that flew overhead. And today was the first time I was able to get a good enough look at the crest of the lapwing. Nigel and Robert also explained that this time of year you will not hear much birdsong. Breeding season is over so the birds don't need to attract mates with their song. The only birdsong you will hear this time of year is that of the robin. We also took time to examine butterflies, dragonflies, frogs, fish, trees and wildflowers.

Back Home

I got back home about an hour and a half ago. Everything went really quite smoothly for my journey home. JL dropped me off at BWI about 12:45 p.m. By 1:15 p.m. I was on the Super Shuttle van headed for Dulles. There were two other passengers in the van. I had mistakenly assumed they were also headed for Dulles but the driver dropped them off at two locations in the DC suburbs. I felt as if we had taken the Vince and Jody retrospective tour as we passed by very close to two places where they used to live. One passenger got off at the Warwick apt. bldg. in Wheaton and the other was dropped off on Georgia Ave. near Connecticut Ave. Despite the detours I arrived at Dulles shortly before 3 p.m. Did not have to wait in line to check in at the BMI desk. Breezed through security, then parked myself at the gate and read my book till boarding time. I got a window seat and (yay!) no one was seated next to me. There was another woman in the aisle seat of my row. The airline gave us a goody package with socks, mini toothbrush and toothpaste, and eyeshades. I'm pretty sure I got a good view of Baltimore as we took off -- I took some photos and hope they are halfway decent. The light over my seat did not work, so I read while we had daylight. After our meal I put on my eyeshades and managed to get in a few zzzzs. We landed right on time. I breezed through passport control. Did not have to wait long at all to pick up my luggage. Brad had arranged for a driver to pick me up at the airport. Then we began the long drive home -- it took a good two and half hours to get to Harrogate. The driver was a nice chap originally from Harrogate. I tried to stay awake as he chatted during the drive home.

It's so good to see Ginger again. He has been purring and cuddled with me briefly while I took a power nap. I am fighting to stay awake now. Turns out I missed out on a freelance assignment while away. Arrrgh.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Today I begin my long journey home. Not looking forward to it. I hope I don't experience the horrible delays that Brad encountered on his trip home. I've just called to confirm the shuttle from BWI to Dulles which I've scheduled to leave at 1 p.m. I've just checked the Dulles airport flight status page and it says the flight will be departing in 7 hours 10 minutes, which would be just about on time. Well, think I will head out and get something to eat then go to JL's. He will be dropping me off at BWI.

Cafe Hon, Revisited

I picked Becky up at 11:30 and drove over to Domenica and Brenda's office to meet everyone there for lunch. Theresa drove all six of us (D, B, Becky, me and Katie) into Hampden where we had lunch at Cafe Hon. What a fun time we had and good food too. The time went by all too quickly and before you know it I was wishing everyone goodbye. I, of course, dropped Becky off at her place and then decided to do some more shopping in Columbia. I got a bit lost this time around but soon sorted things out so that I was back at JoAnn's around 5 p.m.

While staying with JoAnn we've caught a few House episodes on DVD. I also saw a cute Hugh Laurie movie called The Girl from Rio. Tonight we watched the season one finale of House on TV and then hopped on the computer and did some research for her trip to the UK in November.

Little Italy

This morning JoAnn, Domenica and I visited with our relatives in Little Italy. It was quiet there in the morning and I was amazed at how easy it was to find parking. First stop was a visit with Anna, Sergio and Maria. Every time I step through their doorway I feel as if I've gone through a time warp. The place seems to exist perpetually in the 1960s for me. And Maria is always there, beautiful and lovely and kind. It was great catching up with them. Anna served us espresso, homemade ammonia biscotti and fabulous ricotta salada. Sergio showed us some of his latest paintings. All three of us sisters had brought our cameras and took pictures galore.

Next stop was a visit with Santina, Tina and Guido at Caeser's Den. Domenica had brought old family photos that Aunt Sadie had given her and we shared them with the folks at the Den who helped us figure out who some of the people in the photos were.

From Little Italy Domenica headed out to do some shopping, as did JoAnn and I. We went to Columbia Mall where I got the deal of a lifetime: a pair of LL Bean boots for eight bucks! (they were originally $65, 15% off sale plus I had 5 $10-off coupons. Woo hoo!!

Berkeley Springs to Glen Burnie

We spent the morning in Berkeley Springs. The place has certainly changed from the last time I visited, god knows how many years ago. There are several new establishments in town: a wonderful book store/weaver's shop/stationers, great antiques mall and a few cafes and other shops. We browsed the farmer's market, strolled through the Berkeley Springs museum and shopped at the antiques mall and book shop. The museum was interesting though could definitely use some improvements. There are no major explanatory signs or literature about the museum and its collection. The displays were a bit amateurish and haphazard. Even so, I learned a few things: George Washington owned property in Berkeley Springs. B.S. was originally called the town of Bath. There used to be a thriving tomato canning industry and annual tomato festival in Morgan County.

We went back to the cabin for another delicious lunch (grilled chicken, green salad with pistachios, tomatoes and mozzarella), relaxed on the deck for a bit then packed up for the drive home. We got back to Balmer around 6:30 p.m. and I jumped right in the car and drove over to JoAnn's place where I'll be staying till I leave on Wednesday. JoAnn had a nice spread of cold cuts, potato salad and tomatoes and mozzarella (no, I'm not getting tired of them. they are delicious and it's something we can't get at this level of quality in England) waiting for me.

Wild Wonderful West Virginia

We started the day off at one of our favorite breakfast haunts, Cafe Hon, and it was everything we remembered it to be: fun, delicious, friendly, funky. Then back home so we could both pack up: Brad for the trip back to England, me for an overnight visit at the cabin. We left the house around 11 a.m. and said goodbye to Brad who will make his way over to Dulles in a rental car. We had good weather for our drive to West Virginia. Dash and Nemo spent most of the trip hanging their heads out the window enjoying the view. It was great to be at the cabin again; it's such a lovely retreat in a beautiful setting. I saw D&B's remodeled kitchen and was duly impressed. It seems better equipped than their kitchen in B'more. We relaxed out on their deck, reading and birdwatching. We saw some chickadees, nuthatches and a grey thrush (?) and I was thoroughly delighted when a hummingbird whizzed past us. Domenica made us another tasty meal: grilled burgers, creamed corn and more 'maters.

Another Lazy Day. Another Delicious Feast

We had bandied about ideas on what to do today and ended up just hanging out at Domenica and Brenda's most of the day. We went shopping with Domenica at Belvedere Market Square. What a wonderful market! Several gourmet-style vendors all under one roof. The Italian deli was superb and I picked up a nifty cylindrical spaghetti tin. Domenica bought some ingredients for dinner tonight and I purchased a couple of tarts for dessert. In the afternoon, Brad went shopping with Brenda for a hand cart and helped her rearrange some potted plants in their patio area. JoAnn joined us for dinner which was another feast: home made crab cakes, silver queen corn, tomatoes and mozzarella. everything was yummy.

Taking Care of Business

Brad and I both had a busy day. He had work-related appointments while I paid a visit to the eye doctor and the dentist. Brad went out for Indian food at the Ambassador restaurant with Domenica and Brenda. After my dentist appt. in Linthicum (look, ma, no cavities!) I went shopping at Arundel Mills Mall. Then I met Becky and Theresa for dinner at our usual meeting place, el Salto. It was so good to see those two again, catch up with the latest news and share photos. I was nervous about finding my way around but had no problems whatsoever. I tried a new way into town from Ritchie Highway and prefer it to the old 295 route which is hell now anyway with road construction.