The last few weeks have been tough winter-wise, below zero temps and lots of snow. The forecast for Friday is cold but sunny so we will be able to get off for our month on Fripp Island, SC.

Max-Henry picture

On September 28 we left on the drive to Big Sky to see Sam and the kids and also to drop down to Colorado to see Tracy and family. While with Sam Julie wanted to get a picture of Max and Henry to use on our Christmas card. One day they were in the pool at the motel where we were staying and when they returned to our room Julie had the sit for a picture. It was not the easiest thing to do.

Good Max but Henry...

Not bad but try to relax, Max. 

We'll try another.

We could use it but one more.

Nope, one more.

Yes, great, we're done!

A sure sign of spring is when the rhododendrons bloom as they have below.

 This was taken on June 3rd.

This was taken today, one week later.

Sunday, May 19, 2014


Toward the end of February I kept my annual appointment with my dermatologist, Dr. Kathryn Zug, mostly because an annual skin checkup is a good idea but also because I like her and she's real cute. I get ushered into her examining room by her nurse assistant who checks my weight and height and asks if there is any hen change in my medicine (no) or my health (no) and instructs me to take off my shirt. Soon a smiling Dr. Zug (I'd like to call her Kathryn) comes in, shakes my hand, “How have you been?” “Anything bothering you (skin-wise)? Fine and no. And proceeds to check me over.


My chest, arms, back, and legs are OK but my head has her a little concerned. That doesn't surprise me because I' not a big user of sunblock despite Julie's constant reminders. She takes a biopsy for later examination in the lab and said she'd call if another appointment were necessary.


She called and another appointment was scheduled before our planned trip to Fripp. She explained that the beginning of melanoma was found she wanted to use a salve rather than cutting to avoid any possible scarring. I was given the prescriptions so I could contact UnitedHealthcare and get the medicine. They covered the inexpensive ($95) one but were slow in approving the other ($260).



When it looked like the insurance company wouldn't come through Kathryn said she would send some samples to me down in Fripp. They arrived on the tenth and Julie started applying them to the spot on my head. I was to use one on Monday through Friday and the other on weekends, one application in the morning for ten weeks.



I was told the ointments would turn my head red but I didn't expect such a reaction when the redness turned into a huge scab. When we returned home on the first of April I was beginning to get a really ugly, black scab that Julie covered with a bandage whenever we went out. I can stop using the ointments on May 20 at the end of ten weeks. I am scheduled to see Kathryn again on the 28^th. It's now the nineteenth and the scab is starting to fall off. It's tough to keep my hands off it.

About the first week in April I noticed that I was itching all over my body. Particularly my arms and back. I'm thinking this is a reaction to the ointments. We'll see what the good doctor has to say.

very late update

I haven't been here for a few years and thought I would try using it again. I'm a little out if practice. Not much has happened since the last entry so no harm done. My routine is pretty much unchanged; I get up, have breakfast, do today's Sudoku puzzle, sometimes read the WSJ, or read my current book, nap (depending on the book), have lunch, do my exercises, nap, greet Julie when she returns from golf, read the mail (mostly throw-out), read my book, have  supper, watch a movie, go to bed, read my book, sleep.

Every winter I look out the window at a table in the back yard to see how much snow has fallen. After worrying about whether we'd get a white Christmas we finally got more than a dusting on January 21.

The picture above shows the table on January 22.

The picture on the right is on February 2.




Three days later the table is almost completely covered.





Finally on February 11 it's out of sight. The snow pile at the end of the driveway is getting bigger, too. I would estimate the snow to be about three feet deep.





Yesterday, February 17 it was a little warmer. In the afternoon it got up to 43 degrees and the melting started. Now I can see my table again. This was taken at 1 o'clock today. When Ichecked the thermometer at 6:45 this morning it was 37 degrees.







This was taken three hours later. I may put out the patio furniture tomorrow.

I read 14 books since August sixth (last book post) but only 4 are worth recommending; The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larssen, South of Broad by Pat Conroy, Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly, and One Shot by Lee Child. I just picked up The Lion by Nelson DeMille which I'm sure will be very entertaining.