9/24 avoid the morning

Last night we stayed in.  The fog came rolling in early and it was WET, cold, and very overcast...moreso than it has been since Ive been here.  We walked down to the Fillmore whole food and got makings for a salad, and got creative.

This morning the weather remained the same.  Overcast, wet and cold, and it remained that way the entire day.  The sun tried to peek out late in the afternoon, but the fog was already on its way back in so it won in the end.

Richards personality on the morning visit matched the weather.  He was surly ...wanting to sleep, feigning sleep, and we didn't feel like forcing him to get up and visit so we told him we'd be back later, but still left feeling defeated...and trying not to take it personally.  On his end I understand - tired, constantly bombarded without privacy, but on our end...the only reason we are in this city is for him...and Carolyn is only here for a few days.  On our way back to the car we saw and heard a family of falcons exercising in the air above us.

The night before we got on a cleaning spree, and we continued that with a visit to Bed Bath & Beyond for a collage picture frame to put some of his new picture pile up for him, and some other cleaning supplies, but before that......

We left the center and went to Market to try to find a department store.  Carolyn's birthday gift to me was to help me find a signature scent for my perfume, so we headed to Nordstroms for a smell-a-thon.  We had lunch at the cafe there on the top floor which was wonderful.... We shared a dungeoness crab brioche that came with really yummy fries and a kalamata olive aioli, a side of asparagus which were HUGE, and for dessert we had a trio of coconut macadamia gelato, blackberry cabernet sorbet and mango sorbet.  The views were incredible up there, and we got there in perfect timing with people waiting for a table just a few minutes after we arrived.  She brought me a book called PERFUMES, An A-Z Guide which gives a detailed overview of fragrance molecules, and then delves into thousands of different fragrances describing each.  Falling back on my absolute scientific methodology applied to all things in my life which require an actual decision, I quickly got overwhelmed not even knowing where to start.  I decided to just smell each one, get samples of the ones I liked then look them up to find the common bonds to help narrow my search.

When we get back down to the cosmetics floor Carolyn spots a rear wall that is dedicated to fragrance, and let me tell you this was like visiting a gourmet perfumery with wait staff with white clothes draped over their arms ready to serve you champagne.  At each display they have a big bowl of small empty atmomizers that you can fill to take a sample, and little shot glasses of coffee beans to smell to reset your nose in between.....REALLY?!!  Trust me when I say I smelled 90% of what was there.  I ended up going home with 8-9 samples, and had 4 on my body, one on each wrist and one on each crook of my arm, plus whatever was on my fingers from making my own samples...most of my samples were made for me by the staff.  I was a walking french whore.

Im pretty sure one of them turned into Cynthia - Chanel Chance Eau de Fraiche....correct, Cynthia?  I also found an exact replica of a perfume I wore for a few years purchased on one of my trips to London which is like a vanilla cigar this one was called Butterfly.  What Im REALLY looking for is a rendition of the Yankee Candle Sage and Citrus, and I smelled it once on a Japanese woman in Houston but I cannot for the life of me remember the name of it - only that it was Parisian, and possibly not available in department stores.  It was ethereal.  My nose can make me VERY happy...but its also very sensitive...having all the samples is a fun way to try something for a while before committing - STRAIGHT up my alley.

By 2pm Carolyn was waiving the white flag, so we headed to Bed Bath & Beyond and made it quick then home.  We washed, wiped, fixed shades, dusted, organized, arranged, piled, trashed.  Its not that his place is filthy, it just needed some deep cleaning of things that hadn't been done in a while. While we are winding down with that, Carolyn is feeling my pain trying to pick a dinner spot, preferably near Richard.  She settles on a Thai place which has a lychee martini.  If it was possible for me to drink this as my only sustenance I think I just might.

He is sleeping when we arrive..what else is new.  He is surly again, but I give it back to him and he immediately wakes up.  he is alive and well.  Mentally with it, and sharing humor and smiles.  His dinner came and he ate every single thing on the plate, and drank most of what what given..sans for the mighty shake.  Now that I have my glasses I can read the label - Skim milk, maltodextrin, corn oil, soy protein first 4 ingredients.  We left it.  He talked about playing a game with the nurses not giving too much information so that they didn't write down negative things on his chart like non responsive when he doesn't want to take a shower.  I tried to encourage him to flip that to his advantage and communicate honestly so that they could model their care better to his needs since he is paying for it and all.  We stayed for a little over an hour, then walked down to our dinner reservations.  red pumpkin curry was incredible, as was the drink...and an affordable meal.  I might return there as well.

He dropped his norelco / phillips electric razor and lost a piece that holds the head down, so while we had purchased a new blade assembly for it, we could not get it to latch closed, so we had to swap out for his Braun which he cannot charge on his own there.

We left him with that and his hand held mirror so he could get his shaving done.

SNL season opener is with my heart throb Alex Baldwin, and Carolyn has an early 9am flight out.  We made it through the first skits.  Folsom street faire is this weekend and there are RAGING parties all around.  Roaringly loud so we both slept with the TV on to drown out the noise.  While waiting for SNL to start I cruised the photo album of the Faire to get a taste of what was going on down there.... that thing is WILD!


Sunday (today)  brings the blind masseur back at 2pm.  I will make that my only visit.  He is reporting less back pain, and good physical therapy sessions.  While cleaning we found a leg weight which we brought up to him so he could hold it and do arm exercises to help his strength and muscle mass.

He is still on the IV.