Venturing Out On My Own

Today was a day of doing laundry, running errands and beginning to pack for our next move. Jim was  tired today. He slept in which he needed. I spent the morning doing laundry and hanging out in the kitchen. I brought my computer in there and had breakfast. As I sat in the kitchen it is quiet. I am alone. I can faintly hear the noise from the street below as cars and buses travel back and forth. Looking out the window I can see the city people in their black coats scurrying along to work. Everyone is in a hurry. The pigeons perch under the overhang of the building across the street. On the floor most of the residents have likely gone to the hospital or clinics for their appointments. No one comes into the kitchen. Solitude is good.

I stayed in the kitchen all morning with the exception of going back and forth to the laundry room to check the clothes. At noon I contemplated on the prayer that Sandy sent me. The bells from the church tower next door began ringing right at noon. It made me smile. I opened the window a bit so I could hear them better. I love hearing the bells. I was reminded they also ring at 7:00 in the morning. I woke to them ringing today.

Denise called to ask about Skye's diet and what she should buy for her. Skye will be visiting Naples at the end of her trip. She arrives in New York this Friday, then goes to Savannah for a few days. After that she will visit Bryanna in Tampa and Bryanna will drive her to Naples.

Jim finally surfaced after 12:00 and I made him a bowl of oatmeal. I also made a shake using apples, strawberries, banana and beet greens. Rose was in the kitchen by now preparing something for herself. I was getting ready to leave and she came over to give me a bowl of food. Oh no! Not again. I told sweet Rose I was full but I would save it for later. I tried to understand what it was and all I could gather was corn masa with vegetables and little fish, probably sardines.

Again it was a nice gesture. Here is a picture of Rose and the meal she offered me.

By 1:30 I was on the bus to go to the camera shop. My camera stopped working about a week ago and I found a shop in midtown that repairs Nikon cameras. The bus driver was friendly and engaging. A funny guy got on the bus and was conversing with a woman about the good ole days. They were sharing stories and he was telling jokes. It was quite humorous. True New Yorkers.

After I got to my stop I walked to where I though the camera store was. I walked into the building and it was like a flea market with lots of individual booths and everyone in there was a jeweler. It was kind of like a pawn shop with individual counters. Obviously I was in the wrong place. Luckily I had the number in my phone for the shop and the recording mentioned the address. It was 1.1 mile away back towards the Hope Lodge. I needed the exercise so I looked up the best route on my phone and started walking. I ended up going right through Times Square. Creepy Statue of Liberty people walking around.

Finally I found the shop and decided to leave my camera with them. They seemed legitimate. I did have to pay upfront after he told me the shutter wasn't working and needed replacing. Hopefully that is all that is wrong with it. It cost me $212.00 and will be ready Monday or Tuesday. I just want my camera back. 

After the shop I walked another mile to Whole Foods. Finally I got my greens! I ducted into a Verizon store to see if they could look at my phone but it was just a retail store. That will be an errand for another day.

Back at the Lodge Jim was resting so I went down to the 6th floor. Every Wednesday they have tea time from 4-6. A group of ladies bring snacks (mostly sweets) and offer tea and coffee to the residents. They also had homemade split pea soup which I tried and it was good. Jim came down to find me and joined in too. He was in heaven with all the sweets. Even though we had some snacks we still ate chili nachos and salad for dinner.

The rest of the night I started packing. It takes a while to get all my stuff packed. Tomorrow will be a long day at the clinic. PET Scan in the morning and treatment in the afternoon.