Island Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a bit muddled this year, since we have been dealing with Sweetie's surgery recovery and Thing 1's broken finger.

Oh, right. I haven't told you about Thing 1's broken finger. So THE DAY we get back to the island after Sweetie's surgery, Thing 1 wanted to show me the tricks he's been doing on his scooter - wheelies and hops. He was doing that for a while and then went down around the lower set of houses, and reappeared sans scooter and crying. "I fell down" he said. "Are you hurt?" I replied. He showed me his hand, and his pinky looked a little funny, so we took him over to Baywatch. They poked and prodded and said they didn't think it was broken, but agreed it looked funny, so they taped it to his ring finger and told us to take him to Avalon the next day.


So after school the next day, we drove into town (not downtown or over town) and went to the clinic. The doctor poked and prodded and ordered an X-ray. Thing 1 was very good for the X-ray (he did ask why he had to wear the lead apron in his lap...). When the pictures came back, it did, indeed, show a break and in a bit of an unusual position. The doctor said he'd never seen a break there before. Look at the base of the pinky in the attached image. You should be able to see most of the shaft of the bone detached from a disk of bone just above the joint. We were referred to an orthopedic surgeon. "Oh great," I thought to myself, "more surgery."

The next Monday, Thing1 and I did a commando trip over town, driving over to Avalon to catch an 8am boat, taking a taxi up to see Dr. Hand. He was a nice guy, and had a cool device that was not radioactive, but allowed you to see an x-ray-like image in real time. He said he sees breaks like this all the time, and that it should heal up fine if it's splinted in the proper way. Thing 1 then got a cool, high-tech moldable plastic cast. They heat up the material, bend it into shape, then blast it with coolant (like the "magic spray" they use on soccer players) to harden it.

After a quick lunch we realized we would miss the 2pm ferry, so we killed time by going to the Scout store and Your Favorite Bookstore. A 5:45 ferry got us back to the island close to 7pm. Then we had dinner in Avalon and were back home by 9pm. (Exhausted.)

Hrm. We still haven't gotten to Thanksgiving yet. And there's one more trip to the mainland to relate. We had on the schedule already Sweetie's surgical follow-up, and now we also had Thing 1's follow-up. Then to add to holiday stress, Sweetie started experiencing some complications to her recovery. This led to a Saturday afternoon trip to Avalon for evaluation at the clinic. In the end, the doctors decided it wasn't an emergency, so the entire family ended up going over town the Monday before Thanksgiving with hopes that we would be back on the island before the big day. Thing 1's appointment was Tuesday afternoon and took all of 15 minutes for an x-ray (or whatever that thing was called), and everything was fine and we still didn't need surgery (whew!). That evening I took the boys to see Bolt, which was better than I expected, although not memorable.

Wednesday was Sweetie's appointment. We ended up spending ALL DAY (9:30 to 3:30) at the Norris Cancer Center, which, I might add, is a weird place to hang out because nearly everyone there either has cancer or is there in support of someone who has cancer. We felt like the healthy family. So Sweetie needed to see her doctor, get a CAT scan, and get juiced up with a liter of fluids, and like I said, it took all day. The Things were great. They had made up a trading game with a standard deck of cards, that made no sense to me, but it kept them busy a long time. We also found a MCD Playplace nearby, which allowed us to a) eat, and b) burn off some energy.

It was late enough in the day that we had missed the boat to Two Harbors, so we made reservations for the special Thanksgiving day ferry (thank you Catalina Express!). Sweetie was exhausted for the trip back. We had made reservations at the restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner, so getting home late like that was not a concern. We dressed up nicely for dinner (gracious living) and went down to the Harbor Reef. They serve a real whole turkey dinner there, and you get to take home your leftovers. Sweetie couldn't stay very long, but did have some turkey and stuffing with her family before I drove her home. The boys and I ate some more and had a nice chat with the waitress before heading back with turkey carcass in tow.

I have to say, I'm very thankful that we're on the far side of this Life Experience. And I'm thankful that everyone is mending well now. Here's to a return to normalcy.

In other news, USC's new boat that they were going to station out here for us to use has sunk. The waterfront manager left it tied to the dock during rough seas, and it broke loose and washed up on the rocky shore. They hauled the engines and fuel tank out of it, filled the hull with foam (so it would float) and towed it over to Avalon for scrapping. It was a nice boat, and our other one is still broken. (I meant to post about this, but forgot. We were crossing the channel one day, and the propeller broke off the drive shaft - seven miles out, and in the middle of the shipping lanes. Fun. We did have a banjo aboard, though, for entertainment.)

Okay. More trips to the mainland to come. Christmas is coming...

Halloween

Although Sweetie and I were over town for the Big Day, Mom and Sis stepped up and made the the day fun and candy-filled.

Surgery

So what happens when you live on an island and you need to handle a Big Event like surgery? Well, we faced just that issue. Sweetie has suffered from a nasty condition for a number of years now, and we decided it was time to have a surgical procedure that would solve the problem (although the solution has its challenges as well).

The procedure could not take place on the island, of course, so we were expecting to be off-island for at least a week, which meant we needed long-term care for the boys. We asked Sweetie's mom and sister if they could come out, and they very generously gave us three weeks of their time. (It was a life-saver; a million thanks.) Let the logistics ensue...

First, I would have to leave Monday to pick up Mom and Sis at the airport and drop them off at the ferry. Sweetie stayed on the island to greet them and give them 'orientation' on how to care for Things. She left Wednesday. That night, the Wrigley apartment was full, so we had to be in hotel for the surgical prep. This was abdominal surgery, so the prep was like if you were going to have a colonoscopy. It was fine. The hotel was quiet and comfortable. We watched (intermittently) Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull on my laptop.

The next morning, we drove up to the USC University Hospital and checked in. After a while it was up to pre-op. We were nervous, naturally, and actually a little excited about how much better Sweetie would feel when it was all over. Finally the moment arrived, and it was off to the waiting room for me. Five hours later, the surgeon came down to tell me that things went fine.

Surgery is a drastic action, and should always be a last resort for solving medical problems. Too many variables for things to ever go smoothly, or at least as smoothly as you want them to. The first night was rough because they were having trouble managing Sweetie's pain. Then she caught thrush, which made eating (which wasn't easy to start with) harder. There was nausea and depression and all those things that are typical post-op issues that just make it harder than you'd hoped.

Meanwhile I was bouncing back and forth between San Pedro and LA, about an hour's drive each way. It was physically draining, but I figured out the secrets of where to park and when the buses ran from main campus to the Health Sciences Campus, and when you didn't have to feed the meters. I called Mom occasionally to report on Sweetie and find out how the boys were doing. They were behaving pretty well, but obviously there was some stress over us being away. Thing 2 kept asking when we were coming home.

Wednesday, we got our walking papers, and Sweetie survived the hour drive to the apartment, but I wouldn't say she enjoyed it. We were still having trouble finding things that she could eat and that were appetizing to her. There was a home care nurse who stopped by and suggested Ensure. This worked out pretty well. Our next hurdle was a fast pulse. The nurse asked us to watch it and if it went above 120, to go to the emergency room. Guess where we ended up. Thankfully, the ER we went to (in San Pedro) was not busy. We were seen really quickly by a very nice young doctor who told us it was probably dehydration. They pumped 2L of saline into Sweetie, and she said she was feeling much better.

This did delay our return to the island, however until the next Wednesday, two and one-half weeks after I originally left. Sweetie was still quite weak, but we got her on the boat. The ocean behaved for us, too. Getting home was great. Ms. Frizzle (the teacher) let the boys out early to come down and meet the boat. They were so excited. We got some excellent hugs. Mom and Sis stayed until Sunday, which was a great transition for us. As soon as they left we were showered with food and offers of help from various people in the community.

So now we're three weeks from the operation. Recovery continues to be slow and complicated by other issues. It's not easy, but we'll get through it. I've been coming home at lunch to take Sweetie for a walk on the beach, or help her fix her lunch or whatever. Something to relieve the tedium of healing.

As I said above, surgery is never a good option, but it was the best option. And, God willing, by Christmas Sweetie will be up and around and doing things she hasn't been able to do in a long time.

Thanks for everyone's cards, emails, thoughts and prayers.

Cub Scout Campout

Thing 1 and I went on a Cub Scout weekend campout recently at Camp Emerald Bay. Two other boys and their dads from our Pack also attended. The bulk of the group was from two other Packs from the mainland. We arrived before the other groups (not having to take a ferry), so we sat around and waited for them and Thing 1 got to know the other boys before things began, which was good. Since the Pack is in Avalon, we only go to occasional Den meetings, and monthly Pack meetings don't give much social time to the boys, and the other boys all go to school in Avalon. So Thing1 doesn't really know any of the other Cubs in his Pack. (Well, now he knows two...) Anyhoo, back to the story. The ferries were late, so we didn't have dinner until around 8pm, and then it was straight over to the campfire.

The campfire started badly. There were two fire rings, and staff members came out to light them. They lit the first, and while they were lighting the second, the first went out. So they went back to the first to work on it and the second went out. The MC was going through introductory stuff, and the staff struggled with Fire 1, going to get more kindling, etc. Finally, a leader from the audience jumped up and started working on Fire 2. After some huffing and puffing he got his fire burning while the staff still struggled with Fire 1. Not a good acquital of their Scout training...

Eventually, all fires were burning and the singing and skits commenced. A good time was had by all. At last, to the strains of the Camp Emerald Bay hymn, we silently strolled to our campsite (platform tents with metal bunks) and bundled up for bed. It was cold that night - I think it dipped into the 40s. I was worried Thing1 would be cold in his summer-weight kid's sleeping bag, so I put him in dry socks and a stocking cap and long jammies, and he stayed warm all night.

The next day the fun began. The camp had a number of activities for the boys. Many went fishing off the dock. Some did the geology belt loop, some went snorkeling, some went kayaking and canoeing, not many went swimming. We started off with BB guns and archery (earning two belt loops), and spent much of our time at the ranges. We also went on a hike to Parson's Landing Saturday afternoon. This was poorly done on our part. First of all, the hike was right after lunch, the hottest time of day (and it was hot). Second, there were about 70 people on the hike, so it was kind of crowded. (The other families from our Pack went Sunday morning and were the only people on the hike.) Third, we didn't wear our bathing suits, and Thing 1 really wanted to get in the water. He climbed on rocks instead.

Saturday evening there was a Pirate Festival after dinner. While the staff was setting that up, many kids started a chaotic soccer game, but Thing 1 isn't an organized-sports (or in this case, unorganized-sports) kind of kid, so he was running around with some other kids in the dark, playing some cops-and-robbers type of game called "Ding dong ditchers". I think this mainly consisted of knocking on the doors of the cabins and then running away, but I didn't ask too many questions... The festival was only so much fun, so Thing1 decided he wanted to hang out with his new friend D, instead. They were going over to the s'more fire. I said "Do you want me to come too?" Thing 1 thought about this a moment, and then said "Well, I think there will be enough adults around." Ditched by my own kid!

That night was not as cold. The next morning they had the activities open again. Oddly, there was no church service (although one of the Packs was sponsored by a synegogue, so maybe they decided to avoid awkwardness). We went canoeing around Indian Rock, had lunch and then took off for home. We'd had a good time, but it was time to go home. Thing2 was terribly jealous of our weekend campout, so I'll have to plan some sort of father/son outing for him sometime soon.

You know you're living in southern California when...

This morning I turned on the radio and the first thing I heard was "...the following schools will be closed..." Now on the east coast, this means it snow or ice has caused dangerous driving condtions (or if you're in North Carolina there might be the threat of snow). But in southern California, they close schools because of fire. Wildfire season is upon us again.

The Santa Anna winds have kicked up. This weekend, boats in the cove were rocking and eucalyptus bark (thankfully no limbs) was flying. Sweetie was supposed to take a boat to LA this morning, but because of the wind, the channel was too rough, and her boat was delayed until it was too late for her to make her appointment, so she will try again tomorrow. WMSC has the only dock that is protected from the swell when the winds are from the east, so this morning we had ferries that were supposed to land at Howland's landing, Emerald Bay and Cherry Cove all disembark here. They also all arrived at about the same time, so we had about two hours of various groups meandering up the hill, gathering at the amphitheater and then departing on buses or on foot. Quite a production.

I think the winds are supposed to calm down a bit for the rest of the week. If you'd like to play along at home, you can check out wind vectors for our area, or the sea and swell map.

Figaro

In August, when we were on our way to Illinois, we stopped at the barber to get haircuts for the Things and I. At the time, the lady asked me what guard I wanted on the clippers and I said "four". 

"Four!" she replied, "That's too short. I think you should use a seven." Now having been present at all my previous haircuts, I knew for certain that I usually had a four or a three guard used, but for some reason I relented, thinking that perhaps she had a different clipper set and knew that a four would indeed be too short.

Alas. Turns out I was right, that a seven was too long, and now I am suffering bad hair (let's bold caps that) BAD HAIR because it is too long and it's been too long since I've had a hair cut. I should have an opportunity next week, however, to get to a barber.

Ahh the odd trials of island life.

Buffaloes before breakfast

With the approach of the rainy season, things are getting maximally dry on the island. What this mostly means is that the bison and deer are starting to wander into town again. For instance, this morning...



We have also had to deal with bison taking over the volleyball court at the lab (they like to roll in the sand - it helps get rid of parasites), and causing traffic jams on the road to the lab.

As long as I'm at it, I'll talk about the new school year. Everyone was very excited the night before. The Things tried on all their clothes (after a bit of prodding) to see what fit. We managed to convince Thing2 to wear a button-up shirt for his first day. The next morning, after a good breakfast, we all walked down to the schoolhouse together. Every year they have a little ceremony on the front steps. The kids run the flag up the flag pole and everyone says the Pledge of Allegiance. Then Ms Frizzle took them all inside the schoolhouse and we parents drifted off, kid-free for the first time in several months.

Thing 2's first day went very well. He is working on his reading and writing. I think it will be good for him socially, too, to be in school. The older kids won't see him as a 'baby' anymore, and will probably be more willing to play with him. Thing 1 is also doing very well. He's always been a good reader, and now his writing skills (and his willingness to write) are improving. He also is getting better at staying on task and finishing assignments, although we still have some work to do there.

A late surprise was the addition of another kindergartner to the school. The daughter of the woman who manages the general store moved to Two Harbors with her daughter, so now Thing2 has a classmate (let's call her Fern). Thing 2 has so far had trouble playing with Fern because, well, she's a girl. We've tried to explain that he needs to play with Fern because there aren't a lot of other options, and it seems to be slowly sinking in. Slowly.

The teacher handles having four different grades (there are no first or fourth graders this year) by having stations. Each grade level goes to a different station for 40 minutes at a time. Ms Frizzle bounces from station to station, explaining, teaching, assisting, and then moves on to the next. The kids get occasional music instruction from a very nice couple who don't live on the island, but try to visit frequently. They sing songs with the kids and teach ukulele. They also get art instruction from the teacher's aide. Last year they made these cool reindeer heads out of palm fronds.

The title of this post, by the way is the title of the Magic Treehouse book on which Thing 1 did his first book report. He had to design a cereal based on the book and make a cereal box with information about the characters, plot, etc. It was also a lesson in how advertisers try to entice you to buy their product. Clever!

Anyhoo, I hope everyone watched the VP debate tonight. I think Biden clearly won on points, but Palin exceeded expectations (by not botching it completely), so both sides could claim victory here. The Presidential debate last week (or whenever it was) I thought was pretty much a tie in terms of performance, but it was Obama there that exceeded expectations. That being said, I don't agree with any of McCain/Palin's policy statements, and I do agree with Obama/Biden's. And another thing I like about the Dem ticket is that they're not afraid to agree with their opponents, or say that they have admirable qualities. Who do you think has a chance of breaking partisan gridlock in Congress: the guy who refuses to admit to any common ground with his opponent or the guy who is happy to point out that there are places where they agree? Vote your conscience, but hey, I'm just saying.

On a final note, I've discovered John Fahey in the last couple days. Wow.