Back to Reality

Maggie seems to have forgiven us for leaving her and we are slowly getting back into the swing of life here. Yesterday was a bit of a fog because we were exhausted. We didn't stop once in five days. By the time we arrived home Monday at 2AM Pacific time we had been up for about 20 hours straight. I planned ahead and had a nurse in the morning, but my body clock had me wide awake at 7 anyway.  I did grab a nap before the nurse went home so I think I should be back to "normal" today.

We hit the ground running (or walking) when we arrived in NYC. My friend Grace Young, the cookbook author,  lives in Manhattan and despite our delayed arrival she came right to our hotel on Wednesday night  and acted as tour guide and mentor for us. We walked around Grand Central Station, Times Square and Rockefeller Center and then walked to a new hot spot on the West side where we enjoyed this fantastic view of the city at night.

 Thursday we did all the touristy stuff and loved every minute of it. Of course I did not have the right shoes and have blisters everywhere. That made the walking excruciating, but I bought new shoes and band aids we kept at it. 


I was amazed how very friendly everyone was. Even Ironman was giving directions. (my favorite picture  from our time in NYC) 

 
When we arrived back at the hotel in the evening we found this tray of chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of wine in the room waiting for us. It was from  from Steve's law partner Michon, who is now my bff. Bonus!!

I just enjoyed a glass of wine in the Waldorf Astoria and rested my sore and bandaged feet and thought life is pretty good

Shouldering the Responsibility

It may surprise you to learn that I have developed significant upper body strength. Maggie weighs just under 80 lbs of constantly moving parts and I lift her at least a dozen times a day. When she is in her 105 lb wheelchair with an additional 30 lbs of equipment, I am constantly wrestling it into place, pushing it up hills, ramps etc. It is a constant workout, but the benefit is limited.   I am out of shape, overweight and strong as a horse.

I do not even realize it until I spend time with someone who marvels at my strength. My friend Grace Young, aka my favorite Chinese Cookbook author or the wok evangelist, (check out her books here) did just that the other day.  

Maggie and I accompanied Grace to the huge Alemany Farmers Market on Saturday morning.  Grace always posts the most beautiful pictures of fresh food on her facebook page and I told her next time she came to San Francisco we had to make a trip there. Maggie loves going there too. There is a trendier and fancier farmers market at the Ferry Building, but it cannot compare to this one.  It is a huge farmers market with an unbelievable selection and absolutely no frills.

One “frill” that I would love to see there are curb cuts for the wheelchair. You don’t know how much easier those little ramps make life for wheelchair users and the people who push them.  A low curb is not too difficult. I just use geometry and physics; tilt, push, and the lift is minimal.  When a curb is too high for this it becomes more problematic. The bolt that secures the chair into the van sticks out from the middle of the bottom of the chair. I cannot tilt that chair back far enough to clear bolt on the high curbs. I have to dead lift twice, first the front and then the back. There were several like that at the farmers market. At the worst one, I could not do it by myself. Grace kindly offered to help.

She took the back of the chair as I manually lifted the front. That was perfect There has to be someone back there so that the chair does not tip over backwards.  I secured the front of the chair, raced to the back, and lifted the 200 lbs the necessary 7 or 8 inches. Grace was amazed. Apparently, she had been trying to do just that and could not even budge it.  Grace, though a heavyweight in the world of food and wok cooking, is a 98 lb weakling. (Here she is trying to convert Maggie to the Magic of wok cooking.)

I just laughed and told her this came from years of practice but that at our advanced age (we went to high school together so we are the same age) it comes at a price. My shoulders are shot. In fact, after several months of increasing pain in my right shoulder I was heading to the orthopedist.

In March 2010, I had surgery on my left shoulder for damage directly attributable to all the lifting I do. That is now doing fine, but my RIGHT shoulder has become increasingly uncomfortable over the past several months. I stopped reaching for things with that hand and tried exercises, but I needed something else. I went to the doctor yesterday and confirmed what I already knew; it is the exact problem I had on the left side.  As he gave me cortisone shot in my shoulder (OW!) he told me I could take comfort in knowing my body was symmetrical.

I could not be happier. 

Hot Damn! Visitors!

It is another beautiful day in San Francisco. It is hot for us, 93 yesterday and about the same or hotter today, but it’s nothing compared to what LA is dealing with. (108 yesterday).  Because this weather is so short lived in San Francisco, the city is not at all set up for this.  Except for high rises and shopping malls, nothing is air-conditioned. All around town widows are flung open hoping to catch the smallest whiff of a breeze. People look great and happy in the morning but wilted and wiped out in the afternoon.

Maggie looks wilted all the time. This is too hot for her and we just pour water into her tube to keep her going. I know it will not last long and she will be fine, but she is not comfortable. Having to sit in that chair with the black neoprene seat covering is awful. It is like a sweat machine on a cool day, so you can only imagine how she feels now.   

She has been enjoying the last couple of days, though, because we have had a visitor. Maggie is always thrilled to have another person to entertain.  My friend Grace stayed with us for a few days while she was in town; this is her second visit in a few weeks. Grace and I went to high school together, but she moved to New York City 30 years ago. She is the cookbook author I've written about before.  Last night as I sat in my tank top trying to get the window to open farther, Grace sat in a sweater laughing at us complaining about the heat.  She forgets the very narrow range of acceptable temperatures we have her in SF. Anything below 50 is brutally cold and anything about 80 is incredible hot. I am not sure Maggie and I would make it in New York City.

Grace left this morning, but it will not be long before Maggie has more visitors. I spoke to Eddie yesterday and he is coming home on Saturday because he has a bike race in the Bay Area on Sunday. It is perfect timing because Sunday is Steve’s birthday.  Maggie is excited that her brother is coming home; but that was only the beginning. Eddie said some of the bike team members might stay here too and I said that’s fine. He said they can sleep in tents in the back yard. The antennae went up. What? How many guys are coming? Eddie paused and said,"I’m not sure yet, but there were 17 this weekend. "

Seventeen?

 Seventeen college bike riders staying in this little house? WHAAA? And they are each bringing at least one bicycle? Not sure where it will all fit or how we will figure out the bathroom situation, but what the heck.  Of course, I said yes. It is the last time because Eddie is graduating in December. They will be here all of 12 hours, arriving after the race on Saturday and leaving early Sunday morning. I will put the feedbag on and send them to their race with a hot breakfast. I told Eddie they all have to bring a present for Dad’s birthday.

Maggie will be delighted to have a completely new crew to entertain. Steve and I will greet them like this

On the Edge of her Seat

Maggie is showing her teenage-ness in her own inimitable fashion. I have written before of her ability to unclip the belts holding her shoulder harness and seat belt on. Subsequently she progressed to unhooking the belt that straps her into the bus. It was only a matter of time before she figured out the groin straps. Those are the most important because they really secure her to the wheelchair. But only when they are fastened.

Not any more. Maggie unhooks them with reckless abandon and it's only a matter of time before she falls out of that chair. We are working on remedying the situation, but it is difficult because Maggie has a need/obsession to show us that she has figured it out.  I tried to explain just because you KNOW HOW to do something you don't have to do it all the time. For example, I KNOW HOW to throw you out the window, but I don't DO it. She just smiles and unhooks the buckles.  I guess its not different than another 16 year old acting out; she's living on the edge.

For now I just have to keep the tray on the chair so she can't get to the belts - or at least not easily. . We are also considering lengthening them so she cannot reach of even putting lockable clips on - but we have to balance the need to get her out of the chair quickly.

Generally I'm happy with behavior that is age and emotionally appropriate. This one, not so much. Oh well, other16 year old kids are getting driver's licenses. That's a whole different kind of seat belt issue.

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Today is the launch for the new cookbook Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge by my good friend Grace Young. check out a review  http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/Book_Reviews/international_cooking/Stir_Frying_YOUNG.html

The morning after

Ahhh, Tuesday morning after a long weekend. I can finally relax. Maggie was off to school and I was enjoying a cup of coffee and a telephone chat with my sister. I was looking out the front window as we talked marveling at all the parking places. That never happens except on street cleaning day. OH CRAP. It is the 3rd Tuesday of the month. I hung up on my sister mid sentence and yelled for Steve. Both cars are parked on the street cleaning side and the cop was working his way down the street. I ran around looking for my purse and ran outside assuming I was too late. However, Steve managed to get to the guy before he wrote the ticket for my car. Steve’s car was already nailed. I prefer to think we SAVED $63 because we only got one ticket.

So much for the quiet morning.


It is a fitting end to a wacky weekend. The Olympics, a dinner party, a visiting rugby team, Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year and visiting with friends. It was nonstop.

On Friday night, Maggie suddenly lost a tooth we did not even know was loose. That was freaky, but fine. At least she did not choke on it this time. Saturday was a big dinner party here with my mom, sister, brother, niece and her friend. They came over because Tim and a bunch of his rugby teammates were coming and we decided to make it a party. Just as I was putting the food in the oven, Tim called and said they might have pizza and might miss dinner. Ok, I am pretty flexible, but that was a bit much. Are six large hungry men coming to dinner after their rugby game or not? It makes a huge difference in the amount of food. I opted to cook it all anyway, because I figured they would probably eat whenever they showed up. They arrived just as we were finishing so we all moved into the living room and had a second seating for dinner. Yes, they had pizza and yes, they wanted dinner. The food was consumed. They were effusive in their praise, one saying he had not had a meal that good since Thanksgiving. That is nice, but they live in something akin to a fraternity house, cook for themselves and eat a lot of Top Ramen.

All six stayed here and on Valentine’s morning, I made 18 eggs and three lbs of bacon and a loaf of bread and sent them off to their game against USF. Steve and I spent a romantic Valentine’s afternoon at the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park watching the match. It was very entertaining and Nevada won big. I am still unclear on all the rules of this game, but running into one another at high speeds is a huge part of it.

Monday I met some friends for lunch, which is always fun and watched the Olympics all weekend. I absolutely love the short track skating. It is so exciting. All the speed skating is great as is the skiing. After that luge catastrophe, I could not bring myself to watch that. Unlike most Americans, or at least American women, I do not like all the figure skating. I do like the individual stuff at the end, but the pairs and the Ice dancing just does not do it for me.

My friend Grace called and stopped over for a visit. She lives in New York, but is here visiting her mom for Chinese New Year. She has a new cookbook coming out in May called Stir Frying to the Sky’s Edge (check out pre reviews here (http://books.simonandschuster.com/Stir-Frying-to-Sky's-Edge/Grace-Young/9781416580577) Looks like another winner. I am going to buy a copy for next time the Rugby team comes over.

For now, I think I will just pay the parking ticket and rejoice that there weren’t two.

Gung Hay Fat Choy

Maggie is off school today. It’s Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year to be more inclusive. I don’t know how many other places in the country get a school holiday for this, but it’s a BIG deal in San Francisco. If nothing else, there are practical reasons to close the schools. There are so many Asian kids in the San Francisco schools that would take the day off anyway, it makes sense to make it an actual holiday. Even Irish Americans (that’s us) get the day off if they utilize the public schools. I find it best to celebrate New Year in every culture. There’s always the ability to start the resolutions again.

The Year of the Ox begins and the Year of the Rat ends. Right off the bat, that seems better. I cannot begin to write about the Lunar calendar and what it means, but I have learned this week that people born in the Year of Ox may are honest, hard-working, straightforward people. Examples of these are my sister Joan and Barack Obama. If the year is anything like either of these two people, it will be a good one.

One thing the Chinese New Year means is that my high school friend, and favorite Chinese Cookbook author, Grace, comes to town to visit her parents. Grace lives in New York but makes regular visits to see her parents, and the New Year is always one of those times. For the past several years, our house has been a regular stop for her as well.

We reconnected several years ago when I was charged with tracking down classmates for a high school reunion. Because we went to a small girls school, this was not a particularly onerous task. I think I found all but about five. Further because Grace is a published author*, finding her was a snap. She didn’t make the reunion, but we managed to stay in touch ever since. She loves Maggie and faithfully reads this to keep up on all the news. Maggie just takes it in with a grin.
This time she brought Maggie a gift, a very cool t-shirt pictured here. It simply says New York City with graffitti pain splattered all over it. Maggie is very pleased with it and adopted a rather blasé teenage attitude as soon as we put it on her. I know she’ll be wearing this to school as soon as possible. It has just the right mixture of whimsy and edge that every 8th grader seeks.

Of course, she’ll have to wait until tomorrow, there’s no one there today.

So to all of you: Gung Hay Fat Choy! Wishing you all the strength of the Ox for the year that is just beginning.

·Grace Young’s beautiful books include: The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen and Breath of a Wok and she’s working on a new one.