Joan on the Road

Back in May when I felt really crappy I started playing FarmTown on the web. I think Brad invited me to play. Since then I've explored and tried many more games on the internet. I've been thinking lately why some games appeal to me and others seem really boring. One of my "neighbors" in game playing recently said she was "flushing" a few mindless games. That got me thinking. Am I wasting time on mindless activity? Probably....so I started evaluating my games.

I still love FarmTown because of the creativity and the realistic look of the graphics. I'm just about ready to sell off a lot of items and completely redesign my farm with some 3-D effects. FT is the only game I've played where you can chat with neighbors who come to visit your farm. Once I had a couple of granddaughters harvesting so I asked them to meet me in the middle of the field for a group hug. Now that may sound silly to you but it cracked us up1

I've tried Mafia Wars, Yoville, and FarmVille amd the Zoo but couldn't really get into them. My current faves, besides FT are Fish World, Island Paradise, Cafe World....all on Facebook. Fish World is just lovely to look at, relaxing to listen to (bubble, bubble) somewhat educational as you learn the fish and plants and it's creative in arranging the tanks.

Island Paradise is clever but I don't think it's going to last on my list. Not too much of a challenge except the excitement of what can be bought when you reach the next level. Cafe World is a challenge right now and I don't know if I can keep doing that. I, the chef, have to keep dishes cooking fast enough to keep the counters full so I have customers and money keeps rolling in. This, so far, can be the most time consuming. I almost have to turn the computer screen off so I forget about it. I realized I was in trouble with this game the other day when I told Jim he'd have to wait 5 minutes to leave for the doctor because I had a dish cooking that had to get on the counter.

I also dabble in a couple of word games, Farkle which is a dice game, and Typing Maniac....got to keep up those keyboard skills. Most of these keep the mind stretching...well except for Farkle which can drive you crazy.if your luck is down.

Could I be doing something more productive? Absolutely! I should be scanning pictures, crocheting gifts, reading, planning healthy menus, exercising, writing, cooking.....ahhhh! When I put it that way, yes, most of the games are mindless. But I won't flush them all. A girl's got to have some fun...right? ...and I've got to go now. Pot Roast is just about done and I've got to move it to the counter. Customers are waiting!

Posted by Joan at 08:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We returned from Illinois on Monday evening after a fun, relaxing and uneventful trip to Illinois. Tom and Renee were wonderful companions. I did not have to do a thing!!! I could have managed the flight and ground transportation on my own...I've done it before, but it was wonderful to have them taking care of me.

We had a lot of laughs over Tom's GPS guide named Susan. I think he has a TomTom GPS. For the most part Susan was correct in her guidance but every now and then we had to rely on Joan, who actually lived in the area. I can see that GPS systems have vastly improved since we first looked at them. It would be really handy to have Susan tell me which lane we should be in on the freeway to exit. There's nothing like finding that you need to be in the left lane to exit when you are driving the 60' MH rig!

I'm sorry that I didn't have enough time to visit with family and friends in the area. Rich, Chris, Georgia, Butch, Maryann, Manooch, my cousins....we'll catch you next year. I did manage a quick morning coffee with a couple of my "goil" griends. Mostly I was there to hang out with Mom and Dad. It had been over a year and I was so happy to find them doing pretty well. We got in lots of hugs and kisses to fill up our bank.

We were lucky to be in Illinois during lovely fall colors so we took a short trip driving backroads to take in the eye candy and smell the burning leaves. Memories of October. Of course, we had to drive far enough to get some genuine Wisconsin frozen custard at Leon's on Milwaukee. We also hit the CJ Banks store in Racing where Renee and I dropped a few bucks and exited as happy shoppers. I also introduced Renee and Tom to Culver's where you can feast on Butterburgers....yes, fried in butter!

I so, so glad I could make this trip. Jim had no problems at home and we had none on the road. I was very impressed traveling on Southwest Airlines. Man, they do move quickly. We also had a couple of days of great fall weather. So Life Is Good!

Posted by Joan at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm off on a five day trip to Illinois, courtesy of and accompanied by Tom and Renee, to see my Mom and Dad. It's been over a year since I've been there...It's time. Jim will stay home trying to stay out of trouble :)

So catch you all next week!

Posted by Joan at 06:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Renee, Tom and Hilly walked a 5K Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure yesterday in Temecula...in my honor and for all the survivors. They brought me a bunch of goodies from the race including a nice pink baseball cap. Here's Renee and Tom with me. Hilly had to go to work.

I guess I don't think of myself as part of the cancer survivor group yet. It was something I had, did what needed to be done and it's gone. Easy to say. Soon it will be my one year anniversary and I'll be having the mammograms to check up on things. As that day approaches my bravado lessens a little and I"m getting a little nervous.

Of course it doesn't help my positive attitude to be at the cancer center all day and see all the tough cases there. That's where we spent the day with Jim getting blood and platelet transfusions. He's fine, drove home from the center, ate a big dinner at Olive Garden. I think as he has more chemo the impact on the blood seems greater. But It will all soon be over!

Anyway, thanks to my family for walking in my honor. It brought tears to my eyes. Next year....!!!!!

Posted by Joan at 09:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our drive to Newport today was rainy and foggy and disappointing. Jim's blood counts were low so he got two booster shots and chemo is rescheduled for tomorrow....bummer. That means three trips to the doctor this week. Oh well...then we'll be half done with this go round.

While we were out we stopped at the Angels gift shop at the Big A to pick up a few things. I got a little magnetic BIG A for the car. Always wanted one of those! Then we went to the Katella Grill for lunch but we had breakfast. A pretty uneventful day.

When we got home the sky was clear and the temps were nice so we sat outside reading. We picked up a dozen books at the library over the weekend and I was into reading Planet Google, an interesting book about the founding and growth of Google. I finished it and then spent a few hours exploring all the products listed on the Google home page. I really didn't know all the services and products they offer but got curious after reading the book.

I'll probably try a few of the products like Google calendar where I can subscribe to the Angels' page and get their schedule popped into my calendar! What fun! You should check it all out at Google Options.

Oh and when we were in SLO with Jim he gave me copies of all the pictures from our 50th anniversary party. Here's the whole gang! You might want to click on this to see the big version.

Posted by Joan at 08:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We were delighted when son Jim suggested we drive up to San Luis Obispo to surprise Grandson Jim (aka Jimbo) on his 23rd birthday. WE DID IT! Renee, Tom, Mary (Jimbo's sister), my Jim and I waited at a downtown restaurant while Jim picked up Jimbo and and invited him to lunch. Wouldn't you know that Jimbo wanted sushi...that's not where we were ! But Jim convinced him to go to McLintocks and when he walked in the door we shouted, "Surpirse, Jimbot, Happy Birthday!" He was stunned!!

Here's the family after our lunch...

We walked around downtown SLO then Jimbo took us on a tour of Cal Poly campus where he's studying graphic arts. He recently snagged a job shooting all the sports teams for a major publicity push on campus. We got to see the huge banners and posters scattered around advertising the SLO teams. Jimbo shot all the team pictures.

Then we went to Jim's house that he shares with three guys. Here we are on the front steps of a major guy hangout....

I really was not looking forward to the drive....4 hours up, 4 back. But it wasn't bad at all because the company was great, we didn't have to drive AND we listened to the Angels beat the Red Sox to sweep the series! Absolutely SWEET! (I still can't believe they won!) And it was worth every minute of the trip to see the look of surprise on Jimbo's face...priceless!

We left for home about 5:30, stopped along the way to stretch and eat, arriving home about 11 PM. I was pooped. Slept like a log! I'm sure all the walking we did was very good for me:

Thanks to Jim and Tom for driving us and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our wonderful Grandson, Jim!

Posted by Joan at 01:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How can good news be disappointing? Last Wednesday we got the results of Jim's CT scan showing that the tumors continue to decrease in size BUT the doctors would like them still smaller. So, Jim, would you do another 2 rounds of chemo? (6 more weeks). After looking at the data and talking with the doctor he agreed. Lucky for JIm, as I've mentioned, he doesn't have really severe reactions. Tiredness and blood count issues seem to be the worst side effects.

So that puts the RFA treatment into November. We were disappointed but the doctor was very insistent that this is still good news. The chemo is working and any other nasty cells in Jim's body are being destroyed also. After the RFA treatment he will be good to GO!

In other news, we are just enjoying these lazy days when we don't have to make the trip to Newport to the doctor. The weather is cooling, today high of 81 and low of 49! Wow! We turned on the furnace to see that it worked :) ...and put the blankie back on the bed.

We are winning the battle with the little brown ants by putting out TERRO ant traps and spraying our outdoor "grassy" area. Sure wish there was a bunny spray so we could keep the bunnies from leaving little deposits on our turf. Jim says there is....a pellet gun!

Today is library day, to restock our shelves, and then I'll be looking for some color bowls of flowers. Now that the heat is abating maybe I can get a few plants to live outside. I don't have a very green thumb though, so wish me luck.

Posted by Joan at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)