The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond

I finish my infusion treatment.

I will miss my trips to hospital for blood tests and infusions.

We go for an explore in the Golden Gate Park.

I sell the terrifying Transylvanian armoire to the same guy who bought the dresser.

I get a new smaller, wardrobe from Amazon.

I feel slightly less peely-wally after the infusions. I am however fairly blind; unable to drive nor read. I will leave soon to Okinawa where they now have vending machines that will do cataract surgery.

“Wow, is that your coat sir? Fantastic fabric!” says one of the nurses as I lie on the hospital bed getting another infusion.

“You know what it is?

“Yes sir that is high quality Scottish tweed. I was an international fabric buyer before I got into nursing.”

I explained that I had bought the tweed on Islay at the The Islay Woollen Mill ; https://islaywoollenmill.co.uk over 20 years ago. They measured me up and sent the fabric away to be tailored into a jacket. It still looks brand new!

She looked at the label. ” Islay Woollen Mill, I have heard of that place!”

We had a few rounds of ‘Westering Home’ and then she got back to sticking needles into me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fleT3hxE4Xo

I take a Waymo home after hours in the hospital but stop off at Gus’s on Haight.

I have a very late lunch in the sun outside Gus’s.

Fun day.

Hooray, my new Green Card arrives!

The Green Card is a residence permit, as several immigration officers have informed me during my 20 years of having one.

“Mr Calder, you are spending too much time outside the United States. You cannot live outside the U.S. and have a Green Card.”

I spend a lot of time in Japan and before that in France, accordingly I am paranoid that my application for a new card will be refused.

The new card is valid until June 2035. Where will I be in 2035? Probably not healthy to think too much about it. For the time being everything is hunky dory.

I change the furniture in my room.

I lash out on a very expensive leather sofa or love seat as they say around here.

I throw the old love seat out on the sidewalk. I phone 311. It is a city funded pick up old stuff service. “No problem my friend, I will send round a truck.” An hour later a truck arrives but there is a difficulty – a homeless guy is dozing on the sofa. “He has every right to chill on that love seat, man. He ain’t breaking no law.” says the truck guy. “We will come back and hope he has gone.”

My anemia treatment has entered a new phase. Steroids have been sent off for foul play. I now have infusions of stuff called Rituximab. I go for the first session yesterday. It takes 6 hours for the stuff to infuse! I have blood pressure. temperature, heart rate tested every 30 minutes.

The haematologist visits me during the infusion to give me a detailed explanation of what is happening. Good bloke.

Finally leave with a detailed dossier covering my treatment and all things infusion. I also get a free thermometer.

Amazing treatment! Thank you.

I camp for 3 days at Gold Lake. The lake is way up in the Sierras at 6,500 ft, just under the Sierra Butte mountains.

The scenery, both on the drive up there and at the lake itself, is so beautiful.

I sit by the lake, breathe mountain air and doze. I am very feeble and hikes and stuff like that are beyond my capabilities. However, I love to cook and eat outdoors. so that is what I do.

I drink a lot of tea.

I sit in the sun watching birds and listening to another book on Captain Cook. That’s about it.

A grotesque dresser thing has followed me around for the last 20 years or so. I never liked it.

I finally get around to selling it.

I have been taken off steroids, much reducing my chances in the next Olympics,

After weeks of glorious sunny weather, Summer has come to San Francisco. It is cold, windy, foggy.

I like it. It is mysterious, I hear foghorns in bed at night.

It is Tuesday, I have to pick up an octopus.

I then cross the road for breakfast at the Pork Store.

The Legion of Honor art gallery was donated by France for some reason. I go there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_of_Honor_(museum)

It is a fabulous place. I am always astounded and grateful that you can just wander in and spend hours with outstanding art worth millions and millions. A privilege.

I am about to post this blog entry when my phone rings. It is the specialist haematologist whom I saw last Friday. He tells me that my red blood cell count is much improved but on the other hand my white blood cell count is now crazy high. He wants me to go for ‘blood work.’ This means a blood test in U.S. talk.

I jump in a Waymo to Mark Zuckerberg hospital and 20 mins later I am having a blood test. No waiting.

I’m astonished that the consultant haematologist phones me personally and indeed says he will phone me again once he gets the results. What treatment! This is all free State healthcare.

Thank you State of California.

In my bulkiest days in Okinawa, I weighed 126 kilos. Today I weigh 90 kilos! I have lost 36 kilos, which is apparently the weight of a baby rhino at birth.

The upshot is my trousers are all too big and they flap around like er sailors’ trousers. “What two French towns are like a sailor’s trousers? Toulon and Toulouse.”

Even after some 24 years living in the States, I still cannot say ‘pants’ when talking about trousers. It seems rude. My trouser cut has always been called, ‘wide’, ‘ample’, ‘fat ass”.

I order a new pair and gamble on much smaller waist size and slim fit.

They fit! I am delighted!

A propos of nothing, succulents thrive in San Francisco.

Sorry, more birds taken through the window whilst seated on my sofa.

Take steroids.

Where better to burst through the 200,000 miles barrier than on top of a hill on Point Reyes?

The Tacoma has without any doubt been the best vehicle I have ever owned. I have had her since 20017 and apart from a busted clutch, my fault, and a deregulation in the only electronic system, she has been incredibly robust and reliable. Deserts, mountains, snowfields and truly terrible off-road tracks have been elbowed aside with disdain. Thank you Tacoma. Can’t buy trucks like this anymore. The new ones are super fragile computers.

My brain boils, bubbles, buzzes with steroids. I have to get up and do stuff. I set off to camp at China Camp, which is very close to the city. Long history – Chinese set up a shrimp fishing camp here very early, in the 1850s. They dried the shrimp and exported it to China!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Camp_State_Park When I get there, the campground turns out to be ‘walk in only’. The delightful camp hosts call the Samuel Taylor Coleridge State Park, where I camped last week, and tell me that there are places free if I would like to go over. Such nice people, I wish I had taken a photo.

James and I had breakfast in the Mission a couple of days ago.

Random

I move back from the pastoral of Point Reyes to the mean streets of San Francisco. Actually, couldn’t be further from the truth – mean streets – I mean.

The Sunday Farmers’ Market on Clement is not mean. The sun shines, the people are slim, happy, Californian friendly and good looking. The fruit and vegetables and stuff are so fresh and homegrown. It is very different from the America I hear about from Europeans.

I stumble to the Plough and Stars where, 15, 20 years ago, I used to play a lot of traditional Irish music.

People are playing, they are old friends!

I am swept away by the wonderfulness of everything and what is more, am given a free pint of Guinness.

Thank you everyone in the Plough for warm welcome.

Drunk on one pint of Guinness, I hirple down Clement to buy more octopus from one of the excellent Chinese supermarkets. I then get fresh Dim Sum and a Waymo home, wallowing in happiness and joy.

Things take a turn for the worse as I get out of the car at the house to realise that I no longer have my flute. I have left it somewhere.

James and I rush back to the Dim Sum store. No one speaks English but they do have my flute! My incredible luck abides!

I must keep taking the steroids.

So good living in San Francisco! Two days ago I was ranging around the Mission, trying hard not to buy too much amazing exotic food by eating as much I could while I was there.

Yesterday, I was here.

I am feeling very athletic, probably due to the vast quantities of steroids that I use to supplement my diet.

I drive the short hop to https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=469. My eyesight is not perfect and I improve my view by attaching new wing mirrors that give me much better rear visibility.

I set up camp in the huge Redwoods. So beautiful, so quiet, so much wildlife.

I love to cook outside.

I sleep so well and am up at dawn to drive the 10 miles to Point Reyes.

There are wildflowers everywhere, the sun is shining, the sky is blue and Elk.

I drive back over the Golden Gate Bridge. Lucky me!