Yesterday, I was able to leave the testing around 3:40 or so. I dropped off my things at my hotel room, freshened up a bit and then called Rosie to let her know that I was just leaving. She had just gotten out of the shower and was worried that she wouldn't have enough time to get ready before I arrived. When I got to Scotts Valley, I got off at Granite Creek and drove down Scotts Valley Drive. The Denny's is not the Scotts Valley Diner and Zanotto's is now the Scotts Valley Market. Otherwise, things looked pretty much the same, but with different businesses in the buildings I remember. I drove across Mt. Hermon Road, up Whispering Pines to Estrella. I drove to our old house and parked just down the street. I walked back with my camera and took several pictures. They put up a white picket fence around the front yard, which now had nice, clean cement steps going up to the front door. They also put two pillars in front of the front door, supporting a small extension of the roof. They changed the front door and added shutters to the new windows. It looked like they kept the interior wood blinds in the living room. They put a free-standing, Victorian-styled mailbox at the bottom of the concrete steps. The driveway was very pitted and buckled, with a few asphalt patches and was in desperate need of a complete reworking. In general, the house looked fine, but with a very different facade, given the white picket fence.
I then drove out to Lockwood Lane, back to Mt. Hermon Road, to Kings Village Drive. The shopping centers along Mt. Hermon had been updated and painted and they looked nice. The bus depot, with its turquoise and pick decor looked out of place among the green and sage and browns of the California styled shopping centers. Bean Creek was getting a new sidewalk, as evidenced by the open trench along the edge of the street. Oak Lane hasn't changed. Teenagers stared at me as I drove by the driveway off to the left of the lower part of the street. Both Rosie's place and our old place looked pretty much the same. McDermott's old house still has purple trim.
Rosie greeted me warmly at the door. Her face seemed fuller than I remember. I think that is a good sign that she is eating better than she once did. I met her cats, one of her housemates, looked at and discussed her plants and just generally caught up for a few minutes. Then we headed to the Santa Cruz Wharf. She wanted to eat Carniglias, but they had redecorated. Rosie asked about it and they said that the restaurant had just changed owners about two months ago. Their menu was much smaller than I seem to recall and it seemed the clientele was more casual than I remember. The prices certainly seemed cheaper, as well. We had a very nice chat. Rosie told me all about her communications with the Domains and the falling out with the McDermotts. She also filled me in on her right ankle, which is something that has been going on for about two years now. It sounds like her orthopedic surgeon for the ankle is not the right doctor for her. He keeps insisting on surgery after surgery. Apparently he comes highly recommended from many different people, all of whom seem to be in Santa Cruz. I think they are all just passing the business around to each other. Someone told her that this guy is "the best in town." Precisely. "In town." I told her that she needs to find someone over the hill that is better in line with her own philosophies. She seemed to hear me.
She asked me about Vanessa and how her calcium issue came about. I told her the highlights. She was mild in asking about the Tums. I told her that it has only been three weeks ago now that Vanessa's calcium level and medication is finally stable. Now that it is, we can finally start asking the questions about alternatives to Tums. We did, in fact, ask at our appointment in March. The doctors need to look into it. I think they prescribe Tums simply because they know it and it is widely available. They are not nutritionists, after all. They aren't necessarily knowledgeable about health food stores and alternative supplements. So, we need to keep pursuing this with them and get the exact specification of what it is that Vanessa' needs. Then we can do some research ourselves to find good supplements that meet those needs.
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