Camel Riding In Ramona

Once a month the Oasis Camel Dairy in Ramona has tours of the farm and camel rides. Of course when my friend Linda told me about this I just had to go. Fran, Barb, Fran, and I went on a Sunday in February, and had quite a time. We met Fran's granddaughter and daughter in law and Judy and friend from Upland. Unfortunately, the day we chose to visit the farm was the busiest day they'd ever had. There was a piece on the camels on the news, and everyone decided to check it out. The chairs they had set up for visitors weren't enough, so they had a tractor bring in bales of hay for others to sit on. It was pretty funny.

The tour of the farm was not really a tour. The owners gave us a talk about camels, how they got started, then a bird show. Yes, a bird show. The wife has a bird show that she takes to the county fair, and she gave us a sample of what her birds can do. It was cute, but not what we came for.

In all, there are 22 camels on the farm. They are raised with love and lots of attention, so they are not the nasty biting, spitting camels that we generally think of. We learned a lot about camels, and finally got to ride one. Fortunately they had a set of steps for us to climb to board the camel, so getting on was a piece of cake. It was a fun couple of hours, but nothing I would go to again.

We were starving by the time we finished camel riding, so we stopped at a cute little Mexican restaurant on the main drag of Ramona, La Cocina. It's a few doors down from Subway. The food was delicious and authentic. I ordered rolled taquitos, smothered in guacamole and cheese for $4.99. Barb ordered the enchiladas, which she enjoyed. Fran ordered tacos, and an order of guacamole and chips, which we polished off in no time. If you find yourself in Ramona and hungry, try La Cocina. You probably won't be out that way unless you're going to the Wild Animal Park or Julian. I doubt too many of you are going to make the trip to the camel farm. It was fun, but maybe not worth the drive.

Getting Ready For Surgery

Elective surgery is a big decision. Sometimes I think the more you know about the surgery, the less likely you are to have it. After suffering with a torn meniscus and arthritis in my left knee for over five years, and eventually finding out that I have no cartilage left in that knee, I have made the decision to get a new knee.

My pain began about five years ago. It kept me from doing many of the activities I had done before, or doing my favorite things, like walking, yoga and boogie boarding, at a less intense level. I turned over in bed one night, and it seemed that my knee went one way, and the rest of my leg went the other way. I've never been the same since. I have had two arthroscopic repairs to this knee to clean up the meniscus and arthritis, but over the past six months, my knee has deteriorated.

I have been to six orthopedic surgeons over the past five years. I decided last December I was going to have my knee replaced, so I started in earnest to find a doctor with whom I felt comfortable. I met with several and am finally scheduled for surgery with Dr. Bugbee at Scripps Green on July 9.

Next, I began asking everyone I knew who had had this surgery in the past few years about their experience. The more you ask, the more you learn, and you even get some information that you'd rather not have, like the fact that you need to take Coumadin for a month after surgery to prevent blood clots. I did not know that. Infection is also a possibility, so getting out of the hospital as soon as possible is recommended. Constipation! I never thought about that problem until it was brought to my attention. You must take Vicadin for the pain, and that can cause serious constipation, or even blockage, in some cases.

These are just a few of the things I have discovered in my quest to be ready for surgery and to have a quick recovery. Getting my house ready, and having some help are other issues that I have researched, and will write about at another time. Oh! And calling Blue Cross to understand my benefits before the surgery was very important. All that next week. Until then, I'm counting the days until July 9, and hope that shortly thereafter I will be pain free.

A Symphony In The Trees

Living in an urban environment, we miss a lot. The sounds of the country, like frogs croaking, crickets chirping, and birds tweeting are something most of us rarely hear. However, here I am living in the suburbs of San Diego, and I hear all these sounds everyday.

I walk Pepper every evening just after dusk, and I can't help but notice the racket the crickets and frogs are making down at Batiquitos Lagoon. It's hard to miss when you're in a neighborhood with little traffic, but when trucks roll by the sounds of the lagoon get lost.

Recently I noticed that the tree outside my front door was covered with birds when I went outside at 7am each morning. There must be 200 brown sparrows with light yellow bellies tweeting away in the trees. They're so happy, and I'm so happy listening to them. This is the third year we've lived here, but the first year I've noticed the birds. Did they just start coming, or did I just not notice them for the past few years? They sit there and sing for about two hours, then they're gone. Where they go I do not know, but they're always back the next morning.

Bird behavior has always been a mystery to me. Where do these little songbirds go during the day? Where do they sleep? Where do they go to die? For all the millions of birds in the world, I hardly ever see a dead bird. The little sparrows with their sweet song are so much more fun to watch than the big black crows that also hang around. I hate those birds. They scare me. Many years ago we had a big black and white Akita mix dog. She had a heavy coat, and apparently the crows thought her hair would make good nest material. They would swoop down in tandem and pull hair from her back, then fly away. This mighty dog was afraid of the crows, and as a consequence, I am too. I hope my little sparrows continue to hang out in our front yard. It's such a beautiful sound with which to start the day.

Unique Clown Therapy

Clowns from all over the world are heading to Israel for a unique clown convention. Clowns and the therapy they provide has been known for years, but an Israeli program called Dream Doctors has blazed the trail for "professionalizing" clown therapy. Doctors now know that clown therapy is a research-backed healthcare discipline. These scientifically proven theories will be shared at an international congress of medical clowning associations.

Dr. Arthur Eidelman from the pediatric department at Shaare Zedek Medical Center has a vision that the same way hospitals hire any therapist, they'll hire medical clowns. Research has found that putting trained clowns on the medical team leads to measurable benefits in pain relief, stress reduction and boosting immunity. Pre-surgical and post-surgical patients treated by medical clowns need less anesthesia before and less pain after the operation.

Dream Doctors work in 18 Israeli hospitals, making a unique contribution to treatment, recovery and rehabilitation. The Magi Foundation foots the bill initially, but as the years go by the hospital's share of the funding increases (until the hospital is paying the clown's entire salary), and the clown therapist isn't an outsider, but a regular staff member. Most of the clowns have a degree from Haifa University, and many have a master's as well. The most important requirement is to have a great heart. Sometimes the best medicine for a sick adult or child, is a good laugh.

Dutch Cheese Soup

Having had such wonderful food on my cruise to the Baltic in August, I wondered what other great things were being cooked up on other cruise lines. I found a web site that lists 20 or more food items from various cruise lines, the best of the best, www.cruiserecipes.net. The recipe I am sharing with you today is from Viking River Cruises. I have not tasted the soup myself, but have heard from several passengers that this soup is outstanding. Here it is. It's not hard to make, so you be the judge. What's better on a cold winter day than a piping hot bowl of soup? (this recipe is taken directly from www.viking rivercruise.com.

Dutch Cheese Soup From Viking River Cruises . Viking has cruises on rivers throughout Europe, including Holland. The Dutch are great soup eaters, often featuring soup as a meal’s main dish. This hearty soup is perfect for a fall or winter evening served piping hot with thick slices of a dark bread. 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup diced onions One cup diced cauliflower 2 potatoes cut into half-inch cubes 1/2 cup carrots cut into one half-inch cubes 4 cups chicken stock 4 ounces Canadian bacon diced 5 ounces Gouda cheese thinly sliced 8 slices sourdough baguette Salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil on medium-high heat in a 1.5-quart saucepan. Add onion and sauté until softened. Add cauliflower, carrots and potato; sauté for 5 minutes. Stir in chicken stock and bring to a boil. In a small skillet, heat the butter. Add the Canadian bacon and sauté until lightly browned. Add bacon to soup. Reduce heat to low and cover, simmering until vegetables are tender (about 15 minutes). Pour soup into four individual flameproof crocks or bowls. Top each portion with two bread slices and one-quarter of the cheese. Place under the broiler until cheese is bubbly. Serve immediately.

Yields 4

Kitesurfing: Adventure on the High Seas

On a cool and very windy Saturday, Fran and I walked from Cardiff to Solana Beach and back. Our regular walk was rerouted due to the street fair in Encinitas. It was extremely windy, and there was lots of white water in a small area of Cardiff. The waves were challenging, and with the high winds, the surf was just right for kite surfing.

What is kite surfing you may ask? It looks like a cross between snowboarding (the board looks like a snowboard)and surfing, with the addition of a kite to propel you. A precursor to this sport was parachute skiing. Many of the early forms of surfing with the help of a kite were designed by engineers in America, Germany and New Zealand. It wasn't until 1997 that the Legaignoux brothers of France developed and sold the breakthrough "Wipika" kite design which used inflatable tubes. The above picture is of a surfer inflating his kite. Legaignoux continues to improve the kite design to this day.

It was a perfect day for kite surfing, yet we saw only about a dozen brave souls in the water. I think it is a very difficult sport, one that requires a lot of strength, balance and agility. Extraordinary speed can be attained too, with the record being 93 km per hour. I saw guys doing snowboard like tricks in the surf. They were amazing. I think I'm past the age to even trying an extreme sport like this. I'll just stick to boogie boarding. It suits me just fine.

My Personal Journal

Friday, May 23, was one of our happiest days in the last decade. Around 4pm Ron received a phone call from his probation officer. She was calling to tell him that since he had been a model citizen and had been compliant in every way for the past 2 1/2 years, he was for all intents and purposes, finished with probation. Ron was stunned. He had heard of people being released early from probation, but never when there was a monetary restitution due. He is officially still on probation until October 8, but he no longer has to do lengthy monthly reports, itemizing his wages and explaining how he spends his money. He no longer has to request permission to travel. He can go anywhere in the U.S. whenever he wants, for up to a month at a time. Foreign travel will have to wait until after October 8, but that's ok. Just to be free to go to LA to see David umpire a college game, visit our grandchildren, my mother, or a client, without having to report to someone, is a big deal. Also on our agenda is a trip to Colorado to see Phil, Deborah, Lennon and Elsa. Ron hasn't been there in years, and summer is the perfect time for us to visit.

In the mean time I have scheduled knee replacement surgery for July 9. We will have to work around that date, as I won't be able to travel for several weeks after surgery. More about me at another time. This is a time for celebration. None of us can ever really know how Ron feels tonight. Not having to look over your head, wait for a phone call from probation asking you to pay more money, being told that you should move to a cheaper area because you are paying too much rent, are all things that will not happen anymore. A big weight has been lifted from Ron's shoulders, and mine as well. All I can say is that tonight Ron is all smiles. He's the happiest I've seen him in a long time, and for good reason. Knowing him, he's busy planning for the future. That's just the way he is.