some recent WDW stuff

Cindy's foot feels better since her Gout caused infection has gone down, so we got to the parks last Saturday and Sunday.

The summer tribute band series at Epcot has started, which means we will be going pretty much once a week for the next 2 months. Coming up are Bon Jovi, Abba, U2, and Tom Petty tributes. On Saturday we saw Hotel California (an Eagles tribute band) and I thought they were much better than when I saw them a couple years ago. Of course this might have been because our seats were 3rd row center, the weather was actually a little cooler than we have been having lately, and there was a nice breeze.

I had a pretzel and Cappuccino smoothie while waiting for the show, so it was only fair to get Cindy a Lime Marguarita after the show. We also stopped at Mouse Gears for some cooking stuff for Cindy and a new pink Tinkerbelle ("Not Every Morning Is So MAGICAL") nightshirt for me. Was so excited about getting rid of a lot of change to buy the shirt, I forgot the $75. Disney birthday gift card I had.

On Sunday Cindy and I took our friends Lisa and Marty to the Magic Kingdom for the DVC / AP exclusive preview of Hall of the Presidents with the new "RObama"! I really love the changes they have made to this show and want to see it again, even when I don't need a cool-down/nap.

However when we got there at around 4pm they had opened it to all guests. This really packed the lobby and made it very hard to see all the changes in there. Next time Disney decides to open up a previously announced exclusive preview I hope they let us know in advance, so we can stay at home and have a chance to see all the changes after the buzz wears off. VERY BAD SHOW DISNEY!!!!

What has happened lately

We spent yesterday farming. Bob took out the outdoor tomato plants (Sweet 100 performed amazingly well; but the end is the end.) We still have one tomato growing on the "Mr Stripey" so that is left. Then I asked him to help me replace the last of the "Salad Greens" from our original 7 pod Aerogarden.

I had already harvested the last of that lettuce (and a wonderful run we had for months with it!) So all that was left was to clean it out and replant with Cherry Tomatoes.

Ha Ha! Cleaning it out was a 3-4 hour job. Once Mr. OCD had cleaned the entire thing (note - use filtered water to water them, it cuts way down on lime build-up) the pump wasn't working properly.

Fortunately we had a new back-up pump courtesy of a shipping mistake on Aerogrow's part. Finally got it fitted in. Up and running with new plantings of cherry tomatoes. I later found the totally great instructions on the Aerogrow website about how to install a new pump or clean an old one.

Our other garden is planted with "Edible Flowers" (thanks again Ben and Angela!) We have budding and a new flower on the marigolds, yay!

Today we were bummed out and blindsided by the deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Not to mention the rumors of other deaths that were totally bogus. Sometimes the Internet just makes me mad.

We will be going to see the Eagles tribute band at Epcot within the next couple of days. Looking forward to it.

As for reading, I am totally enthralled by the Vampire Finishing School series. Marked, Betrayed and Chosen so far (yes they put #3 on kindle) got the 4th today.

Still playing Wizards and I really am taken in by the new stuff on the Test Site. Crafting like mad; but it is getting time consuming and expensive.

My appointment with the rheumatologist is for Sept 15. My dental appt is for July 21. So guess the rehab of my body parts will go forward. Yay!

A new bakery is opening in our little Town Center. They were giving away samples of Lemon Squares yesterday at the Farmers Market. Really good, with a soft crust that even I could eat. Will check them out soon.

yes Gracie, more Guild Wars stuff

Some might call me OCD (I prefer COD - Crazy On Demand). If playing Guild Wars for over 500 hours in the last 5 months is evidence of that so be it. I just happen to love the no-monthly fee and the fact that this game takes me back to some of my earliest video game playing (Shining Force series on the Sega Genesis and Saturn).

In any case, after collecting the 22+ platinum and 8000 Balthazar faction points I updated my Warrior hero this morning to a very complete "great" PvXwiki "W-Earth Shaker" (hammer weapon) build. All that is needed to complete this build is a Fortitude weapon upgrade for the hammer. I have not used this build in the wild yet, but it worked excellently in the battle arena.
In the first training set I got 4 flawless battles with a 14-0 timed battle win. In the second training set the only non-flawless battle was the flag battle and I got 12-0 in timed. Will be interesting to see how the build does against different and sometimes bigger enemy gangs.

more Guild Wars and thoughts on Cindy's gout.

Luckily before I used Balthazar faction points to get any spells for my Guild Wars Warrior hero's PvXwiki "great" W-Quivering Blade sword build, it was delisted. It seems there are new and better sword builds, but they do not work well with the hero AI. So now I have built up points, found a weapon, and have started to collect money for runes/insignias toward a "great" W-Earth Shaker hammer build. I think I will like this better. The hammer is a little slower to use, but has the potential for much more base damage and also will do an AoE knockdown sometimes that works well as an energy drain and interrupt.

My Ranger/Monk player just needs some weapon upgrades and runes to complete a "great" R-Barrage build.

The heroes that I use most of the time (Warrior is in first paragraph) are at this point:
Ranger/Monk (not sure how he got monk) - needs weapon upgrades and 1 rune to complete a "great" R-Barrage build.
Monk - I just have to decide and get what weapons would best fit for a "great" M-Word of Healing build.

Other heroes I have decided to work on at some point:
Mesmer has a complete "good" M-Mantra of Recovery build. Like the Assassin there are no "great" builds I can get without a second profession.
Dervish, Elemantalist, and Paragon - I either have or can get for Balthazar points all of the spells I need for "great" builds. I was working on Dervish, but need an Ebon weapon upgrade to make the main spell in the D-Ebon Dust build work.
Necromancer and Ritualist - There are spells for these that I can not get for Balthazar points. Will try a similar spell for Necromancer and hope the Ritualist spells pop up when I get further into Factions.

I have now got all of the missions (with bonuses), quests, and exploring done on the islands in Nightfall. Just got to the mainland last night. Not as far in Factions, but have lots of quests to finish there. Really do not like the city in Factions and especially not all the levels to it. It will be interesting to continue with Prophecies and Eye of the North once I get my Warrior hero closer to done.
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I am extremely glad that Cindy finally got most of her medical problems diagnosed as Gout, since it is somewhat managable. Will be nice to make plans that involve walking and not have to cancel at the last moment because of an attack. I do not really mind pushing her in a wheelchair around places, but sometimes even the walk to the chair can be painful for her. Also will be glad once we get her dental work started. It might help some other medical problems she interrmittently has.

Diagnosed!

Yesterday morning, Bob took me to our local urgent care clinic with an infected toe. When the nurse was looking at my foot she asked "What is this?" about what I had been told several years ago was a bunion that would probably need surgery some day. Told her it was a bunion.

The doctor on duty that day was luckily an orthopedist. He came in, took one look at my foot and said, "That is not a bunion, it is gout." It turns out that what I had been thinking were bunions on my feet, my bad knees and lumpy fingers that I thought were arthritis are all gout! I am a very bad doctor.

He was very impressed with the gouty toe (the infected toe was another one - also gout) and asked if he could take X-rays (free!) so he could show them to the guys back at his regular practice (a Sports Medicine Institute.) I said sure.

While the X-rays were being taken, he printed out some info on my gout - Tophacesus Gout - and the names of some rheumatologists that I would need to see.

He showed me perfectly awful pics of other gout victims and said with glee - that I was worse! I felt so proud. Coming in first in the uglies feet in the World competition is quite something, apparently.

He prescribed antibiotics for the infection. Then said he would take my X-rays back to his people and maybe there would be something they could do surgically to "improve the quality of my life." We'll see.

Anyway, the upshot is that tomorrow I have to start calling Rheumatologists in the area (and surprisingly enough, for a place where the aged abound, there are very few rheumatologists. So I have to find one who A) is taking new patients B) accepts our health plan and C) works within an hour or two away. Wish me luck!

Back to Books and Stuff

I tried to order the next in the Vampire School series last night. One thing about Kindle is that they sort of leave out some books! Book two in the series is available and not three! Four and Five are available - sigh. I will soldier on!

I am saving up books for my dental nightmare. Rediscovered an author I used to love- Alex Kava. Total suspense! Ordered her stuff published since I moved here. I am saving up ordering the new Dean Koontz until just before the dentist stuff, since I think I will really need him!

We plan to go to Animal Kingdom on Bob's b-day next Tuesday. Groom the goats and shop a bit. Then on to Logan's for dinner. Should be a great day!

mostly about books

I pretty much have no idea what Bob was talking about with "Guild Wars", but I am sure I will be brought up to date soon - sigh.

I really need to get into this game since I have lost a couple of others.

I must say that the info packet that came with my new "Eye of the North" gives me a lot to read and learn from.

Both of us have eye appointments tomorrow. Yay, no pain involved.

Visit to SweetBay after to look for KerryGold cheese (thanks Kate, did not even know it existed)

Watched "Time Bandits" the other night and passed it along to Lisa and Marty. That was a very "unusual" movie. Glad I saw it though.

I just finished reading a series of Contemporary Amish Romances. It is really better than it sounds. Written by Cindy Woodsmall. They are amazingly engaging, they manage to combine the conflict between the Amish and the English.

Also just started a vampire series written by a mother and daughter team. They are sort of a Harry Potter with a vampire school instead of Hogwarts.

Yeah, I know, I thought it was stupid at first, but the first one is pretty good! It is the "House of Night" series. I am reading the first "Marked" authors are PC Cast and Kristen Cast.

I am saving up books on Kindle to have them read to me through earbuds while undergoing my upcoming dental work - Arg!

Thanks to Jill and Susan for your support and advice.