Keepin on keepin on

Not much to report here in the House of Pain. We went to Smell-A to see Rob's doctor and it was stinky. As you crest the hill outside of Calabasas, you can see the layer of yellow smog that enveloped the city. Ewwwwwww. I'm SO glad I live in Ventura.

As far as Rob is concerned, his eye is doing well and healing nicely -- as nicely as could be hoped for. His surgeon got that "Damn! I do good work" face that we -- as patients -- just LOVE to see on our doctors. My foot doctor had the same reaction to his work on my ankle and I must say it's getting better and better, which is good because it's being pressed into service as the good leg, now that the left knee is shot.

All of this convalescing is driving us a bit crazy. Rob has taken to such activities as making Fuser into a Butter Cup (See photo of the poor dog's shame above). Dena says he's crossed the line and she's right. At least I'm starting to get some freelance work, which gives me something productive to do. This has been wonderful for my overall outlook and Rob needs the same thing.

Poor Courtney is trying to get her second baby Alex Baptized and she wants her parents there but we're all falling apart. Courtney's Dad -- my ex -- has just been hit with health problems of his own. Damn! We're only in our 50s and we're all falling apart. Fortunately, there's light at the end of our tunnel. Rob's eye should be better soon. And my surgery is looming -- which really sucks -- but when it's over, we should be on the road to recovery.

Food-related tips I wanted to pass along:

We're trying to eat healthier and cheaper, what with the shaky economy and all and to do so, we're looking at our shopping habits. I've always been a HUGE fan of farmer's markets and they are a fabulous source of fresh produce. Those of us in Southern California have no excuse for trying to buy as locally as we can, seeing as we really live in the best area for produce in the world IMO. Our diet is now full of such things as chard, collard greens, arugula and spinach.

We've also been looking for better, less expensive sources for meat. We live in the part of town where there is a large concentration of people of Hispanics. This seems to scare a lot of people around here, but we've found the entire neighborhood to be pretty nice, actually. One thing we've discovered are the Hispanic grocery stores. I've mentioned them before. But I just love the fact that they actually have butchers who work behind the meat counter. And there's not just one there are always a few taking care of customers and cutting meat to order, which is a real luxury in this day and age of pre-packaged plastic packs. The meat always looks really fresh, which stands to reason because they do a lot of business. The prices are always good, which appeals to the many families you see there.