Friday March 31

Yesterday evening my family came to see me.
They live in La Canada while I live in Bakersfield where I am undergoing such a pleasant so-capped treatment for brain injury patient at CNS. The motto is The bridge to a meaningful recovery.

In my opinion a never ending bridge that connects the past and the future.

Yesterday we went to Panera Bread to have a family dinner. Soup and sandwiches.

The soup was good I had a black bean soup. My sandwich was fridge cold.   It had not even been   warmed up let alone toasted. I should have had the waiter to take me a new one.
I  was busy with the family,

Simona had brought a candle for Lapo

We all sat there cheering Lapo.

Lapo felt very happy

Of course Simona was watching over the family 

Lapo was cheering himself for this good job.

Lapo shared the cookie with his brother.

I had prepared many letters for our eldest son Chicco for him to read.
I had also drawn a happy birthday card for Lapo I gave it to him yesterday.

After the dinner at California Pizza kitchen we went to shop at Target.

Lapo was waiting this moment very impatiently.

He was very happy to visit the store.
 He renegotiated with Simona - my wife - about his wish.

He ended up purchasing a few  boxes of Nerf Toy  guns.

Simona was pleasantly startled by Lapo's  wish.

She complied after negotiating with him for a little bit.

He promised to behave and to keep being such a good boy.

The car was full of suitcases because the family was coming back from Skiing at Big Bear Mountains.

They have been there for the Spring break vacation.

Simona had brought me a Strudel. I tasted it  this morning.

After my usual semi cold shower I took a stroll in the park.

I had thrown the trash around the apartment

I took my daily pictures of the local roses 

So perfect and delicate.

Hard to believe anybody would be so unconsidered to pick the flowers

Oh well there are obviously many views around the apartment.

Quot capita tot sententiae.

I took the newspaper of the day and went to the AAC.

Sincerely

Giuseppe Rossi

Thursday march 30 2017

I took a cold shower this morning. I had a very strong toothache on the right side near the back molar. It is sort of bad for me to get toothache on my tooth. My illness started with having a  severe intracranial hemorrhage to my brain. This is secondary to my AVM.

Anyway, the cold shower confused my brain about the exact source of the discomfort.
Sort of radical solution, but extreme measures are required for extreme situations.

I had applied twice the medication I have in my meds cabinets and the toothache resets itself afterward.

Healthy breakfast for today. I have also cooked more Oatmeal for the incoming days.

Oatmeal, cold cereal with blueberry and milk.
A yogurt with a lot of chia seeds.

This morning I  completed money management for this week.

Today it is my pay day. I am set at  $75 for Grocery and $24 for outing which I can use for movie ticket, snack and church. I normally  balance my outing money by giving the remaining part to church as offering.
At time I am not going to the movie at all, so all the money is given to church instead.
They  really appreciated  it.

The grocery shopping money is always tight for me. I shop all Organic and healthy food, all raw ingredient, no prepackaged food, I do not like it. So my bill for grocery is normally a significant portion larger than my very low income at CNS. Some fits their bill by going to cheaper store like Winco or Walmart.

I am going to Trader Joe's and  I am  a loyal customer. I am not going to switch to a different place
for the sake of saving money.

I started my morning by walking in the park. Breathing the cold and open air of the morning.
I like the cold temperature, it makes  my body functioning better. At time I can not handle when it is too hot.

Feeling free from stress and oppression.. well it lasted so briefly.

More park in the morning

I noticed the nice flowers that are blossoming at the apartment. Really beautiful and delicate.
I really like the pictures below it is a perfect rose. I respect the flowers. Other patients pick flowers every single day not respecting the delicate work of nature. I am really astounded by their lack of appreciation for nature. It is as if they were at a free to pick florist. All you can pick is free for you.

I went to the clinic this morning. I read the newspapers among the general cacophony, I am used to it.

It is among the general disinterest of the present. Also the CNS staff talks over loud and does not care for it. They are setting a bad examples. Or simply they are showing the real value of this action.

As futile and hopeless voice over the general cacophony. 

I did not handled it too well this morning I grant you that. Overwhelming cacophony and lack of interested- the usual I should be used to it, yet you never gets used to a really poor environment don't you?

The fact is that on a regular basis some new faces pops up at AAC,each of them with its own set of behavior,  each with its own subset of specific issues.

It would be nice to have a count of the people that are requested to be there, like at school. Because this is like school yet it is not as it does not teach any specif skills nor address any specific matter that are of interest to me.

Yesterday evening I came back to the apartment complex. I  had a quick dinner took my Metagenics, signed off and went to the gym among the  community  people.

I  walked on time for cycle with Cassie Marie Tessandori and then body pump with Sylvia Walker.

Her daughter Nina Elise was at the gym as well.

Damian, Tom, Maria, Lee; all people from the local community of avidly gym goers were there as well.

Simona and the boys have been skiing at Mammoth for the past few days. 

The family went at the mountains at the last minutes as she had been invited to join a couple of friends for Spring Break.

Our eldest Chicco is 12 and he is showing his skills. He is on the forefront of this picture.

Lapo is saying Hi with his hand.

He is hard to recognize with his skiing equipment, helmet and protective glass.

Simona really needs to find a phone with a zoom lens camera for this situation.

So I would recommend this product by Zeiss lens.

Time to eat. I had a good lunch: a  chicken breast cooked in the crockpot, a couple of slices of organic whole wheat breads and an apple. Finally a coffee and brushing my teeth off.

I should resolve to eat sandwich and easy food. 

I should resolve myself but it is stronger than me.

Eating healthy

Enjoy the reading

Giuseppe Rossi

Wednesday March 29

I woke up with a headache today. So I ended up taking a cold shower.
At first it was a warm soothing shower, after cleaning myself up I cranked up the cold water.

As a result my head is fine, my  blood pressure dropped and I am doing well.

It is perhaps a drastic solution to the current issue, it is working right now.

For the future  I will revise it as otherwise I am going to catch a cold or worst a pneumonia.

Anyway it is what it is right now.

The flowers at the apartment are really beautiful

well I love my Organic Breakfast in the morning.

Hot cereal such  as warm Oatmeal, cold cereal such as High Fiber, a yogurt with a lot of Chia seeds

Finally a good coffee. By staying low on Organic Brown sugar it tastes better.

As every Wednesday this morning  at the apartment  I completed the first part of my  money management.

Today is the receipt day at the apartment. Tomorrow it is going to be the actual salary.

The park is really peaceful and nice in the morning.  I like to walk around to feel good about myself.

I always take   pictures of the park trying to keep my hand steady while rotating my trunk.
At time it gets  better than other.

I took the bus and went to the enrichment center.
There was no newspaper at the apartment so I borrowed the one it was located  over there.
.
I read it, read  the local and national news of the day then at 11am I came to my work program.

My wife and kids are in Spring break.

At the last minutes they were able to organize a gateway on the slope at Mammoth.

This out eldest Chicco on the ski

Our youngest Lapo is the one that says hi with his left  hand next to the person with a pink jacket

Lapo has a helmet,  sun glass and face cover.

Both  kids are  wearing helmets,  protective glasses and mask as it is cold.
They are well protected indeed. Simona took very well care of them.

Simona mentioned  she was able to borrow some of the equipment from Stefano for the boys. Stefano  had extra sky from his kids.
Stefano is a good friends of our family.

Yesterday I came back from therapy and decided I wanted to write to my boys. So no gym.

I wrote a letter for the whole family in English and block letter so that Chicco will be able to read it.

I also have prepared a happy birthday card for our youngest son Lapo. Soon it is is going to be his birthday. He is going to be eight years old. A very big kid indeed.

Caring about my family is a  priority for me.

Yesterday I have also  received a present from CNS.
It is a brand new larger crock pot. The  larger slow cooker I was looking forward to have.

 After washing it I decided I was going to spend  my evening  preparing a good chicken cacciatore.

I cut onions, celery stalks, carrots, a few potatoes and a heirloom tomatoes

I  ventured outside the apartment to get several rosemary branches.

I squeezed the juice of a lemon that I had received from a person.

I added the whole lemon peel, with a small amount of pyramid salt and pepper.

I let it cook overnight, then this morning I switched it to the warm setting.

While it was cooking I had a good dinner.

I ended up eating a very good toasted panino. It is toasted in the oven then grilled to perfection.

Before hand I also had a good Quinoa salad with a boiled egg, All Organic as always.

I  enjoyed my dinner and spend some relaxing time to take care of the things I am caring the most.

So today I have already the food  for the the next few times.  I will be able to go to the gym

Tomorrow my family is coming to visit me. Simona called me to let me know about their plan.

I will not be going to the gym but rather we will all go out for dinner.
Staying healthy  and out of trouble for a bit longer
Enjoy the reading
Giuseppe

Tuesday March 28

It is a cool day in Bakersfield. About 20 C. I like when the weather is cold. I handle far better the cold than the hot weather.

In fact I have learned to take my shower warm and then after rinsing well I am turning  the water to cold and I get a nice refreshing cold shower.

It works for me in the morning and whenever I have a headache.
I had a good breakfast this morning early at 6:30 am

Oatmeal, cold cereal with blueberry and Organic Milk.
An Organic yogurt with Chia Seeds.
A good coffee with frothed milk.

I then took a stroll at the nearby park

The roses at the apartment are finally blossoming

Park walking in the morning to enjoy the early morning of the day. Pushing from my heels and bending my legs to assume a natural pendulum like  motion with my arm.
I am trying hard to walk better and better.

There was no newspapers today so I got one at AAC.

I greeted everybody, read the salient news of the day, talked a bit with my wonderful Case Manager and at 11 am I came to my work program.

I am recollecting the salient facts and feelings of the day.

Simona called me this morning from the  Spring break location at Mammoth mountain. The whole family is in Spring break so they are skiing on the slopes. At the last minutes Simona organized this little gateway with Stefano, his wife  Jen  and his two sons Dario and Renzo. They are  all good friends of the family.

Simona and the boys are also skiing. She mentioned that they are all using  protective helmets and mask to fend off the cold hair. The boys are in two separate groups of skiers according to their age and fitness level. Simona's mom also came with them. Anna is staying with the family for a bit.

Here is a view of Mammoth taken from the web.

author Daniel Mayer

Yesterday evening  I had my dinner and went to the gym

In the evening I also had time to write to my family

I  cooked a good dinner with Quinoa and boiled eggs

I had the eggs with a bit of Light Organic Mayo.

It was time for me to walk to the gym. I left at 5:25pm and I got there at 5;52pm. On time for my Yoga class with Lilli. A bit late actually but I  walked  by paying attention to the rules of the pedestrian traffic and yielding to the car traffic so that I could safely go  to the gym . For Yoga good stretching and good balance poses. Good breathing exercise. For this class there are a few people that are really capable of arching their back and do amazing things with their body. I am not that kinds of individual, I am happy by being and feeling fit.

Afterward I had static cycle with Misty. She is the person behind me. 

Always patiently agreeing in a taking a picture with me.

At 7pm it was time for me to leave the gym. While the class was still on going I got ready to go.

I stretched my legs and my body and then I came back to the apartment walking by myself.

I signed back in at 7;40pm

Safely and relaxed from my trip.

By the way at the gym I greeted  Nina Elise. Sylvia Walker daughter.

Sylvia is an instructor at the 24 fitness gym.

I asked Nina Elise about the name of her uncle who is the musical director at the St. Philips the Apostle church. She reminded me that her uncle's name is Xavier. I had forgotten about it.

It is noted both in my memory book and my phone.

Once back I had a snack a shower my evening meds and back to sleep.

For lunch today I had a left over pizza. I made it over the weekend and now it is all gone.

I had a Quinoa and a grapefruit.

I am looking into educating myself about flower bulb.
Today my mother mentioned  that they are capable of reproducing their capability at each flowering season.
She mentioned that after the flowers are gone I should be able to dig out the bulbs from the soil.

I should be able to let the bulb to dry out and in this way it will be ready again - after hibernation- to be planted another time.
Pretty amazing if you think about it.
Here is some interesting reading at this link, here is another link

The primary function of these underground storage structures is to store nutrient reserves to ensure the plants' survival.

Once the foliage dies back or matures in the late spring or early summer, the bulb is dormant. Summer is the dormant period for spring bulbs. As the foliage dies back, the roots that nourish the bulbs also die back. With fall rains, the bulb comes out of summer dormancy and roots begin to grow again to provide the bulb nutrients and moisture.

Once the spring bulbs enter dormancy, the time is right to dig the bulbs if needed. Some bulbs benefit from digging to divide the bulbs and spread them out over the bed.

If the choice is to dig bulbs, they should be stored in a well ventilated place and replanted in the fall. Every five years daffodils and crocus should be dug and replanted to prevent overcrowding. The first sign of overcrowding will be a decrease in the flower size, uneven bloom and uneven plant height. When this occurs, dig, spread bulbs out and replant immediately.