The Weekend Roundup, 'Y'

I'm a day late, but that means it is Sunday - and still time for Tom's fun meme The Weekend Roundup. The 25th letter of the alphabet is featured this week, so here goes... 

 Beginning with 'Y' is Yale-New Haven Hospital. Patti captured this view of more hospital buildings across the street while recuperating after her kidney transplant last year. Her room was on the top floor, so now we joke that she was in the penthouse concierge level of Hotel Yale-New Haven :)

Since we live about 9 miles away from Yale University, I have show two buildings there, both taken from wheelchair height. I like the architecture of the old buildings at Yale.

A favorite. Our daughter met her brother in Brooklyn Thursday to participate in the MP3 Experiment. I like this view of the old brownstones that are dwarfed by the tower of the 1909 Manhattan Bridge. It feels like a throwback to a century ago...

Yellow. This sunset over Derby fits nicely!

Shadow Shot Sunday - Shadowy Spans

I have missed a few of the always great meme Shadow Shot Sunday2 - but am happy to be back to the shadowy artistry! Last week, our son's fractured hip had healed sufficiently with the physical therapy he received up here and Allegra took phone pics while I drove Cameron back to his apartment in the New York City of Borough of Brooklyn. 

There are many stylish bridges crossing the many waterways. The two pics on top are going southbound on the RFK/Triboro Bridge, opened in 1936. Above is the span from the Bronx to Randalls Island, below to Queens over the East River. On the bottom is the new Kosciuszko Bridge, crossing Newton Creek between Brooklyn and Queens, completed last year. Shadows fall nicely from the cables and ironwork on this very cold but bright day.

The Weekend Roundup "B"

I am back to a new favorite photo meme, The Weekend Roundup, hosted by Tom. The letter 'B' figures prominently as his fractured hip is healing nicely and we brought him back to his domicile in the NYC borough of Kings, ie: Brooklyn with which we begin...

One way to get to his apartment from our CT home is I-278, including the parking lot known as the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE). Alas, it is still the most direct way :)

Here I am double parked by his apartment as he and his sister brought his belongings. This is on 19th Street in the Ditmas Park section of Brooklyn, adjacent to the better known neighborhoods of Flatbush and Prospect Park. Double parking and not getting a ticket is an art around here!

Of course, there are Bridges in the city and here are two, the 1883 Brooklyn Bridge taken from the BQE (note the old cast iron guardrail). The other is the beautiful 1940 Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, both crossing the East River. Engineering and art at their finest...

New Beginning. To the left is our Son Cam, to the right our daughter Allegra, both pics their first day at home. They were very new! 

Week's Favorite. I was driving and Allegra took this pic as we were taking our now healed son back home to Brooklyn. We are happy that his fractured hip is healing and he can get back to the city and his friends. Here is the Bronx approach to the RFK/Triboro Bridge to Queens and then to Brooklyn

Friday Hunt 2017.2.17 - Queens Borough

It has been an interesting week so far so I am ready for Teresa’s fun meme, Friday Hunt. 

Tuesday, our daughter Allegra and I travelled to Brooklyn to pick Cameron up at Kings County Hospital, his discharge at 8 P.M. We left home much earlier this rainy day with the typically thick NYC traffic. But it was worth it - our house is already set for my wheelchair so is perfect for him and his walker to recuperate (bear no weight on his right foot for 3 months!)

This week’s first prompt is Starts with ‘Q’. I requested that Allegra take pics on the road. So I am using the NYC Borough of Queens as my 'Q’. Our family lived in Bayside, Queens twice between 1957-1962, and remembered it as a good place to live as a kid. The first is on the Clearview Expressway in Bayside. This shows the 42nd Ave. footbridge, a bridge I walked across a lot when I was little. Next to it is on the Long Island Expressway and the message sign says QMT - which is the Queens-Midtown Tunnel...

Still on the way just before the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the BQE to the locals. I do not like this 1939 road, but it was the only way to go. At least the Manhattan skyline views from the BQE are cool. Finally, the final pic shows four of the five Villers children in 1962 in front of our apartment at 203-42nd Avenue in Bayside Queens. Odd what one remembers from over five decades...

Orange. I believe the carrots, cheese and some of the tomatoes on this large appetizer board are...

Animal. I can only think of one, furry, funny family feline Linus McDonald captured by Patti with these glowing eyes for Halloween. A real animal who sleeps too much to really act like one :)

Friday Hunt 2017.2.16

It has been interesting week with our son in Brooklyn having a major operation to repaired fractured his hip in a bicycling accident and will be convalescing back home (he already works from home with a company supplied laptop and phone).

So happily, reality can be swept aside and I can enjoy this week’s great Meme, Friday Hunt, kindly hosted by Teresa. On to the prompts…

Starts with P. This letter has lots of possibilities. On Top, the always lovely Patti as a passenger taking a photograph. In the middle, the iconic Eiffel Tower in the city of light, Paris. Our daughter Allegra captured this on a tour bus when on a school trip. Finally, we are grilling Portuguese Bread along with Pork and dining on our Patio. This is a Pretty good selection of the letter P :)

Surprise. I did have to look around and this looks like surprise to me anyway - and to Allegra at her second birthday party with her mom adding to the surprise. Or not, perhaps this is the first time she had to blow out the candles…

Looking up. Well, true to my blogging namesake, it would be in the air. Both pics were scanned from prints from decades ago - and they are planes (another ‘p’), First is from 1983 a USAF C5-A approaching Runway 24 at Bradley International (Hartford CT). Below that was at an air show in 1985, and it is a wing walker. Naturally, I had to look up to catch movement in the sky. Great prompts this week Teresa!

Post-Op - Where to convalesce and get better?

I had a great long conversation with our son (with the hip fracture) today. He called from Brooklyn’s Kings County Hospital. His opinion is that he wants to convalesce at our Ansonia abode, which I agree would be the safest alternative. 

Since I use a power wheelchair, the house is much better for someone who has to safer to move around in There are a few reasons that makes the most sense : 

1) He works remotely for his Canadian employer with a company furnished laptop and phone that means…he can work anywhere.

2) Our house is a ranch and we have laminate floors with no obstructions 

3) Our house has a ramp into the house with an ADA 1:12 slope ramp and 36” wide doors; 

4) It has a full ADA bathroom with a 5-ft turn radius, a tall toilet and a roll-in shower with full width shower bench; 

As for his apartment in the Ditmas section of Brooklyn: 

1) He has a tiny bathroom with a tub, low toilet - and about 15 sq. ft of floor to move on - crutches are not welcome. 

2) The building was built in 1927 - if the one elevator failed, how would he get to the third floor when he cannot bear weight on his right side and thus not be able to use the stairs. 

I advised him that he has to advise the hospital social workers that he has to come back to Ansonia because otherwise it will not be a ‘Safe Discharge’. 

And it cannot occur until at least Saturday when Allegra and I can drive to the borough of Kings and she can get items out of his apartment while I artfully double park in the meantime :)

Remember the term ‘Safe Discharge’…I’ve seen terrible discharge plans at nursing homes when I worked MFP, so I advised that he use the term ‘Safe Discharge’ often when he’s speaking to the hospital staff. When you do that, you are telling them you are an informed consumer. 

I also suggested he ask the social worker to let read his discharge plan as it currently exists and as it is updated. It has to be safe…

The hospital has to advise that his follow-up care be in Connecticut. I would imagine that insurance would allow this - but he should go back to the safe discharge and local doctors can deal with the follow-up. 

Appeal the insurer if necessary.I see Cam making the best case. If not, I’ll drive him to Brooklyn for appointments, but that shouldn’t happen.

Every other detail that needs to be attended to up here can easily be done. Being a great self-advocate is a great place to be!