Steps in Good Directions

Health.  On Tuesday I had an appointment with my surgeon to "consult" about my hernia. This one is on the other side of my lower abdomen from the one I had repaired three years ago. See here for "before" and here for "after.") The surgeon who did that operation retired at the end of February this year, and this surgeon was one of his original partners. I was very comfortable with him. After examining me, he concluded that the hernia was of a moderate size, and did not require immediate action. We scheduled the surgery for August 22, which will give me time for the trip I want to make to Germany and France (see below) and to host my kid brother when he visits from Japan in early August. There is a new facility, associated with Massachusetts General Hospital. I was given my choice of having the operation there or in the older hospital where I had my first operation. I chose the bright shiny new place. Of course, I have a pretty good idea what to expect: some discomfort, but nothing intolerable, with the discomfort slowly diminishing.

Travel.  On July 25, my sister-in-law will be giving an organ concert in Regensburg, Bavaria (with my nephew as her page turner). After the date for my surgery was settled, I went to a travel agent to make arrangements to go there for the concert and then go on to Berlin to meet Martin and, hopefully, Morgenländer and finally to France to see the Sainte Chappelle in Paris, Chartres Cathedral, and Mont Saint Michel.

For almost all of my travel, I've made my own arrangements — a practice which has been made fairly easy because I've frequently stayed in private residences and rented a car to get around. This time, however, I'll be staying in hotels and getting around by train (except for the trip to Mont Saint Michel), so I thought it would be good to have the agent help coordinate things. I'll fly to Europe on July 23 (arriving on the 24th) and return to the U.S. on the 31st. Originally, I had planned to come home on the 30th, but then I realized that I wouldn't have enough time for the Berlin leg of the trip, so I added a day. So far, my flight to Europe and my hotel in Regensburg are settled, and my return flight is tentatively booked. The remaining items are still TBD. It turns out my nephew will also be going to Berlin the same day I will, so we may be able to go together, which will mean two sets of eyes and ears looking and listening for announcements during the few minutes available for transfer(s).

Kitchen.  Having told about some culinary failures, I want to tell of a more successful recent effort. I occasionally "barbecue" spareribs by sprinkling them with a "rub" and baking them for an hour with mushrooms and onion or leek. Then I pour bottled barbecue sauce on them as I eat them. This time, I learned from Martin to add two carrots and some water to the baking dish, and I also put some leftover sauerkraut on the ribs as they cooked. It came out pretty good, and the sweet barbecue sauce worked well with the pork and sauerkraut.