Having a Swell Time

I've often said I only miss Hawaii for the food, but I might be getting over it. :) Everything I've eaten thus far has seemed far too salty to me, including my former favorite plate lunches. Auwe!

Yesterday was a harrowing day, Salvation Army only took half the things I have piled up. I needed to find someone to ship what little we're keeping. My mom's telephone went on the blitz. Very stressful. And add to that...it's one thing to know you're giving away your mom's stuff, to pack it and plan it, but it's quite another thing to actually see strangers hauling it away. By the time they left, I couldn't speak for being choked up.

Among the things I found while cleaning was a scrap of paper with "Nancy" written on it and a phone number. Taking a chance it would be my cousin's number, I called...and it was! I'm not very good at keeping in touch with people, so although Nancy is my favorite cousin, I haven't seen her or spoken with her since my 2001 trip to Hawaii.

We went to dinner, Nancy, her oldest brother Young Chul and I. Again, the food seemed too salty. The waitress didn't refill our iced teas until we ready to leave, so I was a bit thirsty. On the way to dropping me off, we stopped by my other cousin Susan's house, where I got to meet her husband (and their cat!). Susan commented as we left that I was the same as always, but I'd gained weight. Uh, thanks! :D

When I got back to Tom's condo, I realized my legs were completely swollen from knee to toe, a condition known as peripheral edema (see, having worked in medical insurance for so many years has its benefits as I knew immediately what the hell was wrong), probably brought on by too much salty food. Great. Terrific. I have so much to do in the next four days, and I'm supposed to spend most of that time with my legs elevated.

I'm hoping for the best today. Drinking enough water to choke a camel to flush the salts out of my system. And probably have eaten my last plate lunch for a good, long time.