1- Tunisia
We had a full day today. It started with an orientation. We went off to a secular mosaic museum and then to the old city to pick up lunch at a delicious sandwich shop.
Elaine and I met in the bar for beers. The smoking go to us so we hung out in the lounge.
Then we had a welcome dinner that was delicious, plentiful and fun.
2- Tunisia
World heritage site
i'm in no pain
Bread maker
Terrible Lu ch
Cheese samples
Two beers on the balcony
3- Tunisia
Video about the Tunisian coup in 2011. I wish we could have a coup.
The bartender is now hugging us when he sees us.
4- Tunisia
We are at the quirkiest hotel. It looks like a Halloween horror hotel.
We stopped at a market to but bees. I found three different varieties so I am very happy.
5- Tunisia
The Phillies lost. Penn state lost. My teams are losers.
I woke up with lots of hip pain. I’m miserable and don’t feel like joining the group.
We went to a Berber village and it was hot. The sun was intense. And the climb up to the village was a physical challenge for me.
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11- SA- Tunisia
Of course I didn't watch the PSU football game while I was in Tunisia but I did check on the score and we lost yet again. Morale is down for us PSU fans.
12- SU- Tunisia
The Penn State football coach was fired for losing yet another game. We are now 3/3.
13- M-Tunisia
It's our last day of the trip and I am ready to go home. I am sick of my clothes. I miss sleeping in. I want to get back to my things. But then I am sentimental about ending this routine of going all day and exploring the world.
14- TU-Tunisia/Paris/ NJ/PA
It was a day of travel and it was a painful day. Both hips are killing me and i just couldn't bare the pain and locked joints and discomfort of the plane ride. I had a middle seat and I have finally decided that I am going to pay extra from here on it for a window seat and I am going to bring more cushions. I am too old and now have to make sure i travel with some more comfort. I am not ready to start doing business class. But i cant have another painful day like today.
I struggled to stay awake as I drove home from the Newark airport. But once home, I jumped in to bed and slept through the night with difficulty.
15- W- PA
I tossed and turned and fell asleep and had wild dreams and woke up and tried to sleep again and again and each time I woke up, I was in a complete fog.
I went downstairs for a cup of coffee. My usual coffee here is now too string after two weeks of drinking weak coffee.
I wanted to go to the lobby to get my mail but the damn elevator is still not working and i was in too much pain to take the stairs. Ill try again tomorrow.
Jaye texted me to tell me that she is in the hospital again. I am very worried.
Later in the evening, Jaye texted me to let me know that she was sent home and that was a relief to me.
16- TH- PA
I was wide awake at 9 AM so I got up and went to the lounge fro a cup of coffee. It was just at the time when the donuts were coming in for breakfast and I was surprised at how many people were there in wait of their free donut. Kevin was there, telling me he was glad to see me and welcome home but he wasn't staying to talk. And an hour later, he announced that he was finally, absolutely leaving and then Keith showed up and after the next hour, he became adamant that he was finally leaving and we all did.
Jaye texted me to see if I could take her back to the hospital. So off we went and we hung in her room for a few hours. Jaye is worried that she is imposing on me. I tried to explain to her that this is where we are in our friendship. In our younger days, we hun out at bars and parties after work. Then we moved in to going to the movies in the late afternoon followed by early dinners and getting home before it is too late or too dark. Now it's rides to the colonoscopy procedure or the biopsy or surgery or back to the hospital. This is out time to visit now.
17- F- PA
The damn construction workers woke me up and I saw that it is the usual time that the donuts arrive in the lounge, So I put on a bra and tee shirt and made my way to the lounge to pick up a donut and this better not become a habit for me.
I came back up to my apartment and was mostly unproductive. I'm listening to a book by Ruby Frankie's daughter. This woman had a podcast about parenting and tough love and it turns out she was physically abusing her children and was arrested and sent to jail. The daughter is now telling the inside story and it is awful.
My article about the mold was published today. The journalist did a great job with the story.
I decided to go see a movie. But the traffic to the theater was so bad that I was going to be late and I was hungry and didn't think I could go another two hours without food. So I changed my plans and went tot he amish Market and finally have food in my apartment. I can ate here now.
I later watched the documentary, Unknown Number, about a mother who was cyber stalking her daughter for two years. OMG, this story is so creepy and abusive.
Tweet: Today, he pardoned a convicted felon. He bombed another boat and killed 6 people and one of his former staff members is being prosecuted for revenge. This is now a typical, dreadful day in the life of an unhinged president. #TrumpisaNationalDisgrace #TrumpIsUnfitForOffice #25th47
18- SA- PA
Andrea texted me early in the morning to see if I could come down and hang with Jaye in the afternoon. I think Andrea needed to do other things today and had some guilt about not spending all her time with Jaye. So I said i would go after the rally.
I am deep in to my audiobook, The House of My Mother by Shari Franke, and caught up with yet another mother who emotionally abused her family. It's so hard to believe that a parent's mental illness can more strong and damaging than a love for a child.
I started the day at the No Kings Rally on High Street.
In the evening, I visited with Jaye in the hospital
Penn State lost the game today and I am afraid we may not win any more games for the rest of the season.
19- SU- PA
I finished my book and I am deeply disturbed.
The Germans arrived last night so Sue had a small group of us at her house to celebrate them.
Twitter- “Woke" is being “aware of & attentive to important facts & issues, of racial & social justice”. It originated from African-American English since the 1930s. I like being called “woke.”
20- M- PA
The dumb fuck POTUS released a video of him wearing a crown and sitting in the pilot seat and dumbing shirt all over the American people and that just about sums up what we think he is doing to our country. He has lost his mind.
dr appointment
21- TU- PA
I finally caught up to JoJo for a cup of coffee. We sat in the lounge for a bit and then others came down and i hung there most of the afternoon.
Keith sent me photos of the mold in his apartment. OMG, these photos were awful.
The dumb fuck POTUS/POS has begun tearing down the East Wing of the WH so that he can build a "big, beautiful ballroom." He seems to think that this would be a great addition to our magnificent, historical WH. He is putting up a square room, attached to the WH and it looks awful. This idiot is turning our house in to a tacky Mar-A-Logo. This man has no plans to ever leave the WH. He just cant die soon enough for me.
Andrea asked me to go to UPENN Hospital to hang with Jaye in the afternoon and so I did. Jaye asked if she is still in the hospital on Friday if I could bring her something from Carolina's.
22- W- PA
I picked up Tricia and we headed in to Philly to demonstration support of immigrants in front of the ICE Office. This demonstration was run by the Mercy nuns. About 75 of us stood there and the nuns prayed for the respectful treatment of immigrants. If every church held a demonstration outside their church each Sunday, maybe we would see more humanity
Then we went for lunch and then had to go to the grocery store because Tricia had to buy beer for deb and Lisa. They are coming over for game night and the last time they were there, they complained that Tricia only had IPAs.
Keith sent me more photos of the mold in his apartment. These photos are worse than yesterday's photos. I'd like to see how management is going to explain this situation.
I booked a trip to Ethiopia. I travel in February, 2026. the guy asked me if I could walk 3 to 4 miles a day. I said yes, I can but really I don't want to walk this much. Then he asked me if I could handle attitudes of 9,000 to 11,000 feet. I told me yes but that isa a big fat lie.
I submitted my top ten cover songs for the XPN top 885 countdown. I feel as if I accomplished great things today.
Twitter: Trump needs to restore our WH immediately. He has no authority to damage this historical building. It's our house. Yet another reason to loathe him. #TrumpIsANationalDisgrace #TrumpIsUnfitForOffice #RestoreTheWhiteHouse
23- TH- PA
hearing aid appointment
dinner with the germans
finally ran into Kim
24- F- PA
dinner with jaye
25- SA- PA
The germans have arrived for their annual visit. It is always great fun to see them.
hamburg
Yuegnling brewery
26- SU- PA
I got a text from Andrea, telling me that Jaye's liver numbers had spiked. That was upsetting. So I made arrangements with her to go see Jaye in the afternoon.
I visited with Jaye in the afternoon. I now know my way around this massive hospital. Jaye was in better spirits than I had anticipated. Apparently, her doctor stopped in and quelled her fears about these numbers.
27- M- PA
I couldn't get with the program today. I stayed in bed all day. Jaye's liver numbers are up. So I am worried. Deana J's husband wrote an update on FB about her health. She only has a few more weeks to live. And that is fucking unbelievable. She has a daughter in high school and a son who just started college. It's ridiculous to say that life isn't fair. But here is a very clear example of the unfairness of life. The day got me down a bit.
28- TU- PA
I started the day with a a CPAP appointment. I hate that machine,
I had a massage in the afternoon and I asked her to work on my right hip and now I have no hip pain. What a relief.
Jaye's liver numbers are up. She is worried and so am I.
Tricia and I went to a great presentation, at PSU Great Valley, about art crimes and justice.
29- W- PA
I intended to go to Penn to see Jaye but she was having an evening procedure so I'll have to catch up with her on Thursday.
I texted Kevin and we met in the lounge with Kristen and tasted my beers from Tunisia. Now that I am home and back to drinking my delicious IPA beers, these beers have even less taste than I remember.
I finished my book, On The Hippie Trail by Rick Steves. He read the story and I find his voice to be sweetly boring so it was hard to keep my attention.
Tweet: "I would say that if you read it, it’s pretty clear. I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad." I DONT' TRUST HIM. STAY VIGILANTE. #TrumpisaNationalDisgrace #TrumpEpsteinPedoFiles
Tweet: The DOJ is going to monitor elections in California & New Jersey. We really need the UN to monitor our elections. The DOJ can’t be trusted. #democracy
30- TH- PA
Jaye texted me to tell me that there is an abscess on her liver. I'm upset but as I searched the internet, it may not be as threatening as it could be. And now they have a focus of action.
in the afternoon, I went to UPENN again. Jaye looked quite yellow to me. But I didn't want to mention it because she seemed relieved that they didn't find any new cancer yesterday.
They are going to do a procedure tomorrow which will allow her to drain the abscess at home. One outcome is manageable. The other outcome is a bit more intrusive and limiting.
31- F- PA
Facebook Post
At this moment, I was on my way to teach leadership skills to women in Nepal. I had solicited my friends to send me menstrual cups to distribute to women in remote villages.
On this day
