ANTHONY R. VIZZARI | ARCHTOGRAPHIST

A nice photo of my work bench. It was an insane week of work required prior to leaving... We are spent! So, maybe we can try to relax for a few hours, if not days.

I took a bunch of shots on my drive back from Connecticut to Chicago this week. I recently upgraded to the iPhone 4. The new camera is MUCH better than the 3G. I've never been a big fan of all the camera apps, but I must admit, I've been having a little fun with them. Adobe Photoshop has a decent app... Camera Bag and Hipstamatic are also OK. The filters are a bit over the top, but I do like that " instant " look like the old Polaroids. -It sure as hell is cheaper.

No news is good news. I'm feeling well. My breathing is better but not 100% yet. The wound is healing is nice too and I'm taking almost no pain meds (as needed). I'll post some more tomorrow with some pictures. I'm just checking in with a brief update for now. I've been getting out and walking around. Today the high was 94 degrees and it's brutal out there. Summer is not my season! Photo: A folk painting that I bought from the "American Pickers" folks in Iowa, just prior to surgery. I recently found a place for it on the wall.

So, I've been away from the blog..... Andrea has been away too. It has been 3 weeks since the surgery and things are up and down. Day by day, I am healing and feeling better. Nevertheless, I still spend most of my time doing very little. I've been decreasing my pain meds and the cloud is finally lifting a bit. I've had a few minor setbacks. I've been going back and forth to my PCP for labs and follow-up. My WBC has been high and the Hemoglobin dropping. Lately, the WBC has been going back down which is good, and the Hemoglobin is slowly increasing. The worry is that the hemoglobin could get too low and I might then need a blood transfusion. So, monitoring for now. Parts of my wound were a little nasty, so the doc has been treating it. A culture of some of the ooze showed a possibility of infection (staph...). All in, it's minor and the wound doesn't look too bad. I'm taking antibiotics as a precaution. I've also been having some trouble breathing... Xray...

For those who didn't get the notice, we got back home Tuesday afternoon. The 9hr drive was fine for the first 7hrs, the last 2 were tiring. Not much to report here. I'm just trying to settle back in and get some rest. It's nice to be home and the cats are happy to have us. When I start gaining some energy, I'll get back to posting and returning calls, emails etc. Until then, I'll be on the couch...

Today Andrea and I went to a local antique mall about 15 miles from the hotel. Partly, we just wanted to get out of the hotel. More importantly, we wanted to see how I would handle being in a car again. Pot holes and such were a jolt, but the highway was a breeze. All in, my 60 minutes in the car today tooling around was tolerated well enough. I got some great exercise walking this huge indoor market. Strangely enough, I was very conservative and purchased only one small photo and an old mini 1920's tin of laxatives , with all the pills and directions still inside. ....and no, I won't be taking them. I did come across a creepy drawing of this woman. She was hiding in a dark corner of the store, with the reflections on the glass frame making it look as if she was alive and trapped inside. Otherwise, I'm still in pain but taking it slow and trying to power through it. The medication helps a ton. I just have to keep reminding myself that it's going to take a while to get...

Today was a little more difficult with respect to pain. Some days are just going to be better than others. Nothing major, the pain is mostly related with my bowels being so slow because of the pain drugs (ironic I know - which causes all kinds of problems). I've been working with the nurse to try a few different remedies. As crazy as it sounds, It has been 10 days since I was last outside of the hospital, since the hotel is also attached. As the evening approached, Andrea and I took a real outdoor walk. I was a bit slow, but I'm picking up steam -It was nice just to get some fresh air and smell "stuff" again. This photo was from one of the gardens around the hospital campus.

Well, it's game day here in Omaha. I will be on the table shortly and the cutting will begin. Of course I am scared, tired, and a bit pissed that I'm not drinking my morning coffee.... But I'm ready. Andrea will update the blog for me if I can't type. I expect to be in a fog for a bit. A big thanks to all the support from so many good people. I've asked Dr. Botha to take a photo of my liver when it is out. -I'm hoping I can post it to the blog. See you when I see you...

We dropped off the 4 booths for Europe on Monday and hit the road for Omaha... The booths look so small and scared for their ocean journey. I'm going to miss them! Oh well, we just got in two new 17's, a 14 and an 11 last week. So, 4 leave and 4 new ones come in. We got into Omaha early Monday evening. It was an easy drive and we're all settled in. Tomorrow is pre-op stuff, then the big game on Thursday.

I'm almost done with a large booth order for Europe... I can barely get a minute to breathe this week. The order ships Monday morning, then we head to Omaha for the surgery. Dr. Botha confirmed that my liver is now big enough to move forward. I feel like the guillotine blade is right over my head... The pressure is on the get so much done by Monday. After surgery things will be much much slower. FYI: The photo is of a photobooth bulb I took just for reference. I like it though... My fingers are dirty. I'm going to miss working in the shop for a few months. I'm going to miss the smell of grease and stale chemistry.

Andrea and Sylvie in the living room... note the couches from our Oak Park living room... not the best photo of the space, but you get the idea... we're getting there. We came up to our house in Wisconsin for the weekend to do some spring work before my surgery. There's still PLENTY to do... but at least for now, it's habitable. Slowly, it's getting better. The bathroom is pretty much done (minus paint) and looks great, but alas, one of the coils on the water heater went bad. So, we can't enjoy that new spa tub! Everything is closed for Easter, which means no hot water until next time. The furnace here annoys me a sucks down oil, so we're going to switch to gas at the end of the summer. And finally, we bought some used appliances, a stove and refrigerator , refurbished from a local old school appliance place, for $350. Score! We also picked up a coffee pot, panini grill for a fully functional kitchen. There is still a good deal of painting, floor work and gen...

Today the scale is 8. I reserve 10 for trauma and crushed bones. I've been having severe pains for the last 16hrs around my liver, so currently at the Northwestern ER to figure things out. It hurts when I breathe or move. This sucks. More to follow.

Somewhere, just outside of Germany... view from the plane, obviously. We arrived this morning in Frankfurt. It was a very easy flight and a fast train ride into the city. We caught up on a few hours of sleep, then took the time to wander the streets a bit... we finally ended up getting some great Indian food. We also ended up, by accident, walking through a small "red light' district that definitely was an interesting cultural experience. Tomorrow we make our way to Bad Berka via train.