Some Days I Forget I Had a Transplant

I am feeling so good that some days I forget I ever had a kidney transplant--and not that long ago. A week from today it'll be four months.

Sure, I still feel the metal rod in my left leg with every step I take, but usually it is not enough to make me stop walking. And, yes, I still feel chest constriction and a sense of heaviness, but I've lived with that for so long that I rarely take note of it unless it becomes egregious.

But in general, I have energy for what I want to do. And of course my attitude is sunny, which helps a great deal.

Here is a photo of me, beaming to beat the sun, taken about a week ago in my kitchen.

My apartment has but one bedroom, so my son sleeps in the carpeted breakfast nook beside the kitchen. You can see his lamp, end table, and bed. And if your eyes are really sharp, you can see three of many gnomes that pepper the apartment. At one time I knew the German word for "gnome." Perhaps it's Schwarge.

I Should Write in German

Many days I see that more Germans have visited my blog than have Americans. Wow, that's pretty darn interesting. And so, for my German friends, I will write a little in German, just for you.

And to those of you who don't read German, you're not missing anything juicy. I'm merely inquiring as to some finer points of grammar.

Guten Tag, meine deutschen Freunden. Ich habe Fragen fuer Sie.

* Eins, mein Worterbuch hat kein "Spuelbecken," nur "Spuele." Was ist das Wort fuer "sink"--Spuelbecken oder Spuel?

* Zwei, warum haben Nummern keine adjectiven Endungen? Zum Beispiel, Mann sagt, "Ich habe rote Haar," aber er sagt nicht, "Ich habe viere Haare." Warum nicht?

* Drei, wann muss Mann  ß schrieben und wann muss Mann ss schreiben? Ich habe andere Dinge in anderen Buechern gesehen. Zum Beispiel, warum schriebt Mann "weiß" und "Wasser"? Was ist die Regel?

Danke. Bitte, antworten Sie.