Elmwood Avenue Progress

Elmwood Avenue, the Elmwood Village, the neighborhood and the "Elmwood Strip" (probably my least-favorite accepted term for our part of Buffalo's West Side) continues to undergo many changes, with businesses and new residences opening, closing and sprouting up, and one development is causing many of us residents and businesspeople to cheer.
The northwest corner of Elmwood and Bryant was the home of a Kentucky Fried Chicken, then the catchy corporate change to KFC, for years; after several health citations and plumbing problems, the restaurant closed a couple of years ago, and deteriorated further.
Developers came in with plans for a multi-purpose property, anchored on a Coffee Culture shop to go along with residential and business uses. It appeared to be a pretty good plan, but as too often occurs in Buffalo, people began to wonder if and when plans would convert to action.
That conversion has not only started, but is going strong, as repeated drives and dog walks by the property have recently shown. At first, the elevator tower and staircase shot up kind of like oversized chimneys, then the foundation appeared and now, the girders of the first and second floor are being constructed, along with flooring for those levels. A large crane is also active at the site.
Obviously, these are observational reports, and I have no official information yet on the schedule of work or businesses opening, but if we see or learn more, I will tell more.

Crawling from the Wreckage

Ah, musical metaphor time; I am feeling a lot better after a four-day bug sapped my appetite, energy and at times body temperature, and Val is on her way to recovery from what doctors determined to be pneumonia on top of bronchitis (all of this following a multiple sclerosis episode).
While I did not miss any deadlines, this damn bug has really eaten into time I was using to prepare and write a cover letter and revise my resume to send in to two (and now at least three) prime job prospects.
This health crap carved into some of my freelance writing attempts and submissions, including my reviving of "The Hosey Report," but that is secondary at this point. Hopefully, this increased hunger and strength gain will continue.
Walker Evans was a bit upset, though; Saturday, I was so freaking weak that I had to tell him I couldn't take him on his walk that day; we returned to our schedule Sunday, but he is still a little sore.

Think That God's Got a Sick Sense of Humor

Thanks to Depeche Mode for the quote; yes, the Supreme Being in whatever form you believe in or at least the health gods seem to be chortling at Val and me.
Val got hit by a multiple sclerosis episode last week, as well as an infection, and was getting over them when she got hit by another storm which, according to our health care professionals, turned out to be bronchitis and possible pneumonia.
Val has been out of work most of the week and we return to the doctor's office Monday; the antibiotics and inhaler seem to be doing their jobs, because Val is feeling a lot better, but she is still weak and needs rest.
While I had been feeling pretty good physically for most of the week, I got up early this morning because my stomach was feeling very strange, with some pain and pressure that was exactly the same for me only twice before, in 2006 and 2007, when I got a nasty case of the flu that knocked me out of work for a week (or more) each time it hit.
I was rather uncomfortable, because my intestines and stomach were feeling like they were going to make some noise, but after an unsuccessful trip to the bathroom, I went on to the couch to be closer to the downstairs bathroom. I slept for about 2 hours and woke up at about 9:15-9:30 a.m., and all of my stomach and intestine symptoms were gone and my chills were much less serious.
I was able to make emergency human and dog food runs and walk Walker Evans today, but as I write this, while my stomach remains OK, the chills are getting worse, but not as bad as they were this morning.
Let's hope we make it through the weekend without any further health excitement.