Happy New Year!!!

DeBary,, FL.

61 deg. overcast, N. wind @ 14 mph.
Forecast = Generally cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 69F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.

I hope all of you have a Happy New Year. Please be careful if you're out and about. I don't want to hear of any of my followers having an accident or something.

Really don't have much to post about but wanted to touch bases with all my followers.

The weather around  here has been pretty good. We've had some rain and yesterday, it rained off and on all day. Never heavy, just light rain.

Jim went to Publix the other day. He and Linda usually don't shop at Publix because they think it's more expensive, but they do carry some items that they like, that are not available at Winn Dixie. Linda didn't go this time because the list was pretty long and since neither of them are real well acquainted with the store, they thought it may be too much for her.

On the way to the store, Jim bought Big RED a nice big drink of good old #2 diesel fuel. The prices continue to drop and even though diesel is still higher than gas, it still has made quite a difference on the cost of filling him up. :-)

Today, Jim wants to go over to Paradise Lakes and check on Nora. He wants to make sure those new batteries are charging properly and just check things to make sure everything is OK

There are no plans for tonight. In fact, they'll probably struggle to stay awake until midnight. If they can stay awake, they'll probably just watch the ball drop in NYC and then head for bed.

This last year has been a hard year, especially for Linda, but it's been a good year just the same. I really think that Linda's "ordeal" has brought Jim and Linda even closer together. Sometimes you forget just how great you have it and you don't realize how much you would miss someone if they weren't there with you or something life threatening happens.

It makes you stop and think!!

I hope all of you have a great 2015. I know I'm looking forward to it. :-)

Take Care!!!!

Did you know that New Year is the oldest of all holidays, as it was first observed in ancient Babylon as many as 4000 years ago?

Woof!!!

Christmas With Family and Presents

DeBary, FL.

64 deg. overcast, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. High 81F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.

I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas!!! Nothing much happened during the day here, but in the evening, Laura, Lindsey, Ashley, Chris, (Ashley's friend), and Anna came over to open presents and spend time with us. They had a large meal earlier in the day over at Marv and Inez's house so Linda just put together a table full of finger food to nosh on. ;-)

Laura and Lindsey brought lots of presents. Some of them were from Joe, Nancy and family that had been shipped to their house. Jim and Linda received lots of good stuff and I think everyone enjoyed their gifts.

I know Jim and Linda did and they really enjoyed having everyone over here for the evening. :-)

I won't even try to remember what everyone received,  I'd just forget half of them anyway. ;-)

A few days before Christmas a package arrived at our doorstep. In it were the gifts that Jim and Linda were exchanging, so they went ahead and opened it cause they knew what was in it.

Linda had asked for a nice accurate scale, so Jim ordered this one from Amazon. It has good reviews and most importantly, is reported to be very accurate. It has an extra large surface so it's easy to stand on and still see the weight. Jim stood on it just before he snapped this photo, so you can see the large read-out better.

It's also very thin so it's easy to step up onto it.

So, what did Jim ask for? Well, his knees aren't what they used to be, so he asked for this tailgate ladder that he had read about. (As you can see, he has installed it already). ;-)

It fastens to the tailgate with screws. and then when you install the ladder with the 2 clips it folds down so it's easier to get up into the bed of the truck. For storage, you can either remove the 2 clips and store the ladder in the bed or,

fold it against the tailgate and fasten it with the included strap.

Jim has used the ladder a couple times already and says that it's a lot easier to get up into the bed of the truck than trying to crawl up on the tailgate.

Of course Linda has been using her scale every day. She lost a lot of weight while she was getting the chemo and radiation treatments and wants to be sure to keep if off and lose more if possible.

Yesterday, Big RED took Jim and Linda over to Walgreen's where they purchased some 50% off Christmas decorations and present wrapping supplies. They weren't about to go over to the mall or one of the big box stores where all the people were shopping for after Christmas deals and returning gifts, but Walgreen's wasn't bad at all.

Not much planned for the next few days and nothing planned for New Years Eve. Jim says that there's too many "crazies" out there so they usually just stay home and watch the ball drop on RV :-)

Did you know that in ancient Rome the new year began on March 1?

Woof!!!

Merry Christmas

DeBary, FL. (9:00 PM Christmas Eve)

70 deg. rain, S. wind @ 9 mph.
Forecast = Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Cloudy skies after midnight. Low 58F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

Jim, Linda and I want to wish everyone a safe and merry Christmas!!! Please take a moment to remember the true meaning of the day.

Did you know that the long shopping spree before Christmas began in America when relatives of soldiers posted overseas in the Second World War were encouraged to mail gifts early?

Woof!!!

An Early Christmas Dinner, Batteries, A New Chinese Restaurant and Xmas Plans

DeBary, Fl.

70 deg. overcast, S. wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 83F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.

Sunday morning, Big RED took Jim and Linda over to Marv and Inez's for an early Christmas dinner. Because they have a large family, they have their Christmas celebration the Sunday before Christmas so as not to conflict with other dinners and celebrations on Christmas day. For the most part, this works very well and almost every year everyone is able to come.

Again, Inez prepared a very good meal that included ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, and all the other fixin's. Then, of course there were the many deserts that Inez always has.  :-)

Again, Jim and Linda want to thank Marv and Inez for including them in their holiday celebration.

Of course Laura and Lindsey were there and Ashley and Anna drove down from Jacksonville so Linda and Jim got to see them. :-)  Chris couldn't come because he had a very bad cold and didn't want to pass it on to everyone else. :-(

Hopefully, Chris will be able to make it when the girls come back down here when Laura has her Christmas party.

I didn't mention it in the last posts, but when Jim and Linda moved Nora to the Paradise Lakes RV Park the other day, Jim noticed that Nora's house battery seemed to be almost discharged, even though Nora had been plugged in at Highbanks. Well, after some checking, it was determined that the battery was going bad and would need replacement. Since replacement was necessary, Jim decided that he would buy 2 batteries and another battery box to increase Nora's battery capacity for times when we might be in CGs or other "boon-docking" situations where electric connections are't available. (A very good possibility if we can go out West next summer).

So, the other day, he purchased 2 batteries, a couple battery cables and another battery box and installed them. Everything went well and now Nora should have more than enough battery power to keep the all her electrical stuff working for a day or two. :-)

Yesterday evening, Big RED took Jim and Linda to Walgreen's to pick up a few items. Since they were "out and about" they decided to head over to the Chinese Restaurant next to the Winn Dixie Store that is right across the street from Walgreen's.

Last summer the restaurant changed ownership and when Jim and Linda picked up some carry-out and brought it back here, it wasn't too good. But, last night, they decided to give it another try, so they stopped by and went in.

It's now called the "China 90" Restaurant and both Jim and Linda were pleasantly surprised. They've completely remodeled the restaurant and the food was very good. :-) The waitress was friendly and all in all, it was a very pleasant dinning experience. I'm sure that Jim and Linda will go back again or order take-out if they want to eat here at the house.

Hope all of you are ready for Christmas. I don't know just when Laura will be having the gathering at her house. I'll all depend on her work schedule. She has Christmas day off, but she has to work at the hospital the 2 nights before that, so she may need to sleep most of Christmas day. I guess it really doesn't make much difference which day she has it on, Jim and Linda don't have any other plans anyway. ;-)

Did you know that the abbreviation Xmas isn't irreligious? The letter X is a Greek abbreviation for Christ.

Another Good Report and Linda Goes Grocery Shopping

DeBary, FL.

56 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 78F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.

About 10:30 Thursday morning, Big RED took Linda and Jim over to Orange City for Linda's doctor appointment with Dr. Saferali, (the Chemo Doctor). Except for having to wait a long time to get to see her, the appointment went well and the Dr. said that Linda seemed to be progressing nicely with her recovery from the treatments. :-) Of course she wants to see Linda again before we leave the area in April, so another appointment was made.

Then, since it was after 12:00 by the time they left the Dr's office, they headed over to the 4 B's Restaurant here in DeBary, where Linda had breakfast for lunch and Jim had the meatloaf dinner special. Both very good!!!

I don't think I mentioned it, but the 6th of April Linda will be getting one of those PET Scans. All 3 doctors want to see the results of that, before we leave for our summer travels.

I think the first part of April is going to be very, very, busy around here!!!!! :-(

As mentioned in an earlier post, Linda has been wanting to go grocery shopping for some time now. The shopping lists have always been long and Jim has discouraged her from going at those times. Well, yesterday the list was quite a bit shorter, so after going to Walgreen' to drop off prescriptions, they headed to Winn Dixie.

Linda used her walker and everything went well. By the time they finished, Linda was pretty tired, but she didn't have any dizzy spells. :-)

This was a big milestone for Linda. She hadn't been grocery shopping for almost a year!! I'm sure in the near future, she'll be getting even more of her stamina back and will be able to go when there are more items on the shopping list. ;-)

So,  , ,  ,  ,  that ends the doctor's appointments for awhile. So far, nothing but good news!!! :-)  I imagine that the first part of April will be a busy, stressful time though. :-(

Did you know that The word Noel derives from the French expression "les bonnes nouvelles" or "the good news"?

Woof!!!

Photo As Promised and Nora's 9 Mile Trip

DeBary, FL.

deg. 49 deg. clear, NW wind @ 6 mph.
Forecast = Sunny. High 71F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. 0% chance of rain.

As promised, here's a photo of our Christmas Tree in the house. It, along with some other decorations placed around the house, make our home very festive. :-)

Not a real lot happening since I last posted, Linda went to get that blood test, but the place was packed and there wasn't even a place to sit while. as the receptionist said, it would be at least an hour and a half!!! :-O   Needless to say, Linda didn't stay, so I guess she'll have to back another day. :-(

Sunday, Jim went to Winn Dixie and bought a bunch of groceries. The list was so long that he convinced Linda that it would be better if she went along sometime when they didn't have so much to purchase. It's probably a good thing that she didn't go, it took Jim about an hour.

Yesterday, Jim and Linda moved the Nora out of the Highbanks Marina and CG. Jim just wasn't happy with the site that they put us in and I can't say I blame him. This first photo shows Nora parked in the site which is basically, the front yard of the laundry and bath house!!!

Also the site was not level at all. Those cement blocks had to be put under the front stabilizer jacks. Plus the front hitch was right on the edge of the road, which left no place to park Big RED, much less anyone's car if they came to visit.

It really kind of upset Jim when they put us in this site. We've been coming here for over 6 years and the excuse that the manager gave him when we got there a month ago, was that they had a lot of new people coming in this year and they needed the larger sites for them!!!

I guess it doesn't mean anything that we had been customers for the last half dozen years!!! I really doubt if Jim will ever go back to Highbanks again.

It was about 10:30 when we pulled out of Highbanks and 9 miles and 20 minutes later we were pulling into the Paradise Lakes RV Park in Deltona, FL.

This is a family run park and the Grand daughter of the person who built the park is the manager. The site we're in is about 25' wide and there is room to park Big RED either in front of Nora or even along side of her. That also means that there is room to park another vehicle in case we get company sometime when were're there. There's no deck or patio, but there is grass and they don't seem to mind if you put out a mat.

The site goes over to the little post in the front, so there's room to park on this side too.

The site is level and out of Nora's back window, you can see a lake which is across the road from the row of campers behind us.

I'll post some more photos and hopefully some better ones in the near future. ;-)

I really think we're going to like it at Paradise Lakes. It's much different than Highbanks, (More rustic), but nice. Oh, and I almost forgot!! It took Jim quite a while to get Nora set up. All the neighbors in the area came over, introduced themselves and welcomed us to the park.

Very friendly folks!!!!

Anna stopped by last night. She had a couple days off of work up in Jacksonville,so she came down to see her mom and dad, (Laura and Lindsey). She was on her way back home when she stopped here  to visit for about an hour. :-)

Today, Linda has an appointment with Doctor Saferali, the Chemo doctor. I really don't know what for, but she probably wants to know if Linda is still having the side effects of the treatments. The appointment isn't until 11:00, so Linda won't have to get up too early. ;-)

Did you know that Christmas trees are grown in all 50 states including Hawaii and Alaska?

Woof!!!

Another Doctor Appointment, Decorations Up and Presents On Their Way.

DeBary, FL.

41 deg. clear, NW wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast = Sunny. High 68F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Yesterday, Linda had an appointment with the Surgeon who preformed the cancer surgery on her back in 2013. It was just a follow-up visit, but it was still nice to hear that, after an examination, everything appears to be fine. ;-)  The appointment was at 10:00, and by the time Linda had filled out another bunch of papers and the doctor had done his thing, it was after 11:00 by the time she and Jim  got out of there.

Since it was lunchtime by the time Big RED got them back to this area, they stopped at Bob Evans and had breakfast for lunch.

Nothing much else happened yesterday.  Linda was finally able to get back to working on her "Family Tree Maker" program. Between being sick and not being able to see well, because of the cataracts, she hadn't worked on it for over a year. It took her a little while to figure the program out again, but is now doing a lot of on-line research and getting more information to enter.

Oh, I don't think I told you. The other day, Laura stopped by and helped Jim and Linda decorate the Christmas tree. It sure looks pretty and if I can get Jim to take a photo of it, I'll post it here. Then, on  Thursday, Jim and Linda packaged up all the presents that needed to be sent to other states, took the boxes to the Post Office and got them sent off!!! That's always a big relief to get them on their way and not have to worry about family getting their presents on time. :-)

Today, Linda wants to head over to LabCorp and get a blood test. The results will be sent to Linda's doctor, back in Illinois. Then, if they still feel like it, she and Jim want to go to Winn Dixie to buy some groceries.

Sounds like a busy day to me.

Did you know that  US scientists have calculated that Santa would have to visit 822 homes a second to deliver all the world's presents on Christmas Eve, travelling at 650 miles a second?

Talk about "Speedy Delivery"!!!!!!!

Woof!!!

Eye Doctor Appointment and Plans To Decorate

DeBary, FL.

54 deg. partly cloudy, NW wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast = Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High around 65F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.

Thanks to all the folks who commented, called or e-mailed Linda to congratulate her on the scan results. It means so much to her to know that so many of you care. :-)

Yesterday, (after a couple more days of anxiety),  Linda had an appointment with a new eye doctor. Dr. Gandhi from Illinois had given Linda his name and suggested that she make an appointment with him to see if she needed any further treatments to her eyes.

The appointment was for 9:00 AM with instructions to come in a little early to fill out paperwork, so Jim and Linda left here about 8:30 and headed over to his office, which is only about 10 minutes from here. Once there and after filling out a whole bunch of forms, she finally got in to see Dr. Barnard.

The Dr. said that the right eye was doing fine, (the one that Dr. Gandhi was treating), but from the scan of Linda's eyes, he noticed some problems with her other eye, that he recommended being taken care of. So, Linda had an injection in that eye. :-(

This was not good news to Linda. Her left eye is her "good" eye, (the one with almost no diabetic damage), and she had not had any problems with that eye since way back in 2002. :-(

Anyway, the injection procedure went well, but she did have a lot of discomfort yesterday afternoon and evening. Hopefully after sleeping, it will feel better today and she'll be able to have a good day.

Speaking of today. I think that Laura is coming over today to help Jim and Linda decorate the Christmas tree and put up a few other decorations. (It's become kind of a tradition for her to come over to help). It shouldn't take too long as they don't put up a whole lot of stuff, but they usually have a good time doing it. :-)

Did you know that Christmas trees have been sold commercially in the United States since about 1850?

Woof!!!

Worrying Works

DeBary, FL.

66 deg. overcast, N. wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 82F. Winds light and variable.


Worrying Works!!!  90% of what you worry about never happens!!!! When asked yesterday, what the scan looked like, the radiation doctor said, "Boring"!!  In other words, the scan contained nothing unusual and it looked like just a normal scan of a healthy person!!!!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Big RED said that he thinks that Linda smiled all the way from the doctor's office to the house. ;-) She was so excited that as soon as she got home, she called most of the family and told them the great news!! Then last evening, she and Jim went to Gram's Kitchen for dinner. They both had the Friday "all you can eat fish special" and said that it was just as good as they remembered, when they last went in July. :-)

The doctor told Linda that he wanted to see her again in 6 months, but when he found out that Linda and Jim had travel plans for next summer, he said that he'd see her in early April, (just before we'd be leaving), and then again next November when we return.

So, as of now, we're "good to go"!!!! :-)  Jim will start making some more definite travel plans and he and Linda can get back to more "normal" living.  Linda still has an appointment with the surgeon who did the cancer surgery and also the Chemo doctor, but those are just normal follow-up visits and should not be a problem.

Oh, and Nora will be going to the new RV Park in about a week and a half. Jim and Linda went to Highbanks the other day and Jim told them that he'd be taking her out of the park on the 16th or 17th of this month.

Did you know that three quarters of fish caught are eaten – the rest is used to make things such as glue, soap, margarine and fertilizer?

Woof!!!

Shopping Finished, Anxiety and Is There A Move In The Near Future?

DeBary, FL.

63 deg. partly cloudy, light fog, no wind.
Forecast = A mix of clouds and sun. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 77F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph.

As of this last Sunday, all the Christmas shopping is finished and as of yesterday morning, Linda has all of the presents wrapped. Now, most of them need to be boxed up and sent off to family in VA, NC,  WI,  IL, and OR.

Other than day to day living not much has been happening around here. Yesterday, Linda had her first medical appointment since we've been back here in Florida. It was a scan at the Imagining Center at the Florida Hospital, (where she received her radiation treatments). Then, tomorrow, she'll go to see Dr. Graham, (the radiation doctor), to find out the results.

Linda has been having a lot of anxiety about going to get the scan and then going to the doctor to get the results. I can understand that. The outcome is going to make a huge difference in her life.

So, we wait. She's trying to stay busy, so she not always thinking about it.

Oh, and one other thing. As some of you know, Jim is not happy with the site that Nora is in over at Highbanks. Well, I think it was last Saturday, when he and Linda were out and about, buying Christmas Presents, that they spotted a Campground over in Deltona, that they didn't even know was there. They stopped in and talked to Beverly, (a lady that works for the CG part time). She was very nice and let Jim and Linda drive around in the park and see which sites were available. She also suggested that they come back on Monday and talk to Kelly, the manager, to get more information and the monthly rates, etc.

So, Monday morning they went back, talked to Kelly, (a very nice young lady that is the grand daughter of the original owner of the park). Jim and Linda were very impressed with her. The park doesn't have all the amenities that Highbanks has but it is quite a bit less expensive. It's about 15 minutes from the house here in DeBary, so it's not too far away, there are some nice shady sites available, the people in the park seem very friendly, the park is on a very nice lake and the park is gated, so it's not easily accessible to the public.

On the down side, the roads are not paved but do seem well maintained, there's only 30 amp electric in the park, it's farther from the house than Highbanks, it's in a more "rural" setting with not as many businesses nearby and probably about 80% of the sites are filled with permanents. (Highbanks also has a lot of permanents though).

I haven't seen the park yet, but Big RED says that he likes it. I think Jim and Linda like it also. And, from what I can gather from listening to what Jim and Linda have said, it sounds like on the 16th or 17th of this month, they'll be moving Nora over there.

A decision will have to be made very soon.

Did you know that today is "National Cookie Day"????

Yumm Yumm!!!!!

Woof!!!