Another Dr. Visit, Sorting and A Sewing Class For Ashley

DeBary, FL.

73 deg. clear, no wind, humidity 88%
Forecast = Partly cloudy with scattered storms. Highs around 95°F. Heat index around 108°F. West wind to 9 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 30%.


Early Thursday, Linda had another appointment to see Dr. Saferali, the Chemo Doctor. All reports were good but the Dr. decided that Linda was still dehydrated so she prescribed another Saline Transfusion. Rather than come back another day, it was decided that they would do the transfusion right away.

So, while this was happening, Jim took Big RED and headed over to Wally World to purchase a few items. I really don't know why he went to Wally World, He always has problems finding what he wants to purchase there, and this time was no different. :-(

About noon, Jim  went back and picked up Linda and they returned here to the house.

Because Linda had gotten up at the "crack of dawn", ;-)  she spent a good part of the afternoon dozing in her recliner. After taking it easy during the afternoon, she and Jim took Big RED and headed over to Gram's Kitchen for dinner.

Yesterday, Laura came over for awhile and helped Linda sort through the kitchen cabinets here at the house to determine what things she wants to take over to the trailer, what to get rid of and to reorganize the rest. By the time they were finished, there was one box full of items to take to the trailer, a bag and a box of groceries for Laura to take home and a list of items to take to the trailer just before we leave for Illinois, in just over 2 weeks from now.

Thanks Laura!!! ;-)

I don't know if you remember or not, but back on about the 8th of June I wrote about Linda, Laura and Ashley going shopping to buy some material, patterns and supplies for Ashley to use to learn how to use her new sewing machine. Well today, Ashley is going to stop by so that Linda can teach here how to operate the machine and get her started on the sewing project.

I think it'll be fun for both of them. ;-)

Did you know,



Woof!!!

Improving, Life In A 55+ Community, Starting To Get Ready and Weather

DeBary, FL.

74 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with isolated storms. Highs around 95°F. Heat index around 106°F. West wind to 7 MPH.

It's been a little while since I've posted so I thought I'd bring you up to date.

Linda has been improving each day. She's now eating normally and is getting some energy back. The dizziness also seems to be getting better, but if it follows previous patterns, it will come and go from day to day.

The big news here in the gated community, where the house is, is that they've been seal-coating the streets and that has caused some of the folks here to get all upset because while they're working, they've been closing streets and making it impossible for the people to come and go as normal. Of course, some of the people who have gotten upset are the ones who never go anyplace anyway, but as soon as they close the street, they decide that they have to go someplace, right then.

I think they're about finished with the re-seal project, so soon everything will be good again. ;-)

Ahhhh!!! Life in a 55+ gated community!!!!

Laura and Lindsey stopped by for awhile yesterday. They were glad to hear that Linda was doing much better. Other than that, not much else going on.

We're still shooting at leaving here by the 14th of July. Both Jim and Linda are starting to gather "stuff"  together to take to the trailer for the trip. Jim went over to Highbanks yesterday to check on the trailer and re-arrange some of the things in the outside compartment. He didn't stay over there too long though, it was too hot to do too much.

Speaking of weather.  We're now into what they're calling "The rainy season". I call it the "muggy season", but that's just me. Anyway, every day in the afternoon it rains hard with thunder and lightning for awhile and then usually, the sun comes out again. The temperatures each day have been in the 90's and with the rain, the humidity has been right up there too. Also, since the "rainy season" began, it doesn't cool off much at night. Lately, it's only been cooling off to around the mid 70's and the air is thick enough that you can cut it with a knife!!!

I knew that there was a reason that we didn't want to be in Florida in the summer!!!  ;-O

Did you know that Colgate's first toothpaste came in a jar?

Woof!!!

We're Back At Highbanks

DeBary, Fl. (Highbanks Marina & Camp Resort)

59 Deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Plentiful sunshine. High 86F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph.

Much to my disappointment, we didn't go to Highbanks Friday, so Saturday morning, bright and early, I was waiting by the door, ready to go. ;-)

Actually, Jim and Linda had packed up a whole bunch of stuff on Friday and taken it out to Big RED, so there really wasn't that much to do before we left the house Saturday morning.

As soon as Jim started carrying things out, I ran out to Big RED to make sure they didn't forget to take me!!!!

By about 10:30 or so, we were on our way to Highbanks. :-)  Once there, it took quite awhile for Jim and Linda to get everything carried inside and put away. In fact by the time they were done, they were both tuckered out and ended up taking naps.

Not a whole lot has happened since our arrival. Saturday evening, Jim cooked some burgers on his little charcoal grill while Linda put salads together inside. Sunday, Jim cooked a large pork chop on the grill and Linda cooked asparagus inside and got out some French Bread to go with it.

They have been organizing and reorganizing both days and there's still a tote in the back of Big RED that needs to be gone through and the contents put in boxes that are in the outside storage area of the trailer. Jim also hooked up a different water filter that he bought at Low's the other day so that we'd all have better tasting water to drink.

He had been using one of those in-line hose filters, but it wasn't doing the job and the water tasted like chlorine. :-(

I don't know exactly how long we'll be staying here this time. A lot will depend on how Linda feels and they also have to take into consideration that this Thursday, Linda has to go in for another Chemo Treatment and then, that injection on Friday. :-(

The weather has been great since we've been here at Highbanks. The highs have been in the lower to mid 80's with low humidity and there has been a nice breeze blowing. The nights have actually felt kind of cool, with lows in the upper 50's. That's going to change though, they're forecasting highs in the mid to upper 90's starting on Thursday and staying that warm throughout the weekend. And, of course, that also means much higher humidity. :-(

Linda seems to be doing better. She's feeling pretty well, the rash and the itching are gone, but now her skin is peeling, just like it would as if she was getting over a sunburn. She's very fatigued most of the time and gets aggravated when she tries to do things and can't because she has to rest all the time or ask Jim to help her. She's trying real hard to keep her spirits up though and I really think it's been good for her coming out here to the CG.

Did you know that May is "National Salad Month"?

Woof!!!

Dr. Appointments, Joe's Coming To Visit and Other Stuff

DeBary, FL.
Highbanks Marina and Camp Resort

65 deg. clear, W. wind @ 6 mph.
Forecast = Areas of fog early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. High 88F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Everything went well at the Chemo doctor's visit Thursday. As expected, Linda will start Chemo treatments this coming Thursday, (The 1st of May), and will then have 2 more treatments at 21 day intervals.

This means that this next week is going to get really busy. On Wednesday, Linda has a follow-up appointment with the radiation Dr. (Dr. Graham), Thursday, she'll have the Chemo Treatment, plus Joe is flying in from Virginia Beach to visit. Then on Friday, Linda will have to go back to the Chemo doctor's office for that injection that helps her bone marrow make more blood cells. If you remember, that's the injection that makes her bones ache for 2 or 3 days. :-(

I don't know exactly how long Joe will be staying, but I think it will be between 5 to 7 days. He has some kind of airline discount thing that he must use by the 7th of May, so he'll have to be back in Virginia by then.

We've been having a good time camping here at Highbanks. Jim and Linda have been getting things organized in the trailer and yesterday, Jim went to Home Depot and purchased a towel bar, a TP holder, a toothbrush holder and some clothes hooks for the bathroom. I'm not sure why these items aren't already included with the trailer, but I suppose it's another way the manufacturer can cut the cost of production.

Speaking of the trailer, so far everything seems to be working well and no major defects have been found. Jim has tightened up a few screws and there is a piece of trim in the bedroom that he will be tacking down with a small nail, but nothing that would warrant taking the trailer back to the dealer.

Last night, Jim and Linda went to Gram's Kitchen for their "Fish Fry". Again, the food was good and so was the service. Gram's has become a very "comfortable" place for them to go out to eat.

It's been getting quite warm down here in Florida the last few days. We've been having highs near 90 degrees and the forecast is for temps over 90 Monday through Thursday. The humidity hasn't been too high yet, but I'm sure that will be rising soon. Neither Jim, Linda or I are looking forward to spending the summer here in Florida, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Did you know that the average high temperatures for June, July and August in DeBary, FL. is above 90 degrees?

Woof!!!

A Certificate For Linda

DeBary, FL.

51 deg. Partly cloudy, N. wind @ 12 mph.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy skies. High 71F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph.

Everything went well yesterday and by about 9:45 Linda was finished with her last Radiation treatment. As she was leaving the treatment room, she was surprised when one of the technicians gave her a Certificate of completion!!! Jim took a photo of it and I'm hoping that by clicking on the photo to enlarge it, you'll be able to read what it says.

After leaving the Hospital, Jim and Linda decided to go out for Breakfast, so they headed over to the 4 B's Restaurant. :-)

After eating, they came back here to the house so that Linda could take her medications and to relax for awhile. A little later, Jim asked her if she wanted to go over to Highbanks to put more "stuff" away in the travel trailer, but she was too tired, so Jim went over there and worked on it some.

Just before he came back here, Jim snapped this photo of the trailer sitting on its site.

Because of the forecast, he had been watching the weather so when the skies started to look threatening he headed for home. Soon after he returned here to the house, (about 12:15), a cold front came through and it started raining really hard. There was also some wind with the front, but nothing too serious in this area.

If Linda is feeling OK today, I'm sure they'll be back over to the CG to continue organizing the travel trailer. If not, they have quite a bit of time to finish the job.

Here's what's happening medically for the rest of the month.  Linda has a Chemo doctor's meeting on the 24th and and probably have a Chemo treatment about a week after that. She also has an appointment to go back to Dr. Graham's, (the radiation doctor), for a follow-up visit on the 30th of April.

A Point to Ponder : Someone who thinks logically provides a nice contrast to the real world.

Woof!!!

We Have A Travel Trailer and Linda's Last Radiation Treatment

DeBary, FL.

67 deg. clear, S. wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast = Partly cloudy early. Thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 87F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 80%.

Sunday morning, Jim took Bobbie T over to the RV dealer, (LaMesa RV). Then, Jeff, (the salesman that Jim and Linda have been dealing with), brought Jim back here to the park. The reason being that last Thursday, Shane, (the service adviser) had called and told Jim that the new Travel Trailer would be ready on Monday.

So, yesterday, at 10:00, Jim and Linda took Big RED over to LaMesa RV and they fitted him with a load equalizing anti sway hitch and an electric brake controller while Jim and Linda were given a "walk through" and signed some papers to finalize the deal.  While they were there, they had a free lunch, (Shepard's Pie), at the dealer's cafeteria.

About 12:30, just as they were finishing up lunch, Jeff told them that the hitch and controller had been installed, a few minor problems with the trailer corrected, and everything was ready. From LaMesa, they took the new trailer over to the Highbanks Marina & Camp Resort  where Jim paid for 1 month's stay.

The trailer is now parked in Site #198, which is the same site that we have had for the last few years when we've stayed there for the winter. After getting the trailer set up and hooked to the electric to run the AC, Jim unloaded a bunch of boxes from the back of Big RED and carried them inside of the trailer so that he and Linda could start packing "stuff" into the cabinets.

They didn't get a whole lot done as both of them were pretty tired by this time, so they'll go back today, after Linda's last radiation treatment, and do some more organizing. They have a lot more stuff to move over there but once they get the necessities moved, they'll start staying overnight. :-)

As I mentioned, today Linda has her last radiation therapy treatment. Next Thursday, (the 24th), she has an appointment with Dr. Saferali (the chemo doctor), and they'll discuss when Linda will start her second series of Chemo treatments. As before, the treatments will be at 21 day intervals and there will be 3 of them.

 Did you know that on this date in 1817 - The first American school for the deaf was opened in Hartford, CT?

Woof!!!

I know!! I know!! No Post Lately

DeBary, FL.

72 deg. light rain, no wind.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy with thunderstorms and rain showers. High of 88F with a heat index of 93F. Winds from the West at 5 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%

I know!! I know!! I haven't posted much lately, but I really don't have much to post about. Linda hasn't heard anything from the doctors, so basicly she and Jim are just waiting for the appointment with the doctor on Tuesday.

It's been raining off and on the last few days so the humidity has gone clear to the top of the chart. Jim went out to the shed early yesterday morning and thought because it was cooler, (in the low 70's), he could get some organizing accomplished, but after being out there for about 15 or 20 minutes, he came back in dripping with sweat from just moving a few boxes and totes around. :-(

Yesterday, between showers, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Walgreen's to buy a few things, but other than that, they've pretty much stayed inside. Then, Laura stopped by for awhile in the evening, just to visit.

I don't know of anything happening today. Laura suggested that Linda call the doctor to see if they had received the results from the biopsy yet, so maybe she'll do that.

Did you know that on this date in 1890 - The Sequoia National Park was established as a U.S. National Park in Central California?

Woof!!!

Up On The Roof and Shopping

DeBary, FL.

59 deg. light fog, W. wind @ 3 mph.
Forecast = Today: Mostly sunny. Highs around 81°F. Northeast wind 8 to 17 MPH, gusting to 24 MPH.
Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows around 61°F. East wind 3 to 14 MPH, gusting to 18 MPH.

By a little after 10:00 yesterday morning, Jim was up on Bobbie T's roof. With him, he had the 2 vent covers he had bought, his battery powered drill and some miscellaneous tools.

Those of you that know Jim well, know that being on a roof is not his favorite thing to do, but soon he was measuring, drilling and fastening the cover to the vents. It actually didn't take very long to install the covers and in a little over an hour, he was back down on the ground and putting everything away. : )

Now, if it's raining, Jim and Linda can still open the vents to get some air circulation through the motor home.

About 1:00 Laura stopped by and picked up Linda. They did end up going over to the mall where first they stopped at a restaurant for a light lunch and then went to a clothing store and bought Linda some jeans. Linda said that she looked for some tops too, but didn't find anything she liked.

While Linda and Laura were gone shopping, Jim took a nice long nap and did a little reorganizing inside of me. : )

When Linda returned she was quite tired so it was decided that Jim head over to Winn Dixie and pick up some much needed groceries while she took a little nap. In about an hour, Jim was back and Linda helped him put the groceries away.

Today, the plan is to head over to the house to do some laundry. Jim got an e-mail from Bob yesterday, and he's already started on the yard work, so it'll be interesting to see what he's done so far.

Did you know that today is "National Peanut Butter and Jelly Month"?

Hmmmm!!! Sounds good to me, but that peanut butter gets stuck to the roof of my mouth. : )

Woof!!!

Walgreens, Making Arrangements and A Delivery Today

DeBary, FL.

42 deg. clear, W. wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Today: Mostly sunny. Highs around 73°F. Northeast wind to 8 MPH.
Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows around 48°F. East wind 1 to 7 MPH.

Not much happening, so that's why I didn't post yesterday. Until later in the day yesterday, Linda still wasn't feeling well at all, but I think she's past the worst part of this really bad cold now. : )

Yesterday afternoon, Jim and Linda took CLT (Cute Little Truck), and headed over to Walgreens. There were some items that they desperately needed and although they didn't have a large selection, they picked up a few groceries to hold them over, too. From there, they went over to the house to take care of a few things  and then headed back here to Highbanks. 

Jim has also been talking to Nancy, (the park manager at Highland Estates), and in the next few days will be making arrangements for the yard to be taken care of at the house plus talking to some folks from the park that are familiar with what needs to be done to the house to make it ready for the months we'll be gone this summer.

Today, Rooms To Go is going to be delivering the bed that Jim and Linda bought about a month ago. They have already received a phone call informing them that the delivery would be sometime between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM. So, this morning they'll head over to the house and wait for the delivery.

It's OK though, there's lots of stuff that they can do, like organizing some of the things that they've taken over there. I think that there's probably more laundry that needs to be done too, so I'm sure they'll stay busy. ; )

Did you know that tomato sauce was sold in the 1830s as medicine?

Woof!!!