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!!!

A Good Doctor's Report and A Plan

DeBary, FL.

63 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = A mix of clouds and sun. High 81F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.

Linda's doctor appointment with Dr. Saferali was at 8:00 yesterday morning, so Linda had to get up very early in order to get ready to go. :-(  But, by a little before 8:00, Big RED had taken Linda and Jim  over to the Chemo place and soon after, Linda was getting her blood test and was meeting with the doctor. 

The new tests showed that her white and red counts had now returned to close to normal and the other tests done to the blood were now with-in specs. :-)  Also, the rash that Linda had is just about gone and the itching has almost stopped. The doctor was pleased with the results and told Linda that now she didn't have to worry so much about catching something if she went out in public.

So, when Linda and Jim left the doctor's office, Big RED took them over to the 4 B's Restaurant for Breakfast!!! ;-)

Not a whole lot happened the rest of the day. Linda was tired, (remember, she had to get up "before the crack of dawn), so she slept in her recliner for some of the afternoon. Laura stopped by for awhile to visit and find out how Linda's doctor's appointment went and Jim and Linda started making plans to go over to the new trailer at Highbanks for awhile again. In fact, we're probably going to head over to Highbanks either today, or tomorrow, depending on when they can get things together to take over there.

And that, brings up another problem.

Jim and Linda are finding that to go over to the trailer to spend a few days, they're having to take quite a bit of "stuff" back and forth. This makes it difficult to just go over there for a few days. They've started making a list of what they need to take with them and what to bring back here when they return, but there's always something that gets forgotten.  It's also a pain to lug all that "stuff" back and forth and put it all away, especially if Linda doesn't happen to be feeling too well, or is fighting a lot of fatigue.

They don't really want to buy doubles of everything, but they'll probably be purchasing some things to make the back and forth moves a little easier.

So, if everything goes well, my next post should be from the trailer. I like it over there and it gives Linda and Jim a chance to get away for awhile. ;-)

Did you know that today is "National Sea Monkey Day"?

Woof!!!

A Great Dinner and Moving Things Into The Trailer

DeBary, FL.

57 deg. clear, NW wind @ 5 mph
Forecast = Sun and clouds mixed. High 83F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.

Jim and Linda had a great time and a great meal at Marv and Inez's house Easter Sunday. Anna drove down from Jacksonville, Ashley and her friend Chris were there and so was Lindsey, 2 of his brothers and their families.

Jim and Linda got there around 11:30, had a great ham dinner and enjoyed talking to everyone after the meal, but by about 3:00 or so, Linda started getting quite tired, so they headed back here to the house. Again, Jim and Linda want to thank Marv and Inez for including them in their family's dinner. :-)

Yesterday, Jim and Linda started moving things over to the Travel Trailer. They took a whole cooler of food to put into the refrigerator and some caned goods and cooking utensils. Jim also took his grill over there along with some charcoal.

They took me along, so I was finally able to see the new trailer. Here I am, in the truck, waiting for them to take me inside.

Once inside, I tried to get a good vantage point where I could see everything so I hopped up on the dinette table. I know that some of these photos didn't turn out very well, but I'm sure Jim will be taking more in the near future.

Then I jumped over to the counter, by the sink.

And then into the bedroom to have a look.

After taking the photos of me, Jim took this photo of Linda sitting in her recliner relaxing. (This is the same recliner that they bought to put in Bobbie T.)

Today, the plan is to take some clothes and personal items over there along with some more food and then, if they get that all done, spend at least a week over there.

Kind of a mini vacation!!!!  ;-)

Did you know that on this date in 1889 - At noon, the Oklahoma land rush officially started as thousands of Americans raced for new, unclaimed land?

Woof!!!

It's In The Carport

DeBary, FL.

68 deg. overcast, SW wind @ 6 mph.
Forecast = Partly cloudy early. Thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 81F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.

Guess what's sitting in the carport???

Yep!!!! A big, bright, Red, Dodge pick-up!!!!

Jim and Linda couldn't do much Sunday about getting things rolling as far as the new truck was concerned, so they just watched all that football stuff on TV. As you probably know by now, the Football game was a "bust" so they didn't even watch the last part of it.

Monday morning, Linda called their Financial Adviser and put into motion the process of getting some money transferred to the bank. After that, Jim called their insurance agent, told her about the new truck and got the insurance ready to transfer to it.

Then, while Jim was out getting all of the "stuff" out of CLT, Linda spent rest of the day doing a little embroidery work and taking cat naps. :-) That is until about 5:00 when Laura stopped by, picked up Linda and took her to see that new Hobbit movie at a theater over in Altamont Springs. They both enjoyed the movie and by about 10:00 or so, Laura was dropping her back off. ;-)  By the time Linda came back into the house, she was really beat and just collapsed in her recliner for the rest of the evening.

Yesterday morning, Linda called the bank to make sure that the money had been transferred. It was, so Jim called Jay, over at Gibson Truck World and told him that he and Linda would be there right after lunch to purchase the truck.

So, about 12:30, they took CLT, stopped at the bank to pick up a cashiers check  and headed over there.

It was kind of sad to see CLT pull out of the driveway, knowing that it would be the last time I'd see that little green truck. :-(   He's been a really good little truck throughout the years and has served Jim and Linda faithfully since 2005, with hardly any problems at all.

I'll miss you, CLT!!! :-(

Once over to the dealer, the whole process of trading began. Jim says that he can't understand why it takes so long, but it took about 3 hours to get all the T's crossed the the I's dotted. Basically, the whole process went pretty smoothly and by about 4:00, I heard the new truck backing into the carport. (or should I be calling it a truckport)? :-)

I haven't been out there yet, but from what I could see by looking out of the window, it sure looks nice. (Did I mention that it's Red)????  I didn't realize how much bigger it would be than CLT. It sure takes up more room out there than he did!!

Today, Jim wants to go and get a couple spare keys made for the new truck and he'll need to get some of that "stuff" he took out of CLT, put into it. He and Linda also need to do some laundry, so it's looking like it'll be a fairly busy day.

Oh!! The other day, Dave, (one of the Illinois bunch), called. Many of you long-time followers will remember that every year, about this time, he and Dee Dee have a fish fry over at the park in Thonotosassa, (near Tampa). Well, he called to invite Jim and Linda over there for the fish fry this next Sunday. He follows this blog and knows that Linda doesn't have much energy, but he's hoping that they might be able to make it over there again this year.

Linda did pretty well at the dealer yesterday, so she and Jim are hoping that by the weekend, she'll be feeling well enough to go. It would be a nice drive over there to see good friends and also be a good excuse to take the new truck for a nice long drive to see how it performs. (It's about 100 miles over there).

Who knows, maybe I could even ride along!! ;-)

Did you know that Red Buttons (Aaron Chwatt) was born on this date in 1919?

Woof!!!!

Did I mention that the new truck is Red????

A Busy Place

DeBary, FL.

72 deg. partly cloudy, SW wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast =

High of 82F. Winds from the SW at 10 to 15 mph shifting to the NW in the afternoon. Chance of rain 60%. This has been a busy place for the last few days. Thursday, a little after noon, Joe got here from Virginia Beach, VA. His flights were on time and he said that it was a good trip. Once Joe got here, Laura and Lindsey stopped by to see Joe for a couple hours and then about 4:30 or so, Roland and Louise came. Soon after Roland and Louise arrived, Roland and Jim went and picked up some Chinese for dinner.  Roland and Louise couldn't stay long because they still had to go down to Frostproof and get their double-wide opened up so they could stay there, so they left about 6:30 or so. Yesterday, Linda mentioned to Jim and Joe that she wasn't happy with the furniture arrangement in the living room, so Jim and Joe proceeded to move thing around. Jim hasn't taken any photos of the new layout yet, but the 2 recliners are now where the couch used to be, making it better for TV viewing from the chairs that they normally sit in. Soon after they were done moving the furniture, Joe went to the grocery store and bought items to make taco's for dinner.  After a delicious meal of Taco's, Laura and Lindsey stopped by for awhile to visit and see how Linda was doing. Speaking of Linda. She's doing fine and is able to do more each day. She says that the soreness seems to be going away and see seems to be getting more energy as time goes on. Oh, and she called the doctor's office yesterday and he wants to see her on Wednesday, November 13th for a check-up and to discuss further treatment if necessary. He also told her that no further treatment would be done until she is completely healed up from the surgery, which will be between 6 to 8 weeks from now. So,  ,  ,  ,  that's what I know for now. Joe will be staying here until this coming Wednesday. (He can do some work from here on the Internet), I'm sure Laura and Lindsey will be stopping by from time to time and this evening, Ashley is planning on stopping by for awhile. It's been really great to see Joe again and Linda is just thrilled that he's here and will be able to stay that long. If I don't post every day, don't worry, Linda seems to be doing fine, it's just very busy around here right now. ;-) Did you know that November is "Banana Pudding Lovers Month"? Woof!!!

35 Hours

DeBary, FL.

64 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 84F. Winds from the NE at 10 to 15 mph.

Monday evening, Jim called Linda at the hospital to see how she was doing and to say good-night to her. Then, around 6:30, yesterday morning, Linda called Jim. Nothing special, she was awake and just wanted to talk to him. She told him that she was doing well and had a pretty restful night. (As good as you can have in a hospital). It was decided that there was no reason for Jim to hurry over there because the doctor hadn't been in yet and it didn't sound like anything was going to happen until the afternoon.

So, a little after 9:00, Jim took CLT and headed back to the hospital. After arriving and getting CLT parked, he took a couple photos of the part of the facility where Linda was.

This is the sign out front, that you see from the road.

When you turn in next to the above sign, this is the view of the "Fountain Building".

The patient drop-off and pick-up area,

The view looking back towards the road from the pick-up drop-off area.

Once up to Linda's room and giving her h and k, (hugs and kisses), Linda told him that it sounded like she would be able to go home sometime after lunch. :-)  Of course, Laura was there with Linda and helped Linda fill Jim in on what all had happened during the time Jim was here at the house.

Then, after talking for awhile, he took a few photos out of her room's window. Her room was on the 7th floor and facing East, so there were some nice views of Daytona Beach. If you click on the photos to enlarge them, you should even be able to see the ocean on the horizon.

After lunch, Linda was told that she'd be able to go home and by about 2:00, Laura was helping her get dressed and soon after, CLT was bringing her back here to the house.

Laura came back here also and helped Jim get Linda into the house and get settled in her recliner. Then, she stayed with Linda while Jim went to Walgreen's to pick up a new prescription for Linda.

After Jim returned, Laura headed for home to get some much needed rest and spend time with Lindsey.

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  In an approximately 35 hour time period, Linda left for the hospital, had major surgery and was able to return back home!!! If they had not been able to operate, using the robotic procedure, she would have had to stay in the hospital much longer.   She seems to be doing well. She had a restful night and seems to be feeling pretty good this morning. She's still sore, but that's to be expected. She also has quite a few restrictions about what she can do for the next few weeks and months, but the doctor doesn't foresee any problems.

In 2 weeks Linda will go back to the doctor's office and then it will be decided if any further treatment will be needed.

Again, Linda and Jim want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. It has meant so much, just knowing that there were so many people sending good thoughts and prayers this way.

And, of course, both Linda and Jim want to thank Laura. She has been so much help. She has made everything so much easier for Linda and Jim and her nursing skills and knowledge have been invaluable.

Thank You, everyone!!!!!

Did you know that on this date in 1945, the first ballpoint pens to be made commercially went on sale at Gimbels Department Store in New York at the price of $12.50 each?

I'm sure glad Linda's home and doing well!!!!! :-)

Woof!!!!!

a

I Was Wondering, A Trip To Camping World and Just Hanging Around

Myrtle Beach, SC.

55 deg. clear, NW wind @ 9 mph.
Forecast = Today: Mostly sunny. Highs around 73°F. North northeast wind 2 to 9 MPH, gusting to 14 MPH.
Tonight: Clear. Lows around 52°F. Light wind.

I was wondering how long it would last.

What are you talking about, you ask??  Well, since Jim and Linda purchased Bobbie T, Jim has been sitting at the dinette. In the previous RVs that they've had, there's always been a sofa for him to sit on, but Bobbie T only has the dinette, and now since they've changed the original chair, Linda's recliner chair.

Now, for the record, Jim has never complained about sitting at the dinette, but Linda has been concerned for some time now, as it seems that Jim has been having more problems with his back.

If it wasn't for the much needed storage space under the seats of the dinette, I think Jim would have already ripped the dinette out and installed at least one and maybe 2 comfortable chairs in it's space. So, what to do??

Well Thursday, they headed over to one of the two Camping World stores here in Myrtle beach and looked for some kind of a folding chair that could be used inside and would be more comfortable for Jim. What they found was a folding recliner chair that has a slide-out footrest. It's called a "Pepper Leaf Recliner".

It was kind of hard for Jim to take these photos because of the limited room inside of Bobbie T. but I think you'll be able to see how it's possible to use this chair inside. In these first photos the chair is set up along side of the dinette. This is how it will be when Jim is watching TV or just relaxing. (Of course the chair can be used outside too).

In this photo you can see how the chair is folded up and can be positioned against the wall when Jim is not using it or the dinette is needed for eating or working on the computer.

This is not an ideal situation and Jim doesn't much like the upholstery on the chair, but for now it'll work. In the future, that dinette just may come out of there and replaced with a nice comfy chair, but Jim and Linda don't have to make that decision today. ; )

While they were at CW, they also bought some other things that they needed. One of them was what they call a "knife Safe". It mounts on the inside of  a cabinet door and you can store your cutlery in it, thus getting those sharp knives out of a drawer. They also bought a new water pressure regulator for the city water hook-up, and a padded topper cover to go on their mattress. And, Jim picked up 3 of those small American Flags, that he likes because the ones he has now are starting to show their age.

Yesterday morning, we had some real heavy rain here in Myrtle Beach. In fact, on the TV they were saying that we got more than an inch and a half!! The rest of the day, went from cloudy with sprinkles to sun to back to cloudy again, with yet another fairly heavy shower in the evening.

During one of the breaks in the weather, Jim and Linda went to a nearby Kroger's store and picked up a few groceries, but other than that, just hung around inside.

Today, the weather is supposed to be much better. In fact, I was just looking outside and it looks like we may have a neat sunrise. There are some clouds out over the ocean and that usually makes the sunrise even better.

I'd better go and see if I can get Jim to go out there with his camera and get a few pictures. ; )

Did you know that an estimated 14 million people visit the Myrtle Beach area every year during the Spring/Summer/Fall seasons? 

Dave And Dee Dee Visit, A Little SNAFU and A Recliner For Linda

DeBary, FL.

42 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Today: Mostly sunny. Highs around 75°F. North wind 4 to 9 MPH.
Tonight: Partly cloudy with isolated showers. Lows around 63°F. East southeast wind to 8 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 20%.

Let's see if I can get all that happened in the last few days posted here in the right order.

Tuesday, Dave and Dee Dee stopped by on their way to visit friends in Orange City. They're part of the "Illinois Bunch" who we usually go to see while they are wintering down in Thonotosassa, FL and who come to see us when we're up in Illinois during the summers. We didn't get to go to Thonotosassa this year because of the house and the new RV, so they were nice enough to stop by here and say "Hi"!!

I'm sure they were curious about Bobbie T, and when Jim and Linda suggested that they go over to the house to see it, they said that they'd like to go to see it too.

So, after visiting for a little while and taking the "tour" of Bobbie T, they headed over to the house. I think that they liked Bobbie T, but thought she was pretty small compared to Emrys, and from all reports, they liked the house and thought it would make a good home for Jim and Linda.

Thanks for stopping by, Dave and Dee Dee, Jim and Linda were very pleased that you came. : )

After Dave and Dee Dee left, Jim and Linda went to a couple furniture stores to look for a recliner, (that would fit), to replace the barrel chair here in the RV. At the second store that they went to, they found just what they were looking for and purchased it. They didn't bring it back here though because Jim wanted to get the old chair out to make room for it first.

So, that was the big project for Wednesday. It seemed like it would be fairly simple to remove the old chair, but it was bolted to the floor with some flat-head bolts that were pretty rusty on the bottom where the nuts were. Needless to say, things didn't go easily and even after spraying WD 40 on the bolts, it was a struggle to get the nuts off. And, of course the bolts turned, so he had to use a vise-grips on the top side to hold them. : (

OH, I almost forgot!!! Before Jim started removing the chair, he called the DMV in South Dakota to see what the status of the license plates for Bobbie T was. Well, they had not received any papers from LaMesa so there were no actions taken. Jim immediately called LaMesa and asked to talk to the person who does the paperwork and sends it to the state. He was put through by the operator but his call went to voice mail because it said that the person was out of the office and would call back. After an hour, Jim called again, got the same voice mail and again was told that the person would call back. : (

So, Jim took CLT and went to LaMesa to talk to them in person!!! When he got there, the receptionist said that the lady was busy and suggested that he go to the "Cafe" for a cup of coffee, but Jim said that he'd just wait at the desk. Jim said that he wan't going anywhere as he had already spent over 2 hours trying to get to talk to this lady to find out what had happened to the paperwork. Well, it didn't take too long and the lady came out to the desk and said that there had been a mix-up and the paperwork had never been sent to S. Dakota!!!! Really?????  She apologized, took down some additional information and told Jim that she would personally see that the papers were sent this time.

She also told Jim that if he didn't get the plates or transfer from SD by the time he was ready to leave and head North, she would issue him another temporary plate for an additional 30 days, and then apologized again.  

Yesterday morning, Jim took CLT and headed over to the furniture store and picked up the new chair. They loaded it into the back of CLT for Jim, but when he returned here, he knew that he'd need help getting inside, so he called Lindsey to see if he could come over.

Well, Lindsey was sick with stomach like flu symptoms so he couldn't come to help, so Jim asked Marshall (the man who lives in the park model behind our site), if he could help? He said that he'd be glad to and came right over. In no time at all, the new recliner was inside and Jim was thanking Marshall for his help.

Thanks Marshall!!! : )

As soon as Jim got the recliner positioned in just the right spot, Linda sat down in it and after just a little while, fell asleep.  I guess it's real comfortable for her. ; )

You know, I just realized that there have not been any pictures taken of the inside of Bobbie T. I'll have to see if I can get Jim to take a few so I can show you what she's like inside.

Did you know that one 75-watt bulb gives more light that 3 25-watt bulbs?

Woof!!