Happy Birthday Linda and Starting To Get Ready

DeBary, Fl.

75 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = A mix of clouds and sun. High 94F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.


Nothing real exciting going on around here. Jim and Linda have been getting things together to take along on our Illinois trip. They've made some lists so they could remember what they need to take and have already started packing some things into boxes and bags. 

Saturday, was Linda's birthday, so at noon, they met Laura, Lindsey and Anna over at the Longhorn Steakhouse for lunch. Then, in the evening, they headed to Laura's where they had Cupcakes and ice cream. Marv, Inez, Ashley, Chris, Anna and of course Laura and Lindsey were there and it sounds like everyone had a good time. ;-) 

Linda blowing out candles on cupcakes

Yesterday, Jim took Lily and went to Walgreen's to pick up a few prescriptions and to the local Winn Dixie store where he bought some groceries to use on or trip up North. Today he wants to get outside early and get a few things done out there before it gets too hot. We're right in the middle of the hottest time of the year down here now and almost every day, the temps are in the mid-ninety's with rain showers/storms in the afternoon, causing lots of humidity.  :-( 

Jim seems to be feeling pretty well. For now, most of the side effects from the Opdivo seem to be gone, but he is still taking medicine to counter those effects. Hopefully by the time that medicine is gone, so will be the side effects. 

It's still not completely decided on just when we'll be leaving DeBary. If they get everything ready, we may leave here as early as Sunday. I think Linda is worried about how Jim will be feeling after traveling for 4 or 5 hours a day, and said yesterday, that she thought that adding an extra "rest" day to the trip would be good. 

Well, that's about it for now. I'm going to make a real effort to post more often, especially while we're traveling.  


Did you know that on this date in 1966 - The Monkees recorded their first single? The song was "The Last Train to Clarksville" and was later included on their self-titled debut album. 

Woof!!!

Did You Miss Me?

Moncure, NC.

47 deg. light rain, W. wind @ 4 MPH.

Forecast = Cloudy with periods of rain. High 53F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall may reach one inch.


Yeah, I know it's been a long time since I posted!!! Not a whole lot to report though.

The weather hasn't been too co-operative with rain off and on most of the week causing outdoor plans to be put by the wayside. Take for instance the first Saturday that we were here.

Mike and Dillon came out here to Goodwin's RV park to have a cook-out. Well, Jim cooked the hamburgers out on the grill, staying under the awning, cause it was raining quite hard, but they all came inside to eat as the picnic table was getting wet by the time the burgers were cooked. :-{

Most evenings, Big RED has taken Jim and Linda over to Mike and Gina's where they enjoyed nice meals and great visiting with the family. Brenna. Savanna and Dillon are into a lot of things, so many evenings, Gina took one or more of them to their different activities.

All in all, it's been a good visit though. There's been a lot of time to catch up on what's been happening during the summer and to see how much all of the kids have grown or matured since we were here in the spring.

During the days, Jim and Linda have spent most of the time out here at the CG. One day they went to the Kroger's store in Pittsboro to get groceries and another day to Walgreen's. but other than that, not much else. On days where Mike and Gina were busy, they just hung around here, with Jim cooking out a couple of times.

We were scheduled to leave here today, but all the weather guessers were predicting lots of rain for both here and our next stop in S. Carolina for today, so that yesterday, Jim decided that it would be best if we just stayed here one more day.

So,  ,  ,  , ,  the plan is to leave here tomorrow and head down into SC. Then, down to Georgia and Florida during the next few days, getting down to DeBary Friday or Saturday.

Oh, here's a few photos of the CG that Jim took one sunny morning.

Our site.

The entrance road into the CG

Another view of our site. You can just see the tops of other RVs on the lower level behind Nora.

A Quote to Ponder:

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”

Abraham Lincoln

Woof!!!

Time To Head South

Rantoul, IL.

48 deg. clear, S. wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Sunny. High around 80F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.


As you can see in the photos below, fall is definitely arriving here in Rantoul.

The crops are being harvested out of the fields and the nights are getting downright chilly. The grass is starting to turn brown and all of the songbirds have long ago headed to warmer climates.

All clues to indicate that we should also head to warmer areas of the country. ;-)

So, the last few days have been spent getting ready to do just that. There have been trips to Walgreen's, the grocery store, as well as a lot of reorganizing of "stuff" in the basement and other storage areas of Nora. Of course, Big RED wasn't left out either, Jim also went through much of the "stuff" in his bed as well as any other storage areas inside the cab.

Meanwhile, Linda has been repacking cabinets and storage areas inside of Nora as well as making sure the freezer and refrigerator are ready for travel.

Tomorrow morning, (Monday), we'll be leaving Rantoul and heading over to Indianapolis to see Linda's cousin, Mike and his wife, Sandy. Then, from there, we'll head farther East, going first to Virginia Beach, VA and then to Apex, NC before heading down to Florida for the winter, with the expected time of arrival in Fl. about the 15th of November.

We've had a great summer here in Rantoul, and will miss Paul and Louise and all the folks who regularly stay here or stop by.  But, if everything goes well, we'll be back again next year. :-)

A Quote to Ponder : “To those who can dream there is no such place as faraway. "  author unknown.

Woof!!!

Back To The Eye Doctor, A Little Shopping, A Leak and Mosquitoes

Rantoul, IL.

62 deg. clear, N. wind @ 5 mph.

 Forecast = Cloudy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 83F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.


Big RED took Lina and Jim back down to the doctor's office Tuesday morning and everything went well. She received the injection and will have to go back on the 21st to get the other eye treated. :-( 

Again, we've had lots of rain here in Rantoul. The reports were somewhere between 2 to 3 inches, although someone said it was closer to 4 inches of rain.

One day, Jim and Linda headed down to Champaign and to the Hancock fabric store down there where Linda gets many of her sewing and needlework supplies when were're in this area. This time she just needed some "floss" (colored thread), for a project she's working on. After going to the fabric store, they stopped at the Urbana Gardens Restaurant and had dinner before coming back here to the Campground. 

Oh, and on the way back, they also stopped at Walgreen's to pick up a few items they needed. 

The day that it was raining the hardest, we had a leak that showed up on the floor in the bedroom. Yesterday, Jim determined that there was a small hole in the mounting flange of the water heater, (which is under the nightstand on Nora), so he calked it up with some sealant and also added sealant in a few other places around the heater where there seemed to be little cracks in the original sealant. 

Hopefully that will cure the problem. I don't like getting my feet wet when I go into the bedroom to check things out. ;-) 

Nothing much else to report. Even when the weather is nice around here, the mosquitoes are getting so bad, (because of all the rain and water standing everywhere), that you really can't spend much time outside without getting all bitten up. Repellent helps, but those little suckers are hungry!!! :-O The only time you can go out much is when the wind is blowing.That seems to keep them away somewhat. 

 Did you know that in 1865 Illinois was the first state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery?

Woof!!!

Anyone Have A Large Boat For Sale?

Rantoul, IL.

60 deg. partly sunny, NW wind @ 7 mph.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. High around 75F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph.


Anyone have a large boat for sale? If this weather keeps on like it is, we're going to be needing it!!!!

If you've been following the news, you may already know that parts of Illinois have had some very unusual weather.  When we arrived, it was soggy enough that Louise was unsure if Jim could  get Nora into this site by pulling around from the rear across the grass. Well, we made it without any problems, but in the last week, we've had all kinds of additional rain and then on Wednesday night we had an inch that came down like someone was dumping buckets of water on the CG.

With the ground already soaked, Friday, we had a downpour that lasted for much of the morning and almost all of the afternoon. That, added another 3.6 inches to the amount and left us with water standing everywhere!!!

That's at least 6 inches of water down at the end of the road that we're on, and yes, those are RV sites at the end of the road. It's a good thing no one was in those sites right now. (click on the photo to enlarge it if you'd like to)

I really don't know how they'll be getting any of the RVs in or out of the sites without getting stuck or at least making a mess of the site. Friday afternoon, I know that quite a few RVs were turned away from the park, and with all this rain, it'll take quite a few days to dry out.

Nothing much been happening here. With the weather being nasty almost every day, Jim hasn't been able to get much done outside. In fact, except for going to Walgreen's one day and going out to eat at the Steak N Shake one evening, they haven't gone anyplace either.

Did you know that on this date in 1955, the state of Illinois enacted the first automobile seat belt legislation?

Woof!!!

Thank You, Moving "Stuff" To The Trailer and One More Appointment

DeBary, FL.

69 deg. partly cloudy, E. wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Partly cloudy early. Thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 86F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.

First of all, Linda wants to thank all of you that commented, called or contacted her since I posted about the results of her PET Scan. It really does mean a lot to her to know that so many of you were thinking and/or praying for her.

Thank You!!!!

Friday, the follow-up exam at the surgeon's office at the Halifax Medical Center went off without a hitch. It takes around 45 minutes to get over there, so the drive took longer than the exam did, By noon, Big RED was backing into the carport. :-)

After grabbing a bite to eat, Linda and Jim started gathering things up to take over to the trailer. Then, yesterday morning, they took a lot of food, clothes and supplies over there and stashed them away. Then, on the way back here to the house, they stopped by Walgreen's and picked up their prescriptions that Linda had called in the day before.

There's still quite a bit of "stuff" to take over there and other "stuff" to pack into the back of Big RED and there are plans to take more of it this morning. From what I can gather from Jim and Linda's conversations, it sounds like they're planning on moving out to the RV Park and staying in Nora, for a night or two before we actually leave the area. During those couple days, they can determine if they've forgotten to take anything and will be coming back here to get the house ready for the time we're away.

Monday morning (tomorrow), Linda has that appointment with her retinologist. She's hoping that she doesn't need another injection, but if she does, there'll be time for her to recover before we leave. (Most of the time, she gets a pretty severe aching sensation in her eye after the injection that lasts for a day or two).

So, hopefully by Wednesday or Thursday we'll be able to leave. My paws are really starting to itch, so it's time we get going!!! .-)

Did you know that on this date in 1877 - A catcher's mask was used in a baseball game for the first time by James Alexander Tyng?

Woof!!!

Computer Repaired!!!!

DeBary, FL.

69 deg. partly cloudy, NW wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast = Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 88F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.

Whew!!!!! Lucked out!!!!

Friday morning, Jim called David,  The Florida PC Doctor  and told him that this laptop computer was still locked up. He gave Jim his home address and told him that if he could bring it to his house and give it to his wife, he would look at it as soon as he arrived home, (sometime during Friday afternoon).  So, after programming the address into Tillie, (the GPS Unit), Jim and  Linda hopped into Big RED and headed over to his house.

David's house is over in Enterprise, which is a small town about 8 or 10 miles from here, so even though it was all city/residential roads over there, it only took about 20 minutes to get there. David's wife was very nice and helpful and soon Big RED was on his way back to DeBary.

On the way back, they stopped by Walgreen's and picked up a prescription for Jim and a few other items before returning here to the house.

Later Friday, David called and told Jim that he had gotten the computer unlocked, but that he wanted to run a few programs on it to make sure everything was working properly and to make sure that there wasn't any virus or malware still on the computer. He said that he'd call Jim when he was finished.

Well, yesterday morning, (Saturday), he called and soon Jim and Linda were heading over there to pick up the computer. David got everything cleaned up and now it's working just fine again with no loss of data!! :-) Whew!!!!

Normally, David comes to where ever you are to repair a computer, as he really doesn't really have a shop at home. But, being that he was so busy with this problem that was going on with so many computers, he made an exception for us.

Thank you, David, for the prompt and excellent service at a reasonable price!!!

If you're ever in the DeBary/Orange City, Deltona/Sanford area, and need help with a computer problem, give The Florida PC Doctor a call!!!

He's one of the "Good Guys"!!!  :-)

Did you know that "Touch-Tone Phones were introduced in 1964?

Woof!!!

Shopping For Clothes, More Furniture, Big RED Gets Recalled and A Neat Web Site

DeBary, FL.

62 deg. overcast, SE wind @ 7 mph.

Forecast = Considerable cloudiness. Occasional rain showers this afternoon. High 81F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

Wow!!!! I can't believe that it''s been 10 days since I've last posted!!!!!   But, as they say, "No news is good news". ;-)

There's been the normal things going on, like grocery shopping, going to Walgreen's and going out to eat once in awhile at places like Arby's and Gram's Kitchen.

Tuesday, Jim took Big RED to a local mechanic, (Bob Gorman's Alignment and Brake Center) and had his oil and filter's changed. They also checked him over real well and declared that he was "good to go"!  :-)

Then, Tuesday afternoon, Jim and Linda too Big RED and headed over to the Used Furniture Store and purchased a nice end table and Lamp to put in the Florida Room next to the Glider.

I think I like it. It makes the Florida Room look more like a room, rather than a porch.

Yesterday morning, Laura picked up Linda and they headed over to the Mall in Sanford where they bought Linda a whole bunch of new clothes. You see, it all started when Linda was undergoing the Chemo and Radiation treatments. She didn't have much of an appetite, so she didn't eat much. Well, she lost quite a bit of weight and since then, she has been very careful about what she eats and has lost even more. So,   ,  ,  ,  most of her clothes no longer fit!

I guess that was one of the good things that came her from being sick!!

While Linda and Laura were shopping, Jim took Big RED and headed over to the CG to check on Nora. She's doing fine over there at Paradise Lakes. From there he went to an ACE Hardware Store and bought a few things and then headed to Bob Evans for breakfast at lunchtime. (Laura and Linda ate at Cracker Barrel). From Bob Evans, Jim went to Home Depot where he bought a board for a project that he has in mind and then headed up to the Dodge Ram dealer in DeLand.

You see, Big RED has been recalled. Yep. he's been recalled for that air bag thing and they're going to have to replace some of the air bag parts. So now, he has an appointment next Tuesday at 8:00 AM to have the work done. The service manager told Jim that it would take about 3 hours to preform the work, so that'll take up most of the morning. :-(

Nothing much planned for today or this weekend. The weather guessers on TV are saying that it will start raining here this afternoon and continue until tomorrow, around noon. After that, it's supposed to be quite a bit cooler but sunny, so maybe Jim can get going on that project he's thinking about.

Oh, I wanted to share a web site with you that I found the other day. It's called Weatherbase and it gives you all the weather data for almost every city in the United States as well as many cities in other countries.

Here's the link to the site. Weatherbase

Jim says that it should be real handy when planning a trip to different parts of the country, so check it out and be sure to check the links for "features" also as there's some good info there too.

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

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!!!

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!!!

Sunrise, Shopping and More Milestones For Linda

Myrtle Beach, SC

48 deg. overcast. NW wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast Today = Partly cloudy. High near 50F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Tonight = Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 33F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.

Just after I posted yesterday's blog, Jim looked out of the window and noticed this neat sunrise so he grabbed his little camera and took this shot.

Even though they were forecasting off and on showers and cool temps for yesterday, the weather turned out to be really nice. So, Jim and Linda were able to get some things done without having to deal with any inclement weather.

After leaving here, their first stop was Walgreen's where Jim went in and bought a few necessities that they were out of. From there's they ended up across the street at a store where they were having a big "end of season" sale. Everything was 50 % off and they found some great items for Christmas gifts.  Linda went into the store without her walker and managed OK (She hadn't been into a store to shop without her wheel chair or walker for almost a year). :-)

From Walgreen's, Big RED took them to the Camping World store where Jim went in and bought a few items while Linda waited outside in Big RED. From CW, they came back here and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. (Jim took a little nap). ;-)

So, what did Linda do while Jim was napping? Well, the other day, Jim suggested that since she has had her cataracts removed, she may be able to do some embroidery projects again, so a few days ago, she dug out her embroidery stuff and gave it a try. Everything went well, she is now able to see well enough to do the fine detail work and has been working on a project ever since. :-)  (She hasn't been able to see to do any "fine" work since last fall.)

For dinner, Jim and Linda decided that they'd like to go out to eat. After some research, they decided on the Islamorada Fish Company, which is located right next to the Bass Pro Shops, just a few miles from here.

When they arrived, it wasn't real clear where the entrance to the restaurant was, so Jim parked Big RED near where it looked like the door was. Well, after Jim and Linda started walking in, (Linda decided to not use her walker), they found out that the entrance was over on the other side. Linda walked all the way over there and made it without getting too dizzy or tired!! She did sit and rest a little once they were inside, but then was able to walk to the table without any problems. :-)  (Yet another Milestone. She hasn't been able to walk this far with or without a walker for over a year!! )

The food and service was very good and both enjoyed a very nice meal. In fact, they said that if we come back to this area, this restaurant will be one they'll be sure to go to again.

When they left, Jim brought Big RED closer to the entrance so that Linda wouldn't have to walk so far. ;-)

I don't expect Jim and Linda to do much today. The temperature has dropped 2 degrees since I've started this post, and the wind is supposed to pick up as the day goes on. Jim dumped the tanks yesterday morning and put the sewer hose away. If it gets as cold as they're forecasting for tonight, he'll put the water hose and filter away too, so it don't freeze. Tomorrow morning we'll be leaving here and head South. We'll probably stay one night down in southern South Carolina and then head down into northern Florida on Sunday.

How long we'll stay there hasn't been decided yet. A lot will depend on the weather. At any rate, we should be getting to DeBary either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Did you know that the walls of the American fort on Sullivan Island, in Charleston Harbor, were made of spongy Palmetto logs?  This was helpful in protecting the fort because the British cannonballs bounced off the logs.

We're proud of you, Linda!!!!

Woof!!!

Dinner With Mike, Terri, Hank And Selene, Saying Good-Bye and Doctor Appointments

Rantoul, IL.

77 deg. cloudy, humidity 88% NW wind @ 13 mph, thunder in the distance.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with isolated storms. Highs around 90°F. Heat index around 104°F. West southwest wind to 10 MPH. Chance of precipitation 60 percent.

The temperatures and humidity have been rising here in Rantoul the last few days and we've also had rain showers at time. This has caused Jim and Linda to pretty much stay inside of Nora. They did go to pick up their mail at the post office and go to ACE Hardware to pick up an item or two on Tuesday and then went to Walgreen's to pick up Linda's prescriptions on Wednesday though.

Also, on Wednesday, they contacted Mike and Terri and Hank and Selene to find out if they'd like to go out to eat Wednesday or Thursday evening. After talking to both, it was determined that yesterday evening would be the best, so plans were made to go to the Blue Start Family Restaurant over in Fisher.

So, About 5:00 Big RED took Jim, Linda, Hank and Selene over there and Mike and Terri followed along in their car.

Once again, everyone enjoyed their meal and the Blue Star came through with flying colors. ;-) The food and service were very good, and the company and conversation were great!!

Hank and Selene are leaving here this morning. It sure has been great getting to know them better and spend time with them. If everything goes according to plan, we'll be seeing them again in NC next spring. :-)

Jim and Linda said their good-bye's yesterday evening because early this morning, both Linda and Jim have eye doctor appointments at Linda's Retinaologist. Linda to see Dr. Gandhi to have her retinas checked and Jim to have scan of his eyes to make sure there is no further damage from Glaucoma. The results of that scan will then be sent to Dr. Anderson's office. (Jim's regular eye doctor).

If Linda's exam goes well and Dr. Gandhi doesn't find any problems with her eyes, those results will also be sent to Dr. Anderson's office and more than likely, Dr. Anderson will schedule appointments to remove Linda's cataracts soon after Labor Day.

Oh, one last thing.

I've changed the "layout" of this blog just a little. If you scroll down and look over on the right side, you'll see the URLs for "Past Blogs For Jim and Linda". I don't know how to make the URLs into links that you can just click on, so if you want to bring up the blogs, you'll have to copy and paste to your browser. The blogs go way back to January 23, 2008 when Myrddin made his first post and follow all of our travels and daily living since then.

For those of you that do decide read the old post by Mryddin and Emrys, I hope you enjoy!!!

Did you know that on this date in 1956 - Elvis began work on his first movie, "Love Me Tender"?

Woof!!!

A Shopping Trip and An Appointment For Jim

Rantoul, IL.

64 deg. partly cloudy, light fog.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with widespread heavy fog. Highs around 81°F. North northeast wind to 6 MPH.

Not a whole lot happening here in Rantoul. Yesterday, Big RED took Jim and Linda over to Walgreen's. Jim has Linda's "Mobility Chair"

"file photo"

 in the back of Big RED so they used that, so that Linda could go inside and buy some new make-up to replenish her current supply, some other items that they both needed and a new prescription from the doctor's visit last Wednesday.

Linda doesn't use the chair much anymore, but in this case, it was too far to walk without getting dizzy and needing a place to sit down, so it was easier.

After returning and resting up a bit, Jim fired up the grill and cooked a couple of small steaks while Linda cooked an ear of sweetcorn for herself and some peas for Jim. (Linda doesn't like peas). :-(

That steak sure smelled good!!!! ;-)

 The evening was spent watching the TV, reading and using the computer.

Today, Jim has an appointment at 1:00 with his eye doctor to have his glaucoma checked. Her office is on the South side of Champaign, so they'll have to allow somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 of an hour to get there on time.

This is one of the appointments that was missed last fall when Linda was diagnosed with cancer and we rushed down to Florida. Dr. Anderson was good enough to renew the prescription for the eye drops over the phone though, so Jim has been able continue to use them every day.

Did you know that on this date in  1952 - Satchel Paige, at age 46, became the oldest pitcher to complete a major league baseball game?

Woof!!!

Back To The House and A Plan For This Summer

DeBary, FL.
Highbanks Marina and CG.

75 deg. clear, S. wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast = Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 93F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

It's been great, staying here in the travel trailer at Highbanks. Kind of like a mini-vacation, but today we'll be heading back to the house. You see, Thursday, Linda has her Chemo treatment and also, Joe will be flying in from Virginia Beach. We could manage staying here in the trailer but Joe will have luggage and he'll probably need to be doing some "work" on his computer, so it will be better to stay at the house.

For those of you that are new to this blog or others who have a memory like mine, Joe is Linda and Jim's son who lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, Nancy and their 2 girls, Sami and Amber. Joe flew down here right after Linda's surgery, but we haven't seen him since.

So this morning, Jim and Linda will be packing up a bunch of stuff and we'll head to the house. On the way, we'll stop by Walgreen's to pick up a couple of Linda's prescriptions that they took over there yesterday. Once we get home, I'm sure there'll be things to do before Joe gets here and I'll just bet they'll need to buy some groceries.

So far, the travel trailer has preformed very well. There are a few things that could have been done differently, but that's to be expected. If there's one thing that we've learned throughout the years is that there "ain't no 10's" where RVs are concerned. Every one of them has their little quirks and design problems. So far, this trailer doesn't seem to have any large problems and it should work very nicely for it's intended purpose.

Oh!! Just one more thing.

Yesterday, Jim and Linda were talking about the rest of this summer and I think that they've pretty much decided that they want to leave the trailer here at the campground so that we can come here for more "mini vacations" while Linda has the rest of her treatments. It'll cost more than putting the trailer in the storage lot, but not any more than if we were traveling with it, like we normally would during the summer months.

I think it's a good plan. I get bored just sitting in the house all the time.

Did you know that Buzz Aldrin’s mother’s maiden name was Moon?

Woof!!!

Happy Easter and Catching Up

DeBary, FL.

61 deg. overcast, N. wind @ 15 mph.
Forecast = A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High 76F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.

Wednesday morning, Jim and Linda loaded some things into the back of Big RED and headed first to Walgreen's to drop off a couple prescriptions and then over to the travel trailer at Highbanks. Jim helped Linda with figuring out where would be the best place to put some of the items inside of the TT and then worked on getting things organized in the limited basement storage area.

They're both having trouble readjusting to the idea that we'll no longer be living in an RV for long periods of time and only need to equip the trailer for "extended vacations".

Oh, don't worry, the plan is still to head North for anywhere from 4 to 6 months during the summers, but they really won't need to take as much along, now that we have a house.

Thursday, Jim went back and picked up the prescriptions as well as some other necessities from Walgreen's and then went across the street to Winn Dixie and bought a whole bunch of groceries. It had been awhile since the last real grocery shopping trip and they also had quite a few items that Jim and Linda regularly use on sale. Then, in the afternoon, he and Linda went back over to the trailer with a few if the items that were bought earlier and did some more organizing.

Friday, Jim wasn't feeling very well so about the only thing that he and Linda did was to wash a couple loads of laundry. Then in the evening, Laura stopped by to chat for awhile. :-) Oh, sometime during the afternoon, Louise called and asked if it would be OK if she and Roland came for a visit on Saturday. Of course both Jim and Linda said that they'd love to see them, but it was not to be. :-(

Saturday morning Louise called back and told Jim that she wasn't feeling well at all that they would have to cancel their visit. She said that they'll try to visit sometime soon as they'll be heading up to their home in North Carolina pretty soon.

Being that Roland and Louise couldn't make it, Jim called Lindsey and asked him if he and Laura would like to go over to Highbanks and see the trailer. He said that they would so about 10:30, Jim and Linda met them over there and gave them the "tour".

After they left, Jim and Linda made the bed and did a little more organizing before coming back here to the house.

Today, Jim and Linda are invited to an Easter Dinner over at Marv and Inez/s, (Lindsey's parents), so Linda baked a cake to take along. Laura won't be able to go because she has to work today, but Lindsey will be there along with some of his brothers and their families.

Did you know that the name Easter owes its origin from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess who symbolizes hare and egg?

Woof!!!

 

 

Happy Groundhog Day and Big Changes

DeBary, FL.

64 deg. light fog, no wind.
Forecast = Foggy this morning, then partly cloudy this afternoon. High 82F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.

Happy Groundhog Day!!!!!

Linda's still doing fine, but she has been extremely tired since her last chemo treatment and has almost no energy at all. She's also been having some dizziness, which is also part of the Chemo side effects.

Until yesterday, there hasn't been much happening around here. Just normal everyday things. But, yesterday, after Jim and Linda had come back from Walgreen's, Jim showed Linda a photo of a truck that he had been looking at on the Internet.

Why has Jim been looking at trucks, you ask?

Well, I've heard little bits and pieces of conversation between Linda and Jim lately, (in fact for the last month or so), that neither of them were real happy with how Bobbie T was working out for them. You see, they both have admitted that they thought that she would work fine, but they had made a mistake when they thought that the very small bathroom, the lack of a comfortable place for Jim to sit and relax and a tight bedroom was something that they could deal with.

On top of that, since Linda has this medical problem and will not be able to travel as much as they had planned, it won't be good for a motorized RV like Bobbie T to  be sitting for long periods of time. In fact she already has one brake caliper hanging up and will have to be taken someplace to get that fixed before she can be used again.

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Jim and Linda have decided that a medium sized travel trailer or 5th wheel would serve them better and be more suited to the type of traveling that they will be doing in the future. Now, of course, CLT couldn't possibly pull either one of those types of RVs, so Jim has been looking at 3/4 ton trucks to take his place. They hadn't planned on doing any trading this soon, but CLT is going to need some work real soon, (new tires and a power steering pump for sure), so rather than spend money on him, it was decided that now was the time to trade if they could find a suitable truck.

Like I said, Jim has been looking at trucks and a few days ago, he found one that he liked, at a price that they could handle. So, yesterday afternoon, they headed over to Gibson Truck World in Sanford to look at it.

Well, it turned out to be almost exactly what Jim was looking for in a truck. It's a 2006 Dodge Ram Laramie Crew Cab with a 5.9 Liter Cummins Diesel engine. And, it's RED, just like my sweater!!!! ;-) It only has 49,000 miles on it and both Jim and Linda said that it looks like it just came out of the factory. It also has a Carfax Report with it and the dealer is giving it a 1 year bumper to bumper warranty!!

But wait, there's more!!!! The dealer is also giving them 12 months of free scheduled maintenance on the truck, up to $1000.

It also has all it's past maintenance records and it is certified as being a 1 owner vehicle.

Did I mention that it's RED?????

This is a photo of it that I got off of the dealer's website. It sure looks nice to me!!!.

Jim and Linda will be picking it up sometime this next week, as soon as they can get their finances together. :-)

Did you know that according to National Climatic Data Center, Punxsutawney Phil, the most famous of all the Groundhog Day groundhogs, isn't very good at his job, having picked correctly only 39 percent of the time?

Woof!!!!

Did I mention that it's RED????

Linda's First Outing With Her "No-Do"

DeBary, FL.

54 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Generally cloudy. High around 70F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.

Sunday evening, Linda made the statement that she wanted to go to Walgreen's with Jim when it was time to pick up the rest of the prescriptions. She said that she wanted to go inside rather that through the drive-up window because there were some items she wanted to buy in the store. So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  after Walgreen's called early yesterday afternoon, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over there.

Now, some of you that know Linda, know that she is the type of person who doesn't believe in hiding things or beating around the bush, so when they got there, she took off the hat that she was wearing and went inside bare headed!!!  :-O

The first stop in the store was the cosmetic counter where a sweet little clerk helped her pick out some makeup. (Linda hadn't worn any makeup for years, so she wasn't sure what she needed). From there she headed to where the turbines were (like the one Jim bought the day before), and picked out a purple one, (Jim had bought her a brown one). and then headed to the pharmacy to pick up her prescription.

All this with her new no-do and no hat!!!!

You see, she had made up her mind that her shaved head wasn't going to stop her from doing things and she had decided that the outing to Walgreen's would be a good "icebreaker". Well, it worked!!!! No one laughed at her or made any remarks and now she doesn't have to worry about going out in public. She'll probably be wearing some kind of head covering most of the time because she says that her head feels cold, but now she knows that she can go out and everything will be fine. ;-)

Yesterday evening, Laura stopped by to visit for awhile. (I'm sure she was curious to see how her mother looked without any hair). Then after she left, Jim and Linda watched TV until bedtime.  

Oh! Just one last thing. If your're going to be celebrating New Years Eve tonight, have a great time, but please be careful and watch for the crazies out there.

Did you know that the tradition of using a baby to signify the New Year was started by ancient Greeks around 600 B.C? They would carry a baby around in a basket to honor Dionysus, the God of Fertility and symbolize his annual rebirth.

Woof!!!

Feeling Better and More Appointments

DeBary, FL.

51 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Sunshine to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 82F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.

By Tuesday, Linda's joint/bone pain was mostly gone with just a few aches here and there. It looks like the side effects from this injection, (she will be getting an injection after each chemo treatment), are going to last about 3 days or so.

In fact, Linda was feeling well enough that she, Laura and Jim went over to the Florida Hospital complex  where they went to an American Cancer Society office, where a very nice lady who was also an RN, showed Linda some of the hats, scarves and hair pieces that they had for cancer patients. All of the items that they had have been donated or purchased with donations so there was no charge for the 2 hats and 2 small hair pieces that Linda selected.

They also had a whole wall of informational  booklets available covering different treatments and types of cancer so Linda brought home some of them too.

Wednesday, Linda and Jim headed over to the doctor's office who is going to implant the "port". She still has a whole lot of reservations about the whole "port" thing but it sounds like she's going to go ahead and have it installed. In fact, she now has an appointment for pre-op on Thursday, Dec. 26th, and an appointment to have the port installed on Friday, Dec. 27th, all at the Florida Hospital in Orange City, which is only about 3 or 4 miles from the house.

The inserting of the port is an outpatient procedure and she should not have to stay overnight.

Yesterday, Linda had to go to the chemo place to get a blood test to see how the chemo drugs are effecting her immune system. The test results were satisfactory so it appears like the treatment is proceeding as planed.

After the test, and stopping by Walgreen's to pick up a prescription, Linda and Jim returned here to the house. Then, soon after they returned, Ashley stopped by and spent a good part of the afternoon visiting with them. ;-)

I don't think that there's anything special planned for today, or for this weekend for that matter. I think Linda would like to go out to eat somewhere, but the chemo doctor has told her that she should avoid large crowds or groups of people if possible because her immune system is compromised from the treatments and it would be easy for her to pick up some germs that could effect her health.

Did you know that in 1836, Alabama was the first state in the USA to declare Christmas a legal holiday?

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!!!!!

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