Grief

This is Linda.  My granddaughter Anna is helping me do this because I know that Jim would want me to let you know what has happened.  My wonderful Jim died on Sunday, August 5, 2018.  We were on our trip from Florida to our nephew's wedding in Minnesota.  It had been such a good trip.  We were both doing well and able to do what was needed.  We enjoyed the traveling--we always did--and we were so enjoying each other and were just plain having a ball.  Sunday he drove for 5 hours and we pulled into the Motel 70 in High Hill, MO about 3:30.  We took a nap and were just lying on the bed enjoying each other and talking.  He had his arm around me and told me how much he loved me--and I  kissed him and told him the same.  I got up to get something, and while I was doing that I heard him cough.   He often coughed because of the scar tissue in his lung from the radiation treatments--no big deal--but this was different.  He spit into a rag and it was red.  Then he got a lot of blood in his mouth and spit it into the wastebasket.  He coughed vigorously again and more and more blood ended up in the wastebasket.. I grabbed the phone and dialed 0 to get the office and asked the lady to call 911 and told her what was happening.  I turned right back to him and he made eye contact with me.  Very faintly, he sad," I'm gonna die."  I believe he was trying to tell me that he understood what was happening and that it was O.K. but that I needed to be prepared to deal with it.  Within 4-5 seconds he slumped over on the bed, and I believe that that is when he died.  The people from the motel came running in and helped me get him on the floor.  The man gave him chest compression and I gave him mouth-to-mouth.  I felt like I had to try to save him, but I really think it was all over for him by then.  I am so grateful that it was quick for him.  He had no time to be afraid or to hurt.  The EMT's came in and worked on him for quite awhile, but the couldn't save him either.

Now what?  I have no idea.  I started calling kids and grand-kids all over the country.  Our daughter Laura and her daughter Anna (from Florida) started throwing things in suitcases, got in the car, and started driving.  The got to me in Missouri the next day (Mon.) about 2:00 in the afternoon.  Then they took the lead and arranged everything and took care of me.  This is Friday and I'm back in our house in DeBary, Florida.  I don't understand life without him.  He is so much a part of the fabric of my life that I can't see anything ahead without him. I will always love him.  I talk to him often, and sometimes I swear the he answers me. I will go on.  I can do this. And someday . . .

I won't write again.  This is Jim's blog.  Thank you all so much for your friendship.  Say a prayer for him and for me.  I need all the strength I can get.  Good-bye.

Love, Linda

Pack'in Up

DeBary, FL.

76 Deg. 89% humidity, no wind.

Forecast = Scattered Thunderstorms. High 89F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph 60% chance of rain.


On a sad note, we lost a very good RVing friend (Louise Davy), this week. She had been having severe health problems for about a year now. We will really miss her. Hang in there, Roland, we'll see you soon.

Well, we're starting to pack things up for the trip. We're starting with extra clothes and meds that we'll need along first, and then as it gets closer to our departure day, we'll pack up the rest. And, I've also had Lily in for an oil change and a checkup and so now, she's ready to go.

Speaking of departure, it looks like we'll be leaving here next Thursday, (Aug, 2nd). We'll head up to the wedding first, taking our time, and then head up to Linda's cousin's house near Blackduck, MN. On the way up there, we'll be taking our time and probably even stay 2 nights at a couple of motels along the way so we can rest up and be "Bright eyed and bushy tailed" when we arrive. :-)

Not a whole lot else to tell you right now. We're just trying to get the house and everything else ready for our departure. It takes us quite awhile to get some of the things done as we have to sit down and rest awhile before going at it again. We'll make it though and soon we'll be back on the road again.

I'm hoping to post on this blog quite often while we're traveling so that I can keep all of you up to date.

Hope Y'all are doing well and are enjoying your summer.

A Point to Ponder =  Why do we put suits in a garment bag and put garments in a suitcase?


Bye!!!

The Decision Has Been Made

DeBary, FL.

87 deg. Partly cloudy with afternoon showers or thunderstorms. High 89F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%


We took our little trip over to Crystal River, FL. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive to get over there from DeBary, but it was a nice drive on FL.Rt. 42 and some other small roads as we neared our destination. That is, all except the first part of our trip, when it started raining so hard that we couldn't see anything, and then we came upon an accident or something that had US 17/92 completely closed off!! 

They just turned us off on a side street and if we wouldn't have had our GPS turned on, I don't know how we would have found our way around the section of road that was closed. Of course all of this time it continued raining very hard and I could only think of what it would have been like if we were driving one of our big Motorhomes instead of our little car!! 

Anyway, we made it to our destination, King;s Bay Lodge, and it turned out to be just as advertised, a nice little place, in a very quiet part of town. :-) 

This is the view of part of the bay, from just outside of our room. Not too shabby!

We spent 4 nights at King's Bay and then headed back home, refreshed and ready to get back to normal day-to-day activities. 

OK, now to get to the title of this post. 

We've decided to head up North this summer. We've made some changes to our travel plans though, and so will not be gone for as long as we were last summer. We're planning on leaving here around the 1st or 2nd of August and heading all the way up to Alexandria, Mn. to attend Ed and Denise's wedding on the 11th of the month. (Ed is Linda's nephew). From there, we'll head up to Blackduck, Mn. (which is way up  North of Bemidji), to see Linda's cousin Bruce and his wife Jody. We haven't seen them in a really long time and so we figured since we're within a short day's drive, it would be a good time to go. 

After we leave Bruce and Jody's, we'll head down to the Wisconsin Dells for Linda's family reunion. It starts on the 19th of August, and we'll get there earlier than that, but we can always find something to do at "The Dells". 

After the reunion, we'll head down to Champaign, IL where we'll start with doctor's visits and hopefully be able to spend some time visiting with friends and relatives. We'll be in Illinois for about a month before heading to IN, KY, NC, and VA. Then we'll head back down here to FL, arriving about the 1st of November. 

Although this sounds like a long, busy trip, I've got quite of few extra days scattered about during this trip, so we can stop for an extra day or two if necessary,  and, we'll actually be only gone for 3 months instead of 4 months like we were last year.

I've already made hotel reservations for our stay at the wedding and for our stay at "the Dells", so I guess we'd better go. ;-)  

Linda and I are doing well. I still have lots of fatigue, but it's getting better, and I'm hoping that once I start doing more, it will improve even more. 

"You'll never do a whole lot unless you're brave enough to try"  (Quote by Dolly Parton).


Bye!!!!

Where To Start???

DeBary, FL.

77 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast today = Scattered Thunderstorms. High 82F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain, 70%.


Where to start?????

I know, it''s been a long time since I've posted, and I'll take all the blame!!! :-(

At the end of February,  Linda and I took a little trip over to Cedar Key, where we stayed at the Beachfront Motel for 3 nights. It was a nice little "get-a-way" but it really wore me out, especially being that our room was on the second floor and we had to carry all our "stuff" up and down the stairs. :-(  We had a good time though, and I think if it wouldn't have been for the stairs, it would have been much more pleasant.

March, 18th, Ashley and Chris tied the knot at a very small ceremony, (Only 20 people in attendance). It was held in a banquet room at a large restaurant over in Lake Mary, Fl. ( about 15 miles from here). It was very nice and then after the ceremony, we had a great meal at the restaurant.

The first part of April, I had a PET scan. The results were good and I won't have to go back to the Dr. again until November, when I'll have another scan.

On the 11th of this month, Linda had a CT scan. Things got a little scary as they found some very small spots, but it turned out to be nothing and so, she also won't have to go back until November.

I've been having a lot of fatigue and around the first of this month, received 2 iron infusions, (at 1 week intervals), and now seem to be regaining some stamina.

I hope it continues, cause I don't like feeling tired all the time.

For the first week in June, I've booked a 4 day stay at a "lodge" in Crystal River, FL. I found it on-line and it sounds like just what we need for a nice quiet "get-a-way" for a few days. I don't know about the "lodge" part, but it sounds really nice and it has very good ratings,  so we'll see.

I'll let you know how it was when we get back.

If I continue to regain some energy, we have penciled in a trip up to Illinois, Wisconsin and possibly  Minnesota beginning about the 9th of July.  Linda's nephew, who lives up in Minnesota is getting married, and she'd really like to attend, if we can.

Other than doctor appointments, we've just been doing normal things. We go out to eat occasionally, and do other things like grocery shopping etc., but that's about all. I promise I'll try to post more often, and if we do get to head North this summer, I'll have something to post about.

In the meantime, Linda and I hope all of you are still checking in on our blog and hope you'll check back again.


Chinese Proverb,  "The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it."

We still miss you Blaine!!!

Bye!!!!

Dave and Dee Dee's Annual Fish Fry and A Visit With Donna

DeBary, FL.

62 deg. clear, no wind

Forecast today = A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High 83F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.

Well, another month has gone by and I really didn't have anything to post about.

Quite a few people have been asking me why I haven't posted, but I can't imagine any of you wanting to read about Lina and I going to the grocery store or even going to a restaurant once in awhile. In fact, this past whole month has been just day-to-day living.

Now, this month started out with a few things to post about!!!

Dave and Dee Dee decided to have their annual "Fish Fry" on Sunday, the 4th of February, but that got changed to Saturday the 3rd because of a weather forecast of anywhere from 50 to 80% chance of rain, depending on which "weather guesser" you watched.

Once the date for the Fish Fry was set, Linda called Donna, (a long time RVing friend), who lives in Wildwood to see if she would be home on Sunday. You see, the plan was to go to Thonotosassa for the "Fish Fry" which was to take place at 3:00 pm on Saturday, stay overnight someplace Saturday night and then go see Donna on Sunday, getting back home late afternoon.

Donna said that she'd be home and would love for us to come for a visit, so then, I called a Hotel in Brooksville and made reservations for Saturday night.

As you can see in these 2 photos, they had very good turn-out for the Fish Fry

Everyone brought food, so there were lots of other things to eat with the great fish that they fried. ;-)

After a great meal and a lot of catching up with old acquaintances, we left Dave and Dee Dee's and headed North on (Ugh) I-75. Actually 75 was not near as bad as (Ugh), I-4 through Orlando with all It's construction through the city.

It didn't take us too long to get to Brooksville where we stopped at a Microtel. It was pretty nice, but the people at the desk weren't too friendly and about 10:00 pm a wedding party came back from a reception somewhere and continued partying in the hotel until about midnight!! :-(

It was quiet for the rest of the night though and after a pretty good night's sleep, we left Brooksville and headed a little further North to Wildwood where we stopped at the Russel Stover Candy factory store, on Rt. 44. After Linda bought a bunch of sugar free candy we went to a Waffle House for lunch, before heading to Donna's house.

Donna seems to be doing well, but I'm sure she misses Monte. We had a very nice visit and talked for a couple hours before heading back here to  DeBary on Rt's 44, 441 and 46.

While we were at Donna's it started to rain and we had heavy to moderate rain all the way home.

Monday evening, Ashley called and said that she and Chris would like to come over for awhile if we weren't busy.  In about 1/2 hour they arrived, and gave us the news that they would be getting married on the 18th of March!!!!! :-)  They've been engaged for quite awhile now, so we were kind of expecting them to set a date pretty soon. 

They're planning a very small wedding with just brothers, sisters, parents and grandparents attending.

Well, that's about it for now. I'll post again when I have something interesting to post about.

Did you know that There are 20,275  people in the U.S. listed on whitepages.com with the last name 'Fish'?

We miss you Blaine!!!

Bye!!!

Happy New Year!!!!!

DeBary, FL.

55 deg. overcast, N. wind @ 5 mph

Forecast today = Showers. Morning high of 56F with temps falling to near 40. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. 60% chance of showers.

Tonight = Overcast. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 42F. Winds N at 15 to 25 mph.


Happy New Year!!  I hope you've had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Nothing much going on since I last posted except of course Christmas and now New Years, which have both been very nice.

The Sunday before Christmas, we went over to Lindsey's parent's house for a very nice Christmas dinner with them, then on Christmas Eve, we went to Laura and Lindsey's house to open gifts from them and also, gifts that Joe and Nancy who had sent to Laura's. Christmas day was just sort of a kick-back day and we just watched some specials on TV and took naps. ;-)
Other than than, we've just been doing normal day-to-day living. Things like grocery shopping, going out to eat occasionally and a little Christmas shopping.

Oh and we also got to know the mailman better as he delivered packages from family and stuff we had ordered on-line.

Both Linda and I have been doing well. Linda is trying to lose weight and I'm trying to gain weight, since my bout with the side effects of treatments. This really makes for an interesting meal time. But, we both seem to be succeeding since I've gained some of my weight loss back and Linda has lost some weight. 

We're starting to think about possibly traveling some this summer. Of course that all will depend on what the tests that we both will have in April and May show.

Anyway, Linda and I both wish all of you a very good 2018 and hope you're well and have great travels.

Stay Safe,

Jim and Linda,

We miss you, Blaine!!!!

Finally!! All The Test Results Are In!!

DeBary, FL.

65 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = tomorrow, Mostly Sunny. High 81F. Winds light and variable.


Monday morning, I had that needle biopsy on my left lung. After waiting for 2 hours, they finally wheeled me into the room where there was a CAT Scan machine and all the other necessities for the biopsy. I was given a sedative and soon I was in "la la" land. ;-)

I was aware of what was going on though and the experience wasn't one I'd like repeat if I can help it.

The procedure took about an hour and then it was to recovery for 2 hours for observance and to make sure there was no bleeding our leakage of the lung into the chest cavity. Linda and I had arrived at the hospital about 9:00 am as directed and it was almost 4:pm by the time we got out of there.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were spent worrying about the results and finally today, it was time to see the doctor to get them.

So, here are the results!!!!

There is no cancer, the shaded area in the lung is from an infection and scar tissue, probably caused by the collapse or previous radiation treatments.

I'm now on antibiotics and have been released by the radiation doctor until the first part of April, when I'll have another scan to make sure everything is still OK.

So, as of now, both Linda and I are cancer free and it sure feels good. Time will tell, but maybe there's even a little more traveling in our future?

We miss you, Blaine!!!