Friday, June 3, 2016

Catching Up On The Last Week

DeBary, FL.

85 deg. 70% humidity, NW wind @ 4 mph.

Forecast tonight = Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.

Forecast tomorrow =  Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 94F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.


It's been almost another week since I've last posted and I thought I'd better catch up on what's been happening.  We stayed out at the Campground until Tuesday. Jim got a few things done on the trailer but not near as much as he had hoped for. So, today he went back out there at about 7:00 AM this morning and got most of the items done. :-)  Even going out that early, it was really hot and humid by the time he came back here (about 9:30), and he was really exhausted.

This weekend, it looks like we're going to have a "tropical depression/storm", coming across the state, from the Gulf of Mexico. They're forecasting heavy rain beginning Sunday and lasting all the way through Tuesday, bringing with it 4 or 5 inches of rain and possibly very windy conditions.

Not looking forward to a storm, but there's not much we can do about it.

If the weather isn't too bad the last half of next week, we're still thinking that we may be able to leave here by Monday, the 13th.  I hope so, I'm really tired of sitting around here, waiting to get back on the road again.


Did you know that June is "National Camping Month?"

Woof!!!

Friday, May 27, 2016

Guess Where We Are? and Please Take A Few Moments

Deltona, FL.

77 deg. partly cloudy, no wind

Forecast tonight = Partly cloudy. Low 68F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph.


Guess where we are?????

Not a whole lot has happened since I last posted, that is until this past Wednesday when Jim asked Linda what she thought about going camping the upcoming holiday weekend? Linda asked "What do you mean by going camping?" and Jim said that he was thinking about heading over to Paradise Lake CG where Nora is parked and just camp there. He said that he figured that while we were there, they could check out all of the systems real well and also enjoy, "getting out of the house for a few days". :-)

So, they started gathering "stuff" up and packing up the truck. By This morning, they had everything packed up for a 3 to 4 night stay, so they loaded the last of the "stuff" (mostly refrigerator "stuff") into the back seat and we headed over here to Paradise Lakes.

 We're in site #118.



 There's nothing fancy about this park, but they do have full hook-up sites.



  Probably over half the the sites are seasonal and most of those folks have left for parts of the U.S. or Canada that have cooler temperatures. They'll be back again in the fall.

It sure feels good to get away from the house for awhile. Jim has already done a few small jobs on Nora. He doesn't have much stamina though and gets tired easily and has to sit down and rest for awhile before finishing the job or starting something else.

Oh! One thing that he got accomplished was to cook something on his grill. (Some Brats). Would you believe that it was sometime last fall since he had enough energy to cook out?

As of now, it sure looks like we'll be leaving Florida on or about the 13th of June. Jim can get projects done. He just has to take it easy and rest a lot, making the project take a lot longer than it usually does, and that "bugs" Jim a lot!!!!


A Quote to Ponder :  “Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers;
Yours has the suffering been,
The memory shall be ours.”
–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


Please take a few minutes this weekend to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we can be free.

Woof!!! 

Friday, May 20, 2016

A Doctor's Visit and Plans To Head North

DeBary, FL.

75 deg. Rain, Thunder

Forecast today = Thunderstorms, accompanied by locally heavy rainfall at times. A few storms may be severe. High 87F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.


Yeah, I know!!!! It's been about 2 weeks since I've posted, but I really didn't know anything new!!!

This morning, Big RED, (Jim dug him out of the carport the other day and took him in for an airbag recall and an oil change), took he and Linda up to DeLand to see Dr. Saferali. Dr. Saferali wasn't there, (she's on vacation this week,) so they saw her P.A., Lauren, instead.  Lauren said that Dr. Saferali didn't leave any notes about us not being able to head North or anything about another scan in July, so she didn't see why we shouldn't be able to leave when we wanted to in June. :-)

YES!!!!!!!

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  unless something comes up, the plan is to leave here around the 13th of June and head up to Illinois, arriving there about 8 to 10 days later!!! The reason it may take us that long is because Jim really doesn't know how much stamina he'll have by that time, so he may want to stop earlier in the day and even possibly stay a couple nights in a few of the campgrounds to recuperate if necessary.

It's raining today and there's a 60% chance of rain tomorrow, but after that, the forecast is for 5 days of good weather with temps staying in the 80's, (upper 80's), and lows in the upper 60's, with no rain. If that forecast holds, Jim should be able to get quite a few things done during those 5 days and be able to be ready to leave as planned.

There is quite a bit to do at the trailer though. You see, when we arrived back her last November, Jim was feeling so bad that absolutely nothing was done to the trailer. It wasn't cleaned inside or out and he and Linda will have to  look to see what supplies are still over there as they just grabbed stuff that they thought they would need here at the house.  The problem with the furnace blowing thermostat fuses was never corrected and Jim thinks the water pump is acting up again, so he may need to call the mobile RV repair guy to come and take a look at those items.

He and Linda have about 3 weeks to get everything accomplished and I really don't see a reason that they won't be ready by that time. ;-)

I've used this Point to Ponder before, but it's so very, very true.

Worrying works!!! 90% of the things I worry about never happen!!!!

Woof!!!


Sunday, May 8, 2016

Side Effects and Yet Another Doctor Visit With Not-So-Good News, but, A Very Nice Mother's Day

DeBary, FL.

80 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast tonight  =  Clear skies. Low 59F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.


Nothing much happened last week. Jim continues to have muscle/joint pain, especially at night when he's trying to sleep. He's usually up a couple hours every night and that really messes up his sleep pattern. :-(

Friday, Lila took Jim and Linda up to DeLand where Jim had a blood test and a "visit" with Dr. Saferali. The blood test looked good so there's no problem there, but Dr. Saferali didn't agree with Dr. Graham's analysis of the PET Scan that Jim had on the 26th of April. She said that she thinks that Jim should have another scan in 3 to 4 months, rather than wait until November. :-(

That, really throws a wrench on any plans to travel this summer!!!!

She said that she didn't like the hazy section in the scan and wants to make sure that the cancer has not spread to that area. Jim and Linda explained to her that Dr. Graham thought it was just scaring from the radiation treatments, so she said that she would talk to Dr. Graham about it.

She also prescribed some new medication that she thinks will help the pain that Jim is experiencing and set up an appointment for him to come back for another "visit" on the 20th of this month.

Now, even if she agrees with Dr. Graham's diagnosis after talking to him, and she says that another scan is not needed until November, that only leaves about 3 weeks for us to get ready to hit the road if we want to leave here on the 13th of June. 3 weeks may seem like a long time, but Jim's energy/endurance is definitely not up to par, and we're getting into the "summer season" here in Florida and very shortly, the temperatures will be in the 90's every day with the humidity percentages
 right up there too, which will make getting the trailer ready and all the "stuff" hauled out there very difficult. Jim and Linda could start taking "stuff" out to the trailer now, but if we can't go this summer, it would all have to be brought back here to the house.

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  we wait!!! I don't know what's going to happen. Needless to say, Jim isn't in a very good mood about this and has already said that "we might as well just plan on staying here all summer"!!!! :-(

On and lighter note, I hope all you Mom's out there had a great day today. Lila took Linda and Jim up to DeLand today where they had lunch with Marv and Inez, Ashley, Anna, Laura and Lindsey and 2 of Lindsey's brothers. It was a very nice visit with all of them and I think Linda had a very nice time. ;-)


A Quote to Ponder : “Expect nothing and accept everything and you will never be disappointed.”

– Laurence Overmire

Woof!!!

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

The Scan and The Results

DeBary, FL.

87 deg. clear, NW wind @ 3 mph.

Forecast = tonight, Partly cloudy skies. Low near 65F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.



Tuesday, Lila took Jim and Linda over to the same place where Jim had his radiation treatments so that he could get a PET Scan. The scan went off without a hitch and in about 2 hours, they were on their way back here to the house.

Today, they again headed over to Dr. Graham's office to talk to Dr. Graham to learn about the scan results. This last 24 hours has been quite stressful, wondering weather or not the cancer is gone or not.

The appointment was at 10:00, but of course, Jim and Linda didn't get in to see him until about 10:30. :-( When he came in, he informed Jim and Linda that the scan still showed something in the lung, but he said that he didn't agree with the diagonis of the person that wrote the report.

The spot where the tumor was, showed no tumor at all, but there was another spot lower in the lung that the person who wrote the report thought might be a problem. Well, Dr. Graham, showed Jim and Linda the scan pictures that were on his computer, and proceeded to explain why he didn't agree!!

The spot lower in the lung was not solid, but rather spotty on hazy in the photo. He explained that if it was cancer, it would be a solid spot and not spotty and hazy. In stead, he thinks that what it shows is scar tissue that was caused by the high doses of radiation that Jim recieved. He also believes that if it were cancer, it would show up where the orginal tumor was located and not way down in the bottom part of the lung.

So,  ,  ,  ,  , his diagnosis is that the cancer is gone and he expects that in the next PET Scan, to be done this fall, will show that he is correct. :-)

Oh, and also, he doesn't have a problem with us heading North for the summer and seeing him when we return in  October or November!! ;-) 


Did you know that  Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia who started Mother's Day celebrations also filed a lawsuit in an effort to stop the over- commercialisation of Mother's Day? She lost her fight. Anna had hoped for a day of reflection and quiet prayer by families, thanking God for all that mothers had done.

Woof!!!

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Some Good News

DeBary, FL.

77 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast =Saturday Night 04/23
A few clouds. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 62F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday 04/24  Intervals of clouds and sunshine. High 86F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph.


This past week has not been the best for Jim, but then I think it was better than the week before it. You see, he's still had a lot of bone and muscle ache and it's been especially bad at night, making for some very unrestful sleep periods. His appetite hasn't been too bad, but much of the food he's eaten didn't taste right and some of it, really tasted bad to him. And, he also still has a lot of fatigue, making it hard to do just about anything.  :-(

Yesterday morning, it was time to go back to Dr. Saferali.s office and get another blood test to see how the counts were doing. The test went off without a hitch and when Brittney, (the lab tech), looked at the results, she said, "Wow!!! Your test results look really good!!!"  :-)

Yep!! Almost all of the counts are right in the "normal" range, and those that are not, are just barely outside the normal range!!!!

Tuesday, Jim has his PET Scan and then Wednesday he and Linda will go to see Dr. Graham to get the results. I hope they're good results.


Did you know that all rose species have 5 petals, except for the Rosa Sericea, which has 4 petals?

Woof!!!




Saturday, April 16, 2016

The Roughest Week Yet and A Secret

DeBary FL.

69 deg. overcast, N. wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Windy with thunderstorms. High 77F. Winds ENE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.



The injection with the "on body injector", went off without a hitch and by about 7:15 Saturday evening, the little machine was beeping and beeping, letting Jim know that the injection of the Newlasta  drug was complete.

Sunday wasn't too bad, but by evening, Jim's bones and muscles were starting to ache so  he took a couple over-counter pain meds before he retired for the day. By 2:00 AM he was up taking more which didn't really have any effect.

He struggled through the day on Sunday, and before heading to bed took a prescription pain medication that the Chemo Dr. ,(Dr. Saferali), had prescribed for him when he started the chemo therapy,  It helped and Jim slept pretty much throughout the night and well into the morning. (This med also makes you sleepy).

And, so it went, with Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Lots of pain during the day, even with over-the-counter medications and restless sleep under the influence of prescription drugs at night. :-(  Jim was able to sleep some during the days, (probably from the lasting effects of the night medication), so he was able get some rest.

But during these days, Jim was not able to do anything. It hurt to walk, sit, or do just about anything else he could think of and when yesterday, (Friday) rolled around, he was very happy to realize that his pain was no longer near as bad. :-)  It's a good thing too because he needed to go back to see Dr. Saferali to get a blood test and have a "visit" (as they call it), with her.

Dr. Saferali looked at the results of the blood test and was satisfied that although all the counts were not in the the normal range, was sure they were moving in the right direction and thought that within another week, should be getting back to normal. :-)

So, now starts the recovery and then the "dreaded" PET Scan on the 26th and "nerve wrenching" Doctor's visit with Dr. Graham on the 27th of April to get the results of the scan.

Oh, one other thing!!!! Dr. Saferali asked Jim and Linda what their travel plans were for this summer and was wondering when they were thinking about heading North!! (She's well aware of our travels ever since treating Linda back in 2013).  Jim told her that he din't have any definite plans and she said that as far as she was concerned, it was all dependent on how Jim felt and how fast he could recover!!! :-)

Now, don't tell Jim I leaked this information, but Jim told Dr. Saferali that if it was at all possible, he and Linda were looking at the 13th of June as our departure date to head North for the summer!!!! ( The rent for the lot over at Paradise Lakes RV Park comes due on the 13th).  Well, she said that unless the PET Scan showed something that she didn't expect to show up, she didn't see why that date shouldn't be possible. She really expects Jim to be recovered enough to do what is necessary with the trailer by that time!!!! ;-)

Now, remember!!!!!! Don't tell Jim I told you this!!!! He doesn't want anyone to get their hopes up too high yet!!!!


Did you know on this in 1900 - The first book of postage stamps was issued? The two-cent stamps were available in books of 12, 24 and 48 stamps.


Woof!!!