Since we are no longer working I seldom look at a calendar, therefore I have a hard time keeping the days straight - I typically know the date, but not the day. With Christmas being on Monday this year it has thrown me off even more, as it seems like it should have been on Saturday or Sunday to me. A friend of Dean's once told him after retirement that is was like having "6 Saturdays and a Sunday" and that is how I feel. The days kind of run into each other until Sunday arrives.
Dean's had a "cold" the past several days and today I woke up feeling like maybe I was getting it. My throat was scratchy, and my ears felt a little plugged, so I started taking an off-brand of DayQuill and NightQuill, hoping maybe I can get rid of it before it gets too bad.
Since there are a few things we are expecting to arrive in the mail, we decided to check it today. I am expecting the prescriptions I left in Vinita, OK last week as well as our new drivers licenses. We drove to Pittsburg -- there were no prescriptions, however our drivers licenses were there, along with quite a bit of other mail. I called the Cherokee Health Center when we returned home. My prescriptions had not been mailed yet as the doctor was off for a few days before Christmas and through today. I think we will just drive to Vinita Friday to pick them up. Since we are leaving on Monday, I'd like to make sure we have them.
By the way, we've had no more problems with any freezing of Bentley's pipes and we are keeping very warm and toasty here inside. It sure is cold outside though. As I check the temperatures in Texas, shortly after we arrive they should be back in the 70's. I do look forward to those warmer temps!
I packed up my Christmas tree and a few other things to take to storage later this week, updated our budget spreadsheet with recent expenses and spent a good part of the day updating the blog through Christmas Day.
Wednesday, December 27, 2018
Today I spent the day with my two 16 year old granddaughters shopping in Joplin, MO. We have done this for the past 4-5 years now as part of their birthday present from Papa and Nana. I felt really good this morning and my throat was not bothering me but I noticed I had a little bit of a rash on my thighs. Hmmm....wonder what that is all about?
Dean had to go to Webb City, MO this morning as well. After we left our new doctor's office last week, the nurse called Dean and said the doctor noticed a couple of other things on the blood test results we provided her (the test was taken a couple of weeks prior to our appointment). She wanted him come in today for another blood test. So we'll both be heading in that direction this morning.
Before I left town this morning I had to stop at our local title insurance company, Realty, Inc. to give my niece Nikki her birthday card. Even though she's "a few years older now", I can still remember the day she was born like yesterday. She was the first grandchild on our side of the family, so it was a very exciting moment. I had only been working at the city office for two months. I was so excited I could hardly stand it. My boss, Rufus Monroe, finally said why don't you just go on over there (her mom was at the Columbus, KS hospital), and I didn't hesitate to leave. I had barely walked in when they told us the baby was here. I will never forget seeing her the first time....she was one of the prettiest babies I've ever seen....no blemishes, wrinkles or anything that you often see with a newborn. She was the only grandchild in our family for over two years until my daughter Misti was born, and she never lacked for attention. A very special girl who's grown into a very special "young" lady! Love you Nikki!
Next stop was to pick up Haleigh and then on to Columbus to pick up Dacy. Haleigh's birthday is October 30 and Dacy's is November 23. We've had a hard time finding a date that would work for all of us and I'm so glad we finally worked it out.
We arrived in Joplin before the mall opened so the first stops were at Khol's and Target, but we failed to find anything. By the time we made it to the mall and parked it still wasn't quite time for the stores to open, however there are a few side doors that lead directly into the mall, so we parked near one and headed inside. Man, today is the coldest day since the first part of 2017....no further than what we walked we could definitely feel it too! Once inside, we did not have to go too far before we noticed one of the stores the girls wanted to visit was opening their doors and ....... the shopping began.
The mall opened at 10am and it was after 1pm when we left - by then the girls had spent most of their money, and fortunately they were able to find several great bargains. They did a good job and we enjoyed ourselves. Now for the best part of the day - OLIVE GARDEN!!! This is a favorite for all three of us. I asked the girls on the way there what they were going to have - like I didn't know - and of course, it was the same thing they always order - Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken.
Our meals were wonderful. Haleigh made a slight change and instead of chicken chose shrimp with her fettuccine. I typically get soup and salad, but today I decided I'd have the Chicken Parmesan. As usual, everything was delicious. One of the things that Dacy likes to tell is how Nana always mixes the salad with the dressing better than anyone else does. I want all that dressing on every piece of that salad when I take a bite!!
 |
| Haleigh and Dacy |
We headed home after our wonderful lunch. We dropped Dacy off, and Haleigh and I were back in Oswego around 3pm. I didn't buy a thing today....there was a day that would never have happened, but when I think about buying something now, I have to think about do I have room for that in my new "house"? I did seriously think about buying a plastic bowl at TJ Maxx. I only brought two mixing bowls, a large plastic bowl, and a small glass bowl to Bentley. Since then I've found out I really need an in between size and I've had to improvise a few times. While I still have all of my kitchen items in storage - finding it is a different story. It is something I'll probably end up buying but it must be a really good deal, and I would prefer a collapsible one.
When I returned to Bentley, Dean had a mess in the kitchen - but I was actually happy about that. He had just finished installing our new kitchen faucet. The original faucet that came with Bentley was loose and would swing around while driving. No matter how many times Dean tightened it, it would work loose in just a few days. I had suggested changing it before, and fortunately Dean finally decided enough was enough and agreed we should buy a new one a few weeks ago. He thought today would be perfect time to install it, since I will be gone most of the day. We had to install it "backwards" in order to make it work with the holes already cut in the counter top. It will be a bit of an adjustment but I will get used to it. Here's a picture:
 |
| The handle should be on the right, but as you can see we would have had a second hole in the countertop. While it came with a piece that we could have used as a base under the faucet, it didn't quite cover the hole on the right. Fortunately, it came with a soap dispenser and I really wanted to use it to keep the soap container off of the counter, so the only thing to do was put the faucet in with the handle on the left. I'm already getting used to turning the water on with my left hand rather than the right. Eventually it will be second nature --- I hope!! It is a HUGE improvement over the original one! |
I mentioned to Dean that the back of my left knee was really itching, so I changed out of my jeans into a pair of light sweat pants. WOW, the back of my knee was covered with a fiery, red rash. That's when I noticed how the rash on both of my thighs, my stomach and my arms had spread a lot from what I noticed before leaving this morning. This happened one other time since I was diagnosed with sarcodosis. I had started taking a medication for heartburn (a side effect of sarcodosis). The doctor thought it was probably a yeast rash and had me quit taking the heart burn medication and to start taking Benadryl. After a few days it cleared up, so that is what I started doing today. By the time we went to bed the rash had not improved much even though I had taken Benadryl regularly throughout the day, and took more before going to bed. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow.
Thursday, December 28, 2017
The first thing I did when I got up this morning was check to see if the rash was any better. It was about the same and was very itchy. I continued to take the Benadryl but now that cold or sinus infection I felt was coming on earlier, seems to be worse. With all of the medication I'm taking, I'm not sure what I need to take to get rid of these, so I made a call to our new doctor this morning about 9. I had to leave a message, so I hope to hear back from her office soon.
Backing up a bit, I had a hair appointment this morning at 8 to get my hair trimmed. I will miss Marla while we are gone, and do worry a little about finding someone in Texas that I will feel comfortable with. Hopefully, the other ladies I know that will be wintering there will have some good suggestions.
When I returned from my hair appointment, Dean told me the nurse from our new primary care physician's office had called with the results of his blood test. Fortunately, they came back and everything is fine, so that was great news.
Since I packed up the Christmas tree and a few other things, I told Dean I'd like to take those to the storage unit. We have several other things that need to go as well and I'm ready to get them out of Bentley. The couch has almost been entirely covered and I'm tired of looking at all of it. Wow, it sure looks roomy with all of it gone!
On our way to the storage unit I called the doctor's office again. Evidently no one had checked the messages, as they were unaware of my earlier call. They tried to catch Dr. Broce's nurse but she was with a patient, so they had me leave a message on her answering machine and we waited for her to call back. She returned my call around 2pm, and told me I should go to Urgent Care to be seen, as they were booked full both today and tomorrow and would not be able to get me in.
So we headed to Webb City. While I could have gone to Parsons, I decided since all of my doctors are in the Joplin area and associated with Freeman, I preferred going to the Freeman Urgent Care, as they would have access to my medical records. We arrived a little after 3 and it was nearly 6 before we left Urgent Care. This is one time I was really glad to have a smartphone - it helped the time go by much faster.
A nurse finally came to get me and took me to a triage room. We were fortunate a room became available before we left and we didn't have to return to the waiting room. It wasn't too much longer that the doctor came in. As he was looking at my chart, he asked me if Dr. Smith was my primary physician and I explained that she used to be, but we had recently moved to Dr. Broce because Dr. Smith had closed her practice. Come to find out he used to work at Labette Health in Parsons, KS many years ago and knew her personally.
He took a look at my rash and examined me to see if I had a sinus infection. I shared with him that I had sarcoidosis and earlier this year I had also experienced a rash. After asking me a number of questions, and taking a look at the rash, he thought the rash was directly related to the sarcoidosis and possibly due to the recent change in the dosage of prednisone, decreasing it from 15 mg to 12.5. Again, another side effect of sarcoidosis - rashes. He wants me to increase my prednisone back to 15 mgs for 2 weeks and then try reducing it again after I have finished the round of antibiotics he is giving me - as I do have a sinus infection. I just started taking the reduced dosage of prednisone on Monday or Tuesday of this week, and that is when the rash started so it seems to make sense. I hate to complain about this disease because I feel so blessed compared to other people I have read about, but these side effects could stop at any time.
While we were in the waiting room I also worked on a list of things I needed from Walmart. Since I needed to get the prescription filled this evening in order to get started on it right away I had them send the prescription to the Walmart that is practically next door. We did our shopping first and while Dean was paying I went to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription. The pharmacist explained the need to eat something before taking the RX as it can upset your stomach, and not to have any dairy products at least 3 hours before or after taking it.
By now it was 7pm and we had not eaten since noon. We were both hungry so we decided to try one of my dad's favorite places, Lotus Garden on West 7th in Joplin. It was pretty good, although there was not as much variety as most Chinese restaurants do, but it was cheap at $6.50 per person. It felt good to know we were finally headed home soon afterwards.
We have now decided to wait until Wednesday, January 3rd to leave for Texas due to the below freezing temperatures in the forecast the next few days I'm disappointed but on the flip side it gives us a few more days with family, and that is always good. We plan to drive it in 3 days, breaking it up into 7-8 hour driving days. This is not how we like to travel, but sometimes you just need to do it. We plan to take at least a week getting back, when we return home the end of March. We have a few stops we want to make along the way and do not want to be rushed. That's what full-time means to us: no rush! Since we are committed to paying for three months at the resort where we will stay, we want to get there as early as possible. We are leaving a little early on the tail end so we can spend some time in Wichita with our boys and their families. We're not sure if we'll have a chance to see them again until we return from Matt's and our tour of the New England states, sometime in September.
I can't believe how our calendar for April and May 2018 is already filling up - much of it is doctor appointment follow-ups before we head out again, and a few camping club rallies. We are making it a point to leave several days open to get plenty of family time in while we are here too.
Just three more days until we welcome in the New Year of 2018. Dean and I have been retired for four years now and it has flown by. We love it and we are at least as busy now as when we were working. How we managed to get any personal things done before, I do not know. We've had the best time though and I'm so thankful we enjoy being together and for the most part doing the same things. I do think it's good we have hobbies where we also have time to spend with others. Dean has sure enjoyed playing golf with a group of guys many mornings at our local golf course, and I have enjoyed my once a week time with a Bible Study group, lunch with good friends, writing this blog and reading many other RV blogs, as well as reading a few books.
Tomorrow I'll be getting ready for Christmas with our kids and grand kids which will be at Misti's house on Saturday, Dec 30. It may be a few days before I have a chance to get back with you. Just in case it's after December 31 - I want to wish each of you a very Happy New Year! Thank you so much for following along on our adventure. I look forward to giving you more travel content of the places we see and the things we do, once we begin our route south and in the months to follow - on our full-time adventure in our Travels with Bentley!
No comments:
Post a Comment