She's Back

Kim made it back from Abilene just fine Sunday in the early afternoon.  Buster is happy now.  That first day she left he was pacing around and would whine occasionally.  Then when it started getting dark he goes over and lays by the window, just watching for her.  It's not like she doesn't go away for several hours during a regular week.  He should be used to her absences.  This was different and he could sense it somehow.  It is amazing how perceptive dogs are.  If you're close with your dog and tuned in to each other it's really amazing how much you can pick up from them and they from you.

When we go out for just even 30 minutes or so, we get greeted by him like we just got back from Afghanistan.  I'm sure you've seen the videos of dogs greeting their long gone soldiers back home.  That is Buster every time we come home no matter how long.

This trip for Kim certainly was different when she came home.  I was in my office expecting her at any moment.  Buster was laying between me and where she would come in.  So I would be alerted to when she drove up and I could help with her bag when she got here.  Next thing I know she is walking into my office asking me where Buster was.  Where indeed.  She had managed to get in change clothes and come from one end of the house to the other and no Buster.  He was in our bedroom, no idea how she got by him.  But he finally realized she was here and then he did his 'I'm so happy to see you' routine, even though it was a of a bit delayed reaction.   Silly dog.  One of us needs to be able to hear better than the other so we don't get snuck up on.

Monday starts with the moving of furniture to get ready for the flooring in our bedroom.  Which means I will have to probably sleep in some unusual place.  It takes way to much work to take down and move our bed for me to set it up to use in the interim.  Hopefully we will be laying flooring sometime once I have recovered from the furniture moving.  I would like to start sometime Monday but realistic it will be Tuesday.  One day should be enough, if my bones can hold up.

If I disappear for a day or two you know I will be recovering.

Happy Trails

And Again

Kim made it to Abilene safely.  It is so very quiet here, a good thing but also not.  It's a four hour drive without any stops.  She always makes at least one or two.  I hate that she goes alone on that lonely stretch from Brady to Abilene.  Not much help out that way.  I don't rest easy until I know she is there.

Kim came home feeling very upbeat about my Mom's state of mind with the impending changes to their life.  This made Kim feel much better about leaving to head to Abilene to her relatives.  Knowing how my Mom is I wasn't so optimistic.  Kim got a call from Mom this morning.  The move was to take place next Friday.  Now it's a no go.  I have lost count how many times this has happened now.  It doesn't in the least surprise me.  She had too long to think about the fact that the particular apartment they were to move in to wasn't the one she really wanted.  They will try to put the money they put down along with an exorbitant application fee on another apartment waiting list.  If they don't agree, they will lose a couple grand.  Mom said Dad was so relieved.  My Dad's evident relief may change her mind completely to staying in place for the long haul.

Since Kim will be out of pocket for the weekend, I most likely won't get any updates if something changes again.  It well might, but it will keep.

I will keep my mouth shut and just roll with it.  It's better for all.  I taking everything at this point matter of factly (does that make sense?)  Whatever they say, do or wish won't ruffle me much anymore.  I only worry about their stress and the worry my Mom goes through.

All I can do at this point is pray they have peace.

Happy Trails

What Would I Do Without Her

I know this may not be of much interest to the blog world, and I apologize for that.  However, I am putting this down for my own benefit as it helps me sort out things that have transpired and also helps me analyze/organize my thoughts.  This may happen more than usual over the next few days/weeks etc. until things settle down with my parents situation.

Things have kicked into high gear with my parents impending move to independent/assisted living.  Kim has headed over to my parents to start helping them(Mom) sort through things for their impending move to assisted living.  They put money down on a different place yesterday (Wednesday).  It will be available for move in on October 1st.  They have a contract to sell their house to my cousin already. 

These events have put even more stress on my Mom.  Did I tell you she is a worrier?  Yeah, that really doesn't describe it well.  She wants to go through boxes that are in the attic of their garage.  Mostly decorations for various seasons like christmas etc.  Why this is her priority right now neither Kim nor I can figure out.  She always has a plan, it makes sense to her.  We ore both of a mind that she should be looking at what she can take to their new quarters instead of what she wants to give away.  She wants to start moving in on the 1st.  My mother is very particular about how things look in her home.  I would think knowing what she wants to take with her would be the most important.  The rest can be sorted through once they have moved.  They will leave things at their house and dispose of it over the next few months.  They have until January, that is when they close on the house.  But if it goes against her 'plan' it will be a hard sell to get her to change her mind. 

They are also worried about leaving their house unattended for a couple months with so much still inside.  We will offer to take some if it into our home, the things they may be most worried about.  My Dad has a couple of very expensive old guitars he no longer plays.  I don't think that sort of thing should be left there for so long.  There are also other items they will give to family.  This will require us to also look for permanent space in our home and dispose of things to make room.

I am so thankful Kim is so willing to do this.  My presence isn't necessarily a good thing.  I do things the least complicated way, the way things make sense to me.  Even if I keep my mouth shut, my Mom is worried about what I am thinking.  Kim can relate better to her mindset than I do and obviously it is evident.  She is a blessing to my whole family.

Kim is going to Abilene after all.  She has considered staying due to the recent events.  She feels like she needs to stay and be there with Mom.  She has said she feels the clock ticking and going to Abilene may not be a good thing at this time.  I think she is still going as of this writing, but I will know more once she gets back from Mom's.

Happy Trails.

Really Irritated

I have been trying to increase my exercise.  One of the things I have returned to doing is a walk in the morning.  I have taken Buster with me, he loves it, but gets much to excited at times and forgets his manners around other dogs.  I am not sure if he thinks he needs to protect me or what.  He tends to lunge and bark at them regardless of their actions, even those that ignore him.  There is this one yard that has three dogs that don't miss a chance to bark and growl and lunge at us through the fence.  I start telling him 'no' well before we reach that place, trying to get him to pay attention to my commands before we get there.  I tighten up on the leash and shorten the reach.  It's all to little avail.  Once he figures out he can't get over to the fence he turns toward me and will sometimes jump up on me in frustration.  Along with this he has nipped my T shirt on occasion and torn them.  The vet says that it is frustration and not aggression.

This had gotten bad enough in the past that we moved our walks over to a public park with less dogs.  That worked  sometimes, but not always.  I had reservations about taking him with me anyway due to this behavior.  But thought now that he is much older that maybe he has mellowed more and would be easier to manage.  Nope.  He actually seems worse. 

Today was the last straw.  As we approached the house with those zombie dogs he wants to eat, I could tell this time was different.  He was much more animated in his attempts to get to them.  The last couple times we went I had resorted to use of the handle of his retractable leash to push him down and lightly tap his nose to get his attention.  This time nothing worked.  He managed to clamp my arm briefly, but enough to draw significant blood.  My anger was nearly at it's peak.  No, I didn't kill him or even hurt him for that matter.  We returned home much quicker than usual.  I am still seething a bit.  Buster is pouting at the door to my office, I won't let him in.  I know he didn't intend to harm me, but I ain't letting that happen again.

He won't get any walks ever again.  It will drive him crazy when he sees me leave.  I will hear his mournful howls half way down the street.  I'll get over it.  Buster? he has no idea what he did if anything.

Maybe having just cats is better.  Nah.  But now I walk by myself, much more boring and less incentive to go.  Stupid dog.

Happy Trails.

Heavy Heart

The other day I posted in regard to things that have been going on with my parents.  The place Kim had taken them to look at turned out to be a great place.  My Mom loved it.  The costs were also less than the other candidate.  It is much closer to us and my brother.  We could be there much quicker than where they are now.  It would also be more convenient for more frequent visits. 

Kim was very pumped up about how my parents reacted to the tour.  Kim told them to go back and take a tour of the other place they liked before making a decision.   As it turns out, they went back and put money down on a place.  Mom plans to move in anywhere from 3-6 months.  She thinks it will take that long to sort through all the issues they have as far as disposing of their belongings they won't have room for.  They already have a buyer/renter for their house.  My cousin has told them for years she wanted to buy it when they moved.  She was over the other day measuring the rooms for her furniture.  I know she is excited about it, but that seems a little to forward to me.  I think this had a huge effect on my Mom.  I should probably keep my distance from her for the near future, I may say something that I would regret.

They have a lot of stuff.  Quite a bit a furniture.  Mom has talked about putting some in storage.  I hope they find a way to get rid of most of it without putting it in storage.  She has in the back of her mind that if they decide they don't like the new living arrangements she can always go back (if she rents the house) and she will have her stuff back.  That tells me she still has some strong reservations about this move.  She is afraid of what it will do to my Dad, he has seemed so resigned to this that it seems he is a bit depressed.  This move may do more harm than good in her eyes.

My heart is heavy.

Since I wrote this, my Mom has reconsidered, not moving, but looking at a couple more places.  She got very emotional when I spoke to her over the phone.  She is so worried about how this will affect my Dad.  His resignation to all this has her very concerned.  It is wearing her out.  

Not Much

Sunday before today I lost a pocket knife.  It was the one I  bartered some leather work for.  I really hate losing something like that.  This was a really good knife.  I only carry Case brand knives as a pocket knife.  I have other knives but not for my pocket.  I have one I have carried for 15-20 years.  

I looked and looked for it and no dice.  I assumed it must have fallen out of a pair of pants I rarely wear.  I found a package of mints I carry in the same pocket laying on the driveway right by the door of where I park my truck.  Not a good sign.  I figured it might be at the church building, and had a chance that someone would recognize where I sit and return it to me.  So I thought when we went to church Wednesday evening I might have a chance to find it.  Or it fell out of my pocket at the Whataburger and it was gone for good. 

As I get into the truck to head out I was telling Kim I would look for the knife at church and about the pack of mints.  I looked in the direction where the mints had been found and I see the knife laying in the grass.  Yahoo!  It had gotten rained on so there is a bit of surface rust that I will need to take care of.  

Spent the day Thursday trying to get some yard work done.  Probably the last mowing of the year.  Also worked on a couple small leather projects for Kim.  Have some more ideas for leather, just not real motivated to get into working much on it.  A friend gave a few sets of Whitetail antlers, we are trying to incorporate them into some of Kim's jewelry.  I already had some ideas for her that are pretty quick to do.  These need to get done really soon, maybe they would be attractive to a few hunters over at the resort.  We'll see.

Kim has been planning a trip up to Abilene to see her extended family.  Her Aunt will be having an 80th birthday party.  We had hoped that the youngest son could come and house sit for a couple nights.  Found out he has another convention that weekend in Laredo.  He has been extremely busy.  Most of his focus was on the big convention that he and his partner put on here last weekend, the Alamo City Comic Con.  We don't see or here from him for a couple months prior to that.  I told Kim to just go ahead and go without me.  She has hoped to get up that the last few years and something has gotten in the way every time.  She says she won't go without me, but I really think she needs to go anyway.  I will try to convince her otherwise.  We don't know when we will be able to it again.

Everything has just been a jumbled up busy time for us.  But things are pretty good. 

Happy Trails.

Changes

There have been some rather dramatic things going on with my parents.  My Dad keeps having episodes with his diabetes.  For some reason he doesn't detect the signs that his blood sugar is getting to low.  Along with the fact he only monitors his blood once a day and doesn't eat enough now to keep up with what his meds are doing.  They had to call the EMT's to deal with the latest.  Wound up staying a couple days in the hospital.  They had such trouble keeping his levels high enough that they decided to remove him from all meds.  

There have been a few other things that have caused my Mom to heavily consider moving into a facility where they can have help on hand, an independent living situation, not a nursing home.  They have been kicking that idea around for several years with various decisions being made and then unmade.  Now with the latest it appears to be imminent.  Even my Dad who has never really bought into that idea now has indicated they should do it soon.  That was a real eye opener.  I thought he would fight Mom to the end about ever moving to a place like that.  The latest incidents, yes more than one, have made him believe it is time.  

I have mixed emotions.  It is hard to accept that my parents, that helped every one else with these issues for more years than I can remember, now have approached that same stage.  The spent many of their retirement years helping my grandparents.  They didn't have the type retirement of travel they had wanted due to that sacrifice.  Consequently Mom said that she would never 'burden' (her words not mine) us that way.  She has had plans to do something like this for as long as I can remember.  On the second hand, this can be a good thing.  My Mom is a worrier, and hopefully this will ease some of that.  The worry has been harder on her than anything else.  I believe it has even clouded some of her thinking.  Seeing how worried and stressed she is had been frustrating for me.  I see what it is doing to her.

They more than likely will leave the area they live in, away from their church and all the friends they have in that area.  So that is another issue along with learning a new area of town that has much more traffic.

They are going to look at another place today and Kim has offered to meet with them.  Hopefully Kim can help by offering a perspective that can help them decide where.  That is all that is left, deciding where and whether it can fit into their budget.  But Mom's worries jeep her from pulling the trigger.  It is better for all that I stay away.

They are pretty healthy so we are thankful for that.  Hopefully this will help relieve the stress they have been experiencing and be able to relax and enjoy life.

Happy Trails

Debate

Did y'all watch the debates?  I didn't.  In fact I rarely do.  I generally always know who my guy is prior to these things.  I will watch the debates once it's down to the final two candidates for POTUS.  The debates never change my mind.  I don't really see how they do much good other then to make a candidate look like an idiot. 

Maybe the low information voter or those that don't pay much attention to what is going on might be swayed, but at this point, these particular debates do nothing but divide rather than unite.  It just seems to piss off more people than it really helps.  I am not sure those low info voters would watch a debate anyway.  If they are that disconnected, why would they even bother anyway.  Those I know that actually watch the debates just seem to echo what they already have said anyway, or just cheer on their guy.  

My friend that sees things  much the same as I do, does watch the debates.  He is by no means a low info voter, he hasn't decide who he likes yet.  Even then, the guy he likes the most is way out of the pack right now.  So I don't know if he will be influenced by all the catchy one liners and insults.  Those things just do nothing for me, they do more harm than good in the big picture.

They tend to divide more than anything and cause resentment.  Not what we need.

My views are pretty simplistic.  I don't get a lot of the crap that goes back and forth so I try to ignore it.  My guy isn't much on the radar either at the moment.  Not real sure what I will do if the self serving guy gets the nomination.  

Happy Trails.

Roofer

The Roofer finally made it out to check out the leaky roof.  Not good news.  The entire roof deck of the patio has rotted.  So it will be more than just a roof replacement.  Not what I wanted to hear but will be glad it gets fixed right this time.  I made the mistake of hiring a handyman that likes to drink more than work previously.  My bad.  This guy knows his stuff.  You get what you pay for is true in this case.  Only problem is he can't start for at least 3 weeks and could be more than 5.  He has a 900 square job that he has to get done first.  That's huge.  I wouldn't be surprised if it's much longer.

 

Happy Trails

 

Spectacular

The weather here is just spectacular.  Had a few daily showers at the end of last week, but since Saturday the weather has cooled down quite a bit and with drier air than normal.  It really adds some spunk into Buster and he gets pretty excited when he figures out I am heading out the door for our walk.  He is actually a PITB at that time, jumping and whining to the point I can hardly get the leash on him.  Then the deer that come out to see who is walking by drive him nuts or any other dogs along the way.  He has lost the little manners he had before.  It makes me remember why I stopped taking him along.  That may happen soon if he doesn't calm down a bit.

The showers have played havoc with my tomatoes.  They have almost all started splitting from the water.  I am throwing away more than I can save.  I probably threw away 50 this morning and only kept a dozen.  It is also messing up the ones that are still green.  At least we got quite a few this year.  I may not plant any of the yellow pear next year.  They over ran the entire garden and have made it difficult to even find the other ones.  The also produce way more than we can use.

Happy Trails.

Doctor's Appointment

Friday's doctor appointment went pretty well.  He confirmed what I already knew, no detectable cancer.  Before my surgery they gave me an info sheet on things to expect over the next 5 years, i.e. future doctor appointments, what they would do, and how long their monitoring would go on.  So far everything on that sheet has been different than the actual visits.  The told me I would come in every 6 months to check blood results and get the digital exam.  No, I don't know why they would need to do that.  This doctor evidently is more conservative in his views than that info sheet.  He says I will be coming in every 3 months for the next year or two, then that would decrease gradually, but would monitor me out to 10 years.  Every thing I had read up to this point that if you surpassed 5 years you would be considered a cancer survivor.  While I don't particularly look forward to another 10 years of visits, I can appreciate his caution and effort toe keep me alive.  And no, he didn't need the KY.  Not sure that luck will hold out and I ain't asking.

We also talked about resuming the hormone replacement therapy, you know the low 'T' that I have been experiencing.  I had considered just not doing it at all, not press my luck on giving any sleeping cancer cells to wake up.  I may be reconsidering that.  Why?  My energy, strength and stamina are just completely gone along with the other results of having practically 0 number for 'T.'  Not being able to complete fairly simple tasks or even have the desire to attempt them is beginning to wear on me.  There is a newer treatment that I may consider that is similar to how my insulin is administered.  Taht would be very tolerable compared to the other methods.

We did make it to the funeral of our dear friend after all.  Found out a few things we didn't know.  He was 92, and like so many of that generation he served in the Marine Corp during WWII, but we never knew that.  Very many of those vets never talked about their experiences.  One of the stories that came out about his service was that the mumps saved his life.  He and about 20 others got a case of the mumps and were sent to a hospital in New Zealand.  The rest of his unit was wiped out on some island somewhere.  He experienced more than his share of sadness in his lifetime.  He lost all his 3 children well before their time and also his wife much to early.  Yet I never saw him depressed or sad.  He had an abiding Faith in God and I am sure that is what sustained him.  His last years were spent under the cruel spell of dementia.  Charles R. Hood was a man.

Still haven't heard back from the roofer.  I will try to contact him soon.

Happy Trails.

Evacuation Supplies

Found this list somewhere the other day, don't recall.  I found a few things I thought were interesting.  First off, I have had differing thoughts on having a 'go bag' or evacuation bag.  My theory is that I would fort up and sustain ourselves in place.  If the mad hordes were turned loose, if we left our area, we then also become part of the mad horde.  We would not be very welcome as opposed to being in our own place, in an area we knew with a few folks around that we know.  I like my chances that way as opposed to moving out.  Yes, I realize that our dwelling may become unsustainable for various reasons.

However, the terminology, evacuation, has me rethinking my plans.  Of course there are different plans for different scenarios.  This list gave me more things to think about as far as what we may need in an evac situation.  Evacuation means different things to me than things like a complete breakdown of society. 

Here's the list, would like your comments/thoughts.  The documents are things I hadn't much considered. This wouldn't be a complete list, just things to add to the larger list.

• Cash: In small bills. If the power is out, you won’t be able to make withdrawals from an ATM.
• Identification: Copies of your driver’s licenses, Social Security card, birth certificate and marriage records.
• Insurance: Copies of home, auto and health policy information.
• Banking: Savings and checking account numbers.
• First-aid kit: The American Red Cross recommends bandages in various sizes, gauze pads, adhesive cloth tape, antiseptic wipe packets, antibiotic ointment, hydrocortisone ointment, an oral thermometer, non-latex gloves, scissors, tweezers and aspirin.
• Medication: Keep at least a seven-day supply of essential medications in your evacuation kit and determine how often you should replace stored medication. Have extra copies of prescriptions or leave a copy of your prescriptions on hold with a national pharmacy chain or with a relative who lives some distance away.
• Legal: Copies of wills or power-of-attorney documents.
• Contact information: Doctors, family members, friends and work contacts, among others.
• Connectivity: An extra cellphone charger or portable charging unit for your phone. Solar and wind-up chargers are available, while others use small batteries.
• Navigation: A map of your city or region that includes street names and public transportation information. Disasters often force detours and changing traffic patterns; a map will help keep you from getting lost.

What do you have in your 'go bag?'

Happy Trails.

Who Knew?

In 2013, the US military lifted its ban on women serving in combat. Shortly after, the Marine Corps began what it calls an “unprecedented research effort” to understand the impact of gender integration on its combat forces. That took the form of a year-long experiment called the Ground Combat Element Integrated Task Force, in which 400 Marines—100 of them female—trained for combat together and then undertook a simulated deployment, with every facet of their experience measured and scrutinized.

All branches of the military are facing a January 1, 2016, deadline to open all combat roles to women. The Marine Corps is using this experiment to decide whether to request exceptions to that mandate. The Corps’ summary of the experiment, posted online today by NPR, concludes that combat teams were less effective when they included women.

 

The rest of the story is here.

 

Does this really surprise anyone?  I will venture to say that you won't hear about this in the regular news.  I doubt it even makes it into the regular military news sources.  I have no illusions that it won't be suppressed.  It just doesn't fit the narrative that the occupier in chief wants.

 

The lefties will either totally ignore this or use some faulty logic to show some sort of bias that the Marine Corp is probably guilty of.

 

Just NUTS.

 

Happy Trails

 

 

Painting

Just finished the painting the Master bedroom Thursday around 5.  Uh, she wanted it in two colors.  Two walls are one color and the other two another shade of the same color.  Considerably darker color.  Took me a while to understand what she had in mind, especially since it is completely different than what I was told.  Evidently me asking questions is a form of being argumentative.  Who knew?  LOL.

Yeah yeah, I may have asked in a tone not conducive to a simple reply.  My bad.  

Put most of the things back that won't have to be moved again for the flooring job, curtains, switch plates, pictures.  I am guessing next week is when that will happen.

It may depend on how stiff and sore we both are from all this work.  I had already been pretty sore.  I had started some low impact exercise, trying to get a little more stamina/strength.  I had been pretty much a couch potato since my surgery.  I can really feel it now.  Will be hitting the Motrin pretty steady. 

Oh and since we are painting one room, another has been added, the master bath.  I can probably guess that there may be even more.

Happy Trails.

Cob Webs

Started moving things around in the bedroom today, in order to paint and ultimately place new flooring.  That means the entire house is a wreck.  Things are placed in every room to make room to work.  Funny how you make a mess just to clean up a mess with this sort of job.  The bigger pieces of furniture, bed, dresser, armoire and a couple small tables were just moved enough to get behind them in order to paint.  Once we are ready to install the flooring we will move the rest.  Cleaning the walls and floors for dust and cob webs finished out what we wanted to get done as prep for painting.  Yes, I already hurt myself.

We are planning to start painting Thursday.  Not sure how much posting will be done before we are finished.  Maybe none, or maybe I'll use this as a break time.  I'm sure I will need several of those lol. 

Friday I have an appointment with the Urologist.  The timing is not so good, a very dear old friend passed away this weekend and his funeral is that same day.  They two are so close together I probably can't make both.  This doc appointment has already been rescheduled once.  It would be another couple months before I could get another.  Kim will most likely attend the funeral for both of us.

Happy Trails

Honey Do's

Got a couple new projects in the works.  We pulled the carpet out of our bedroom a while back.  It had been there since we built the house in '86.  What with the time and wear and raising a couple puppies, it was just nasty looking.  We have been using a few throw rugs to cover the concrete that was left for over a year.  It's time to fix that.  But first we thought we should paint first and not have to worry about protecting the new flooring.  Kim went in to town to pick her paint at Lowe's since they were having a sale.  I am not even sure what color she picked.  It changed by the time she got to the store.  I basically have surrendered any real input on paint colors.  It's just not worth the hassle anymore.

We have been considering different types flooring for a long time.  Even before we pulled the carpet.  She had settled on a wood laminate at one time.  I have installed that in most of the rest of the house about 12-15 years ago.  I was NOT looking forward to doing that again but thought it might be tolerable in just the one room.  Moving everything out and back in may be even worse lol.  Now she has reconsidered and has decided that vinyl planks may be the was to go.  They are just peel and stick and would be much easier to install than wood or laminate.  There is a bit of a cost difference, but not as much as you would suspect.  We had previously decided on a particular color.  Found out that Lowe's was closing it out so we could save a few more $$.  I agreed to go over and pick it up and have it on hand when we got the paint done.  The Lowe's she went to didn't have enough so we had to go a bit further to another one.  Then there was another style/color that we liked even more.  And of course they didn't have enough.  They say they have plenty at a couple other stores, but they are much farther away.  That will have to wait for another day.

Now all I need to do is get enough motivation and be pain free enough to move furniture and then paint.  Then install the flooring.....if we(she) doesn't change our/her mind.  Welcome to couples home improvement.

Happy Trails.

Jumbled Thoughts

I have been procrastinating the roof repairs.  But I finally called the guy I had come out and fix the other spots about a year ago.  I anticipate this being a much bigger job than the previous, probably involving some deck replacement.  I hope to get an estimate but until they actually begin work they won't know the entire scope of the work involved.  Hence the estimate will be just that, an estimate with the understanding costs could and very well may be more, significantly.  It involves the patio roof and the chimney.  I believe the entire patio may need to be redone.  Hope we have saved enough to get it done right this time.  Now if we can get him out here, he is very busy.  I take that as a good sign.

The patio has a plywood ceiling.  There is some obvious warping that has occurred due to the leaks.  He may need to rip part of that in order see exactly what is going on.  I am of a mind to just leave it without a ceiling if that is necessary.

Lots of other busy things going on.  My Dad has been having issues with his diabetes, wound up in the ER and stayed a couple days.  I think it was harder on my Mom than him.  She worries a lot and puts a lot of stress on herself.  Lots of other things also going on that keep my mind all jumbled up.  Not good for a guy that has trouble keeping it in order on easy days lol. 

I feel really busy but can't point to anything or even figure out something worthy to write about.  But that happens a lot anyway.  I warned y'all I wasn't an interesting writer.

I have a follow up with the Urologist on the 11th.  Not real sure what he will do since I already have the blood test results.  I have a sneaking suspicion I won't like it much at all because it will involve a lot of KY.  Things have been progressing probably as well as can be expected since my surgery.  Mostly pain free and continued good blood test results buoy my spirits, and things are working much better than the have been.  That doesn't mean it couldn't be better.  It could be worse.  I am constantly reminded that by all the others I know that suffer things much worse than I, and never utter a word.

Happy Trails

Almost a Year

Yup, since I found out I was positive for Prostate Cancer.  Sept. 12 was the date of the actual biopsy.  Five days later, a Wednesday I got the call from my urologist before 8 AM, cancer.   Yes the early hour was a tip-off.  The look in Kim's eyes when I told her......hope I never see that again.  Not a real good way to start your day.

We met with the doctor 2 days later and he laid out all the options plus everything else we didn't even know.  Those that have been around my blog for a while know I chose the surgery option.

So why am I re-hashing all this?  There are a couple blogs I follow that have mentioned a fund raising effort to raise awareness and research for Prostate Cancer.  The effort is called "Kilted to Kick Cancer."  Pretty catchy.  I had threatened to wear a kilt after my surgery, for comforts sake.  I don't know of any of these blogs that are actually participating by raising funds, so I won't actually endorse one of them.  But, I would encourage you, if you are so inclined, to google 'Kilted to Kick Cancer' and you will find someone to donate to.  You can make your choice from there.  By the way, there is a competition by those involved in this effort, not sure who wins what from donated prizes.

Why am I not involved?  You would think I would be a good spokesperson with my experience.  I am not much on asking others for the hard earned dollars to be given/donated, to me especially.  It really makes me feel extremely uncomfortable.  Almost as bad as the digital exam.  I can't really explain my discomfort without gong into a long drawn out explanation.  It has been there my entire life and not anything new.  I'll just leave it at that.

I will take this opportunity to link to my very first blog post so you can read for yourself what it may be like to go through what I am/did with Prostate Cancer.  Maybe it will encourage someone to get checked.  Fellas, get that thing checked, ladies, if you love your man, make him go despite his protests.  You may save a life.

Thanks for your consideration and thanks for your coming by my blog, and a special thanks to those that take/took the time to comment and offer encouragement, especially those that have been here from the beginning.  You have no idea what your participation here means.

Happy Trails.

New Coins

Kim's step-sister and her husband retired to Mexico a year or so ago.  They were back in the States for several reasons and they usually call us up and we meet for supper.  Friday was the day that happened.  They picked one of their old haunts in town.  Friday's traffic is just super crazy compared to the usual crazy and we had to be there by 5:45 PM.  Rush hour, oh joy.  Peak supper time at a popular restaurant usually mean waiting.  Also the place they picked is a high end Mexican "Cuisine" sorta place.  Which mean they charge 3-4 times what a good plate of enchiladas or carne guisada would normally run. 

As it turns out things went much better than I anticipated.  The traffic was unusually light, the restaurant wasn't crowed either.  The food was OK, a little to much 'gringo' leaning for my tastes.  We visited a while and caught up.  Kim showed a ring I had made out of a Sacagawea Dollar she was wearing.  So her step sister breaks out a handful of Mexican Pesos.  She wanted me to have them and make a ring for her also.  Those were some really nice looking coins and had great potential for rings.  

As you can see they have two different color metals.  Should be interesting.

Started work on one and just as I suspected they are two-piece coins.  I got the hole punched just fine but when the folding process began the center 'yellow' metal just fell out of the surrounding piece.  Was able to use the out piece to make a very thin band that has the markings I like on it.  I just don't think there is anyway to keep the inner piece with my method.  A dual colored ring would have been interesting.

I did win a couple ebay auctions for some more Swiss Francs.  Looking forward to making a few of those.  They really make nice looking rings.

Garden update.  It is still going pretty well.  Much better than anyone else I know that had/has one at this point of the summer.  This was Monday mornings' haul.  143 tomatoes. 

They plants are still full and green.  The yellow pear tomatoes have not slowed down at all.  The regular sized ones are not producing as much as the heat makes it hard to set fruit.  No idea why the yellow ones are so prolific.  by now most folks would have pulled their plants and planted new ones for a fall crop.  I am pretty sure mine will produce until the first freeze in early November.  We shall see.

Happy Trails