Boatport, Dinner, and Cataract Surgery

AJ, AZ  High 98  Low 71

The list is getting smaller and I’m not adding to it so Jim is happy.

The boatport is up and we love it. Previously we parked our boat in somebody else’s carport during the summer. That meant that we needed to time our return to the valley so that we could move the boat before the carport owner’s returned. Now we can wander as late into the Autumn as we want to.

We had dinner one night with our good friends, Nan and John. They were camped out at Lost Dutchman State Park. So good to be able to visit with them for a short time.

Jim is now minus one cataract. He had it removed on Wednesday. Had kind of a rough day but by Thursday morning he was feeling much better. His vision on Wednesday after the surgery was really tilted and blurry. Today it is just blurry as he waits for the swelling to go down. We had this procedure done at Barnet-Delaney-Perkins Eye Center and they use a new type of medicated drop during the surgery which eliminates the necessity for any eye drops prior to or following surgery. Sure makes it a lot simpler.

Lesson learned – Jim was not allowed to eat for 8 hours prior to his surgery. Being diabetic that means that his blood sugar is going to drop and drop it did. It was only 67 when he got out of surgery. They gave him some juice but that wasn’t enough. We hadn’t come prepared for this but as soon as I got him home, I got some food in him. Next time I’m taking some orange juice and a cookie with us.

Do you have any idea how many times a day you bend down, especially if you have two small dogs who refuse to go out at the same time? Jim usually hooks the dogs up and takes them out but since he can’t bend over until next week, I am doing the bending. Had no idea how often he had to do this. You also have to bend over to pick up their dishes and put them back down when it’s time to eat. Good grief.

He will have the left cataract removed on May 9, which means I’ll be doing the bending again. It really is good exercise but I’ll glad turn it back over to Jim.

Rocky also had his eye checkup. Some wonderful lady had paid for him to have cataract surgery before we adopted him. He requires eye drops every day and once a year we see his eye doctor. His eyes are perfect so he’s good for another year.

List, What List???

AJ, AZ   High 82  Low 60 – it’s been really windy but the temperatures have been nice. Next week we’re back into the high 90’s.

As if Jim didn’t already have a to-do list that is a mile long, I decided to add something new to it. I have fallen in love with our convection oven in the Cottage. So we decided we needed to replace the microwave in the Bungalow with a combination micro/convection. Nothing ever goes as easily as you think it will and Jim had to almost rebuild the cabinet for it to fit in. But I love it. Now Jim won’t have to get down on his knees in order to light the oven for me.

Then we have a day like yesterday. Jim has ten appointments with the eye doctor regarding his cataract surgery. Yesterday was appointment number three – the pre-op appointment. Got in the truck and it was deader than a door nail. I am so grateful that our neighbors, Ginny and Mickey, are still here because they let us take their truck so we could keep the appointment.

We were at the doctor’s office for 2 1/2 hours – at least two hours of it spent waiting in order to see the doctor for less than five minutes. I was beyond frustrated. And once again very grateful that Ginny was willing to take the pups out for us.

We finally got home and Jim took off to get new truck batteries. The last time we needed truck batteries we were parked outside of Yuma in the desert. That time Bill and Jan came to our rescue. What would we do without such wonderful friends.

We also got a call from Absolute Steel and they have our boat carport ready to put up. They will be here early this morning. We didn’t expect them for another couple of weeks so that meant the boat had to be moved.

None of this is on his list. However, he did get the Bungalow hitch lubed which is on the list. Progress.

Jim’s right eye cataract will be done next Wednesday. For a week after surgery he cannot bend over or lift anything that weighs more than 20 pounds. The left eye will be done May 10. We’re still hoping to leave here the first part of June. Maybe.

Keeping Jim Busy

AJ, AZ – High 95  Low 71 (a cold front is coming through this week-end and the high will be 79 – but back up in the 90’s by next week)

I’ve been keeping Jim busy with all kinds of jobs while we wait for his cataract surgery.

We are going to have a carport put up to park the boat under while we’re gone for the summer. We also bought a boot for the boat trailer to hopefully discourage thieves.

In order to install the carport, Jim had to move our storage shed over two feet. That meant moving everything out of it.

Some of the guys came over to help him move the shed. Sure do appreciate all the help we get when things need to be done.

This was the perfect time for Jim to organize the shed and he found a few items that he wanted to sell. We listed those items on Craigslist and have sold everything but the cargo carrier.

We’ve had a couple of check engine lights on the truck. That means that Jim has spent a lot of time under the truck replacing a glow plug and a tire speed sensor. As you all know, these projects always take longer than you think they will.

He built a box to cover our soft water tank.

He’s also fixed some earrings for Aunt Happy and we’ve been to visit her a couple of times.

Our park is starting to get really empty. I don’t envy those people who are already heading north with all the winter weather still hanging around up there. We’ve had dinner parties to say goodbye to friends and our final campfire and hot dog roast.

Skittlez cracks us up. She inhales her dinner and then she stands behind Rocky like a vulture waiting for him to eat so she can lick his plate clean.

She’s also very good at relaxing.

I still have a really long list of things for Jim to get done before we leave. My job is to supervise and entertain the dogs.