Happy Father’s Day

Apache Junction, AZ  High 112  Low 84

I thought this was such a great idea. The Young Women in Church made these for all the fathers and grandfathers.  They used an envelope and then decorated it with a tie. The Big Hunk was in the envelope along with a sheet of paper.

They had asked all of the children to fill in the blank – My Dad/Grandpa is a “Big Hunk” because _____.

Some of their answers are hysterical.

he honks the fire truck horn

he works

he jiggles his tummy

he’s handsome and awesome

he has big muscles

he can do a cartwheel

he’s a dentist and makes fake teeth for people

he lets me do stuff my mom won’t let me do

he has a truck

And many of them said it’s because he loves me.

Many of you commented that we should head up to Montana and have Jim’s surgery in cooler weather. We actually talked about it and we both agree that’s not something we want to do for several reasons. Jim really likes the doctors down here and does not want to start all over again. It may be hot down here but Billings, MT is having storms on a regular basis with warnings of high winds, hail and even tornadoes. We do not want to sit in our son’s driveway for six weeks or more. I would drive both him and his wife crazy. That’s just the way I am. So we are here until this is over with.

I hope all the Dad’s out there had a fantastic day. Normally Jim fixes chicken wings on the grill for Father’s Day but that’s not happening this year. I won’t let him be outside that long. So we’ll have homemade Szechwan Chicken.

I Thought We Were Making Progress – NOT!

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Trying to Beat the Boredom

Apache Junction, AZ  High 105  Low 79
I’m trying to find little projects to keep Jim busy while we wait for the medical field to get their act together.
The ceiling strip came unglued so I had Jim climb up and put some glue on the strip. The hammer was a perfect fit to balance on the top of the slide and hold the strip in place until the glue dried. Now let’s see what else I can come up with to keep him out of trouble.
Hot again today. But let me tell you, I’ll take 106 with no humidity over 80 with 90% humidity any day. It may be like sticking your head in an oven but at least I can still breathe. One of the problems we do have is that the ground is so hot on the girls’ paws. Not much shade out where we are supposed to walk them so most of our trips are really short.
Except in the morning when it’s still kind of cool. That’s when Scooter and Jim go rabbit, lizard and coyote hunting. We have two coyotes that are living their lives right outside our park – dining on all the rabbits we have in this area. So far they haven’t been aggressive – probably because they have been so well fed. Skitz and I saw one of them when we went out, bout half way down the sidewalk. Skitz barked and then headed back for the gate as fast as she could, all thoughts of peeing gone.
We finally had an appointment with Jim’s surgeon today. After looking over the paper work he wasn’t happy with Jim’s kidney function. He had Jim donate more blood and now we wait once more. The surgeon will see the test results and he may have to refer us to a kidney doctor. Once we get the kidney situation straightened out, we can get surgery scheduled. That probably won’t be for several weeks yet.
Boredom may do us in before anything else. Jim feels really good except his leg cramps from lack of blood flow when he walks.

 


Apache Junction, AZ  High 114  Low 82
It’s hot. Yesterday Phoenix tied their record of 115 on June 17 and we’re headed that direction again today. I sure am glad we bought that second air conditioner.
Jim has been out flying his plane a couple of mornings. He had a rather hard landing and we had to wait for the hobby shop to get in the gear box he needed. He now has two of them – just in case.

We bought new awning fabric. Ours was so rotted that it was barely hanging on by a thread.

With the sun so far north, it beats down on the door side of the RV all afternoon so having an awning really helps keep the rig cooler. Jim did all the work to get the old awning down and the new one ready to go.

This morning (5:30 a.m.), Al came over and helped Jim put the new awning up. With his help it took less than an hour to get it all ready to go. You really do have to get started early in the morning so you can finished any outside work before it gets too hot.
I sure am grateful they haven’t left yet for the summer.






This is our pretty new awning.

Also the awning offers some shade on the rocks so the girls don’t burn their feet when they have to go out. Let me tell you, they are really quick. Well, except for in the very early mornings when Jim and Scooter go out to unlock the gate and go rabbit hunting.
We’ve seen a couple of good movies – The Imitation Game and The Cokeville Miracle.
We are both pretty discouraged this afternoon. We finally found out that his kidneys, although not great, are okay for him to go ahead and have surgery. We had an appointment scheduled with the surgeon on the 24th but after we got that go ahead Jim called and was able to get an appointment for this morning.
After the awning was up and we had our showers, we headed out for Phoenix and the doctor’s office. (This is going to be a rant – just warning you.) We didn’t have to wait long to see the doctor. He came into the room, read the reports and said – I can’t help you. I need to refer you to a specialist. And that was it. I know doctors are busy. But this was beyond ridiculous. I’m trying to justify the fact that he doesn’t take the time to read the reports he gets before he’s  sitting in the office with the patient. But he could have so easily had his office call us and tell us he couldn’t do the surgery and needs to refer us to a specialist several days ago. I know that’s not feasible in this day and age but I’m still really not happy about it.
The specialist’s office called us to make an appointment and the earliest appointment we could get was July 15. Jim asked if there was another surgeon we could see sooner and we have an appointment on June 30. 12 more days of waiting.
And that’s it from AJ.

Twiddling Our Thumbs+

Nothing new on the surgery. I keep saying “Maybe tomorrow”.

Jim got our new air conditioner set up and that thing is worth it’s weight in gold to us right now. It is currently 106 outside and with the second air it stays about 79/80 inside. It’s wonderful.

Ginny and Mickey, our good friends across the street from us, took off this morning for their summer travels. It was rather depressing to watch them hitch up and leave. However, watching them load their bike was fun. They definitely have done it a few times.

We have babies – two hummingbirds. Mom is definitely very protective of them and gets really upset when we stand around taking our pictures. Peg and John are going to have to clean the underside of their awning in the Fall.

 Skittlez enjoying the ice cream container.

Cousins and Friends

Apache Junction, AZ  High 95  Low 74

My cousin, Myrna, is visiting her kids in Phoenix. She has a really busy schedule but we were able to fit in a lunch get-together. It’s been a few years since we’ve had a chance to visit and it was fun to catch up with her again. She and her hubby are living in Idaho. Her Mom and mine are sisters. 

On Memorial Day Al and Wilma had a cookout for those of us who are left in the park. A few couldn’t make it and we had 12 people who brought enough food for 25 people.
 
I loved reading all the posts online about those who have served our country. My Dad served in the Army during WWII while Mom worked for Boeing and built bombers. 

Paul is leaving today to go get his new motorhome. We went to Los Gringos Locos last night for dinner and I had a surprise for him for dessert. We have officially become locals. Last night at dinner, the owner came over and invited us to Local's Appreciate Day on June 22. 40% off food and $2 margaritas. I think we'll be taking advantage of that offer.

We all love blueberry pie but they are really hard to find. However, I discovered a place called Piefection in Mesa and they do have a blueberry pie. It was really good.

No news from the doctor yet regarding Jim’s leg and what needs to be done to fix things. So we are waiting impatiently. 

We ordered a portable air conditioner and it has arrived just in time. Our temperatures are headed into the triple digits on Friday – 105 degrees on Sunday and they will probably remain high for most of the time we’re here.

I really hate the fact that I have to use blogger instead of Live Writer. I have no idea how this is going to look but I thought I'd go ahead and post to see what happens.

Tests Finished – No Results Yet

Apache Junction, AZ  High 88  Low 59

Thank you all so much for the wonderful wishes on our anniversary. We had a nice day. After church Jim took me up to Porter’s for my favorite hamburger. They are sooo good.

Our weather is still gorgeous but it is going to be headed up this next week.

Jim is done with tests and now we are waiting to hear from the doctors. Hopefully early next week.

After his test on Thursday (he had to fast for it) he was ready for breakfast. We were almost in downtown Phoenix so I went on Yelp and found a breakfast place with great reviews.

I forgot to take any pictures so these are from their website.

This is a local place in a rather rundown neighborhood and caters to everyone from men in suits to families and everyone in between. It’s not large but it was packed when we got there at 9:30 on a Thursday morning.  

The food was incredibly good. They make their own blueberry preserves and we ended up buying a jar because it was so good. However there was one major drawback – the place was NOISY!!!! I have never been anywhere that was as loud. I actually ended up with a headache from the noise. But we would go back if we are ever in that area again – the food was that good.

Wednesday night we ordered Chinese take-out and went over to Paul’s place to watch a movie – My Fellow Americans – an oldie but so funny.

When we’re not eating, Jim is still working on projects so that when the doctor says we’re good to go we can get out of here.

 

Sad News – Hazel of Class A Greyhounds

Apache Junction, AZ  High 89  Low 63

Sad news today when I read that Hazel Bluhm of Class A Greyhounds passed away from a massive stroke. Karen Pfundtner has written a wonderful tribute to Hazel on her blog at Karen in the Woods.

I met Hazel and her Greyhounds in Quartzsite at our Blogger Fest this last January and have followed along with her blog since then. We’ve exchanged several e-mails and was truly an animal lover.

Thank you Karen for letting blog land know of her passing.

29 Years Ago

Apache Junction, AZ  High 79  Low 54

29 years ago Jim and I were married in Alexandria, VA. The weather was typical East Coast weather – hot and humid. We got married at home and that morning Jim and Billy were hard at working putting in a window air conditioner so I wouldn’t melt.

What a glorious day. I love you Jim. Forever and ever.

Todd and Michaela sent us this as an anniversary gift. It is definitely going to find a permanent place in the Bungalow because a truer statement has never been made.

Jim has been working on the Bungalow getting odds and ends done – like changing the anode rod in the hot water heater and washing it out.

We went to the library and took out three movies. All three of them had problems so we didn’t watch any of them to the end. However, we did see this fellow at the library. Waiting patiently.

Jim has two tests scheduled for next Wednesday and Thursday. Hopefully we will hear from his cardiologist on Friday and we can get his surgery scheduled. The sooner the better.