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.

Dinner with Aunt Happy

AJ, AZ  High 89  Low 67

The senior living complex where Aunt Happy lives throws a yearly  dinner for the residents and their families. The theme was a Chuckwagon BBQ with hot dogs, chicken, and ribs plus sides.

Aunt Happy made sure we were dressed properly.

There were over 300 people attending the dinner and Jim and I stood in line for quite awhile to get our food. Jim handled two plates because we left Aunt Happy at the table. Nobody went hungry with all the food available. Jim tracked down the ice cream for dessert.

We also had entertainment while we ate. A cowboy singer and his horse, Dusty. That’s right, the horse was in the dining room with us and everyone from the youngest to the oldest loved him.

They have been entertaining around the valley for 15 years and Dusty was not bothered by anything. The wheelchairs, the walkers, the noise, the kids – nothing made him nervous at all.

They also had a horse and carriage out front for anyone who wanted to take a ride around the buildings. Forgot to get a picture of him. Not sure many of the residents took a ride, but I’m sure the little ones had fun.

After eating, Happy was ready to go back to her apartment. We took her home and she informed us she was ready to get into her pajamas which meant it was time for us to leave. I’m glad we were here to share this time with her.

Prescription Issues, a Goodbye Lunch and a Bummer

AJ, AZ   High 74  Low 48

I still can’t believe how our insurance works for prescriptions. Or doesn’t work.

I am taking prescription Vitamin D – one a week. Jim and Rocky always go to pick them up for me from CVS. The first time he brought home four pills that cost 39 cents. That’s wonderful. Then I finally got permission to have a three month supply at a time. On Tuesday the guys went to pick up my new prescription and the cost was $21.09 for 12 pills. I am not a mathematician but those two costs do not add up. If four pills cost about 10 cents a piece, 12 pills should come out at $1.20 or so.

For a change – an Arizona Sunrise

So back to the Pharmacy they went. The pharmacy person could not really give Jim an answer as to why the difference in price. Something about insurance. However, they did refund his original price and ended up charging him $1.29.

When he got home and told me about it I remembered hearing some news report that Pharmacies are not allowed by law to tell you that a prescription is cheaper if you don’t use your insurance. However, if you ask them about it, they can give you the information.

There’s a good news article about it at Gag Orders on Pharmacies. So my advise to you is to ask about the cost of the drug without using insurance. I know we will definitely be doing that from now on.

We were able to meet up with Jeri and Terry for lunch on Wednesday when they were able to find a few minutes in their busy busy schedule. We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory and it was really good. Fun to catch up with good friends and tell them to have a great summer. They are leaving around April 1.

Now for the bummer – We aren’t going to be able to leave the valley until sometime in June. Jim has to have cataract surgery on both eyes and his final appointment is on May 31. I really had hoped that this year we would be gone in early May but it’s not to be. But the good news is that Jim will be able to see really good when we go East next fall and that’s a good thing.

Bluegrass on the Beach

Lake Havasu, AZ   High  81  Low 54

Jim climbed on top of the Bungalow to get me a couple of pictures of all the rigs attending the festival. The parking lot slopes slightly down to the river so you can’t see most of the rigs. We are parked at the top of the lot.

I don’t know how many rigs or people showed up but there were a whole bunch of them.

This is our group.

Back row: Ginny (with the visor), Mickey, Dave and Linda.

Front row: Charlie, Vi, Nellie (Larry is missing), Jim’s empty chair and me in the brown hat.

We took our chairs down on Thursday and just left them until Sunday. That’s when we realized that I had not been thinking clearly. We only brought two chairs with us and we needed four. Two down at the stage area and two up at our campsite. Jim made a quick trip to Harbor Freight and we were the proud owners of two new chairs.

There were lots of vendors selling food and crafts. Jim couldn’t pass up the ice cream vendor as we walked down to check out the beach.

Lake Havasu State Park is a beautiful place and would be a fun place to camp for a week.

We had three days of fantastic bluegrass music. Out of all the bands that performed, I had two that became my favorites. One was the Jerry Butler Band. They performed a Gospel song called “Beyond the Rain” that really touched my soul. You can check it out on You Tube. Beyond the Rain

Mickey and Ginny

The other group was Wayne Taylor and Appaloosa. Wayne and another band member performed with the Navy Band Country Current for something like 20+ years. Jim and I went to a Country Current Concert in Billings before we retired. Wayne has an incredible voice.

We had beautiful sunshine all three days but the wind was blowing really good the whole time. One of the performers hat blew off several times while on stage and they had trouble keeping the instruments in tune.

In the evenings we had pot lucks. We had tacos, spaghetti, incredible desserts, and everything in between. But with the wind blowing, as soon as the sun went down it got cold in the desert. Here’s proof. Thank you Ginny for the warm blanket. It was greatly appreciate.

We headed home on Monday and are making plans for next years show.

London Bridge

Lake Havasu, AZ  High 73  Low 48 (windy)

Last week-end we traveled to Lake Havasu State Park to enjoy some great Bluegrass music. Three rigs from our park went up on Wednesday and saved a couple of spots. Mickey and Ginny and Jim and I went up on Thursday.

First a little history.

Lake Havasu is home to the London Bridge. The original Bridge in London was rebuilt several times. In 1962, it was discovered that the London Bridge was "falling down," sinking into the Thames River because it was not adequate for the increase in traffic and the heavier vehicles. In 1967, the Common Council of the City of London began to look for potential buyers for the London Bridge. Lake Havasu City founder and entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch placed the winning bid of $2,460,000 on April 18, 1968.

Each block was meticulously numbered before the bridge was disassembled. Each piece was marked with four numbers: the first indicated which arch span; the second, noted which row of stones; and the last two indicated which position in that row. The blocks were then shipped from London through the Panama Canal to California and trucked from Long Beach to Arizona. On September 23, 1968, the Lord Mayor of London laid the corner stone.

A one-mile channel was dredged and water was diverted from the lake, under the Bridge, then back into the lake. The bridge was dedicated on October 10, 1971. 

My friend Cindy and I visited the London Bridge back in 1968 when it was under construction. This is the first time since then that I have been back to see it. I sure wish I still had those pictures we took but they are long gone.

Back to the present.

After we got parked and set up, it was dinner time. Ginny had been telling us about this fabulous fish and chips that they had down by the London Bridge. Off to Burgers by the Bridge.

This place is known for their burgers but the four of us had their fish and chips. It was sooo good. And the portions were huge. Definitely a place we’d go back to.

After dinner exhaustion set in and we went back to the Bungalow and collapsed. The music starts tomorrow.