ANOTHER POST FROM MY SON, please in enjoy
Never have I felt my heart break and become whole in a single moment. My tiny and overloaded Peugeot comes to a stop on Strada București, house number 83, the pop-up refugee center in Chișinău, the capital of Moldova. Currently setup in an old building downtown, the driveway runs through a big yellow archway at […]
Number 83 — Adventure Geography
Really where is time going? It is true in my eyes, the older you get the faster time flies by. I can remember back to a time where it seemed it took forever for just one day to go by. LOL
Well the RV is packed and ready and we are just waiting for the results of some medical test I had to do. We went to see our MD who is retiring for the last time and while we were there he detected some PVC’s in my heart. I was in quite a snit at his office, my husband had been diagnosed with Parkinson the previous day, so that was weighing heavy on my heart, my son, who has been traveling all around Eastern Europe, working on refugee migration, was on the border of Ukraine and Slovakia, that was really heavy on my heart and all the pressure of finding a new MD and getting ready to travel, the price of gas going up and of course my husband vocally worrying about the money. and travel. Seemed to be to much for me. so my heart was beating a little irregularly. I asked my Md about them and his response was, “They haven’t killed you yet” ! Now don’t be hard on my doctor, he knows me well and knows that he has to say it like it is for me to really get it. I am pretty hard headed when it comes to my personal care, I like to be the one who makes the decisions in my care. So after thinking about it overnight, my father dropped dead of a heart attack back in 1983 at the young age of 63, and I googled PVC’s, I thought it prudent to see a cardiologist, so here I sit, waiting for my upcoming appointment a week from today. I have had a heart halter monitor for 3 days, done with that, and I had an echo cardiogram yesterday. The tech was quite chatty and shared with me all that he was seeing, which was really a very healthy heart. I passed all the criteria for having a good heart. He should me my Vena cave and other important areas in the heart, it was all amazing. In his opinion, he said the doctor is going to say have a wonderful trip, so that has made my life lighter in many aspects. So we should be on the road next Friday. YAY Better to be safe than sorry.
Summer is upon us early in the great southwest. We have already hit the 100′ mark on more than one day, so much for spring.
Looking forward to seeing the country again. We will have to drive around the big fires burning in New Mexico, seems like fire season came early also. We have a couple big fires up north of Phoenix so the air quality here is not good. I am ready to go. We are headed to Raleigh NC, where my sister and her family lives. I have not been back there since they moved before Covid. So really looking forward to that.
Our daughter was here last week for 4 days. So nice to have her visit. We explored the East side of Tucson, getting to know the city a little at a time.
Oh, by the way, my son is back in Germany finishing up his research at our nephew’s home in Hamburg and will be flying home next Wednesday. YAY Not sure when I will get to see them. Soon I hope.
Not much else going on here, need to get back at eating better, Stress eating for a couple weeks trying to deal with reality!! I understand that its not the best way to deal with stress, but I am who I am!! So today I am back at,
Hope life is good for everyone out there in WP land.
Happy Summer and Happy Travels, more from the road….
This is what my son has been doing the last few months. He is now back in Germany preparing to head back to the states. I am so very proud of who and what he has done with his life. For sure this journey has changed his life in many ways. He has more post on his blog if you would like to read more of his journey. He did end up at the border of Ukraine and entered and drove the western border on his way back to Germany. My heart aches with pride…Kathy
This piece is not about wind, nor is it really about my own experiences. I mean, there is a substantial section about wind in the beginning, and yes, what I am sharing is compiled from my own experiences — but I am just the messenger — the wind is something more. This piece is about […]
The Bura — Adventure Geography
Seems like life is just happily moving along, not matter if I am not! Really can’t believe it’s been since December since I have been on here. And what’s even more sad, is that not a lot has happened in our tiny little piece of the world. We have been busy planting cactus I had growing on the deck in the ground so they can acclimate and get ready for the summer sun. That was a chore for sure, the gardeners that come a couple times a year to trim trees and the palm and just help us keep the plants in good order helped me plant the new bed. So glad that is over, and I am hoping that they are really happy their roots are back in the ground.
So big news is that we have bought a new RV, 2022 Thor 22E, yes we know the price of gas has risen, but this has been on the wish list for several years. And I am hoping the price will come back down at some point. My husband hates staying in hotels/motels and with a dog they are always a dirty motel! We love the freedom of having our home on wheels and can go anywhere we want. Its only 24′ long and has a 8cyl motor so mileage is a little better than the big motors. Its fully set up to stay off the grid if we want. We have been out breaking it in twice, must say the second time was easier than the first, LOL We have 3 more outings in it before we head to the East to see my sister in Raliegh and stop by and visit my best friend who just got a new place in Tennesse, she also lives in New York too. So that will be fun. I am really looking forward to heading back up to the Northwest and see all my stomping grounds of where I have lived, The Olympic National Park in one of the big ones. I lived there as a child for years and the ocean beach was my playground. So we are happy that we did this!!
So this is my big news, I will hopefully being putting up post about our travels.
Hope everyone is doing well! Since this my blog about life and weight lost, I am down 44#s from my highest weight and holding! yay So that’s a positive step to good, health. I know that my body is happier for the weight loss.
Hope your enjoying the spring, we are, hot weather is on its way for sure!!
looks likes I have absent for awhile. Guess I just got wrapped up in day to day living. October and November were uneventful. Life as usual. On December 1st I took a 10 fay trip to California. I drove up Hwy 1 along the ocean and stopped and enjoyed the smell and sounds of the ocean. Been over 3 years since I had been to the ocean, well overdue! I stayed in a place right on the ocean and listened to the waves pound the beach all night. It was blissful. I enjoyed staying with my daughter and her husband in Santa Rosa, finally got to see there house they have been working on for the last 2 years. The new kitchen looked like something out of a magazine. Very nice. They are getting ready to move to Wisconsin in Sept this next year, so I was happy to get to see what they had done to the house. My son was out from Minnesota, and he drove me home last Wednesday and stayed the week with us. So much fun seeing and laughing with my kids.
Life is good in the desert southwest. Counting the days to Christmas and then New Year.
Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas Kathy
Well I woke up on the first feeling very vulnerable as in no longer protected from Covid. Call it my witchy sense, lol, but there was a niggling happening in the back of my brain. I had the J & J vaccine back on March 3rd and have read everything there is to read about the efficacy of the medication. It all came down to the fact no one really knew. I had seen on the news that they were giving Covid booster to anyone with health problems. So I called our local pharmacy and sure enough they were giving booster, we jumped in the car and was at there pharmacy in 15 minutes. Peter got his 3rd shot of Moderna no problem, he had lung and immune problems, but since I the J&J vaccine the store policy was not okayed to do J&J only Pfiizer and Moderna. So I left feeling like I had been let down. My husband had seen an ER Doctor on CNN, Dr. Wen, she said if you wanted a booster and no one would give it to you, go see your MD and get a prescription. So off I went to see my MD and he suggested that we should start with an antibody test. He said no matter how many prescriptions I show up with at a pharmacy if there policy is no, its no. He did say that if he any vaccine he would of been happy to start me over on Moderna or Pfizer, but the medical offices are not allowed vaccines yet. Crazy!! So blood test down on Wednesday and results back Friday morning. They showed ZERO antibodies in my system. I called the Dr. office and talked with the nurse and she said the test results reflected that I had never even had a vaccine at this point. No wonder my witchy sense alarms were going off!! So off I went to to the pharmacy to start over, I had to give my first name and filled out all the paperwork, this was going well, so far so good, I didn’t mention that I had already had a vaccine. I was sitting and waiting patiently for my Moderna shot and the pharmacist came out and asked me if I had the J&J, long story shortened, I was refused, even after I offered to sign a waver. SO home I went, I called 9 places, some of them twice, it seemed no one knew what to do with me. I finally got a wonderful nurse at the Epidemiology line at the Banner hospital. She listened to my woes and advised me if I had been directed to her line I was pretty much at the end. LOL She advised me that the only people that would have any kind of help for me would be the DHS of AZ. I told her I had called there but got pushed out to the county DHS of Pima County and so on and so. She said to to the supervisor who would be an RN, so I called and she actually answered the phone, by know it was 2:30p I had been at this for over 3 hours, she listened to my story and asked me to read to her my lab test, I got to the phrase IgG in the test ordered and that was the magic I had been looking for apparently. She said my doctor ordered the correct antibody test that they use, she said there are many test, but this one is the best, I was cheering under my breath, she took all my info, made me an appointment for 4p that afternoon and boom I was out the door on my way. It was at one of the hospitals that I had previously called, LOL the DHS had a clinic for Covid testing and vaccines. II feel so relieved that I was able to find someone that could help me. I felt that it was crazy that here the state is begging people to get vaccinated and here I am begging for it but couldn’t get any help. I already have a follow appointment for the 24th for my second injection. I am feeling better about having to be out and about. Just thought I would share my vaccine story. I am glad to see that at least they are keeping track of who and what shots we are getting, I really thought they wouldn’t be able to find me in the system, LOL I have a little more faith in the medical book keeping end of things, lol I hope you all have had your vaccines and taking care when out and about.
We were emptying the hot tub today and went to put something back on the shelf on the deck and there was a nice size King snake. It was about 3′ long or so. I think we disturbed it from under the deck with all the water and it was looking for a warmer spot to nap. It made its way back under the deck, we like King snakes, they eat rats, mice and rattlers so we were happy to see it, They keep the rattle snakes away.
We are almost out of monsoon season and it will be cooling down here soon. Looks like we will have a week or so of 100+ temps and then it will start to go down. I am so ready for winter. LOL
Not much else going on here, missed the full moon, we had thunder and lightening most of the night, But I enjoyed everyone’s pictures on line. I did a little twirl knowing that the full moon was out there behind the storm.
Keep smiling
Well I blinked and here we are at the end of the month already. Sitting around the house certainly gives you a false sense of time. I thought we were closer to the middle of the month, LOL I have to orientate myself weekly on what dam day it is and the real date. I lived all day yesterday thinking it was Thursday, when I got up to find its Saturday, LOL Oh well everyday is Sunday when your retired. lol
We had a windy night and its still blowing this morning, I believe we are getting some of the wind from storm off the west coast. I feel for the east getting hit by Hurricane Ida. Can’t wait for the winter months.
The desert is starting to show some colors, all the barrels are in bloom, and the yellow whittle bushes along the road are starting to bloom, along with the purple bushes here and there. So pretty.
Another barrel that I bought in Tucson over 10 years ago, it lived in California and Yuma and never bloomed once in 10 years, I brought it back here put it back in its native soil and its blooming, LOL You have to love the cactus. The bush with orange blooms is called a Mexican Bird of Paradise, I have 5 in my yard and I love them, they grow all over town but do not grow out in the desert, they need lots of water. The last 3 are taken as I drove by on my way to town on the road through the National Park, some of the pictures are hazy best I could do. LOL Hope you enjoy a little of the beauty we have here.
Not much else going on in our world. Staying home away from people and places. My husband received his Covid booster shot a week ago. He has lung issues and his immune system is starting to take a dive. I tried to get a one, but no one wants to give a Johnson and Johnson person a second shot, believe me I tried. So heading to the doctor on Wednesday to ask his advice and maybe get a written prescription for one. I am willing to start over with moderna or pfizer and go that route. I will see what happens, I just know that the J&J is not very good. U ask why did I get it then, well its all they had when I was getting my vaccine, either it or wait, and that option at the time did not seem like a wise choice. Keeping my distance and wearing my mask is my first line of defense and then bathing in sanitizer after an outing. I wonder if we will ever get back to pre-2020 times or is this what it is going to be like for years. I realize no one really knows but we are such a divided country, and angry one at that. Well all I can do know is just try to be safe and stay away from everyone else. I have stopped my gym membership, I put it on a 3 month hold, as I didn’t feel safe going there. I asked my trainer if she had been vaccinated and she said she didn’t believe in what’s going on in regards to Covid, I respect her opinion on the matter, but I feel I was putting myself at risk, let alone my husband going there. I called the home office and they was no quibble about putting my training session on a 3 month hold. So that took some pressure off me for sure. Covid is very high in our county at this time, when I joined the gym there were only about 50 cases a day if that, know we are close to 300 just in our county, the state is at 2500ish daily and the hospitals are already stretched. So, here I sit with my husband and dog, living our lives as safe and clamly as we can,
Not much else happening. Its Saturday the 28th, that much I do know for sure, LOL
Keep safe and keep smiling, I know there is a lot going on in the world, and some of it is hitting home for many. My heart aches for those effected.
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
What happen to July? It flew by even though we are stuck at home keeping our distance from everyone. Full moon, fourth of July and all the other days of the month, LOL it just snuck right on by,
No news here, I was going to the gym until covid numbers went back up so back home hiding out.
Hope everyone is enjoying the end of the summer, I am ready for cooler weather. Monsoons have been doing there thing, I believe that we are over 7″ of rain this year. All my plants and the desert are sooo happy, everything is green again. Suppose to have more this coming week. YAY
I will try to get back on here before September..
Well four months later…..
I guess life happened, In March I can’t remember what was going on but I guess it was more than I could handle, LOL I just scanned my calendar I keep by me, if I don’t write it down I would never remember it. LOL It looks like March was vaccine month, we both had our shots, and still lots of stress on going to the grocery store and doctor appointments. April was full of MD appointments and Peter had his second moderna shot, I had the johnson and johnson shot, so I had one. We had no ill effects from the shot. Well I had brain fog for about a week or so. Seemed like I couldn’t remember anything, even why I was wandering around a grocery store. Kinda freaky really. But it cleared up thank goodness. I have recently called the Az Health Dept and asked about getting a booster, I read on the J and J site that at four and half months it goes from being 85% effectiveness to 65% A little worrisome, I wanted to go get revaccinated with moderna, but the informed me that I shouldn’t do that as they have no idea how my body would react to the mix of the 2 vaccines. He was very upfront with me about the concerns, and he did reassure me that all the vaccine makers are working on a booster at this time, so that was something, he said to just keep monitoring the websites. Even thought that mask mandate is over in out state, many stores and places are asking you to wear one, and all medical offices are requiring temps upon entering and mask. Better to be safe than sorry.
I just looked at the month of April and it was full of eye appointments, and ENT appointments and both our kids came out to see us at different times of the month, so it was a very busy time. My husband was getting measured and appointments set up for cataract surgery in both eyes, That took up most of May, I played nurse Nancy with the eyedrops, he had to have them for one month in each eye and the surgeries were 2 weeks apart. 6 weeks of eye drops, 4 times a day LOL Kept me hopping. LOL Peter also had nose polys removed from both nostril’s in the MD office, but it was still a week or more of recuperating. While we were in that office we met with the hearing aide doctor and she ordered new hearing aides for him, and he had to go back to have both ears molded. He know has his hearing aides and loves them. Nose not so much, still had stuffiness most the time.
It was so nice to see our kids, been over a year since I have had my kid hugs, and I was needing them badly. Our daughter came out for a long weekend and it was nice to spend time with her, A week later our son and his girlfriend came out, she was able to stay 2 days before she had to fly back to Minnesota, she works at the college she goes to grad school for. But before she left they went out in the early morning to go climb Pichaco Peak and came back engaged. LOL It was a fun day. My son stayed for another week and then drove back to California where he was taking care of a few things at the house before he flew back east. So really nice to have him here for awhile.
One June 2rd I joined the local gym and signed for a trainer for a year!! I go 2xs a week and get 12 free days, they say they are free but for the amount I am paying I don’t think they are really free. LOL So I have had 12 sessions with my nice trainer Alyssa and that means I have turned from a night owl to an earlier riser. LOL At the gym at 7am a couple to three times a week. I hated it in the beginning, I struggled with the money end of it, and I really hate to exercise, LOL but now after 4 weeks I am starting to look forward to my workouts. I also have a swimming pool I can go bob around in after, very nice. I have shed 8#’s this month, I am hoping that it will start to melt of me from all the sweating. LOL
SO that’s what’s been going on in my world and it hasn’t stopped, LOL
July is the month my husband will have prostate surgery, in fact in just a week. It will be his second time for the same surgery so at least he know what to expect. It will be a rough couple weeks but he has a good attitude about. I did tell him after he finishes his doctoring we are going to go find a big body of water and sit by it for a couple days. LOL
I see the entire US is either flooding or under a heat advisory. We had 11 days of being 111′ or over. All the plants looks so dry and many are dying. We have been getting up at 5a to water the agaves and many trees that need water to survive not being a desert tree. I have lost 3 big agaves and lots of my beaver tail cactus is just withering away, alot of it is old and the heat is just helping it along. Our gardeners were here a couple weeks ago and he stated we had to quit cutting down trees and taking out bushes, the yard will be bare. But if they are dead, they are dead, some of the bushes he just cut off at ground level and i have been watering them and they are starting to send out green starts. Amazing how the saguaros are still standing in the heat. Now they keep promising us rain, and it passes right by, at least its cloudy and we thunder and lightening and the mountains are getting rain. I did see they were giving free sand bags and sand to anyone who wanted it that lived at the bottom of the mountain that burnt all last summer, they are expecting terrible run offs from the rain. I hear thunder as we speak but no rain.
Not much else going, I guess looking back over the past 4 months it has been busy. I will try to get back on here before the end of July.
Hope everyone is safe and trying to enjoy this crazy weather this summer is bring to us all.
Well so much for keeping up on the blog. Seems like my life is going in so many different directions and at the same time going no where!! I believe its the doomed feeling of possible death if I go out shopping. My husband is not in the best of health, lung area, so we are not sure he could beat off the virus, and I am an asthmatic along with other issues so I need to be extremely careful not only for myself but my husband. I go out and shop and wait 2 weeks to see if I caught anything!! I am so careful and use my mask, sometimes I go through 2 or 3 as I change them often while I am in the store, as soon as I think they are damp from breathing I change it. I use my alcohol wipes constantly while I am out. But still in the back of my mind is the 2 week wait. I hate feeling like this. I really miss jumping in the car and going to some of my favorite haunts. Very depressing!! and as far as the vaccine goes, well my husband has his appointment for first does March 3rd at a drive through, and I do not qualify yet, I keep trying to find a place to go but no luck. In Pima county they are fighting over the vaccine when we do get some. I am not sure why the state doesn’t have enough vaccine. I see California is also short in doses. Craxy.
On a happy subject, my cousin came down from Phoenix and we drove up to the top of Mt.. Lemmon to see the snow. LOL We are both from snow country and find it crazy that we are actually going out to see snow. LOL But it was a beautiful day and we sat in the car and watched the folks ski and board down the slops.. It was fun to see people having fun. We drove around the neighborhoods and checked out all the snow everywhere. LOL stopped for burgers and headed back down the mountain. It was a fun day and it felt good to get out and do something.
This shows some of the fire damage from the huge fire from last summer.
Keep smiling
Time No Matter 