Happy Easter

A bit late, yet the wish is still good. I hope y'all had a Happy and Blessed Easter!

The Double-Nickel and Beyond

We are home. The cruise was great. I learned a lot about the area; the Lewis and Clark expedition; and what we can and cannot do. First and foremost we can take river cruises. We're a bit slower than we were, but we can still move and enjoy the journey. We have not spent much time in the Pacific Northwest as the DrC went to school in Eugene, OR and had his fill of gloomy gray, damp, days. Guess what--many years later the days are still gloomy gray and damp! But when you don't have to call the place your "home" it's easier to deal with, and that's what he did. As for Lewis and Clark...the lecturer knew L&C like the back of his hand and I thoroughly enjoyed his stories of the Voyage of Discovery, as it was called. 

Along the way we celebrated our 55th wedding anniversary...that's the double nickel. The folks on the ship surprised us with chocolate strawberries and champagne on the day--and lots of folks wished us a Happy Anniversary. 

The last day on the ship we were in Clarkston, WA on the Snake River...and across the river is Lewiston, ID. We took a tour of the 2 tiny towns. There was a small aircraft museum with several old airplanes all in flying condition. They were restoring a DC3 to near new condition...but the vehicle I liked the best of a 1920-ish bright yellow Ford pickup truck. A far cry from my "new" hybrid Ford F-150 pickup. The only thing that is the same is the bright blue logo with "Ford" written in it. I'm guessing it's Henry's signature (but I don't know that for certain).

The trip home was long. We flew out of a 1-gate regional airport in Lewiston, ID. The American Cruise Lines bus picked us up at 8:30 for our 12:10 fight. There was a waiting room at the tiny airport and we waited for the hours to tick by. About 11 ACL brought us our lunch (they did not want us to starve) which we all enjoyed...then we left the lounge for TSA check in. At tiny airports TSA is not a hassle right now. Soon our 'zone' was called and boarded the plant. The flight to SLC was about 70 minutes. We landed on time and had to wait all over again. About 4:45 boarding started and we left SLC about 5:30. The flight to home was 48 minutes long and we arrived early. The folks were waiting for us and we deplaned without incident--but we had been up since 6:30 AM and we were tired. We found our car and drove home. Once home we stopped working. I sat down and didn't move much until I went to bed. 

This morning reality hit. There was no Sky Lounge for me to get breakfast. Ava did not have my coffee ready for me. In fact we had no breakfast food in the house. We quickly dressed and went to the store and bought breakfast stuff (as well as few other supplies) and came home. 

The luggage is still in the back of the Jeep. There is "stuff" to do, but we are still tired. A few folks have called wishing us Happy Easter. The stuff will get done...just give us some time to rest up from yesterday.  We had a good little vacation!

River Day

 Yesterday we had a "river day" which means we cruised upriver without stopping. On an ocean ship it's called a "sea day" and we like sea days. The river day was equally enjoyable. It was a lazy day as we sailed up the placid river.

I got up early to have breakfast in the lounge. I like breakfast there as it's informal and the food is good. (But the food is good everywhere on the ship...and it's plentiful too.) I sat in one of the comfy chairs in the lounge and looked at the river. It was a gray day (we're in Oregon after all) but the views are stunning. Mountains line the river--every so often there's a field that's plowed waiting for the next crop or there's a vineyard. There's great long strings of trains on one side of the river as well as cars and trucks wending their way from point A to B. There's lots of vulcanism along the river too. Mt. St. Helens is not the only volcano in the area, and over the millennia, many basaltic flows have left evidence behind of the fiery past.

At 10 I went to a Lewis and Clark lecture--another excellent talk given by Clive our resident historian. Then I stayed for the cookies--gotta have fresh cookies. There was a scavenger hunt to work on and of course more talking and sharing with the pax. Lunch came and for some reason I was not very hungry so I had a 1/2 portion. This ship regularly offers half portions of food and it's a good thing. After lunch there was a cooking demonstration. I now know how to make an "Apple Galette." We were told the apples are so good in this neck of  the woods because of the soil. All that vulcanism has made the soil rich and perfect for apple trees.

Then we got into trouble. We bought another cruise. This one on the Tennessee River from Nashville to Charlotte--it will give us an opportunity to visit friends in TN too. I asked for the special chair and was told it would be NO PROBLEM. You gotta love American Cruise Lines. 

Next stop was another L&C lecture, then cocktail hour, then guess what? Dinner. We had prime rib last night and my favorite dessert--ice cream. 

The day ended with us in the Lounge looking at the river. There was night time entertainment but we were tired so we went to our cozy room and I instantly fell asleep. A lazy river day will do that to me. Today we stop somewhere, I think Pendleton, and we'll get off the ship. In the meantime, we're enjoying our Columbia river cruise.

In The Dalles, OR

I've been to The Dalles one time a long long long time ago. Needless to say I don't remember it as I was probably under 10. I remember the name as not too many towns start with "the." My mother used to talk about The Dalles because she thought it was pretty.

That was then, and this is now. I find the scenery along the river to be pretty. It's teeming with wildlife and traffic and it's fun to watch it go past the boat. However, The Dalles is not all that scenic. It's an old town that has seen better days--then, to add to that--it survived a fire a couple of years ago and I don't think it has recovered completely. Having "survived" the Camp Fire in Paradise, CA I understand that it takes time for the scars of a fire to heal. 

We took the loop tour of the town, which took about 35 minutes. It's not very big. We could have stopped at a couple of museums on the loop tour but then we'd have to walk and neither of us are great a long distance walking right now so we passed the museums. Nevertheless it was a good little loop that gave us a flavor the town.

We spent the morning listening to the resident lecturer talk about the Lewis and Clark Voyage of Discovery. I'm a huge Lewis and Clark fan, so I found the lecture most interesting. In the afternoon, the lecturer brought some "artifacts" from the era of the expedition. He had a replica of a 2-inch Thomas Jefferson medal that was given by L and C to the Indian Chiefs as they sailed up the Missouri river. About 230 Thomas Jefferson medals were forged in 1804 and only 6 have been recovered--no one knows what happened to the rest so I was excited to see a copy. L&C wrote in their journals when they gave out a medal, but they never stated who received the medal. One of many mysteries of the expedition. 

Another good day on the American Harmony. We listened to a future cruises presentation and think there are few more river cruises we'd like to take--and we were told that I could get my recliner chair too. That is good news.

We're skipping entrainment tonight--we tired from doing nothing so we'll go to bed and get up early. The ship starts to wake up at 630 and if you want a nice breakfast in the Sky Lounge you gotta be there early. We are on the boat all day tomorrow so we'll see some pretty scenery as we cruise up river toward Pendleton, OR.

In Kalama

We stopped in Kalama today. A tiny town with a pretty port. It was supposed to rain...but it did not. We were going to go on the shorex to Mt. St. Helens but we skipped it as my back was hurting too much. On a positive note I told housekeeping that the bed was really bothering my back and guess what? They delivered a reclining chair to our room. I'm a very happy camper. This is one more example why I really like American Cruise Lines. They listen to their customers and try to make things right. It's hard to argue with RIGHT.

So instead of seeing Mt. St. Helens, which we had seen not too long after she blew her top, we stayed on board and I went to a bookmark class. There's usually lots of stuff to do but today they were expecting four bus loads of folks going to MSH and not much was planned. There were not many people on board, so we had the yacht to ourselves. I always like that feeling. The cookies arrived on time, and we enjoyed the sunny but cool day. We are still upriver from where we embarked the boat which seems kind of strange. We took 1 step forward and 3 steps back. The Dalles is our stop tomorrow and we will finally sail past Stevenson where we got on the river. 

The food is great. I had some sea bass with a yummy risotto for dinner. A long time ago I learned to stick to easy desserts, so I had the best dessert possible...a dish of ice cream. 

From dinner we went to the lounge and saw a fun one-man show who did a reprise of many Broadway songs. He was a quick change artist too, so each song had him in a new costume. I thoroughly enjoyed the show. 

The day is winding down now, I have the alarm set of 6:30 so I can catch breakfast in the Sky Lounge (my favorite place) then there's a 9:30 event; and at one-ish we'll take a drive thru the Dalles. It's a very nice cruise.

Astoria

Astoria, a town on the Oregon coast, named after John Jacob Astor, is a painted village of Victoria homes sprinkled across the hillsides. Our guide said the town was older than San Francisco, but when I looked that up in the august source called "wikipedia" I read that San Francisco was founded in 1776 and Astoria in 1811. You can figure out the "right" answer.

The town was founded by Scandinavians--folks who liked cold weather, rain, wind, gray skies, lots of trees, the ocean and fish--lots of fish. In the old days, we were told, there were 55 canneries in town processing tons of salmon. Back in the 1850s the salmon grew to be 7 feet long and weighed accordingly. The canneries made lots of money and built the town. The salmon are no longer 7 feet long and not as plentiful, due to overfishing (much like the "Grand Banks" on the east coast which is overfished too). 

For me, the highlight was seeing the location where Lewis and Clark exclaimed "OH JOY!" When finally seeing the ocean after their long trek across the North American continent. They were not near the ocean exactly, about 11 miles from it, but it was the first place they saw breakers hitting the shore. I can only imagine their excitement at seeing those waves. They camped in Astoria during a cold muddy wet winter before heading back east. Their original plan was to catch a boat that would take them around the tip of South American and sail to DC...but the boat never came along. 

After our shorex we came inside and warmed up. I don't think it got above 45 degrees today. For a "desert rat" that's pretty cold. We warmed up, ate lunch; found fresh cookies, napped a bit, looked at the scenery and did not do much of anything. It was a good day. We went to dinner and then to the port talk for tomorrow and saw the entertainment. I thought of Eddie during entertainment as our fellow played the piano and trumpet at the same time...at one point he even covered the keyboard and played an elaborate song. I've never scene that trick before. Eddie can you give that a try?

American Cruise Lines continues to provide a great cruising experience. The food is good and plentiful--and happens at the drop of a hat. If you are sitting in a lounge, someone will come by and offer you something to eat. That person will even save cookies for you if you are away on a shorex. Tonight she said that there will be cookies on the shorex as she did not want folks to not get their fresh cookies. 

We explored the ship a bit. We found the free laundry (with detergent no less) on deck 2. We also found the fitness room at the back of the ship with machines to wear away all  the food that we are eating. On a side note--you can order a 1/2 portion of food--and that's a good thing. 

Tomorrow we head to Kalama, named after a Hawaiian person, and IF the weather is good, we'll take the shorex to Mt. St. Helens. There's a 95% chance of rain, and that means there's a 95% chance that the DrsC will not go outside. Don't worry though, there are ton of things to do inside the ship too.

On the American Harmony

We are onboard the American Harmony, our floating home, for then next week. Our first stop today was Multnomah Falls, which was beautiful. The long cascade of water dropping dramatically down the gorge is mesmerizing. There's something about waterfalls that makes you want to watch them over and over again, and Multnomah was no exception. Because it's early spring, the waterfall was flowing full stream ahead.

From there we were supposed to bus to Stevenson, WA and board our boat...but our bus died. The other 3 buses made it without a hitch, but not ours. A call for help brought out a replacement bus within an hour and we were on our way. The pax in the bus took the delay well--can you believe no one complained? I was proud of us for taking the disappointment so well. We arrived at our ship about 45 minutes late but we still had time to eat a full lunch; learn how to use our life jackets (tho it will not save our lives). We also met the crew and the wonderful folks who make all the food.

At 4 there was a lecture on the Bonneville Dam on the 90 foot lock which we missed...we went to the lounge in the back of the ship and looked at the gorgeous scenery instead. We stayed there till dinner time and went to the formal dining room and had another delicious meal. I'm ordering 1/2 portions as there's just too much food. Now don't get me wrong...I'm still ordering full portions of dessert. Tonight I had a cute little creation of chocolate and raspberry that was to die for. One person at our table ordered the same dessert with ice cream and frankly I don't know how he ate it all as it was r-i-c-h. The servers give you want you want. There was an open bar after dinner--then entertainment....sadly we missed the entertainment as we were just too tired. Everyday at 10 and 3 there are fresh cookies. Throughout the day there are goodies to eat. If one goes hungry on this cruise, it's not the fault of the boat.

Tonight we are cruising downriver to the Astoria, OR which is on the ocean. We will spend most of the tomorrow exploring Astoria before sailing back up river. 

It's been fun so far. Lots of neat people to meet. Lots of well travelled folks with stories to tell, All is good on the Columbia river. 

In Portland

 We made it to our destination, Portland, early. The flight from our little 3-gate regional airport (I was told it was a 1 gate airport but there are 3--and TSA was working and there were NO delays) was perfect. Our tiny airport was efficient and nice. We were told to arrive 2 hours before our flight time, but we did not need to. There were NO waiting in lines and the TSA Pre-check worked without a problem. We boarded on time and flew to SLC. Again, no problems there. Last flight was to Portland and again, no problems. Upon landing, we were greeted by personnel from American Cruise Lines, our favorite domestic river cruise company, and taken directly to the shuttle to Embassy Suites. All worked like clockwork. I might never fly out of Las Vegas again where the hassle is great; the distance is far and the parking is ridiculously expensive. The regional airport has $7.00/day parking and I got a space right in front of the doors. It hardly gets any better!

The flights were uneventful...the way we like them. I saw Zootopia 2 on the flight to Portland which was a fun diversion and it ended right before we landed--so it had perfect timing. As we were getting ready to land I looked out the window and saw 3 volcanoes. Two were perfect "Fuji" type cones but the third was not--the third was Mt. St. Helens which of course blew her top in 1980. The other two were Mt. Hood and Mt, Rainier (in Washington) I think. I've asked several locals what the names of the 3 volcanoes were outside of Portland and NO ONE knew all three. There was agreement on Hood and St. Helens...but a big question mark as to the third. The Internet has not been much help either. SO if you know the names of the 3 volcanoes outside of Portland, please tell me.

So far the trip is going well. It's fun to be on "vacation." I don't have to worry about anything as it will all be done for us. The next few days are going to be very relaxing cruising up the river to Clarkston, WA.

Tomorrow starts early with our luggage collected at 7 AM. We go to breakfast at the hotel and at 9 we have an excursion to Multnomah Falls before we board the boat in Stevenson, WA. We are ready! Nighty-night.

Cruising Down the River

My family has an ancient phonograph recording of 3-year-old me singing "Cruising' Down the River on a Sunday Afternoon." I mention this because starting tomorrow we are going to be cruising down the Columbia River. Every time we go on a river cruise I think of that old song.

We'll get up early, drive to the airport and fly away, hopefully without much TSA ado. We are flying from a small regional airport with only 1 gate, so I'm hoping it will not be congested. I called the airport and I was told they were open. 

Watch this space. I might be able to post pictures of the river, but right now, my picture-posting capability has been hindered by the owner of the blog (that's Google btw). If I can post pictures I will...if not, I'll try to describe what is going on. 

Talk to you soon!

Scarpetta

For the last couple of nights we've binge-watched a "new" program on Prime called "Scarpetta." Because we saw it, you don't need to. It's not worth your time.

The program is loosely based on the best selling books written by Patricia Cornwall. Her main character is Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a forensic scientist and Chief Medical Officer for the State of Virginia. The novels are great fun to read. I have enjoyed all of them over the years, so when a series was announced I was hopeful it would be as good as the books. Alas, the books are way better. 

Nicole Kidman plays Kay Scarpetta and Jamie Lee Curtis plays Scarpetta's sister Dot. In the books the two do not get along. In the series the sisters truly dislike one another. The bickering and arguing is done well but it's painful to watch. Dot has a daughter who lives with her auntie Kay and she has a strained relationship with her mother, Dot. As the story progresses, there are flashbacks relating to crimes from the past. They star a 25 years younger Kay Scrapetta and Dot. The flashbacks are difficult to understand and not necessarily linear. Different people play Kay and Dot, which helps determine if the story is set in the past or the present. Of course there's a crime. Of course there are autopsies and medical reports. The supporting characters play their roles well but there are gaps in the story.

After 8 complicated episodes, the season was finally over. All I can say is the story was not woven together well. Both of us had a hard time following the story. What started out as a series of promise turned otherwise. In my humble opinion, don't waste your time. BTW the only reason we watched the whole season is we kept hoping the story would get better. As you can tell, it did not improve. 

Costco

The other day a new Costco opened nearby. On Sunday we took a drive to see it. Sure enough--a brand new BIG Costco. When we arrived at the front door there were 3 electric carts waiting for us...we gladly took possession of 2 of them. For the next hour or more we rolled up and down the wide aisles and took in what this new store has to offer. It was fun in so many different ways. First and foremost--I was inside the store. I've not been to a store in a quite awhile as I don't have the energy to do so. Yesterday, we rolled up and down the aisles and had a blast. Thank goodness for electric carts as they made that little miracle happen. YAY.

Costco was too crowded to have roller car races (we did that one time at the Santa Maria Costco) but we saw and I conquered. We left the giant warehouse and bought fuel and then we continued to our next destination. I was tired...and happy at what I had accomplished. At the second stop, I stayed in the truck while the other DrC went inside. At the third stop, we went to lunch. 

Lunch perked me up a bit and then we had to get home...and that's the second surprise of the day--the other DrC drove. He's not driven much in the last couple of years but yesterday he drove the 40+ miles home. We accomplished 2 milestones yesterday. I went to a store and he drove. Hooray. 

That might not sound like a big deal, but for us, right now, that's BIG. Ever so slowly, I'm getting back to normal. The eye doctor thinks I might have a TIA in my eye. He said that it will take time. I need to be patient and grant myself the gift of time. I'm trying--it's hard. Remember, we're all in this together.

Good News

Yesterday I went to the eye doctor for yet another check up and this time the news was fantastic. I have "normal" vision. The double vision is GONE. It went away on February 10 and has not returned. What a blessing. The doc said the "event" caused swelling of the cranial nerves and now the swelling is gone. I was concerned because I need to renew my driver's license this year--I wanted to know if I could pass the test...so I took the test and I could. This summer I'll renew my license.

Because I have visual acuity I've started making critters again. I've made five kitties as they are the easiest. Unfortunately I cannot post picture of my five kitties as the blog won't let me...in fact the blog is giving me a "hard time" right now. SO--I'm hoping it will publish a text only message with the good news. I CAN SEE.

A Few Laughs

We all need to laugh now and then...I know I do as too many strange things have happened to me recently--so laughter is good medicine.

My friends have been sending me funnies...I hope they give you a laugh too!

I'm doing this -- and I'm taking one day at time...seems to be working

 Is this truth?

Be careful of silent letters?

There are are times when I need this blanket

Oops?

You would think, with thousands of channels to watch there would be something decent on TV?

--and finally for my cat-loving friends...

It's good to laugh!

Busy Hands

Now that I can see, I've returned to crocheting. I made some false starts with toys, but I did not have the acuity to make a toy--and that made me sad. BUT, I did have the acuity to make a blanket. So I've made 3.  I made a blue and white teddy bear blanket for Linda's great grand baby.

\

A heart blanket for Darlene's birthday and

Then a pink and white teddy bear blanket for my niece's grand baby

And finally, after all that practice, I had the acuity to make a toy. A tiny teddy bear for the blue and white blanket.

Never again, will I take vision for granted. It's a very special gift that needs to be cherished.

Wintertime in the Desert

It's winter in the desert. And the good news is I can see it clearly. Regular vision returned about a week ago and it's a wonderful thing. I can see the snow in the mountains. I can see the traffic in the street. I can see well enough to read. I can see -- I can see -- I can see! 

We all know the blessing of good vision, but for several weeks I had double vision.  It does not sound like a "bad thing" but trust me, it is a bad thing. One eye sees one image and the other eye sees the same image only doubled. People had 2 heads. People had 4 eyes, 2 noses and 2 mouths. Fingers seemed to grow out of hands everywhere--as a hand with 10 fingers and thumbs is NOT a good thing. Wearing an eyepatch allowed me to see single images but it was definitely limited.

Driving was of course difficult to impossible. As you already know my neighbors are a huge help and they helped me out...but as soon as I got the eyepatch I started practicing walking. Baby steps -- relearning to walk before relearning to drive. With one eye vision is limited to 120 degrees instead of 180 degrees--peripheral vision is very limited with one eye. SO when I felt like I was ready to drive I was extra careful. Thank goodness our town is small and the speed limit is low. I could make it to the store and back. Last weekend, I felt strong enough to drive all the way to the big city nearby on the interstate highway. It worked out well. I even drove to a doctor's appointment there too later in the week. 

It's a slow process. Some days I have energy...some days I don't. I think I might be healing. I want to heal faster but that's not happening. One day at a time. One day where I can enjoy looking at the snowy mountains. Where I can see a slight scree of green on the hillsides saying spring might be coming. I saw a hummingbird in my backyard the other day--I actually saw it--one pretty little hummer--flying ever so quickly thru the garden. I need to take each day as a fresh start. Go slow and enjoy what I can do and not beat myself at what I cannot do. My body is not ready for "normal" living yet, but it's getting there. It had an "event" and now I'm trying to recover from it. Thank you all for giving me encouragement and hope. Remember, we're all in this together.

Life in Geezerville: Maybe Edition

I'm feeling a bit hopeful tonight. Let me tell you why. This afternoon I drove the other DrC to the store and I waited in the car. It's far too exhausting to go shopping right now (I tried yesterday and it was not any fun). So, I stayed in the car while he bought groceries. 

While waiting for him to return, I pulled out my iPhone and started to play a game...but the car was in the shade and with my sunglasses on, it was too dark to see the screen...I took off my sunglasses. Guess what? I could see the screen without a blur or without double vision. At first, I did not believe what I was seeing, so I closed one eye and looked at the screen...then I closed the other eye and looked at the screen...then I looked at the screen without both eyes and I could see it clearly. No double vision! Then I bravely looked out the car window to see if I could see things outside without double vision and sadly, the double vision was still there--only it was better. Instead of the two images being about 8 inches apart, they were about an inch apart. This is different than what I saw on Friday at the eye doctor's office. It was a LOT different. Since Friday my eyes have started to improve.

When the other DrC came back to the car I told him of my little experiment and he was delighted. I put on my sunglasses with the patch and drove back home. All afternoon I experimented with single vision with both eyes and I've determined that I have single vision to about 30 inches. Past that mark, the double vision returns...but I can feel my eye muscles trying their best to get both eyes in focus on a point.

This evening the other DrC did a "vision test" of having me follow his fingers moving up down right and left. He said both eyes were tracking. Maybe, just maybe, my eyes are on the mend. I'm still energy-free--and I have an excuse for that now. My body is working so hard to get my eyes to work, it does not have time to give me energy too. That's my story and  I'm sticking with it. Remember, we're all in this together.

Life in Geezerville: I'm Okay Edition

 I know, it's been a while since I've written. This blog is meant to talk about my life and times in upbeat situations. It's been hard to write about upbeat situations when I'm feeling pretty low. BUT now I have something upbeat to talk about...it's about time too.

I've seen most of my doctors (one more to go on Friday) and they seem to agree on everything. I had an "event." They don't know what the "event" was, but it happened. I did not have a stroke. I do not have any serious diseases like cancer, or MS or anything else...they have all been ruled out. I just had an "event" that caused some problems and now the "problems" have to be worked out and that is going to take time. In other words, all the tests came back "normal" and I need the precious gift of time to heal the rest of the way.  Well, that's good news. I have an idiopathic condition that will get better in time. In other words, I'm recovering from something and they have no idea what it was. It's called the "art and science" of medicine and all doctors have a "practice." There--I've said it over and over again...I'M OKAY. Yay!

Given that, I should be bouncing back to my "normal" self relatively quickly, but that's not happening either. I still have double vision, (it is getting better BTW), I still get wobbly on my feet and use my walker for stability, and worst of all, I have the energy of the slowest snail or slug. I have great intentions to do something around the house only to find I have to sit down and rest every few minutes. The bottom line is my body took a huge hit and I'm on the mend. I need time to get back to where I was.

Through all of this I have two sets of folks to thank: My husband aka the other DrC,  and my wonderful friends and neighbors in  Geezerville. These folks are exceptional--bar none. The other DrC has taken on all of my "jobs" as well as his and I'm wearing the poor guy out. He's chief cook and bottle washer and everything that makes a house run. I can't do the work right now and he is. As for my friends and neighbors, they are so helpful and kind and loving and generous. I've been blessed to live in this wonderful place. Thank you all. I hope you all have a steadfast partner and wonderful friends too. Remember, we're all in this together.

Life in Geezerville: I Can Drive

You read that title right..I CAN DRIVE! Now I'm not driving far and I'm not driving alone--but I can drive my car. I've not tried to drive the truck as it's a bit bigger--but it is newer and has all sorts of cameras to help me out. Maybe tomorrow I'll try driving the pickup. 

We live in a small town. The round trip to the grocery store, the mail box and Walmart is 11 miles. The speed limit in town is 25 or 35. Since most of the folks in town are geezers (like me) they ride about town going 25 mph or less. I fit right in. Driving with one eye is a challenge but I'm learning how to judge distances. In addition I'm very very very careful.

To that end, we went to the store! What a treat. Before venturing out into the streets of town, I drove around our cul-de-sac learning how to judge distances. I practiced stopping at a specific place before I went in to the street...and even there I practiced driving in a straight line and making a U-turn. When I got onto the main road, I knew what I was doing. I drove to the store without any problems. I parked the car,  and then I backed out of the parking space.  I drove to the gas pumps without a problem. 

I'm making progress. I still have double vision. I still don't know why I have double vision. I wear an eye patch and I can see clearly with one eye. Don't worry--I'm not speeding and I am being careful. The other DrC is with me all the time. I'm taking it easy while enjoying a new sense of independence. In addition my friends and neighbors are proud of what I can do. That's a neat thing. This "getting old stuff" is not easy, yet with friends and family it's so much better. Remember, cherish these folks as we're all in this together.

Life in Geezerville: Testing Edition

 It's been 3 weeks since I've written in my blog. Please forgive me dear readers as it's been a weird three weeks. If you are brave read on...if not...skip to the end where I say "We're all in this together."

About a month ago I had the headache from h*ll. I wrote about that last time. The headache is gone and it's replaced with double vision. What we don't know is why I have double vision. I do not recommend double vision.

Remember we had planned a cruise to Hawaii? Needless to say, the cruise was canceled. I had more tests. The tests were inconclusive. I was put in the hospital and I had more tests (this is why I call this edition the testing edition). I've been "tested" in so many ways!

As of now, I had 5 CT scans, with and without dye, 2 MRIs with and without dye, and 1 lumbar puncture (which used to be called a spinal tap in the old days). I am waiting for the tests to be completed and interpreted. Thank goodness for insurance! What we do know is significant. I did not have a stroke. That is great news. However, what I have is unknown as I write. I do have double vision.

Double vision is correctable with glasses and I'm ready for that to happen. I hope the reason for double vision is correctable too. I have an appointment with an ophthalmologist in early February to find out more. Slowly I'm getting depth perception and that's a good thing.For now I'm relying on my wonderful friends and neighbors in Geezerville to take me to the doctors, to the store and everything else. My family is helping too...my niece came down for a week and I wished it was longer. I'm blessed and lucky to live in such a wonderful place. In the meantime, I'm wearing an eye patch and I look like a pirate.

As you might know, I like to write about upbeat things and this is certainly as "un-upbeat" as it gets. That's why I've not written. I'm learning how to navigate my house with and without the walker. I'm finding that the walls are not jumping in front of me as they did at first. It takes awhile to adjust to seeing with only one eye. I'm trying to wean myself away from the walker but it's a great security blanket, for lack of a better phrase. The walker gives me extra support as I get wobbly once in a while. Gees...I'm sounding like an ancient person with all my maladies. I do know that I went from "abled" to disabled in a nanosecond. Things change quickly. 

Think of that the next time you take out your best clothes and you say "I'll save them for later." DON'T DO THAT. Dress up now. When you think I'll wait to go to the lake or the mountains or see the kids...don't do that...do it now...things change quickly, I know. I just had it happen. Enjoy stuff NOW as now is where we are. Enjoy what you have. I'm enjoying my life and I have at least one more cruise to go on...and I'm gonna do my best to go on it. You need to do that too. Remember, we're all in this together.

Life in Geezerville: It's Good in the Hood Edition

It's been awhile since I've writt3en. I've had a good reason. I have had the headache from He!!. A headache so bad that it has survived 3 ER visits, 2 tur4tledoves and a partridge in a pear tree. The headache has been bad. Finally, after much ado, the headache is more or less managed due to a modern miracle drug called Qulipta (as a person who taught reading I do not like things that are misspelled). It took a while to get up to full dose on this modern miracle but I did that yesterday and the headache has not come back. When it does I'll know what to do. In the meantime, there has been a complication. I have double vision.

I have never thought much about having double vision, but now that I have it, I don't recommend it. I've talked with an eye surgeon and there are many types of double vision. You can have double vision in one eye...you can have horizontal double vision ... and verticals double vision...I seem to have a diagonal form of the malady where I see 2 copies of everything just a bit off kilter. It's quite distressing a to walk with this condition as you really don't know where you are. I've not tried driving. Which leads to the other issue. We are a one driver household, and now the one driver is out of commission. And that's where the "HOOD" comes into the picture.

I've sung poetic about my wonderful hood and once again I'm singing its praises. Folks are helping to drive us to the store, the doctor, to wherever we need to go. I love my hood. In addition to the hood,, my family is sending an envoy for a week to help out. I need the help. I'm walking around with one functioning eye. I have NO depth perception. I have an eye-patch like a pirate and well...it's less than perfect. When I talked with the eye surgeon he said I might have had a mini-stroke in my eye. I see the doc "net year" and we'll find out more. In the meantime I'm at the mercy of my hood and family. 

It's not the best way to end a year, nor start a year. Yet when I think  about what has happened, I could not end the year nor start the year in a better place. I have my folks here to protect me from what is to come.I have no idea what that might be. I'm typing this without reading it for errors ...I can't see well enough to do otherwise. i know with all my heart and soul, this is my hood for a reason. I want to thank all the geezers in the hood for being there. You are all special people. 

To that, I'll bring this to an end. Happy New Year. Appreciate all that you have. Remember, w're all in this together.