Randy Clark Passed

For those of you who know us well, you also know we have very good friends in Atlantic IA Randy and Sherri Clark. We just received word that Randy passed away early this morning (2:00 am). We met Randy and Sherry in our golfing years at Nishna Hills. Many happy, interesting, and fun rounds of golf were spent with the Clarks. A year ago Randy had a health crisis with a flesh-eating bacteria on his arm. The word we received is that it returned and this time in his foot. We are still reeling from the shock. This is Randy in 1998

Meandering Mind

The youngest of our three boys was born 57 years ago today. We were in Iowa and it was a beautiful Spring day. I didn't know that until later as he was born at 2:36 am after a wild ride from Churdan Iowa to Lake City.
57 years later we are in Alamo Texas and the temperature yesterday was over 100 degrees. That puts us indoors with the AC just as surely as an Iowa blizzard hikes up the furnace. Last night as we were preparing to go to bed, I asked Butch what the temperature was as he sits right by the thermometer. 88 degrees at 9:30 PM!!! Ordinarily, we head North when the temps are consistently too warm but this year calls for some patience.

This year will be another one that will historically go down in infamy. It boggles the mind. I remember sitting in a classroom in 7th grade and the subject touched on the world getting overpopulated. The teacher, Mr. Kundrat, said that nature would take care of it as it always had in the past. I don't know that he was right but I did remember the conversation when they started projecting how many people might die from Covid-19.
We are far from over with this turn of events and I do believe it will change many things permanently. Those folks who have issues with change will struggle with it. I usually embrace change. I can't say I "embrace" it in the welcoming sound of that word but I do think I will adjust because my personal history shows me that I always have. Well I just looked at the temp and we are sitting at 79 degrees at 7:50 am so I better get to walking or it won't get done today.
Till next time...

Busy week

We have had appointments for the past 3 days. Therapy sessions on Tuesday and Thursday and a follow-up appointment with the surgeon on Wednesday. Tuesday Butch went to his therapy appointment alone and afterward filled the car up with gas. It gives a note of normalcy to our life as it is now and feels good to both of us. Wednesday we both went to his doctor's appointment and he drove.  All is well and continuing to heal although he was reminded that it will take considerably longer for him to completely heal. 6 months at least for back to normal status. September 7th will be the 6-month recovery date from the GREAT FALL. He was told he could drive the motorhome back to Iowa if he felt comfortable doing so and he does but at this time he needs to stand up and give his leg a rest perhaps too often for travel. So it will be a few weeks yet. The biggest obstacle at this time is getting the motorhome prepped for the trip. Our neighbor across the street is a young man by our standards and has offered to help so we plan to ask for Omar's help when the time comes. We put a sunscreen on the windshield and the application and removal involve a ladder. A ladder is the last thing either of us needs to deal with currently and perhaps ever.
Thursday was another therapy day and I went this time because I needed some things at both HEB and Costco. So Butch drove to his appointment and then I drove to get the shopping done. It didn't feel strange to drive. I am still comfortable with my new found confidence in driving. Traffic has increased since the lessening of Covid-19 restrictions. They are still pretty tight rules with social distancing and masks still needed and I think they will be for a while yet...maybe months.

Our life has really not changed drastically during this strange time. The broken leg has made far more changes than the Covid-19 situation. We are used to living in small places, and we are used to each other's neverending presence and entertaining ourselves in a myriad of ways. We can always think of things to do. Read, play cards, listen to audiobooks, clean cupboards, resume old hobbies are just a few things that come to mind.  The one thing that springs to my mind and results in the most benefit is to go for a walk! Get outdoors, listen to the sounds all around you, breathe the fresh air, and not for 5 minutes, try a half-hour minimum. It will set the mood for the whole day! I think we all need a closer connection to the outdoors. If all you can manage is a walk around the house. Do that.

I am a fan of him, I am!

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” ― Dr. Seuss

Improvement

Yesterday I needed to go to the office to get ice. We used to be able to get our own BC (Before Covid-19) but now the office people fill our containers for us. Ice is one of the many benefits given freely to us in Trophy Gardens. As hot as it has been of late we use a bunch of it.
While there I asked if there happened to be a footed cane in the Medical assists closet. Yes, Trophy Garden has one of those too. We currently are using a shower chair from that same closet. Yes, there was one 4-footed cane left so I took it to see if Butch wanted to try it. It worked so well for him that he may have overdone it a bit. It has made getting around easier for him and takes up far less space than the walker. He is using both. We will gladly return all of this equipment to the closet when he no longer needs it. So once again one small event gives us hope that returning to Iowa may not be that far off. We still do not know exactly when but we have set a tentative date. It is always good to have something to aim at. I will let you know our tentative date when it is less tentative. It is still two to three weeks away.

Time Passes Pandemically

Yup, it passes regardless of what is happening throughout the world. Life isn't all that much different for us. It is a good thing we enjoy each other's company. And we are good at entertaining ourselves for the most part. We read books and stuff on the computer. Speaking of that...computer...and Internet, our lives right now would be very different if it weren't for the ability to have a worldwide library at our fingertips. I have always been in awe of it. The Internet. I must say it was probably the biggest life-changing event of my life. I have always had a hungry mind and the Internet helps to keep that hunger satisfied.

The other big change these days is the amount of cooking I do. That began last June when I changed my way of eating. I do not mind cooking if I have the ingredients and the time and I do have enough of both these days. I am having trouble remembering our last restaurant meal. It was definitely before March 6th. Aha! I remember it was at Dirty Al's in McAllen for my birthday. I had shrimp and Butch had a cheeseburger.

'Nother subject. When Butch got his new phone I noticed it came with Duo.

"Google Duo is a video and audio calling app made by Google, similar to Apple's FaceTime, Facebook's WhatsApp or Messenger and Microsoft's Skype. Duo is free to use and works across both iOS and Android devices - unlike Apple's FaceTime."
Mar 30, 2020


I didn't think too much about it because I didn't have much fondness of the idea of video chatting.
I actually am not all that fond of phone audio chatting. Yesterday, Jason tried to connect with us using Duo and we were eventually able to get it done. It is the easiest program for video chatting we have ever tried. Our doctor down here tried to get Zoom working to have a virtual consultation but it wasn't working well on her end or ours so we both gave up. After the bad press on Zoom, I uninstalled it from my phone. Duo works so much easier. I think we will like it and I can see the many benefits besides the usual of just visually seeing who it is you are talking to on the phone.
We both have it on our phones now.
 I must get out to get a walk in now despite the fog. It was 74 degrees when I awoke and it will be sunshiny and much warmer soon. Till next time...

Too many "Facts"

Elise the Cook

Elise will be 10 in May.
From her mom, our granddaughter Amanda:

"Elise loves cooking, but this week she has become so independent in the kitchen and has been cooking most meals for us. Last night she did the chopped challenge and made me a taco salad and lettuce wraps. Dessert was a yogurt and strawberry parfait. This morning she made a blueberry crumble and tonight she made carrot cake cookies. They are like oatmeal cream pies but with carrot cake as well!!"

Next years spot

Next season, October, we will be in another location in the same park. Trophy Gardens site #189 on Blue Ribbon Drive.

Another view                                                                                                 ↑

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Butch has resumed some of his chores. This is dumping the black tank. That is the sewage for those who know nothing about how Rv's function. It needs to be done about once a week.

The craft building is sporting a new metal roof.

Texas primrose is in bloom.

The corn is coming along.

East Fence Flowers

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Broken Leg update plus other stuff

Wednesday Butch decided to take a leap of faith and drive the car. He did this while I was otherwise occupied (on my walk). It went well and he saw no difficulties with it. So WE decided he could drive himself to his next therapy session Thursday and so he did. I felt weird about it. He did have his phone with him and could have called Dave to rescue him if he had any problems but it went well. So now I am back to no good reason to drive. I am okay with that too. I did get good enough to feel comfortable doing it and I should probably work at staying comfortable. We will see how that goes.

Our new friends Candy and Rick went from here back to Kansas a few weeks ago. Kansas has no restrictions but they are close to Nebraska and needed to go see a doctor (Not Covid-19) in Nebraska. They had to wear masks and this is a photo of Candy wearing her mask. What!!? How did she do that? She printed a picture of herself and then fastened it to her mask! Cool

Tuesdays are a busy day

Butch's therapy sessions are on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2:00 pm for an hour. So yesterday I dropped him off and made my way to HEB with mask and gloves in place. Sometimes there can be a line out the door all placed 6 feet apart as in this photo. Not today. I made my way picking up a few items and checking out, easy, peasy.

I then went back to the PT location, parked in my usual shady location and listened to an audiobook,

I had started this book a looooong time ago and it still happened to be on my Mp3 so I am finishing it. 

After Butch was finished with his therapy we stopped at Costco, since it was a cool day and Butch would be waiting in the car. Still masked and newly gloved I went into Costco where they are taking good care of everyone as well as they do in HEB. I went nuts! I have pretty much been eating the same things since  Butch's accident and I was ready for some variety. Afterward, I worried about how to get it all in my fridge space and it did indeed test my creativity.

After supper (Costco's chicken salad) we went for a ride around the park. Everywhere you look it seems like a ghost town. There are not many people left here and there are even more leaving this week.

Butch was feeling a little down about his progress yesterday and his therapist reminded him he was less than 6 weeks from surgery. He is doing well. He just wishes he were doing better than he is. A couple days ago, he went out and sat in the car checking out how he might feel about driving it. Not quite there yet but getting closer.

Exercise + Imagination

https://www.rvtravel.com/use-creative-exercises-to-tune-up-your-life/

This article from the RV Newsletter should kick off the imagination to find ways to get exercise no matter the situation.

The Things I see

Butch grilled some steaks for us. They were extra delicious!!

Social Distancing

That is one big 'ol fire ant!

Butch is down at the end of the block doing the "Rocky" arm pumps. He walked all the way there without incident.

Fiber Optic

Butch and I had a conversation the other day about high fiber food and the benefits of the same. This morning I prepped jicama, watermelon, radishes, green peppers and in the wings are 3 acorn squash. I suggested supper be a "fiber-optic" meal with all you will see are vegetables. Not sure it will fly.

Fridays Walk

That is the Alamo Texas water tower in the background.

This is a favorite of mine. For today anyway

We're bonding.

 I do not know the story behind this. At first I thought they were eggs.

Masks required

Masks are required nearly everywhere now, including in Trophy Gardens so I thought I would repost the directions for the T-shirt mask. It is still the one I find most comfortable. Yesterday I wore the bandana one that has more layers.  Twelve layers if folded correctly but no one could understand me when I talked and it was very warm!
Here are directions for the original T-shirt mask I posted before: It is a youtube video.
 https://youtu.be/pJaVBt8q6g8

And here are directions for several different kinds of masks:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-to-make-t-shirt-face-mask-coronavirus_l_5e8f2f06c5b6b371812d15af?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLmdvb2dsZS5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHn0qGfjAqArhZ-1LPQKUH9O4cs3_60CBlKfNWR0AkorYNn-Fss5H-C8aIR-zO_fvErquYbm6y7qcGq1lvntwoLJ9XEeVQTkyKRRa5ChcSNUUAEUg3tAda4ugOMSn6jZR9dNOmdIdmWSTWhsjNwTKcMOIuDo0owG2vEUKquINs6b

The site above looked like a very complete collection of different kinds. I copied the T-shirt one for a visual pattern. I like the way the youtube video tied the strings better than the visual pattern. I think it fits better and is more comfortable.

My Thursday walk Pictures

Eastside of golf course looking North

A series of Jack Rabbit pics-Very cooperative!

Red-winged Blackbird

On hole # 4

See the Bee?

Westside of golf course looking South

A look from another  angle. Looks short!

In South Texas, after Christmas you plant your poinsettia, wait a bit and this is what it looks like! 

 Home is always where the motorhome is parked.

Remember to click on pic for a larger look.

My Wednesday Morning Walk

Click on Pic for a closer look

                                           
                                          RV's in waiting (storage)

                                             
                                             East side of Golf Course

Social distancing-There we are, smack in the middle.