Miscellaneous Photos

 "Bootsie" is a cat belonging to Paul and Sally Kelleher. Bootsie is a fat cat weighing in at 18 lbs. 

She is a special friend of Butch's.

Butch and I used to go to a place above the Canada Store called "Garcias". It is now under new management, and didn't compare, so we no longer go there. But we have been to Arturo's with Marlene and Bernard years ago, and it was their favorite place to eat when in Progresso. Butch had a hankering for Panchos so we decided to try them at Arturo's. It will be our place to go in the future because their Panchos were the very best!

We have both had trouble lately with a lack of appetite and feeling full after a few bites. As you can see, we managed to eat most of the plate and they were delicious!

More flood pics.

In the midst of it...

Neighbor Sandi took a good video of the storm. I hope it works for you to see it. Her chicken looks more like a duck! Fortunately, we remained high and dry.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-wTeyDRMtjxDcAbkju4AV4kcy5g3aVtW/view?usp=sharing

 The storm

Rio Grande River plus

 In the 25 years we have been coming to the Rio Grande Valley, we have not seen the river out of its banks. We have now! Butch and I went to see Hector for the last time till next fall. The river was out of its banks and we could see the current running fast.

Another tidbit is that we have never seen the streets of Progresso so clean. They underwent a major power wash at the same time we did. We were there 2 days after the big rain, so there was only one spot that failed to drain away, and we had to watch our footing. We easily walked the mile down to Hector's pharmacy. With Butch being on several new and different medications we needed to stock up on the ones that are pricy in the U.S. As it turned out, there were only 2 that were not covered fully by our insurance. Eliquis and Farxiga. Each of those is over a hundred dollars a month if purchased in the U.S. through our insurance. And when you inquire about them on this side of the border, they behave as though that is a bargain.

Another story about meds in Mexico: Years ago, my doctor prescribed Xarelto for me, and that is when the difference between North and South was enough to knock you off your feet. So we bought them from Hector. And then after talking to a friend who was also on blood thinners, I found out that Eliquis was considerably cheaper than Xarelto. So I called my cardiologist to find out if I could switch, and he said "yes," no problem. So for several years, perhaps 10 or more, I was on Eliquis. On our last trip, Hector informed me that Xarelto is now cheaper than Eliquis, and you take one pill a day instead of two! So I called my cardiologist again to find out if I could switch back, and the answer was once again "Yes". It is great to have a Mexican 'pharmacist' who looks out for you and an Iowa cardiologist who listens. And that is only one way Hector has been a great help over many years.

We are both feeling well and adjusting to our new ways of being healthy. 

We will be on our northern trip in about 12 days, stopping in Johnson City, TX, and Thackerville, OK, before landing with the Missouri kids on the 17th.

I have my fridge pared down to almost nothing getting ready for the event.

Later...

South Texas Flood March 2025

 We were told to expect rain yesterday. Renie and I played some pool for a couple hours. The wind was very strong but that is nothing new here. It started to thunder so we decided to head for home. Shortly after I got home the rain started and then it poured and then it didn't quit. Hours passed with continued torrential rain. The thunder and lightning would come in waves but the rain would only slow down for a few minutes and then let loose again! At times it was so thick you could barely see across the street. 

Darrel and Linda Millard had went out to eat and got caught up in it. They were stranded in the H.E.B. parking lot and the intersection they needed to cross was closed due to high water, 3 feet or more, stopping their path to getting home. They had to stay the night and got home at 7:00am by taking a different route.  I have since heard stories of people having to stay on the expressway all night because the exits were flooded. This event will stay in our memories for a good long time!

This is a photo of the street we live on, taken by the people who live on the south end of it. We live on the right side of this street about 2/3rd of the way.

The photo below was taken by my hairdresser Rhonda who lives on the street facing the golf course.

My rooster fell over! His mate floated over to the neighbors and then took refuge in the oleander bush! It took me a while to find her this morning.

The view off our deck! The rain was a good 5 inches up our steps!

We were fortunate because we were home when it started and were never in danger or discomfort!

Health update: We are both doing well. Mostly back to normal! If there is such a thing as normal!

Medical news

 Overactive: It seems I have an overactive bladder. All of my tests come out with likeable results so the Doc says I am A/OK except for that overactive business. Yes, there is a med for it and yes, I am taking it.  I am having slightly good results with it so far. It upsets my gut a bit. End of story...I hope.

Today we see the cardiologist for Butch. This is a day we have been looking forward to. We have lots of questions. We hope to have answers.

Results of appt. He is doing well, and they will take him off the Brilinta 90 mg, which costs $429 a month with insurance, however, he will then be taking 3 new ones, and we do not know the cost yet. So the med thing is a bit of a deal to be figured out but all the rest of it is good. So I guess if we look at it as a way to make the next 10 years or so good years then it takes on more importance and makes it well worth the cost.

Now seems like a good time for a nap!

Jason's Latest Yard Art

You can see Jason's latest artistic endeavor on YouTube. At least I hope you can. It has been quite awhile since I have downloaded a video to Youtube. I was actually surprised I got it done!

https://youtube.com/shorts/HJ4WGpj925U?

How are we?

 Really...Butch has been sleeping a lot-8+ hours at night and perhaps a nap or two during the day. He recognizes this as not at all normal for him. He has an appointment with the cardiologist on the 26th. We have a list of questions. However this morning we saw an update on Pope Francis. They said he had pneumonia in both lungs in late February and is now home but not expected to do his full duties for two more months. Butch will be 84 in June. The Pope is 88. Butch had pneumonia in both lungs, a heart situation, and AFIB. My assessment is that he should be easy on himself as he is still healing.

I am a different story. I am on my 3rd round of antibiotics for UTI's. I would like it to be my last. Yesterday was a rough day because I had a recurring episode of the same old pain and I am supposed to be getting better, not backsliding. Needless to say, it put me down in the dumps. Throughout this ordeal, it has always felt worse when I was in bed and I have spent a few nights sleeping in the recliner where I was slightly more comfortable. Early this morning I woke up in pain, passed some gas, and felt much better immediately! This may be a clue to a different path. I have an appointment in the morning with my doctor. I have some questions to be sure. So I currently cannot say where I am as far as my health is concerned. Currently, I am feeling much better than I did yesterday and hopefully will continue to feel much better tomorrow!

Other than the above we are doing okay. We are still playing pool and yesterday, Butch and his poolplaying buddy Paul Kelleher played golf for the first time in a long while. We are both ready to put these episodes behind us and get on with our life. I can see this goal. We are just short of it but not by much.😵‍💫

Happy Hour Conversation

  I keep telling people that our "Happy Hour" is NOT a gossip fest and they give me a skeptical look. One person even said, "Aren't they all?". So as a random thought I decided to take notes on the subjects covered during happy hour. Ours runs from 4-5. After all we are a very busy bunch and we have other things awaiting our attention.

So yesterday this was the rundown:

1. What is the population of Reynosa Mexico. I had recently heard it was 4 Million and that seemed very high. One said they had heard 1 Million. I looked it up and the answer is 1,000,000 in 2020. It was admitted that it fluctuated.

2.The Dangers of seniors and ladders. We shared ladder stories and it seemed everyone had one!

3. Good breakfasts are served at Victoria Palms.

4. We talked about Ropa. A place where people should go at least once. Some people are repulsed by it and others look at it as a fun treasure hunt. Ropa Usada is Used Clothing in English. There are large buildings in far South Texas where discarded clothing is gathered from all over the US with its next stop being overseas. Tre Demensions is a popular Ropa Usada place. This particular place has a mountain of clothing in the middle and people climb the mountain to find their treasures. Gotta see it to believe it!

5. Dentists in Mexico. Seems everyone has a favorite.

6. There is a German restaurant, 'Schneider's' that one of the happy hour people recently went to and gave a good review. It is located 1/2 block north of Dove on Ware Road.

7. We talked about allergies and the different types and suffering of such.

8. Tom Ball stopped by and we talked about his black powder shooting. Not a subject that comes up often.

9. Rumor has it they caught the bike thief, but then you know how rumors are.

10. One of us mentioned they had scratch marks on their car from a cat and would not have believed it but they witnessed it.

11. We talked about the new directory and how great it was!

12. We admired Linda P. new shoes!

13. We discussed food and things we had made lately. Such as Bacon and Waffles.

Promptly at 5:00 we depart and look forward to the next one!

Close to normal

 I enjoyed a good night's sleep. I was only up twice and then right back to sleep. It is far from a trend but it is a wonderful start.

My next 'job' is to remember my haircut appointment in 30 minutes.

Butch and I went to the Alamo Cafe for breakfast. I enjoyed my usual veggie omelet and Butch had a breakfast taco as he had not had one for a long time. It used to be his number one go-to for breakfast This was followed by a quick trip to H.E.B. to get what I needed for a fish fry we have been invited to this weekend. And now you are all caught up?

We are on the lookout for normal and will let you know when we find it.

Sherri and Sam and the Blizzard

These pics do not show the mess we are in! We walked 60 ft to Perkins, got wet feet, a sore face from the snow/sleet, and  I had to hold on to Sam as the wind was so strong I struggled to stay upright. 

I only have Texas clothes, so needless to say, it was an excruciating short walk, and then we had to wait as their system kept crashing and losing power, we finally got lunch and a cup of hot tea

Finding the Funny?

 I am trying to find it! I know it is here somewhere! 

It started with an early morning text message from friends Sherri and Sam who were coming to Trophy to spend some time with us. Their flight was cancelled and they were trying to get rebooked for tomorrow. They were unable to get that done. When you are involved in a top grade, one hundred percent old-time BLIZZARD. The world as you know it comes to a screeching halt. They came to Omaha and spent the night in a motel because they had an early flight. So now they cannot come to Texas and they cannot go home! The snow is blowing horizontally offering minimal vision. There is an eating place across the road but it is not safe getting there!

NEXT?

If I wrote a book no one would believe it! When I picked up my last prescription the pharmacist told me that some people who take lisinopril will have a reaction to Bactrim. He said some people, not all will have random pains all over their body. Guess what? I am having random pains all over my body. I had the doctor call in a different med. When Butch gets home he will groan when he finds out we have to go to CVS again! 😜Can you believe it!?

My wish is for a humdrum ordinary kind of day!

Hey! My house is clean and the laundry is done.

 

On a lighter note

Next Tuesday will be the last Trivia session of the season.

I love this pic. It says so much about this particular team. They change their team name each week and this week they were One Dave Down. One of their crew 'Dave" was not able to make it that night.

Down Mexico Way

 I gathered up my lengthy med list and we went to Hector's to get it filled. Not having been there since the political s--t-storm, we did not know what to expect. We had been told that the number of people was way down and we did not find that to be true. Maybe less MAGA hats but there were plenty of people. Both parking lots were full.

We started off with a pedicure. It had been a long time and it felt oh-so-good! It feels like you have two new feet.

We did not know what the walk was going to be like for Butch because he had not walked that distance (1 mile) since his heart episode. We took a moderated walk and it was fine. Butch did well. It was hot, and we did everything we could to stay in the shade. Easily done. We had a nice visit with Hector as we always do.

We had our list filled and once it was all put together it looked sizable and I started to worry as they get fussy about bringing too much back. After considerable thought and if they called me on "too much," I was going to say I was worried that I might not get to come back ever. That was only partially true, however, I know many Winter Texans who believe that to be very true!

At the border we went straight through. I was asked what I was bringing back and I said "Meds" as usual and he asked if any of them were controlled and I truthfully said 'No'. And then walked to the conveyer belt that normally scans everything. Same question, what are you bringing back, "Meds"and I said I was loaded up because I wasn't sure we could come back. He looked in the bag and not seeing anything amiss, asked me why I would think that and I answered because of the 'State of the Union'. He said, I understand that one! He also told me he was more than a little upset after losing a sizable portion of his 401K. I offered my sympathy.

Bottom line we came through without a hitch. 

We have company coming next week and we plan to show them the pleasure of a Progresso Pedicure. We enjoy sharing the pleasures of the Rio Grande Valley.

It was good to be home as always!

When it rains...

 The last month has been one incident after another, and I still hope for an end to the endless trips to doctor appointments and pharmacies. We still have a few ahead of us, and they are spread a ways apart. It puts more than a damper on other activities as well.  I think we are both on the mend and headed in the right direction.

It is a fact that the season for Trophy Gardens is winding down. Most activities taper off after the first of March and many of us are ready for a break.  We won't be leaving until Mid April. So we will be putting our feet up and going with the flow. 

We have company coming later this month and we will be showing them the ropes. Now if we can decide on what ropes to show them! It is impossible to get a feel for the Rio Grande Valley and Trophy Garden living in 4 days. We will do our best!

One of the things that gets so far behind is staying in contact through all devices; texting, emailing, Facebook etc. It can turn from a molehill to a mountain in a day or two. I feel as though I am now close to being caught up. Let me know if I have left something out. 🥰

Recovery

 We are both recovering. At least I hope so. Whenever I am required to take antibiotics, a yeast infection is soon to follow and somehow I forget that fact and then I suffer. To add to that, I am allergic to the med most commonly prescribed for that. If the med prescribed has the letters F-L-U in them, I cannot take them because a trip to ER will come next.

And now...Butch was pumped full of antibiotics in the hospital with his heart issues and then he came home and developed a yeast infection. It's official name is Thrush. Then we spent yesterday morning in the doctors office to get some scripts and the pharmacy to get relief.

So jump to this morning and we are both feeling better. Butch is grumbling about the upcoming "Spring Forward" so he must be better or at least back to normal. And I was able to get 8 hours sleep which hasn't happened for a very long time.

Backing up a bit: We have both managed to get some pool played. Butch came in second in the In-Park Singles, his first event after coming home from the hospital. That might not sound like much, but there were 24 or 26 men that competed, all of them top notch players.

And Renie and I play in the Mid-Valley Womens 8-Ball League. We were new to league play and we went into it with no expectations of having anything more than  fun. Our last play of the season was Wednesday, March 5th. We both played well and we attribute that to having no expectations. Bottom line we came in 4th for the season.  We look forward to next season. The league is friendly and fun to play with and next season a friend from the old Magnolia park will be playing on the Trails End team. See you on league days, Deon!

Gary and Susan sent me flowers for my birthday yesterday. They are beautiful!

 

Home Sweet Home

 We got home late Saturday afternoon. We are super glad to be here but physically and mentally worn out. And all the "home" things that need attention have been waiting. Writing here so friends and family can watch the process is late in getting written. Not to mention all the usual activities we participate in, most having had to be set aside. Maybe next week. The biggest blow of the weekend is finding out how much his meds are. One is less than $10, the other $429 a month after insurance. Thank god we are where we are because after checking with our friend Hector, the $429 one will be $100 a month. I know there are a few naysayers out there, however, we have been getting our Meds from south of the border for 20 plus years and never had a problem. After all, our pharmacist down there says our people get sick too and you are getting the same meds they get.

We are both very sleepy and can take a nap at the drop of a hat. We are hoping to have our happy life back soon. It may take a while.

Our pool abilities are a little left of center for both of us. We will take the time to recover soon. In the meantime, another nap sounds like fun!

US on 3/2/25

 Butch is home and we are both pleased about that. The only restrictions they have put on him are no heavy lifting, pushing, or pulling for a week. His breathing has returned to normal or at least it sounds good to me.

We are headed to the pharmacy later this morning and I expect one of them will be expensive. Hopefully it will be available in Mexico. 

Brilinta 90 mg

Details😒 Too many details lately. 

( I have been researching the meds prescribed for AFIB and of course Brilinta is the most expensive and only slightly more effective than eliquis.)

On the plus side he is home and feeling fine.

So many people have helped me during this trying time. I thank all of them profusely and often. I consider it TROPHY GOLD!

Butch 3/1/25

 He did well with the surgery. Now we a tackling the right meds for his kind of AFIB. So he will be in Mcallen Medical room 548 for a while yet. He appreciates company. I am headed that way soon.

Butch 2/27/25

 He has been rescheduled till 9:00 AM tomorrow. I am encouraged after being there for a while. He is in good spirits, joking with the nurses. All of his vitals are good. Tomorrow should be a good day.

Butch 2/26/25

Last Saturday morning about 5 AM I was awake and listening to Butch breathing. It didn’t sound good 

and I was concerned. His breathing was shallow, frequent, and gurgly. I woke him up and told him I thought we should go to ER. He had been struggling with what he determined to be “sinuses”. This has happened to him a couple of times a year. We were in ER, the one close to Alamo on the frontage road. They hooked him up to a monitor right away and the first question was “How long have you had AFIB?” Butch said I don’t have AFIB, my wife does. But the machine didn’t lie. He was having AFIB, a fluttering of the heart. He had many tests including X-rays and CT scan. They said he had a lot of fluid in the upper part of his lungs and yet was dehydrated. They explained a procedure to take fluid off the lungs first by giving him lasix and a urinal. It was successful after giving them a gallon or two. The next step in the procedure is to rehydrate by IV and all went well. By this time it is 10 or so. We wondered what was taking so long but it turned out they were looking for an empty bed for him in McAllen Heart. They ended up finding him one in McAllen Medical, the same one he has been to in other years.

First, we were shocked that he was going to be hospitalized, and then we were surprised he had pneumonia, and yesterday we found out his heart was only working at 28%. He is scheduled for a procedure to check his arteries tomorrow. They will move him to McAllen Heart and his ‘surgery’ is scheduled for 11:00 AM. They told him if they found one blockage he would get a stint but if they found 4 he would be having open heart surgery.

We were frequently asked what the symptoms there were and there were NONE. In hindsight, there were a few signs like frequent naps, loss of appetite, etc. Never any pain. He was concerned a bit last Wednesday at square dancing when he was having trouble keeping up. He walked home from the pool hall one day and said he was getting out of shape because it was a chore. When we walked together he was having trouble keeping up with me. 

We were very lucky to catch this when we did.

As for me, I have been a mess, fearing the worst. Lately, I have been getting a grip so things are looking better now that there is a plan. Always better when there is a plan.

I am having trouble keeping up with all the correspondence.