Good News from our park owner

On December 24 we learned that the owner of the park we live in received an offer to sell it. Even though he was not required to do so, he is giving the residents the opportunity to buy it.

I now hope we can get enough people who have been dis-satisfied with the owner to put their money up so we all an be owners. if we don't get enough to buy we are sure to get major rent increases on the land we are renting. We are going to have an informational meeting on January 6 to get the most accurate information possible to the residents. We only have about 30 days left to get enough to buy in. If we don't, I will be one very unhappy individual.

Recovering

My surgery was delayed until yesterday to remove the spurs/bunions and it went very well. I took a nap and when I woke they were gone!!!! The surgery took less than 2 hours for all three spots. The large toe bumps were really spurs according to the doctor but the one on the right foot on the right side of the small toe was a true bunion. I don't know what the technical difference is!! At least the ones on the large toes had not caused the big toe to change it's angle, so no work had to be done to correct that.

I now have to keep the feet elevated as much as possible and put ice on and off to keep the swelling down. I have these neat shoes I wear to support the toes and I can walk around on my heels. I am having no real pain at all and but I can feel the itchy healing starting. I will get an appointment with the doctor to get the bandages off and the stitches out which he said probably would not be until Jan 4. That means I will not be dancing at the New Years Party we are going to or the Jay Smith dinner/dance at the Punta Gorda Elks on Jan 2.

I am sure I am going to find it a lot easier to find shoes that fit now and I will not have the rubbing and pain that I have gotten in the past.

A Fun Week

Here we are in the last days before Christmas with lots of stuff going on. Carol and bowled our last time this year before our holiday break. Both of us bowled poorly and the lunch after was the best thing about bowling again!!

Thursday evening was the last bingo for me to call this year and it was the last bingo on Thursdays. Starting in January it is being changed to Monday evenings. Thursday had been conflicting with entrainment and dinners that we enjoy!! Jay Smith is one of favorite musicians and he usually lays on Thursdays. It was also a rush to get done in time to see CSI at 9 PM!! Gus and Marilyn Lopes also like Jay so the change was made easier since she is the bingo chairman!!! Carol won one game so that made the evening even better.

Saturday was pancake breakfast and as chairman, Jim had all the shopping to do on Friday. A great crew takes care of all the food preparation. We had blueberry pancakes this time and that drew a crowd of nearly 100 for the breakfast. It is a nice social event for the community and everyone seems to enjoy it.

Here are pictures of our server and flippers (Harold, Glenn and Tom) and egg and sausage cooks (Dom and Joe).

During last week I also went to my primary doctor and he OK'd me for my foot surgery which has be changed from Monday to Tuesday next week. I also went to the VA doctor and all was well. She did request a sonogram of my lower torso to check for an aneurysm. It was a precautionary thing as there was no indication one was present. It sounded like a good plan to me.

Merry Christmas to every one.

Jim's Medical Week!!!

On the Monday after Thanksgiving I finally decided to have a Podiatrist look at my Bunions. He said the "bumps" were more from arthritis and would be easy to trim so they won't cause pain when wearing dress shoes. It's been getting more and more difficult to find shoes that fit properly and don't cause pain.

So we scheduled surgery for December 21. That started the ball rolling on x-rays and blood work. The feet had to have an x-ray and then my Primary Care Physician has to OK me for surgery. That meant a chest x-ray and blood work this week for the PCP. I also have my annual VA doctor visit next week so I had to have blood drawn at the VA this week. I hope I have enough left for my PCP blood work.

The surgery will keep me off my feet for several weeks but he said I could still hobble around to get to the bathroom etc.. I need to keep the feet elevated to reduce any swelling.

So I will be lying around reading and watching a lot of TV for several weeks over the holidays.

Since I was on a roll, I had also scheduled a visit to a Urologist because the prostate is giving me problems at night. It has been causing me to get up more frequently at night over the years ... Now I only sleep about 1 1/2 - 2 hours before having to get up. So today I went to see him today and was told that I am getting the maximum medication to control this situation. The prostate has enlarged somewhat but it is a benign enlargement (BPH) that is causing the slight blockage. The Urologist is going to do two tests to find out what can be done to correct the situation. These tests have been scheduled for later in January so I can recover from the foot surgery. The corrective procedure I am expecting will dilate the urethra where it goes through the prostate. It is not surgery and is done in his office.

Party Party !!!

This evening was Riverwalk's Christmas Dance and dinner (Potluck). A 50's playing couple were hired to provide the music for the event and since it was a 50's party as well, there was a prize for the best 50's costumes. I took some video of those dressed in 50's garb as they were strutting their stuff for the judges.

When the judges made their decision, I got most of the prize winners on video but the battery in the camera got too low to get it all. Here is a clip of what I got of the judges' decisions.

When the entertainers played "New York, New York" the gals from New York formed a Rockette dance line. Here they are, but I am sure they are going to keep their day jobs!!!!

When the "Twist" was played, Wally Hutt really showed everyone how to do the moves like Chubby Checkers!!

A wet RV'ing weekend

On Thursday we drove the RV to Okeechobee, FL to stay at a campground that sounded relly nice and they had a good deal for us. We arranged to meet up with 2 other couples from the east coast of FL so we could have a fun weekend together. When we got there, a third other (new) couple joined us. The "new" couple, John and Suzanne fit right in with our fun group of Joe and Jerri, Mashall and Joann and us.

When I found this "deal" that we got I thought the resort wanted us to see the place so we might camp there in the future. Well, they were interested in selling RV lots to us but they treated us very well and were not pushy about selling the lots. The resort was a very fine resort with facilities and sites that were as good as any we ad ever seen. The lot prices were also not really out of line for that class of RV resort. Even so we were not really inters ted in buying a lot.

The weekend was one of rain and cold weather. It did put a damper on the outside activities, but they still provided breakfast each morning for us, lunch on Friday and dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings. Our group also took over their clubhouse on Saturday afternoon to watch the Florida Gators play Alabama. It was not a good day for the Gators as they were soundly beaten by Bama.

Finally on Sunday the sun started coming out and we left about 11 AM to head back to home.

When we got home, Gail and her "guy friend" dropped in to visit and then Carol and I went to a Christmas potluck dinner dance at our clubhouse. It was fun and the music was good but we were both a little run down from the earlier part of the weekend. There will be an individual post on that little party, with some videos I took.