The end of the year is fast approaching and I am not sure we are ready for it yet!!
Santa did come to our house on Christmas eve and there were presents under the tree in the morning. The best present for both of us is the fact that Carol's eye surgery has gone so well. The week after the right eye was done she was back at the doctors and they were very pleased with the progress as well as Carol. Her eyes are no longer dilated and she exercises them by reading small print and then looking at distant objects.She is reading the 20/16 easily at close range and she says the distant vision is "wonderful". Good by glasses and contacts!!
We celebrated a little by going out for dancing to Jay Smith on the 23rd. The snowbirds are back because the American Legion was really full. This was also the first time in a month or more that our friends, Gus and Marilyn had the opportunity to get out and "shake a booty".
About a month ago Gus's 96 year old mother ( who lives with them) fell and broke her hip. It was only two weeks and she was back home and is doing amazingly well. She is using a walker and getting around better than most 96 year olds without having broken a hip. Gus and Marilyn also have her 93 year old mother living with them!
On Christmas day we had Dinner at our house with Carol's sister, Gail and her friend Angelo plus we had Gus and Marilyn family (all 4) also. It made the day really pleasant having a fine group like that at our home. It was like an old fashioned Christmas for us.
It also made it very nice to hear from Joy, our daughter, during the day. It is always makes our day when she calls.
It is only 4 months away from the Hazelwood reunion that Jim is the Chairman of. It is taking more time now to get things properly organized, mailings out and making sure the schedule is accurately set. Jim has been pleased with all of the favorable comments he has gotten from shipmates who have been logging into the blog. He even gets calls several times a week from some really old timers (WW II) vets.
Several of the Christmas cards we got this year brought sad news of the passing of several long time friends. That's what happens at the age we are now.
We wish every one a very Happy New Year.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Batteries and eyes!!
Carol had her right eye operated on last Tuesday 12/14 and it went much better that the first eye. This time Carol knew what to expect and even though she expected her vision in that eye would be poor for a while, it was much better than the first eye, Tomorrow she goes to see the doctor and will have the 2 small stitches removed. She alredy stopped the drops that dialate the eye so her vision is now near normal.
Last week I went to our motor home to start it and run it on the road for a good warm up. When I went to start the engine, it barely turned over but it finally did and got started. Then I noticed that one of the air tanks was showing zero air pressure and the check engine light was on. That is not a good thing since there air brakes on the motor home. I checked the tanks by pulling drain valves and both tanks actually had air in them. I shut down the engine and restarted and this time the check engine light was not lighted (good!) but the one tank still showed zero air (bad!). Rather than taking our drive I called a Freightliner facility and made an appointment to have the situation looked at ($$$$). I did let the engine run for a long time to charge up the engine batteries. I also called my battery guy and planned to have the engine batteries change the next day since it was quite apparent they were not holding a charge very well.
The next morning the engine barely turned over but finally caught on properly and started. Again I had a check engine light that was on but the air tanks both showed the proper pressure!! But now the volt meter showed zero voltage on the batteries!! I ran the engine for a while and shut it down and restarted and the check engine light went out but the volt meter still showed zero. I drove it to Venice and had the engine batteries replaced and then all the gages were reading AOK. The computer must have been taking a small fit because of the low voltage. So I cancelled the Freightliner appointment and felt relieved.
This week we having Gus and Marilyn Lopes and their mothers over to have Christmas dinner with us along with Carol's sister Gail and her friend. We may even have John and Mary Lou Serafin join us if they have no other plans. So we may have a house full and it will be enjoyable.
Thursday, Jay Smith is playing at the Venice American Legion so we will be dancing to his music that evening with Gus and Marilyn.
Merry Christmas to all.
Last week I went to our motor home to start it and run it on the road for a good warm up. When I went to start the engine, it barely turned over but it finally did and got started. Then I noticed that one of the air tanks was showing zero air pressure and the check engine light was on. That is not a good thing since there air brakes on the motor home. I checked the tanks by pulling drain valves and both tanks actually had air in them. I shut down the engine and restarted and this time the check engine light was not lighted (good!) but the one tank still showed zero air (bad!). Rather than taking our drive I called a Freightliner facility and made an appointment to have the situation looked at ($$$$). I did let the engine run for a long time to charge up the engine batteries. I also called my battery guy and planned to have the engine batteries change the next day since it was quite apparent they were not holding a charge very well.
The next morning the engine barely turned over but finally caught on properly and started. Again I had a check engine light that was on but the air tanks both showed the proper pressure!! But now the volt meter showed zero voltage on the batteries!! I ran the engine for a while and shut it down and restarted and the check engine light went out but the volt meter still showed zero. I drove it to Venice and had the engine batteries replaced and then all the gages were reading AOK. The computer must have been taking a small fit because of the low voltage. So I cancelled the Freightliner appointment and felt relieved.
This week we having Gus and Marilyn Lopes and their mothers over to have Christmas dinner with us along with Carol's sister Gail and her friend. We may even have John and Mary Lou Serafin join us if they have no other plans. So we may have a house full and it will be enjoyable.
Thursday, Jay Smith is playing at the Venice American Legion so we will be dancing to his music that evening with Gus and Marilyn.
Merry Christmas to all.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Cruise plans
Since our 53rd anniversary is coming up in January we are going to go on a cruise to celebrate it. We will be departing from Miami on January 23 and stopping in Samana (Dominican Republic), St Thomas, Tortola (British Virgin Islands) and NCL's private island Great Stirrup Cay. We return to Miami on January 30.
I am already making arrangements to make a couple of SCUBA dives in St Thomas and Tortola. In Tortola I will dive down to the wreck of the RMS Rhone. The RMS Rhone was a British packet ship owned by the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. She was wrecked off the coast of Salt Island in the British Virgin Islands on 29 October 1867 during a hurricane with the loss of approximately 123 lives. It is now a leading Caribbean wreck dive site. I am looking forward to that dive and hope to get a lot of good pictures.
We have been to all of these places except Samana but we are still looking forward to the whole cruise. I guess you could call it our anniversary present to ourselves.
Earlier in January we will be spending 5 days at the Tampa RV show RV camping with friends. The show is held at the Florida fairgrounds and is very large show. We look forward to seeing our RV friends more than wandering the show though.
I am already making arrangements to make a couple of SCUBA dives in St Thomas and Tortola. In Tortola I will dive down to the wreck of the RMS Rhone. The RMS Rhone was a British packet ship owned by the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. She was wrecked off the coast of Salt Island in the British Virgin Islands on 29 October 1867 during a hurricane with the loss of approximately 123 lives. It is now a leading Caribbean wreck dive site. I am looking forward to that dive and hope to get a lot of good pictures.
We have been to all of these places except Samana but we are still looking forward to the whole cruise. I guess you could call it our anniversary present to ourselves.
Earlier in January we will be spending 5 days at the Tampa RV show RV camping with friends. The show is held at the Florida fairgrounds and is very large show. We look forward to seeing our RV friends more than wandering the show though.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Carol's eye - Update
Carol went to the doctor on Monday 12/13 to have her left eye checked and it is doing very well. She is able to see at close to 20/20 near and far and it is still improving. Quit apparently she will not need any glasses which is going to make her very pleased.
The doctor's appointment Monday was also in prep for the operation on the second eye which was done on Tuesday 12/14. That operation went even better than the first. That eye had better vision on the next day than the first eye did at that time. This has made her feel much better about the whole situation.
She will go back next week to have two small stitches removed. Prior to that appointment she will stop taking the medication that dilates the eye. The dilation is needed for the type lens she got but it does cause the vision to be less than normal.
We are both pleased that all is going so well.
The doctor's appointment Monday was also in prep for the operation on the second eye which was done on Tuesday 12/14. That operation went even better than the first. That eye had better vision on the next day than the first eye did at that time. This has made her feel much better about the whole situation.
She will go back next week to have two small stitches removed. Prior to that appointment she will stop taking the medication that dilates the eye. The dilation is needed for the type lens she got but it does cause the vision to be less than normal.
We are both pleased that all is going so well.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Carol's eye surgery update
Tomorrow is Carol's surgery for her second eye. She was a little upset about the first surgery because she was not able to have improved vision right after surgery.
The doctor did not really fill her in with all of the information which would have helped Carol and I understand the situation. The lenses that Carol got are "crystaline" and somewhat different than the basic lenses normally used. With these lenses she is virtually guaranteed to have vision good enough, both far and near that she will not need any glasses.
She and I were concerned in the first week because her vision had not improved as we expected. However the doctor was very pleased with her progress. At the end of the first week there was one stitch removed from the lens and the drops that dilated her eye was stopped. Those two changes made a significant change. She is able to see better than 20/20 reading and very good at a distance but we don't know the actual numbers.
Today she went and had the second stitch removed from the lens and is seeing quite good. Of course she is having the second (right) eye done tomorrow morning and will go through the same "recovery" situation with that eye. There was a time she was having some real apprehension about her vision since she did not know what to expect. Now that she understands the process she is feeling a lot better about her vision and the operation on the right eye.
Other than the eye situation, things are somewhat normal here except for this darn cold weather. We wish the Canucks would keep their cold air up in Canada where it belongs. Last week it got down to the mid 30's a couple of nights and now tonight it may get into the low 30's. At least we had a couple of very nice days between these cold spells.
We are trying to get ready for Christmas and have some basic decorations up. Cards are coming in and we have to get some out but time is flying and with Carol's eye situation the task may fall to me!!
So Merry Christmas to all until my next post.
The doctor did not really fill her in with all of the information which would have helped Carol and I understand the situation. The lenses that Carol got are "crystaline" and somewhat different than the basic lenses normally used. With these lenses she is virtually guaranteed to have vision good enough, both far and near that she will not need any glasses.
She and I were concerned in the first week because her vision had not improved as we expected. However the doctor was very pleased with her progress. At the end of the first week there was one stitch removed from the lens and the drops that dilated her eye was stopped. Those two changes made a significant change. She is able to see better than 20/20 reading and very good at a distance but we don't know the actual numbers.
Today she went and had the second stitch removed from the lens and is seeing quite good. Of course she is having the second (right) eye done tomorrow morning and will go through the same "recovery" situation with that eye. There was a time she was having some real apprehension about her vision since she did not know what to expect. Now that she understands the process she is feeling a lot better about her vision and the operation on the right eye.
Other than the eye situation, things are somewhat normal here except for this darn cold weather. We wish the Canucks would keep their cold air up in Canada where it belongs. Last week it got down to the mid 30's a couple of nights and now tonight it may get into the low 30's. At least we had a couple of very nice days between these cold spells.
We are trying to get ready for Christmas and have some basic decorations up. Cards are coming in and we have to get some out but time is flying and with Carol's eye situation the task may fall to me!!
So Merry Christmas to all until my next post.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Time Flies
It has been quite busy since we got back from St Thomas and it nearly month since me last post! Shame on me.
After we got home we hit the ground nearly running! The Saturday after our return we went to Marilyn and Gus Lopes party at the clubhouse. John and Mary Lou Serafin joined us for the party. It was a dinner-dance with a great meal prepared by Marilyn. Roasted pork loin with a fantastic dressing and gravy with champagne in it!! All of the other trimming were just as tasty.
Dancing was done to the music of Jay Smith, our favorite entertainer. Everyone else at the party must have enjoyed him because more than half stayed until the very end. For this old-timer group that was a pleasant surprise.
The next Saturday was the Pancake Breakfast which Jim is the chairman of. A volunteer crew served about 95 meals of pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage patties, toast, coffee and juice. The breakfast is held once a month during the winter (snowbird) season.
Thanksgiving was the next week and we did a 16 pound turkey and had Carol's sister, Gail and her friend Angelo over of dinner. Chef Jim make his usual great dressing and Carol did the other veggies. Angelo and Gail brought one of the best cheesecakes we have ever had. It was topped with huge strawberries and had all of the calories removed from it ... I wish. The next day Jim stripped the carcass and made a large pot of turkey soup. It was very tasty as usual and we took some to Gail as she likes it also.
The next week on Tuesday was Carol's day to have her cataract eye surgery on her left eye. In to the surgery center at 730 AM and out about 11 AM. The actual surgery was only about 20 minutes but the prep and waiting took all the other time. She wore a patch over the eye that night and we went to the doctor the next day so the patch could be removed and the eye checked. We both expected that she would immediately have greatly improved vision but it did not happen. The doctor said everything is just fine but it takes time for the vision to improve. She is also taking drops in the eye which keeps it dilated. She will stop those drops about 3 days before her next appointment on Friday 12/10. Her right eye will be operated on the following Tuesday 12/14.
Of course Jim calls bingo each Monday evening at the clubhouse so that is just one more thing that keeps on the go. We have not been at the YMCA as much as usual because of Carol's eye surgery but we will be getting back at that also. Carol keep busy being the treasurer of the Co-op and she is glad it will end in January when they have elections. She is not running for re-election.
Jim's work on the ship reunion has been keeping busy also. There are now about 56 shipmates planning to attend the reunion which is in April of 2011. You can look at that blog by clicking on my profile on the right side of this blog.
I may have to retire from retirement as it seems we are busier now than when working.
Merry Christmas to all
Jim and Carol
After we got home we hit the ground nearly running! The Saturday after our return we went to Marilyn and Gus Lopes party at the clubhouse. John and Mary Lou Serafin joined us for the party. It was a dinner-dance with a great meal prepared by Marilyn. Roasted pork loin with a fantastic dressing and gravy with champagne in it!! All of the other trimming were just as tasty.
Dancing was done to the music of Jay Smith, our favorite entertainer. Everyone else at the party must have enjoyed him because more than half stayed until the very end. For this old-timer group that was a pleasant surprise.
The next Saturday was the Pancake Breakfast which Jim is the chairman of. A volunteer crew served about 95 meals of pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage patties, toast, coffee and juice. The breakfast is held once a month during the winter (snowbird) season.
Thanksgiving was the next week and we did a 16 pound turkey and had Carol's sister, Gail and her friend Angelo over of dinner. Chef Jim make his usual great dressing and Carol did the other veggies. Angelo and Gail brought one of the best cheesecakes we have ever had. It was topped with huge strawberries and had all of the calories removed from it ... I wish. The next day Jim stripped the carcass and made a large pot of turkey soup. It was very tasty as usual and we took some to Gail as she likes it also.
The next week on Tuesday was Carol's day to have her cataract eye surgery on her left eye. In to the surgery center at 730 AM and out about 11 AM. The actual surgery was only about 20 minutes but the prep and waiting took all the other time. She wore a patch over the eye that night and we went to the doctor the next day so the patch could be removed and the eye checked. We both expected that she would immediately have greatly improved vision but it did not happen. The doctor said everything is just fine but it takes time for the vision to improve. She is also taking drops in the eye which keeps it dilated. She will stop those drops about 3 days before her next appointment on Friday 12/10. Her right eye will be operated on the following Tuesday 12/14.
Of course Jim calls bingo each Monday evening at the clubhouse so that is just one more thing that keeps on the go. We have not been at the YMCA as much as usual because of Carol's eye surgery but we will be getting back at that also. Carol keep busy being the treasurer of the Co-op and she is glad it will end in January when they have elections. She is not running for re-election.
Jim's work on the ship reunion has been keeping busy also. There are now about 56 shipmates planning to attend the reunion which is in April of 2011. You can look at that blog by clicking on my profile on the right side of this blog.
I may have to retire from retirement as it seems we are busier now than when working.
Merry Christmas to all
Jim and Carol
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