3 Weeks and No Internet

Surprised to hear from me? I'm surprised to be here, lol.

I haven't had internet for the last 3 weeks because the download time on the air card for the computer was used up until this weekend. And the wifi at the RV park is off and on (mostly OFF).

So to get you up to speed, we are back in Las Vegas and ready for Paul's lap band procedure this coming Wednesday. We have been waiting for the approval from the insurance and then waiting for the next opening in the doctor's schedule.

Wednesday morning at 6:30am Paul goes to Desert Springs Hospital and will spend the night. The procedure is only an hour but with heart and diabetes, they probably want to watch him and be sure he's fine. He should come home Thursday.

The doctor told Paul that he only needs to spend 3 weeks or so after the surgery before he can go back to Alaska. WOW, this will be the shortest visit here, EVER!!!

2 Wild and Busy Weeks

Well, we've just spent 2 very busy weeks.

Last week we had several doctors appointments, sometimes 3 in a day. So far, all has been well and the doctors are satisfied.

Then, this week we drove to Hurricane and St. George Utah to visit family. Unfortunately Jerry left town for the day and forgot to tell us. So, we visited with Deb. Then we stopped in St. George to see Nancy Lisonbee and pick up some Real Salt for my daughters. It was nice to see Nancy and her husband and son. We had lunch at Cafe Rio with them and visited a little bit.

Then the big adventure begins. We drove to Paradise to the baptism of a granddaughter, Hailey McKenna Noel Wilson (Kelsey's only girl). While there I had the chance to spend a day with my very good friend, Sandi Talbot on Thursday and that evening, Julie and Kelsey came to visit.

Kelsey had throat surgery on Tuesday and in not allowed to utter ANY sound so, she's signing constantly. The only problem is that I didn't take the class so I have a hard time understanding her. She is very patient and writes almost everything to me. The funniest thing is, that if Julie doesn't like what Kelsey is signing, she puts her index fingers over her eyes and sings "La-La-La-La-La-La-La-La". It caught Kelsey off guard and almost made her laugh (a no-no) and she started coughing.

Then on Friday, my best friend drove down from Anderson to spend the day with me and to see Kelsey and Kimberly. Kelsey had a new remodel of her house (adding 2 bedrooms and Kimberly has a new baby boy just 7 weeks old (that I had not met yet). We also got lucky and attended a church dinner with my dad that evening.

Saturday, I ran to the bank to sign some papers and off to the soccer games of Michael and Hailey. By 10:30am I had free time so I went to Cheryl Peterson's house and helped her and Dad load the dump truck to go to the dump. I got to spend a little time talking with my dad on the way to and from the dump. He's so busy helping others that he had almost no time to visit with me. But that's okay since I had so little time to spend in Paradise.

Sunday we attended church where I renewed acquaintance with many friends and saw Tom and Medi Fowler. Tom rented my little cabin many years ago and moved away shortly after their daughter was born. Now his daughter moved back to Paradise and became best friends with my daughter (neither knowing of the history of their parents). When their two daughters were old enough to be baptised, they wanted to do it together (they are also best friends). What a surprise when the pieces of the puzzle came together and we had a great time visiting.

The baptism was great and I've never seen so many in attendance for 2 little 8 year olds. The chapel was almost full, so many people that we couldn't fit in the Relief Society room, where we usually sit.

Monday, we got up and I went to make a deposit at Wells Fargo and found out that I had about 12 fraudulent charges on my account. That took about an hour to remedy and I still met Kelsey and Kimberly for a donut before driving out of town.

Next, we stopped for a short visit with Candy and dropped off her Real Salt. She looks healthy and happy. She's been working in convalescent hospitals and has just recently been hired by Hospice for 40% more an hour, WOW, what a blessing.

We drove to Tehatchapi too sleep where it was much cooler (oh, did I forget to mention that our air conditioners broke while in Las Vegas at 94 degrees). This trip was very timely. The repair man has ordered the capacitors and should repair them the day after we arrive.

See, I told you it was a wild 2 weeks.

L A S V E G A S , Again

Well, we made the 12 hour day to fly 3 flights from Homer to Las Vegas on Tuesday. Exhausted, but safe and sound, Paul's sister, Arla, picked us up at the airport. She kept us at her house then the next morning drove us (1 hour) up the mountain to pick up the motor home.

We thought we were so smart to turn off the batteries to save them but they were DEAD anyway. It probably took us an extra hour to charge them enough to start the engine. We drove back into town and set it up in the Thousand Trails and rushed off to the first doctor's visit of the trip.

Paul's diabetes doctor gave him some good pointers and sent him off to get lab work done. Today we have one doctors appointment and tomorrow we have 2 doctors to see.

I love my (motor)home away from Home(r)!!! It's comfortable and familiar. All the comforts of home except no friends or family (until we go to see them).

On the 18th we are planning to go to Hurricane and visit Deb & Jerry (Paul's brother) and my niece in St. George but it will be a one day round trip. More on that later.

Then, on the 19th, we are going to drive to Paradise, CA. We will visit my dad and 4 daughters. While there, Kelsey's daughter, Hailey is going to be baptised. It will be so good to see some of the kids but unfortunately not all.

Okay, now that you know what we did and where we are, don't be strangers. Come by and visit, ol.

Silly Request

I got a phone call from friends the other day. They were concerned because I had not posted if a few months. I said "The name of the blog is 'Spilsbury Travels', you see since we're not traveling, I don't post".

Well, I guess I could post something once in awhile, if I remember, lol. It seems that 'Life' gets in the way and keeps me much to busy.

Paul and I have been home over 3 months now and keeping busy. We have had 3 wonderful visits from friends this summer. First, Marianne and Albi von Dach came for a visit from Arizona. The first thing they asked is "Do you still have Tucson?" (Really, the cat gets first billing?) It was so nice to visit with them.

Then we had a visit from Maureen and Richard Haralabatos from New York, we met them in Florida. They also remembered Tucson but were kind enough to say "hello" to Paul and I first. (Tucson is always so memorable, she gets right in their face to sniff them.)

Then we had friends from Oregon come in to town. Norm and Jerri Pawson came from Aloha OR. They too remembered Tucson but for a different reason, Norm is allergic to cats. So sorry Norm.

Paul and I felt very honored that friends would take the time to visit with us. We have made some wonderful RV friends over the last 9 years.

Well, besides all the cleaning and organizing of the house, that sums up our summer. We will be flying to Las Vegas again on October 11th. Paul and I have a few follow-up doctor's appointment before returning home. I'm planning of visiting Paradise CA to see my newest grandson and attend a granddaughter's baptism the end of October.

HOME(R) at Last

This is the news you've all been waiting for, lol. Oh yeah, this is the news I've been waiting for. We arrived safely in Homer yesterday at 4pm. Of course, there were no groceries in the house, we made a short stop at the market for staples and a couple frozen dinners.

It was a long day, up at 5 for a 5:25am shuttle to the airport. There were so many people we just made it thru TSA to make boarding. I have no idea what TSA thinks is wrong with me but it seems I always get wanded or x-rayed. Oh, and they almost always go thru my luggage (this time they went through 3 of our 5 bags).

We had a short (2 hour) layover in Seattle before our flight to Anchorage. There we only had 1 1/4 hours before our flight to Homer.

I'm so happy to be home and hold my cat, Tucson. She was happy to see us and had to sniff us over and over again before she was content to sit on my shoulder and purr. She quickly fell back into her old habits with us. She's a fun pet.

Going Home

Well, the latest neurologist did new lab tests to eliminate other possible causes and the results are negative. That's good news, sort of, it means I don't have some terrible diseases. On the other hand, it means the cause is still unknown, maybe inherited?

The final try is Cymbalta, for nerve pain and changes the way the brain deals with pain. It takes up to a month to see if it helps, so far I think it is making a difference in the burning pain. Since we've eliminated the scary possibilities, we're going home.

May 20th we fly out at 7am. I'm excited but it still feels unreal. Since Paul's diabetes doctor must see him every 6 months (the insurance prefers 3 months) we will be back October 11th for doctors appointments the 12th - 14th. It should be routine visits and a short trip, you've heard that before, huh?

Still Hanging Around

Paul and I are trying to be patient but we're so bored.

Paul had a treadmill stress test and the results were good. The doctor said the heart has improved since the bypass surgery. He also had a lung function study and that looks like minor problems with breathing. The doctor hasn't called with results yet so it must be minor.

Me, on the other hand, I'm still looking for a correct diagnosis on my foot burning and numbness. I've been sent to a second neurologist. I was very impressed with the intake exam and blood work ordered, he was very thorough. It will still be another 2 weeks before I get the results. The blood tests had to be frozen and take 2 weeks to complete.

I decided that I'm giving up and going home after I see the neurologist. Either he has a diagnosis and treatment or not, and I go home. This has gone much too long, even if I have to survive on pain pills!