12/22/19 -  On 12/18, I had lunch with RV friends Ruth and Joe out in Apache Junction which was about a 75 mile round trip from where I am parked.  They decided to fly back to Oregon for about a month during the holidays.  They are putting the RV in storage and then flying back on Friday.

12/19 - I went over to Aunt Ada's since her son Ron and his wife Teresa were visiting for a few days.  We decided to go to a movie and then had dinner at Aunt Ada's house.  It was so good to visit with Ron and Teresa.

12/20 - I had a mammogram and dexa scan scheduled in Scottsdale and that office was extremely slow.  I needed to meet everyone at a Mexican restaurant out in Sun City so I had quite a drive but thought I should have plenty of time but got into rush hour traffic on every freeway that I was on so I was very late but still enjoyed a great dinner.

12/21 - I met up with Aunt Ada, Robyn, Ron, Teresa, Marilyn and we went to a dinner theatre and saw "Elf".  The cast did a nice job.  Went back to the house for a while then said my "good byes" since Ron and Teresa are leaving in the morning.

Today, finally stayed at home since I had been going every day last week.

12/17/19 -  On 12/12, I stayed at home since Laura was going over things that I needed to know while they were gone.  They were taking the "red eye" so left the house about 8:15 pm.  Their cats are very shy so I probably will not see much of either one.

12/13, Met Stuart and Betty for dinner.  They had terrible traffic so I held the reservation until they arrived.  It was great to see them.

12/14, Met Janie (use to be my insurance gal at the office) for lunch.  She asked her niece to join us as well.  Had a great time catching up with her and Amy.

12/15, stayed at home and did some laundry and packing so I did not have so much to do on Monday to leave on Tuesday. 

12/16, Went back to the office to see two more employees that I actually knew and had seen yet and said some good byes to others.  I then met Louise for lunch.  Home and more packing.

Today, I left at 9:15 am for Phoenix.  It was extremely windy for quite some time so only drove between 45 to 50 miles per hour.  I finally drove out of it.  Had lunch in Yuma, Arizona.  I then got into rush hour traffic in Phoenix and finally got home at 6:09 pm.  I got things unloaded but not put away.  Off to bed.

12/11/19 - I met up with Lina late last night.  We had such a good time catching up and so went to bed early this morning.  We slept late, checked out of the room and had some breakfast before leaving.  I had a good trip home.  I have attached a picture.  I can't title the picture for some reason but Lina and I by a Christmas tree in the lobby of the hotel.

12/09/19 - On 11/30, David, Craig and I went to the symphony.  It was a great night. 

12/01/19- Went out for breakfast with David, Laura, Anne, and Anne's family since her brother and family were leaving for Tucson, Arizona.  We then came back to the house and helped put up some Christmas decorations.

12/02 - Laura and I went to Costco and we had planned to have a hot dog but it was closed since Poway was having water issues and all water had to be boiled.  We shopped and came home and had a late lunch. 

12/03 - We went to Walmart to get some special ingredients to make a dessert and then in the evening I went with Anne to watch her bowl.  She and her father are on a league.  It was a fun evening.

12/6 - I went to the Christmas luncheon for San Diego Internal Medicine (my old employment) but so much has changed I hardly knew anybody.  It was very nice to see the doctor's again.  In the evening, I had a dinner in Santee with the old Inland East managers.  Because of the season, there were only 5 of us there but was good to see them.  I left there and went out to Alpine, CA which is a small town east of San Diego to stay with my friend, Louise.  I got to her house around 10:00 pm.  We chatted for a while and off to bed.

12/7 - We relaxed and then decided to go out for Mexican food.  It had been raining off and on all day. 

12/8 - We stayed in and had delicious soup for dinner.

12/9 - Louise had a hair appointment and then stopped and got sandwiches for lunch.  In the evening we went to an Mediterranean restaurant.  Was quite expensive but very good.  (Simple spaghetti and 4 meatballs was $17.00!)

Today, I left Louise's house at noon and had lunch with Deb Ehlers.  One of the doctor's wives that I use to work with.  Then I learned I left my phone out in Alpine so drove back to pick up the phone.  What a mess.  I finally got back to Anne and Laura's house.  Now, waiting for a text from Lina since she wants to meet at Pechanga Casino tonight.  She got a room so we will spend the night.  It will be good to see her.

11/30/19 - On 11/28, I had a very nice Thanksgiving with my friends, Anne, Laura, David and Anne's family which was her brother, his wife, two nieces and her Mom and Dad.  We had the traditional turkey dinner and was delicious.  In the afternoon, we played games.  It was a great day. 

11/29, We went to the movie.  The girls saw Frozen II and the men saw Ford versus Ferrari.  The men's movie was a little longer so just girls walked over to an ice cream shop that makes sandwich ice cream.  You chose the cookie and the ice cream and then they put it together.  It was delicious.  In the evening, we ate left overs and then watched "Mircle on 34th Street".  Another great day with everyone.

Today, I watched Ohio State win over Michigan and Laura is an huge Michigan fan so for a while it was touch and go but Ohio State finally ended up running away with it.  Now, the family is coming over and everyone will be watching Notre Dame and Stanford since Notre Dame is their team.  Tonight, David, his friend Craig and I are going to the San Diego Symphony. 

11/27/19 - On 11/26, I packed up and left for San Diego at about 10:55am.  I stopped at the office and paid the rent since I will be gone until 12/16.  I had a good trip even though it was long but took about an hour break in Yuma, Arizona which I consider about half way.  I did get into San Diego traffic but got to my friend's house at 5:10pm and Anne got home about 5:30pm and Laura works 12 hour days so she did not get home until about 8:30pm.  We chatted for a while but both had to work tomorrow so I settled in and watched some TV before going to bed.

Today, I am staying home and relaxing.  It is very cool here as well and we are expecting rain this afternoon and the next couple of days.

11/13/19 - On 11/6 I went to dinner with my friend Neal. Neal's sister Sue was visiting from .  There were 6 of us in attendance.  It was really nice to see Sue again.  Neal's sister Jean and her daughter also were there and since they live in Scottsdale, I will be seeing them again.

11/7 - I had my consultation for my colonoscopyand got all my instructions and of course the drinking powder.  My new primary physician refuses to let me use the stool samples and I really don't want to not do anything preventative.

11/8 - I had my follow up visual field testing since my eye doctor is concerned about the beginnings of glaucoma. Dr. Harrison called and now wants me to start with eye drops in the evening to prevent the progression of glaucoma. 

11/9 - I finally got to stay at home.

11/10 - To church and then to Robyn's house for lunch and a relaxing afternoon.  We did watch and movie.

11/11 - I had a follow up appointment with the primary physician to go over labs.  She found a little trace of blood in my urine, so took another sample since I don't have any symptoms of a urinary tract infection.  We discussed my osteoporosis diagnosis and she is referring me to a endocrinologist to get a second opinion whether to continue taking the prolia.

Yesterday and today, I have not done much but work on a puzzle, some crocheting and cooking dinner.

10/31/19 - On 10/24, my life changed forever.  This blog is going to very vague because it is mostly for me and I really don't want to go into any detail since it is very personal.  I got involved in a stolen identity with a friend of mine from the RV park that I have known for quite sometime and she was telling me about a foundation to help seniors and she had been helped and everything was legal and I needed to apply.  She had been sending me information thru facebook messenger.  She referred me to an agent that would process the application.  She is a good person, Christian and very,very honest so I believed her.  At the end of 5 days, I was in debt, it was not her.  I am not sure why I did not do more investigation but think it is because I really trusted her and she kept in touch me to re-assure me all the time.  I did not have her phone number and we only ever communicated on messenger.

10/29 - In the evening, I lost her messenger account but found the one I had before and we had not communicated since 2018 so then I thought she must have two accounts.  I sent her a message because I was getting frustrated with the agent. Well, Ruth did not understand my request, but was  responded back.  Since she was confused, she had my phone number and she called me.  We had kinda a weird conversation because I later learned she had no idea what I was talking about.  She re-assured me that God was with me and she was praying for me.  We ended the conversation.

10/30 - Ruth called back and finally I learned that all this time that I had not been communicating with her, she was not involved at all with a Frances Duncan and I was SCAMMED!!  My heart stopped since I had been so vulnerable and sent some money.  I know, I know better and I also know I really did trust her.  I can not explain my stupidity but  I now have gotten a loan and have learned my lesson.

Today, Sue and I went to the police department but since not urgent to them, they had me make an appointment and will come out to the RV for a report and I will get my life back on track.

10/24/19 - On 10/17 - I packed and by 5:45 pm Sue was here to take me to the airport.  I had a 8:04 pm flight to Denver and Denver to Philadelphia.  I arrived to Philadelphia at 6:20 am and Deborah (my niece) was soon there to pick me up. 

10/18 - We then stopped off for alittle breakfast and then to Ikea since she wanted to purchase some items before heading for D.C.  Not sure when we got to D. C. but we arrived at the church since Mary Ann was very busy baking pies for the wedding reception and Christina (a niece) was busy making two different kinds of soup for the rehearsal dinner.  We had the rehearsal and then dinner. Pies were done and soon there was some clean up and others then started to set up the reception hall for the reception.  We then went to an AirB&B which was reserved by Jesse (a nephew-in-law).  There was 7 adults and 5 kids but the house had plenty of space.  It was an older house and needed some work done but did work for us for the week end.  Since I had done a red eye, I was off to bed early.

10/19 - We had some breakfast at the house, started to get ready for the wedding.  Deborah, Christina, Holly and myself went over to Rachel's house to see her getting dressed.  Rachel requested to spend some private time with her Mom and Dad so we left and headed for the church since lunch was served at the church.  The wedding was at 4:00 pm.  It was a beautiful wedding and reception followed immediately.  It was so good to see family and visit a little. Since the church was only reserved for a short time, some of us went over to Rachel's house to continue the celebration.

10/20 - We needed to be out of the house by 10:00 am and Deborah and I headed for Delaware.  We got to her house and rested for a while and then went over to Daniel and Mary Ann's.  Christina came as well and we decided to put a puzzle together.  Was a nice evening.

10/21 - I slept in late, relaxed, had some lunch and then in the afternoon we went back to Daniel and Mary Ann's house and worked on the puzzle.  We did finish the puzzle since we had a little help with Trisha who was visiting.  Mary Ann had a lot of left over food from the wedding, so she invited Weston and family and Trisha so we ended up with 13 for dinner.  Was very good to see Weston and family again even though the time was short.

10/22 - Deborah left with Christina to do some shopping so I slept late, got packed, ate some lunch and then Mary Ann came over to tell me she could not go with Daniel to the airport and wanted to say good bye but I told her I was ready and would just meet Daniel at their house so her and I packed up my stuff on the golf cart and went to their house.  Daniel and I decided since I was ready to leave a little earlier so he would not have as much traffic on his way back.  We got to the Philadelphia airport around 2:45 pm.  We had hardly any traffic.  I left at 4:45 pm.  I got to the Phoenix airport at 10:55 pm and Sue was there to pick me up.  I got home and went straight to bed.

10/23 - I started with a cold on 10/21 so I did nothing at all but got a little food to eat.

Today, I finally put things away, made homemade vegetable soup, washed my dishes and then worked on a puzzle.

10/15/19 - On 10/09, I made some dinner that I took over to Aunt Ada's to share.  We worked on a puzzle she had gotten from her daughter-in-law (Teresa).

10/11, I picked up Sue Bontreger at the airport and she stayed with me until Monday afternoon.  She is going to be here for 3 weeks and is house sitting for very good friends of hers that are traveling to Paris.  Since it was a long day, we did nothing the rest of the afternoon.

10/13, I went to church with Aunt Ada and Robyn and then had lunch with them at Robyn's house.  Robyn had printed some things for me and I needed to pick up my mail.

10/14, We did not do much in the morning and then I took Sue over to her house sitting job and visited for a while and then home.

Today, was over at Aunt Ada's and we worked on the puzzle and  had left overs for dinner and now home for the evening.

10/07/19 - On 10/5, our morning routine was the same.  We decided to go to an Octoberfest for lunch at Camp Richardson which is right next door to Lake Tahoe.  It was very, very busy and not very well planned out because the lines were huge.  We stood in line for tickets to purchase food and drink.  Then we decided to look for a place to sit where the band was playing and Anne actually found 4 chairs.  They went to stand in line for drink and food and I saved the chairs.  I could not believe how long it was taken and David finally came back and stated they got drinks and a pretzel but were in another line for the bratwurst.  Finally, about two hours later, they arrived with the food.  I had been enjoying the german music and some contest they were having so was not bored.  We left soon after that and headed back to the townhouse for some relaxation.  Later, we grilled some turkey burgers for dinner.  Cookies and ice cream for dessert.  We played Phase 10 and off to bed since tomorrow had to be a little earlier since we had to pack to go home. 

10/6, I got up at 6:55 am since we decided to leave at 8:00 am so we could stop for breakfast before leaving Lake Tahoe.  I stayed downstairs while Anne, Laura and David had their morning coffee and cleaned out the refrigerator and took trash out.  We left at 8:15 am and were planning to have breakfast at Heidi's but there was a 15 minute wait so we ended up driving down the road a little and found a cafe that had no wait and the food was delicious.  We left for Sacramento since we were all leaving the same area. I was leaving at 12:41 pm so I got dropped off first and then I am not sure of the next dropped off but David was parking in long term parking and Anne and Laura had to take the car back.  Their flight was out 1:10 pm.  We all sent a text when we got home safely.  What a wonderful, wonderful week end.  Words can not decribe how my heart is so full of love, happiness and completeness after spending time with these three friends.  I had to get Laura's card out in the mail since I had forgotten to take it with me.  Otherwise, I did not do much else.

10/07/19 - On 10/4, Anne, Laura and David are morning people and I am not so they would have morning coffee and go for a long walk and I would leisurely get up, take a shower, get dress and then head upstairs for the day.  I had left over pizza for an early lunch since we had tickets for a paddle wheeler boat taking us across the lake to Emerald Bay.  It was chilly but a wonderful two hours and lots of beautiful scenery.  On the bay, was a castle which looked beautiful.  We paddled around an small island and on top, the owner had built a little tea house but only the stone frame of the tea house was standing.  A beautiful day.  We then went to a wine tasting place that was right on the lake.  It was beautiful.  We sat instead for a while and then decided that we really could probably go outside with a gas fire pit.  It was beautiful and the downstairs patio was right on the water.  I have attached two pictures:

                                                 On the boat, Anne, myself, David, Laura

                                                    The outside patio - me - all bundled up

In the evening, we went to a restaurant called Fire and Ice and David treated us for all of our birthdays.  Anne is in November.  It was kinda the idea of a Japanese Steak house were they cooked in front of you but here you got a bowl and filled it with whatever you wanted to eat and then you added whatever sauce that you want and take it to the center of the restaurant where there are two guys who will cook your food as you watch!!  You then take your plate to the table.  It was really delicious and interesting to watch the two cooks.  A new experience and was wonderful.  We then went back to the townhouse and watch "Rocketman" which is the life of Elton John.  Wonderful day and off to bed.

10/07/19 - On 10/2, I went over to visit Aunt Ada for a minute and pick up a bag that had wheels on it so I can use that to travel tomorrow.

10/3 - I got up at 3:45 am to get ready to meet the light rail at 4:51 am to get to the airport for a 7:30 am flight.  I got a text from American airline informing me that my flight was cancelled and I would be re-scheduled at 1:40 pm to get into Sacramento at 3:40 pm.  Anne and Laura were flying in from San Diego and David drove in from Groveland, California and we were all meeting within about 10 minutes of each other.  Sacramento is two hours from Lake Tahoe which was our finally destination so me coming in late in the afternoon just would be horrible.  I then tried to call Anne and no answer, Laura and no answer, David and no answer.  David did call back almost immediately and we talked it over and decided if I could re-route to Reno, Nevada that would at least be only an hour from Lake Tahoe instead of waiting all morning and early afternoon for me to arrive in Sacramento.   I could get back on the phone with American, I did get a call from Laura and explained the situation and we decided that was the best thing to do since I could be in Reno at 9:18 am.  So I made the  change and learned that the flight was actually 9 minutes earlier and by the time I got everything done, I missed the light rail so was not sure I would I would catch the flight.  I did get on the next light rail which was 20 minutes later.  I then learned that it would take about 51 minutes to the airport instead of the hour that I had thought so a little more time.  I did make the flight.  I then learned from Anne that there was a shuttle from the Reno airport to several places in Lake Tahoe which was great.  I got to Reno, found the shuttle which left almost an hour later but I would be in Lake Tahoe just a few minutes earlier than their drive in.  I got dropped off at a hotel and explained to them, where I was and they were still about a half and hour from Lake Tahoe so I sat inside in the lobby until I got a text and they were 10 minutes away.  It took them awhile to try to find the way into the hotel to find me and finally David called to ask exactly where I was when he saw me as he was walking up the sidewalk.  So now we are finally all together!!  We were all hungry so the first stop was food and we ended up a a great pizza place.  It was so good to see everyone since it had been a long time that we were all together.  From lunch, we found a grocery store for food since we were in an AirB&B.  Off to our townhouse.  It was a very, very nice place and very comfortable.  It just had three levels and all stairs but I survived.  You walked into the first which had two bedrooms and two bathrooms.  Second floor had dining room, kitchen, living room and patio.  Third area was a loft off the living room.  We just had snacks for the evening, watched some TV but since it was an early morning for all of us so off to bed early.

09/30/19 -  I got up at 7:00 am since it was cold.  I checked and it was 49 degrees and 61 degrees in the RV.  I got the car ready for departure and put things away in the RV and left at 8:00 am.  The morning went very well and had no overheating problems even with some hills to climb.  I had a choice of only driving 144 miles before lunch or a little over 200 miles and so I choose the rest area at 144 miles.  I forgot that I could gain an hour after entered Arizona so I had lunch at 9:50 am Arizona time!  After I left, I got into a horrible windy conditions and really slowed me down.  After I hit I-17 and going south, it was a little better since the wind was from the south according to my phone.  I then had quite a climb on one hill so the RV decided to overheat but I got it cooled down fairly quickly so was back on my way.  When I got to the RV park, I knew the entry code but I was too slow to get back into the RV an the gate closed on me!  I had to wait until someone was leaving who was so kind to get out of her car and put the code in so I could get through the gate.  I knew the space I would be in so was able to drive right to it.  Now, I am sweating!  It is 92 degrees and I am in the sun.  I got the car off but decided to leave it parked there until I had the RV parked.  It took a while to park the RV since the space of it to sit is very tight.  I will have to take a picture sometime.  I then leveled the RV first and then decided to go to the office to pay for the month.  When I got around the corner, maintenance was writing up a parking violation since a neighbor called it in but she should have seen me unhook.  Oh, well, I explained, he understood and the violation has been destroyed!!  I learned they had raised the rent since I had made the reservation so now my lot is $600 a month instead of $525!  It is nice to have the windows open but will close them later because the low will be 64 degrees.  I am so glad to finally be here and settled in.

09/29/19 - This morning it was very cold so I got up earlier than usual, dressed warmly, got the car ready to depart, took meds and left at 8:10 am.  I was hoping that leaving earlier and when it was cold that maybe I would not have an overheating problem as soon.  Traveling went much better today and I did not have any mountain passes to go over although I did go over the continental divide.  I stopped for gas and was going to stay for lunch but the Flying J was so busy, I gave  up and took off.  The very next exit was a Love's truck stop so stop there.  They also were quite busy but I did find a spot.  I had planned to take a long lunch so I would not get to Walmart too early but it seemed drivers were looking for spots, so my lunch was about 45 minutes.  The last 40 miles, it got so windy that it really slowed me down.  I got to Walmart in Gallup, New Mexico at 3:00 pm.  Since I had a lot of day light left, I got the car ready for the night, threw my trash in one of the bins in the parking lot, got a refund on a hose I bought that was cracked and did a little grocery shopping.  I then did some crocheting, read my book, started the generator so I could warm up some dinner and plug in the computer and phone to charge.  Now, I will finish this blog and play a few games on the computer and then off to bed since I will probably leave early tomorrow morning as well. 

09 /28/19 - On 9/27, I worked on getting things put away and Annie and I went for our last mexican food together.

Today, I got up a little after 8:00 am and started to put the finishing touches on the inside to get ready for Boj and Annie to come and help with the outside and a few things that I did not want to climb to take care of since Annie offered to help. Everything went smooth and I was out of the park at 10:20 am.  I stopped for gas in Pueblo since there are no truck stops until Albuquerque, New Mexico.  I then decided to drive a little longer before stopping for lunch so was about 2:35 pm.  I spent about an hour for lunch to get a little rest since it had gotten really windy and I was driving very slow.  I seem to get very tense when it is really windy and then there are signs warning about high winds.  Anyway, my next hurdle was to get over Raton Pass and of course the RV decided it had to over heat so I had to pull off to the side of the road and stop for a while to cool down.  I then took off again and put it in 1st gear and that cooled the engine off and we climbed at 30 mph.  Finally made it.  Now, I am dealing with the wind so am driving very slow.  I finally got to the rest stop at 5:50 pm.  They have changed the whole thing and it does not say overnight parking but I am going to try it any way because it does not say "no" over night parking.  I should have parked in a different area but am OK where I am so will stay. 

09/26/19 - On  9/25, Annie and I left at 9:00 am for Pueblo.  Since most of the friends had daily activities we were not meeting until 3:00 pm.  We stopped in Colorado Springs at a store that sells all kinds of scrap book stuff and crafting stuff.  We stopped at Chili's for lunch.  After lunch we stopped at the Dollar Tree for a few items and Michael's before heading for Pueblo.  We arrived at John and Debbie's house at 3:15 pm and had a great conversation with John for a while.  Soon Barbara (Mom to Debbie) came over and Debbie came home from work.  Around 5:00 pm we went to La Tronica's Restaurant for dinner and met Paula (Barbara's daughter) and her husband Doug.  Paula is a waitress at the restaurant and also Paula's daughter Nicole was also a waitress so was very nice to see all of them.  We left at 7:30 pm for Denver.  We had a great trip and was nice spending time with Annie.
I have attached a picture:

                                     Left to right: John, Paula, Doug, Barbara, Annie, Debbie

09/20/19 - This morning, Boj and Annie came over and helped do some things around the RV.  Boj fixed the bed and the shelf on top of the driver's side that had come loose from the wall.  He also found an air filter on the side of the bed that I need to replace. Annie put things away that I could not reach very well and cleaned the front of the RV (dash board), dusted all the cabinets and cleaned the two leather seats in the front.  They bought a bigger vacuum cleaner so the RV is looking great.  Annie and I then went to see the movie "Downton Abbey" and it was really good.  I had corn chowder soup for dinner which was made by Boj.  It was really good.  Now, am calling it an evening.  I have attached two pictures of my healing process on face and hand:

09/18/19 - On 9/17, I went over to Annie and Boj's house since we had decided to go out for a Mexican dinner.  I kinda knew something was in the air.  Well, when we got to the restaurant, here Mike and Kathy joined us.  They live across the street and also are RV'ers so we have had a lot to talk about and it was great for them to join us.  It was a lovely evening.  We ended the evening at the Dairy Queen!!  Kathy and Mike got me a gift to Walmart since I live there when traveling and Annie got me a puzzle.  It is a beautiful castle from Scotland.  What a great evening.  I have attached a picture of the table at the restaurant:

                                                 Taylor, Annie, Mike, Kathy, myself, Boj

09/17/19 - On 9/16 Boj and I drove to Cheyenne to finally get all my sutures out and my final release from the clinic.  Now, I need to keep steri-strips on for at least 10 days and then I think I finally am on the road to recovery.  It still looks cut up but the bandages are all off except the steri-strips.  We had lunch at Chili's before heading back to Denver.  Was a great trip.

09/14/19 - On 9/12, I had to take the car in for a brake job.  On my way to Cheyenne on 9/4, I heard a different kind of rattle and soon decided it was my brake in the passenger front wheel.  I did make it OK to Cheyenne and back because the rattle was just off and on.  My friend, Boj checked around and gave me information on a mechanic and I called and they were able to take me in right after 8:00 am.  While waiting for Boj to come and give me a ride home, I learned that both front pads and rotors needed to be replaced but the back one were fine.  They told me they could have it finished before the end of the day.  I went back to the Nelson house since Boj had a lunch date and Annie needed to take their two cats in to the vets for shots and check ups and neither travel well.  Before we even got very far, one of they had already turned his carrier all around.  We stopped, got him upright and off to the vets.  I stayed at their house all afternoon as well since I needed a ride back to the mechanical shop to pick up the car.  We got the car and decided to go out for some quick dinner and then home.

9/13, Boj, Annie and I took off for Pueblo to see a friend at 9:30 am.  We stopped for breakfast in Castle Rock at Village Inn.  When we got to Pueblo, we took Bob to his dentist appointment. Bob is suffering from Alzheimer's so his sister asked if we could take him to the dentist since she had another commitment. After that, Boj took just a tour around town since it  has been awhile that I had been there.  We decided on an early dinner at Shamrock Bar and Grill.  After dinner, we went back to Bob's house, Annie wrote a check out for him, Boj helped back up his phone and notepad and then we left to go back to Denver sometime after 6:30 pm.  We mailed his bill, got some gas and had a great trip back because of hardly any traffic.  Off to bed.

09/05/19 - On 9/4, I got up at 6:45 am because I had another surgical appointment in Cheyenne.  I had at least two hours but was not sure of traffic so left early.  I did have a few traffic slow downs but nothing serious.  I got to the clinic about 9:45 am so was quite early.  Surgery was scheduled at 11:00 am but they took me early.  This was my last surgery.  Since I was a little early, the RN was able to take the sutures out of my left cheek.  The incision looks really good and now I have a few steri-strips. Finally this was the last surgery and all 7 spots have been removed.  The surgeon checked out the other incisions and the forehead and hand were a little red so I am now using Bactrim antiboitic ointment so had to stop and fill the prescription. I just did not feel like driving home so I stayed at my nephew's house.  His family was processing corn for the freezer so I elected to stay at his house where it was very quiet.  Philip came home and told me the family was getting together at his sister-in-law's house for dinner and wanted me to go.  When I bent over to put my shoes on, something happened and I started dripping blood on the floor.  We cleaned it up and I put pressure on it until the bleeding stopped.  What a mess.  We got home and everyone was so tired that we went to bed by 9:30 pm. 

This morning, I was up early since I was on the couch.  The family had breakfast a little after 7:00 am.  Virginia and Rosie had to leave at 8:30 am to clean a house.  I stopped a Philip's job to take his lunch and left for Denver at 8:37 am.  I had to stop for gas and got back to the RV by 10:45 am.  It has been a rather warm day but a breeze has made it tolerable without using the air conditioner.  I haven't gotten much accomplished today although I did start a puzzle!!  Since it is dusk now, I will get a few things done.  This will be the last picture until I am healed.

                                               Last surgery was above the right eye brow

08/28/19 - Well I have to kinda write with one hand so this will be a little difficult.  Anyway, got up at 8:00 am and started to get things put away so I would be ready when Philip comes home for lunch since he has to help me attach car, disconnect the water and the electric.  I needed to run into Walmart to pick up a prescription and a few groceries.  When I returned I was done with RV so decided on a little lunch and then Rosie did help me start to disconnect things.  Philip came home and got me all ready and I left about 12:15 pm.  I soon stopped for some gas and the day was gradually warmer so then the motor decided to run a little hot but learned to downshihooked.ft to cool the motor so was able to  keep going.  I got to the campground around 2:45 pm.  I sent a text to Annie since Boj was coming over to help me unhook the car, get me backed into the space and hook me all up.  I took a shower while they went after the pizza.  I have a picnic table so we ate outside since it was a warm evening but the air conditioner was working and did finally get it cooled down a little.  It will cool down tonight.  There is no wind so I was able to put the awning out which will be able to dry and help with the afternoon.  A long day so off to bed.

08/26/19 - I had an appointment with the skin clinic today at 3:30 pm.  This time she removed a spot on the right cheek and the spot on my left hand.  I am to keep the hand elevated for the next couple of days.  Plas are to leave on Wednesday for Denver so plan to have Philip help me with the car and then Boj to help me take the car off since I don't want to do too much with the hand for the week.  I have more left which will be done on 9/4.

                           Now, two on forehead, two by left eye, one on right cheek, and the hand

08/21/19 - My appointment for the skin clinic was at 2:30 pm.  We went into town a little bit earlier since we needed to take another vehicle in since Mary's (a sister) car broke down.  We stopped off at the bank and then off to the clinic.  I was a little apprehensive because of the experience a week ago but knew I had to do it.  It went much better since it was on my cheek and not on my forehead.  So today we took off two more spots.  Now, I have three more to go!  The surgeon was very please with the healing on the forehead but I am not totally convinced.  After the appointment, we stopped for a smoothie and then Walmart since I needed to get some more dressing type things for this face plus I did not have very much tape left over.  Today is Virginia's birthday but plans are to go out for dinner on Friday night. My face is all taped up:

Oh, yes, the surgeon got all of the skin cancer on the first two spots on forehead.  So that is clean. 

08/19/19 - On 8/17, I helped peel peaches since Virginia was making peach pie filling to can.  She also was working on canning some cumcumbers.  It was a long afternoon but we did get it done.

On 8/18, Was rather a busy day.  We went to church and then there was a church potluck dinner at one of the member's house that have a really nice back yard to accommodate everyone.  It was rather windy and cool so I sat by one of the walls of the house to try to get out of the wind.  I forgot my hat so was unable to sit in the sun.  We got home around 3:30 pm and then I changed clothes, took a little siesta and we went to visit a 2nd cousin of mine on the Kauffman side (my biological family).  Of course, with the generation gap we have different memories but it was so nice to connect with extended family. 

Today, I am not making any plans but will spend the afternoon with Virginia.  Not sure what is on her agenda.

08/15/19 - I have taken another tylenol and I seem to tolerate it a little better so hope each day does get better.  I plan to do only the necessities of life for the next couple of days.

08/15/19 - On 8/14, Virginia, Rosie and I left for the skin clinic for my 10:30 am surgery.  The surgeon did the biggest one and the smallest one and it was not fun.  Not sure if she could have numbed it a little better but I hung in there.  She put in so many sutures that I thought she would never get done.  She gave me a tylenol at the office.  I waited in the lobby for a while and then went to the surgical scheduling desk to see if there were any cancellations because the first available schedule was not in October.  I text Virginia to let her know that I was ready for pick up.  We then stopped at Taco Bell since I was hungry and had the tylenol on an empty stomach.  They had a couple of more errands to run but I just rested in the car.  It was painful and I was not sure the tylenol was working.  When we got home, I decided to rest at Philip's house until after dinner.  I took another tylenol and did take a nap.  After dinner, I went to the RV and got myself ready for bed.  I did try to watch some TV but just did not work.  I did go to sleep but was up at 3:45 am, went to bathroom, took another tylenol, was very uncomfortable so decided to play a game on my phone.  I did finally  get back to sleep.  I have attached a picture of my miserable self:

08/13/19 - Today, I learned that 4 out of the 5 cultures were positive for squamous cell carcinoma and the one on top of my head was negative.  So now I have 1 basal cell and 6 squamous cell. They wanted to make another appointment with the surgeon but not until October and by then I will be in Phoenix.  I will try to push them when I get to the office tomorrow and explain my situation to see if they will accommodate me.  I can't believe how many of them I have but will deal with it one day at a time. 

08/09/19 - On 8/8, I was able to get another appointment with the skin clinic since Aunt Esther felt a spot on top of my head should be looked at since they other spots came back positive.  When I got into the room, I was evaluated and it was determined that a few more spots should be cultured since I did have positive results.  The next thing I knew, I had cultures taken on two different places on the left side of my face, one on the right side of my face, one on top of my head and one on the left hand.  Altogether I had 5 done.  I left the office, found a McDonald's for a drink, to Walmart to get some vasaline and more band aids since now I have 8 to take care of!!  By the time I got home, I was tired and the spots started to hurt and a few started to drain or bleed so I texted Virginia and informed her that I would not be over to her house for dinner.  She then came over to the RV to make sure that I did not need something or to inform me that she was baking a pizza and would send Rosie over with two pieces.  How nice of her.

Today, things are better but need to clean a pillow case because I had drainage during the night.  I also need to put away things that I had taken to Ohio so hopefully will get a few things accomplished today. 

08/08/19 - On 8/5, Aunt Esther got up early and went to excerise class and I slept in.  We had some lunch, relaxed.  We then ran some errands and home again. We thought Michael might be able to join us for an earlier lunch but we never heard from him and later learned he had forgotten which is OK because he is so busy and works the graveyard shift.  We then had left over gumbo and later went out for frozen yogurt. 

8/6, I got up in the morning, started to do some packing, had some lunch and I finished packing.  They had a nice thunderstorm and alittle rain.  We decided to have same Arby's before we left for the airport.  The flight was scheduled out at 8:19 pm.  They started to board and soon I noticed they were unboarding those that had boarded.  Soon learned we had mechanical problems and of course now we are delayed and one never knows how long that will take. The first hour came and went, finally found the part, replaced it and we boarded again.  After on the plane, it took another 45 minutes to get the paperwork completed before we can take off.  Now, we are 2 1/2 hours late.  We finally took off and got to Denver at 11:14 pm and then of course the gate was occupied so got later and later.  I finally got to the parking garage after midnight and thought I might have to pay for another day but the guy was very nice and didn't add anything on to my bill.  I finally left the parking lot at 12:26 am and finally got back to Philip's at 2:34 am.  Got myself to bed a little after 3 am.

8/7, I slept off and on most of the day.  Did get some tea made and blogged a little but still need to unpack and put things away.  I called the skin clinic since Aunt Esther looked at another area on top of my head and we decided since I am actively trying to take care of things that I should have that checked as well.  I have an appointment tomorrow at 11:45 am.  I finally did get over to the house to visit with Virginia, help a little with some peaches, ate dinner and then helped clean up the kitchen.  I shared some pictures of the family reunion and off to bed.

8/8/19 - I need to back up a little and on 8/1 while at the Denver airport, I received a call from the Cheyenne Skin Clinic and got the results of the cultures.  She took samples from 3 spots on my forehead and the one came back as basal cell carcinoma and the other two came back as squamous cell carcinoma.  I already have 2 appointments with a surgeon for removal.

08/07/19 - On 8/1 - I left Philip's house at 6:22 am to head for the airport.  Since it was that time of the morning and traffic could be bad, they gave me directions to take the back roads.  I did do that but then missed an exit and drove out of the way for about 15 minutes but I did get to the airport in plenty of time and then soon learned that we are delayed because we are waiting for an aircraft to come in.  We were delayed for at least an hour.  I had a direct flight so once in the air we arrived in Cleveland.  Aunt Esther was in the cell phone lot waiting for me.  When we got to her house, we made sausage gumbo for dinner.  It was wonderful.  The rest of the evening was quiet.

8/2, Michael (her son) and grandson Luca came over for a few minutes before we were planning to head down to Rosedale for the reunion.  Luca is 4 years old so was anxious to get leave since his Dad promised him to go to some type of children's playground.  We did get a family picture and it turned out very nice.  Aunt Esther ran some errands and we left for Rosedale which was a little over a two hour.  We did not get very far, when traffic was stopped up ahead and there was a truck on fire.  We could see everything going on because we were the 5 car in line.  The truck was doing some exploding and popping and burning like crazy.  Eventually, the fire truck appeared and about an hour later we were on the road again.  We got to Rosedale, found our dorm room and then went to the student center where sandwiches were served.  During most of that evening, we did alot of visiting as family members arrived all evening. 

8/3, I was up early since breakfast was served.  We then did more visiting.  I was scheduled to help prep the lunch meal but Aunt Esther also helped.  We did a lot of eating and visiting.  The families that were there took some pictures.  At 2:00 pm, we had a very nice memorial service for Aunt Kay and the community was invited so we got to see extended family which was very good.  After the memorial service, we served some fresh fruit cups, cookies, coffee and tea.  In the evening, I helped again to prep for dinner which included pizza, salad, ice cream. We did more family pictures and  more visiting and finally to bed.

8/4, I skipped breakfast.  We had a morning worship service, then lunch.  Some family members already started to leave since they had a rather long drive.  We had a little family meeting and the committee that took care of the reunion this year, have been voted in to do it again in three years.
Since Aunt Esther and I had only 2 hours we helped do some cleaning up, then packed up and left.  Not sure what time.  On the way home, we once again, sat in stand still traffic for about an hour and when we finally moved, we learned there had been another vehicle fire that was completely charred.  We unpacked and relaxed the rest of the evening.

07/30/19 - Today, I finally made an appointment with the Cheyenne Skin Clinic to see about a spot on my forehead that I have been trying to take care with salve, special healing lotion and whatever else I could find but it appeared to grow larger and then a lot of drainage and it just was not getting better.  I also had a spot in the top middle of the forehead in which I thought came from a bump but it would have a scab and then come off and scab again but really never healed.  Today, they took 3 different cultures from three different areas to see what really was going on.  Since I have a limited time in Wyoming and of course if the spots needed to be surgical removed, I was able to make a tentative appointment with the surgeon but not until the end of August so now am just waiting for the culture results to see what the next treatment will be. 

07/25/19 - On 7/24, I left Lexington, Nebraska around 9:45 am because I felt I would have an easy day since I would gain and hour and I only had 252 miles.  I also knew that I needed to dump the tanks and there was a dump station located at one of the truck stops.  I found the truck stop and went in to the store to inquire where the dump station was and the gal was not helpful at all and kept saying out by the pumps.  I could not even see the pumps so decided to walk the area.  I did finally find the area so got the RV from the truck stop area to the gas station area and got it all ready to release because one did not have a lot of time between paying and pulling the valve.  I got a discount and only paid $7.50.  I then headed for another truck stop for lunch since the rest areas were not conveniently located.  The truck stop was great because we had lots and lots of room so took alittle longer for lunch since I was on a good schedule.  I left the truck stop and soon learned that the I-80 interstate was completely closed going west bound.  We all had to exit off on a small two lane road and of course lots and lots of semi trucks.  We drove and drove but finally got back on the interstate.  It states that it is 97 degrees outside and of course then the engine thought it had to run alittle hotter than normal so that put me on edge.  It almost hit the middle of the dial so I decided to drive a little slower since it seemed the gauge would go down a little.  I drove 21 miles out of the way so instead of 252 miles I was at 273 miles.  Finally got to Philip and Virginia's at 3:30 pm.  I got the car off, parked the RV, leveled the RV but then needed to wait for Philip regarding hook up of electric and water.  Virginia was very busy baking goodies since they were setting up a road side stand because the town is very busy with Frontier Days.  She baked white bread, wheat bread, banana bread, cinnamon rolls and several types of cookies.  Philip and I did the hook up, then we had dinner and she had a mess in the kitchen because of all the baking so I did not help with the clean up but took my shower and off to bed.  I did want to watch the news so had to set up the TV and soon was in bed by 9:45 pm and the news was on at 10:00 pm.  After news, I went to bed.

Today, I have been putting more things away, some minor cleaning and right now am cooking my fresh beets for lunch tomorrow.  I sliced some tomatoes as well so I am really enjoying garden items.  At 3:00 pm, plan to drive up to the road side stand to see if I can be of assistance.  Nothing much else is planned.

0723/19 - On 7/22, we left at 7:30 am for Omaha, Nebraska because great niece Laura had an appointment for your diabetes and then we planned some major shopping.  I went alone for the ride since I had never been to Omaha.  After the appointment, we had lunch/breakfast, then off to Hobby Lobby, I stopped off at Verizon to ask a question, then to Goodwill where niece Katie found all kinds of bargains.  I feel like we stopped one more place but can't remember and then went grocery shopping at Aldi's.  I got some groceries for myself and then Katie got a lot of things since she only goes to Omaha every three months.  We got home, unloaded the car and then had pizza for dinner and root beer floats.  After clean up, Galen, Katie's husband, went out and built a nice fire and we sat around the fire pit until after 11:00 pm.  It was time to get to bed since I plan to leave for Wyoming in the morning.

I also benefited a lot from Katie's garden.  I have new red potatoes, cucumber salad, garlic, tomatoes, pickled red beets and fresh red beets to cook.  Also, got a loaf of homemade bread!!

Today, I left their place at 10:00am and since it was a short drive, I knew I needed to take a longer lunch.  I ate some lunch and then relaxed and I am sure I fell asleep because I decided to leave again, it was an hour and 45 minutes.  I had about 70 miles left when we got to a complete stop on the freeway and did not move for at least 10 minutes and then moved very, very slowly.  I soon learned the right lane was closed and there was major paving of the freeway going on.  It took us a while to drive out of the construction but I got to the Walmart in Livingston, Nebraska at 4:10 pm.  When I drove in, I noticed on the right side of the building was a huge parking lot made for trucks.  There is two rows and at least 15 to a row so I decided to park here as well.  It will be a little noicier because they all have their air conditioning running but I will survive and still get some sleep.  The weather is comfortable which is very nice.  Off to bed when it gets too dark to read.

0/20/19 - On 7/17, I enjoyed my first straight out of the garden sweet corn.  It was delicious. 

On 7/18, I learned about taking a cob of corn, leaving the husk on, putting in some water for at least an hour and then grilling on an open fire.  It was also delicious.

On 7/19, we processed about 9 dozen ears of corn for the freezer.  It was quite interesting  how niece Katie does the corn so I learned alot.  She boils the corn with husk on for 8 minutes, then into a cold tub of water, I then husked the corn and because it was boiled, the silk of the corn came off with the husking.  I then put the husked corn in another tub of cold water to just a few of the left over silk on corn and then into another tub of cold water to rest for a few minutes and then she uses a thing that takes the kernals off the cob.  We had an assembly line working and we were done in a little over two hours.  She got 10 bags of sweet corn and they are in the freezer for use this winter.  Here are a few pictures of our operation:

                                                     Husking the corn after the boil

                                         Getting instructions from great niece Amy, how to get
                                          kernals off of cob

                                           Great niece, Laura getting corn ready for the boil

07/17/19 - The past week, we have either had dinner outside in the picnic area in Galen's back yard and always have a neat fire in the fire pit.  When the sun goes down, it is really comfortable.  We have had some late nights, visiting, just enjoying the fire and enjoying the days up to a full moon which was last night.  It was so bright, one could see your shadow.  Beautiful evening.

Yesterday, we stopped by a mini barn building company and visit Shayne (great nephew) who works there.  Very interesting.  I was very excited because we also were given some fresh garden tomatoes.

07/12/19 - A few days ago, Amy (age 8) gave me this beautiful bouquet that she made which the flowers came from the garden.  I have attached a picture:

07/06/19 - On 07/05, I got up around 7:50 am and started to finish putting things up since I was hoping to leave by 10:00 am for Auburn, Nebraska.  Alice had already left for Colorado and her husband David went to the farm to say good bye to his sister that was leaving.  She lives in Georgia.  David returned and helped me finish up and get the RV moved out of the yard.  Well, because of all the rain, I had sank some so I had to rock the RV a little to get it out of the yard.  Finally, we made it and soon I was hooked up when a huge what he called a wall of clouds came up from the east and the west and he was really concerned since he says that what stirs up a tornado.  We watched it for a minute, discussed whether I should wait to get on the road and finally it kinda got to looking a less angry so I started off around 9:35 am.  I was not even 5 minutes down the road before it really started to rain but never poured enough that I felt I had to stop but was very, very windy so driving was a little slow until I got to Topeka and then I had good weather all the way to Nebraska.  I spent a little more time for lunch since I was trying to get my directions to Galen's house in my mind since the GPS did not recognize the address. I text Katie to confirm my directions and then took off.  I got to their house at around 2:30 pm.  I got the car off and then discussed where I would park.  We decided on a place but had a low hanging wire so Laura (great niece) stood of top of their SUV and gave me directions as to whether we would clear the wire.  I got I only have about two inches left but cleared it and I am parked on the side of the house.  We leveled the RV but waited until Galen came home to hook up the electric.  Katie made a great dinner and after dinner we then hooked up the electric, took a shower and I was off to bed by 10:30 pm. 

This morning, I have been getting settled in, need to write a birthday card and on the phone with my siblings since I have been asked to speak at Aunt Kay's memorial with memories I have of  her.  This afternoon, will spend the time with niece Katie and her family. 

07/03/19 -  Today I got up and had very little energy so did not get any thing done until noon.  I then did a load of laundry, ran errands with Alice and then she checked and her husband and brother-in-law were combining wheat and so we went to observe them.  It was very interesting and then I learned that David (her husband) called Alice and wanted to know if I wanted to ride in the combine.  Wow, that was something that I never done in my life.  We were not sure if I could even get up into it but Alice's son Richard and his cousin decided to help me.  I just needed help with the first step and then I was able to handle the rest.  I rode with David for several rounds, we emptied out the combine bin into a wheat bin attached to a tractor that took the wheat to a semi truck which then went to the COOP grain elevator.  I have included a couple of pictures of my experience:

                                          Wearing Richard's hat since I did not have one

                                                   A better view of this monster combine

                                                                    Riding with David

07/01/19 - On 6/30, Alice, Elizabeth and Chase went into Abilene and toured the Eisenhower Presidential Library, museum and chapel.  Eisenhower, wife and son are buried in the chapel.  It was a very interesting tour.  We then had lunch and boarded an old diesel engine train for a ride from Abilene to Enterprise, Kansas.  The ride was through the farming fields of Kansas.  Quite interesting.  When we got home, David decided to try to find some his cattle that are out on a pasture since he was told he had a newborn calf so Alice and I decided to ride along.  We did not see the cows but saw farmers getting ready to harvest some wheat.  Very interesting.  I have attached a few pictures:

                                           Alice, myself, Elizabeth and Chase on the train

                                                      Combine in wheat field

06/29/19 - On 4/27, Alice's husband David had a routine heart stress test for a follow up regarding his heart condition.  He failed the test, was admitted to the heart hospital.  He was in Wichita which is about 2 hours from here.  Alice, did come home and we spent the evening with her daughter Elizabeth and boyfriend Chase.  Elizabeth cooked a delicious dinner and it was a nice evening.

4/28 - Alice and I left at 6:30 am for Wichita since David had a heart catherization and stent insertion scheduled at 9:30 am.  He was back in his room soon after 10:30 am and was doing well.  Alice and I went to the cafe for lunch and spent the afternoon with him.  The nurse got him up and into the chair by 2:00 pm.  Alice and I left around 5:00 pm for home.  We stopped at a wonderful ice cream place (not sure how to spell it) and had some great tasting ice cream.  We stopped for gas and got home around 7:30 pm.  Because of the long day, I went to the RV and crashed.  I did write a little of a birthday card but not much. Warm evening, so I have the fan going.  Off to bed.

Today, David was discharged and Alice went to get him.  She left around 8:30 am.  I took a shower,  finished the birthday card, walked it to the mail box,  closed up the RV since they are combining wheat right next to me and the wheat dust is awful, made some lunch and now Alice and David are home so I will go over and spend the rest of the afternoon and evening with them.

06/24/19 - On 6/22, Alice took me into Abilene and we went toured the Greyhound Hall of Fame Museum.  It was very interesting.  There was a rather large greyhound in the building but very friendly.  I did not realize that the greyhound dog racing was still active but soon learned that it is still very active.  We then walked through Abilene Old Town where there were some small log buildings. One was a church that was very interesting.  They actually have a gun fight show but we did not stay that long to see the show.  We drove through Brown Park just outside of Abilene.  The park is the home for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.  There was some flood damage evident but we did see alot of the park.

6/23 - We took a trip into the town of Chapman.  She showed me the middle school where she works and some of the damage that is still evident from a tornado that went through the town several years ago.  There has been a lot of new building projects and the town is recovering.  She took me to an area that has a lot of flooding and there was a road closed where the creek was running rapidly over the road so we had to turn around.  Her daughter Elizabeth and boyfriend Chase joined us for a lasagna dinner.

Today, we went to Milford Lake that is huge.  We were able to drive on top of the dam.   There is alot of recreation on this lake.  It has a lot of flooding and I saw pavillions under water.  You could see the roof tops.  It was really sad.  They had moved a couple of cabins to higher ground as well.  There was a large part of a parking lot that was totally flooded. We then decided to drive to a dairy farm that has a store attached that sells meats, cheeses and homemade ice cream.  When we got there it was closed and we were so disappointed.  We then stopped off at the David's home farm which is a crop and cattle farm.  They are getting ready to harvest wheat in the next couple of days.  A very interesting afternoon.

06/21/19 - On 6/20, The last couple of days have been quiet and we have had some rain but Alice stills thinks that I will be able to move on Friday.  Had dinner with the family including daughter Elizabeth and boyfriend, Chase.  Nice evening.

Today, a storm came through and it did rain alittle more so quite concerned as whether I could actually move but we decided to give it a try.  I called Alice around 11:20 am since she wanted to come over and help with finally disconnection of things.  We left the car at the store at the campground and got to her house.  Her husband David was home and we decided where to park and how to get there but there was a low place that was very soft and I could not get up the little incline.  We then changed directions and soon I was in the yard and on the side of the house.  We then hooked up electric and water.  I told Alice, we needed to take a break and then she got a call from a sister-in-law, Julie and there was a garage sale up the road so Alice and I went for a little bit, then went to pick up the car and home.  Julie came over and we visited for a while.  Julie needed to leave and I told Alice that her and I needed to rest so I went out to the RV and left her on a recliner.  I then put the slide outs out and set up the TV.  I took it easy for a couple of hours and then Alice and had I had dinner since David was mowing a cemetery.  We had a nice evening and conversation and now I am off  to bed soon. 

06/18/19 -  Well, well, what a day.  I will begin from the beginning.  I got up at 7:50 am and was  hoping to leave by 10:00 am.  I got the inside of the RV all done and then went into the house to finish closing  up since the family is still  gone.  I watered her plants, turned off the water and put the water heater on vacation  mode.  Then filled up the fresh water tank, emptied out the gray water tank and did the usual disconnects.  My step stool that I keep outside was quite muddy, so washed it off.  I finally pulled out at 10:45 am. 

Because of I-70 west was closed in Kansas City and we had to detour, it took longer to get through that city.  I finally got to the truck service area around Lawrence,  Kansas so  I could have lunch.  It was 2:20 pm already.  I had an urgent message from Alice (the gal I am spending time with the next two weeks), telling me that they were under tornado watch and now warning and it was raining really hard and because  of that the ground is too soft for me to park there.  She informed me that there was a campgound about 6 miles from her and gave me the number.  I called and sure enough she had a spot for me.  We decided to pay for 3 days to see if things will dry up so I can move to their house. I was on the  other side of Topeka so decided to start driving and hopefully won't be a lot of rain.  About 65 miles from my destination, I got into pouring rain and I just pulled off on the next exit and waited for the storm to pass.  It took about 20 minutes and then I started out again.  At times it did rain but not enough for me to pull over.  I got to the campground at 5:35 pm. I called Alice and she came over to send time with me while I set up.  It is very wet here but I am on gravel so that is helping alot.  She had made dinner and so I drove over to her house, had dinner, chatted a little and now I need to take a shower and get to bed. 

06/18/19 - On 6/14, I finally got the RV back and slowly started to move back in and out of the basement. 

6/15 - Did two loads of laundry since I needed to do two sets of bed sheets and my other clothes.

6/16 - Went to church, got an invitation  to have lunch with one of the families and then we played a game with the kids and I did not get home until 4:00 pm.  I then put more things away and soon someone drove in and I learned that they were bringing the mini van back that was left at their house and then we had conversation until 8:45 pm so turned out to be a long day. 

6/17 - It started to raining really hard early in the morning but I needed to run errands.  Finally, let up a little so I ran errands and worked on putting more things away so I had less to do before leaving.

06/14/19 - Wow, my post on 6/10 has dates wrong.  It should be June and not May.

On 6/11, I learned the the shocks were delayed and that I would not get the RV back until Thursday. 

 6/13,  I informed him that if he had it done by late afternoon, I would still have a ride since Antony and Beth had planned to leave at 4:00 pm.  I told him that I would wait in the lobby until it was ready and he would not commit to that so Antony and Beth left at 5:00 pm.  He had told me that they would give me a ride since there has been so much of a delay. 

Today, I decided to start getting some things ready to move back into the RV.  Since I was in the basement, I did not have phone services so I missed 4 voice mails and several text messages.  I had just put lunch in the microwave, when I thought I heard a strange noise upstairs.  I listened for a minute and just felt uneasy as if someone was in the house.  I went to the bottom of the stairs and yelled "Hello, Hello" and sure enough someone responded.  I immediately went up the stairs because I could not figure out how he got into the house.  Sure enough there was a gentleman at the door with keys in his hands!!  Needless to stay I was flabbergasted.  I soon learned that Antony and family had car trouble and were unable to continue.  They only got to St. Louis which is about 2 1/2 hours from home.  They tried road side service but nothing worked.  They were able to walk to a motel for the night.  The motel only had one room left so the whole family ended up in one room.  What a mess.  This morning, Antony talked to a mechanic but just could not figure out what was wrong.  So he called Garber Diesel because they have a towing service as well.  My RV has been at the same place.  The towing truck driver came out to the house and tried to let me know he was here but I was in the basement Poor Antony was so frustrated because I would not answer the phone and then did not answer the door so he informed the driver where they had a key hidden for the front door so he could open it and  yell for me.  So that is why that all happened without my knowledge.

Antony has bought a Ford Transport vehicle that is much bigger than a mini van and has captain seats which is much more comfortable for the family to travel.  So he was going to sell the mini van but has not sold yet.  Anyway, the tow truck put the mini van on the truck and I tagged along since the RV was finally finished since he was going back to the repair shop to get some items before heading for St. Louis to pick up Antony and family.  He then dropped the mini van off at the motel so the family could return home and the Ford Transport was then towed back to a repair shop in the vicinity.

The family got home at 6:00 pm and the Ford Transport got to the repair shop about 6:30 pm.  Antony had asked for a HUGE favor.  Could someone looked at it after hours and if by chance it was a simple repair could they check it out so maybe the family could still start their trip.  Antony went to bed to sleep for a while and the rest of the family got some dinner together so I joined them for dinner.  During dinner, the puppy (golden retriever) decided to play with my extension cord that gives me electricity for the RV, and was able to pull the cord from the house receptacle and even from the RV, decided to do a little chewing and pulled it all the way out on the grass!!  I could not believe it.  We electric taped the little area she chewed and plugged me back in.

 Everyone was kinda in limbo but Beth got the little one ready for bed and before that got accomplished, Antony got a phone call from the repair shop.  They did talk for a little while but he learned that there was mole that grew on the side of the air filter and broke off and went into something else which caused the computer to respond and shut things down.  The mechanic informed him that it was repaired and what did Antony want to do.  The family was so excited and just wanted to get on the road.  So at 9:00 pm, they piled into the mini van, drove to pick up the Ford Transport and one again are on their way. I got a text and things are going well so far. They have been delayed for 25 hours but are once again traveling to New York.

06/10/19 - As usual, it is taking alot longer to get the RV all repaired.  I stopped in last week to get an update and was told that things should be done by today.  I did not hear and Beth, Gwyneth and I were in the area so we stopped to check on things.  They did some extra repairs including some type of little motor that will help with movement from left to right and then the shocks (not sure if spelled right) were next on the list but I told him to keep the repairs at $1500 or under.  Today, I was told it would be Wednesday before I would get the RV back since he decided that they could keep the price down and replace the shocks.  I informed him that it had to be not later than Wednesday because Antony and Beth were leaving for their vacation back east on Thursday.  I plan to stay a little longer since they needed someone here until Monday (5/17) which I want to do since I have not been paying any rent.  So plans are now to leave for my friend's house in Kansas on 5/18.  So I am still in their basement which is quite comfortable but just not home!

06/04/19 - On 5/31, it finally was dry enough that Antony felt that I could move out of the mud.  I got the RV ready to move and we successfully moved down to the lower level that evening.  I now have electric and water but no sewage which is fine.  

6/3, I got the RV moved to the diesel shop so I can have the engine serviced before I leave on my next journey.  They had some staffing issues on Monday so it might take 5 days to get things done but I am quite comfortable in the basement of my niece's house.  They completed the basement with small sitting area, dining area, kitchette, handicapped equipped bathroom and two bedrooms.  

Today, I have several letters to write and get in the mail but nothing else is planned.

06/01/19 - Not much was happening but every day living so now I will date the next event.

5/30 - I drove over to Windsor, Missouri where I have some Amish relatives and it was a good day to go since they were celebrating a holiday.  My Aunt Lena has passed away, and some items were left for some of her nieces and nephews so I went over to visit and to pick up those items.  I got some directions from Antony and the GPS and drove right to the house.  It took me an hour and 15 minutes.  Not sure of the mileage.  I had lunch with Cousin Lizzie and her family.  We then walked over to my  Aunt Lena's house to pick up the items and to talk about memories.  It was a strange feeling since of course the house looked totally different.  I then requested to get directions to the graveyard since I wanted to see where they were buried.  Four of her girls got in the back of my little car and Cousin Lizzie in the front.  The graveyard was not very far.  It was quite a surreal.  We then went back to the house and Lizzie sister Emma and her family came up for the afternoon.  We had a great visit.  I then went to  Cousin Ada Mae's house for dinner.  There were only 4 of us for dinner.  Her son Ruben (a down's)and her daughter Betty.  After dinner, she invited her other married children that lived in the community to come over for the evening.  I stayed until almost dark but knew I only had an hour and half home.  I started out and got into to Windsor and was overly confident that I knew the way home since it was quite simple without the GPS.  I texted niece Beth and told her I should be home a 10:30 pm.  In the center of the town of Windsor, I got myself pre-occupied (I guess, who knows) and made the wrong turn.  I was thinking about my day and the visit and absolutely not paying attention to direction when I started to get into some towns that just were not familiar and not the towns I remembered when going to Windsor.  I didn't really think about it until I was not getting to the interstate 65.  After 35 minutes of driving since my text to Beth, I made a mental note of the Missouri map and soon decided that I have been going west instead of east!!  I then got the GPS out and sure enough.  I drove back to the little town I just left, then the GPS got confused and soon I was on the phone with Antony.  He got me out of the mess but I drove 30 miles the wrong way!!!  So instead of an hour and 15 minutes, I was 2 hours and 15 minutes!!  I finally got home at 11:30pm.  I had started with a sore throat and just not having any energy so with all of this, I was so tired, I came home and went to bed. 

5/31, I did not get up until 9:30 am and still did not feel very well so spent the next couple of hours on the couch.  After getting some lunch it seems it was a little better.  So I started to put things away since it APPEARED it might be dry enough for me to get out of the mud and off the hill so I can take the RV in for engine servicing.   When Antony came home and after dinner, he told me he was going to do some weed eating and to let him know when I was disconnected and he would help me off the blocks and down the hill because it was finally dry enough. I was so glad.  I got disconnnected and we got moved down the  hill. Since it was getting late, we decided to pick up all the wood the next morning.  We hooked up electric and water so I was getting settled back in. 

This morning, when I finally got things together, I noticed that Marcel (Beth's son) had already got the boards back in the barn and my boards by the RV.  He helped me stow them.  Now, I need to run to Walmart to pick up some prescriptions and wash the car since I was driving on gravel roads in Windsor.  The rest of the day, should be quiet.

05/23/19 - On 5/22, Beth took me to pick up my car.  The repair was a small motor that controls the idling and the final cost was $387.  We knew that there were some thunderstorms and rain to come in toward evening so soon after dinner,  I decided to go back to the RV before the rain.  I am not sure what time it was, but Beth came out and told me that she got an alert on her phone and there is a tornado warning and she felt I should come back in because she has put the family in the basement.  I had been on the computer checking out the radar and thought to myself that I probably should not wait it out in the RV so I got my flip flops and went to the basement with the family.  When they built their house, the added a safe room in the basement. At one time, it got very warm, very quiet and soon two of the girls and Beth heard awful noice as if something was coming and we all went into the safe room.  Antony was upstairs on the porch and listening but then he also came downstairs.  We then lost power and Antony's company computer and server is in the safe room so he had to do some things to turn the server off.  We then decided, it was safe to go back to the RV and then soon after that another tornado warning was issued but only for a half an hour and I decided to just stay in the RV.  Then a severe thunderstorm move through the area.  There was lightening everywhere with lightning bolts and thunder that was very close.  Then of course the rain.  It lasted for a while.  I decided to stay dressed and stay on the couch because they had the tornado watch and severe thunderstorm watch until 4 am.  The electricity came back on at 1:45 am.  I then decided to finally try to go to bed because things got a little quieter.

This morning, I am learning that a tornado touch down with damage but no lost of life in Eldon, Missouri which is only a little over 6 miles from where I am located. Also, a tornado touch down was in Jefferson City, Missouri which is a little over 36 miles north of us and there is alot of damage in that city.  I am just so thankful, that everything in my area is OK.

05/15/19 - On 5/14, I took the car to the auto shop since I had a check light on and problems with idling. I left it for the night and a great niece (Wyett) picked me up and took me home.

Today, I learned that there is a small motor which controls the idling and so they need to order that so the car will be in the shop until Monday.  My niece (Bethany) and two of her children went with us shopping and at one of the stores, I found wonderful home grown tomatoes already so got two because I wanted to make sure they taste good.  I was so excited.  Here are a few pictures of sitting on a hill

                                                        Rear end sitting on the ground

                                                         Front end totally off the ground.

                                                 Front end with my 3 step ladder to get in!!