Quiet times

 We've been having some quiet times out here in rural Nevada.  Not to say nothing's happening.  It was a tad windy the other day.

 That's the flag outside our largest casino and getting it flat out like that is pretty unusual.  It takes some real wind.  The casino across the street has another flag about the same size but I couldn't get them both in one photo.  

We've also had some weird weather.

 That is the view to the east; towards the mountains.  And, yes, we got a little rain and some snow up on the mountain peaks.  I think we got up to 65F (18C) that day.

That was the view to the west.  These photos were taken about 30 seconds apart so you either get cloudy and nasty or pretty blue and sunny depending on which direction you are looking.  By tomorrow we should be in the low 80's (28C).  Who knows what's going to happen next!
 

We do donate to the VFW Food Bank about once a month.  A store was having a case sale so I got a couple of cases for the vets.  It was something over $300 but, well, why not? 

 I know I've mentioned it before but my dad (and me, of course) and all the men in my wife's family served in the military.  We both want to help those folks who served our country and need help.  

My wife's ankle is still giving her trouble.  She had it fused almost 3 months ago and it is still very painful.  She had a women coming around giving her PT advice and now she is going to a local PT office but walking is pretty much out of the question.  We did go out to lunch the other day and she used her walker but around the house or if we are going someplace with lots of walking; it's a wheelchair day.  She certainly hasn't been in a grocery store since the surgery!  Oh, and I'm doing most of the cooking so you can guess it's been pretty second rate!

So that's what's going on around here.  The place is about 90% Republican so you still see some Trump signs but not nearly as many as six months ago!  I'm pretty sure that within a year we'll be almost free of those signs.  Not free of the President nor the idiots he has in the cabinet but people will be noticing the decline in their lives; freedom; savings and I don't know what else.  I am a little worried that we might have a President J. D. Vance  but we'll have to cross that bridge when we get there.  Talk a life in the crap lane!

Have a good one and try to get all the vaccines you need and keep washing those hands!

Did I say slow?

 Well, this week has been different.  My wife had two doctor's appointments, one Tuesday and one Thursday, both in Vegas!  That's a quick 250 miles more on the car.  What the heck; it's just passed 78,000 miles and it's a 2016 model.  Well, at least we got to eat 2 lunches at BJ's Restaurant.  They have nice food, good beer and a desert they call the pizookie.  It is a small, freshly baked cookie-sized cake with a scoop of ice cream on top.  I'm sorry to report that I'm addicted to them.  I guess I should be glad we don't have a BJ's here in town.  

The good news from all that is that my wife is ok'd to walk using the walker.  It's not like she's going to be running around the block any time soon but walking is a good thing!  Check out the hardware in her ankle.  

 At any rate, the doctor liked the look and told her to go walk around.  He also got her signed up for a different, more complete sort of PT.  We'll start that next week.  Fun and games!

We got home and spent a quiet night; our dog was in a kennel.  I went and got him this a.m.  He's not too happy from being there but what can you do?  We fed him tonight and I went out with him in the back yard.  We had a nice but not spectacular sunset. 

Well, that's almost all the news.  There is a new house being built across from us and one empty street over so we get a great view of it.  They have a good sized area built for horses and now we have 4 new neighbors!  They are quiet but we'll see how they are when their humans come to annoy them.
 

Have a good one & try not to get arrested for saying bad things about Trump!  Take care. 

Life in the Slow Lane!

 It's been a couple weeks since I've updated the blog and I have to say that there isn't a lot to report.  It is still warm but nothing above the 110+F (43C) range so we are happy enough.  My wife's ankle continues to improve but it's still a long way from perfect.  We went to see her surgeon last Wednesday and he said she should try walking around the house without her boot but outside the home she should use the boot.  She can make it around the house using the walker with her bare foot but it is painful and tiring so the wheelchair is still getting quite a bit of use.  Especially if there is urgency involved because the walker is still pretty slow.

Our dog is showing his usual behavior.  You can actually hear him snore!

You've got to have your security toy close at hand!  

The big news was that our son and daughter both came to Las Vegas on business and managed to be here yesterday for their mother's birthday.  We haven't been together with both of them in several years so that was fun.  Business kept them in Vegas until noon yesterday then they had to leave this morning for their return flights but it was still fun to catch up with them.  Our daughter fixed dinner so that her brother and I each got to work on the bbq but it was still really good!  

BBQ'd steak & corn, potatoes and salad:  what's not to like?  And there was a birthday cake.  And my wife's foot is well enough that she could sit at the table and not have it propped up on anything.  It couldn't have been better.  I must admit, there are leftovers!  

So that's the news from Pahrump.  Take care & keep washing those hands!

What was that about "Time Flies When You Are Having Fun"?

 Humph!  Of course we aren't really having all that much fun these days!  My wife's ankle surgery went well enough but, oh boy, it ain't pretty.  This x-ray shows both the long screws in one area and the plate in the other.

The outside is pretty nasty too.  This long incision is the plate.  The nurses who have come to help have both said that this is looking really good.

The other side, where the big screws were placed isn't so great.

The doctor's assistant covered the nasty part there with a bandaid.  It was a 2" x 4" bandaid that we are changing once a day.  What fun.  And then we got a boot which I neglected to photograph.  I would imagine most people have seen someone wearing one.  It's not comfortable so my wife is avoiding it as much as possible!

So now I've got a new job.  I'm the cook, housekeeper and wheelchair attendant just about 24 hours a day.  Happily we almost always have leftovers from a meal so that cuts the cooking down but it is still quite a day's work.  Of course I'm happy to do it but it is very different from when there were two of us splitting the chores.  This house was designed for older people and we really see how much difference that makes now that we are wheeling around.  It is one story with a tiny bump to go over to get into the garage.  The doors and halls are all wide. There aren't any grab bars but you can bet we'll be installing a couple in the near future. 

Sometimes we talk about moving from our home here to some place more temperate.  But we do have mountains on almost all sides here.  This is the sun rising on one of the mountains to the West just over the line in California.

Watching that every morning is pretty special.  And we get to see the sun go down on the mountains in the East.  It doesn't get old and makes us reconsider ideas about moving.  

Gotta go check on my patient.  Thanks for stopping by.  Keep washing those hands!

Happy Juneteenth!

Juneteenth is an official US holiday celebrating the date two years after the end of the civil war when slaves in Texas were notified that they were free. It is celebrated in 28 states and the District of Columbia.  It strikes me as odd that we have a federal holiday that isn't celebrated in all states.  Isn't that odd?  Well, to be honest, I don't know how many states OFFICIALLY celebrate the 4th of July.  Anyway, obviously the end of slavery is certainly something to be celebrated even if it was 2 years after it ended in the rest of the country.  It would be great if slavery did not exist anywhere in the world!

Personally we are having another trial:  just after we returned from our trip to San Simeon my wife slipped in the shower and broke her right ankle in at least two places.  Well, gee, that gives you a new way of life!  Our local EMT's did a fantastic job of getting her out of the shower and off to the hospital. Then the hospital took a couple x-rays and wrapped her ankle up.  Unfortunately there was a problem somewhere and it was a full week before we got to see a surgeon!  We drove into Las Vegas to see him and he said it should have been set immediately.  So he managed to work us into his schedule the next afternoon.  What a bunch of idiots we have here in Pahrump!

So now we have a walker that was forced upon me back when I fell.  We have crutches that were forced on my wife at the local hospital.  And we have a wheelchair that I went out and bought because my wife's foot hurt too much when she tried using the crutches or walker.  What a deal!  Now we have a followup visit with the surgeon later this week.  Here is what we've seen of my wife's injury so far.

The outline shows the major fracture.  There are also some parts in the interior that are broken but they don't really show up well on the x-rays.  On the outside it's a little different. 

We were told that she shouldn't put any weight on it for at least 2 weeks.  It hurts enough that she didn't need to be told twice.  Anyway, that's been our month of June and it won't be speeding up as far as I know.  Talk about life in the fast lane!  

Thanks for stopping by.  Keep washing those hands!