Thursday and Friday

Well, Thursday morning found us getting ready on short notice to winterize the cabin and leave early Friday morning for Florida. We or I had lots planned that day to help out with friends and neighbors but Wednesday night we got word Nancy's dad wasn't doing well at all and had to be hospitalized again from the rehab facility. It appeared he has an intestinal blockage and was in severe pain as well as diminished kidney function. Nancy was not enjoying being in the mountains with her dad in such bad shape and of course her mom needed some support as well while going through this daily stressful time of being with her dad in this condition. It seems Nancy is the rock in that family when there is a need so she felt it right to be there for her mom and dad even though it meant traveling back 700 miles from the mountains.

I cancelled helping out our mountain mom and her brother with some small chores as well as helping our neighbor Norman who lives on top of the mountain. I spent the rest of the day getting ready to pull out for Florida the next morning at 4 AM. Mechelle our dear sweet friend came by with several packs of frozen venison and some of their home grown steer they had butchered this year, many Thanks to Andy and Mechelle for their generosity and we will think of them as we savor that delicious meat.

Our mountain mom Helen came by for a short visit and we loaded her up with some goodies we didn't want to take back to Florida from the fridge and cupboards. She mentioned she did the same thing with her neighbor many years ago when she traveled back to Florida for the winter. We will surely miss our daily morning and evening phone calls with her. Our old friends Walt and Theia Hampton came by as well; Walt was our electrician and plumber when we built the cabin back in '94-'95and we have become great friends over the years. Our kids use to visit with them as well and now we both have grand babies. We use to have some sumptious suppers over at his place with all of his family. It was great to see them as that was the first time we were able to visit this summer, except by phone as we have been busy traveling; first with my dad in Virginia and now Nancy's dad.

The trip down was smooth and uneventful and many thanks to all who kept us in their thoughts and prayers. We did our 1 1/2 hour stops to walk 15 minutes as prescribed by the doctor who treated me last year for a deep vein thrombosis(DVT) in my left leg. I also tried out my new compression stockings that airline pilots as well as truckers wear because of their immobility while sitting for hours at a time. I love the new stocking and my legs never ached at all. I even had Nancy wear a pair and she too admitted her legs felt great while traveling. We were bad with our eating habits as we did MacDonald's for breakfast and later Subway for lunch and then a frozen pizzas for supper.

Nancy took off for the hospital to visit her dad after supper and I transplanted some beets I had pulled out of my mountain garden. I accidentally found out they transplant well along with a couple parsley plants I brought back. I had several small onion sets about a quarter in diameter that I brought back as well so I planted them also. The 9 tomato plants I put in the ground about a week ago looked good as Florida neighbor Jim who looks after our place had been watering them. I worked in the garden until the mosquito's starting eating me alive so it was time to call it a day.

Nancy just came back from the hospital and said her dad is suffering severe abdominal pain due to the blockage. They are giving him a solution to drink that will hopefully start to breakup the blockage down so he can pass it; but so far there has been little or no relief. There was some good news in that his kidney's are starting to function a little better, thankfully. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Well I've rambled on long enough. Last Sunday and Monday we had the gas heat on at the cabin and tonight we have the a/c on once again, LATER