Broken Bone details

Casa Grande, AZ

OK, I've had quite a few calls wondering what happened and how I was doing.  

I'll start at the beginning.  Yesterday I decided Christmas was over and since I had a bad case of hitch itch decided the best thing to do was to start packing the Christmas decorations away.   

We had most of the boxes and the tree put up in our attic.  The access to the attic is by a pull down ladder.  

 OK, I can see the light bulbs coming on from you.  "Ladder" is the answer.  As Sharon Del Rosario says there are more accidents from ladders than anything else.  While I did have a fall, it was nothing like Don's "trauma".

I found a centerpiece from the dining room table that I missed and climbed up the ladder to put it away.  I only got halfway up when the centerpiece started to slip from my hand and the next thing I knew I fell backwards.  You can't see this from the photo but opposite the bottom of the ladder is a big two layer rolling tool chest.  I landed against the tool chest and then the concrete floor. 

I screamed and Bill came running in from the outside.  We both agreed I should be checked out.  Bill moved everything out of the way in the garage and pulled the car as close to me as possible.  He took the rolling mechanic stool and got me on it to roll me to the car.  I know you readers are surprised by us having a tool chest and a mechanics stool, but every once in while (as often as I love to cook) we actually let Bill touch the tools.  While we don't use the mechanic stool for mechanical stuff, it's great for when Bill polishes the truck.  

My foot was already swollen out further than my ankle.  I kept telling myself, it's nothing--that case of hitch itch is worse.  I said let's just go have it checked at the Urgent Care.  In hindsight, I realize the ER would have been a better choice.   It was after 1 when Bill rolled me through the door in one of their wheelchairs.  He parked the wheelchair as far away from the sick people as he could.   There were only 4 people ahead of us.  It didn't take long before we were called back and they took x-rays. The x-rays were e-mailed to the hospital and then they called back with the results.  The doctor came in and said it was a bad sprain and that I needed to stay off the foot.  That's no problem for me, I really don't enjoy pain.  The doctor left and came back in and said they needed to x-ray the heel.  After coming back to the room, he said that I have a fracture.  They put some kind of fiberglass cast on my foot and said I needed a CT scan but they couldn't do it there.  I need to call an orthopedic doctor on Monday.   

Bill and I are both exhausted.  I was having trouble maneuvering the crutches and was dizzy.  Bill was by my side the entire evening trying to make me as comfortable as possible.  He was up changing the ice packs and giving me the pain pills all through the night.  He never complained once.  

I'll know more tomorrow when I get the CT scan and see the doctor.  

Turtle Safely.........

Promised Photos

Casa Grande, Arizona

Well I know it's not one of those expensive fancy flagpoles that the mounts on the ladder, but this suits us just fine.  You can't beat free!

Here's a close-up of the mount.

It shouldn't be in the way when hitched.

Thank you again, Vern, you're the best!

Bill and I had our ham, scalloped potatoes, veggies, and cole slaw for Christmas Eve dinner.

I'm sorry we missed a great time at the Boyer's but just didn't think Bill could handle the drive.  

We had Christmas dinner at my sister's and brother in laws.  

This is Ron Doyle and Dad.

Left to right, Dave and Sherry Sweetman and Bill.  I think these look like mug shots--Bill's the only one with a smile, but it's all I've got.  

We were suppose to be at Polly's at 3:30 but by the time we left there, Bill had sat on the dinner room chair long enough and decided since he was feeling so much better not to press our luck and do a half hour car drive.  We'll see them again before they head out.  The "Merry Christmas" calls from friends and family finished off the evening well.  

Bill and I looked at the calendar trying to plan when we are heading out.  It looks like the Chapter 45 meeting, and our Honda recall on the 7th is in the way of us leaving in the next couple of days.  The last time we went over to Yuma, we drove up to Phoenix for doctor appointments, came back, loaded up and I had to drive the rig to Pilot Knob.  I don't want to do that again.  We were running out of daylight when we arrived.  

I'm really itching....

Turtle Safely......

  

Custom made flag pole holder

Saturday we got a call from Vern Fogler asking if we were home.  We had planned to go to a Christmas party but thought one more day's rest on Bill's back would do the trick, so thankfully we didn't go and were home.  

Vern came down and said let's go see your coach.  I wish I would have grabbed the camera or even my phone so I could show you a photo of his invention.  I promise I'll include a photo next time I'm over at the storage.  He fabricated a flag pole mount that he installed on the Moryde hitch.  We've always wanted one that goes on the ladder, but because of the satellite location we didn't think our satellite would work with a flag in that area.  

It's perfect!  I'll even be able to attach my spinner below it.  He lowered the tailgate and pulled out his drill (which  happened to be fully charged.)  A few holes and voila a front mounted flagpole holder.  

Vern is very talented at welding anything.  I told him he should start selling them.  I guess that would take the pleasure he gets out of making something.  This wouldn't be something you could mass produce because all king pins are located differently and also the curvature on the front caps are different.  How he managed to get it perfect the very first time is beyond me.  I looked at all the other 5th wheels while he was doing it and noticed how different the mount would have to be.  

Thank you again Vern.  It went on so easily that he had time to come back to the house for some Christmas cheer.  We sat and chatted about different destinations and where he planned to spend the summer.  They might go to North Ranch with us again this year.  

Yesterday was spent close to home.  Bill was prepping for his colonoscopy which he had today.  I left my phone at home and I never wear a watch since retiring.  There wasn't a clock in the waiting room and I kept thinking this is taking longer than the 15 minutes it was suppose to take.  He was  scheduled to be there at 9:30.  I was the only one left in the waiting room.  The TV was tuned to CNN and I noticed the time on it was after 2.  Now I'm really starting to panic.  After a little while my little pager lit up.  I went back and was told he was in recovery and I could wait in there little waiting room.  They finally wheeled Bill out so we could wait to speak to the doctor.  This part of the hospital has clocks everywhere.  It seems I was listening to the mayor of New York give his speech and the TV was broadcasting live on New York time, not Arizona time.  Well it seemed like I had been sitting there that long!

Good news was that he had two polyps which was two less than the last time.  He was one tired puppy since he was up at 3 am taking the last of his "medicine".  An afternoon napping on the couch and he should be good to go for the holiday festivities.  

Turtle Safely..........

Chapter 45 luncheon

Casa Grande, Arizona

There's a lot going on, but we haven't been attending.  Bill has had some back issues again and hasn't felt well enough to ride in a vehicle.

Polly and I went to the Chapter 45 meeting on Wednesday.  They had a great turnout, there were just a few empty seats.  It was great seeing some of the people we hadn't seen since last year.  Joe Knox, President, was going to have the annual meeting changed.  Surgery was postponed by two days, so he'll be able to be there for the meeting in January.  

I guess I'm disappointed in the members who haven't registered for the Escapade.  They'll travel halfway across the country, but won't go to one in their own backyard.  I passed around the seminar list to show people there are many different seminars but you could tell they weren't interested.  I know there are no hook ups left, but there are many nearby parks if that was an issue.  I keep saying Escapees is an RV club.  Why wouldn't you want to learn RV stuff?  If nothing else, it's a great place to meet old and new friends.  

I was disappointed that Bill didn't get to meet a fellow blogger--Diane and Andy.  Diane came up and introduced herself to me.  What a pleasant surprise.  It's so nice to finally put a face to people who make comments.  Check out her blog: http://thehitzels.blogspot.com/

It was nearly dark by the time I got home.  Bill was snuggled in bed sound asleep.  It's been a long time since Polly and I have spent any time with just the two of us.  I have no idea where the time went.

We were invited to dinner at the Creative Cafe on Thursday but once again, Bill declined as he said he wouldn't be good company.

Bill and I had planned to go to a Christmas luncheon in Tucson yesterday but Bill just didn't think he could do the drive and then be seated for awhile.  There's a local party tonight and Bill is feeling much better, but we'll pass and give him one more day of rest.  

Tomorrow is his prep for the colonoscopy which is scheduled for Monday.  After that he'll be able to take some aspirin if his back still bothers him.  

You'd think with missing all these food events, I'd lose a few pounds.  Nothing!  Bill is finding that walking is the best cure so maybe we need to be doing more of that.  I also promise there is no more furniture to move.  

He really does seem to be feeling much better.  We still haven't decided what day we'll head west.  I guess it will be time to check out the weather forecast.  I think I feel an itch coming on.  Do you think I caught "hitch itch" again?  You know the only cure for it--keep those wheels moving.

Turtle Safely........

Party Time

Casa Grande, Arizona

One thing Bill and I love is having our friends come to our home at Christmas time.  It inspired us to get everything back in its place from the disaster of installing carpet. Someone asked how we managed to decorate with all the chaos and Bill offered to put up the tree, while we were waiting for the movers and I was refilling the closets.  

I think he did a pretty good job.  Bill is such a detail person compared to me.  

Here's one of our favorite Cowboy decorations from our three girls.  Notice the hats have their names: Shay, Misty and Nikki.  The cowboy hat on the top of the tree does have a marshal's star.

I checked it out and gave it my thumbs up for a good job.

Next thing I knew, friends started arriving.

Jim and Paul were the first to arrive.  Jim walked in with a popcorn wreath that Sandie made.  I was just getting ready to take a photo of it, when the doorbell kept ringing.  I'm so sorry I didn't get the photo before it was eaten, but trust me when I say, it was as good as it looked.  Thanks again, Sandie.

I think we counted over 20 people but we managed well.

I tried to get everyone's photo, but somehow I think I missed a few.  I think the favorite beverage this year was margaritas.  

Margaritas or water.  The two best beverages. 

There was plenty of food but also plenty of appetites. 

We were even lucky enough to have an international party this year.  Thank you, Doug and Toni for making that happen.

Nick and Jeanne had GPS problems as they went through Coolidge but they still weren't that late.  

Notice how the men and women separate.  Wish that would happen at the luncheons.  

One thing nice about having a Christmas party in the desert is the warm weather.

We enjoyed having everyone and thanks to Sam's Club and Costco it was no trouble at all.  Everyone knows how I hate to cook.  

Yesterday we didn't have a thing planned.  The big box was still sitting in the garage and we decided to make sure it arrived undamaged.  This was a major job to remove it from the box.  It was on a wood platform and really packaged well. 

Thank goodness we had the furniture dollys and the handcart.  Once out of the crate, we decided to go ahead and move it into the house.

This is where we had the TV temporarily until the new stand arrived.

 Here's a look at the same corner with the new media stand and without the pictures hung.

I was a little worried about ordering something on line but when I found this one at half the cost of the same thing on Amazon with free shipping, I did it.

Bill and I really make an effort to buy made in USA and for something like this it was a big job to find it made in the states.  When it arrived, I found out it was made in Arizona.  Even better!

Today the last of the boxes from the garage were brought in.

The bookcase is back in order and there isn't anything left in the garage that belongs inside. 

Bill might be in the same spot all day.  He says he's not moving anything else.  Of course, we still want to go to Yuma in the near future which means moving groceries to the coach.  

This coming week there are three luncheons/Christmas parties to attend.  The diet will start January 2nd.  

Turtle Safely........

Big Box and Surprise Call

Casa Grande, AZ

What do you think?  Should I open it before Christmas? Well I thought about it, but we've been busy so it will have to wait a few days to see what's in it.  

I decided to write a quick blog before I forget to mention the phone call I had.  I received a call from Keystone wanting to know if all our concerns about the items I mentioned to Nick Davis at the Montana Owners Club rally were taken care of.  We had the option of going to Camp Keystone or waiting until we returned to Arizona.  Most of the couple items were routine maintenance for example our bat wing antenna was hard to crank.  This wasn't a surprise after all the dust storms we encountered.  We told Nick we'd take it to RV Traders when we returned.  He got on the phone with Melvin and arranged for it to go for service on the first Wednesday of November.  We knew we'd be going up to Apache Junction on that day so it was convenient.  I told Brian, no hurry, we didn't need it right away and if someone who was a fulltimer had an emergency to take them ahead of us.  We took Susie and Bud to the next luncheon so didn't pick up the fifth wheel that week.  We didn't pick it up the next luncheon as we didn't go because the carpet installers where here.  We finally picked it up on the day we went to deliver the carpet to Jim and Sandie.   I don't know if I mentioned this but they also cleaned our carpet for us.  As I told Keystone, if we are ever going to get another Montana, we'd buy it from RV Traders.  Having a company with such good customer service is awesome.  Did I also mention they didn't charge us a dime even though ours is almost 3 years old.  Way to go Keystone!!!!

OK, enough for now, we're having some friends in for a Christmas party today.  I'll blog about it tomorrow. 

Turtle Safely......

We're Back

Casa Grande, Arizona

Where does all the junk come from?  The carpet installers finished up late Wednesday.  The next day we started filling the closets as the moving company was suppose to be here around 1.  It was raining that day and I knew they said they had a job in the morning and would be by when they finished up.  Finally I called around 4 pm and no one seemed to know they were suppose to come back so rescheduled for 1 pm Friday.  

Bill and I had set an appointment for Friday at the RV dealer to pick up our coach for some minor things that we chose to get done in Arizona rather than when we were in Goshen.  It had been done for a while but we hadn't been back up to Mesa with the truck.  They set up an appointment when you come to pick up to go over everything they did.  They added a few things which we hadn't mentioned and cleaned our carpet.  It's so nice to have a dealer that is knowledgeable, efficient and professional.  Kudo's to RV Trader. 

We stopped to deliver some of the carpet to Jim and Sandie for a project Jim is working on and got to the dealer by 11 for our appointment.  Not enough time to stay and visit this trip.  

Straight back to Casa Grande to put the coach in storage and be back at the sticks and bricks by 1 pm.  I finally called the movers again and one fellow came by around 2:30.  Bill and I had replaced most of the furniture except for a couple of heavy pieces.  One fellow who had reported off that day and lives nearby came over and took care of everything except for one piece of furniture he needed help with.  He refused to charge for his time and when the other two guys came, they wouldn't charge either.  

Saturday was spent removing all the stuff from the garage.  Bill suggested we go to the Electic Light Parade which we seldom miss but I was just too tired to go.  As much as I wanted to see Rover's Roost float, I couldn't bring myself to go out the door but I did go online and vote for the SKP float which I knew should be the winner.  

We drove up to the Valley for a Christmas party  at the Folger's yesterday. It was a lot of fun and we didn't get back until almost 8 pm. I was glad most everything was put back in place and it wasn't hanging over my head.  It gave us a chance to relax and enjoy ourselves.  And did we ever enjoy ourselves!  It was a great party and best of all we got to meet two new couples we've heard so much about and hope to see again.  

 

Here's Steve and Susie Shott who I expect will become Escapees soon.  Steve was the only casualty for the day, although I'm sure there will be sore muscles for some of us as a result of the physical games.  All in all everyone had a great time.  Thanks again Polly and Vern for a great affair. 

Today was a doctor appointment for Bill.  He's scheduled for his colonoscopy on December 22nd to see if he really is a perfect  one.  We didn't get home until almost 5 so it was a very busy day.  

Turtle Safely..........

Moving Day

Casa Grande, AZ

Where did all this junk come from?  Bill and I started emptying the china cabinet and the liquor cabinet before Thanksgiving, thinking it wouldn't take long to get ready to move the furniture from one area to another.  WRONG!  

I jokingly said at the end of the Thanksgiving meal that everyone had to move their chairs to the garage.  I shouldn't have joked and taken up their offers to do it.  

Three rooms had to have the closets emptied out.  Where did Bill get all those pairs of cowboy boots?  

I painted the inside of the closets once they were empty because I don't plan to do this again in my lifetime.  

The movers came yesterday to move the awkward (heavy) items.  I thought it wouldn't take more than an hour and responded to a request on RVillage to attend a gathering for lunch.  I thought for sure, we'd have plenty of time.  WRONG, again!  

I have this beautiful computer desk that is very large.  So large in fact that it wouldn't fit through the door.  No problem, the movers took the window out only to find out it wouldn't fit that way either.  In the end, they took it apart to get it out the door.  This took so long to do that we missed the luncheon.  

The movers were nice enough to leave our bed, loveseat and TV yesterday and dropped by this morning at 6:30 am to finish moving them so we'd have somewhere to sit and sleep last night.  This allowed us to have access to the toilet yesterday.  

I can't begin to tell you how long it took us to reach a spare roll of toilet paper.  In hindsight, I should have gone to the grocery store as it would have been easier.  

There is a toilet behind that dresser, I think.

This is the other bathroom.  The bedding is in the tub.

This is the dinette and the telephone is behind the china cabinet.

Thank goodness I had some underwear in the laundry, or I wouldn't have had any for today.

This is where I'll be all day, as there isn't room to move but lucky for me the computer is on the counter.

This is what the garage looks like.  In the center is the computer desk.  Hope it goes back together OK.

It sure is a lot of stuff.  If you don't hear from me for a while send a search party to find out where I am.  

Turtle Safely.......

Friends and Family

Casa Grande, AZ

I have no idea where the days have gone, but we've been busy morning until night.  

There were a few "honey do" jobs that needed done.  One was to repaint the front door.

This was a detail type job and anyone that knows me, knows I'm "that's close enough".  It's good that I married a detailed and patient man.

It's unreal how fast the sun can bleach out the color.  

The next job was buying a new TV.  We had our old one 14 years and it was time to replace it.  I checked out the Black Friday App to see if the one I wanted would be any cheaper on Black Friday.  

Off to Costco we went when we found out the $700 off on the model we wanted was until the stock was gone.  We remembered about the limit per day we had placed on our debit card, as the card was declined twice.  Talk about embarrassing.  No problem, we can write a check.  You did bring the checkbook didn't you?  Okay, all we have to do now is call the bank and have them release enough to pay for the TV.  I called and when no one answered remembered they closed early on Saturdays.  Ended up applying for a credit card rather than drive back home 45 miles to retrieve the checkbook.  

We manhandled it out of the vehicle and then had to move the old set.  Remember the days of the older computers and how big they were?  Well this old TV was a 65 inch screen with huge speakers and almost 5 feet tall.  Bud Walsh came over to help us get it out the door.  It was on wheels, so we just rolled it out to the sidewalk.  Minutes later someone stopped and asked if he could have it, he said he'd be back before 3.  As it turned out it was still on the sidewalk at 3:30 and a neighbor came and wheeled it to his house.  

Bud was a lot of help.  He hooked everything up in no time at all.  We need to get a media stand but want to wait until the carpet has been installed.

Had an appointment for my mammogram but as I was called back, they discovered it had been exactly one year and needed to be one year and a day for Medicare to pay.  Why didn't they know this when I called for the appointment?

The window finally came in and the installer came out to install it.  This was the window that Bill broke when he threw a rock at the pigeons and followed through too much on the throw. 

You see the handcuffs on the wall, do you think I should cuff him the next time he picks up a rock?

Our Thanksgiving with family and friends was very nice.  We are so blessed to have such a good happy and healthy life and such great friends.  Bill and I are thankful daily.   There are a lot of people in this world that aren't happy.  

Bill, Vern and Polly Fogler, Dave and Sherry Sweetman.

Sherry Sweetman, Dad (who's 94), Jim and Sandie Dixon

I posted all the photos I took, because Sandie wants to use them for her blog.  They weren't the best, but all I have.  

I hope your Thanksgiving was as special as ours was.  

Turtle Safely.......