SURGERY

I had my surgery on the Wednesday before Christmas. Everything went as good as could be expected. Will probably have a follow up with the surgeon this week. Our daughter is working half days for a week.

Due to both surgeries our Christmas was not a big one. I didn't have to cook. We got to see our other daughters, grandson and friends.

We have about a week to get everything done before leaving for our first church project for 2012 in Mississippi.

SURGERIES

Our youngest daughter had surgery a week ago. She is making great progress. Tomorrow will be the day she gets her staples out.


I was referred to a surgeon for a second opinion and he felt I needed surgery to have my gall bladder out. All of my tests were basically negative though. GB functioning at 78% which is still considered normal, but with my continued discomfort and nausea, they feel this is the best option. I originally had the surgery scheduled for today. At the time I felt our daughter could handle being alone for a while, but never thought about the effects to me since I was helping her 24/7. I found myself completely exhausted so the surgery is scheduled for this Wednesday.


Allan has been working on our daughter's house. He is putting down hardwood floors in the master bedroom and hall. This is his first time, but it sure looks good.

STILL SEEING DOCTORS

Our motor home is quiet except for the tapping sound of rain and keys on the computer. The weatherman is predicting snow tonight, but should not stick. Allan is sound asleep. We got up very early this morning for Allan's endoscopy at the hospital. I had mine last week. It doesn't take much to put him to sleep. The nurse had a hard time waking him up and getting him in the car. I should have gotten that on video. They give you medicine so you won't remember what went on, which is probably a good thing. Allan asked me at least 50 times what the doctor found. We both have had very good reports on all of our tests. I am still having the same stomach/gall bladder symptoms though and have made my diagnosis as to what is causing all of this. Food allergies.

Now I must make a decision on my Medicare. Do I choose regular Medicare with a supplement or do I go with an Advantage plan? And do I choose to go with Medicare Part D. This will require more investigation, but due to us being out of state most of the year, I am inclined to go with regular Medicare and no Part D.

Allan was in Red Bay for a week and I sure did miss him. I think he took pictures of some of the work being done so I will post those later with a report. He was very pleased with the service and speed of the work completed. Some other people were not pleased, but they did not have an appointment and we did.

Maybe I will get to make a snowman??? Until next time.

RED BAY

We are in Red Bay, Alabama waiting our turn. Purchased two Euro-chairs for the empty spot on our slide where Allan removed the couch. Will post more as we get work done.

WE ARE HOME IN ALABAMA

We stayed at the Kentucky Horse Park for a couple of days so that we could visit some of Allan's relatives. We both enjoy the Horse Park and try to go there every year. Then we drove to the hills of Kentucky to work with Campers on Mission at a Christian boarding school. It was so good to see old friends and make new friends, too.

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While in Tennessee we visited the old town of Rugby. It is a very quiet town with beautiful scenery nearby.

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Finally, arriving in Sweet Home Alabama we decided to stay at Desota State Park and visited several places of interest in the area.

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Cloudland Canyon in Georgia was one of the places we visited. The leaves were beautiful there. While driving there we saw the results of tornado damage from last spring. Guntersville State Park in Alabama was hit bad particularly in the camping area.

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Allan and I are so happy to be home. We spent a week with our daughter in Alabaster. While there we have met with several friends and had numerous doctor appointments. Our daughter said as we were leaving that she had hardly seen us. It hit me that we are trying to cram too much stuff in too short of time. We need to stay here 3 months rather than two. Unfortunately, it won't work out with our schedule this year, but next year will be different. We have now moved to our daughters in Odenville. Still seeing people and doctors. Allan will be making a trip to Red Bay next week. Katie and I will stay here in Odenville. Katie doesn't know it, but she has a vet appointment, too. She is really enjoying trying to catch the leaves that are falling and watching the neighborhood cats walking through the yard. Maggie, our daughter's dog, comes over to visit her, too.

Must get up early for more tests in the morning. Signing off.

IOWA AND ILLINOIS ADVENTURES

I will start with pictures of our RV MAPS Convention that I promised you weeks ago. Sorry but between being very busy and having no Internet service, there have been no posts since Oct. 2.

From 2011-10-29

This is a picture of everyone standing in line for chow. We ate a lot. There were approximately 600 in attendance for the 25th year celebration. You will notice most everyone is wearing a red vest with patches from every project each person has worked on.

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And here is a picture showing only a few of the group enjoying food and conversation.
The theme this year was in tribute to the military. This is Jerry Bell, head of US RV MAPS with two army chaplins presently serving.

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From 2011-10-29

Dave Roever, one of the featured speakers, served in the Vietnam War and was badly scarred and injured. He made a very enthusiastic presentation explaining his work with the military, visiting the soldiers in Afganistan, Iraq and other countries. He created the organization "Wounded Warriors". This organization has two centers one in Colorado and one being built by RV MAPS in Texas. There was also a tribute to the veterans.
The convention is a time when churches and church related organizations can present their projects to MAPS workers. Then workers can sign up for these projects for the coming year. We have signed up for Mississippi and Maine. We will let you guess at what time of year we signed up for these two projects. We will also work on a few other projects as we travel from Mississippi to Maine.

Forgot to mention on our way to the convention in Illinois we stopped at the
Amana Colonies in Iowa. It is a colony of German people that settled in this area in a commune. We purchased some meat and gifts while visiting there. They even have an RV park.

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From 2011-10-29

From 2011-10-29

ARRIVAL AT CARLINVILLE

Allan and I arrived at Carlinville, Illinois for the 25th National RV MAPS Convention on Thursday. We drove a much longer distance than we usually travel in one day. We had winds to deal with again and Allan and I both have not caught up on our sleep and rest. This is our second convention that we have attended.

It is like a family reunion. So many people that we have worked with in the past four years have come this year. It is great to see everyone and catch up on where they have been. The weather has been down in the low 30s at night this week-end, but the rest of the week is suppose to be warm and sunny. I will post pictures later this week.

CLASS REUNION

CONFUSION? AND WHAT STATE ARE WE IN?
On our way to Sioux City, we made an overnight stop in Omaha, Ne. at a WalMart parking lot. It was cool enough that we didn't need any a/c and warm enough that we didn't need any heat. Because the floods had washed out some of the roads, we had to travel up the Nebraska side, crossing at Blair, Ne.

From 2011-09-26

We could see the devastation of the floods. Houses had been under water. Trees were washed away. The RV park that we had stayed in last year was closed due to flood damage. They still had not been able to replace the electrical, sewer and water systems. Hope this won't confuse you, because it did me. We stayed in a KOA in South Dakota. Allan went to school in Leeds, Iowa and the reunion took place in Nebraska. All of these areas were relatively close together, just separated by either the Missouri or Little Sioux Rivers.
MEMORIES
As Allan's sister, Janice and brother, Paul and their spouses were also in town for the reunion, we had a mini family reunion.

From 2011-09-26

They reminisced as we drove through the streets of Leeds. Several things had changed since Allan had been in high school 47 years ago. Generally speaking, the town was still the same with many familiar landmarks. It was like going back in a time machine. Most of the houses had been kept in good condition. One shocker was the church where Allan's dad was a minister. It had been converted to apartments and was almost obscured by trees.

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The old parsonage that used to stand within eight feet of the church had been moved. We did manage to locate the old house on another street. It looked almost like it did many years ago.

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The old high school has been torn down and replaced with an elementary school. Driving around Leeds brought back many memories of encounters, both bad and good. We had many laughs. Allan had an unforgettable experience. He lost his phone in Iowa somewhere. He got out of the car so many times to take pictures that there is no telling where he lost the phone. I am sure someone found it. We had the phone service turned off.
REUNION
Friday night was an informal night with hamburgers and hot dogs and all the fixings. This was an all school reunion which encompassed 33 years. The turnout was good with 540 participants. Allan's class graduated 34 with 15 attending the reunion. Seven had passed away since graduation. It is always good to see friends from school and many Allan had not seen since graduation. Saturday they had a program, dinner and dance. Allan's class has already started making plans for a 50th reunion which will be in three years.

From 2011-09-26

FAMILY DEPARTURE
We went to church on Sunday and had more family time with Allan's sister, her husband and his family. Allan's brother and wife left on Sunday to drive to the Black Hills in South Dakota in time to see the buffalo round up. We hope they have a wonderful week there.
GOWRIE MEMORIES
We are now headed for Carlinville, Illinois for the RV MAPS convention. Today we made a stop in Gowrie, Iowa where Allan lived from 3rd grade to 7th grade. He remembered the church although they have a new large addition. The house his family lived in next to the church has been changed but was recognizable. They have added an air conditioner just under the 2nd story window that Allan snuck out several times. He now wonders how he survived the drop without breaking a leg. Most of the old downtown stores were no longer in business, although he did remember the funeral home where his family spent their first night in town (very memorable) because all of their furniture, clothing and family heirlooms were burned while being transported from his dad's previous church assignment.

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From 2011-09-26

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RESTFUL
We are staying at a church retreat center tonight. It is located several miles out of town on a washboard dirt road. We are the only people here. It is beautiful.

WOODLAND PARK

This is a continuation of our catch up blog. We moved from Estes Park to Woodland Park, Co. on Tuesday August 30th. While Allan took the RV to have the new inverter installed, Yancy, Brian and I drove to Garden of the Gods and Manatou Springs before heading for Diamond Campground. This is our site.

From 2011-09-02

While walking in the campground we noticed this raven up in a tree. If you will look closely, there is a sock hanging on the tree beside him. We thought he had stolen it from someone in the campground. Later, we learned that it was a squirrel

From 2011-09-02

who was the culprit. In fact, he has a collection of rags, socks and gloves from people who had either left articles outside or left one of their basement doors open.

We also have several deer, fox and bear who visit our campground regularly. I have included a picture of one of the deer.

From 2011-09-02

I was unable to get a picture of the fox. He kept on the move and everything was a blur. The bear only visited at night or early in the morning. He was a huge bear from what the workers in the office told us. He turned the dumpster over while we were there. It took two men and a front end loader to set it back up. This brought memories of our encounter with a bear in the State Park in Vermont where we camp hosted. We always had to clean up after him.

This is a picture Allan took in Woodland Park of Elk antlers.

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While in this area we visited so many places and took so many pictures. One of our stops found us at the Colorado Wolf and wildlife Center. This center was started for educational purposes. They have lots of groups especially for kids from surrounding schools to take their tours. Some of their funding comes from allowing people to have personal tours inside the enclosures and close encounters with the wolves. This can include kisses from the animals. It is a ritual of acceptance into the pack. They have wolves, coyotes and foxes.

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Our tour ended in our group howling which the packs returned their vocal singing.

Here is a buck that we saw as we drove down one of the many roads along with several beautiful wild flowers.

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We drove to Victor and Cripple Creek, both old mining towns.

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We visited Mueller State Park and saw several deer, but Brian was really hoping to see a bear. One had been sighted there several days in a row, but he was not out while we were there. They had a nice trail around a small pond with numerous informative signs and hands on displays particularly for children. Here is one on scat of different animals.

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Red Rock Park was a very nice and heavily used walking area that we visited. At one time it was a mining area. There were signs warning to watch out for mountain lion. Colorado people do a lot of walking and hiking, many with their dogs.

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We visited Cheyenne Canyon which is west of Colorado Springs. This contained some windy roads, but very beautiful too. Because we wanted to do some more excursions that day we did not go on the one way narrow dirt road that continued up the mountain.

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On our way to Eleven Mile Canyon we spotted this old dugout and older farm house.

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Eleven Mile Canyon is a very narrow canyon with a narrow road going through it. It is beautiful. A bear had been sighted here, too, but no bear for us to see.

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On our way back home just before dark Allan got a picture of a huge herd of elk.

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We all had several packed days with beautiful sights to see. We took Brian and Yancy back to the airport in Denver. After dropping them off we saw two prong horn bucks fighting or playing. This is the only two we have seen on this trip to the West.

I belong to Ancestry.com and found a cousin whom Allan and I visited in Castle Rock several days after Yancy and Brian left. It was so good to find another living relative who shared lots of information with me. I was able to share some with her also.

I hope this gets us caught up with our travels. Thanks for hanging in there with us.

NEBRASKA TO IOWA

This is a picture of the pony express rider found outside of Cabelas in Sidney, Ne. We paid them a visit, but they did not get any of our money.

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We attended church at Christian Life Center on Sunday.

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Allan and I drove out in the country to the farm that his grandfather built and Allan's dad and uncles were raised there. The house appears to be in pretty good shape for its age.

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We also visited the local cemetery where the grandparents were buried.

Today was another travel day. Katie rode up front with us today and seemed fairly content. We are spending the night at a Christian Camp in Lexington, Ne. There is a railroad track nearby and it is busy. I doubt it will bother my sleep though.