Life in the Valley

Well, when it's 100* outside, we don't do a whole lot, which is about as much as we usually do anyway. Hah! We have had some warm days this week and today it is 100* in the shade. The sun is super hot, so we certainly don't go out in it too much. I was just out and took the golf cart down to check the mail and there is nary a soul outside. I suppose there might be some in the pool, but I didn't look. As soon as the sun starts its path down in the sky, however, it starts to cool off; and believe it or not by 6:30 in the evening, it actually is cool. Last night when we went to the pool Terry even wore a sweatshirt. The temps get into the 60's during the nighttime hours, so it is very comfortable mornings and evenings. Kind of makes up for the hot afternoons.

We got another estimate on our canopy and it looks like it won't be happening this year. The commercial contractors want what we think is way too much. Perhaps if we moved Phaeton Place off the lot and hid her when they come to talk, we might have better luck! I think she influences what they ask.

We still have one sick dog. Neal has recuperated from his surgery to remove the rock and plastic from his stomach and intestine, but Bailey is battling heart disease. He has an enlarged heart and fluid buildup, so I'm guessing that is congestive heart failure. He is on meds, but some days won't take them. I don't force them on him. Today is the last day of his strong antibiotic to clear his lungs, so hopefully he will feel better. He occasionally takes walks with Mom, but they have greatly reduced the area they walk because he can't handle it. I don't encourage either dog to go out in this heat. We will see what the dogs' regular vet in Indiana has to say when they see him in April.

Till next time. . .

Dale

A Blast from the Past!

Remember Weejuns? Back in the 60's when I was in high school, Weejuns were the shoe of choice. They were a rather stiff leather shoe, but they would become softer and comfortable. . . you just had to "break them in." They were also expensive, and I had to really save up to be able to get a pair. But they were worth it. I had forgotten about them until today when I was browsing through the outlet stores in San Marcos, Texas. I tried some on and liked them but couldn't decide to buy them. Later Terry went back to the stores with me and he wanted to see if Bass had anything on sale for him. He found a pair of shoes and I bought a pair of Weejuns. Even though they were on sale, they were still expensive, but I wanted them, so I bought them. Hah!

We spent last night in New Braunfels. We were camped at River Ranch RV Park down underneath the bridges of I-35 and business 35. Wow! We went there to look at a Class B motorhome. We did look at it, but decided against it. We did visit Camping World while we were here, but didn't find anything we needed. We moved this morning to Canyon Trails RV Park on I-35 at San Marcos. It is close to the outlet stores and about 36 miles from Austin. Tomorrow we are going up to Cabela's before we start making our way back to the valley. It has been cold up here and then today it rained/misted all day, so we are ready for warmer weather.

Till next time. . .

Dale

It's Rally Time!

We arrived at Buckhorn Lake Resort, Kerrville, Texas, on Wednesday for the RV.net Sweetheart Rally VII! We safely dodged the bullet by laying low in Bandera, Texas, the night before. That is the night the bad storms ripped through Oklahoma and were just east of us when we were out with the dogs Tuesday night. We could see lightning and we had some wind, but that was it.

Kerrville is one of our favorite places in the Hill Country, but we had never been to Buckhorn Resort. What a grand place. It is expensive, but the rally rate was considerably cheaper. We had a catered dinner last night of barbecued chicken, brisket, potato salad and cole slaw, tea, coffee and peach cobbler for dessert. The park personnel do the dinners and it was very good. One of the ladies at our table is allergic to peaches so the server asked her if she would like just ice cream. She came back with a large dish of ice cream. How nice.

This morning we gathered for breakfast in the red barn and it was very good as well. You certainly don't go hungry because they serve Texas-sized portions for everything. We will probably meet some friends for dinner tonight and then tomorrow night we have a potluck. The park has a huge covered grill with a bar outside and everyone will grill their own meat, then go inside to eat with friends. There is always a card game or Mexican train game going and lots of visiting with others on their sites as well as tours of rigs, so we are quite busy.

Most readers know our black Scottish Terror, Bailey, has been having some health issues. Well, we kind of have a new development. Bailey finished his meds for bronchitis and had to wait two weeks for testing for Cushings. That time is up next Wednesday. We left the RGV to come to Kerrville and Bailey has become extremely lethargic and sickly since we left last Monday. Thursday night he refused food as well as the next morning. Since the weekend was coming up, I didn't want him "not eating" for 3 days, so Friday morning I called the vet who advertises on the park video system. He said to bring him in. We saw the doctor at 10 a.m. He looked at his bloodwork I had brought with me and said his numbers were no where near high enough for Cushings and the patch of hair loss on his back is not what he sees in Cushings. He listened to my explanation about that patch and believes it to be a fungal thing and gave me instructions for treating it. He took an xray and Bailey has an enlarged heart, fluid around the lungs and some minor lung involvement. None of this he thought was life threatening and gave him a shot to jumpstart his system and get him feeling better so he would start eating. He said he is short of breath which contributes to his not eating. He gave me a heart med (enalipril) and furosemide and a couple other bronchial things to use if he starts coughing. In addition, he told me to email him if I had any questions and needed any further instructions. He has several Cushings patients, so I felt comfortable with what he was telling me. To be honest, I didn't think I would be bringing Bailey home from the vet. He seemed that sick to me. But we were both much more upbeat afterwards and I am happy to report that Bailey is taking his pills and ate most of his supper last night and breakfast this morning. We are so happy! So hopefully once we get his lungs cleared up and his heart meds have a chance to work, he should be back to normal.

Today is a cold day in Kerrville, so we will probably be doing indoor activities. It will be warm again tomorrow.

Till next time. . .

Dale

North to Kerrville

We were driving the back roads the other day and came close to where the border fence is going up. If you have been following the border fence construction, you know that the fence is only being built in certain areas. . . in other areas there will be cameras and other technology creating a "virtual fence" and increased border guards. It is hard to get a close picture from where we were, but you get the general idea.

As we worked our way to Kerrville today, we stopped at a roadside rest area and took a couple pictures of the Rio Grande. The far bank seen in the picture is actually Mexico. I didn't realize it was that close there, but a border guard stopped and chatted with us and confirmed that we were looking right at Mexico. It was remote with a large farm in the background and much neater and cleaner than what we see closer to the Rio Grande Valley. We hit one checkpoint today and got the once around with the drug dog. Good boy.

We are now resting and planning on getting a good night's rest before hitting the road tomorrow.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Not hangin' out any more.

We left Mission this morning about 10 AM on our way to Kerrville, TX. Tonight we're parked in a rather rustic campground at Carrizo Springs, TX about 200 miles from our starting point. The campground so far doesn't deserve a note, since it's not worth a return visit, but it's the only thing on the route for 40 miles.

This is a little vacation during our winter's stay stay in the Rio Grande Valley. We plan to be in Kerrville, TX, Wednesday for a Rv.net Rally with 42 other Rvs that runs through the weekend. Then we'll slowly wander back to the breezy RGV.

We have traveled west on US83 to the point it really becomes what it is designated as, a North- South highway. Once north of Laredo, the landscape is barren, we've traveled through here before, but never stopped before Del Rio or Uvalde. Since we're not trying to pile up the miles on a westward AZ run, we took it easy today. Tomorrow will be a much shorter drive day than today, as we get in closer to the rally and our Wednesday arrival window.


Terry

BTW the Blog Police is threatening to change her password!
This could be my last post!

Still playing nurse!

Well, the dogs are hanging in there. Bailey is still having some "Cushings" type issues that are going to have to be addressed quickly, so I will be talking with the doctor today when she takes Neal's staples out.

Sunday we went out to eat with Mom and Dad and that afternoon Terry started feeling poorly. He went to take a nap and basically didn't get out of bed until yesterday morning at 6 a.m. He wasn't eating anything. . . not really sick to his stomach, but no appetite. I encouraged him to drink, but after 2 days, I realized water wasn't doing him any good either. He started getting dizzy and still wasn't eating. So I bought him some juice and pedialyte and made him drink up. I also made him a hamburger last night and he ate that and some yogurt later. He feels better today and the dizziness is gone, so things hopefully are getting back to normal.

Today is the Elm Street chicken dinner, so Mom and Dad are over at the hall peeling potatoes as we speak. It is a real job putting on those dinners, but the money earned from them goes toward upkeep of the park and reduces our assessments which, I think, are very low. We have tickets to go this afternoon, so I hope to get Terry over there.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Playing Nurse. . .

Well, my boyz are getting healed up. Bailey, my black Scottish Terrier, has finished his meds for his bronchitis. I don't think he is feeling up to par and there still is the mystery of losing his hair on his back. The vet ran numerous tests and so far everything has come back normal except for his liver enzymes. She believes the liver involvement may signal the start of Cushing's Disease, but we cannot yet do tests for it because he has been on steroids for his lungs. Since he nearly died a year ago from pneumonia, she treated the lung problem aggressively because he likely has scarring from the pneumonia. He has to be off the steroids two weeks before we can test for Cushing's. I am afraid he may be suffering from this because his symptoms point that way, but we will wait for confirmation.

Neal is still recovering from his surgery. He has about two dozen staples in his tummy. He gets those out on Wednesday. He has never bothered them and is doing well recuperating. He is eating well and everything seems to be working like it should. The lesions from his liver were biopsied and while they were not malignant, there are lots of them and those will contribute to problems with liver function. Also the ducts in his liver appear to be inflammed. His liver levels show the same elevations as Bailey's, but since both are 13, that is probably not unusual. We may be looking at the same disorder in him as Bailey, with the added problem of the lesions. The vet thinks perhaps a change in diet will help him and aid in preserving liver function.

We are leaving here on Monday, February 9, for Kerrville and the RV.net Sweetheart Rally. It will be nice to be on the road again. . . this is the longest stretch we have sat anywhere, but it has certainly been pleasant. We have enjoyed being here behind Mom and Dad and having them close by. We will just be gone to Kerrville for two weeks, then we will be back here. The rally is only 5 days, but we are going to take a few days to get there and a few days to get back, taking some back roads, so that should be fun.

When we return to Mission, we will be checking in with the vet and following up on Bailey and Neal and their problem livers.

I finished up my physical therapy last week and the doctor released me. I have a lot of good stretches to do that have helped me strengthen my torn muscle and improve my back flexibility. Hopefully I can stick with the program and continue healing.

I have several solar lights, etc., in the rock yard in front of the motorhome. I have tried to take nighttime pictures of them and they don't come out very good, but you can get the general idea. The blue ball is a solar Chinese lantern Jocelyn gave me. It glows a light blue and is really beautiful at night. The tulips on the ground are solar lights and they blink on and off.

Till next time. . .

Dale