No real news. . .

We have spent a couple days out "window shopping" for wood Terry wants to built our deck. . . which will be small, but will have a landing with room for a chair and a step down to the pavement. Out the other side will be the boyz' ramp so they can go up and down and we don't have to straddle the ramp on the motorhome steps. That will be nice and a good bit safer. By asking around, we finally found the lumber yard all the locals use and Terry was very impressed with "David" who was behind the desk at the contractor counter. Today, however, he has one other lumber yard to check out that is a wee bit closer to us here on the west end of Mission.

Lupe will come today to talk with us about our awning. It won't be cheap, that's for sure, but Terry wants a clear span and you can't skimp on materials when you are doing that. It does make for a much "cleaner" looking lot and will be less restrictive on what we do under it--not to mention easier backing the motorhome in under it. The ones we have seen that he does are very substantial and won't come down in the winds we have down here in the valley. Lupe is a contractor who works on commercial buildings and does the RV awnings on the side, usually on the weekends. However, when Terry called yesterday he said they were doing an RV awning at the time; so it may be that his other work is slow right now. That could work to our advantage in getting it done quickly. After talking with Lupe, we will be calling Oscar who will do the concrete work.

In other news, Terry saw an oral surgeon this week who will be extracting a tooth for him next week. He has to be off a couple meds for several days beforehand and the surgeon called Terry's doctor to get the okay. It actually is a wisdom tooth that has broken numerous times. It is not causing any pain, but needs to be removed.

And I continue to have trouble with my hip. It certainly is not as bad as before I spent a month going to the chiropractor before we left Goshen, but there is still something in there that is wrong. Interestingly, I finally got the MRI reports in my hand. Two doctors kept telling me there was nothing wrong with my hip and the MRI disputes that. Perhaps they think that there isn't enough there to cause me any problem, but they are wrong. Several things are mentioned in the MRI report that the doctors dismissed as insignificant. The MRI on my back shows all the same stuff I have had for years and they are all over that. I guess they think if they shoot up my back, I won't feel my hip. Hmmmm. Well, I researched physiatrists down here in the valley. That is a PM&R doctor, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, which my doctor had recommended I see. From what I read, they are kind of like a chiropractor with an MD degree. They work with muscles and bones, determining where exactly the pain is originating and attacking the problem with more therapy than surgery. I found two that interested me. . . one a man who has been in practice for several years. Went to his office and found the waiting room dirty and the building not very neat. They told me there is "always" a wait even when you have an appointment, so I told them I would think about it. Then we went to the other doctor, who is a fairly new doctor with a degree from Baylor and is a woman. The office was very neat and clean with an almost empty waiting room and the receptionist told me you won't wait for your appointment unless there was an emergency. They were willing to call my insurance and make sure their services were covered and made an appointment for next week. I am anxious to see what happens. At least I have my MRI reports to take to her and I have an x-ray on a DVD from the chiropractor if they can use that.

We have been swimming every night (except Bingo night). We go over at 7 p.m. at which time it is dark and I swim laps and relax in the hot tub. I am sure that is helping me walk better. It's a tough life. We are having cool nights and warm days. Hard to beat that. Yesterday was windy and there is some wind this morning. I always have to start out in long pants, but by noon I am in shorts. Mom puts on shorts in the morning so she doesn't have to change clothes. Smart gal.

Till next time. . .

Dale