In a Vacuum at Lazy Days

Here we are in Tampa, FL at Lazy Days RV Center. We're getting the front end body work done on the RV following Mary's wreck in December. The insurance adjuster came and all is set. It also helps that we bought our rig here last year. They have over 150 bays and with the economy problems, many of them are idle, so they're glad for our business.

The place is VERY "user-friendly" for RVers. We can sleep in our coach so there's no need to find a motel and worry about taking the kitty with us. They provide free breakfast and lunch, then we go out for supper and don't have to worry about cooking and washing dishes. They have a clubhouse with nice showers that we can use if we like and a big, attractive lounge with free Starbuck's coffee and large TVs. The park itself is very nicely done - full of huge old live oak trees that are filled with gracefully hanging Spanish moss. I've been taking my morning walk in the sales section with new motorhomes, fifth wheels, and a few trailers.

We are also having another project done while we're here. Our TV is a big old thing in a cabinet built across the front and Ed keeps bumping his poor bald head on it. They've taken out the cabinet and the old TV and will be hanging the new flat-screen TV that we've just had sitting on the dash since he got it in January. They moved us over to the woodworking area for that, while they continue with the door off the front end back in the body shop.

This part blows my mind. The coach stays inside the bay at night AND we have electrical, water, and sewer hook-ups!! I'm washing a load of clothes, even as I type!!

Our days run something like this:
We have to be up by 8 a.m. so they can start working, which is OK because the free breakfast is 8-9 a.m. in the main office building. We try to sit with people and have met some nice folks. Then I take my walk and we drive over to the clubhouse to shower. If I don't wash my hair, I can shower here.

By that time, the free lunch is ready!! Today they had chef's salad. Ed was still hungry so they let each of us have a 2nd salad. In the afternoon, we "compute", nap, read, go to the store (we can walk to Camping World store right here on the premises), and go out for supper. It's a tough life but somebody's gotta do it, right?

Here's the view out the left of our rig.

This is looking to the right.

It's like a mad beehive around here with people, golf carts, cars, trucks and RVs. There are about 540 employees now, after laying off over a 100 people. Every one is super friendly and if you're out walking, they'll give you a lift in their golf cart to wherever you wish to go.

We're not really in a vacuum but it's like a twilight zone away from the real world. Looks like we'll be here till next Tuesday or so. This is an opportune for Ed to catch up on some rest and I can see he feels better than he did on Saturday.

p.s. Pepper is on her normal schedule - sleeping here, there, and yonder!

Brunch with the Barketts

We met Ed's sister, Lorraine Barkett and her family, for Easter brunch. It was in a restaurant called Circles, which is in an old converted house in the downtown area of Tampa. What a neat atmosphere and the food was quite good. I loved my seafood omelet! The Easter bunny brought everyone a bag of "good chocolate" candy, which Ed and I have been savoring.

The Barketts are a nice bunch and I enjoy them more each time I see them. Lorraine's husband has three brothers (in no particular order): 1.Tom, 2. Ron, 3. Rick and Kristine's family - Katy and Dana (He's now 6'5" tall!) 4. Ray and Lorraine's family - Rene, (daughter) Cameron, Taylor, & Keaton Petrie and Nicole (daughter), David, & Olivia Hasselbach. Including Ed and me, there were 17 of us.

I'm looking forward to some photos of the brunch to share with you, whenever Nicole has a moment to send me some. She's got quite an eye for taking pictures! For example, here's Nichole and some of her photos of her photogenic daughter and hubby:

Easter in Tampa

Wishing you a joyous Easter!

Jubulation Over Shells and Fish

I almost bought some shells across the street at The Shell Factory this week, but decided for that $10, we could pay the gas and $6.00 bridge toll to go shelling at Sanibel again AND get 100 times as many shells. Since we were already at the doctor's office, we were more than halfway there. So, off we went.

We looked around a shell store on Sanibel. Ed intimated that I could just buy the shells I wanted - but I want my projects to be made with shells that I found myself! The cook at the deli where we ate confirmed that Bowman's Beach (the place we went before) was the best for shelling but warned that it was high tide so there might not be as many shells as other times of the day.

Without further delay, we hit "our" beach. At first, it appeared that the cook was right and there weren't many shells. We did find a place with some and I started collecting. Ed went further down the beach and was quite jubilant because he found the Mother lode! They were exactly the tiny shells I wanted and they were several layers deep. I worked for a couple of hours gathering baby shells.

When Ed had had enough sun, I filled my bucket - I'll sort them later. I wished I had had another bucket, but that would have been too much weight to make it back to the parking lot, which is a pretty long walk. Now I'm the jubilant one with a bucket of treasures!

We stopped at Bonefish Restaurant across the street from our RV park and I had the All-You-Can-Eat fish and chips, like we had when George and Kay visited in February. It was every bit as good as the last time and I enjoyed every succulent morsel of the dinner and the 2 extra pieces that I requested.

April Scan Results

We met with Dr. Harwin's PA, Diane, today about the CAT scan results. You may recall that the January scan compared to the October scan showed marked shrinkage of the tumors in his lungs. This April scan showed basically no change from the scan in January.

His blood counts were better but he is still anemic, so got another Procrit shot. Ed was disappointed that the blood wasn't better, considering all the shots he's had. The nurse said that with Procrit, it often takes 4-6 weeks to see results. Also, not invading his system with chemo "poisons" should give his body time to get its blood back on an even keel.

The plan is that Ed will take a break from chemo. (He had 7 cycles.) He should get another scan in 2 or 3 months to see what is needed, if anything.

Trotting Up to Tampa Tomorrow

We're moving about 120 miles north to Tampa tomorrow morning. We'll be staying at Lazy Days, the largest RV dealer in the world where we bought our RV last February. There, we will get the body work done to the front end (a result of Mary's Wreck on December 14, 2008). One great advantage is they have an RV park where you can stay while there. That'll save us trying to take Pepper to a motel.

Today we're off to the doctor and whatever other adventures present themselves.

I Hate Shopping For.....

I hate shopping for a bra almost as much as I hate wearing one! I never seem to find the right size or anything comfortable. Beall's advertised that they were having a "bra fitter" today so I made an appointment. I had done this years ago in Virginia and it took quite a while. Not with this gal....she knew her stock and exactly what she was doing. She measured me, brought in 3 bras and all fit but one was more comfortable than the others.

When I went to pay, I discovered that it was half price! I looked for a black one like it, but there were none. I've decided to wear it a few times and get another one later. It's made by Playtex, which would hopefully mean that I'll be able to find them in the future. The whole process took only about 15 minutes and hopefully, will save me hours of discomfort.

Winter's Last Gasp?

Yesterday was quite hot - up to 86 degrees. When we woke up this morning at 8:30 a.m., it was 58 degrees! The weatherman says this is winter's last gasp. It would be a pleasant 67 now, except that the wind just won't stop blowing! I thought it was March that was supposed to be the windy month, not April!

Ed has his CAT scan yesterday and he took some strawberries to one of the best nurses he's had, Shawna. I told her she should give a workshop to fellow cancer nurses. All of them are pleasant but what the patient and caregiver want most to know about is details about the particular cancer the person has. Shawna explained test results and what they meant, as well as giving Ed some tips - such as the importance of keeping hydrated. (Typical man - he'll listen when someone else besides his wife tells him something.)

While in the waiting room, he saw an ad in the paper for an Italian market. So, we went about 5 miles further south in Cape Coral and had lunch at Paesano's - La Trattoria Al Fresco outdoor cafe. I had a huge Cobb salad and Ed had the special - a sampler of Italian foods. We both had enough left for supper.

So far today, Ed's been having a "Pepper Day" - he napped on the couch, went to the pool to lay out (but it got too windy), napped on the "patio" by the RV, and now he's napping here on the sofa again. That's just what Pepper does - sleeps here, there, and yonder throughout the day.

Instead of around the RV park, I did my walk across the street to the Shell Factory to mail Easter cards to Mother. While there, I looked around the huge store again. Oh, how fascinating shells are!!!....expensive, too! The big Tritan's trumpet shell I got while scuba diving is worth at least $50!

Our big date today is to take advantage of the special deal at Applebee's - 40% off your food bill on Monday - Thursday between 2 & 4 p.m. Then, we're going to see Julia Roberts' movie, "Duplicity."

Happy Wind Day....oh, it's Tuesday!!

Celebrating Better Blood Count

Ed's blood work was a bit better today and the platelets, though still low, have doubled since last week. He did get his Procrit shot to help rebuild the red blood cells.

Monday is his CAT scan so we dropped off the disks from his scans in Virginia last fall and Ft. Lauderdale in January to be ready for comparison.

We celebrated by trying a place recommended for good hamburgers - Foster's Grille. It's in Cape Coral and is 11 miles away from Tamiami RV Park here in North Ft. Myers, but it's a route with light traffic so guess we'll be back over there one of these days. Foster's is a franchise that appears to have started in Virginia; too bad there are only two here in Florida.

FINALLY, we've found a place that Ed actually likes their burgers AND their French fries!

An Outing a Day

There's not a lot going on here these days, which is pleasant, because we can just make up each day as we go. We try to get out to do something each day. I'm hoping all the naps and resting are helping Ed's blood to get in better shape.

Today it was 89 degrees so going to Edison Mall was perfect for keeping cool. We ate at the food court and I browsed through Macy's and Dillard's......didn't buy a thing. We came home (Home Sweet RV) and about 7 o'clock Ed decided he didn't want to cook. He started craving one of the patty melts at Steak and Shake and since we had a good coupon, we just got up and went! I had chili, which I hope was less calories than a burger.

Tuesday we saw the movie, "I Love You, Man". It was so-so....would have made a good one hour movie. The previews don't look encouraging either......everything is totally violent, about dragons and ghosts, or about supernatural things. We like to take advantage of the $5 movie price for Seniors on Tuesday but it's not a deal if there's nothing to see. We tried the Arizona Pizza restaurant and really enjoyed their pizza.

Wednesday, we went to American HomePatient, the company that handles my CPAP sleeping machine. It's been bothersome and a friend told me there's a different style mask that's much more comfortable. After meeting with the technician, it was determined that I'll have to go to our branch in Virginia so they can work through insurance. I had received my 6 month supplies so will keep them unopened until May so I can exchange them if needed. The new mask, hose, and nose piece that I received cost $492!! With that amount of money involved, I think it's worthwhile to try to find the most comfortable thing available. This is a long term commitment.

At least I have accomplished one thing - I've walked 4 mornings in a row! I have my course all mapped out and just go "get it overwith." My hip had been hurting, which was probably from too much sitting, and the walking has helped. Every morning we watch the RV's heading out of here and as I walk I see more preparing to leave. It's nice to have more space around us but we also get more noise from US41.

Another accomplishment is I finally got my shells from Sanibel cleaned and organized by size. I bought the "fixins' for the two craft projects I plan to make. See, even though we have this time of freedom, I still have that work ethnic - thinking I must accomplish something for my day to be successful.

Seafood on Sunday

On Sunday, Lorraine (Ed's sister) and Ray Barkett and Ray's brother, Tom Barkett, came over from Ft. Lauderdale for lunch. Wouldn't you know - the first rain we've had in days and it hit just about the time they got here! Lorraine and Ray had never seen our RV before, so they got the inside tour, but it was too wet for the "basement" tour.

We darted between the raindrops and went about 5 miles south to a restaurant called Joe's Crab Shack. Ed found it on the internet and lucked out. It's on the water overlooking a marina and on a sunny day, there's probably lots of boat activity but not this Sunday! We all had fish of some type and really enjoyed it. It was nice to spend some time with Lorraine, Ray, and Tommy.

We're moving up to Tampa next weekend. Lorraine and Ray will be there to visit their two daughters and their families. If things work out, we might join them for church and brunch on Easter Sunday.

The Most Beautiful Woman

This was written about my sister, Anita Krull, by her 21-year-old daughter. It was part of her birthday card on March 18th and I thought it was so lovely that I wanted to share it.
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The Most Beautiful Woman I Know
by April Dawn Krull 2009

I know several beautiful women, but the most beautiful one I know is my mother. The first thing that sticks out to me about my mother is her big, lovely smile. When she smiles her whole face lights up, she gives off this ray of kindness and beauty at the same time. Besides her wonderful smile are my mother's eyes. Her eyes are the most gorgeous light blue there is. When you look at them you can tell she is good-hearted and a wonderful person. Finally is her hair, which is her natural color of salt and pepper. The black is a rich, dark black that has a great natural shine to it. The white in her hair is as if it lightly snowed on her jet black hair. Most women see make-up and hair with highlights as beauty, but my mother's natural beauty is what makes her, by far, the most beautiful woman I know.

Blood-count Brings the Blahs

Ed has been scolding himself because he feels so tired and just doesn't feel like doing anything. I think his 3 days with the hiccups sapped a lot of energy because he didn't get a lot of sleep. His bloodwork results Friday also explained why he's so beat....he is really low in everything, and his platelets dropped from 94 down to 41. Then again, this shows that the chemo last week is doing something.

We stopped for lunch, came home, and Ed had a nice long nap, which is the best thing for him right now. This is one of those situations that I am aware of how helpful the computer is for me...at least, I do have a social life, even if it is in cyberspace! Sometimes, I go out shopping for a bit but mostly feel better just being around here with him.

Ed's my best buddy, even with the blood-count-blahs.

Saturday afternoon:
I've been doing irksome tasks like laundry and cleaning up a bit. Ed seems to feel a bit better today. He's outside reading but it's too sunny and windy for me. My dermatologist gets enough business from me as it it!

Lunch with Carol Steingard

Yesterday we went to Naples (about 45 miles south of North Ft. Myers) and met one of my dear friends, Carol Steingard. We taught foreign students (ESL) together in the 1980's. Carol is still Carol - interested in life and people and very active. They summer in their house in Lake Tahoe, and also have places in Sedona, Arizona and Boca Raton, Florida.

We socialized quite a bit in the "old days" and had fun catching up on our mutual friends and each others families. It's hard to believe that their twin granddaughters, who still live in Boca, are now 16 years old and driving!! We could have talked for hours more. I'm looking forward to hearing about the cruise they're taking soon to Copenhagen, Denmark.

Mark was busy setting up an art show at a gallery on Fifth Avenue South there in Naples, but he did join us for lunch. He's been in the fine arts business for many years and his business is called International Fine Arts. I had seen all sorts of paintings and works of art in their home for all those years but had never closely scrutinized the signatures of the artists. I had been looking at works by Salvador Dali, Marc Chagall, Picasso, Miro, and many more! If anyone's interested in investing in fine arts, Mark is the one to get in touch with!

I'm mad at myself.......I charged up both our cameras, but did I remember to take some pictures? NO! Well, suffice it to say that, both Mark and Carol are looking good!

My Bro's Birthday

Today is the birthday of my one and only brother, Philip, who lives in Waxahachie, Texas.

Happy Birthday, "Philodendron"!

With love from your sister, Beeba

p.s. Also, a happy birthday to Cousin Bobz Freeman, who lives in Asheville, North Carolina!

Replacing a Window

With Monaco RV Company (and almost all the RV manufacturers) closing down, it's going to be next to impossible to get parts. Ed managed to track down a replacement window directly from Atwood, the window company. It was pure luck that they actually had one in stock.

The window is the one by the passenger seat that was broken when the RV was robbed last year. The thieves took were our new, beautiful green bedspread and nice blanket. They probably used them to wrap all the TV's and electronic equipment that they stole from other RV's in the storage yard near Cape Canaveral, FL. Our TV's are so old that they were rejected!

Ed was going to try to change the window himself, but when Camping World didn't have the sealing tape he needs, he called our good RV Repairman, Greg. Greg replaced our window and put on 2 vents so we can crack the windows for ventilation without rain coming in. Ed's had the vents for a while but finally acknowledged that he just didn't feel up to doing the job. Greg made it all look easy.

BTW (by the way), if you're in the North Ft. Myers area in the winter, we highly recommend...

Greg Jillson
Jillson Mobile RV Service.
Cell: 508-226-5220
Home: 508-369-5263
JillsonMobileRV@yahoo.com

Hiccup Mystery May Be Solved

Thanks to our friend, Barbara Elliot, who is in the medical field, we now at least have a reason why Ed might have had the hiccups for several days. She sent us a page of links about Hiccups during Chemotherapy: Corticosteriods the likely culprit. Thank you, Barbara!

Before the chemo, they give Ed an IV of Decadron, a trade name for the generic chemotherapy drug Dexamethasone, a Corticosteriod that is mentioned in the articles in these links. Its purpose is to prevent nausea. Ed's decided that in the future he'll ask not to have the Decadron and will use the anti-nausea pills afterward, if needed.

Sometimes you just have to see the humor...last evening he had a burp and a hiccup come out together - another noise as strange as the snore/hiccup sound he'd had earlier while napping. We both burst out laughing! It is fascinating to me that the "cups" are consistently at 6 second intervals.

Last night, he finally fell asleep about 2:30 a.m. - I knew he was asleep because he was softly snoring between hiccups again. Isn't it amazing that someone could sleep while hiccupping? After about half an hour, the hiccups finally subsided. This morning all is quiet and a tired Mr. Ed is trying to catch up on some sleep.

A Lovely Day Anyway

Our friends, John and Marcia Murray from Illinois, came over about 12:30 and we went on an outing. John and Marcia have been coming to this area for 5 years so have gotten around a bit and were our tour guides for the day. We made 2 stops, one at KFC and one at Subway to ensure that everyone was happy with their food.

We went to a park in Cape Coral that was on the water. It was sunny and a bit windy but just a delightful setting to relax at the shady picnic table, eat, talk, laugh at John picking on Ed, and enjoy watching the water.

We drove to a big development on the water, checked out the menu at the Rumrunner restaurant (I'd like to dine there one of these days), and browsed through a few shops.

Cape Coral is famous for its Burrowing Owls. There are little protected areas staked out here and there, several of which are near the library. The owls are only about 6 inches tall and you might see these little yellow eyes peep up out of one of the holes. There are little wood perches right by every hole, which they use. John and Marcia have seen them sitting on the perches - but we had no luck today.

The luck was that we got out and about and we had a delightful afternoon with our new-found friends!

The Hiccup King is Still Hiccupping

Poor Ed, his hiccups just keep on keepin' on. We've tried most of the magical methods, including the sugar on the tongue. The first time we tried the sugar, it worked.......except that the hiccups returned in about 20 minutes. There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to when they start or stop or how long they last. He might go a couple of hours and we'll breath a sign of relief, only to have them start up again. Naturally, he isn't getting a lot of sleep or he only gets small periods of sleep.

This afternoon, he laid down on the couch. What happened isn't funny, but I had to laugh quietly inside....within a few minutes I was pleased to hear a gentle snore.............followed by a hiccup - in his sleep! (His hiccups are 6 seconds apart.) Then, it was snore...hiccup...snore...hiccup, then.......snore/hiccup together! That was one strange sound! He woke up shortly thereafter.

We've talked to several other people who said they've had the hiccups for a couple of days. It doesn't seem to be an emergency and Ed still doesn't want to call the doctor. However, not getting sleep is going to catch up with him. He's already been reading online and the hiccups are not listed as a possible reaction to chemo.

He's having medicinal ice cream now and just came out with a burp/hiccup combo! We both laughed at that one! Let's hope he ice cream does its job.

Horrific Hiccups

Ed's blood counts were better yesterday, not great, but good enough for an 80% dose of his chemo, which is carboplatin and gemzar, along with Aloxi and Decadron. He's scheduled for blood work for the next two Fridays, then a scan and a meeting with the doctor on April 10th. That means we'll be here in North Ft. Myers until then.

Last night was a long one because Ed had the hiccups all night. We googled "How to get rid of hiccups" and came up with all sorts of magical cures. Ed tried some of them and found that the "breath-holding" technique seemed to be the easiest to do and it worked.......for about 15 minutes and the hiccups would come back!

We had lunch about a half-hour ago and he hiccuped the whole time he was making a sandwich, but (I'm afraid to say this because it might jinx things) by the end of lunch, they quit.

, the hiccups just returned. As with most men, Ed refuses to call the doctor because he already has enough drugs in his system.....which I have to agree with in this case. I think I see a nap on the horizon for us both.....then again, maybe not!