Pilot Mountain

On Saturday Linda and I decided to drive up to Pilot Mountain. Since we drive past it to get to the campground, we had to backtrack a bit to get there. It was a gorgeous crisp, fall day so we thought it would be an ideal time to get great views from on top of the mountain.

With my physical restrictions, the typical activities that one does on Pilot Mountain such as hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, bicycling, etc. are not ones that I can do. I was hoping as we drove to the top that the overlook area would be relatively close to the parking lot to limit the amount of walking I'd have to do. Well, it wasn't too far but was down a pretty good grade so I took it real slow and Linda had a hold of my arm to make sure I didn't cover too much ground too quickly. Funny how the steep grade could be felt in my abdomen as we came back up. We did have some awesome views from the overlook though.

If you look real close, those dark buildings way off in the distance are Winston Salem.

Once we left Pilot Mountain, we drove back to Mt. Airy and went to Wal-Mart to get some things. Our weekend is cut short since there is a big event today at work and Linda is expected to help out if needed. If these things were once in a while, it wouldn't be so bad but they've been twice a month and always on our days off which means we get one day off instead of two and have to cut camping short. We're just a little bit grumpy today. Too much to do (and I can't help)and not enough people to do it all.

Tuesday

Linda got off today at 3:30 so we've been hanging out. I taught her how to play the new computer game I downloaded...Zuma's Revenge. When my kids were little they had tried to show me how to play video games but I couldn't ever figure out how to make Mario "swing" or "jump", etc. I was a video game idiot, to say the least. This game is just about shooting colored balls till you get a combination of 3 and then they smash and disappear. As you advance up through the levels, the playing field changes, faster speed, more rows of balls coming at you, etc. Fun but it's weird how playing these kinds of games makes you tense up really bad. Linda stopped playing after a little while and said "Whew"...and said it was very stressful. It is in a way....that must be the rush that kids feel or have felt for years playing these games. I can understand how addictive it could be though. You want to keep advancing to the next level to see what new challenge lies ahead. For me, recuperating from surgery...I can feel that tenseness in my stomach as I play the game so probably a good thing that I not do it for hours on end.

Today it was a crazy day for Linda here. Fire marshal was here to do inspection and our city health inspector was here (we got a 99). In this part of North Carolina, food operations have to post their inspection scores which I think is a great idea and should be the norm all over the country. All tests complete and good rating all the way around.

We took Boomer to the dog park....a place we haven't been to in a long while. He had a blast, romping with the other dogs there. He's sacked out on the floor in front of me....visions of that female german shepherd dancin' in his head...

Body is gaining a little bit every day. You really realize how much different "life" activities and movements affect your body when it's been cut and repaired and feels all the bumps and turns. It doesn't hurt to roll over in bed anymore. I can almost walk a normal stride without it pulling on my abdomen. It's the little things in life that make up a pain-free day. That and a bottle of Ibuprofen !!

Lazy Sunday...

Saturday Becky flew back to Boston to enjoy her last week of unemployment before starting her new job at Berklee. We're so excited for her. What a perfect position for someone who loves music so much...to work at a school exclusively about the music business, providing an education to young people who share that same passion for music. I can't wait to hear all about her job in the months ahead as she gets settled in there.

My days are pretty uneventful, as I guess they should be. Walking, lounging, napping, eating, internet browsing, and then off to bed for a new day of the same events. Can't sit for too long or I get very stiff and sore so I take a little stroll around the walking path or through the interior hallways here. I took an hour long nap just now and awoke to the shrill e-call siren going off in our apartment. That made the ole tummy muscles contract a wee bit. Luckily it must have been a false alarm as it stopped after just one loud, annoying blare. It is a beautiful day here..in the high 60's with a light breeze blowing.

The hard thing for me is my "Do Not Do" list is way longer than my "Can Do" list. I feel really bad for Boomer that he's cooped up with me too and I can't take him out for walks. I've figured out a way to at least let him go outside. If I hook the retractable leash over the door handle, it will retract far enough that he can go out in the back yard to pee. A "No Hands Approach" to walking the dog....
That way it won't jar me if he sees a squirrel and takes off on a dead run (that would really hurt). Think I will reheat our leftover shrimp fajitas and eat it out on the back patio while Boomer lounges in the grass enjoying the last rays of sunlight. More later....

Recovering

My surgery went well Wednesday morning. Linda was getting a little nervous cause it took longer than they had told her for me to come out of recovery. My body doesn't care for anesthesia and the nurses couldn't get me to wake up. They finally did and then took me to my room where I spent most of Wednesday dozing. The anesthesia reared its' ugly head again as it tried to get out of my system. Guess they didn't give me near enough of the anti-nausea medicine. Anyway, I was discharged from the hospital around 6 p.m.on Thursday and after stopping by the apartment to pack up some items, we headed to the campground. It's been so great having Becky here to help Linda with things. My pain and discomfort isn't too bad...Get tired out easily and need to lay down and rest a little before I get up and go again.

I'm taking it easy. Tomorrow Becky flies back to Boston. On Thursday, while I was napping, she got the call we've been waiting for. She got the job at Berklee's School of Music that she interviewed for. She's going to be a Program Assistant in the Student Activities dept. What a great opportunity ! We're so happy for her. She starts on November 1st.

Guess that's all for now. My thanks to everyone who sent their good wishes and prayers for my surgery. I appreciate it so much and can't wait to get to the point where I'm fully recovered and don't have any restrictions. Driving me crazy not being able to do stuff and having to sit on the sidelines while Linda or Becky do it. This too shall pass....

Day of Pre-Op...

I spent a good majority of today between the doctor's office and the anesthesiologists office, getting my pre-op stuff done for my surgery on Wednesday. They are not sure whether they will knock me out or give me a spinal for the surgery. Is up to my doctor and depends on length of surgery. Becky, my daughter, went with me to the doctor's office so she heard the detail of what he expects to do. Was probably more info than she cared to hear but now she knows...Surgery will probably take around two hours, depending how much he has to repair once he get in there. The hysterectomy is pretty cut and dry but the mesh sling to neck of my bladder and other stuff he might need to do could make the surgery go longer than an spinal would keep me under for. In a way, I'd prefer a spinal, although I've never had one because it wouldn't make me nauseous like general anesthesia does. We'll see what the doc says....

Anxious to get it over and done with...then Linda won't be a nervous wreck anymore. It has been a rough week here at work. Last night during supper one of our residents suffered a stroke. I found him when another resident told me they thought he had dozed off. When I got to him I could see that wasn't the case and from the paralysis on his one side, it seemed pretty evident he had or was having a stroke. We got the EMT's here pronto but it's not looking very good that he'll recover. Last Friday our oldest resident passed away. She was a great lady...you would never guess she was 96 years old. It was really quick too for her...one night I chatted with her and her daughter while they were working on a puzzle and the next day her daughter said she was sick and that we should call an ambulance. It will be a great memory for her daughter of having spent that night playing with her mom in our community while working on that puzzle together. A lesson for all of us....never take for granted the time you spend with your loved ones. We never know when it could be the last time. Working here has made Linda and I realize that and makes us want to get back out on the road to continue with our adventures. We're working hard to get to that goal !

And it Shall Be Called Fun-Mart....

Ok, how cool is it that you can go to Walmart AND buy a funnel cake while you're there. Way Cool, I think ! We're camping...we were in the mood for crackers, cheese, a little wine and some beer and figured we'd hop down to the local Walmart to get these items. There is an Autumn Leaves festival going on in town this weekend, drawing over 200,000 people. We drove through the downtown area (or attempted to) yesterday and discovered that the whole downtown area was blocked off for a craft show, etc. We navigated out around it and headed back to camp. Nothing we need and didn't care to walk a long ways from parking spot to check it out. Meanwhile back to my Walmart story....we pull in the parking lot and there are all of these vendors set up across the front of the store. Probably around 10 vendors, one of which was the Boy Scouts, who were making funnel cakes. Set up right outside the exit door....how strategic a set-up is that ? It was very yummy...the crackers, cheese, wine and beer weren't bad either. :)

In other news...my daughter is coming to hang out with me and play nurse for a few days after I have my surgery. Her flight, from Boston, left at 8:30 this morning. Only thing is, she's not on it. Seems she thought that a 5:30 a.m. departure wasn't worth getting any sleep for and pulling an all nighter would be a better idea. Around 2:30 she said she was so exhausted that she laid down to sleep for a little bit. She and her roommates set three alarm clocks so she'd get up in time. (Guess what she's getting for Christmas) At 8:00 my phone rang and it was Becky...sun coming through the window woke her up but was too late to make her flight. She called Continental airlines and they told her to come in and see if she can get on the 11:00 flight. We'll see....if not, this will be life lesson #348 for her. More later on whether she makes it to North Carolina or not.

Dixie Classic Fair

Yesterday was our day to finish around 3:30. I had heard, from one of our residents earlier in the day, that the fair was in town so we thought that would be a fun thing to do last night.


We weren't really sure where the fair was located but finally stumbled upon signs for it and got there just fine.We had such a good time. The Dixie Classic Fair is in its 128th year of operating and it's like the county type fairs that we have up in Pennsylvania. Livestock, displays, music, home-made items that get judged and awarded ribbons and lots of yummy food. Since we hadn't eaten since lunchtime, we thought we'd just eat our way across the fairgrounds. The big difference in southern style fairs and "yankee" fairs is the food made by the local churches and civic organizations. They DO have hamburgers and hotdogs but then you can get pintos and cornbread, collard greens, chitterlings (what the heck are those ?). Linda and I looked high and low for something in the vegetarian realm (nope, collard greens don't fit in that category) and when we didn't find it, we opted for fresh cut fries. Had a big ole plate of them for starters. Then we hit the funnel cake stand. Later we bought 1/2 a pound of mixed fancy nuts.  Part way through our travels we came up on a small booth where everything was made from apples. Apple streudel, apple dumplings, etc. Since we were pretty full, we decided on a apple cinnamon stick, which was very yummy. Everything in that booth looked and smelled awesome and it wasn't your typical fair booth. It was a local person and everything was home-made. After all of this we were really stuffed but we went by this one booth that really caught our eye. The guy was working over a really huge wok and he was stir frying all sorts of fresh veggies and then he added soba noodles to all of it and soy sauce. The flames were shooting into the air and it was quite a show and it smelled wonderful. Well, we had to try it. It was very good...little salty tasting from all of the soy sauce..but a great choice.

We did do other things besides eat.....we went in the building where the home-made exhibits were. Beautifully made quilts, decorated cakes, 4-H booths, pies and cakes and baking powder biscuits (none that looked as good as my mom's blue ribbon winners) and lots of jams and jellies. The photography entries took up the width of the whole building. It was wonderful to see so much talent. I couldn't believe the eye that some of the elementary school kids had....great shots ! Here is one of the entries by a youngster that I thought was really cute. Shows the patience that our canine companions have for their owners...

We went to the grandstand and heard 14karat gold perform (they were awesome)and then the main attraction came out. The group is called "The Tams" and they were great ! What energy they had....wow, the guys doing the back-up to the lead singer were getting a heck of an aerobic workout. A number of people were dancing near the stage. I'd swear this one older lady was a stripper in her youth....my, she was really putting the moves on. All she needed was a stripper pole out there in the middle of the blacktop where she was dancing and she'd been all set ! And it was all free entertainment too....

It was a fun night out...so glad we got to experience it. 

Relaxing....

Sorry for the lapse in posting. Linda and I have been so crazy busy at work since the other management couple left our community that we haven't had a spare minute. We've been very busy with new move-ins and trying to get their apartments ready so they can move in. This week alone we had four apartments being moved in to and it came down to the wire getting everything done. I was shampooing carpets on my time off to get the one ready and on top of all that we had the President of our company come to visit us on Thursday. When that happens we don't get a lot accomplished because we're talking with him, touring him, etc. and everything else comes to a standstill. I had a tour to give to a family member looking for their father so did not get much time to spend with him. The little bit we did talk was nice. He is a very down to earth guy. Grew up in Binghamton, NY which is pretty close to where I grew up. His grandfather was a physician in Sayre, PA which is where my kids spent their high school years. Linda did a great job of showing him around and telling him about our community.

It's really busy around the campground this weekend. Our rig has been moved to the end of the park, away from our normal spot. There is a Heartland RV gathering here so lots of that particular brand in the park. Next weekend is the Autumn Leaves festival and we've heard that 250,000 people will be in the area next weekend for that. Amazing ! I can't imagine where that many people will stay in the area or what the attraction will be to draw them here. Holy Cow...Mt Airy doesn't seem big enough to draw those kinds of crowds. We probably won't be out and about much next weekend. Last weekend it was Mayberry Days in town and there were lots of people around for that. This year's the 50th anniversary of the Andy Griffith show so that drew a lot of people to town. After next weekend things should quiet down and we'll go back to our regular camping spot.

Weather has taken a drastic turn since the official start of fall. Almost overnight we went from daily highs in the 90's to being in the 70's. We've also gotten a good amount of rain recently...which has been sorely needed. Overnight temps get pretty cool which has made for great sleeping weather. We're loving the cooler, fall-like weather !

Linda and I have been getting our check-ups and such, since it's been a few years since we've done so. I've also decided to go ahead with surgery to the downhill slide my body has decided to take as I've gotten older. Will get it done on October 13th and will be laid up for a while. Will be in the hospital overnight and then should be released to go home and begin the healing process. I'm not a very good patient so will need to find something to keep me busy without it involving lifting or overdoing. (Sounds like reading a book will be in order.)I'm anxious to get the problem fixed....not looking forward to being out of commission for a while. That puts alot on Linda the days that she and I work alone. We're trying to figure out how to get some overlap with some other employees schedules to help her out with pouring coffee at suppertime, etc. Once I get my strength back, I can help her with answering the phone and making my marketing calls. I really like my doctor....he's very thorough and I feel confident that he'll do a great job with the surgery.

Our weekend got off to a wonderful start, on Thursday night, when we got to have supper with our friends Wendy and Cindy...here in the park. They had been camping here this week and luckily we got to hang out with them Thursday night and Wendy fixed pizza for supper. This morning we took them to Sue's Restaurant in nearby Dobson for breakfast. Great food...with great friends ! This was the first time that we've had a chance to see their rig. They have a Newmar Dutch Star and it's gorgeous. We got the grand tour, inside and out. Today is the 1 year anniversary for them owning their rig ! So glad we got to see them while they are in the area. They are leaving soon, for a three week trip to China, but we're going to get together again with them in November when they get back. Looking forward to that !

Well, guess that catches you up on what's been happening with us. Hope you all are having fun with what you're doing !

Change in Schedule

We're working a new schedule now. The floating managers, that are here helping us, wanting us to go on the manager's schedule so we gave them Wednesday off to do the turnaround for the new schedule. Our days off will now be Fridays and Saturdays. We finish work around 3:30 on Thursday and have to be back at work to open Sunday morning.

This weekend Linda went up to her grand-daughter's "dedication ceremony (like a baptism). She left Thursday right after she got off work. I stayed here and worked on shampooing carpets in our vacant apartments to try and get ahead on all the projects that need to be done around here. I accomplished quite a bit over the last two days so I feel good about what I can check of the daunting list we have. Linda got back about 7:30 tonight. Took her around 5 hours to drive to Virginia Beach from here.

On Thursday one of the maintenance guys, that works at another property like ours, came to help us with getting our vacant apartments refurbished. He left this morning but in those 2.5 days he got several apartments totally painted and most of the things done so they are ready to rent. He was a maniac ! Worked like a whirlwind...if we could only get everyone to work at that pace, we'd have all the vacants done in no time at all. Whew ! He expects to come back at the end of this week to help us again. Good thing..as we learned Thursday that our maintenance guy is going to have surgery on his ankle on the 30th and who knows how long he'll be out.

His bombshell comes on the heels of hearing from our activity director that she needs to go on medical leave, due to her pregnancy and won't return till after the baby is born (due date is in December). Oh great ! So...two key positions and they'll both be out on medical leaves. On top of getting rooms turned around, with all kinds of carpet replacement, painting, and odds and ends to be done...we have lots of personnel issues (like these) to take care of. Not sure I've ever worked in a place that is such a train wreck ! Linda is doing a great job coordinating all of the carpet installs, ordering of lighting, etc.

I think we will like this new schedule. We only have three overnight on-calls to handle..the rest fall on the co-mgrs schedule. Plus our long days are our first two days...get 'em out of the way right off the bat..then a couple partial days. Should be a piece of cake. Will let you know how it goes...

Little Bit of This and That...

The campground was
packed this weekend. Not an empty site in the park. We were talking to the folks next to us as they were tearing down camp to go. They are from the Netherlands and just bought their rig a few days ago. They are going to try out camping for a few months, then store the rig in Florida and catch a flight back home. They are traveling till around October before flying out of Florida for home. Nice folks !

Right after they pulled out the guy in the next site over was getting ready to leave. He had a very big, (I'm guessing a 39 or 40' unit)triple axle toy hauler. I was giving Bertha a bath and wasn't trying to be too nosy but he got my attention when he started beating on his rig. I look up and it appears that the bedroom slide hadn't gone in all the way. He was wailing on it with the backside of a hatchet. His rig didn't look very old but if I were to hazard a guess, I'm thinking that probably the warranty would be null and void if he's been beating on the slideout with a hatchet. Just a guess...After he tried the hatchet, then the cordless drill came out and he was trying to do something with the little corner pieces on the bottom right side of the slideout. Must be that didn't do the trick cause he went back to using the trusty ole hatchet. The whole family stood there watching him too. I peeked up from waxing (had finished with the washing part by now but heck with this kind of entertainment, it was worth staying outside to do some waxing)and they were all gathered around him. He got it to his level of satisfaction and then they were ready to leave. I'm glad I wasn't riding home with him cause he hooks on with a 2500 series of some brand of truck to this monster of a toy hauler. Gets it hooked and revs it a little to get the momentum to leave the site. With each burst of power, you can see the front end of the truck pull up a bit. Oh boy....he's got way too much rig for that baby truck he's driving.

Weather on Sunday was absolutely perfect. Temps in the upper 70's, great breeze and the night actually cooled off enough that we could open the windows while we slept. It was great. Today it got hotter ( in the 80's) but not unbearable. I talked to my mom on the phone today and up in PA where she lives, she woke to 30 degrees. Oh my...

We went out to eat twice and went to the Mexican restaurant that our good buddy Tom recommended. Dang, not only does he know his maintenance stuff but that boy knows how to pick great restaurants too. Had a great meal both times !

In the same plaza as the Mexican restaurant, is a Tractor Supply store. I wanted to go in there to look around...just for the heck of it. Oops ! They had their metal tool boxes on sale....(you know where this is headed don't ya ?)Ta daa..... After much deliberation and measuring, Bertha got a new place for her tools. The big stuff like the generator and air compressor. They needed a home other than in the back seat with Boomer. Now we actually would have room for passengers in our back seat, should the need ever arise. It's really cool and everything fits and it looks so much more organized than before. I love it ! And like I said it was on sale....

Work is so much better this week than last week or last month. The floating managers arrived Saturday night and we sat down and chatted with them. And get this, they have the same work ethic and us ! They follow company standards, expect people to show up for work and be held accountable when they don't, and want the same things that we do. Wow, is it ever refreshing. Turns out that they worked at our location for a year, in the same position that we are in. They encountered many of the same things we did with the managers and ended up leaving because of it. They know the building and are there to back us up. They would like us to work the managers schedule which would mean Fridays and Saturdays off so we'll have to figure out how to make that work (might mean we go back to work tomorrow and then we'll be off again Thursday night...oh boy !). We're optimistic that we might be able to turn some things around at our community but we'll wait and see how it goes.

It's a new week...Hope everyone had a great Labor Day. We sure did !The campground emptied out today so only a handfull of rigs remain..it's quiet here. Linda's sitting on the swing while I write this. Sound of traffic on the distant highway. Boomer's watching people walking by and there's the smell of campfires in the air. Ahhhhh.....aint it grand !