Just another day

Just a quiet day at home.  I don't move around too much, keep my foot elevated like the doctor ordered.  I do some sodakas, read, sleep, watch TV.

Home Nurse

Doing well, but not doing much.  A Home Nurse came this morning to check my vitals and re-bandage my foot.  This is a great medicare service, I don't want to go to the clinic and certainly not when there are probably covet 19 people.

I had another down time in the afternoon, Don had to fix dinner (and did a good job) but I could hardly eat anything, just not hungry. 

My bandaged foot:

No pain

I feel better after getting a full night's sleep.  Good to relax and not have someone wanting to do something to me like take blood, blood pressure, etc.  I had a down time in the afternoon where I felt awful but finally got out of that.  All I wanted for dinner was toast, felt bad that Don wasn't getting a good meal but I sure couldn't fix anything.

I am fortunate to not have any or much pain in my foot.

Home!

The doctor really wanted me to stay another day as the kidney numbers are even worse today.  I told him I just couldn't, I would feel so much better to be home.  I promised to have a blood panel on Monday.  Finally he consented and let me leave.

It is really good to be home but I have found out how fast I tire.  I have little appetite so Don keeps trying to find something I want to eat. 

Also good to be in my own clothing and not hooked up to an IV.

No sleep

All is going well with my foot.  I am getting very tired as I am getting very little sleep.  I get to sleep and someone comes along an wants blood, vitals, etc.  I am so ready to go home.

Turns out my kidneys are causing problems probably from the massive antibiotic I am getting and the MRI contrast.  I have to stay another day to see if the numbers improve.

No toe

Surgery today.  All went well, the toe is gone, I have very little pain.  The hospital is nice and the staff great but I am already ready to leave.

Infection

Today I went to the podiatrist to have her look at my middle toe on my left foot.  It had swelled to about 3 times it size and was oozing and bleeding.  She quickly determined that I had infection in my toe bone and that it had to be amputated.  Within an hour I was in the hospital getting the prep for surgery the next day.  Not what I had in mind for my week.  She said "remove the toe to save the leg".

Cleaning house

Don went to the grocery store first thing this morning and surprise they had toilet  paper!  He got a package of 30 so we are willing to share!  He also picked up some fruit.

We then cleaned the house, I cleaned the kitchen with 99% germ killer spray and then cleaned the sinks with Clorox spray.   Just doing what we can!

Getting settled in

We got the suitcases put together with our other travel things and all put away.  Then we had the little stuff that keeps getting moved around but not put away until a someone (me) makes a effort to get it done.   So, I guess I can say things are under control at last.

We had leftovers for dinner and watched news and some TV.  Sounds like the Covid virus hasn't reached it's full potential yet here in the U.S. and that we aren't ready to deal with a lot of sick people.  We hope and pray it isn't as bad a the news makes it out to be.

Sunday

When I woke up I realized I was feeling better.  We got a lot of stuff put away and the remainder of the dirty (cruise) clothing washed.  Still a lot of little things to put away.

Brenda came over in the morning with her new puppy Java.  She is so sweet, she wanted to play with me but she snuggled with Don and went to sleep.

I fixed corned beef and cabbage that our daughter brought for dinner.  She came over later for a visit and to get the Sunday newspaper.

Home, tired

Good to sleep in our own bed!  Not good to see all the stuff that we brought that would have to be put away eventually.  I was tired, almost sick tired.

Our daughters came for a visit in the morning, I was more than happy to visit and not work. 

In the afternoon I forced myself to unload the suitcase full of clean clothing and put away with Don's help.  I washed a few loads but quickly ran out of energy.  We had a slice of ham that the kids had brought for dinner.

Branson to home

Up at 5:30 again for a 10 hour drive home.  The hotel had a decent breakfast, a woman was making waffles, etc. for people.  We have driven this road many times so know there is only one place where we might make a wrong turn and are very cautious of that area.  We get on Interstate 35 in Kansas City and that takes us to Minnesota!  Lunch at a truck stop, they had fresh pizza which was very good.  We got to our house about 5:30.

So good to be back.  Don unloaded the car, I had only enough energy to get out the stuff we would need for the night.

Our daughters had loaded up our kitchen and refrigerator with groceries!  Now the first thing we had to do was not go shopping,

Foley to Branson

Up again at 5:30 and were on the road by 7 AM.  The motel breakfast consisted of plastic wrapped bagels, English muffins, etc.  We heated a bagel in the microwave and had coffee and juice.  We went into Louisiana where there are some of my favorite city names:  Moss Point, Tallulah,  Transylvania, Dumas.   Up to Jackson, Mississippi and over to Vicksburg where we ate lunch again in our car.  Finally made it to Little Rock where we had to make a decision on which was we were going.  Being we still had plenty of daylight we decided to go north though some hill and curves to Branson.  That is usually a busy road with people coming and going to Branson (Country Music Capital), but today there were few cars.

When we got to Branson we quickly noticed it was empty, we have been there many times but never seen it this empty. (Covid-19)  We were one for four couples in our huge hotel.  We stopped at Sonic Drive-in for a sandwich for dinner.  12 hours on the road.

Bushnell to Foley Arkansas

We got up at 5:30, it took us three hours to get the remainder packed and do the big job of emptying the trailer tanks, unhooking the water, sewer and electricity and putting the hoses and cords in the shed.  It was good to finally get on the road.

Lunch time we stopped at a McDonald's which was closed so went across to an Arby's.  Don was sure we could go inside and eat but that was not the case, we ate in the car.  Then on we went to Foley, Alabama, a place we often visited in when we had the motorhomes.  We checked into our hotel and went to eat at a favorite place "Shrimp Basket" which surprised us by being open.  It was off to bed early again.

Ready to go!

Packing in earnest today.  Clothing, books, meds, food that is not in a can, anything that will get too hot or too cold.  I got the suitcases ready mid afternoon, remaining followed.  Don packed stuff in the car and it was packed.  Then we cleaned up the house a little so as not to attract bugs.

Went to bed early.

Parking lot?

Ship we were on Sky Princess

Beginning to get ready to leave.

Don waxed the outside of the trailer today and pumped up the tires, now it is all but ready to leave.  I began packing some, will do most of it tomorrow.  I cleaned the house, was dusty - think there was a wind storm while we were gone.  We had branches all over our deck and by our door when we came back.

For dinner we had the remaining frozen fish in our freezer.  It wasn't great the first time around and no better today.  We watched some TV, tried to keep our eyes open!

Desserts on the ship:

Back at the trailer

We both feel tired, just need a couple days of doing nothing.  That is not going to happen as we plan to leave Wednesday or Thursday for Minnesota.  Don power washed the outside of the trailer to get off any mold and mildew that is always growing in Florida.  He also took the bed sheets and jeans to the campground laundry.  I washed several loads in our little trailer washer while unloading and putting away stuff.  I decided to keep the dirty shirts, dress pants, etc. in a suitcase to wash when we get to MN.  No use washing, folding and being all wrinkled.  Lots of stuff I put away will have to come out again, but there is no place to put it in the meanwhile.  Easier to just go through the cupboards, drawers and closets than to hunt down where things are located. 

We are concerned about finding hotels and eating places on our trip north.  It is 1600 miles, about 26 hours on the road so we can't do it in one long day.  So much is being closed.

No groceries in the trailer so we went to Walmart.  It was busy and many shelves were picked clean.  No paper products, hardly any soup, pasta, pasta sauce.  Most all the shelves were a mess, stuff moved around and pushed aside.  An employee was wiping down the shopping carts and there were wipes and hand sanitizer at the doors. 

A few pictures from our cruise ship Sky Princess:

Back to real life!

We were not quarantined!  Getting off the ship and to our car went smoothly.  Must have felt good to drive again because Don sure was pushing the speed!  Our GPS was messed up for some reason and had trouble getting out to the highway on our own.  We stopped later and were able to reset it, then worked fine.

We got home (to the trailer by Bushnell, FL) about 1:30, both tired so took a rest and then Don brought in the suitcases and I started going through them and putting stuff away.  We decided to leave one suitcase full of dirty clothing which we can wash in Minnesota in our big new washer.  (We are planning to head to Minnesota sometime this next week as we don't want to be sick and in Florida.  Will be about a month sooner than we usually go.)

Had tuna sandwiches for dinner, caught up on some TV and to bed!!!

Cruise day thirteen

Sea day and last full day of cruise.  Pancakes for breakfast again and then spent some time in the Atrium followed by time around the pool.  Pizza for lunch.

American day:  so had turkey for dinner.  We had packed in the afternoon and so after dinner had to put the rest of our clothing in the suitcases and put them outside our door by 10 PM.  We watched the movie : It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Mr. Rogers).

We have heard that there is no coronavirus on the ship, sure hope we don't have to quarantine tomorrow.  Won't know until morning.

Cruise day twelve

Sea day,  starting the two day trip to Ft. Lauderdale to be there Sat. morning.  We stopped by the dinning room for pancakes and bacon before going to the "rummage sale".  I didn't buy anything.

Mid morning the Captain announced a video on TV's.  It was the head of Princess announcing the closing of Princess for 60 days.  We will be back to Ft. Lauderdale as planned on Sat. morning.  I feel so sorry for the crew whose life and family depend on their Princess job.

The Captain announced we would be making a stop in Dominican Republic for "supplies"  in the case we would be quarantined in Ft. Lauderdale because of the coronavirus.  This happened while we were at the Captain's party, the Captain couldn't come as he had to drive the ship.

We had another good dinner.  Went to the Atrium for a while and came back and watched another movie.  Movies we have seen:  Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Bombshell (Fox news lawsuit),  Fast and Furious,  Ford vs. Ferrari, Gemini Man. 

Cruise day eleven

Today at St. Maarten.  Dutch on one side, French on the other.

I had to have bagel and smoked salmon again for breakfast.  Went to the buffet for lunch, had tacos.   For dinner we had steak, once again good.  We went to the Atrium for some entertainment before going to our cabin early as we wanted to see what the President had to say about the coronavirus.  He certainly is not taking any leadership in this crisis.

Cruise day ten

We docked at St. Thomas about 9AM, it took an hour to get clearance for people to disembark.  We wondered if they were being careful in light of the coronavirus.  We went for lunch at the buffett, had salad and taco chips with guacamole and olives.

It was a hot and humid day, guess that is better than the cold days we have been having.  For dinner we had beef tenderloin which was very good.  Then we watched some entertainment in the Atrium.  Came back to our Cabin and watched news on the coronavirus.

Cruise day nine

Sea day.  The ocean is rough.  I took a motion-sickness pill that people recommend "Bonnie".  It seemed to help a lot.  We were really moving and the ocean was really moving.

We took a long nap in the afternoon, good way to ignore the movement.  In the evening we had steak for dinner, it was good and so was the Princess Chocolate Experience I had for dessert.

To the Atrium again where it was champagne tower of glasses.  We watched and got a free glass, wasn't great.

Cruise day eight

We are at Princess' private island today.  The ship is about empty!  This was our day to wash clothing if we want to look and smell clean for the rest of the trip.  The laundry was empty and we got it done quickly and put away.

For lunch we went up on deck for pizza and ice cream.  A wind was blowing thru like a wind tunnel and it is on the cool side.

We did stuff around the ship for the afternoon.  I had salmon for dinner and couldn't resist getting a dessert.  We decided to skip the Princess theater tonight and watched activities in the atrium.

Cruise day seven

Today would be the end of the cruise for most passengers.  We were docked in Ft. Lauderdale when we woke up.  We had breakfast (incredible French toast) and went to a dinning room where all people staying for another week were to wait.  There were over 300 people staying on. 

We had to wait until all the departing passengers were gone and then we were escorted out of the ship to the terminal where we had to pass immigration.  Then when the ship was "cleared" meaning a check was done to see that all guests had departed, we could return to the ship.  Well they were missing two people that had not checked out.  After about 30 minutes they found them, an older couple who probably decided the rules didn't affect them.  They brought them off the ship and the rest of us went back on.  We were back on by 10:30, they started letting new guests on about 11:30.  Lots of young children it seems.

We sailed about 4PM, the ocean was rough after a very smooth ride last week.  It was starting to mess up my head but I made it through dinner, a new comedian and to bed.

We had salmon for dinner, our waiter suggested a dessert so went with that.  It was actually two desserts, both good but a lot, lot of sugar.

Cruise day six

Sea day.  That means lots of people around.  We did our usual breakfast, coffee and roll mid morning, lunch, nap, trip up on top deck, etc.

Dinner was American night.  I had turkey breast.  It was very good, but too much.  It came with roasted sweet potatoes which were also good.  Then baked Alaska for dessert.  The evening show was the comic that performed last Monday.  We went again as he was good then and good again tonight.  Afterwards we stopped by the Atrium and watched the ship's band for awhile and had a cup of decaf coffee.

Cruise day five

Today in Costa Maya.  We were going to walk into town but one look at the extremly long dock and considering the heat and humidity we decided looking from our balcony was good enough.   There were 5 big ships in dock so we understood the island was jammed with people.

We got some taco's for lunch.  It was lobster night for dinner.  We have been sitting at the same table with the same waiter so he is eager to please us.  Before we got done with the first lobster tail, he brought us another.  They were good size, tender and good tasting.

Afterwards we went to the evening show "a piano player comic".  Turns out he was better than we guessed he might be.  A man about our age.  He said he used to entertain people on drugs in the Hippy Days and now he entertains people on  meds  -- the same people.

Cruise day four

Today in Roatan, Hondouras.  There was a small shopping area by the dock to visit.  We had been here just a couple years ago.

We had pizza and beer for lunch on the ship and after a nice nap went up on deck.  Dinner was beef tenderloin again.  I had a goat cheese souffle for an appetizer.  It was wonderful.  The show was a female vocalist.  She was OK, not too exciting.

We got home early and watched the movie Somewhere in Hollywood, a long show and a different ending!

Cruise day three

Today we were in Belize.  We had a tour planned but just did not have the energy, thanks to our colds, to go on the trip.  They were good enough to refund our money.  A disappointment as we had never been to Belize. 

We stayed aboard, had lunch at the International Cafe.  We had beef and cucumber sandwiches, Don had a salad and I had beet and orange salad.  Dinner was good, we are not eating so much but enjoy what we do eat.  It was Italian night and had some good Italian food. 

In the theater they had a performance which was suppose to be like a computer game.  Lots of aerial performances, etc.  Interesting but we wondered if some older folks had a hard time following.

Cruise day two

When we woke this morning we were docked by Cozumel.  After breakfast we felt the need for some cough drops so walked the long, long, dock into town.  We bought something which seems to help.

For dinner we had shrimp and scallops, a favorite of ours. Then after dinner it was the Captain's reception for frequent cruisers.  Free drinks and snacks.  We decided to skip the theater as it was a magic show which we are not big on.  By this time our colds were taking over our lives, time for bed.

Cruise day One

We slept 10 hours last night, we were so tired and trying to fight colds.  After some (a lot) coffee I felt better and ready for the day.  We looked around the ship and ended  up at the "International Cafe" for a muffin and specialty coffee.

A nap felt good in the afternoon, in the evening we had shrimp cocktail for a dinner appetizer and beef tenderloin which was good.  Then went to the "Rock Opera" in the theater.  It was good but not what I was expecting.  More Opera, less Rock.  We stopped in the Atrium for awhile before deciding it was bed time.