Month: May 2024

11 May 2024

Still tired from the trip. Still concerned about family medical issues. Still getting up 3 times a night to pee and then having trouble going back to sleep after the 3rd time.

I did manage to strip the bed, wash, dry and fold the linen and put new sheets on the bed. That wiped me out. Lunch was some Cole slaw and pimento cheese on ciabatta bread. Right after lunch, I crawled into bed and read for a short while and then napped.

Jimmie and I had our usual Sunday FaceTime today at 3. They have plans for tomorrow. We had a lot of news to share and it’s something I look forward to every week. My Dad and I had a thing where we called each other every Sunday.

I have tomorrow off but Tuesday is a Herceptin infusion at 10:10 am and Wednesday is an echocardiogram to make sure the Herceptin is not causing heart failure. For every action, there’s an opposite but equal reaction. Seems like I’ve heard that somewhere before.

Tonight’s dinner is tamale casserole. I’m doing a vegetarian version with fresh corn, green chilis, salsa and corn bread mix. It’ll probably be my dinner for the next few nights. It’s one of the few leftover meals I like more than one or two nights.

One of the things I dislike after a trip is adding the expenses to the checking account. I use the app MoneyDance to keep track of checks, expenditures, etc. and it takes some time to enter all the trip information. I got that done yesterday and then balanced the account because the April statement was available. One good thing is that bank statements are more readily available than they once were. I usually get the previous month’s statement on the first of the next month.

Tomorrow, Barbara is coming over around 9 am for some coffee and conversation. She’s about to go on a trip and I just got back from one so we need to catch up. I even cleaned off the kitchen table for her.

I have a sick friend in Broward Health Hospital. I hope to be able to go visit sometime tomorrow. I want to be there for her sister. I’ve known them for over 30 years. It’s a tight knit bunch of friends and I couldn’t be there before now.

I think Tucker is ready for movie night on Wednesday. I’ll get the popcorn ready and the wine chilled.

Stay tuned!

10 May 2024

I got home around 2:30 pm yesterday and did what I always do when I get back from a trip. I unpacked the Jeep and then unpacked the suitcase and then washed, dried, and folded two loads of clothes. I even put the suitcase back in the overhead in the utility room – a dicey situation any day.

Chris and Tucker came by with my mail delivery and I caught her up on my trip. Tucker was unimpressed.

I ordered food from Whole Foods and they delivered around 7 pm and then it was unpacking that and putting it away. By the time I got everything taken care of, it was 9 pm and I was too tired to post a blog.

This morning was busy. I stopped at the Riverland Plaza at a nail place and had them trim my toenails. They were getting to claw length. From there I headed to a car wash to get rid of lovebugs stuck all over the car.

The car wash charges extra for lovebug removal but it was worth it. I found out early in my Florida stay that the worse thing you can do with them is turn the windshield wipers on. It smears it all over the windshield and you can’t see out the window. Fortunately, my encounter with them was minor compared to other years.

From there it was go to Whole Foods and pick up a few items I forgot to order yesterday and then off to Walgreens to pick up a medication they had been texting me about all week.

When I came home, I made pimento cheese and spread it over a couple of slices of ciabatta bread. After lunch (and a cookie) I got in bed to read and then dozed off around 2 pm and slept till 3. I’m still unbelievably tired. I’m sure it’ll take a few days to get back on track.

I tried to get the mileage from the car but they apparently did something to trip mileage because it showed over 6,000 miles for this trip. It’s 940 each way so that’s 1,880 plus any mileage I put on going back and forth from Roosevelt to Pelahatchie, Brandon, and Jackson. Maybe it really was 6,000!

One thing I do know. I can travel again. I may have to spend more nights en route and do less mileage per day but I simply put the Jeep on cruise control and hoofed it. Now to start planning the next trip.

Stay tuned!

8 May 2024

Another 9 hours of sleep. I’m slowly recovering from the family drama although I don’t have much optimism as to the outcomes.

It was basically a five hour drive to Gainesville from Gulf Breeze. I erred in saying tonight was a Hampton Inn & Suites. It’s a Hilton Garden Inn. Very surprisingly, they have dinner tonight, happy hour, and cocktails. I’m stunned. They used to do this at Garden Inns but stopped during Covid. It starts at 5 pm and I’m always hungry by that time. I think all of these were designed with full kitchens so they should be able to get back in the swing of things. It beats going out and hunting a restaurant.

Tomorrow should be an even easier drive – 4 hours and 37 minutes. Add an hour for back ups on the Turnpike and stop and go traffic at Palm Beach.

So far, the traffic up to Mississippi and back down to Gainesville has been pretty good with no major problems. The Jeep is running fine and no check engine lights have come on. I’m getting around 31 mpg with the diesel and I can’t complain about that.

Sorry for the brief posts but I’ve been physically and emotionally drained. Hopefully, the closer to home, the better I become. It’s been an interesting trip. I got to visit with my first cousins, Charles and his wife Minnie Jean and Jean and her husband Russell. Then it was seeing Jimmie, Stephen, Jean and Roger. Then it was a medical emergency for my sister-in-law. I also got to see Kevin for the first time in many, many years, his son Liam and his wife Olya. We even got a house tour. Then it was back to the doctor with my sister-in-law, Tanis.

I feel badly for leaving Archie and Tanis but I did what I could while I was there. Hopefully, things will get better.

Stay tuned!

7 May 2024

I was very tired last night. I went to bed around 8:30 pm and slept for 9 hours – with the exception of 3 pee breaks. I was just beginning to stir after coffee and oatmeal when I noticed a voice mail on my phone. My Jeep was ready to pick up. Honestly, I didn’t expect them to call me until after noon sometime.

I quickly packed up Tanis’ car and drove to Brandon. I hugged Tanis goodbye and Archie let me drive to the Jeep place and I paid for the repair. It was just a little over $830 even with tax. Apparently, one of the parts was cheaper than they anticipated. I tipped JoJo $40 for expediting my Jeep. Then the person they sent to bring it up couldn’t find it. After a while, he drove up in it and I parked beside Tanis’ car and transferred my junk from her car to mine.

Archie and I get emotional when parting. I told him that we are of the age that there is no guarantee that we’ll see each other again. That was certainly brought home by my cancer diagnosis in January.

I headed south and east via various roads and interstates until I reached Pensacola. I’m staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Gulf Breeze. It’s a pretty amazing bridge crossing to get to Gulf Breeze.

After unpacking what I needed from the Jeep, I searched for some place to get a meal. I settled for a Hawaiian restaurant, the Papa Nalu Aloha Grill. I was the only customer even though TripAdvisor said it was the #3 rated restaurant in Gulf Breeze. It was over 6 miles from the hotel and in heavy traffic to get there. At least the food was good. I had two appetizers: coconut shrimp and pot stickers.

I’m now back at the hotel, showered and sleepy. I plan on getting to bed early tonight and getting up very late. My next stop is in Gainesville, about 5 hours away. Another Hampton Inn.

Stay tuned!

6 May 2024

It was a busy day. I managed to get the Jeep into the dealership around 9 am and explained the circumstances. To their credit, they expedited my case and around 10:30 I found out the problem was the thermostat and a leaky radiator cap. Of course, they need to order the parts. If they come in around noon, I should be on the road home by late afternoon – after giving them $830 plus tax.

The family medical problems continued today. Archie and I took Tanis to a doctor’s appointment and spent at least an hour and a half there. We later headed to Pelahatchie Bay for a very late lunch or very early supper.

I now have Tanis’ car and I’ll go to Brandon tomorrow morning and wait for a call from the Jeep place.

Stay tuned!

5 May 2024

Cinco de Mayo! Today has certainly been a better day family health wise. One of the things I’ve forgotten in Mississippi is how far away everything is. In Florida, I’m 4 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. At Roosevelt State Park, I’m 17 miles from my brother’s house in Brandon. That doesn’t seem like much but if you travel it back and forth twice, that’s 68 miles.

I picked my brother up around 10:30 (Tanis wanted us to have some time together) and we traveled to Morton via US 80, at one time, the only coast to coast road in the United States.

We pointed out old bootlegger places, old friends’ homes, old businesses, and told stories about all of them.

We visited the cemetery in Morton where most of our relatives are buried and then back tracked to have lunch.

We stopped at Asadores Mexican restaurant and the service and food were a delight. I had fajitas and strangely, on the menu was liver and onions which my brother loves.

From there we went to Pulaski and the Searcy cemetery and I tried to clean pine sap off the head stones of Mom and Dad and Grandaddy and Grandmama. I got them scrubbed enough you could see the names and dates.

I then gave Archie a tour of Roosevelt. It had been years since he has been there. One of the things I showed him was the remains of the old diving platform we used to jump off as kids. It had a high dive and a low diving board.

Our cousin Joe Lee was showing out one day and decided to spring off the high board and land on the low board and then spring into the water. He missed. He hit his head on the way into the water on the low board. I decided not to try that particular maneuver.

On our way back to Brandon, we took, not US 80 but old US 80. It was a fun trip.

Yesterday, I had some visitors at the motel.

Tomorrow, I take the Jeep in to see what’s what. Archie and Tanis will pick me up at the Jeep dealership and we’ll go to lunch and then go to Tanis’ doctor’s appointment. If I can drive the Jeep with the check engine light on (which I’ve been doing) I’ll head home on Tuesday. If not, I may be staying a while longer. Hopefully not 31 days like last time.

Stay tuned!

4 May 2024

I didn’t make yesterday’s post.  It turned out to be quite the day. I reunited with Jean, Roger, Jimmie and Stephen and later met Jean and Roger’s son Kevin and his son Liam.  Stephen treated us to lunch at Ichiban in Flowood.  After a tour of Kevin’s home, I headed to Archie and Tanis’ house in Brandon.  

There was a family emergency there and Tanis’ son, David, and I tried to help as best we could.  The next day, the emergency situation got worse.  Tanis ended up in the emergency room at St. Dominix and it was around 10 pm when we got her back home.  

Today I found her to be much better and I treated them to lunch at a local restaurant in the square in Brandon.  It’s been an emotional experience and isn’t over yet.  Let’s just say aging is not an easy process: for me, my brother, and my sister-in-law.  

After our lunch, I headed to the cemetery in Morton to take some photos of family gravestones and then headed to the park where I went back to bed.  Tanis has a doctor’s appointment on Monday and I need to take my jeep into the Jeep dealership in Flowood and get it checked for the “check engine” light.  

I’m not sure how many days I’ll stay in Mississippi to try to help David with Archie and Tanis.  As soon as I know, I’ll post the info.  The next few post may be very brief.

3 May 2024

This is a brief update from yesterday. I’ll write more this evening before I go to bed. Two things stood out to me yesterday nature-wise.

The first was the photo of the docks at Roosevelt.

Just to show how time gets away from us, these cypress trees were mere saplings when I first started to going to Roosevelt around the age of 8. The photo doesn’t do them justice because they are really quite large.

The second thing was when I was visiting the cemetery I kept hearing this buzz in the air.

It seems it was about a trillion cicadas! When I went to Charle’s house, he had another trillion calling for their mates. Then when I went to Archie’s, nothing. It seems this hatching is only in Pulaski.

This morning, as I got up, I noticed wakes in the lake. Then later I noticed a Canada goose. I didn’t think they came down this far but it has been a cold winter. In any case, I later saw the mother and the babies.

All About Birds says this is a non-breeding population but someone forgot to tell the geese. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife says these are resident geese and they do breed.

More later!

2 May 2024

Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law!

It was an interesting and emotional day. I arrived at Roosevelt State Park a little after 12:30 and decided to see if I could check in. No one was in the office but finally someone showed up. I asked for two extra nights and when she tried to charge my card, the computer jammed on her. In any case, I’ll stay through Tuesday.

After getting the key, I checked out the room. My room supposedly has recently been updated and modernized. If so, they need to ask for their money back. It’s decent enough for the price.

From there I toured the park and brought back old memories.

From the park, I traveled the Morton/Marathon road to Pulaski and visited the Searcy Cemetery where my family is interred. It’s also called the crock pot road because Archie and Tanis were bringing a stew to my Mom and Dad and took a curve to quickly and spilled the contents in the car.

From here I visited my 1st cousins. I haven’t seen them in quite a while. Minnie Jean managed to get us all together for the first time that didn’t include a funeral.

Just as I left Charle’s house to go to Brandon to see my brother, the check engine light on the Jeep came on.

Stay tuned!

1 May 2024

It was an inauspicious start to the trip. I left the house at 9:10 and as I was about to turn on Riverland I thought “Did I turn the warmer eye off for my coffee?” I made a loop and went back in and yes, I had turned it off. Better safe than sorry.

My second departure was at 9:15 and I headed west on Riverland and immediately got tied up with parents dropping off kids at the middle school. I managed to finally bypass that and get on the Florida Turnpike.

By the time I got to Palm Beach, the digital road signs kept saying the two north lanes of the turnpike were closed ahead and to seek an alternate route. They didn’t suggest an alternate route nor did they tell you where you could get back on the turnpike to go to Orlando. My GPS suggested going to Jacksonville to I-10 but that would add an hour to the trip.

I tried at the Jupiter exit to get back on and that was a no go. By the time I got to Stuart, you could see the north bound lane of the turnpike and it was a parking lot. I kept on I-95 and followed some transfer trucks. I finally got access at Port Saint Lucie and made quick time from there but I was already badly behind. It was supposed to be a 6 hour and 30 minute trip from my house to Quincy but it ended up being 8 1/2 hours.

Strangely, I felt pretty good driving and when my back started to act up I turned on the heated seat. That works wonders. Even my neuropathy seems better today. It’s a little early in the year but the love bugs are back. My windshield was spattered a little bit but not as bad as it can get. When I pulled in to fuel up for tomorrow, I took a little time getting them off the windshield. They sure make a mess.

Tomorrow should be a 6 hour and 4 minute day (if there are no stops) and the route takes me through Mobile and then up to Hattiesburg and then to the park. I need to leave pretty early tomorrow because at 2:30 I’m going to Charles and Minnie Jean’s for a 1st cousin reunion. Charle’s sister Jean will be there and I’m excited to see them all. If I have time, I’ll check in with Roosevelt and if not, drive directly to Charles and Minnie Jean’s. If I can remember how to go. I grew up on those roads but it has been a while.

Tomorrow is also Tanis’ birthday (Archie’s wife) and I want to take them out to eat either tomorrow night or with the other cousins for lunch.

There are no restaurants close to the Hampton Inn in Quincy. It’s a good thing I have half a sandwich from lunch left.

Stay tuned!