Merry Christmas

A very Merry Christmas to family and friends.

Trees Up

My niece Maritza, her son David & daughter Rebeca arrived yesterday. They got busy this morning decorating our tree.

Looking good.

Rebeca working hard on window decorations.

We are now Santa ready.

Quartzsite

Gay continues her miraculous recovery, so I am headed to Q for a week of fun with the WINs.

Quartzsite ahead

Thirty or so rigs boondocking south of Q
(33.582756, -114.229253)

Desert Hike

Bob and Judy 

Judy, Karen and Bob

Everything is out to get you

After several miles we reached "civilization".

The Canadian Country Club. (map)

The Canadians have homesteaded this old slab that might have supported an early 20th century desert home.

Warren leading our intrepid group

We used the steam that ran along side the road for the return hike.

A couple of go slow, be careful drops

and a little sliding

:-)

Two years ago

Just One Week: WOW

Thursday

Out for a tasty breakfast with my sister, her daughter Maritza and our nephew Stu. We are celebrating Gay's miraculous recovery. Just seven day ago she was laying on an operating table with Dr. Stiner, neurosurgeon extraordinaire, carving out a lemon size tumor out of her brain.

One year ago

Two years ago

A Splendid Recovery Continues

Friday

Off to the tunnel of claustrophobia. My sister is very claustrophobic and needs drugs to get into tight spaces. The good news is the MRI shows every thing is OK.

Twenty four hours after surgery Gay is walking and talking. This is wonderful. Now, can she talk and chew gum at the same time??

Taking a lap and showing off the latest Kaiser fashion.

Saturday

All smiles and heading home. The doctor says she can shower and even wash her hair. Boy will that feel good.

Hence forth, she shall be known as zipper head

They did not shave her head. Dr. Stiner calls this the hollywood cut.

Life is better at home, especially with jammies that cover your derriere.

We are all sooo happy that the operation went so well. Our deepest thanks to all that helped with their prayers.

Two year ago

Great Outcome

Dr. Stiner is all smiles. The lemon size tumor discovered in August is out, without any complications. Smiles all around as we jettison our tension and anxiety.

Gay's daughter Maritza elated over the successful surgery.

Recovery is going well. The tumor was pressing against the speech center in the left temporal lobe. One concern was that speech might be affect. Being verbal within hours has put that fear to rest. Gay continues to be very verbal and engaging with everyone. 

Two years ago

But It is ..... Brain Surgery

Tomorrow is the big day. My sister will have surgery to remove a benign brain tumor. The surgeon has done hundreds of these extractions, but even with his reassurance of a positive outcome, our anxiety grows each day. 

She has been getting things in order:

Lesson plans for the sub

check

Will up to date

check

Advanced directive competed

check

Pedicure

check

Manicure

check

Hair done

check

Facial

check

One must look good while having their skull breached.

Success

Other than having to be at the hospital at O dark thirty, my cataract surgery went smoothly. I will now have 20/20 vision in both eyes.
In between medical appointments, I decided to tackle my old MacBook. The track pad went out. I ordered a replacement from ifixit.com and followed their excellent online step by step instructions. Every thing went smoothly until it was time to reinstall the six very small screws that hold the track pad in place. They are a royal bitch to get started. But I suppressed the urge to slam it into a wall, took a deep breath and persevered. SUCCESS :-)

It's alive

two years ago

Good to Go

Dr. Falk spent the morning checking out my eye and determining what size lens he needs to implant. He did a great job on my right eye last spring and I am looking forward to having my left one done. Surgery is next Tuesday at O dark thirty.

one year ago

two years ago

Tale of Woe

I have not posted because my computer refused to connect with my hot spot. I got messages like "Wifi hardware not installed". Numerous restarts and running diagnostics was fruitless. Finally I reached civilization, my brothers place in Headsburg, and I made an appointment at the genius bar in Santa Rosa. You know what happened next. My computer was soooo intimidated by the geniuses, it hooked right up to the Apple store wifi. Ms. Genius ran diagnostics and found nothing wrong. Back at my brothers and no longer cowed into submission, IT felt free to display yet again the non functioning X in the wifi icon .

So here are the photos that I have not been able to post.

Winchester Bay marina (map) $15 night

803 pounds of fresh salmon. One of many bins off loaded

Boondocked south of Humbug Mt. (map)

Can you say, Higher Gas Prices forthcoming

Gold Bluff Beach

Gold Bluff Beach Campground. (map) $17.50 night 

Large herds of Roosevelt Elk inhabit the area

At the mouth of the Navarro River

Taking a walk in the vineyards encompassing my brothers home

Judith and my sister-in-law Ann sampling the Zinfandel grapes

These grapes are so sweet. They make you want to
swear off table grapes forever.

367 days ago

two years ago

Meandering South

Fall is in the air and I am making a leisurely trip down the gorgeous west coast. The weather is grand and the vistas stunning.

Note all the fishing boats at the river's mouth.
Salmon season is in full swing. 

Heceta Head Lighthouse

There are very few boondocking spots on the coast, but go inland and there are many lovely spots like this one. (44.09631, -124.07039)