Good News

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 39 degrees, high 60 degrees, clear, windy

Carolyn had an appointment with her physical therapist this morning, and she received some good news. The therapist thinks she is ready to be released, and was going to contact the doctor to update him on how well Carolyn has been doing. If the doctor agrees, the therapy will be complete. We know that there is still a possibility that Carolyn may have occasional problems with vertigo, but the therapist has given her some tools to use that should help keep it under control and lessen the impact when it occurs again. We will call the doctor to see if and when he wants to see her. After that, we will begin making our plans again.

I mentioned in yesterday's post that we were going to be making a road trip in the near future. After Carolyn's therapy this morning, we drove north out of Fort Worth to the Oklahoma state line. No reason for the trip other than to see what was up that way. In a few words: not very much. The countryside consists of rolling hills with scattered mesquite and oak trees. Once we were past the metropolitan Fort Worth area, there was very little to see. But, now we know. That is part of the attraction to traveling for us. We always wonder what is around the next curve or over the next hill.

Tonight, we watched the season premiere for Survivor. I'm not sure how long we will watch the show after the first week. We tend to get disgusted with the lying and back stabbing that goes on, and the one that we usually want to win is gone early most seasons. We'll see how this season goes.

In a future post, I'll let everyone meet our pets.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Valley View, Texas: A Town of Choice, Not Chance

Where Would You Like To Go, Dear

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 30 degrees, high 54 degrees, clear skies, mild winds

Today was one of those that we have where not much was going on. The weather was nice, everything was done that needed to be done, and we just piddled around. I wiped the truck down to get the dust off of it, Carolyn worked on her crafts and her exercises for the vertigo, we did some reading, watched a movie, I took a long walk,,,,,,,,,

We talked a little today about taking a road trip north of the Fort Worth area. We have never been there before, and we always like to see new country. Could go as early as tomorrow, depending on what comes up.

Tonight, Carolyn asked me what I would like to go with the chicken for dinner. I told her whatever she wanted was fine with me. That reminds me of an experience we had many years ago when our daughters were still little girls. Boy, they grew up fast.

Anyway, getting back on subject. We lived out in the country on five acres of land, with my brother Terrell and his wife Kathy living on five acres next door. We had a large garden that was very bountiful, producing more food than we could ever eat. However, I did my part to eat as much of it as possible, because I like fresh vegetables.

One afternoon, Carolyn said, "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we go get a hamburger for dinner?"

Does hamburger sound familiar?

My reply was, "I would really rather have something at home."

Wrong answer. I should have said "Whatever you want to do, Dear."

She cooked a dinner that was a five piece masterpiece that was so bad. I couldn't say anything, except "This is so good." And I ate it.

I learned my lesson. Now, when Carolyn asks me if I would like to go out to eat, I just smile and say, "Where would you like to go, Dear?"

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Hope, Arkansas: A Slice of the Good Life

Folic Acid

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 40 degrees @2100 hours tonight, high 70 degrees @0700, cloudy most of the day, windy

This morning about 0230 hours, I was awakened by something that sounded like a threshing machine driving by on the highway. I never could figure out what the sound was, but a few minutes later, I started hearing thunder. In another five minutes, it started sprinkling, and within another five minutes, a downpour hit us. It only lasted about 20 minutes, but a lot of rain fell. There was a threat of rain until noon, when it started to clear up. The wind was blowing hard, and we are expecting a low of 33 degrees in the morning. Cold weather has returned.

Carolyn had an appointment with her physical therapist this afternoon. The therapist says Carolyn is doing very well, and there is a chance that she will be released from the appointments in another week or so.

While Carolyn was at the therapy office, I went to the library in Granbury to try to find a few videos to watch. The Granbury library is okay, but we like the one in Glen Rose better. After that, I stopped at the gas station to buy diesel for the truck. I expected that it would take about 25 gallons to fill the truck. After the fuel had been pumping in for a couple of minutes, it shut off because I had reached $75.00 on the purchase. Apparently, the store will not allow a single purchase on a credit card to exceed $75.00. What kind of business is that?

After I picked Carolyn up at the therapist's office, we went to the local mall (WalMart) to pick up a few things. We noticed some nice melmac dishware that we both liked, but held off on buying because we want to make sure that it would be the right color, pattern, etc.

Did anyone see that the president has proposed a budget of $3.1 TRILLION dollars?? How many zeros is that? I saw that members of Congress were saying there is no way that budget will pass because it is too much. Anyone want to bet that Congress will pass a budget that is more than the president asked for?

I saw on the news this morning that researchers in South Korea have found that a shortage of folic acid (vitamin B-9) in older people contributes to the possibility of having dementia or Alzheimer's Disease. Folic acid is present in leafy vegetables, dried beans and peas, and some fruits. It can also be taken as a supplement. The researchers claim that a drastic decline of folic acid causes as much as three times as many cases of dementia and Alzheimer's Disease.

I bought some folic acid, but I can't remember where I put it.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Denver. Colorado: The Mile High City

Slow Day

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 69 degrees, high 82 degrees, mostly cloudy

We were going to clean the carpet in the RV today, but the weather looked too much like rain. We did go ahead and wash the rugs and a load of colored clothes. I also took care of dumping our holding tanks. Someday, I'll tell you about an adventure I had while dumping the tanks about six months ago.

Carolyn was not quite up to par today with her vertigo problems. She felt off just a little, which tended to make her want to stay off her feet. Hopefully, she will feel better tomorrow. Even though we are optimistic about the way her therapy for the vertigo is progressing, we also know that she will experience bad days. Our hope is that the bad days become fewer and fewer.

The Super Bowl was yesterday, and I did not watch any of it. I think it is overhyped and played by a bunch of spoiled, overpaid prima donnas. I'm not sure when I started feeling this way, but I haven't watched the game for several years. Thinking about it a little more, I have gotten to where I don't even like watching pro football.

I have been looking at the different possibilities for going to Alaska in the event we are able to this year. Most people seem to drive all the way up and back, some fly up, rent a car or RV, and then fly back. Others take a cruise ship and sightsee from the ship along the coast. And then there are those that take their RV up on the Alaska Ferry, get off in Alaska, do their sightseeing, then drive home. Or, they might drive up and take the ferry back to Washington State. There are so many combinations of things that we can do. However, the most important thing I have to do at this time is help Carolyn recover from her vertigo issues so we can do whatever we want.

We didn't have much going on today. Maybe we'll have something more interesting tomorrow.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Fort Worth, Texas: Cow Town

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 60 degrees, high 79 degrees, partly cloudy, light breezes

Can you believe this weather we are having? I could get used to this.

Carolyn's exercises continue to go well, and we are having to hold ourselves back from becoming too optimistic about how they are making her feel. We can see almost a daily change for the better with her vertigo problems. Sure does make us want to hit the road.

Speaking of hitting the road, we took a mini road trip today (~60 miles) so we could get out and enjoy the nice weather. We like to take the back roads and see what we will find. Our little trip took us south through the thriving Walnut Springs metropolis, popoulation 775. I think we passed three other cars while driving through the town. From Walnut Springs, we turned west to Iredell, another booming town of about 500 people. Both little towns probably had more people years ago when they were the retail areas for their locations. Progress seems to have passed the little towns by, and Iredell seems to have suffered the most. When we drove through the old town area, we could see where all of the buildings still have walls standing, but the roofs have fallen in.

After leaving Iredell, we drove to Meridian, the county seat of Bosque County. Meridian has a population of about 1500 people. Below are a couple of pictures that we took of the Bosque County Courthouse, built in 1896. This courthouse is still being used by the county.

As can be seen, the courthouse is well preserved.

After returning home and resting for a short time, I took the truck to the car wash to wash about two months of dirt off. Then I returned home and wiped the truck down to remove the water spots. It looks pretty good right now, but we may get some rain on Tuesday. If so, I'll try to stay at home until the rain passes so the truck won't get so dirty.

After a fried shrimp dinner that Carolyn prepared, we watched TV, read, and worked on the computer. All in all, a good day.

More later, be careful.

Today's Town - Meridian, Texas: Top of the Hill Country

Traffic

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 37 degrees, high 74 degrees, light breezes, clear skies

It was nice to have warmer weather for a change. We did not have to keep the heaters on all day, and in the afternoon, it was possible to go outside without a coat on. Carolyn said she saw some daffodils starting to peek out of the ground, so the outlook for the weather to get better is good. The weather has been dry, and the area only received .27 inches of rain in January. Some rain would be nice for the area, even if I would rather it didn't.

The new exercises that Carolyn is doing for her vertigo tend to make her sick at her stomach. The worst is one where she turns in a circle two times to her right. After doing that particular exercise, she has to sit down and recover from the nausea. It also gives her a mild headache. Another exercise she does is using the treadmill at a slow speed for three minutes. This exercise is designed to encourage her to make her strides longer and not look at her feet as she is walking. She has been suffering from the vertigo for so long that her body has developed some habits to compensate that she will need to stop doing. The exercises are designed to do that. The last two days, she has been off just a bit due to the new exercises. We are hopeful that her body will adjust to the new exercises, allowing her to start doing normal activities again.

The area of Texas that we are in (north central Texas, ~40 miles southwest of Fort Worth) is going through a big gas and oil boom (mostly gas). Drilling rigs are set up just about everywhere we go. Along with all the drilling activity comes pipelines being laid. There is a tremendous number of big trucks hauling equipment and material to support the drilling and pipeline activities. The trucks, which run 24 hours a day, are causing a lot of damage to the roads. Additional traffic is caused by the workers that are attracted to the area by the jobs that have been created. There is no doubt that the area welcomes the economic boost that comes from the oil and gas activities, but I have heard a lot of people complain about the traffic. It is like a Catch 22 situation - if there was no oil and gas activity, the traffic would not be so bad, but the area would not have the economic boost. Personally, we like the area a lot, and we know the boom will not last forever, so we can live with the traffic. When the boom is over, people will probably complain about the economy being slow.

As I have the time, I am going to attach more pictures of items of interest. Above is another

picture of a dinosaur track with my foot beside it to give a reference for size. This footprint was taken from the bed of the Paluxy River, which passes through Glen Rose.

Another picture is of the first post office in Glen Rose. This is a far cry from we have today, but it served the purpose. It looks like a corn crib to me.

We went to the Dairy Queen in Glen Rose tonight for a hamburger and fries. It seems like we have missed something unless we have a hamburger from there at least once a week. This gives us our fine food fix for the week.

More later, be careful.

Today's Town - Alvin, Texas: Hometown of Ryan Nolan

A New Month

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 25 degrees, 63 degrees, clear skies, windy

Can you believe how fast the first month of the year passed? When I was working, it seemed like the time just crawled, and that was with me liking what I did and the people that I worked with. Could it be because I am really liking this retirement deal? Or could it be because I am getting older? Whatever it is, there does not seem to be a boring day. There is always something to do or look forward to. As I have said before, every day seems like Saturday.

One of the things I really like to see in Texas is the old courthouses. There are some beautifully preserved old courthouses that the smaller towns seem determined to save. In the process, they are also helping create a tourist industry. One of the towns, in addition to Glen Rose, that has made a real asset out of their older buildings and history, is Granbury. This town of about 6,000 people is located about eight miles away from us. Earlier this week, I wrote about some of the quirky histories of people in and around Granbury. Their courthouse seems to dominate the area, and can be seen for several miles. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture, but will post one when I get it.

One courthouse I do have some pictures of is the Ellis County Courthouse in Waxahatchie, Texas. Again, a beautiful old courthouse that they are trying to save for posterity. Here's a couple of pictures.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Dane Vang, Texas: Danish Capital of Texas