Tag Archives: updates

Writing Prompts

Looking Forward

David and I have not been able to plan our next trip to Colorado for the summer because of delays in getting the generator fixed.

We began discussions about a route last night, and then today they told us it was time to renew our extended warranty on the bus. Luckily, I had just been paid, so I footed that huge bill.

Swivel rocker recliner with massage and heat.


Eurochair rocking, swivel, recliner.

I’m also proud to say that (because I get my ssn checks now) I was able to buy all three new chairs-two swivel, rocking recliners and one Eurochair that does the same-for under $900!! Amazon had the recliners in a pair for $500 something and the chair for $200 something. (I don’t have the figures in front of me.)

We went out to the bus today so I could put on the backsplash. It is incredibly difficult for a peel & stick product. The pattern I picked has to be cut and matched up for the “tiles” to look “set.” if I had it to do over again, I’d have picked something I could cut and measure. I’m doing my best to figure it out and make it look right. But we are both perfectionists, and had different ideas of how to set it. It was my project, so other than argue, he left me too it. It’s about 50% done. It was hard on my back, standing on tiptoe and twisting to place it on the wall facing the stove. We had to take a break and decided to finish it another day. Dave was doing some trim on the floor.

The news came from my neurosurgeon consult yesterday that other than physical therapy and pain management, there’s nothing else that she would suggest right now. My pain is unresolved, but I’m still going to put until we leave here, stretching daily as well as how me exercises, ice, and the same medications of been on. I’m praying and trying to stay positive that it resolves on its own, or that I can somehow get another nerve block injection in the future. I’m just going to do all the things I know to do like eating right, getting good sleep, and working to get stronger and believing one day, my pain will stop.

Everything is moving, just agonizingly slowly. It will all get done, and we will surely find somewhere to be for the summer. There are always options. I’m ready to be able to exercise in a pool, and those days are drawing nearer, whether it’s here or somewhere else.

Word of the Day Challenge

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Writing Prompts

Life Happens

Dave and I at Julie’s retirement dinner.

Dave and I want to thank everyone that commented on our circumstances yesterday. I wish we would have been that lucky today, but a minor glitch spoiled his morning anyway.

He was on his way to measure the fit of the carpet in the bus and grab my laptop because he needed a document for my son when he texted me a few minutes later and said “this is how my morning started” with a picture of the jeep at the shop. Flat tire.

Luckily, the charge was low; under $30, and he was on his way. I thought he would be gone for a while, but he was back about an hour or so later. He had the laptop, and a couple of his old thumb drives, which is where he found the document. I’d forgotten to put the charging chord back into the laptop case. He said the fit of the carpet was close, but he can trim a piece and make it perfect!

I have physical therapy this afternoon, so I skipped my exercise but did take a walk. I also did household chores, and made a salad to go with brats for dinner, so now I only need to make the mac and cheese. I wanted to paint today, but didn’t have time…maybe tomorrow afternoon once I get back from my appointment to get a CT.

One more VA appt is all I have after that, this one on a Sunday!! That is for a sonogram. My guess is so my primary will know what I’m saying is true about my PKD. I don’t know why else she would want one, since it has nothing to do with my back. I did mention at my last appointment with her that I would be leaving my current nephrologist and eventually letting the VA take over that job. So maybe it’s so she can line me up with one at a future date.

The CT is for my back, so I’m anxious for the doctors to see it and decide what else to do for me before we get back on the road. Other than all that, we need to lay the carpet, set the backsplash and buy all the new furniture before we leave. Anyone want to loan us another $5,000? Haha, just kidding. We will manage just fine.

On my walk it was very heavy, hot, and difficult to breathe. I suspect storms are on the horizon again for this afternoon. And just to think, we were actually in the pool yesterday! It was 96° then, it’s 81° now. I don’t recall being able to be in the pool this early in the year, but Dave disagrees. Course, he always does. 😜

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Writing Prompts

A-Z Challenge -Wrap Up

Time to wrap up this challenge with Y and Z.

Y is for you!!

Thank you for reading, following, commenting and inspiring me to keep on going. I appreciate all of you!

If you have visited and I have not followed up, leave a comment on the blog or shoot me an email!

kimberlysmyth@icloud.com

Z is for zenith.

We’ve reached the highest point we can go and have come to the end of the challenge. I don’t think I missed any days, but I may have done two letters in one day if I skipped a day.

I know zenith doesn’t mean end, it means the highest point. Yet, other than zoo- which has already been covered this morning-I couldn’t think of another appropriate “z” word.

Its been a fun challenge and I’m ready to move on.

Dave has been hard at work getting the carpet foam out and all the staples, linoleum, and bolts removed and prepped for the new flooring. The challenge will be the slide-out and what to do with it. Vinyl wood flooring will go in the main part of the bus, but the slide-out, Dave decided to put carpet back on it to make the transition work. When the slide-out is brought in, it goes up and over the other flooring. There isn’t another way that he can think of to put the vinyl there and have it look right, so he says carpet is the way to go. The furniture will be sitting on it anyway.

Our minds are on our remodel and getting me back in shape medically to move on to the next place.

I say many prayers throughout the day now, and it’s coming to me easier. I say them silently, but they still matter, as God knows what is in our hearts.

Just a small example that shows prayer works was yesterday. I said a short prayer that someone who needed the sofa/bed got it before the trash men picked it up. Today it was gone and I assumed since it’s trash day that they had gotten it. I reported this to Dave and he told me it had been gone when he left early this morning…before the trash men came!

Now I realize that doesn’t really prove that someone got it who needed it, it could have been a junk man. But since I can’t know for sure, I have faith that it went where it was needed.

I go to my first physical therapy session tomorrow. My hope is that they show me what I need to do and then I can do them at home on my own, but we’ll see. I may go a few times while I’m here and then do them on my own.

I’m anxious to get everything done, all the tests, and treatments to get me on the road to recovery so I can plan our next trip out before they are all filled up!

Have a great week everyone!

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Writing Prompts

A-Z Challenge W

I woke up today and did my daily devotional, and then checked the weather. We are in for storms again today.

All throughout the day we have heard alerts for various thunderstorms, flash flood, and tornado watches.

David kindly mowed Kevin’s yards while he was at work. Later he went to the store and bought some things we needed plus coffee and peanut butter for him. I swear, he eats it a cup at a time! We just bought him a jar last week at $7.00 a jar!!

I’m worried about the weather because I hate to see anyone hurt, but people around here don’t pay attention to the warnings, and many lose their lives to to flooding, lightening, or accidents on the road.

We have warnings for a reason, but so many people ignore or don’t see/hear them in time. They say this generation is so woke, yet you have to wonder why if they all have phones, and those phones send weather alerts every time the situation changes, they pay no heed to them?

In other news, I worked on my diamond art as long as I could, but my back pain was wrapping around my legs, and even standing to work, I got no relief. I did some stretching and tried again. I think I managed almost two hours on it. It’s close to being done!

May 1, I will start my physical therapy. Hopefully, they will give me some workouts that will ease my pain, because none of the meds do very much for nerve pain. I’m about ready to go back on my turmeric supplements-I’d stopped them for a while due to recurring mouth ulcers, yet I never figured out the source.

They are finally gone. Maybe the use of my mouth guard at night helped. Who knows? Now maybe I’ll see if adding the turmeric back into my daily regiment of pills will help ease my pain.

Tonight, my brother invited friends to come for dinner and something he does called “riff tracks” while watching a silly movie. I had made plans to visit with a friend, but I told her to come another time, because she was coming near the time they are supposed to come.

Last night, we decided to stay in on our normal “date night” and missed an opportunity to see some old friends. We needed to save that money for upcoming expenses for remodeling the bus. Making sacrifices is necessary sometimes, but man, I hated missing out on seeing our friends. They promised a rain check!

Well, that’s it for this TMI post, brought to you by the letter W. 😜

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Writing Prompts

JusJoJan – Missing Them

Good morning and welcome everyone to today’s prompt. I was happy to provide it, although it wasn’t my first choice. Somehow that one got lost in the shuffle and then I couldn’t recall it. Welcome to the 60’s, lol.

I’m sitting here, wrapped in a blanket and wishing another cup of coffee would magically appear, because it’s in the 40’s again here in South Florida. I came here to avoid this kind of weather, but thankfully, it’s temporary.

We overly enjoyed the warm weekend we just had, and I took advantage of all the time in the pool that I could. But now it’s cold and very windy outside, so pool time is over for the time being.

I picked the word “family” today because I’m missing them. I always get this way when we are about a month from going home. Or when we are watching football, as well as – you know, most of the time…especially at the holidays. All I have left of my immediate family is my brother and my boys, so when they are hurting, so am I.

My youngest son is going through a very rough patch right now, and I feel so bad for him. He did it to himself, but that doesn’t make me feel any different.

When your child hurts, you hurt. It’s a mom thing. Whether they hurt from physical pain, or mental anguish, makes no difference. I think he just needs a hug from his mom.

We talk on at least a weekly basis, as I do with all of them, or I feel like I can’t breathe. Any other moms out there feel like that? I can’t talk to my mom, and I know how much that hurts. She is gone though, and I’m still here. At least we have the phone, and other methods of communicating, but it isn’t the same as physical contact. Sometimes, you just need a real hug to make it seem better.

Last night, we went to the clubhouse here at the RV resort to watch the games. I wasn’t there long, and really I was just there to hang out with everyonefor a bit. My team has been out of the playoffs. I rooted for the Chiefs, and they won and I went home to eat dinner after that.

Watching the Chiefs game in the clubhouse.

Even doing that though, I had to send Chris a few texts. The Chiefs are his favorite after the Cowboys. The other boys don’t really care about sports. So I don’t text them as much during games. I talk to them about their jobs, or home life and those kinds of things.

My brother is currently in Mexico with his church at a pastor’s conference. He is there as a cook and helper to the pastors, he is not a real pastor though. I kid and say he is married to the church becausehe is not married and is very involved with his church. It’s a good thing. They do mission trips and build houses there and in other countries while spreading the gospel. My brother is what they call a “lay pastor” and did study at seminary. He is lucky his job allows for him to go on these trips to Mexico, and other church trips he takes with the youth.

Josh and Shari are busy working at the hotel in San Antonio, turning it around and increasing revenue. I’m so proud that they have turned a corner and they seem to be doing better. They are almost to the point where they can buy a used car, that will save them from having to call an Uber when they need to run errands.

Sean is holding his own, yet lately he’s been having car and financial problems. So far, he’s handled it on is own. I’m proud of him too, because he depended on my dad when he was alive, and now he’s making it on his own, though it’s been tough. Everything is so expensive, I honestly don’t know how any of them are making it. They all have to have room mates. (Josh and Shari have each other).

So that’s the update on my family, and as far as my sister here in Jupiter, I haven’t seen her for a hot minute either and won’t any time soon because guess what? She has COVID. 😑 Hopefully, she has a mild case. I’ve been missing time with her too!

Luckily, we still have a month here and we will have more time to visit. As for me, I need refills on my meds and I’m looking forward to the nerve block injection so that when I do get to visit, I’m not in so much pain. I looked up what causes severe spinal stenosis and even if I was to eventually have surgery, I will still have some degree of pain due to arthritis. That’s life when you get older I guess.

For now, my cane is helping a great deal. I will bundle up and take a walk later but for now, I’m relaxing and reading everyone’s blogs. Have à great Monday and a fabulous week!

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