Our First 1 1/2 Weeks in Florida 2020!

As I mentioned in the previous post, Ken and I had loaded everything in our CRV that we wanted to take to Florida on Sunday, January 6th, leaving Monday morning at 8:30 to meet my mother at her check-up Dr. appointment in Lancaster.  She had been transported there by a van from Masonic.  I went with her to hear what the Dr. had to say, knowing that 4 ears are better than 2.  He was impressed with her recovery, gave her a clean slate, and told her she could start adding regular food to her diet.  She had been eating only liquids and pureed foods since leaving the hospital.  What great news!

After the appointment, Ken and I said our good-byes, and with her blessing, we were on our way south.  It was a perfect travel day and after some debate, we decided to take I-95 around Baltimore and DC.  We usually leave very early in the morning when we take that route, so we didn't know what to expect, but to our amazement, we had less traffic than ever in both of those areas.  The whole travel day went extremely well, arriving at a hotel in Sumter, SC around 7:30, tired but excited.  We were back on the road the next morning by 6:45 and arrived at our condo in Port Charlotte, FL at 3:15 - hallelujah!  By 8 that evening everything was unloaded and in its proper place, which took a bit of maneuvering.  (I had to proof to Ken that I had room for everything we had brought and it worked!)

Well, we have been here for 10 days and are having such a great time sharing life with our friends in Florida!  I have also been in regular contact with my mother who returned to her room the day after we left and keeps getting stronger each and everyday!  

We have enjoyed being back to the church and helping with the Food Pantry on Thursday and Friday.  We have spent special times with Rick and Joyce, Ernie and Noela, Burt and Pat, and Doloris, which included a bike ride, shuffleboard, card playing, and just catching up on life!  Yesterday we went to the Manasota Beach for the 1st time this year where we met Ernie and Noela, Rick and Joyce, and Doloris - what a fun reunion!  Ken and I are still trying to get into some kind of "routine", but it isn't easy.  The weather has been positively fabulous with lots of sunshine and temperatures in the 80's during the day and the 70's at night, above average by at least 10 degrees and we love it!  We are looking forward to a fun weekend including a craft show and some card playing!  We are so blessed!

Some photos from our bike ride with Ernie and Noela -

We really enjoy this trail!

Ernie thought this snake was beautiful, but I don't find
any of them attractive!

Majestic Osprey!

The trail takes you to Oyster Point, where there are plenty
of oyster beds and shells!

This is one of the many lights at an athletic field at a local
high school.  They had to put the spikes on top, because the
osprey used to build their nests on top of them and then swope
down on the students when they felt it was necessary to
protect their babies.  It became a real problem!

We always see an eagle nest along this trail and the eaglet
was willing to pose!

Pictures from our beach trip yesterday -

There were actually more people there than it appears!

What a special group of friends!

We are definitely in tropical Florida!!

Today, Thursday, Ken went to the church to help set up for tomorrow's Food Pantry after trying to do some Yoga following a video online.  Wow, we must be old and surely have some "stiffness"!  We have now entered into the 21st Century and have Xfinity high speed internet and You Tube TV - wow!  After having a mifi card for all our traveling years and basic cable, it is quite a change!  Now we have to get the same thing set-up at home!  We are starting to be like "normal people"!  We spent the day catching up on things like this blog!  We needed a day for that!!!!

November and December at home in PA!

Well, I haven't posted anything since my mother's 90th birthday party the very beginning of November.   Thought it might be time to do a brief summary of Ken and my November and December, which seemed to be extremely busy.

November included attending some swim meets for Bria and Cali, a horseback riding lesson with Samantha, a soccer match with Katelyn, and a Pinochle match every Thursday with my mother and father.  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day at Jamie and Dane's with his brother and parents also joining us.  Always the gracious hostess and host, this year was no exception.  Lanie and her family always spend Thanksgiving with Bob's sister's family in Michigan and we miss when they aren't able to join us, but we do understand.  We also hosted couples card club at our house, had some special evenings with friends, and did some deliveries with Meals on Wheels.  Ken continue to attend Celebrate Recovery every week as well!

November was also a time for those annual Dr. appointments including my dermatologist because I had treated my lip for 2 weeks with some kind of chemotherapy ointment to remove some pre-cancerous cells and she wanted to check that plus include my yearly body check.  Boy, did my lips ever get sore during those 2 weeks but all was well - hallelujah.  I also had a consultation with a new urologist, because Dr. Del Terzo, which I had been seeing for 10 years, was diagnosed with ALS last November and is no longer practicing - so sad, because he was an amazing Dr. who became a friend.  My new Dr. is very good and personable and my yearly cystoscope was clear - another hallelujah!  Dr. appointments also included the dentist!  Enough already!  We also stayed overnight at Jamie and Dane's to watch the girls while they were in Pittsburgh, which was a fun time!

Like it is for everyone, December was hectic also!  A few more Dr. appointments including Ken's annual check-up with his cardiologist (very pleased!) and I went to Pain Management for a injection in my back to help some hip and shin pain!  Through our church, we volunteered at several agencies in our area to learn more about them, and it was a very rewarding experience.  As part of their Christmas gift, we took Jamie's family to Sight and Sound in Lancaster County, that has an amazing Christmas Show about the life of Jesus.  It is so well done, very similar to shows you see in New York.  The stage settings are unbelievable!  We also had Samantha and Katelyn stay with us for 2 nights so their parents could have a weekend alone and we took the girls to a very fun and entertaining Magic and Illusion Show.  

For my mother's annual Christmas gift, Cindy and I took her to the American Music Theater for their musical Christmas Show, which is always well done and so entertaining.  Afterwards, we went to Miller's Smorgasbord for a late lunch.  Cindy drove mother back to Masonic Village, and unfortunately, on the way there mother got very sick - severe indigestion.  Well, that was the beginning of quite an adventure!  She continued being extremely sick for the next several days and was not able to eat or drink anything!  By Friday she was taken to the hospital and that evening they did an emergency procedure to untwist her stomach which was blocking her ability to eat or drink.  All of this problem was due to her hiatal hernia, which she has had as long as Cindy and I can remember.  Unfortunately, her stomach had moved from below her bustline to up in her rib cage and was upside down.  It may have been like that for a long time, but now they told us that the problem could return soon or maybe not for years.  The surgeon everyone recommended for repositioning her stomach was retiring the end of the year and they thought unavailable, but he came to her room Monday morning, said she was a great candidate for the surgery and he could do it the next morning at 9:30.  You can't argue with a "God wink"!  Long story short, she had the surgery which went extremely well, and was only in the hospital 6 more days.  He also repaired an umbilical hernia while he was "in the vicinity".  I must tell you that I was so proud and impressed at the quick recovery of my 90 year old mother.  She was amazing.  She went to the transitional unit at Masonic Village for 2 weeks and then returned to her private room where she is able to do everything for herself.  During that time it was constant trips to the hospital and Masonic, which Ken and I were happy to do.  We were supposed to leave for Florida the day after Christmas, but we stayed home until her follow-up Dr. appointment on Jan. 6th, and after an excellent report with no limitations, we were on our way at 10 AM that morning.

In between all of this, we did have a wonderful Christmas Eve day at Jamie and Dane's with our entire family there.  Ken and I got to play a lot of Hause with our daughters, which is something all 4 of us really enjoy!  We are so blessed to have such an amazing family!

We had plans for a New Year's Eve card party in Florida but because we were home, we had a fun evening at our house with Gary and Marcia.  We ordered pizza and then had a great time playing Pinochle.  We really enjoyed welcoming in the New Year with them!