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| This is my parent’s wedding photo we posted one year ago on this date. Ironically, six years ago today, we booked the hotel with our cruise ending in Boston, with the intent of visiting my father’s gravesite and seeing family. For details of that date, please click here. |
Was it almost 2½ years ago that I drove a car? Yes, it was. I drove in Las Vegas in July 2017 when visiting my sister Susan nearly every day, driving for an hour each way to her then home in North Las Vegas.
Not the best driver on the planet, I never drove again after we left the US, living in countries with left-handed manual transmissions on the opposite side of the road that we’re used to.
On November 1st, she moved a half-hour closer to an assisted living facility, a long overdue and necessary situation for my dear sister’s bedridden condition of chronic pain, inflammation, and a myriad of other inflammatory-based chronic conditions. Genetic makeup, our fate.
When we arrive in Las Vegas on Thanksgiving Day, on November 28th, at about 6:00 pm, we’ll go out to dinner with son Richard to celebrate being together once again and the Thanksgiving holiday at a local Henderson/Green Valley Ranch restaurant, only minutes from his home.
The next day, we’ll visit the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles to apply for our renewal driver’s licenses to get one more necessary task out of the way during this USA visit. The next day, I’ll drive to visit my sister Susan at her new place.
But, today, I finally drove when Camille loaned us her extra SUV they’re trying to sell since she’d recently purchased a newer model. To me, the older model is amiable and modern and has everything I need.
When we have to return the rental car on November 22nd, Camille suggested we keep using the extra SUV to save money on another rental for our remaining six days. We accepted the generous offer and will do so.
In the interim, we have two cars which will come in handy over the next five days, as we each attend more separate activities with our respective families. With only 11 days until we depart for Las Vegas, we’ll continue on the whirlwind of activity.
As it turned out, Karen and Rich insisted we join them for chicken dinner tonight at their home. We certainly appreciate the opportunity to have a home-cooked meal after eating out, often twice a day. Plus, we love spending time with the two of them.
This morning Tom joined Tammy, Tracy, and Vincent to do the “Escape Room,” an interactive game through a maze of rooms where participants have to figure out a series of clues and challenges to get through the rooms. Sounds fun. They had a good time.
On his way to the event at the Mall of America, he dropped me off at Camille and Greg’s home since I’d planned to take the kids to the Cinema Grill in New Hope, a suburb of Minneapolis, not too far from their home. The movie theatre has special seating for ordering and eating meals and a decent bar menu.
The kids ordered their meals, primarily burgers, and fries while I had a salad, and we began watching the adorable movie, Abominable, an adorable animated kids movie. They loved the movie, and not surprisingly, as a movie buff, I enjoyed it too.
The food service was slow and somewhat of a distraction while trying to order and eat but the four of us (me, Maisie, Miles, and Madighan) had a good time nonetheless, relishing our time together.
After the movie, we headed back to their home, and I dropped off the kids, stopping inside to see how Camille was feeling after Thursday’s chemo. She was rallying and feeling considerably better than she had when we stopped in last night on our way out with Tammy and Tracy. Busy. Very busy.
Last night’s constant coughing kept me from sleeping, plus taking Prednisone tends to keep me awake all night, so I had only about three hours of sleep, awakening myself every hour for a coughing jag. The codeine cough medicine didn’t work as well as Nyquil which I’ll return to tonight.
Right now, sleep will be the best remedy for me to turn the corner on this respiratory distress. No luck yet after two doses of antibiotics and Prednisone. Usually, by day three, results will kick in. Hopefully, this happens tomorrow.
That’s it for today, folks. We’ll be back with the continuation of our hectic schedule. Please hang in there with us.
Have a happy Sunday wherever you may be.
Photo from one year ago today, November 17, 2018:
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| Big Daddies, sharing pellets and the zebras. For more photos, please click here. |