The Minnesota Vikings continue to disappoint…Social evening softens the blow…Prescription drug error…

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In Kauai, Hawaii, on this date in 2015, here is another of Tom’s exquisite sunrise photos. For more photos from this date, please click here.

Yes, we were sorely disappointed by the Minnesota Viking’s loss yesterday afternoon. The playoffs and the season are all over for them until next season, when preseason games begin in August and the regular season in September.

Tom watched the game with the boys at Colleen’s home while I stayed behind at our place, continuing to work on more of the contents of our package that arrived on Friday night. A year’s supply of my three prescription drugs had to be popped out of the plastic packs and placed into bottles with my name and prescription on the label. 

Carrying loose pills in those plastic containers asking for trouble. The medications could cause a real issue if stopped at security, as we discovered early on in our travels.

Also, I’d ordered several bottles of supplements suitable for the cardiovascular disease instead of taking statins, a decision I made many months ago. As mentioned, Tom and I went through the vitamin bottles consolidating as much as we could while leaving them in the original bottle.

In the process of going through the newly arrived prescription drugs, I noticed that the bottle of thyroid medication I’d been prescribed while in the hospital (when I was running out before the surgery) was for the wrong dose, .25 mcg as opposed to .75 mcg. 

My new prescription was for the correct amount of .75 mcg. Subsequently, I’d been taking ⅓ of my previously required medication. After all, we’d been through, I never looked at the tiny print on the bottle, but I did notice the pills were round, not oval. 

Since many drugs look different from country to country due to a variety of generic drugs, I didn’t give it another thought…not until yesterday, and then I understood why, after all this effort to feel 100% failed in part by not taking the appropriate dose of this vital drug.

Subsequently, I’ve had typical symptoms of hypothyroidism which may be found here. I wondered why I gained weight over the past year (15 pounds) and have been unable to lose it as I’ve always been able to do it easily. Also, it explains why I’ve had a hard time getting up in the morning, staying in bed until 8:00 am or later.

This all makes sense. I was always the early bird, along with Tom, bolting out of bed at 6:00 am, ready to tackle the day. Today, I took the first correct dose, but it takes about a month to see an improvement.

In India, I’ll continue to eat a healthy diet of mostly fish, chicken, and vegetables, and of course, we’ll be walking a lot while on tours over the next several months.

A few days ago, we received our final itinerary for our almost two-month tour in India. We were able to check the menus at the various hotels. Neither of us will have a problem based on these menus. 

The hotels are four and five stars and appear to have excellent, highly rated restaurants. No beef, of course, but plenty of other meat options that will work for both of us. Tom doesn’t eat lamb, a popular item on their menus, but he occasionally eats fish and chicken. We breathed a sigh of relief.

Last night, after the game, Tom returned. I sliced the remaining roast beef we’d cooked the previous night, reheated the huge pan of mashed potatoes, cooked green beans, and made a salad, all of which we loaded into the car and brought back to Colleen and Gene’s home.

The seven of us gathered around the big kitchen, eating our reheated leftovers that everyone seemed to enjoy. We had a great time! The conversation was lively as always, with many funny stories flying around the room.

This morning I made a favorite low-carb hamburger casserole with a big salad for tonight’s dinner. We’ll stay in while Tom watches more football today, and tonight, we’ll stream a few shows we’ve been watching.

May you and yours enjoy a fantastic Sunday!

Photo from one year ago, January 12, 2019:

Frank and The Mrs and friends stopped by for a visit. Frank is on the far right, the Mrs is found on the left. They never had a chick the entire time we were there. Maybe next time. For more photos, please click here.

Latest package arrived…Finding errors…

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These Hornbill mates are often very noisy around us, asking for seeds. They sure have us trained, says Tom. For more photos, please click here.

Over the past several months, we have been accumulating supplies to travel with us that have been waiting to be shipped to us in Arizona. While doing so, we don’t have the opportunity to inspect each item, each piece of mail, or each article of clothing we purchase when it arrives at the mailing service. Returns are an unlikely possibility.

As a result, we’re meticulous in what we choose to buy online, ensuring the quality of products, proper sizing, and receipt of the items. In the process, it may be challenging to determine what has arrived and what hasn’t.
 
Our mailing service enters receipt of items as they arrived by such comments in their online app, such as “Amazon, small gray bag.” They have 100’s of customers receiving packages. Opening the item itself and taking a photo would be a time-consuming process they do not offer.

However, they will open mail, scan it and place it in the system to see at the cost of $2.00 per page. We request this service on occasion. We can tell, based on who the sender is, if we need to have it scanned.

We had a good idea of what should have been in the 40-pound box but weren’t sure about some items. It’s the nature of our lifestyle, and we comfortably live with it as we continue on our travels.Last night when the package finally arrived at 7:00 pm by UPS, we couldn’t open it fast enough, especially when I suspected a few items wouldn’t be there.

One was the Cardiac Watch, which I’d ordered a few months ago. It wasn’t in the box. Immediately, I contacted the company, and they apologized that the order got “screwed up,” and it was never sent. They promised it would go out in today’s mail. Hmm, I’m suspicious of this one. We’ll see if it arrives.

I noted it on my calendar, and if it doesn’t arrive within a week, I will ask for a refund and, if that’s a problem, I’ll contact the credit card company to resolve the issue. They are very good at handling such matters.

Also, the two sets of earpieces we’d ordered from Google were missing from the box or our phones. The wireless versions were “out of stock” for months to come, and with the $100 credit we had at Google, we went ahead and ordered the wired versions, which also weren’t in the box. I’ll check on this today.Then, the most annoying news of all was from the state department. They didn’t like the photos we’d included with our four-year passport applications, which we’d processed in Minnesota in December.

This morning we headed to Walgreens and started over, having new photos done, heeding their comments in the included letters, hoping the new photos would be satisfactory.

After grocery shopping at Safeway, we drove to the closest post office in Apache Junction and mailed the photos in the provided envelopes with the letters. Whether the passports arrive at our mailing service before we leave the US remains to be seen. 

If they don’t arrive on time, we’ll have them mailed to us once we arrive in the UK in a few months. Sending them to India would be impossible for several reasons.

Then, a bill for $157.50 from the Urgent Care facility we visited in Minnesota shortly after we arrived when the cough and virus I had was becoming unmanageable. We’d paid in full for the services at the time.

Since we had no US insurance that covered such care, they required we pay the entire bill in advance of $189 to be seen. This morning I called their billing department, and they acknowledged the bill was an error. They removed it from their system.

Speaking of medical bills, today, after receiving the invoice, I paid for my visit to the Minneapolis Heart Institute. We suspected it would be as high as $800, but much to our surprise, the hour-long appointment with a highly competent cardiologist, was $449. 

After doing considerable research from equally competent cardiologists and medical centers worldwide, I discovered that those patients not taking statins do well with a litany of supplements that have been found to aid in cardiovascular disease.

I ordered the supplements online from Puritan’s Pride when they were having a sale, “buy two, get four free.” Oh my goodness, there were dozens of bottles of supplements in the box.

Last night Tom and I consolidated the bottles when often the bottles were only filled one-quarter full. We narrowed it down considerably, and this morning we loaded them into the third supply suitcase, and they fit well. 

You would not believe the trash generated as we opened the box of items. It practically refilled the entire box the items were shipped in. Whew!  All I have left to do today is go through the many packages containing the three prescribed medications I take and reduce that to a minimum. 

We’re staying at the same hotel in Mumbai on both ends of our two months in India. We’ll likely have them hold some of our luggage until we return to board the cruise in April.

Today, we’ll work on a few remaining projects and financial matters and stay in tonight for a great dinner of roast beef, mashed potatoes (for Tom), veggies and salad. There are no big plans for the weekend other than watching the Minnesota Vikings game tomorrow. We’re rather excited about that!

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, January 10, 2019:

This is Basket, the Bully, who scares off all the other warthogs, including Little and Little’s Friend. For more photos, please click here.

Knocking down the “to do” list…Contacted an immigration attorney in South Africa…

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One year ago today… Tom and I hid in the bedroom, and once the others arrived for Don’s birthday, we suddenly appeared to be surprising everyone.  In the background are Keith (Don’s brother) and Ken, with Don and Linda in the center and Robin and Karen in the foreground.  It was a fun surprise. We had a fantastic stay with Kathy and Don. For more photos, please click here.

It was a quiet but good weekend. We had a happy hour party here on Friday night and attended a party by the pool on Saturday afternoon. The Vikings won their game, making Sunday special.

Last night, we laid back and watched a few shows, including Jack Ryan on Amazon and a good show we’d downloaded on Graboid, The Resident, a medical series we’d missed along the way. 

The Resident would be a tremendous binge-watching series, but right now, we don’t want to take the time to be watching too many shows. We have other “fish to fry” while also participating in a multitude of social events with the sisters and other locals.

When I finish the daily posts and respond to any email messages from our readers/friends, the day passes quickly. Then, there’s dinner to prepare each day, our almost daily walks, cleaning and laundry (every four days), financial matters to attend to, leaving little time for research and planning for the future.

As far as research goes, we’ve made some headway in the past few days. So far, it appears Scotland, like Spain and Portugal, has some beautiful holiday homes within our budget. We’ve enjoyed doing the research and need to focus on this in the next several weeks.

Today, I ordered the shipment of our accumulating supplies at our mailing service in Nevada. It should arrive by the end of the week. Once it comes, we’ll assess any additional items we may need and have them shipped to us in Apache Junction, or in the worst case, I’ll head out shopping.

I don’t enjoy shopping in stores, although I didn’t always feel that way in my old life. The varied selections and the abundance of items can be daunting, making the process somewhat unpleasant. I don’t think that way about grocery shopping which has always been enjoyable.

This morning, after researching online and reading many reviews, I found a South African immigration attorney to whom I wrote an inquiry explaining our situation, asking if they could assist and their fees for such services. 

The time difference makes it difficult to call during their regular business hours from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. We’re hoping they will assist in expediting this immigration issue, enabling us to sail on the cruise arriving in Cape Town on December 2, 2020. We’ll report back what we hear.

Once we arrive in India, the time difference will only be three hours making any necessary phone calls more practical time-wise than now while in the US. 

Today, I sent another email requesting an update from Home Affairs in South Africa, the department which handles immigration issues for locals and foreigners. We’ll see if they respond.

The research will continue after we clean the house. The kitchen and bathroom are done. All that’s left is vacuuming the floors (Tom does this) and washing them with the mop (my job). It didn’t make sense to hire a cleaner for this small place, and now that I’m feeling well, I can share in the process.

However, in future full-sized vacation homes, we’ll hire a once-a-week cleaner as we had in the past when such a service wasn’t included in the rent. Heavy-duty cleaning is not something either of us cares to do in our retirement.

That’s it for today, folks! We hope you had a fantastic weekend and all is well your way!

Photo from one year ago today, January 6, 2019:

One year ago…Two hippos we spotted when visiting Rita and Gerhard’s temporary condo at Ngwenya in South Africa on Thursday evening. For more photos, please click here.

Happy New Year’s Eve, everyone!…A new year, a new decade, a new beginning…

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On this date in 2013, this foot-long insect on the wall by the bathroom door in the master bedroom made us cringe.  Sleep didn’t come easy the remainder of that night, fearing that the rains of the previous few days may have brought more of these ugly things indoors. Tom, as always, disposed of it outdoors, but of course, didn’t kill it.  For more photos from that date, please click here.

Many times in the past seven years, we’ve chronicled our year in review on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. In tomorrow’s post, we’ll list where we traveled in 2019 with snippets of what transpired during those travels. 

As our readers know so well, this has been a tough year for us when on February 12th, I had triple coronary bypass surgery with many complications. We won’t get into all of that. 

We’ve said enough and appreciate the patience of our readers who saw us through that difficult time and stayed with us, continuing to read our daily posts. That month I only uploaded 16 posts when I could not prepare posts during the first two weeks after surgery. 

In tomorrow’s post, we‘ll breeze by that period when in May we were “on the move” once again, albeit with a certain amount of trepidation and fear.

Instead, now, we look to the future with hope and optimism that we’ll be able to continue for years to come. But, we’ve both decided over the past few months that we cannot and will not dwell on fear or apprehension of what could happen. 

We could all get caught up in this state of mind, even those in great health. None of us know what the future holds and we can only do our best to maintain good health and a good attitude which ultimately may be instrumental in our quality of life and longevity.

Most of us can look back at our prior year and recall various circumstances causing us to worry and be concerned for ourselves, our loved ones, our circumstances. No one is exempt.

And, most of us choose to move forward, learn from our experiences, good and bad, and continue on the path we’ve chosen for our lives or in some cases choose a new path as we had done over seven years ago. It changed everything.

Rather than New Year’s resolutions, we find it helpful to look back over the past year to determine what we have learned, changes we have made and the changes we need to make going forward. 

It’s highly individual and we cannot imply or suggest that any of our readers/friends follow such a path. But, we find a sense of comfort moving into the New Year knowing we are doing the best we can to maintain a quality of life that brings us both joy and contentment. 

That being said, we wish each and every one of our readers a meaningful and purposeful New Year that fulfills your needs and wishes and brings you joy and contentment as well.

Happy New Year!

Photo from one year ago, December 31, 2019:

Adorable giraffe at rest in Marloth Park. For more photos, please click here 

Another birthday celebration…This time at the bar entitled, “What the Hell”…Finally, rental car issue resolved…

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I was painting on the wall outside a sushi restaurant in Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina, on this date in 2017. For more photos, please click here.

Seniors seem to prefer going out during the day as opposed to at night in the dark. I suppose we are no exception. With crazy drivers on the roads at night, many of whom may have been drinking, daytime visibility is beneficial. That’s not to say daytime drivers are competent or sober.

This fact is especially relevant as we approach New Year’s Eve. For this very reason, we were prompted to spend New Year’s Eve at the party here at the resort rather than venture out to any other locations.

Over the years, our interest in New Year’s Eve has diminished considerably. Still, when the opportunity to attend the party came up a few nights ago at a great price, we negotiated for two tickets, it was hard to turn it down. See yesterday’s post for details.

Yesterday, we brought the egg dish and blueberry muffins to Colleen and Gene’s home for brunch. Afterward, we watched the disappointing Minnesota Vikings Game, returning to our house around 3:30 pm with little to do but relax and unwind.

We should have started to tackle prospects for future bookings, but Tom was determined to watch football for the rest of the day and evening once we returned.

I busied myself with a variety of tasks, including making a light dinner at 6:30 pm. This morning before beginning the post, my time has been spent online checking credit card balances for the first-of-the-month payments. 

Since we’re leaving at 1:30 pm to pick up Colleen and Gena (it’s her birthday today) to head to “What the Hell Bar and Grill” to celebrate her birthday, we have little time to get wrapped up in any research for future travels.

This morning, Tom received an email from rentalcars.com, a site we’ve used since the onset of our travels and will continue to use for the best pricing on cars worldwide. They finally credited us for the issue we ran into when we arrived in Las Vegas on November 28, 2019.

When we approached the rental desk at the Alamo airport, we were informed we couldn’t receive the car we’d rented online due to some technical error between them and rentalcars.com.

However, Alamo booked another car for us at an even better price, which we accepted. But, the issue remained to apply for a credit for the car we didn’t get, and Alamo stated we’d have to do so through rentalcars.com.

We were receiving the credit turned into a convoluted mess of endless email messages and instructions to apply for the credit online (which didn’t work), with a high degree of frustration on our end. We didn’t give up. We kept pressing.

Finally, today, they wrote to us stating the credit will be processed and appear on our credit card within ten business days. Plus, they offered us a complimentary three-day rental next time we use the service by using a code they included in the message. 

We’ll keep checking the credit card and use the code next time we rent a car which should be once we arrive in London in May, after the cruise from Mumbai in April.

Now that we have all of the annoying issues resolved hanging over our heads, we can freely move forward in our planning for the future.

Have a fabulous day!

Photo from one year ago today, December 30, 2018:

Puff adders are commonly seen in Marloth Park. This photo was taken while we were at snake school in March.  Click here for the link to when the photo was taken. Click here for the post one year ago.

Social nirvana into the New Year…

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We often encountered beautiful flowers when we walked the neighborhood in Pacific Harbor, Fiji, on this date in 2015.

We knew that staying in Apache Junction would provide us with an opportunity to spend enjoyable times with Tom’s sisters and spouses and with other resort residents we’d meet along the way.

Yesterday at 3:00 pm was no exception. When Colleen and Mary were invited to an afternoon “happy hour,” of course, they ensured we were included as well.

When we arrived at Sue and Ed’s lovely park home, we were heartily welcomed. As the afternoon wore on, word got out, and four others showed up, all of whom we’d met at other parties over the past three weeks. The group of eight of us engaged in lively conversation.

The 12 of us were a lively group, and there was no shortage of chatter in the room. How they managed to squeeze enough chairs into the space to accommodate everyone baffled me. I guess groups this size must be a common occurrence with all the socializing.

When we’d brought up New Year’s Eve to Tom’s sibling, none sounded enthused to going out to celebrate. Tom also hesitated to plan anything, yet I’d have loved to go out to celebrate, especially if we could do so nearby.

There’s a New Year’s Eve party planned at the resort, but we’d heard the tickets were sold out. Ironically, last night a couple, Sue and Mike, mentioned they were trying to sell their two tickets to the New Year’s Eve party, for which they paid $64. They preferred to attend another party at a nearby resort.

The husband, Mike, was open for negotiations on the price of the tickets. He agreed to $50 for the pair. I offered $40. He decided to pay $45. I stuck to my guns at $40, and eventually, he agreed, knowing it would be unlikely he could sell them at this late a date. After all, the party occurs in only two days.

Hostess Sue (lots of Sue’s here) suggested we sit with them and hang out with them at the party. We may know a few others in attendance, but this plan was most preferred.

This morning I baked blueberry muffins and just took an enormous egg, sausage, mushroom, and onion bake out of the oven to bring to Colleen and Gene’s home for brunch for the six of us. We’ll be watching the Minnesota Vikings game from Tom’s laptop on their big-screen TV using our HDMI cord.

Tomorrow, we’ll all celebrate Colleen’s birthday at the local bar, and the next night we’ll attend the New Year’s Eve party. It’s pretty fun being here. We’re enjoying every moment.

Have a fantastic day, dear readers! Go Vikings!

Photo from one year ago today, December 29, 2018:

Tom took this photo of two hadeda birds on the roof of a neighboring property. Click here to hear the sounds they make, which result in their name. They are known as the loudest birds in South Africa. For more photos, please click here.

Researching the future…We’re behind schedule…

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Taking this photo without zoom on this date in 2013 gives a perspective of the small size of this island, somehow appealing to her for its varied vegetation. For more photos from that date, please click here.

Since we arrived in the US on November 8th, we’ve been preoccupied with visiting family and planning for our upcoming two months in India. We’ve yet to begin booking where we’ll stay after our 29-night cruise from Mumbai to London, which ends on May 2, 2020.

It may seem to be a long time away, but in our world, four or five months fly by in a flash, especially when we are having a great time. As much as we’d like to postpone the time it takes to conduct an in-depth search, the time has come for us to get to work.

The hardest part of booking the six months we have to fill between the end of the cruise until the next cruise in November is where exactly we’d like to travel.

With the Schengen visa requirement that we can only stay in Europe for 90 days out of 180 days, it makes sense for us to spend more time in the UK that doesn’t fall into the Schengen requirements. 

There appear to be several available options for the summer months. Undoubtedly, it makes sense to stay in Scotland (a part of the UK) for a period that neither of us has visited. But, certainly, we’d better get something booked soon.

It’s still hanging up in the air concerning our return to South Africa at the end of the November cruise. But one thing we have decided is we won’t stay in South Africa over the holidays due to increased seasonal rental costs and excessive power outages, especially when there are so many people in Marloth Park. They are experiencing such issues now, as we’ve mentioned many times on Facebook.

Instead, we’re contemplating getting off the ship a few days before the end of the cruise when the ship docks in a port of call in Luderitz or Walvis Bay, Namibia, and stay there for a few months while awaiting the end of the holiday season in South Africa. This makes a lot of sense to us.

After the first of January, we’ll be contacting an immigration attorney in South Africa to assist us in getting the waiver we applied for, which has yet to be approved.  

It’s been almost eight months since we applied and yet had no response. Without the waiver, we won’t be able to return to South Africa until May 2024. That’s too far out for any planning at this point.

This morning, we visited Mary, Eugene, Colleen, and Gene (Margie returned to Minnesota for a few weeks to attend her granddaughter’s wedding on New Year’s Eve). No one seems interested in doing anything out and about on New Year’s Eve, but a few activities transpire in the next few days.

Tomorrow, before noon, we’ll get together for the Minnesota Vikings Game at Colleen and Gene’s home, where we’ll hook up Tom’s laptop via the HDMI cord to their large TV. I am making an egg, mushroom, onions, and sausage casserole to bring for brunch.

On Monday, it’s Colleen’s birthday, and the six of us will go out for a happy hour and a bite to eat at a local pub, “What’s the Hell.” It will be fun to celebrate with her as we did over Tom’s birthday on Monday.

Now, I’m off to the market once more for a few items. We’ll spend a quiet day and evening at our place, having dinner and perhaps watching a movie in the evening. We’ve already completed our walk now that the rain has stopped.

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, December 28, 2018:

It’s easier for male kudus to eat this way instead of bending down with those giant horns. Wildebeest Willie waits in the background for his turn. For more details, please click here.

A perspective from the inside…Aging gracefully…

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This photo was posted in 2014 when our family visited Mount Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii. This was my favorite shot of the evening with the backdrop of the glow of the lava.

After a great night’s sleep last night, both of us are feeling well. What a relief! At this point, with the recent virus gone and my ongoing recovery from last February’s dreadful experience, I am feeling better than I have in over ten months.

I prefer not to be overly optimistic and proceed with caution, realizing that some days may not be as good as others. Then again, most of us have good and bad days about how we feel, especially as we age.

Living in this senior community for 18 nights thus far with a total of 51 nights for the duration has allowed us to see how other seniors live; their health concerns; their worries; their relationship issues; and the affordability (or not) of living in this pleasant, modern RV park.

Surprisingly, most people we’ve met have been very candid about their personal lives. Many have discussed their memory issues and health challenges in some detail. 

However, from what we can ascertain, a substantial number of residents are healthy, active, and full of vitality. In either case, no one we’ve met to date appears to judge those with health or emotional issues. Overall, the residents appear happy to be here, many of whom have lived here for as many as 20 years. Sure, some express concerns over the Park’s management, but this is to be expected. 

It’s easy to get caught in the loop of observing management’s handling of the facility and subsequently making comments or observations of how various situations could improve. However, few seem to express these concerns to the corporate office.

The park appears to be well run. It’s clean, well maintained, and has a robust variety of services and activities in which residents may participate or not. Most events result in an easy social experience suitable for singles and married couples. 

Some individuals lost their spouses and remained in the park during the winter months or throughout the year. Tom’s sister, Margie, lived here during the winter months with her husband Charlie, who sadly passed away in 2008, and yet she still spends her winters here to avoid the cold weather in Minnesota.

For her, the benefit of having two of her sisters living here is a big draw as well. Most residents make an effort to make friends in the park with whom they develop close relationships. Fortunately, we’ve had an opportunity to meet many of Tom’s sister’s friends, all of whom are lovely people.

Many residents have homes they return to in the spring, not returning until October, November, or later and leaving as soon as the weather warms in their home states.

The Arizona summer weather can be daunting, for example:
“In Phoenix and the surrounding suburbs, the summers are sweltering and dry, the winters are cool, and it is mostly clear year-round. Over the year, the temperature typically varies from 44°F (6.7C) to 106°F (41C) and is rarely below 36°F (2.2C) or above 111°F (44C). The record high-temperature is 122°F (50C).”

It’s not surprising that few seniors prefer to stay here in the summer months, but many no longer have second homes out of state and, due to affordability and convenience, will stay through the hot summer months.

No doubt, we’re enjoying our time here meeting new people and spending quality time with Tom’s three sisters and two brothers-in-law. During our quiet time, we busy ourselves with household tasks, research for future travels, and of course, preparing each day’s post.

In only four days, the New Year will be upon us. May you enjoy the planning and preparations for what may be most suitable for you to ring in the New Year.

Photo from one year ago today, December 27, 2018:

Elephants were coming down the hill to the Crocodile River. It’s hot and dry, and water is sparse for them. For more photos, please click here.

A lovely Christmas day had by all…

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Me, Tom, and Kathy during the cocktail hour before dinner on Christmas Day last year.

At last night’s Christmas dinner at Mary and Eugene’s home, again, we didn’t take photos to respect the attendees’ wishes. Not everyone feels comfortable having their photos taken and published online.

With 11 guests at the beautifully set the table, all passed and enjoyed the delicious foods. However, I could only eat the ham and turkey, but I’d had a salad earlier in the day.

After dinner, when the lemon meringue, pumpkin, and pecan pies were placed on the table with a large can of aerosol whipped cream, my mouth watered. In my old life, I would have eaten any one of them. But, I resisted after eating my plate of ham and turkey.

I always make an effort to avoid making a big deal of what I cannot eat, preferring to focus on what I can. Of course, others always comment on the lack of starches, grains, and sugar-laden items on my plate, and I state I have an inflammatory condition (so actual) that prevents me from partaking.

The menu consisted of most items included in a typical Thanksgiving dinner; roasted turkey with stuffing (plus lean ham in this case); mashed potatoes and gravy; sweet potato casserole; green bean casserole; white buns and pumpkin pie (plus other pies) for dessert. It has always been a favorite meal for most Americans. (I’d made the green beans and sweet potatoes earlier in the day).

During and after dinner, the conversation was rich and varied as we all easily connected with ease. Nine of the group were from Minnesota and, their neighbors Jane and Len are from Iowa. Eugene’s sister and her husband were in attendance, along with the widow of one of their brothers who’d passed away years ago.

During the day and evening, we had an opportunity to speak to four of our six grandchildren in Minnesota. Also, I spent time on the phone talking to both of my sisters, Julie in California and Susan in Nevada. Tom spent time on the phone with his eldest brother, Jerome. It was a good day.

Today will be low-key. We have leftover green beans and sweet potatoes, which Tom will have with the marinated chicken breasts we’ll make on the grill with other sides of riced cauliflower and salad.

We just returned from a walk in the neighborhood. I must admit I haven’t been doing as much walking as I should since my legs began to improve in October. After all, I could not walk far for over eight months due to the two surgeries on my legs and the crippling medications. 

I know I should have been walking each day since we arrived here two weeks ago, especially now that the awful coughing has ended. We’ve been here 2½ weeks, and the time has come for me to commit to walking regularly.

My fitness device always reads at least 7000 steps a day, but I need to crank that up by walking with vigor on the street, not just going back and forth to Tom’s sister’s homes and moving about the house. 

I’m committed, as of today, instead of waiting to make New Year’s resolutions which I’ve never been one to make, if I need to get something done, no need to wait for the New Year. 

That’s it for today, folks. We hope every one of you who celebrates the holidays had a lovely Christmas day as well.

We’ll be back again soon!

Photo from one year ago today, December 26, 2018:

Kathy and Don do a tremendous amount of hosting guests and always do so with aplomb and ease. For more photos, please click here.

Happy birthday to my husband Tom…A special celebration on the menu…

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Jandre, Danie, Kathy, Tom, me, Rita, Louise and Gerhard on the veranda overlooking the Crocodile River at Tom’s birthday party last year. (Photo is from the following day’s post on December 24th. Don, Kathy’s husband, took the photo).

It’s a delightfully busy morning as I continue to prep today’s dishes for Tom’s birthday dinner party starting at 4:00 pm today. Yesterday, we posted the menu. If you missed it, please click here.

Thank goodness I managed to get all the chopping and dicing done yesterday. Although the menu is uncomplicated, it still requires tremendous preparation to pull it all together.

All I have left to do today is broil the garlic shrimp, broil the garlic bread, cook the sauteed Portobello mushrooms, bake the potatoes, toss the salad and wrap up the cake, which has been baked and is awaiting the finishing touches. It will be an easy day.

Yesterday we squeezed all the lemons for the Lemon Drop Martinis, and soon I’ll add the sugar and wrap up the mix to which our guests may add either gin or vodka, which I’ll whir with ice in Mary’s borrowed blender.

With limited space, I can’t set the table until it’s time to eat. We’re borrowing a table from Mary which, as it turns out, we’ll have to set up indoors. It’s a very cool and cloudy day with possibilities of rain requiring we eat indoors.

Tom will cook the already marinating New York Strip steaks to order on the grill while getting the remaining dishes ready to be served. No stress here. I’ve always strived to make dinner parties seamless by avoiding being in an uproar for any part of it. 

Nothing stresses guests more when they see their hosts scrambling in an attempt to get the meal put together. We’ve strived to avoid such a scenario preferring our guests can relax and enjoy their time at our party.

I am overflowing with love and gratefulness for my husband. This morning I wrote a tribute to him on Facebook as follows, which says it all:

“Happy birthday to my husband Tom, my travel companion, friend, and forever lover. You always have been a loving and thoughtful partner, but this past year you further proved the “stuff” you are made of when you took care of me for many months while I recovered from open-heart surgery in South Africa and after that. Your love and devotion came through every day and continue now that I am well. This photo was taken when we were in Tanzania in the savannah. Now, my dream life continues with the man of my dreams when in 37 days, we depart for two months touring India. Happy birthday, my love. I love you always…”

Our goal is not to “toot our own horn” here if possible. Still, today I couldn’t help but remind Tom and our readers how fortunate I feel, we feel, to have one another, to be living this extraordinary life, and, most of all, to continue after this trying year.

But, this year is significant when we have the opportunity to share it with a part of Tom’s family; three of his six sisters, two brothers-in-law, and each other is usually warm and sunny Arizona.

May you have a fantastic day as the Christmas festivities continue…

Photo from one year ago today, December 23, 2018:

December 23, 2017:  Happy 65th birthday to my darling husband, lover,  travel companion, and forever friend who has made this special and unique life of world travel possible. Click here for details. For the post from one year ago today, please click here.