Big Bang morning.

Yesterday our morning started with a bang. Around 10:30 two gentlemen were walking around our home. One came to the door and asked if he and his 94 year old father could look at our home. They looked around and we enjoyed chatting with them too. They said they would get back to us in a couple days with the decision. About half an hour later they called again and asked if they could talk to us. Well, to make a long story short the older man, Ray, offered to buy our place at our asking price. They said that they will come back Monday morning to give us a check, transfer the title and call it a deal. Now we have to find a place to live, that we can afford.

I already know which park model I want. I walked over there several times to take another look and asked what their bottom dollar was. They dropped the price another $1500 to get really close to what I was going to offer. Mark wishes that one had a carport and a bigger shed and so do I. But the the home is soooo nice. It has a huge AZ room and a full and half bath. It's also 8 feet longer than our current home and more storage. God allowed our home to be sold so he must have plans on how we can buy a new place and still be able to bring our stuff home from MN. I’m thinking of selling my motorcycle so that would help Mark get a bigger shed, he isn't too happy with that thought. But I’d rather have him have a shed to put his motorcycle in then for me to have my Helix. But it’s whatever God has planned for us. I trust Him to help us make the right decision. If God takes you to it, He will see you through it.  We were going to pull our place off the market if it didn’t sell by the end of this month. But I guess we will be moving sooner. It will be so nice to have more room in the hot summer months and room to get out of each others hair now and then. hehehe And enough room for a lot of our stuff that is still in storage. We have a lot to do and think about in the next couple weeks.

So that all explains why I didn't get much sleep last night. Neither of us could clear our mind and let it go. I think it was around 2:30 when I last looked at the clock. And it was 6:20 when I saw the time again. But I laid in bed hoping for just one more hour of sleep. At 7 I gave up and just waddled, bumped and served to the coffee maker. I really wish I could drink full leaded coffee and not the half cafe stuff. But my heart doesn't need anymore excitement. As it is our next few months will be wild enough.

I had to cancel my dentist appointment for Monday and make if for another day this week. They will call me to confirm a day, or so they said. But like everything else in AZ  and Mexico, they don't move very fast so I may have to call myself to reschedule.  Around here the thought is "it will be today, tomorrow or never". Never a definite time. Even an appointment for 10 could be noon or later before you get called for the service.  So we have learned to never say "whenever you get around to it", because it is quite likely that it won't happen at all. 😟

Mexico

Mexico to the rescue once again. Yesterday we went to a dentist in Mexico and I was quite pleased with the cleanliness, care, and professionalism of the dentist. It was cleaner in there than the doctors clinic here in the foothills. The dentist was much more interested in the reason I was there then any doctor I have seen in Yuma.

The dentist went over the x-rays with me and explained everything with me. He went over all options without ever trying to convince me of what to do. The prices were all up front and only 1/4% of the cost in the US. That being said I will be able to have the swollen gland taken care of by putting in an implant, one badly decayed tooth extracted and have an implant in that spot as well. The whole process will take 8 months to complete. Each implant takes 4 months to heal once the peg is put in place.

Monday I go in for one tooth extraction and one peg to be placed. I have a feeling that I'll be eating pudding, soup and ice cream that day. In 4 months I will go back for the "tooth"/cap to go on the peg and that tooth will be done. The extracted tooth area will then get it's peg. In 4 months, after it heals, I will go and get the final implant cap put on. God willing, that should take care of the immediate issues I have been having to deal with in my mouth. It is a long process to get to the final outcome, but if it means no more pain it's worth the time.

Let's go back three years..... just a month before we left for our RV journey, I had a bottom molar pulled because of the gum getting pinched under a cap and being very painful. With time being an issue and another large amount of money for a new cap and process, the tooth was pulled. Two years down the road I was having major issues with my left gland swelling and being painful every time I ate. Each doctor I saw just gave me an antibiotic and it would go down after a couple weeks but return a bit later with a vengeance. I dealt with this for the last two years. When another tooth became abscess I finally went to see a dentist not a medical doctor, here in the foothills. He wanted to do a root canal on the decayed tooth for the outrageous price of $3500!!!!!!! But didn't want to even look at the side with the swelling. That price being out of reach, and lack of concern, is when we decided to go to a dentist in Mexico, one that our friends have gone to with good results. The dentist in Mexico explained how leaving the gap/missing tooth by another molar was causing the pain and swelling, it was leaning towards the empty spot making the roots push into my jaw. He also explained the root canal or an implant in the decayed tooth. The total cost for all that came to just a fraction of what the root canal in Yuma would have cost. And I actually had a concerned dentist wanting me to be pain free.

Now if I could only find a medical doctor in Arizona with compassion and skills. But AZ is known for poor medical services. Although Yuma has the third best cardiac care in the country. That's good to know since we both have heart issues. We were informed that Yuma is short some 37 doctors, so if you know of any doctors looking for work, send them to Yuma. They will be very busy.

Thievary

Well my trip to the dentist was not good. I knew I was going to need a root canal but what I didn't expect was the outrageous price. It would cost over $3500!!! That is insane. So we will be going to Mexico to have my dental work done, whether I like it or not. Many many people go there and now I can see why. The last root canal I had done was $1500 about 3 years ago. And I thought that was crazy, but more fair then the price I got yesterday. Next week Mark has off more days than usual so we will go in to Mexico one day and make an appointment for my dental work. Maybe I will be able to afford an implant where I have a missing tooth. In the US, it would cost anywhere from $2000 to $6000 a tooth

God must have decided that Marks hours were not to be cut just yet. Because after next week we will be back on his 3 and 4 day week. Plus last night he was called into the office and was given a 25¢ raise. God is so good to us. Mark was kind of looking forward to less hours but I guess the timing was not right. God knows best.

It's the time of year for eagles nesting. I've been watching a nest in Decorah Iowa for years now and am enjoying them this year too. It's just amazing how the parents work as a great team. I've recently found a second nest in Decorah as well.
https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/decorah-eagles/
https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/decorah-north-nest/

On the rise

We are finally on a warming trend. The temps this week will be on a gradual rise with the mid 80's but the beginning of next week. The warmer temps will be so welcome after a colder than normal winter in Yuma. Actually colder in all of AZ.  Next month some of the snowbirds will be leaving which is another nice thing about spring. :)

Marks hours got cut at WM. This week he only works 3 days and then just two days a week. This happens every year at WM's no matter if it's a busy season at one or not. Mark is looking forward to less working time at WM. I hope it gives him time to go some things around here that he enjoys, besides the computer that is. hehehe Like maybe start on our extra room. That can be done little by little so it's more fun than work. He did a great job on our basement at the house but we are older now so it will take a little longer. It's a smaller project so it should be less stressful too. Whatever, he is due for some days of less work. Maybe go and do some sightseeing in the area that we live in now. We haven't done that in a long time and haven't covered much of an area yet either. It seems he is either working or I have laundry to do. With all the people in the park laundry day is a challenge and not always fitting into a time slot we would like.

For the most part the crud has been lifted from me. Just a little cough which is normal living where it's so dry. I doubt Marks cough will ever go away. I'm sure the warmer weather will help us both to some degree.

Last week I started writing mom letters since we can't email or talk on the phone anymore. I kind of forgot about snail mail for communication. Duh. I won't know how she feels or anything but at least she can hear from me. I have to type the letters out on the computer because my penmanship has gotten really bad and my hand tires easily now. I hope that she is getting my letters. No way of knowing that either. But I'll keep sending them. I know she will like hearing from me. I am having a hard time not sending and receiving emails. We have done that for so long that it's just been part of my life. Now that's gone too. Times change and I'm not liking this change one little bit. 😢

This coming week I have to bite the bullet and make a much needed dentist appointment. It's so hard going to a new doctor or dentist when you have had such wonderful ones in the past. The uncertainty is very uncomfortable. The medical profession here stinks, I hope that the dentistry is better. I hope it's cheaper than MN too. Mexico is cheaper but I'm not comfortable with dentistry there yet. I know a lot of people go there, but the area just seems too dirty to me. I won't even eat anything there.

It's about time that I get dressed and get Miss Lola out for her morning duties. Soon it will be a nice warm morning walk. But for now it's still jacket weather and sometimes even a heavy coat and earmuffs. 😮

When will it stop?

Just when I think I'm on the mend, not but 8 hours later the crud/cough is back in full force and sleep is a thing of the past. There is only so much cough medicine that you can take in a day. But night always seems to be the worst. I'm glad I quit smoking 8.5 years ago or it would be a lot worse. So I am thankful I quit smoking for that reason too. Oh heck, what's one more gripe? My left gland is so swollen again and hurts like a bugger. The swelling isn't going down this time which is why it is painful. Maybe once the coughing subsides and I get some much needed rest, that will get better too.

On a happier note, well the end part is. hehe Mark lost his phone the other day. We looked all over, I even looked in the fridge,freeze, garbage, and the cupboards. If you know Mark, you can understand why I looked in the most odd places. Luckily we still had my old Motorola phone for him to use. So yesterday we headed to AT&T to have them set up this phone to our account. Just after lunch we got to talking about if the phones were waterproof, when Mark remembered that he took the phone out of his pocket when he went to the bathroom at work so it wouldn't fall into the toilet. Well, after he got to work yesterday he checked at the service counter to see if by some chance someone found it and turned it in there. Low and behold some honest person did just that. Mark had to describe his phone and then it was returned to him. That being said, my faith in people was somewhat restored. He is going to continue using the Motorola and see if he likes it better than his Samsung. He is not real fond of the purple case it's in though. 😅 I do not like the Samsung phone and wish we had changed providers rather than phones. Now we have a more reliable provider so the Motorola should work much better. T-Mobile does not work here in the foothills and Verizon is horribly overpriced. IF he goes back to his Samsung I may use my Motorola again.

This morning it was a cold 36º when I got up at 8. Just a few more days of this 60º stuff and we will be in more pleasant 70º weather. Then I can open the doors and windows to air out all the germs and enjoy some outside time. We all need a good blast of some warmth and sunshine. 😎 Our northern family and friends will agree with that I'm sure. 😊

Wind and Rain

Sometime during the night it rained and has been raining most of the day. The wind has gotten absolutely wild so no walking outside today. Well, the only walks will be to take Lola our for her duties. With both Mark and I coping with sore throats and a cough, we don't need to spend much time out in the elements. Sorry Lola, I'll make it up to you later.

This afternoon I really heated up the place by making a pumpkin pie for Mark. It got so warm in here that Mark has been in the shed most all day. Mid week he worked on making his shed a "mancave". Nice new workbench and put a tv in there as well. He even cleared out some of the shelves from a cabinet on the porch for me to add some of my larger kitchen tools.  It sure makes it easier for me to get at them now. No more bending and lifting to get them off of a lower shelf.

Our Valentine dinner will be here at home where it's a whole lot less crowded, better price and still good eats. I'm making Mark his favorite parmesan garlic shrimp scampi. 

Not sure what I'll be eating, I'm not a fan of shrimp and too wet and windy to make a steak on the grill. My throat hurts too much for much of anything really. I'll just enjoy watching Mark enjoy his meal  while I have some soup.

Thank you Mexico and Canada

Thanks to these two countries my heart will keep me alive until God is ready for me. These two countries are where I can afford to buy my heart pills. Medicare will not help pay for the pills which cost $400 for 30 days. Where as in Mexico I can buy said pill at $8 for 100 pills. Canada can provide me with my other heart pills at a very similar price. Screw the US pharmaceutical companies. I need to take these pills for the rest of my life and have no other option on what I can take. We live close enough to Mexico now so I don't have to worry about running out. That is unless the stupid, jackass US president screws everyone over some more.  But I still have Canada as my other option.

We went to Mexico today with our dear friends Uncle James and Auntie Bettie. And as always we had a lot of fun. Mark and James sat and had coffee while Bettie and I shopped. Well, Bettie shopped and I followed very close behind. She has the most amazing sense of direction, I on the other hand have none and would have been lost in Los Algodones without her. She really scored on some good deals, she can really talk them down in price. Amazing.

It was and still is cold. By the time we got home I was froze to my toes. 😬Turning on the little propane heater when we got home, warmed me up nicely. The heavy sweatshirt helped too. 😀 The rest of this week into next will be unusually cold so I won't be doing much on the porch or craft area. I'll just stay inside and bake or bask in the heat of the heater. 😃