Extended Stay This Year

I like to check back on blog entries from the previous year and I discovered that it was exactly one year ago yesterday that we visited Josie's brother Louie, and discovered that her brother in law, Carlos had liver cancer. It didn't seem that long ago when we found out about it, so time does fly. It was also one year ago today that we left for WA to visit our family there for the month of April. This year, Josie had made the commitment to Phoenix Flower Shops to work through Mother's Day which will extend our stay to our expected departure on May 13. We are sure to be leaving in the early heat of the summer here in AZ. We just hope it doesn't come any earlier than May.

As expected, the time has flown by and we are trying to squeeze in activities and events that we should have planned for earlier in our stay. The main problem now is that Josie is trying to schedule doctor appointments that should have been started in November. Some of the appointments will just have to wait until we return in October, as some of these offices are booked right up to early May which will be impossible for her to break away from work. She did see our physician in Surprise and had her physical, but any follow up work will have to wait. Fortunately, she only has high cholesterol which is something that can easily be controlled. We were afraid that she had Diabetes as she has complained of foot pain, especially in her toes. It appears that those symptoms are a result of her nerves being pinched in her back. She also has cataracts, and that doctor's visit is what she has tried to schedule before we leave. We now know that we need to begin scheduling these things earlier in our stay.

Folks are beginning to leave the resort in great numbers. April 1st is the date that most of them leave the area for their summer homes and destinations. Pretty soon, all that will be left are those that live here year round, and those numbers are shrinking as the management here at the resort is trying to reduce the number of annual residents that spend the entire year here. The amount of electricity used by those people is huge, and there is no meter on any of the sites to be able to charge for that utility. It is a good direction for them, as the more electricity that can be saved, the lower the rate of increases in the rent for the future. We are in favor of that.

As today is April Fools Day, be on the alert for "tricks" by your friends and family...