Long Day Ends

Yesterday was a very long day for me. I was in the liquid only phase of my colonoscopy prep and did not have food all day. By 6 PM last night, I was done with all the prep and waited for the flood gates to open. That happened starting at around 8 PM when I wanted to go bed, of course. I spent the next hour or so going back and forth to the bathroom and was up and down a few times during the night. Not fun at all. It is now over and the results were positive so I'm good for another two years before the next one. We had a nice breakfast following the procedure at Ji Michaels Restaurant near the doctor's office.

I have another appointment with my primary physician for tomorrow to follow up on my physical exam which I had in December. It makes little sense to me to have a follow up for a physical held one month ago. That should do it for me for a while.

Josie has the next four days off and we have a busy weekend with the local Phoenix Open Golf Tournament and Super Bowl on tap. Also, we have our golf outing with George and Cheryl on Sunday which we will enjoy.

Finally, Josie caught this nice shot of the sunset last night before bedtime:

Colonoscopy Eve Today

We were sorry to hear about the deep freeze in Chicago. This morning, the wind chill factor is -52 with a regular temperature of -27. Patty has lost her TV use (reason unknown) and has only her phone to keep up with news. Everybody is staying inside (except Mark who is in Phoenix on business). Poor Oakley barely made it outside long enough to do his business. It will end this weekend and become pretty nice by Monday if they can just make it that long.

Today is the "liquids only" portion of the Colonoscopy prep. At 3 PM I take my Dulcolax tablets and follow that with my 64 OZ recipe of Miralax and Gatorade. The evening promises to be a busy one. I will certainly be glad when it all ends tomorrow at 7 AM for the actual procedure.

It's too bad that this year's Phoenix Open Golf Tournament will be played with clouds and rain possibilities. Last year, it was total sunshine and record high temperatures (82). The temperatures this year will range from the high 60's to low 70's. It is still better than -52!...

Grapevine Maintenance

We have a lone grapevine on the side of our house that has (obviously) been there for years. The previous owners took good care of this vine and we know nothing about how to grow grapes. I did some online research on grapevines and learned how to prune the vines to get maximum production. I followed the online directions and then attacked the vine:

I cut off all of the long branches and will tie up the entire vine with wire.

We had some grapes from this vine last year before the birds ate most of them. One problem we will have is to figure a way to keep the birds away which probably means installing some kind of wire cage around the vine. Josie and I decided that we would give this vine one year to perform and then remove it entirely if it becomes a big problem.

It's a big sports week with the Phoenix Open Golf Tournament in Scottsdale and the Super Bowl on Sunday. Unfortunately, there is some rain in the forecast during the tournament and I hope it doesn't ruin the fun that this event produces each year. Mark is here for meetings and to help his company man a tent that they are sponsoring for the tournament and I understand that Austin is also returning this year with his buddies. We will not get a chance to see them or to go this year and hope that they have a great time...

College Update

As mentioned yesterday, our grandson Brandon has been accepted for the Eastern Illinois University football program and for entrance to the academic programs. We all know much about Arizona State University where Jordan will attend, but not much is known about EIU. The football program has produced some well known players and coaches and, although a small school compared to major conference play, provides a terrific opportunity for Brandon. He met with the coaching staff on Saturday and there was a mutual attachment and agreement to move forward. We are excited for Brandon and know that he will be happy pursuing that opportunity.

I also mentioned yesterday that my prep has begun for the scheduled Colonoscopy this Thursday. I stopped taking some of the medications that are blood thinners - namely aspirin - and will discontinue eating nuts and seeds today. Ugh...

Josie is back to work today for the next three days and the prep work begins at her shop for the Valentine's Day rush. It will be interesting to see how this shop differs from others she has worked...

Colonoscopy Week

Our golf outing for today was moved to next Sunday as Cheryl had pressing work to complete for her church. So now, we will meet at our house following church services next Sunday and go to the Rec Center for our golf outing. We also plan to grab a bite to eat at George's Café at the Rec Center either before or after our round of golf. We look forward to that fun outing.

This week (Thursday, January 31) is the scheduled time for my biennial Colonoscopy. If all goes well, the results will be the same as all the other Colonoscopies I've had, every two years, for the last 25 or so years. That will be good news. I don't look forward to the preparation, especially the day before. Fortunately, Josie has the day off to be my chaperone for the occasion.

We got word this morning that Brandon has committed to Eastern Illinois University for his college education and to play football. He was there visiting the campus yesterday with Patty and Mark to meet the coaching staff and do a tour. We are very happy for him and will have more on that as we find out more about his schedule.

It looks like another great week, weather-wise, as we hang in the low to mid 70's each day with no rain in sight...

Normal Activitiy

I didn't submit any entry the last two days because there was not much of anything to report. We went to the rummage sale at George and Cheryl's church yesterday morning and played a round of miniature golf at the rec center in the afternoon. The rummage sale was huge. It is hard to believe that so much stuff - most of it of good or better quality - was available at unbelievably low prices. It was ten times better than any Goodwill store!

Following our walk-around at the sale, we had lunch at the food booth outside the church in the courtyard. That was also very good - and very reasonably priced. We then took George back to our house to gather some oranges and lemons for him to take home and we drove him home to save him another trip to pick up Cheryl.

We stopped at Sam's Club, bought a few items and then headed to the miniature golf course to play a round. Josie started great, but finished slow and I had a decent round, but not my best. We really enjoy going there and playing on this excellent course. We are trying to arrange a round for this Sunday, following church services, for ourselves and George and Cheryl to play a round. I hope we can put that together.

I will keep up with daily entries to the blog - as long as I have something to report. But, again, the purpose of the blog from the beginning was to keep family and friends current on our location and activities while traveling fulltime. It tends to get a little boring - from both sides - when all I have to report is the same stuff everyday. I'll try to keep it interesting...

Clear Skies, Finally

For the first time since I can remember, the extended 7-day forecast shows no clouds at all during any day. The temperatures will be cool until mid week when we again reach the 70's, so no complaints there. I think this has been a very unusual winter as I recall not having so many long stretches of cloudy days.

I will be taking some items to the rummage sale today that is being held at George and Cheryl's church on Thursday through Saturday morning. We have lots of items to donate, but we also have lots more that are still buried in our garage. Maybe there will be a second sale sometime in the near future. We plan to also pay a visit to the sale on Thursday. I just need to make sure that Josie leaves her purse home when we visit :).

The fallout from the bad call in the Saints/Rams game continues. I heard this morning that in addition to forthcoming rules changes, the betting houses are being sued to return the money to those betting on the Saints. The NFL has already admitted that it was a blown call. All of this tarnishes the victory that the Rams enjoy...