WOW How Time Gets Away

Gee! I must have been sleeping.  I guess that I need to remind Mom to blog more often.

Okay, Angel,  I’ve got the message!

I can’t believe that it has been almost a month since the last entry.  I've been busy working and catching up on hours.  Because those hours have been all over the place, there hasn’t been many blocks of time to sit down and write. 

One thing that you can say about living in a retirement resort community is that, if you are bored, it’s your own fault.  There are so many things to do here.  You can do as much or as little as you want.  This blog is mostly about all  the things that went on just during the last month.  Most of them I had to work them.

This is the winner of the Good Life Dancing With The Stars.  She even did a Flip.  Her partner is with a Dance Company out of Utah.

Here is  “selfie”  taken at a meeting with two of my classmate from elementary school in Chicago.  That’s Margaret on the left, who lives in Scottsdale and that’s Donna, who lives in  East Mesa.  We will be seeing each other in March too.  It was nonstop reminiscing.  There’s a lot to catch up on when you haven’t seen each other in over 55 years.

Oh the joys of RV Life!   I lost power again.  After checking all the possible culprits, I still couldn’t get it to come on.  So, I knocked on the door of my next door neighbor.  Kyle, he helped with replacing my microwave.  He checked everything that I did and then checked the power cord.  There was a section near the connection entering the MH where the inside wires were exposed.  The ground wire wasn’t even connected and the white one was a bit burned.  Evidently it wasn’t always getting a complete contact.  At least I had power.  We decided that the next weekend he would try to rewire the power cord if at all possible.  Otherwise it would cost about $285.00 to replace the cord.  Fortunately it worked.

                                    

During the week it was back to work.  Most of the time I work in the office answering the phone and questions.  There’s a lot of pushing paper,  coping, collating, faxing and folding church bulletins or playbills.  Once a month there is a Birthday Luncheon.  Below is one of the tables decorated in gold for those who are over ninety.  It is very festive and it helps me get in those hours when I can help decorate.

 

Another event that I worked was the Valentine’s Sock Hop.  It was quite popular, 330 participants.  It was a lot of fun.  Elvis made an appearance. They did all of the old dances,  the Stroll, the Limbo, the Chicken Dance, the Hokey Pokey and others.  Below they were doing the Bunny Hop.

Here’s the latest x-ray.   The bone is healing well and the swelling has come down a bit, although the nerve issue still persists.  The doctor says that if it is healing, it may take a year.  He realizes that I will be leaving in April for California, so I may have to transfer my care to wherever I end up.  The same goes for PT.  I have had issues with my blood pressure and am trying to get that resolved before I leave too.  More joys of being retired and traveling around the country and still dealing with remaining healthy.

Here’s another event that I worked, the Good Life Orchestra and Band Concert.

 

During this concert my phone rang.  I forgot to put it on vibrate, so I had to leave to answer it.  It was a good thing that I did, because it was from a CG in northern CA. It was still too loud and we couldn’t hear each other and made plans for him to call on Sunday.

One of the perks here is to occasionally attend some of the shows.  Last Thursday it was a double bill, the Impressionist, Ken Block and the winners of America’s Got Talent in 2012 (I think), The Olate Dogs.

 

 

 

Both acts were good, however the dogs seemed to be having the most fun.  They all adored their trainers.  They have 22 dogs, although only 10 were on stage.  The rest are either retired or in training and not ready to perform.  The stage is quite small, but they handled it well.

Well, last night I spoke with Alan, the manager of Casini Family Ranch CG.  It is located on the Russian River about an hour and a half north of San Francisco and about six miles inland.  There are a lot of different types of jobs that they hire for.  I won’t know for a couple of weeks if I got the job.

In the meantime I will keep on working as many hours as I can, which includes 3.5 hours at the rest of the Saturday Night Dances.    Easy!  I just sit or stand and listen to the music.  I’m to just be a “presence” in case anyone needs anything.

I hope that you all are having a wonderful time doing what you want to do.

Thanks for visiting

  I knew I could get her to do it.

Susan and Angel

Just Catching Up

                                     

Again it has been a while since posting. 

Time just gets away.  It seems like I’m always working or waiting to go back to work.  They have me scheduled for 21 hours.  That’s 3 hours short of the required 24.  Those hours are in the office, so the others are done on the decor team and those can be at any time or on any day.  I never know when or where until the last minute.  Any hours over  the 3, go towards the 72 that I couldn’t work when I broke my arm last November.  Not only the time goes by, but there doesn’t seem to be anything interesting to blog about.

Let’s see if I can come up with something……… Well, I did finally get a car, a 1999 Subaru Forester, however it sat for a few weeks while I tried to get insurance.  Unfortunately, those accidents that I had with the 5th wheel back in 2012 were making it difficult.  In addition to that my Physical Therapist didn’t think I was far enough along to drive yet.  That has changed.  I am now driving short distances to therapy, doctors’ visits and the store. 

My range of motion has improved, although the best is when the PT moves it.  Doing it on my own has a long way to go.  I try to use it as much as possible, but I don’t have much strength in the hand or arm.  The other thing that keeps me from blogging is the nerve issues since the surgery.  The Radial nerve is affecting the thumb and the first and second fingers, with numbness, pins and needles and a burning sensation. It also makes it a bit challenging to type, although it is getting a little easier.    What it all comes down to, is I do whatever I can as often as I can.  It will slowly get better.

Oh yea, there was a Carnival on a Saturday that I had to work.

                                

There were all kinds of adult games that the players would win carnival cash to use at the end for an auction.  The most popular game was the horse races.  That got really hectic, however the way that it was processed left a lot to be desired.  In the long run everyone had fun and it gave me an additional 4 1/2 hours.

Another thing that I do in the office, that I enjoy, is creating more flyers and signs. There are so many activities and the coordinators sometimes need to post these things.  Now that I have learned this program, I can add it onto my resume.

Last weekend my microwave died.  Kyle, my next door neighbor who works at Superstition RV in Apache Junction took a look at it and found a loose wire.  He put it back in the cabinet and during the week it died again, so I replaced it with one that is also a convection oven.  Now I have to learn that part of it and I think that it will be covered by insurance less my deductible.

                               

This afternoon there will be a Workampers’ potluck.  I will bring a slow cooker full of meatballs with barbeque sauce and grape jelly.  Yummy!!!

                               

I guess that I will finish this, as the arm and hand is getting tired.   I hope that you all are staying warm and enjoying this new year.

Thanks for visiting

Just sitting here waiting for Mom to get back from the neighbor’s.

Susan and Angel

How Long Has it Been Happy New Year !!!!!

 

Here it is, already a couple of weeks into 2014.  I’m still busy trying to catch up on my hours in the activity office and doing all the physical therapy that I need to do.  In comparison to my recovery from my shoulder replacement, this recovery is much harder.  Some of the exercises are the same, but harder, probably because of type of injury.  One of my therapists said that this one will take a long while time to recover from.  It doesn’t help that there is an issue with a nerve that effects my thumb and two fingers.  I think that if that wasn’t an issue it would be a bit easier.  Even using the computer is a bit difficult.  There was a New Year’s Eve Dance where it was an “All Hands On Deck”, meaning that everyone in activities had to work.  I spent the morning working and then came back to work the dinner/dance.  My position was at one of the beverage bars.

                        

                               Jody, Gary, Kerry, me and Jim

Here we are posing with Kerry, one of the managers.  The theme was Asian.

 

                            

                                  Me and Diana, the Activities Director

This past week or so I have been able to pick up a few more hours, some of them learning a new program on the computer.  Diana trained me on “Publisher”.  Charlie has been swamped with creating flyers and signs.  Last Friday I learned how to create and print table toppers to number the tables for the next dinner/dance.

  This is my first flyer.  Using the program is fun and more up to using my talents.

It has been quite chilly here this past week, nothing like the rest of the country, but still too cold for me.  I am glad that it is getting a bit warmer and will be glad when winter is over.  I hope that you all have a wonderful New Year and stay warm.

Thanks for visiting

I’m trying to keep warm too.

Susan and Angel

I’ve Been Busy and At Times Not, and MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

I must apologize to all my fellow bloggers.  I am still trying to catch up on reading blogs, as well as posting on my own.  I am finally back to work, although it is limited.  I am back in the office again, but I have less hours.  then again it seems that everyone has fewer hours.  We are told not to worry, as soon as the holidays are over, we will all be very busy. 

For the past three weeks I have been going to doctors appointments and have been cleared by Dr. Tani to be able to go back to work for light duty and to get rid of the sling.  There is no cast, just a titanium rod and screws to hold the bone together.  It is tiring with the therapy and exercises, but I need to use it.  He has prescribed Out Patient Therapy 2 or 3 times a week for 4 weeks.  Even though I know the types of exercises to do, I need to have my progress monitored.  The hard part is finding rides to get there.  I still haven’t found a car and Dr. Tani  has said that I can drive, but I still don’t think that I can drive a 5 speed yet, so I’m still searching.

Being back at work has been good.  it’s better to be around others, especially around the Holidays.  I have also been going to the Saturday night dances, if only for the music and fellowship.  There is a  Solo’s group that meets on Monday afternoons and then go out to dinner.  I’ve been once and it was enjoyable.  we’ll start up again after the Holidays. I have also been cleared to swim.

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                                                  MERRY CHRISTMAS

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The last couple of weeks have been busy at work, getting ready for Christmas.  The above picture taken at a party at the park.

                           Some of the entertainers, all park residents.

This is one of the deliveries that I had to check in. (wine for one of the parties)

One of the parties was for all the workampers and this is the results of one of the games that we played.

Another game where pairs with hands tied together had to wrap presents is here.    

There was also a gift exchange / steal .  I ended up with a foot massager. 

                                My Spot II   all decked out for Christmas

                               

                                                        Outside

                                                        Inside

                          

                                                added presents

   Last night my family came over for Christmas Eve Dinner.  We exchanged gifts and then went to Church.

Today, we celebrated with a Christmas Potluck Dinner.  My contribution was the  decorations.

                 This is our workamper table, without and with the people.

                                                 There were 21 tables.

To all of you out there in blog land, I hope that you all had a wonderful time with family and/or friends.

                                           MERRY CHRISTMAS

Just Checking In

                              

It has been two weeks since the big TRIP.  I’m doing as well as can be expected.  I will see  Doctor Tani on Friday and I am hoping to get released for light duty.  I can only do passive exercises for now, but maybe he will let me do more.

To catch up on what I’ve been doing, I am trying to be a bit active.  Sometimes it is difficult.  I try to walk up to the clubhouse most days.  There is usually something going on.  Saturday and Sunday each of my daughter took turns taking me shopping for Thanksgiving dinner.

The Saturday after I fell, fellow bloggers, Sandy and Jim, invited me to go out for dinner and to attend a Neil Diamond Tribute. 

 

That’s their friend Rod on the left, then Jim, Sandy and me at the Texas Roadhouse. The dinner, company and show was great.  A big, belated THANK YOU to Sandy, Jim and Rod too.

Here’s a picture of some shufflers on the Shuffle Board Court that I took while waiting for the Post Office to open.

                          

For the Holiday I reserved a room in the clubhouse for our family dinner.

                               

There were eleven of us.  We had all the traditional dishes as well as few new ones that I tried, corn soufflé, candied carrots with balsamic vinegar, and roasted Brussell sprouts and red grapes.  Every one liked them all and I sent all the leftovers home with whomever wanted them.  A great time was had by all, even though we missed having Sandi, Mary, Charlie (in Ft. Worth) and Ted (in San Francisco). 

Later in the week my brother, Don and SIL, Pat came over for a visit.  They will be here in AZ for the winter.

                               

This is their first year as snowbirds.  Their home is in Sitka AK.  Don’s daughter, Pam and son, Dan, both live here in Valley.  I’m sure that we will see more of each other while here.

I think that I will close for now.  It has taken quite a while to write this post, one keystroke at time, so please forgive the length of time between posts.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that the rest of the Holidays are happy as well.

Thanks for visiting

I’m taking good care of Mom

Susan and Angel

More T&C Set Up and Take Down /// Had A Nice Trip

 

I finished the week and had  uneventful weekend,  On Monday I worked 7 hours setting up tables and chairs, decorating the tables for the monthly Birthday Luncheon with lots of balloons.

                                                               

        The special tables were for the Young A Heart Club, those that are 90 or older.

In the afternoon I took Angel  dog park.

There were too many dogs and was happy when we left. 

We still had to take down tables and chairs from the luncheon and set them up for Coffee and Donut for Tuesday morning.

Then there was Tuesday!!!!!!!!    I was on my way to the clubhouse and -------------------------

                            

Yep,” I’ve fallen and I can’t get up”,   I tripped on some uneven pavement and fell with enough force on my left shoulder to separate the long part of the bone from the round part of the bone,  Fortunately it was only a few minutes before someone came to help,  Toni, an retired RN kept me stable until the paramedics got there,  I was taken by ambulance to ER,  I called my daughters that live here in the valley and they both came to keep me company and wait to see what the prognosis was,

Now for the     TMI.    If you don’t want the gory details you can stop reading.

Before

The bone is a full inch away from where it should be.  I couldn’t have done a better job of breaking the Humerus if I tried. 

They waited for the orthopedic doctor to look at the x-rays.  The decision was made to keep me overnight and that night I would have to have surgery.

                                                                   After

That’s a titanium rod and screws holding the bone together and the incision is glued together so that I can shower. 

I’m doing fairly well considering.

Thanks for visiting

I can’t wait to get home to Mommy, although Brother Chris has been a great substitute.

Susan and Angel