Same-old Same-old

I haven’t posted because, well, it’s pretty much the same-old-same-old.

We’ve been cycling, but Gary has been fighting the bubonic plague so he was sidelined today. Actually, he was pretty miserable last night, and as a precaution, I decided to go to the Pharmacy of Death ™ this morning to get a prescription for antibiotics filled (he’s had pneumonia enough times that we are able to diagnose this on our own; it wasn’t clear that he absolutely would need it, but I figured we’d be better to have it, just in case he really did go bubonic). Armed with the prescription from our family doctor, I timed it so I would get to the pharmacy right at 10am when they opened. I was there at 10:01. And the pharmacy was closed. Okay. It’s only 10:01. And I could hear voices (behind the closed counter; not the ones in my head that were telling me that only a crazy person would be at this pharmacy, expecting them to be open on time), so it was all cool. At 10:10, the pharmacy was still closed, and the store’s assistant manager came back and I could hear more voices (most of which were still not in my head). From what I could hear, there were only two employees there, and at least 2 other people had called in sick.

Nifty.

At 10:15, they finally opened the counters. The assistant manager took my prescription and told me that it would be “a while”.

A while. Yippee. Good thing I had brought my needlepoint with me.

Since I had some other prescriptions to pick up, I went to the pickup counter and the one poor harried guy finally got to me. And they only had 2 of the 4 prescriptions that I had expected to pick up (not counting the one I had just dropped off), but the poor guy didn’t have anyone to help him, so he didn’t have time to figure out why the other things weren’t ready. It wasn’t an emergency, so no biggie. But as I was waiting in line, I saw the z-pack (azythromycin) packages on the shelf – the prescription that I had just dropped off for Gary, and had been told would be a while. Since this is not the first time that he’s gotten this particular (nuclear-strength) antibiotic, I know that it is nothing that the pharmacist has to actually count out; they pick a package off the shelf, run it through the insurance and give it to you. But because they were so short staffed, this whole process was going to take a couple of hours – mostly because they had to bring in extra employees from Lake Havasu (50 miles away).

But as I was standing in line I was able to discern that the only other employee was an actual pharmacist. So after I got the couple of prescriptions they DID have for me, I went back to the drop-off counter, and the pharmacist came over. I explained to her that Gary was dying of the bubonic plague, and then I fibbed a bit (okay, I lied) and told her that I was a nurse, and knew that it was a really easy deal to do a z-pack. Much to my great surprise, the pharmacist just handed me the package, and told me that they’d “work it out later”.

Huh. Go figure. So I took the pack and ran like a thief. (I have no idea if/when they will ever figure it out, as the pharmacist made no notes whatsoever on the prescription. Not my problem.)

Luckily, it turned out that Gary didn’t need the prescription. But yet again, the Pharmacy of Death ™ did not fail to mystify.

Other than that, I’ve been out in the kayak a fair amount (again, with Gary being run-down/sick, he hasn’t had as much of a chance to get out), and Fiona is becoming a champion ball-chaser. The kids got their hair cuts, and look great (although TaiChi’s hair is a little short, and since the nights are cool, she’s been wearing her coat).


By drliz


By drliz

Other than that excitement, I’ve been needlepointing up a storm (pictures will follow as I make a bit more progress). Again, same-old-same-old here.

I can actually be pretty crafty at times!

We’ve been a bit sidelined the last couple of days, for a couple of reasons. First, our main road that we ride was taken out of commission as the area was getting ready for the Parker 425 desert race. 260 entries, each with 4 drivers, the main pit area was similar in size to the paddock at the Solo Nationals, and the spectator areas were crammed with people parking their RVs days in advance to get a good viewing spot. I really wish I had my camera out on the last day we were out there, because the number of spectators alone was quite impressive (and we only say one spectator site; there were several).

Anyway, there was the desert race prep, so we hit the river with the kayaks for two days. Which was great fun. I’m so thrilled with the kayaks!

By drliz

But 80 degree days can only last so long. It started raining on Friday evening, and has been raining on and off ever since. And for some unrelated reason, I had decided a week or two ago that I’d like to do a little cross-stitch. I get on a cross-stitch kick every once in a while (I think it is the only thing that stuck with me from my 150 years as a Girl Scout). It’s one of those ‘crafty’ things that I actually enjoy. As an aside, several years ago when I was on another cross-stitch kick, I was early for a meeting at work, and whipped out the pattern I was working on at the time, and the next person to come into the room was a very devout Mormon woman who only knew me as a ski racing, gun-toting tomboy. Her eyes bugged out of her head as I placidly stitched away before she finally stammered, “I wouldn’t have ever expected you to do hand-work.” Hand-work? Okay. I just smiled and told her that it was my deep, dark secret. I forever after that she kept looking at me for horns on my head.

A couple of weeks ago, I ordered a cross-stitch kit from eBay. One of those things that comes with everything, including a needle. Well, except for a hoop, which you need to keep the material taut so that you can make even stitches. So I ordered one of those, as well. And a pair of little scissors. Because of course, all of my cross-stitch stuff is in Park City, as I didn’t anticipate this whim striking me. And everything arrived just around the time the kayaks did.

So when it started raining, I started cross-stitching. And when it was all said and done, even Gary was impressed (he’s seen me mending things, so I think he was a little skeptical when I started…)

In hindsight, a white dog on a white background meant a lot of white stitches. After several hours of trying to actually see the stitches that I had put down, I finally admitted defeat and stitched the outline of the body before I continued with the white. Of course, this didn’t dawn on me until after I had done the head…. But in the future, I’m going to pay a little more attention to the colors of the stitches and the background material. Another after-thought: I would have liked to have had a reddish/bronze-ish color thread for the dog – it would have been a lot easier to see, and it would have ended up looking more like Fiona… I have since ordered a few skeins of ‘basic’ colors so that I’m not ever stuck in a white-on-white fiasco again.

So here is the fruit of my labors.


By drliz

Yes, I need to find an iron before I frame the thing…. Or maybe I’ll send it to my parents and let them handle that part of things! ;-D

And yeah, I’m actually going to start another one. (And yes, it will be another dog-themed pattern. Because the cat patterned kits that I have ordered aren’t here yet!)

On the water

Day Two with the Kayaks.

 

You can't tell from this, but there was a pretty stiff south wind, so on the way back, we were getting some nice bow splashing going on!

Gary, quickly mastering the whole kayaking thing.

 

Notice that we got the carts for the kayaks, making it a whole lot easier to get the boats down to the river!

 

Me, a very happy camper!

 

I'm exhausted.

I'm exhausted. Happy, but exhausted.

We started off with a 24 mile bike ride (we finally made it to the end of the road. They are doing a desert race this weekend, and it's amazing to see the number of spectators that are staged to watch this 425 mile spectacle. Kicks self for not having camera in the backpack. It was perfect weather (80 degrees), and a great ride. Did I mention that I LOVE this weather?

After the bike ride, we decided to take the kayaks out.

 

This would be my kayak behind the motorhome. I've got to figure out how to take the camera along to get some 'on-the-water' shots. I think a Ziploc bag may help...

It's about a half mile from the motorhome to the water (that would be by NOT cutting through peoples' patios), and the kayaks are pretty heavy; 45 lbs each. Gary carried the front ends, and I carried the rear ends of the boats. Uff da! But we made it to the beach with only minor destruction (an outdoor light might have possibly found itself on the casualty list). And we both got in the water with no issues. We paddled about two miles upstream, and then headed back. And carried the kayaks back to the motorhome.

It was fantastic to get out on the water; the water itself is clear, and fairly warm. And I just love the feeling of flotaing along. I've got to adjust my seat to get a little more power with the paddling (oh, and I guess probably actually find some technique...), but it was a blast! I'm so glad that we got the kayaks.

And I'm so glad that ordered carts to help us transport the kayaks. Because the suckers are heavy.

And after the kayaking? Fiona had to go on a walk, so I took her out on a mile walk. It was actually sort of cute; she picked up a stick about 500 yards into the walk and carried it all the way up the road and back, dropping it off at one of the palm trees inside the RV park. It was her stick, and she wasn't letting go of it for nothin'!

After all of that, it was dinner on the grill so that there would be minimal dishes. And now? I'm ready to collapse.

And do it all again tomorrow. Because today was great!

Monday Morning Observations

1) The commercials sucked.

2) Surprisingly, the game wasn't too bad.

3) Especially since I was watching Boston Legal on DVD at the same time.

4.5) Even though the Cardinals lost.

4) Putting refills in the 'Busy Ball' that the kids got for Christmas resulted in the dogs deciding that 4:15am was the perfect time to start playing with it (on the bed, of course):

 

5) There are a lot of stars in the sky when:

a) you live in the middle of nowhere

b) there are no lights on outside, other than the flashlight needed to keep an eye on whichever dog happens to be outside at the time

c) you are out at 4am with said aforementioned dogs

6) Fiona NEEDS to get some exercise. She's been on bedrest because of her spaying last week, and she's starting to (literally) bounce off the walls. 42 feet of motorhome starts to get small with a 45 lb dog racing around, flying off the couch, the dog beds, and the people bed.

7) I'd really like to get on a bicycle ride.

8) And I'd really like my kayaks to show up sooner rather than later.

The ads are the best part....

Yes, we'll be watching the Superbowl today. Luckily, the actual game starts late enough that we can (hopefully) get a bike ride in, first. And being in Arizona and all, we're sort of morally obligated to root for the the Cardinals. (Except that I've always had a soft spot for the Steelers because I've actually seen them play at Three Rivers stadium. For Mom and Dad, who are now scratching their heads wondering when that happened, it was in high school - it was considered a 'cultural event' - it took us a million hours to get there in those school vans, but I remember having a good time.)

In truth, I really only care about the commercials. Particularly the Budweiser ones, because it's always interesting to see what the Clydesdales are up to. But occasionally someone else runs one that's good. So I'll pay close attention to the first half, when the commercials are generally better.

But speaking of commercials.... Who remembers this one? (Have I just dated myself?) And before you see the end of the ad, do you have ANY idea who the ad is for. After seeing the ad, do you have any idea who the commercial is for?!? Still my favorite tv ad of all time.

And yes, as my Great Uncle Paul would say (have said) "too much TV"....

A lazy, windy day

I’m feeling lazy today. I finally broke down and went grocery shopping (when we run out of the essentials – juice, coffee, and dog cookies – it’s time to go to the store). I meant to fill the truck up, but I could only find 1 gas station remotely close to the store that had diesel. This is the land of 5th wheels and motorhomes. How can there be no diesel? I know of places on the other side of town (a whopping 5 minutes away, but did I mention that I was feeling lazy? Besides, we’ve still got a quarter tank of gas. Which, with the truck, should get us about 5 miles. In truth, it’s a little better than that on gas, but nothing like the Saturn, which has a 12 gallon gas tank, and seems to run forever. It’s just a good thing we don’t drive very far, or very often.), but none on the main north-south freeway from the bridge crossing to California up to Lake Havasu City. And given that gas is WAY cheaper here than in California, I just don’t understand the lack of diesel pumps.

Yes, I spent a better part of the drive home pondering the paucity of gas stations with diesel pumps. Did I mention that my iPod was being funky, and so it was contemplating the fueling options between Parker and Parker Dam, or listening to Hank Williams (senior). And I just wasn’t up for Hank today.

I was going to go for a jog today, after the grocery thing, but by the time I got back home a wicked north wind kicked up. Wicked enough that my baseball hat won’t stay on my head. And that’s pretty much my barometer of when it is Too Windy To Jog. Because at the speed I go, I’ll get blown backward on the way out… And Fiona is still on the Injured Reserve list; she’s not supposed to do anything more strenuous than ‘very short walks’ for another 3 days. Yes, she’s going stir-crazy. I actually resorted to giving her a little valium yesterday to keep her from bouncing off the walls. She seems to be a little better today… And since I don’t have the excuse of needing to exercise the dog, I’m going to take the day off. Hopefully we’ll be able to get out and ride tomorrow (it’s not supposed to be as windy. I think.).

In case you care, here’s today’s forecast: Sunny and breezy. Highs 71 to 76. North wind 10 to 20 mph. Gusts to 30 mph in the afternoon. I think we’ve hit the gusty part of the day. Being in a fancy-schmancy motorhome, our main awning is automated; we’ve got an anemometer on the top of the coach, and when the winds hit a certain speed, the awning automatically comes in, so it doesn’t get ripped off. We usually pull the awning in before the automatic system does, but it’s still sort of handy.. Tomorrow looks better: Sunny. Highs 72 to 77. North wind 10 to 15 mph. That wind shouldn’t be too bad. Especially if we get out early.

Anyhoo, I think I’m going to sit on the couch with the doggies and watch Boston Legal episodes (I bought myself the first 4 seasons on DVD as my Christmas present to myself).

Iacta alea est

Yes, the die is cast. And the Mastercard charged, but I don't know the Latin for that...

I bit the bullet and bought the kayaks (and PFDs and paddles and spray skirts and paddle leashes) tonight. I wasn't REALLY sure that I wanted to spend the money, because while I'm perfectly happy repeatedly spending $50-75 on Amazon, or on discounted clothes, once I hit the 4 digit mark I get a little nervous. But, it was sort of a now-or-never; if I wait too long, the river will be full of drunk spring breakers on jet skis and we won't get much use out of them. And, if I wait too long, I'll hesitate myself into inaction.

So. The kayaks are on their way (or they will be tomorrow). Bright yellow for Gary, and red for me (we got different colors so once we set them up, we'll be able to tell whose is whose).

I'm actually QUITE excited. I haven't been in a kayak in 20 years, and that was all whitewater stuff, so it should be very interesting (read: amazing at how clueless I'll be). But I'm looking at this like biking - it can be a great workout with great scenery, or it can be a very casual cruise with great scenery. Can't lose, either way!

And in other news, Fiona is now officially spayed (yes, I paid attention to Bob Barker for 1,000 years). And is quite sleepy. She's still a little dopey from the anesthesia, so she's in a diaper for the night in case of accidents, and sleeping like a log. She's got a quiet week ahead of her, I think.

Of Fiona and Things

 

Fiona, with her head poking out the bedroom window of the motorhome. Of course she’s supervised, but she loves hanging her head out the bedroom window to watch the world and catch the breezes. In truth, I don’t know if she does this in the car or not, as I really haven’t taken her in the car other than for vet visits and to go to the groomer; we pretty much only drive if we are going to our starting point for a bike ride, or if I’m going to the store (and I’m not going to leave her in the car while I go shopping, or spend unmentionable amounts of time at the Pharmacy of Death ™).

And speaking of Fi (and when are we not?) our little girl is no longer a little girl. Well, she’s not been a little girl for a while…. 45+ lbs is not exactly little… But she’s 6 months old, and goes in tomorrow to get spayed. It’s amazing that she’s 6 months old already… It seems like only yesterday she was just a little pup at the Solo Nationals.

 

She’s still going to get taller, and fill out quite a bit more, but she’s really starting to look like a dog, and less like a puppy. Of course, she still acts like a goofy puppy, so there’s no mistaking her for a more distinguished dog…. Right now she’s tall enough that when she stands up, TaiChi can walk right under her. Fiona definitely gets her legs from her mother (the poodle).

---

Today was yet another gorgeous day; mid-70s and not a cloud in the sky. Because we have been riding steadily, we had planned on taking a day off, and I had planned on spending part of the day reading in the sun.

But alas, no. We had a little dog accident that required me to wash all the sheets and blankets on the bed. In all fairness, it had to be done soon anyway, and this was a good impetus to do so. Still, my dreams of basking in the sun didn’t happen. Oh well. Lots more days like this ahead.

And I’ve finally made the kayak choice. I’m going with a package, because, frankly, we don’t need super-high tech stuff. I’m actually getting slightly better boats than I had first planned on.




Mostly because these have better seats that have more adjustments – and I’m worried that if Gary has a seat that he can’t adjust until he’s comfortable, he won’t go out much. And with his back, more adjustment is better. So, I’m spending a little more than I had planned on, but I think it will be well worth it. Especially since we’ll be able to use these on the reservoirs in Utah, and in the lakes in Idaho (as well as anywhere else we might go). They are flat-water boats – we’re not tackling rapids in these things – but there should be plenty of places for us to use them, and it will be good fun to get out on the water.

Hopefully I’ll be able to order them tomorrow, and within a week or two, we’ll be hitting the river! (And yes, there is enough room in the cockpit that Fiona could come along, but she doesn’t seem to be so excited about water, and I’m not sure how much she’ll ‘rock the boat’, so to speak!)

Another day, another 20 miles.

Another fantastic ride today. Moreso because I really wasn’t in the mood to go on a ride. I didn’t sleep well last night (our 50lb puppy is convinced that she is a pillow puppy, and ends up kicking me (and Gary) in the head, taking over all of my pillow, and generally making it really difficult to sleep; oh, and our 17 year old miniature poodle has to go out about every 5-6 hours, so, if I go to be about 10:30…. Yeah… I’m always up at least once during the night, and lately I’ve been having a hard time falling back to sleep once I take them out – because of course the puppy wants to go out, when the old lady does…), it was overcast, and I was still tired.

But, when Gary asked me if we were going for a ride, the only possible answer was yes. So, off we went. And the first 5 miles sucked. We had a wicked headwind, and we were both struggling. However, at about 7 miles, it all seemed to get better, and we agreed to ride 10 and then turn around. The road we ride on is uphill on the way out, with a headwind, making it downhill with a tailwind on the way back, so we figured that coming back wouldn’t be too bad. And it wasn’t. While we were going 10-12 mph out, we were going 20 most of the way in, and up to 34mph in spots. (Which is kinda fast on a bicycle…)

We didn’t get any rain (well, we got sprinkled on a little bit, but that doesn’t really count, and given that it was in the mid 70s, it felt pretty good), but we were keeping an eye on the mountains; there are some ‘Flood Area’ sections on the road, and we are in the land of flash floods. However, there wasn’t any significant rain in the mountains (you can tell by the clouds), and so we didn’t have to worry about that (the flood areas aren’t that wide, but it would still suck to hear a flood coming…).

So, another 20 miles; looks like we’ll get 70+ in for the week, which isn’t a lot, but we’ll work our way up to 150+/ a week in not too long.

And it seems like the combination of diet and exercise is starting to work. The numbers on the scale are still somewhat frightening, but they are going to right direction, and, more importantly, clothes are starting to fit better, and the mirror is kinder to me. So I’m feeling pretty good about all of that. And I’m really enjoying the riding. Especially rides where I expect to struggle the whole time, and finish feeling good.

I think I’ve also nailed down the kayaks that we are going to get. I just have to figure out the finances (it’s the end of the month, so I’m not sure I can swing them quite yet, but I’m getting close). And I’m very excited about it; I’d really like to get out on the river.

And as a total aside, Fiona is going nuts in the motorhome with her squeaky ball; she’s running around, dropping it, pouncing on it, grabbing it, making it squeak, and doing the whole thing all over again. She amuses herself quite well. Although this is also a hint that she’d REALLY like to go outside and play…. Unfortunately, the sun has already set, so she’ll have to be content to play inside…

If you're in southern Arizona, watch out - I'm on the road!

Heh. I am a truck drivin’ woman again. Larry took the Saturn Vue back to Park City, leaving us with the Corvette and the Ford F-350. And here in The Land of Many 5th Wheels, I have no issues with Truck Envy. Because a crew cab, full-sized bed F-350 is pretty much on the top of the heap. There is some philosophical debate about whether a dualie is Better; they look cooler, but they have some issues. Regardless, we are Up There. Particularly since we’ve had the truck souped-up, and can crank up the HP to the point of blowing black smoke out the exhaust if I so desire. Anyhoo, if I was driving around in a F-150 (or equivalent), I’d feel a little under-endowed. As it is, I have complete confidence in the size of my truck.

That last part didn’t come out right. But I have too much to do tonight to try to re-phrase that.

However, having a Big Truck means that I have to actually DRIVE a Big Truck. Let’s just say that it took me a few miles to feel that I could actually manage to stay in my lane without having to check the little towing mirrors on the bottom of the side mirrors. And, hey, I didn’t kill myself, or anyone else. Nor did I get pulled over for reckless driving, so it’s all good.

Because I guess I actually have to make sure I can drive the truck before I can even think about learning to tow anything with it. Let me re-phrase that; I’d prefer to have complete command of the truck before I learn to tow stuff.

So yeah. I’m a truck driving chick again. And I’ve even got a CD of Hank Williams Jr., Johnny Cash, and other country greats in the CD player. Yep. I’m going native!

And in other excitement, 20 miles on the bike today. We’ve got this great road on an Indian Reservation that has very little traffic on it, has a very slight uphill grade on the way out (and a headwind), making for a slight downhill and tailwind on the way back. The road supposedly goes out 13 miles, but we’ve only been out 10 – we’ll keep riding it until we hit the end. But, it is such an empty road that I’ve actually started bringing along my iPod (well, the Shuffle), and listening to music (one ear bud in – the other left out so I can hear the odd car). I’ve always ridden around traffic before, so this is the first time I’ve been able to do this, and it does enhance the experience.

Of course, the 70 degree weather and clear blue skies also enhances the experience. Gods, it feels good to be back on a road bike, and laying down some miles.

Oh, and I might have figured out a way to swing the kayaks. We’ll see. But I’d be very happy if I could add some paddling to the whole thing.

Life is good

Mmm… I made the tastiest turkey burgers EVER for dinner. Kinda Greek-y, and REALLY tasty.

I’ve given up on beef for hamburgers and have been using turkey. I’ve also added more fish to our diet, and tons of veggies. And I’ve actually discovered that cauliflower can be eaten WITHOUT cheese. No. Really. It can be. I’m not so sure about broccoli. I think broccoli still requires cheese for it to be edible. But cauliflower is quite tasty. And squash. Good stuff. Anyhoo, I’m quite pleased with the general changes I’m making in our diet.

And while I’m not super excited about my weight (okay, I’ve been doing the weight watchers thing for what? A week and a half? I could really pass on the whole weighing myself thing – because that part is a little depressing – other than that at least the numbers seem to be going to right direction – but they’re still numbers that I’d really rather not see at all), I’m already starting to fit better into clothes that I wasn’t fitting so well into before. Definitely the diet thing is helping, as is the cycling 70 miles a week – and that number will bump up to about 100 or so in time.

I’ve also started back to jogging with the puppy. I’d really like to be able to ride 20-30 miles, and then take the dog on a 2 mile jog. And then, I’d actually like to add a paddle along with that.

See, we’re 400 yards from the Colorado River. And I’m just dying to get a kayak and get out and paddle around. True, I haven’t been in a kayak in 15 years, but this is flat water. And the water is just calling to me. Especially on the days when it is just glassy.

So, I’ve been investigating recreational kayaks. The only way we can get them back to Park City is in the back of the truck (Oh, did I mention that our buddy Larry brought down the truck and the trailer with the Corvette in it? He took the Saturn Vue back to Park City – too bad, as I was really getting into the manual transmission thing – and we’ve got the truck as our vehicle. The Corvette will stay trailered except for races.) Which limits us on length, so I’ve been looking at 10’ introductory kayaks. L.L. Bean has a good deal on a nice looking kayak package that would suit our needs nicely. I think I can get everything we need for about $1100. And I’d really like to get out on the river. Gary’s been buying guitars, so I’m not sure I want to spend $1100 right now, but it is really tempting. Especially with the upper body/core workout it would give us – a great contrast to the cycling and the jogging.

And it is especially tempting since the weather has been in the 70s, and although there will be some cooler days, we are pretty much out of ‘winter’ here.

We’ll see.

BUT…. I’m feeling good; I’m really enjoying the cycling, now that I’ve got a better water-bottle-carrying system, I like the jogging with the puppy more (and she’s getting better, so that makes it a little easier, too), and I’m feeling good about how we are eating. And all of this is cool. And exactly what I was hoping for when we moved down here.

Another Great Ride

 

I was going to gush about what a great ride we had today, and how much I love cycling, and how happy I am that we are in a part of the country where it is 70 degrees during the day, and high 40s at night.

BUT....

A large cup of vegetable juice met a violent farewell in the bedroom, and there was a flurry of towels, the use of the Bissel, a changing of the sheets on the bed, and another load of laundry to do. And the dinner dishes are still waiting to be washed. So, all you get is a photoshopped picture of the two of us (the road we were on today is VERY devoid of cars - which makes it a great riding road - but also no one around to get a picture of us together, so we just 'created' one!).

Toodles. I'm off to wash dishes.

Pharmacy of Death, Part 271

Yes, we all know that I should actually listen to my father’s advice. But where would be the fun in that, eh? However, this time, I might actually pay attention.

This all gets back to The Pharmacy of Death ™. And yes, Dad, I really should check out mail-order pharmacies. (Alas, no Costco or Walmart around here. I’m beginning to see why many of the old fogeys drive the 130 miles south to Mexico to go pick up their prescriptions. I’m not quite ready to do that yet, though…. A bit of a trek for me, and I can’t see Gary going with me, nor can I see him being too thrilled about me going alone. So, that option is out.)

Anyhoo. One of our doctors in Utah called a new prescription in for Gary, to the Pharmacy of Death ™. He did this on Monday. And confirmed via email that he had done this (because he’s a tad anal – which, in a doctor, is a good thing). Knowing that PoD would not have the prescription ready on Monday, I waited until Tuesday. That would be yesterday, for those of you without a score card. I called in at 11am, figuring that that would give the incompetent morons over-worked employees a chance to actually get the prescription filled.

Me: “Hi, I’m calling about a prescription that was phone in for my husband. Last name is spelled….”

IM (incompetent moron) #1: Silence. Then: “Has he had any prescriptions filled here before?”

Me: “Yes. Several.” About 173, to be exact. “Maybe you didn’t spell the name right. Last name is spelled…”

IM1: “Oh. Here it is. I’ve got a refill that was filled on Sunday. It’s ready to be picked up.”

Me: “No. He has another prescription that his doctor called in yesterday. Has that one been filled yet?”

IM1: “Let me check.” Minutes go by.

IM1: “Ma’am? We’ve got it here. It will be ready by about 5 or 6 pm.”

Me: Keep in mind that this is 11am. “5 or 6pm? It was called in yesterday afternoon. How can it take that long to fill a prescription?” I tried really hard not to get irate, but really. More than 24 hours to fill a prescription? My pharmacy at home would have the thing done in 10 minutes.

IM1: Puts me on hold without another word.

IM2: “Hello. Can I help you?”

Me: Heavy sigh. “I’m trying to find out how long it will take to get a prescription filled for my husband. Last name is spelled…..”

IM2: “We have a prescription here for him that has already been filled. It was filled on Sunday.”

Me: “No. His doctor phoned this one in yesterday.”

IM2: “Let me check.” Minutes pass.

IM2: “I’m sorry. I have looked through all the prescriptions, and we have nothing here for him.”

Me: Becoming a bit more irate now. “Wait a minute. The last person I spoke to told me that she had the prescription, but that it wasn’t going to be filled until this evening. Now you’re telling me you don’t have it at all?”

IM2: “No. I looked through the computer and all the piles of prescriptions called in and there is nothing.”

Me: “Fine. Someone is lying to me; either the person I just spoke to, or you. I KNOW the prescription has been called in. I just need to pick it up this afternoon.”

IM2: Hangs up phone.

Me: about an hour later, after I have somewhat calmed down, because I REALLY HATE IT when people hang up on because they don’t want to talk to me anymore. “Hi, can I speak to a supervisor?”

IM3: “Maybe I can help you.”

Me: “Nope. I need to speak to a supervisor.”

Supervisor: After similar conversations above. “Your prescription will be ready in about an hour.”

Me: “Great. Thanks!”

Knowing that there is no way in hell they will have the prescription ready in an hour, I decide to give them 2 and a half hours. The vet (who makes house calls!) was going to be by the motorhome around 4:30 or so, so I figured I’d have plenty of time to go pick up the prescription and go grocery shopping (and get home) before the vet arrived. I went to the pharmacy, first. And get in the ‘prescription pick-up’ line; about 12 people long, and like the post-office, they’ve got one person working the front desk.

Finally I get up to the counter and am told that they’ve got one prescription for me. The prescription that was called in on Sunday. I tell her that I had called two and half hours ago, and was told it would be ready in an hour. She stares blankly at me, and then tells me that I need to talk to the people at ‘prescription drop-off’ and I can pick up both prescriptions when they are ready. Like a dumbass, I agree, and don’t pick up the one prescription the woman has in her hands.

I stand in line at the ‘prescription drop-off counter’ for about 20 minutes, and finally talk to someone who has the phoned in prescription paper in her hand. Yes. In her hand. It hasn’t been entered into the computer yet. She’s very nice about it all, and enters it into the computer while I am standing there. She assures me that it will be about 20 minutes.

I nod, and go to wander the store. Because if, god forbid, you actually LEAVE the store, you have consigned your prescription to walking the banks of the River Styx for all eternity. About 20 minutes later, I get back in the now-15-person-long line to pick up prescriptions. And wait. And get a panicked call from Gary that I won’t be back in time for the vet, as it is now 3:45, and it takes about 20 minutes to get home.

And I finally get back to the front of the line. And to the same lady that I saw before. Now, the prescription that had been called in by the doctor is ready. Cool. But the prescription that has been at the pharmacy for a couple of days? The one that I should have picked up at my first visit to the counter for the day? Nowhere to be seen. And the helpful counter clerk? “I don’t know where it is. I only have one thing here.” Not that she actually went to the shelf to possibly find the other prescription, or anything. She had the one prescription in her hand, and that’s all I was getting.

Luckily it was the prescription that I really wanted to pick up; the other one wasn’t an emergency. But c’mon! You can’t find the thing that you had in your hands 45 minutes earlier? I mean, this is almost comic.

Almost.

***
However, in a complete turnaround today. I got the prescription the lady couldn’t find yesterday (the same counter clerk, BTW – I think she saw me coming, and saw the look of fire in my eyes), as well as a prescription that I had called in for a refill a mere 2 hours before (and didn’t actually expect to pick up until Friday). So, go figure. And the pharmacy is having a ‘case lot’ sale on wine. I wonder why.

***
All of that aside, yesterday was 70 degrees. Today was 75. Clear blue skies, palm trees, and warm. We went on a road bike ride today, and I have to say, I could very well get used to this snowbird lifestyle. I really like palm trees. And sun. And it’s beautiful. I’ll bring the camera tomorrow.

Yet another picture of Fiona

 

Yep. More pictures of Fiona... This was taken on our jog yesterday, during a water break. That's the Colorado River behind us....And palm trees. I love palm trees. And 70 degree days. And this no-snow winter thing.

Because it really is ALL ABOUT FIONA

Here's a video I slapped together (okay, it took me forever, for a variety of reasons, not limited to the fact that I'm not video-savvy, I get frustrated easily, and I really expected to only spend about 30 minutes on this project - which, of course, added to the frustration...) of Fiona out chasing the community squeaky ball.

The cool thing is that she's not on a leash (she's got a short training line on) for any of this. And yep, our little girl is becoming a dog. Neither her poodle mother nor her golden retriever father were particularly big, but I think we've got Dogzilla on our hands. Her. Feet. Just. Don't. Stop. Growing!

More from the 'You Cannot Be Serious' Files

When I was at The Pharmacy From Hell ™ for TWO FREAKIN’ HOURS today *ahem, I saw this:


By drliz

Maybe it’s just me, but ‘Alzheimers for Dummies’ seems a little insensitive.

I won't talk about food all the time, I promise!

I promise to not turn this into a ‘diet diary’ because frankly, I generally find them boring (i.e. : today I ate blah, blah, blah; I exercised blah, blah, blah, and I feel blah, blah, blah), unless you are dieting, or know the person and are just interested in what’s important to them, they are really not very interesting.

Hush. No comments from the peanut gallery about being interesting!

That said, today was a Weight Watchers focused day. Sort of. I spent a better part of yesterday searching through recipes to find stuff new and interesting, and feasible. (I love the motorhome, and while I’ve got a great Weber grill, a gas range and a small toaster over, I have no regular oven. So I’m a bit limited in what I can cook.) After discovering that you can basically eat vegetables until your eyes turn green (or orange), I made a list of every single possible vegetable that I can coax Gary to eat, figured out some menus, and made a shopping list.

Last night was a rough night; Gary didn’t sleep well (meaning: not at all; he’s got some big business stuff going on and was a little stressed); the dogs were up every 3 hours, and when I did get into bed, Fiona (lovable puppy that she is, is about 40 lbs – possibly more – and about 35 of those pounds are big gangly poodle legs) decided that she is STILL a pillow dog, and spent the night alternately kicking me and Gary, stepping on us, and (at various points) sleeping using my head as a pillow.

Yeah, so after the LAST trip outside of the night (at 5:53am), I went to bed, and slept until 10am. (Gary, who didn’t fall asleep until 5am, slept until 1pm…)

Did I mention that it was a rough night?

With a 4pm conference call, we decided that this would be a great day to recover from the riding/jogging. Besides, Gary had tons of business stuff to do, and I wanted to get to the store. I found most everything on my list, and am feeling optimistic.

And full. Tonight was turkey burgers (on whole wheat buns with lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles) with broccoli and cauliflower with a wee bit of low fat cheese on the veggies. (I didn’t bother to tell Gary that the cheese was low fat, and he didn’t notice it. What he doesn’t know won’t make him fat!) and that was PLENTY of food. I’m sure I’ll get the munchies tonight before bed, but I’m all prepared with popcorn (and ‘points’ left to eat it, I might add).

Yesterday we scoped out some of the longer potential bicycle rides in the area, and I think that once Gary’s business starts to ease off a bit, we’ll be able to get out for more than an hour (which has been our usual thing). When we ride regularly, we can put in 20 miles on the mountain bikes, or 30-50 on the road bikes. There isn’t a lot of road bike riding here that is close (there are some 25 mile loops about 20 minutes away, and some longer loops about a half hour away), but plenty of mountain bike riding about 10 minutes away. So…. I’m really looking forward to getting some longer rides in.

As part of the recon trip, we crossed over Parker Dam (the thing that holds back Lake Havasu). Frankly, it doesn’t look like a very big dam, given the size of the lake that it holds back, but what do I know? I’ll get some pictures the next time we are there. Needless to say, you can’t stop on the dam, and they don’t allow pedestrians on it, but there are a few ‘view’ sites where I should be able to get some good pictures. I’ll also take my camera along on the next trip because we also came across wild burros. We had Fiona with us in the car, and when she noticed the burros, she started to bark. And then promptly shut up; I think she decided that they were maybe bigger ‘dogs’ than what she was expecting. But since there are wild burros all over the California side of the river, I’ll get pictures the next time we are out.

And now, kids, it’s time for me to wash dishes and take out the trash.

Corrections from the Editor

After several emails, I guess I should make a couple of clarifications about that last post.

1. I’m not complaining about my life. Quite the opposite, in fact (although now I’m feeling a little depressed about my lack of communication skills…*grin). I’m LOVING life, and I actually enjoy the fact that my days aren’t jammed packed with SuperExcitingSuperImportantThings; I’d be exhausted in about 3 hours. I actually LIKE the simplicity of things. And I LOVE the fact that I’ve got the time to revel in simple things.

So, don’t misunderstand the last post. I like not having a SuperBusySuperExciting life. I really like simple and uncomplicated. Heck. I like not having a job.

2. Which brings me to point number two about that post. When I say that I ‘forcibly entered domestic engineering’, I meant that after 18 years of continuous employment at the University of Utah, they decided they no longer had a need for my services. I did not mean to imply that a dustpan and broom were surgically attached to my limbs. The University kicked me to the curb (a long story for another time), and after an unsuccessful job search, my loving husband convinced me that it was better for all parties involved (the two of us) if I were to stay at home and help him with his business. Given that this meant that I didn’t actually have to work 8-5, commute, attend staff meetings, or any of those other odious things related to employment, I was thrilled. As my family will tell you, I was really trained to be a princess. The work thing never really fit well into my world view…

And yes, I realize how lucky I am to not have to work. And I’m trying to appreciate every minute of it!

And in other excitement, after my cousin lamented being stuck in a cooking rut on Facebook, I decided to join Weight Watchers. No, that’s really not a non sequitur statement, as much as it sounds like it. Both the spouse and I need to drop a few pounds, and my sister-in-law (Gary’s sister) had mentioned a few months ago about how she was thrilled with the variety of recipes that she got through Weight Watchers. Since they are doing their typical New Year’s ‘deals’ on joining, I figured, “what the hell?” Worst case scenario, I lose a couple of bucks; best scenario, I get some assistance in helping us lose weight. The only thing that sort of irked me was that you had to be over the normal BMI for your height to join. If they are really promoting healthy eating for life, it really shouldn’t matter if you are within the normal range. I kind of cheated, however. I don’t have a scale here, and haven’t been on a scale for several months, at what time I was well within the normal BMI range. So, I lied. Sue me. I’m trying to do the healthy eating for life thing.

Anyhoo, I am now a member of Weight Watchers. And, I confess, while their ‘points’ system seems like it could be a little annoying (I’m not getting OCD about it, although it is an interesting exercise), the recipes have definitely been a plus. Sure, some of the stuff is pretty boring (broiled fish, veggies, rice), but some of the other stuff is pretty good, and, more importantly, totally different from the same-old-same-old stuff we’ve been eating. Tomorrow? Turkey burgers. The night after that? Either fish sandwiches or chicken parmesan…. None of which I have cooked in, oh, never… So this is a good thing. And if nothing else, I’ll be thinking a little more about our diet.

Which, combined with the fact that we are cycling every day, and I’ve been jogging with Fiona almost every day should see us back to our ‘smaller selves’ without too much pain and suffering (well, the jogging is pain and suffering, but in a good way... oh, and on that note? My surgery knee (ACL replacement, May 2004) is GREAT. No issues whatsoever. *knocks on wood*).

And on that note, I’m going to munch on some popcorn and retire with the husband and the doggies. ‘Night.

What is this 'life' thing that I keep hearing people talk about having?

I have no life. Let’s face it. I’m feeling quite satisfied with my day today, and what exactly did I accomplish?

1. 10 mile bike ride (after getting Gary’s clothes out for him while he was on a business call).

2. 2 mile jog with the puppy.

3. Securing the spot for the trailer with the Corvette (which will be arriving here some time later in the month)

4. Getting 3 boxes from UPS (this required me to open the door when the guy who works at the RV park came by; in all fairness, I also gave him a case of Dr. Pepper, because the guy comes to our motorhome so often that I feel guilty)

5. Changing the litter in the cat box (with a full washing of the cat box, I might add…. Yep, I’m grasping at straws here…)

6. Making 4 cups of tea for the husband while he was on various sundry business calls.

7. Washing 1 load of laundry (but I haven’t folded the stuff in the dryer yet).

And I’ll make dinner here in a few minutes (which also means that I have to wash the dishes *whew).

Yep, that’s one full, exciting day, eh? Yeah, not so much. But ever since forcibly entering domestic engineering , I have fairly boring days. Except for when they’re not. Actually, now that I think about it, I think my life is a bit like being a spy: 99% boring activities, 1% death-defying activities. Except my death-defying moments have less to do with getting shot at (usually), and more to do with going faster than the freeway speed limit on skis, and trying to drive large horse-power cars in the direction that I’d like them to go (I have this tendency to spin the Corvette… which, other than putting flat spots on the tires, is actually quite entertaining…. More on that later.) Since I’m trying to avoid the 65 mph+ thing on skis this year, the only upcoming excitement will be car racing.

Of which there should be some by the end of the month. And I’ll be back in the Corvette, proving that sideways IS a direction.

And knowing that those moments are out there waiting for me makes perfectly happy with the boring stuff.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

I do not like bugs. I have never liked bugs. In Saudi Arabia we had cockroaches and ants and all sorts of leggy-creepy things. Hated ‘em. I don’t like things with too many legs, wings, and are just creepy. Hell, I don’t even like lady bugs. I REALLY don’t like anything that can land on me (peregrine falcons aside), fly at me, crawl over me, or do any other buggy things that bugs do. I hate bugs.

I don’t even like butterflies. Because they are just bugs with wings. Multi-colored wings, sure, but they are still bugs with wings. Many years ago I went with my brother and his family to a ‘butterfly house’ that was a big hot house, and all these different butterfly species hung out on plants, flew around, and well, landed on you. This was supposed to be some really ‘neat, interactive experience’. Interactive, sure. Neat? My ass. Bugs with big wings landing on you. Ugh. The kids thought it was cool. Me? I couldn’t get out of there fast enough and into my nearest chemical decontamination shower.

UGH.

The husband has really tried to convince me that spiders are good things. We’ve come to a compromise; I won’t whack them dead with a shoe, and I won’t remove spider webs, but when it comes to spiders In. My. Vicinity? He must remove them, and all other bugs in my vicinity.

Generally it works pretty well.

But today? I took Fiona on the (becoming) usual 2 mile jog. We had a few debates as to who was really in control (I finally won, but it took a while….), but it was all fairly uneventful. Gary and I had gone on a 9 mile bike ride just before the jog, so we were a bit more on the walk-jog side of things rather than just the jog side. Anyhoo…. We are about 3/4ths of the way down the closed road when I see this Big. Hairy. Spider. In. The. Middle. Of. The. Road.

I leapt about 16 feet sideways in one step, taking my faithful hound with me, while eyeing the Thing from a distance. Yep. It was a spider. A Big. Hairy. Spider. A Tarantula. A Tarantula?!? Eesh. A Tarantula. In. The. Wild.

Ugh. Not just a bug, but a Big. Hairy. Bug.

In hindsight, once I got my wits about me and remembered that tarantulas were very unlikely to jump up on me and start crawling all over me, I actually wished that I had brought my phone with me so I could have taken a picture of it. But still. A Tarantula?!?

EEEEESH.. I really don’t like spiders. And I REALLY, REALLY don’t like BIG HAIRY CREEPY-LOOKING SPIDERS.

So now I’ve got to keep my eyes open for the rock cliffs falling down on me

By drliz (For the record, the tarantula was about 10 yards past the bush on the left side of the road...)

But I’ve got to watch out for tarantulas, as well.


By drliz

And I thought it was tough enough, just getting myself up the road and back with dog and body intact…

HELLO, 2009!

I am so glad that year is done with. I guess there were a couple of good things that happened this year, like getting Fiona, and well, getting Fiona. Okay, the Solo Nationals was good, but partially because we had just gotten Fiona. And I got to race the National Championship car in D Prepared. But other than that… The rest of the year was pretty much sucked. And what didn’t majorly suck was pretty meh.

I could list the trials and tribulations of 2008, but I frankly, I don’t want to relive them, so that’s all I’m going to say about that.

So, goodbye 2008, so long, and not so much on the fish, thanks.

Which means that I’m really looking forward to 2009. Not that there are a lot of specific things that I am looking forward to, but there are a lot of things that I am pretty certain I can avoid. Oh, like having a SWAT team show up in the driveway, fr’instance.

And if a SWAT team does show up in the driveway, I know what to do. Without getting myself or anyone else shot, I might add.

So 2009, bring it on!!!

erm, I mean that in a nice gentle sort of way; I’m not looking to pick a fight with this year… I say live and let live, eh?

I’ll try that again.

Hi 2009, I’m Liz. Let’s be friends.

Happy New Year, y’all!

I think I might actually be a snowbird at heart.

Even though we aren’t ski racing this winter, I’m still getting all the ski race training updates (once you are on the email list, I think you are on for life). And while Utah is getting pounded with snow (have I mentioned yet that I am getting snow reports from our friends, and I don’t miss the snow AT ALL?), Park City Mountain Resort has not yet opened up the race arena. Which would be where all the racers train. So, they’ve got the first races of the season this weekend (the 3-4th), and the only gate training people will get is two days from 7:30-9am (before the resort opens) on a hill that will be shared with 5 other teams. Which translates to sheer and utter mayhem at best, and often dangerous conditions.

Did I mention that I don’t miss the ski racing thing at all? And the standing around in a lycra suit in sub freezing temperatures not counting wind chill part of things? Not missing that part, either!

It’s supposed to be 75 today. With the wind, it won’t feel that warm, and maybe it won’t even get up into the 70s – maybe it’ll only be in the mid 60s. But we’ve got clear blue skies, and if you’re in the sun, it is downright toasty. This is EXACTLY what I was hoping for when we moved down here. I could pass on the wind; cycling in the wind = not so much fun, but beyond that I’m happy as a clam.

And on that note, I’m going to go sit on the couch in the sun with the puppy.

Oh , and my 10-word New Year’s Resolutions? Walk the dog every day and sometimes fold the laundy. *grin.

Happy New Year’s everyone!

I'm a running fool. Or something.

I’ve taken up running. Well, let’s be fair and call it jogging. Or lets be really honest and call it “something slightly faster than a slow walk”.

Why, you ask? Especially when I hate it?, it’s hard on the joints, I don’t particularly enjoy it, and I’ve got a couple of fancy-schmancy bicycles just begging to be ridden?

Well, see, we’ve got this puppy. And said puppy is now about 5 months old, and, how shall we say, rambunctious. And while our motorhome is larger than some apartments/dorm rooms I’ve lived in, it’s not quite big enough for a growing puppy to wear herself out. Yes, we walk her, but that’s walking; she’s learning to walk on a leash, and kind of learning how to behave around other people and dogs. And we throw things for her to chase around the motorhome, but there’s not a fenced off area at the RV park to let her loose (we are working on an electronic fence system, but that’s not fool-proof), and while she’s getting better with voice commands, there’s enough traffic around that I wouldn’t risk it.

So, the puppy needs to get out and gambol. And since one of my goals for this winter was to start to get back in shape (let’s just say that I didn’t exercise as much as I should have in the last year, and I’m (as my doctor calls it) “my larger self” (as opposed to being fat, but I think she’s just being politically correct)), I’ve started taking the puppy on jogs.

We’ve got a closed road that goes for about a mile along the Colorado River (as the road goes north, toward the dam, it is, well uphill…). So yesterday, Fi and I jogged to the end of the road and back. Yes, two whole miles. The good news is that it did wear her out. The not-so-good news is that it wore me out; too. I’ve been doing strength training and core exercises in my makeshift home gym (which actually works fairly well; and I just got in the mail a couple of books that have pilates and strength-training exercises that work specifically with an exercise ball), and some bicycling.

But bicycling isn’t running (or jogging, or doing some exercise that involves moving one’s feet at a pace that elevates one’s heart rate, and increases one’s breathing). And by the time I got done with my two whole miles, I felt like my legs were going to fall off. Seriously. So I did some stretching, and some other exercises in the hopes of being able to walk today.

And, in all fairness, I could walk today. But I was stiff (and walking up and down the stairs was kind of fun…). And it's not like it is a case of 'having parts that hurt that I didn't even know I had'; I knew I had those parts - they're just squishier than I'd like. So it's good that these parts are sore. But wow, I didn't realize quite how squishy those parts are...

So after cleaning the motorhome (it’s Monday, so it’s time to vacuum, dust, do laundry, change the sheets – oh, wait, that activity was prompted by the cat tracking kitty litter into the bed – and wash blankets – oh wait, that activity was prompted by the cat puking on one of the blankets last night), Fi and I went out again. It’s in the low 60’s but there’s a bit of a breeze (and by that I mean a steady 10mph from the north) so I got dressed and off we went.

I have no idea how fast we go. Based on how I feel, and what I remember from the treadmill, I’m probably plodding along at 4 mph. And given that Fiona wants to go about 10 mph, it’s quite entertaining. Actually, that’s not true. Once she settles down (it takes her about 200 yards to realize that we really are moving slightly fast than a walk, and that it’s okay to put her nose into the wind and go), she actually ‘jogs’ pretty well. She’s moving at no faster than a trot for her, but, frankly, it’s as fast as I can go right now. I keep assuring her that as I get in better shape, she’ll be able to go faster. As it is right now, she keeps looking at me, like “Mom, why won’t you let me run And why am I dragging this 140ish (haven’t stepped on a scale in months, and won’t for many more months) lump behind me? I could go SOO MUCH FASTER if you’d drop the leash”.

Anyway, because this is good for Fi (and me), this is going to be a daily routine. I’ve got new running shoes coming in (my heels were KILLING me yesterday evening… old shoes = no good) tomorrow, and I’m hoping that in another week or so, we’ll be able to up the distance (we can go about another mile in the other direction without having too many traffic issues) – although I don’t ever see jogging more than 4-5 miles at a time. Right now, the 2 is killing me.

But anything for the puppy, right?

Santa's New Towing Vehicle

It is a widely known fact that I’m crazy. Or at least was probably dropped on my head a few times as a child.

Because I decided that I’d rather go to the grocery store today than on Friday.

Okay, so people forget things, and sometimes you have to go to the grocery store the day before Christmas. You just grit your teeth and do it. Me? If you take as a given that I hate this grocery store with the intensity of ten-thousand fire ants discovering lunch, I can honestly say that I enjoyed the trip to the store today.

Yeah. That’s why I mentioned having been dropped on the head one or more times.

But really. In a store that is always crowded, and where I can never find anything, at least today the store was filled with people who (for the most part) weren’t surly, but were actually polite. People apologized when then ran into me with their carts, tried to make room for 3 carts in a clearly-2-cart-aisle, and actually smiled at me when we were playing chicken near the meat coolers. People were cheery. I guess it’s like what hell would be like if you were with a bunch of strangers who knew that it would only last for 45 minutes, and you’d never see these people again.

*heh.

Really, it wasn’t bad.

And the best part? For some reason, I have a really tough time finding where I’ve parked my car. I blame this on my mother. I have a psychiatrist, so therefore I can blame things on my mother. Not being able to locate a car in a parking lot is clearly a trait I’ve inherited from my mother. But today? No worries.


By drliz

I just had to look for the antlers!

(No, the antlers weren't on my car; my car is the front fender you see in the lower right hand section of the picture. This truck pulled in right after I did, and I was REALLY hoping that she'd stay until I left (so I could find the car....)...)

*grin.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Glad Solstice to all! I’m off to wrap presents (my family doesn’t do the whole-family-minus-Gary-and-Liz-who-are-too-far-away-and-couldn’t-handle-all-the-little-kids-anyway Christmas thing until January, so I’ve got plenty of time!) and see about dinner.

The home gym gets put to the test, Day One.

Today was Day 1 with the ‘home gym’ (all sort of relative, given that the home is a motorhome, and the gym is a couple of resistance bands, an exercise ball, a set of weights (3, 5 and 8 lbs), a 10lb medicine ball and 2 ‘poofy things’ (small half balls that are called something clever, but I have always referred to as ‘poofy things’). The exercise ball goes without saying; a zillion different variations on crunches, core strengthening and balance stuff. The weights tie in, as I use weight on the ball, and the resistance bands are mostly for lower body stuff (the weights being upper body stuff, and the poofy things being more balance stuff while doing weights…).

I haven’t really used resistance bands before, and I’m not sure what I think of them yet. My legs were tired when I was done doing various exercises, and my right leg (the leg that had knee surgery years after the injury, and is thus forever just-so-barely permanently atrophied) is certainly weaker than the left. After 1000 miles of cycling, it’s hard to tell a difference (not just visually, which it’s hard to tell anyway, but strength-wise). Looking at my Garmin, I’ve got about 893 miles to go. Unfortunately, it’s raining, and is supposed to rain for the next 3 days, so I don’t think I’ll be making a dent in the 1000 miles…. Which gets us back to the home gym….

It’s a bit of a trick finding room in the motorhome to actually find space to workout. I have decided, however, on the space in the kitchen. If you are standing where I workout, this is what the front of the motorhome looks like:

By drliz

Did I mention that I’m not much of a housekeeper? Yeah…. Well. With a little reorganization (mostly moving dog beds), I’ve managed to eek out a space where I can stretch out (although I do have to position myself on the vertical or horizontal axis, based on the exercise…). Unfortunately, I often find myself in Prime Puppy-Face-Licking Position. Try motivating yourself to do crunches when you’ve got a 37lb. beast trying to lick your face off.

So there’s a lot of stopping and starting. Between the puppy, the sick husband requesting tea (we rode yesterday morning, early, so he wouldn’t miss his football games, and he didn’t dress for the fact that it was 55 degrees out…. Now he’s coughing and hacking….. at least he KNOWS he’s a dumbass…. Still, he’d better get healthy by the time the rain lets up), and the old doggie trying new and varying assault tactics on the ‘cat house’(a cupboard under the kitchen sink, where the cat’s food and water are, and his ‘fortress’) it’s not a truly ‘focused’ environment, but on the other hand, I don’t feel the inherent guilt of avoiding my family when I work out. So…. I guess the puppy-licks and requests for tea are a fair trade off.

And tomorrow, we’ll see if I feel the new exercises. Given that I’m starting basically from scratch (i.e. no muscle tone whatsoever…. *sigh), I should feel SOMETHING. If not, I’ll try some other exercises and see if that works. Still, I’m sure that I’ll feel better than just sitting around, watching the rain, reading, and watching Law and Order re-runs….

"Ticket to the Moon"

Heh. I really do amuse myself easily.

I think.

The husband has been working away on his guitar practice (we’ve got a small-scale, but full-blown recording studio in the motorhome, and he can hook his electric guitar, or base, or whatever into the ‘stuff’ (he’s got some high-tech equipment…. Don’t ask me…) and all I hear is the twanging of the string, while through his headphones he hears the fully amplified sound. Meaning I don’t hear the full electric guitar. Which is good, as 42’ is a bit small to share with an electric guitar being played 5+ hours a day.

However, the twanging of the strings is still a bit much when you’re trying to wrestle time travel into fiction. Simple solution? I listen to music. Hell, I wrote my entire dissertation while listening to the Gladiator soundtrack (and lemme tell ya, I think Hans Zimmer is mighty lucky that copyrights only last for so long, because if I was Holst, I’d be finding myself an intellectual property attorney….). Fine. Unfortunately, the computer that held the last 3 years of my music suffered catastrophic failure this spring, and I lost all of my 80’s classic, the Gladiator soundtrack, and much of the showtune music that I’ve managed to collect. The plus is that some of it can be replaced by tracking down the CD’s and reinstalling them on iTunes. The non-plus side is that the rest of the music is on iTunes, and they are a bit cranky about retrieving purchased music.

So, I’ve used this as an excuse to add new music. (Or old music, as the case may; I seem to have pretty much lost touch with music after about 1991…..) And I’ve re-found a few old favorites. Include (yes, it’s true), the ELO album, ‘Time’. I was listening to bits of it, and commented to the husband that I used to listen to this in the early 80s, as I sat in the back bedroom, playing pinball on our Apple II computer. He immediately disputed my sense of time, certain that the Apple II (+, actually) came out much later than that, and that IBM had come out with their PC first.

After a Google/Wikipedia search (which defines truth these days, right?!?), I was able to prove to him that I was playing David’s Midnight Magic on our Apple II + in 1982, and that the ‘portable’ Compaq didn’t come out until 1983. *so there!*

Gah. I’m old. I played Pong. I mean, I actually remember PLAYING pong. Competitively.

And so I won the argument. Neener, neener. But, gah. I’m OLD. I don’t even know how to make my Sims behave. I’m old.

All that said, I’ve got some music I can listen to that will drown out background noise, and let me fouse on attempting to write. (Although if this is all I’ve got to, maybe I should go back to building databases for fun and profit…. But mostly fun… Which is even more sad. “My name is Dr. Liz, and I am a nerd.” (And I mean no disrespect to anyone by that. Srsly.)

I can SEE why they sell liquor at the pharmacy,

Okay, it’s time that I face facts: I’m a snob. Hush, those of you who have known me for years. This isn’t a revelation to me, I’m just more of aware of it sometimes than others. Today just happened to be one of those days….

I was at The Pharmacy of Death ™ this afternoon, and in walks this couple.

Wait, I should back up a few. After a really awful summer, with Awful Things happening, the husband and I decided to take a winter off, and move the RV, the cat, the dogs and ourselves to Arizona for the winter. We had been looking at a variety of ‘snowbird’ destinations in California and Arizona when Gary’s aunt told us that we HAD to go to Fox’s Pierpoint in Parker, Arizona. She and her husband had been going there for literally decades until he passed away last year. So, going on nothing other than the aunt’s recommendation, I made a few phone calls, got a season-long reservation, and we officially became snowbirds. (Except for the fact that neither of us has grey hair, plays bingo, or owns our own golf cart, that is.)

Anyhoo,I made some calls to make sure that we are not ending up in some half-horse town like we did this summer (Stanley, ID, which, I might add, is a place we are going to return to, hopefully every summer, for at least a few weeks, because the place is breathtakingly gorgeous; it’s about a mile down the road from The Middle of Nowhere. The town has a bunch of river rafting/kayaking shops, one grocery store, 3 bars, and an odd little shop that seemed to be a general store of sorts, but always had really fresh lettuce – surprising, particularly in comparison to the rest of the produce. Anyway, no pharmacy, no hospital, no vet; if you needed help you could drive to Sun Valley (40 miles away), or, in case of drastic emergency, get life-flighted out of there. In spite of all of that, it is a gorgeous place, with fantastic mountain biking.) I determined that Parker had a ‘real’ grocery store (I say that now with regret and dismay; I hate Safeway with the intensity of a thousand suns), a ‘real’ pharmacy (to henceforth be known as The Pharmacy of Death ™, for reasons that will be explained shortly), and a vet. It all sounded good; all of our requirements were met, and we were golden.

And believe me, I was feeling all smug-like; not only had I found us season-long site (they were getting scarce in November), but I had located all the important amenities. I had even figured out how to get everything that we couldn’t get there shipped to us. We were so set, and this was going to be the most stress-free trip ever.

Have you ever noticed that sometimes those companies put more in the herbal tea than they are letting on? Or maybe that’s just me…. *ahem.

I’ll leave all the fun of actually getting here, finding our spot, and not having phone service or internet service for another time. Because I really need to meander my way back to The Pharmacy of Death™.

So after we’ve been in Parker for a day, I decide to go into town and drop off the, oh, let’s round down, and say 30 prescriptions that my husband has at the local ‘full service’ pharmacy. This is a big chain pharmacy, and they sell everything from nail polish to liquor. No, really. Apparently, in Arizona, pretty much anyone can sell liquor…. Seriously, I think the lady selling tamales outside of Safeway probably has a liquor license. Okay, maybe she doesn’t, but, well, I digress. I go to the counter of the actual pharmacy, and stand in line while the 2 people ahead of me (actually 3, because one of them had taken a seat – understandably, as I was to later see), are waited on. Much like the Post Office, there are 3 ‘Prescription Drop-Off’ counters , 8 people working behind the counter, and only one person actually serving customers. Cool.

I can’t really bitch about the amount of time that the people ahead of me spent at the counter, as the lady behind me probably plucked a piece of hair from my shirt and went home to her Do-It-Yourself Voodoo Doll Kit and has been plotting her revenge ever since. Because unlike a normal pharmacy, where you can just drop off your prescriptions, have them make a copy of your insurance card and pick up the prescriptions later, this place has the one employee hand-enter Every. Single. Prescription, while you stand there. You would think that there would be a plus to this, though. You would think. I mean, if I am standing there, explaining to the over-worked, under-paid employee, what the insurance will cover on every prescription, and when they can be filled, that the pharmacy staff would get it right. You would think.

Well, you would think wrong.

Having observed the equal level of efficiency on the “Prescription Pick-up” side of the counter, I decided to let the pharmacy take their time (since they had ALL the pertinent information), and I would waltz in, and pick up the prescriptions the next day, avoiding the interminable wait of the poor suckers who had dropped prescriptions off, and then honestly hoped to have them filled within some reasonable period of time, and were actually waiting for them. I was beginning to see why the waiting area of the pharmacy has A. Lot. Of chairs. But again, I digress.

With the woman who had been behind me in line muttering curses at me (at one point, I turned around and cheerfully pointed out that if I were her, I’d hate me; she didn’t find this funny), I left after the hour ordeal at the Prescription Drop-off counter. (Really, it was an hour. Gary has a copy of the text messages that I sent him, that start off with: “This looks like it could take a while”, then move on to: “This is death” and finally end with “I think I may scoop my eyeballs out with the Infant Medication Measuring Spoon” .)

The next day, I returned , full of confidence that I would not be one of the people doomed to the outer ring of the fifth circle of hell (devoted to those customers who have lost patience, and have finally begun hurling invectives – and Infant Medication Measuring Spoons – at the pharmacy employees), also known as the Everlasting Hell Fires of CVS).

Alas, it was not to be so. When I did get to the counter, the technician came back with a handful of paperbags. And started to ring them up; $25.00, $328.06, $197.57…. woah. I stopped her and asked her what the huge charges were for. “Well, the insurance didn’t cover these…” I sighed. No shit. The hour long discussion the day before was designed, I had hoped, to prevent this. Clearly not. So, I had to go back through the list, and explain what I needed to pick up, and what the insurance would cover.

Cool. We got it all sorted out. Except that when I left the store, I didn’t get the two prescriptions that I had explained I needed to pick up, but wouldn’t be fully covered by the insurance. Of course, being the on-top-of-it kind of person that I am, I didn’t actually notice this until I had made the 11 mile drive home. And had to deal with yet another pharmacy employee on the phone, to explain what it was that I really needed. I drove back. And in one shining moment, I actually had what I needed.

Okay. Cool. I assumed I had the system figured out; I just need to call in advance, tell them exactly what I needed, and what the insurance would/wouldn’t cover, and my life would be back to the peace and harmony that I had been hoping for.

HAH!

*ahem. Clearly, I am a dumbass. Or just insane. (Isn’t the definition of insanity something like doing the same actions over and over again and expecting different results? Yeah….)

Now being an all-on-top-of-it kind of chick, I called the pharmacy yesterday, a day before I was going to pick up two prescriptions, one of which is never fully covered by the insurance (the prescription is for 30 pills/30 days; the insurance coves 14 pills for 22 days…), and explained the insurance issues. I also explained that while my husband had two prescriptions for one medication, they were actually different dosage levels, and while I had picked up the one dosage level a week ago, I wanted to pick up the other dosage level. The technician kept saying “yes, I understand”. Which is a fatal flaw in my reasoning. I SHOULD have remembered from the days in Saudi Arabia that “yes I understand” simply means “I understand you are speaking English, and I have heard these words before.” It does NOT mean “I actually understand what you want to do, and I have the ability to competently complete this task”. Again, did I mention that I’m a bit of a dumbass?

I get to the pharmacy, march confidently up to the “Pick-up” window, and am told that they have to run the prescription through the insurance, and it will be “a while.” I feel the River Styx licking at my toes. But I have grocery shopping to do (which is why I stop at the pharmacy first), so that’s fine. But since she said “the prescription” – as in singular – I remind her that I have another one. And that the insurance is only going to cover part of it, and I only want what the insurance will cover. “Okay. It will be a while.” Again… “Okay” = “I heard you. I’m not going to do anything about it, but I heard you.” Like a dumbass, I go grocery shopping.

And 45 minutes later (the grocery store is ANOTHER story…. And a first for me; the cashier rung/rang/??? (Why didn’t I pay more attention to conjugating?) up the groceries of the person behind me in line with mine. Fixing that problem was another adventure. I actually tried to just ‘give’ the lady behind me her groceries so I wouldn’t have to stand in a customer service line to get a refund, but she wouldn’t let me impart a little Christmas kindness. $31.07? Would have been worth avoiding the aggravation, but it did it kill some time. I guess. Still, I wouldn't have been crushed at avoiding that entertainment. Again, another story for another time) I go back to the Pharmacy of Death. Maybe I should rename it to Dante’s Pharmacy…. Hmm…

I wait in line, and hey! They actually have the prescription for me. Like a popped balloon, my elation whooses out of me. The. Prescription. I ask her about the other prescription. “They didn’t quite get to that yet. It’ll be a little while, still.”

And so I sit down, joining the other Damned Souls, and wait. And wait. And wait. Literally, 23 minutes later (I timed it, as, like the other lost souls, it was that, or read the tabloids; I was actually almost starting to care why Brittney was on a ‘dangerous diet’), I got the other prescription. Both of them. Woo-hoo!

*whew. And after that, I don’t have the energy to tell you about the other damned souls, and why I’m such a snob. I’ll save that for later. Time to go shoot the cat (with insulin) and see about rustling up some dinner.

All of that said, I can see why they sell liquor at the pharmacy. I'm beginning to think mainlining Wild Turkey might be the only way to survive the experience...

Eating my words.... or music, or something...

Just last night I was telling my parents what a Good Dog Fiona was, and for a puppy, she really just chews on her chew toys, I discovered this note from my husband this morning....


*ahem.

I spoke too soon. $150 worth of headphones down the drain (so to speak, especially as the 'missing' earpiece, uh, came out the other end of the drain this afternoon).... We're thinking of selling her to the gypsies, but if the gypsies see how much she eats, I think we'll have a hard sell.

Good thing she's a cutie!


By drliz

People are strange...

Heh. I love Facebook. In the last 4 months, I’ve run into 7 people that I haven’t heard from/seen in 20+ years. One I haven’t seen since I was a freshman in highschool (maybe sometime after that? Maybe? Eh…. The brain is foggy…), and am thrilled to have found. (And no matter how vicious and unrepentant you may be, you’re still only a year older than me, so you CAN’T be ‘OLD’. Neener.)

Two, who was a best friend in high school (gods, we shared clothes for 3 years), has said hello, only to fall off the face of the planet again…. I guess you can’t go home again.

The third? Married with 2 little kids. She’s thrilled, so I’m happy for her, but really, I can’t help but cringe. Kids? Eeeesh. The dogs and cat are more than I can realistically handle. And since she pretty much documents the screaming/tantrum events of the whole child-rearing thing, well, I feel much less upset about the 37lb puppy who wants to play (and subsequently squash) with the 17-year-old, 18 lb miniature poodle; where there is much barking, baring of teeth, and moves of canine agility.

Persons number 4, 5, and 6? We were never super close friends, and so the conversation is light and in passing. i.e.

Me: “Oh? You’re having a kid. Cool. Boy or girl?”
Response: “Blah, blah, blah, blue, but yellow is good too, blah, blah, Baby Einstein, blah, blah, pre-natal,blah,blah,blah”
Me: Charlie Brown’s blank-eyed blink.

And person number 7. Not my best friend in the world, but not a passing acquaintance. Not married, and a person of a faith that requests (rather strongly) marriage sooner rather than later. She’s actually waiting to marry someone that she feels she’s got a deep personal connection with (*gee* what a concept! Not knocking her, just the predominant culture in which she lives), and not just the next returned missionary.

The funny thing, is I like getting updates from everyone, even the baby-oriented ones. I guess I like feeling like my life is more diverse than just two dogs and a cat in a motorhome. (On the other hand, I’m not so sure that there is anything wrong with a life that JUST includes two dogs a cat and a husband in a motorhome for the winter!)

Goodbye, Buddy

Personal Entry Here; just my musings.

We put Ben to sleep yesterday afternoon, and while it was painful as hell, it was the best thing we could have done for him. As I walked today, I realized that I wasn't questioning the decision AT ALL - which makes it clear to me that it was the right time, and the right decision, for us, and for him. I miss him, but I'm glad he didn't suffer.

I can honestly say, I didn’t know how I was going to deal with the actual act of putting Ben down. I had talked with David McDonald, our main vet in Park City, the day before, and he went through the process, and told me that he felt that it was probably the best way to go, to the extent that if he had incurable cancer and had lost all quality of life, he’d call his partner at the vet clinic and have him put him under. Maybe an exaggeration (maybe not!), but between that, and Gary’s comment that if we could put Ben down at a point where he was comfortable, not in excruciating pain, and not to the point that he had lost control of his bodily functions, I felt equipped to make the decision.

Actually, it was sort of tough. We didn’t know, when I took Ben in yesterday, if it was a joint pain thing, and he could get a cortisone shot, or if it was just the cancer winner. About 3am that morning, when I had carried Ben outside, I had a pretty good idea that it was the end, and I talked with him (Ben) about it. Ben seemed like he was done, though. He just seemed so tired. The guy fought the good fight, but ultimately, the cancer won.

I’m just glad that he was able to go with dignity. I always hoped that he’d be able to die without diapers on (it just doesn’t seem all that ‘manly’ – or even just dignified), and given the fact that we couldn’t get his right size diapers in, and we were making our own (not that this factored in to anything), it was easiest to take his diapers off to be examined. And he didn’t have diapers on when he was put down. It’s a little thing, but Ben With Diapers wasn’t TRULY who Ben was. He didn’t mind them, but he was so much more of a dog than what he was in the last few months. I guess for me, it was symbolic that he was his former self. The last few months were, but they weren’t HIM.

And while my beliefs of the afterlife are scattered across various faiths, and absences of faiths, I am 100% certain that Ben has been reunited with Billy, and he’s trying to reform Billy (with little faith that Billy can be reformed; if anything, he’s been storing up tricks to teach Ben). Regardless, I am certain that Ben and Billy are together again, playing like puppies. And if St. Francis is hanging around anywhere, I’m sure he’s trying to get the two of them to stop being so sneaky! *grin.

Ben holds a special spot in my heart, for many reasons. I’m so sorry that he’s gone, but I’m glad that he went with dignity. And I’m glad that he showed me that I can deal with this; I don’t have to fear old age with pets; it sucks, but the trade-off is worth it. I didn’t know Ben that long, but I can safely say that there is no way I’d pass on the pain on losing him, if it meant not having the joy of knowing him.

Requiescat in pace, amici. (And no, that probably isn’t conjugated right, but I can guarantee you that Ben isn’t going to worry about it!)

Clutch Killer

Yep, it's true the Saturn needs a new clutch. Pressure plates, actually, I think. (Although I don't really know what they are, so I'm just going with a new clutch.) Pluth. This time, I don't really think that it is my fault; the clutch has been questionable for a while in this car; it was just a matter of time.

So, the local Chevy dealer has the car and will do the work on it, and we'll get it back on Friday, or Saturday, or something. Eh, it is what it is. With everything that is going on, this is not catastrophic.

Other than that we can't load the bikes into the rented Cobalt that I've got, and all of the good (i.e. safe) riding is about 20 miles away. So, we won't be doing any serious riding until this weekend. In the meantime, I'm going to ride up and down 'Death Canyon'. It's not really called that; it's a section of road just past the RV park that has been closed to motorized vehicles because the rock side of the road keeps crumbling into the road, and the state was obviously sick of dealing with it. So it's a nice mile of car-less riding (you just need to wear a pith helmet! *grin. Gary doesn't like it because he's certain that I'm going to get nailed by a rock, but I like it because I can ride in the afternoon without worrying about people coming back from the bars after a few too many...). If I do laps on it (it's got a nice little climb at the top, and then a nice down hill on the way back), I can get in some miles without being too far away, and without having to dodge traffic.

Still, I'm looking forward to some of the other riding; apparently there are some ghost towns around here (within 50 miles or so) that are on accessible dirt roads. There are also some nice un-trafficked roads that will be good for 30-50 miles on the road bike. All of which I am looking forward to.

That said, I'll get some pictures of 'Death Canyon', as it is rather pretty.

And I guess I'll use the Cobalt to scope out some of the other rides.

Finally, Broadband!

Finally got broadband internet here; the free wi-fi at the RV park seems to be on the blink 99% of the time, and that, coupled with really sketchy cell phone service prompted us to get our own internet. We got it hooked up this afternoon, and it seems to be working well. (Other than that once we got it Gary tried to upgrade the OS for his iPhone, in the hopes that he would have better cell phone coverage, and the iPhone is not responding properly. Or at all. I’d call AT&T, but, well, limited cell phone service….) The phone thing is still hit or miss. We are going to try the MagicJack, and see if it works, but if not, we’ll get a VOIP set-up next Tuesday.

In the meantime, it is really nice to actually be able to upload pictures, download books, and just generally check in on the world. Speaking of which, I’ve got some pictures to upload, but I’ll do that tomorrow, as today was spent cleaning the motorhome, and I’m beat!

We did go on a bike ride today; Gary somehow managed to not eat anything before we left, so he turned back after 2 miles, while I rode out about 6, and discovered some short but very steep hills. We’ve got to do quite a bit more investigating before we get our riding routes sorted out. Before we can do too much of that, though, we’ve got to get the car looked at. It seems like there is something wrong with the hydraulics with the clutch; when I first start the car there is a ton of play in the clutch and it won’t shift gears, but after it warms up for about 5-8 minutes, the clutch is tight-ish (it’s a Saturn Vue – not exactly a race clutch here – and yes, I’m beginning to learn to feel the difference!), and it shifts fine. Still, I’d hate to have a catastrophic failure when I’m in any of the small towns around here that have limited services. So, we’ve got to find someplace to take it in. The only problem? Limited services…. Hmmm…

In sadder news, it looks like Ben is getting weaker. His eyes are still bright, and he’s alert; he’s just getting weaker, and is definitely losing weight. We’ve known for quite some time that it was just matter of time, but I think that time is getting near. Although maybe he’ll surprise us. He’s been a trouper, but eventually the inevitable happens. For now, though, he’s still comfortable, and he can still walk, just not very far, and he can make it up the stairs of the motorhome (although he’s got to be carried down…), so we aren’t writing him off just yet.

Anyway, time to finish up the laundry and kick back before the final round of getting the dogs out before bed.