The Dog Days of Summer 2014

August 2014

Interesting description — dog days — something about this time of summer being able to see a constellation in the sky that looks like a dog. Personally, it means it’s too blooming hot for even my dog to be outside of air conditioned spaces! We had some uncomfortably warm temps in Mountain View AR over the 4th of July,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

& again at Bear’s Den near Grove OK during the first part of August.

— but not nearly as bad as the 100+° days later in Branson (& most of the rest of the Plains states). Geez Louise, sure have been wishin’ for some mountain campsite anywhere on the Colorado Plateau instead of this lovely forested sauna!

At least I have my laptop keyboard working again. I found a fantastic YouTube video for replacing the keyboard on my specific 3 yo laptop, & then found a $10 (including shipping) replacement keyboard on e-Bay. I tend to break out in a cold sweat whenever I approach a computer with a screwdriver, but this keyboard replacement really was such a piece of cake. As you can see, I’ve finally been able to type up this post & download all my various photos taken since April to insert them in this post with Live Writer.

So. . . I guess I’m just bored with the summer. . .& sort of feeling like a prisoner. When it’s raining and/or cold outside, the trailer is cozy. But when I can’t get comfortable outside in any way due to the humidity (& heat), the trailer seems very restrictive. And this summer has just been one hurry-up & wait event after another poking along with Jeff’s VA appointments for some relief from his bulging disc.

The good news tho is Jeff completed his physical therapy on a portable traction unit at the VA that is relieving some of his pain/discomfort. The VA gave him his own unit so he can unkink his back. Additionally he is doing some slow, gentle stretching exercises that have been helpful, & he also got a TENS unit to wear when walking around. All this is pain management, & surgery is not really an option, at least for now. We’ve talked with several people who’ve had wonderful results from laser micro surgery that just shaves off the bulging part of a disc. We’ll just have to see how he gets along, or not.

I’m also glad we were able to quickly return to my hometown to help my parents after my dad fell really bad on his left knee. He could barely move around even using a walker. Thankfully, he’s a pretty tough (91 year) old bird tho & has really healed quickly.

We’ve been enjoying spending most of our time around Branson tho since it feels amazingly like home now. We’re particularly fond of stopping by Andy’s Frozen Custard — me for a chocolate malt & Jeff for various different ice cream dishes. Anyone besides me remember the days of putting nutmeg in a fountain malt at the local drug store? I carry some in our glove compartment all the time. In another lifetime when I actually used to cook {gasp}, I made homemade ice cream with a cooked egg [basically, a custard] base. That’s exactly what frozen custard ice cream is. . .& finding it sort of ruins any other kind for us.

We finally made a trip out of the area to WI to visit some of Jeff’s family that will be covered in my next post. Then in October, we’re going to visit his mom in VI. As soon as we get all our VA appointments done by sometime in November, we’ll be heading to the southwest. Funny how this hot, humid weather has me missing winter in the Sonoran Desert.