Drs, drs, drs

This is attempt number two since I sent the first one off into the ether. We have spent much of our spring and summer visiting doctors here in Kerrville. Since Foxy had her shoulder replacement she has moved on to physical therapy and should be recognized as the poster girl for her ability to stick to her exercises. She goes to therapy three times each week and yesterday went early so that I could make an eye appointment that morning as well.

Once done with therapy, we came home to let Max out for a break and then took off for San Antonio. Our eye doctor had a large group of patients that had one eye surgery completed and needed the second cataract removed. So he scheduled ten of us in San Antonio and I was number eight on the list for yesterday. We arrived about noon and my turn came about 1:30. The surgery only takes about ten minutes. The first time I was concerned since I do not like to have my eye touched much less cut and I had taken Valium to help relax. This time, knowing the procedure, I skipped the Valium and headed into the operating room. This time I had a special lens new on the market to correct for astigmatism.

Once the surgery was complete, I sat in recovery for a few minutes and then an attendant wheeled me out to our car. Once he left, Foxy got out of the driver's seat and I got in since she can't drive just yet due to her shoulder surgery. We stopped for lunch since neither of us had eaten since the previous evening and then on to Cost Co. and finally the sixty mile trip back to Kerrville. By the time we got home my eye was hurting a bit and tearing a lot. I was glad to head off to bed early. This morning I could see quite well and my eye does not hurt at all. Modern medicine is wonderful. It is nice to be able to see more clearly. Happy travels.

The Green Lantern

Another super hero movie. No matter how reluctant, the hero was chosen and he had to fight evil. It is quite a spoof of the genera of comic book heroes and yet the actors manage to keep your attention through all of the action which occurs throughout the film. We could have seen it in 3 - D but chose to watch it as a regular movie. I am quite sure that the effects in 3 - D would be spectacular and feel like they are right in your lap but we enjoyed this version regardless. Do I recommend this movie. If you enjoy comic super heroes then you will like this one and Ryan Reynolds delights. He hits the right balance between reluctance and all out go for it. Besides he is out there fighting evil. What more can we ask. Happy travels.

Yeah RAIN

It rained while we are in McAllen as in cats and dogs. The power went out in some places. But, we loved the rain since it has been a long time here since the last measurable rain. We also heard that Kerrville had rain last night. It has been so dry in south and central Texas. There have been too many fires and homes and lives lost as well. Hopefully this rain will help begin to replenish water tables. yeah RAIN! Happy travels.

McAllen, Texas

We traveled to McAllen, Texas on Monday after Foxy finisher her physical therapy session. She is doing just great with the therapy and committed to doing all she can to get her shoulder back into shape. We decided to go South to McAllen to visit daughter Kristy and family. They have settled here after an eight month stint in Costa Rica to learn Spanish. They have rented a house and are quite settled and beginning their border ministry.

We have been enjoying catching up with them, playing cards, and yesterday visiting a local museum which had good information on this area. Tomorrow we head back to Kerrville as Foxy has another physical therapy session on Friday and I have eye surgery on Monday for my second cataract removal.

We plan to be in Kerrville for the month of July and then move to Denton, Texas which is near Dallas to be nearby and help daughter Kim who is moving her family there from Michigan to start a new job as Professor of Clarinet at North Texas University. A new chapter in their lives for sure. This will be the first time we have both daughters in the same state. Happy travels.

Foxy and her socks

Foxy likes socks. This is not actually unusual as I think that many women like socks. One year at Christmas dinner we could hear some faint music playing. We could not quite figure out where the music was being played. Suddenly, daughter Kim dropped out of her chair and started crawling under the dinner table. "I know it is playing under the table here somewhere," she said. Then Foxy remembered her Christmas socks played a seasonal song if you pushed a button and figured when she crossed her ankles that the button was accidentally pushed and her socks played music. We had quite a good laugh over that pair of socks.

For each holiday Foxy has the appropriate socks although most do not play music. She gets kidded, enjoys the kidding and proudly wears her socks. Recently her sister Susan sent her a present warning her ahead of time that she would not be able to guess the contents in a million years. With great anticipation Foxy opened her present from her sister and out tumbled socks of course. These had Foxy written all over them. What better socks for my Foxy than foxy socks. Happy travels.

Father's Day

On Sunday we celebrate Father's Day. I am a father/dad and grandad many times over. Foxy and I have five kids, four of whom are married with kids of their own. So we have lots of fathers in our growing family. I believe that fathers add much to a rich family life. They set fine examples for their children. They provide discipline as needed and unconditional love. My own father was a no nonsense type of father, yet we knew he loved us. He did not appreciate telling us more than once, and this was followed with spanking if needed. I still think this is the best way to parent. My opinion, of course. Fathers like to play with their children and provide a different approach to parenting from mothers. Mothers are more nurturing. I am happy to see modern day fathers taking a larger role in daily child rearing. This is good for the moms, too. So happy Father's Day to all of the fathers out there. Happy travels.

Hot, hot, hot, and trade days

We decided to go to Fredericksberg Trade Days today and do it before it got too hot. We stopped and picked up friends Connie and Bill, and the four of us were at the trade days shortly after nine this morning. We strolled through the many offerings, and Bill found some hardware he was looking for. Connie found a sign she bought, "I laughed so hard that the tears ran down my leg." Foxy and I looked but did not find something we needed and so escaped without a purchase. At the end we went to the beer garden, and lo and behold, the beer was free. Can you imagine? We were so surprised that we had to try it again. In this hot weather it seems to me that a beer is a good solution to keeping hydrated.

We then drove back into town and had lunch at Catfish Haven. It was good but too much to eat for sure. It will be skip dinner tonight. Finally we were home again and glad to be out of the heat. It has been hovering around one hundred lately. There is some possible chance for rain this next week, which we desperately need. A fun day out and Foxy held up well. Her shoulder exercises are a strain but gradually increasing her mobility. Happy Father's Day to all of the great fathers out there. Happy travels too.

Saltlick Barbeque Restaurant

Today we decided to drive to Blanco and go to their Annual Lavender Festival. There were lots of boots, and the smell of Lavender was certainly in the air. There were so many people that we finally gave up and left since Foxy did not want to get bumped and have her shoulder injured.

We then drove to about 25 miles southwest of Austin to the Saltlick Barbecue Restaurant. We had heard from our biker friends that their barbecue was excellent. It was a big place, and we got our name in the list and waited to be called. The meal we selected was good. I particularly liked the cole slaw. Between us we tried ribs, brisket, sausage, and turkey. There were two barbecue sauces available, both good. We compared it to Cooper's Barbecue in Llano, a favorite of ours, and to our way of thinking, Coopers came out ahead. It is worthwhile visiting Saltlick though, and the service was excellent. Coopers has better beans, and you pick out the meat you want right off of the grill, which we prefer. We did come home quite filled and knew this was a good outing. Happy travels.

Midnight in Paris is an A+

Go see Midnight in Paris that just came out to movie theaters. It is delightful! Owen Wilson and Kathy Bates both do a superb job of acting. We went since we both have great affection for Paris and so had to see what this movie is all about. Owen Wilson portrays a writer from Hollywood on vacation with his fiance and her parents in Paris. He has been trying to write the book and is having lots of trouble and is unwilling to have others critique it. He has a time travel adventure and goes back in time to the 1920s and meets expatriate writers like Hemingway and Fitzgerald and painters from this period. Kathy Bates plays Gertrude Stein and finally reads Owen's book and gives him wonderful suggestions. You sit on the edge of you seat wondering who he will meet up with next. I do not want to ruin the movie for you and so suggest you go see it. Happy viewing and travels.

Progress

We went for Foxy's two week followup visit with the surgeon. He thinks that she is doing very well and is one tough lady. She no longer needs to wear the sling while home, only when out like at church and as a protection from other people either bumping her or wanting to give her a hug. She begins rehabilitation next week and will go there three times each week for strengthening exercises for her shoulder. This is great progress in two weeks time.

I continue to be chauffeur and have taken her out several places just to get her moving and out of the house. A few lunches out have been a fun reward as well. We walk about this park each morning and the walk a nearly a mile and that has been a bit of a challenge but Foxy perseveres. The entire recovery period is supposed to be about three months and then she can begin to play tennis and go golfing again. She does not play either of these sports though. Happy travels.

Antiquing and Toucan Jim's

To get Foxy out and walking a bit more than around this park, we went antiquing. First we tried in Kerrville but several of our attempts resulted in closed stores. So we decided to go to Comfort which is maybe fifteen miles East of Kerrville. We found a lovely antique mall and wandered through for about an hour. While the next door shop was recommended for lunch we decided instead to find Toucan Jim's which we quickly learned from Julie (A call to Minnesota was all it took) that this restaurant was in Center Point about midway back toward Kerrville. She and Ron had recommended this place and finally today we got to try it out. It is Island Paradise in the Hill Country. The Island theme was rampant but delightful. Our waitress tossed a quarter and Foxy called heads correctly and thus our beers were half price. What a fun idea. Foxy had a salad with grilled chicken and I had baby back ribs. The food was good, the Caribbean music played throughout. Our waitress was excellent. We left for home full. Happy travels.

Weinergate, really

So now we have Weinergate. Apparently Congressman Anthony Weiner, Democrat, of New York has been a bad boy. He uses media like Twitter or Face Book to get in touch with a number of women and I might add while he is currently married. He then makes inappropriate sexually related comments and sends revealing pictures of himself to these women. He at first denied that the pictures were of him but has today admitted that he lied. One of the pictures was of him in his underwear and apparently it was quite revealing. It makes me wonder if Oscar Mayer weiner-mobile could be used to come to the Congressman's rescue. At least there would then be a Weiner in the weiner-mobile. It seems that some politicians need to learn to keep their weiners in their pants and keep the pants zipped. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bill Clinton come to mind (I wanted to give equal time to both political parties. Of course Anthony is terribly upset about his lack of judgement and probably mostly about being caught. However he does not intend to resign. I would assume that his constituents now know what a weiner he really is and promptly vote him out of office. I can think of many funny things to add to this post but feel sad that someone representing the public has so little respect for himself, his family, and his constituents. Happy travels.

Gone quietly

I like to check out the obituary's in the daily paper. Partly I like to see how old they lived to be, family information and cause of death. I always feel genuinely sorry when they are young especially for their family and friends. Lately I have been checking for service in WWII. I recently heard that 1000 WWII veterans die each day. In this area and in the San Antonio region there seem to be many retired veterans so frequently they appear in the paper and their picture as well. Sometimes the picture is of the veteran in uniform and sometimes it is a more current picture. I wonder where they served, which branch of the service, did they receive a medal and lots of unanswered questions. Most served proudly and returned to civilian life seeking educational opportunities under the G I Bill. They continued with or started families and became the backbone of society in our country. Soon there will be few left and then a handful and then all gone. Thank you one and all for your service to your country and to your fellow man. You set a high standard for those who follow. Happy travels.

Eye doctor visit

I went back to my eye doctor for a final check on my right eye and measured to see if my left eye now qualifies for cataract surgery. Right eye is great and the left qualifies. So now I am on a list and in the next two or three weeks this should get accomplished. Foxy has a birthday today and we celebrated by going to breakfast at Denny's. It was good. Then a brief stop at Belk's to get some blouses for her and back home. We do lead such exciting lives. Cousins Frank and Mable were right in the path of the tornado that hit yesterday evening. They got the bad part of the thunder storm but missed by the tornado. Thank goodness for the near miss. We had to call and make sure they were alright. Happy travels.