Deaf and Dizzy - Fri., Apr. 4

Aging has its pros and cons. Pros include wisdom that comes from experience, years in relationship with one person (or more), depth of insight into family members and how you fit in, lots of adventures, fulfilling work, and moving into retirement.

Cons include a body that rebels even though your mind feels young -- wrinkles appear, boobs droop, midsections expand, memory lessens, diseases show up, and it's harder to get around.

For me, I am disconcerted by my dizziness (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo) and being almost deaf in one ear. Come to find out my mom and sister and are almost deaf in one ear. My mom, sister, brother and I all have tinnitus (ringing) in our ears. Either the deafness is hereditary, or we have some kind of virus or bacteria affecting our hearing.

Vertigo is what I hate most. I've had it for six or seven years. It started when we resided in Hawaii. I was on a job interview in a mall restaurant when it hit the first time. I had no idea what was wrong with me. The world was spinning and spinning, making me feel drunk times ten, without having had an alcoholic drink. Walking outside across the mall parking lot took every ounce of concentration to stay upright. I was totally disoriented.

Somehow I drove home. Moving my head an iota in either direction caused waves of nausea and severe spinning. I followed a city bus 20 miles back to our side of the island, concentrating on the back of the bus, doing my best not to look side to side.

A severe case of vertigo leaves me feeling totally depleted. Given the chance, I sleep deeply for 10-12 hours after an episode.

In Hawaii, I was fortunate to be treated by The Balance Center of the Pacific. They discovered I have nystagmus (rapid back-and-forth movement of the eyes that can only be seen with special goggles. The goggles have a camera to take video which can be played back in slow motion.). Vertigo disorientation is caused by the nystagmus and by crystals in the inner ear which float free from their usual nesting place in the ear lining. The Balance Center gave me exercises to do at night before I go to sleep. The exercises help the ear crystals settle back into place. It's confusing, but I think I get it.

So, aging has its pros and cons. These cons are my demons. They're certainly not the worst problems with aging. Thankfully I do not have diabetes, digestion problems, cancer, stroke, heart problems, or myriad other challenges. And that is a pro!

A warm welcome to two new followers:

1. Susan Arthur writes THREE blogs:  

• Freezerburned, (her main blog)
• What's Cooking, (her favorite recipes) and 
• 365 Take Aways (recording take-aways from everyday experiences)

      I love her personable writing style.

    2. Karen Jones Gowen who writes Coming Down the Mountain: Expat Writer Living  Abroad. Her blog is laced with gorgeous Guatemala photos and stories about her life there.

Travel Bug out.

Two Days Gone -- Fri., July 13

San Antonio, Texas:

Just like that...two days gone. Vertigo killed them. What I have is BPPV. 

I stayed in and sat still or slept. Read a little and played computer games when it didn't feel like the world was spinning. Kind of hard to read when the book or computer screen looks like a moving whirlpool.  Watched a little TV. That's it for two days. 

Today was supposed to be laundry day. I put that off. 

This evening I feel a little better and did an outing to the H-E-B grocery store with Bob to pick out fresh fish for dinner. We chose tilapia. It was yummy!

Bob rode his bike to Brackenridge High School and ran a lap around the track. He just returned and looks beat. Now he's happily watching the Mariners vs. Rangers baseball.

Very hot and humid the last two days, feels like we need more thunderstorms. Weather prediction is 40% chance of T-storms tomorrow.

Plan for tomorrow is to do a 10K Volkswalk early in the morning, depending on how I feel. I am doing my exercises for vertigo. Seven nights in a row and I should be good for a few more months. I need to get rid of the vertigo before we head out for Yellowstone.

That's all for today. Not much happening here.

Travel Bug out. See kitty pic below if you want...

Travel cats Bowie & Sunnie

No Peaches Today -- Mon, July 9

San Antonio, TX:

Today I headed for the Texas Hill Country to purchase peaches, cantaloupe, blackberries, tomatoes, and corn on the cob directly from the local peach orchards and farms. I was excited for today's excursion and got up early. Most of the stands opened around 8:30 or 9:00. 

First stop was Walmart. I wanted to pick up a couple of items and do cash back at checkout to have some moolah. Some farms don't take credit cards. Toward the back of Walmart, in the electronics department, I could feel an attack of vertigo coming on. 

As quickly as I could, without making myself more dizzy, I walked to the front of the store and out to the car. Complete vertigo set in. I keep plastic grocery bags in the car for vertigo attacks. I got sick and sat quietly with my eyes closed and breathed deeply. Sometimes that helps it go away. Not so today. After 15 minutes I thought I felt well enough to drive back to the 5er. Ugh. Not really. Anytime I have vertigo, turning my head from side to side, as in checking both ways when driving, makes the dizziness worse.

I made it back to the 5er 11 miles away. Got sick again as soon as I pulled into the driveway by our 5er. Made it inside and got sick again. I went back to bed and slept until 5:15 p.m. Vertigo sure takes it out of me.

When I finally moved, I headed to the kitchen and made a big salad for dinner. Bob came home about 7:45 p.m.

Tonight we are having thunder, lightning and rain. In fact, it rained off and on most of the day. The temperature is in the mid-80s so we've given the A/C a little rest. 

Since we have cable TV again, I relaxed and watched The Bachelorette (first hour and rose ceremony), The Closer, and a rerun of Hawaii 5-0. I feel better since I took that long nap.

I may try for the peach orchards again tomorrow. I'm hoping the rain has not damaged the crop. Tomorrow could be more exciting, though, there's a 70% chance of thunder and lightning storms. I do not plan to go into the orchards to pick peaches. My money goes to the farm stands that already have them picked and waiting.

We'll see what tomorrow brings. Texas sure needs the rain, so I'm happy for the showers.

Travel Bug out.

Water, Water Everywhere -- Thurs., May 10

Cotulla, Texas:

Wednesday, April 9: Before I start on my main theme, I'd like to give a shout out to Kit--she and her husband, Jerry, are gate guards down the road a piece from us. I have been reading her blog http://www.kitandjerry.com/  for a few months to get a feel for gate guarding.

As I was headed into town to check mail and do laundry, I stopped and sat a spell with Kit. I enjoyed meeting her and chatting a few minutes.

She has the greatest bird feeder set up. While we were sitting there, a big green jay was hunkered down filling his bird belly with seeds. She gets cardinals, woodpeckers, wrens and even a hooded oriole. No hummingbirds so far.

One of my missions in town was to check our mail at the post office. I wasn't sure what time it closed, so I had to get a move on to get there before 5:00 p.m.

"Water, water every where; nor any drop to drink," The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

"When it Rains, it Pours," Morton Salt slogan

"Here Comes the Rain Again," The Eurhythmics

Do you get where I'm going with this? Water has been a big part of my life the last two days. Here's what's been going on.

Laundry day. Typically I don't mind doing the laundry. It's relaxing to sit in the laundromat and read a book or magazine while the machines spin round and round and the smell of fabric softener wafts through the air. Not yesterday.

I had no idea where the laundromat was. There are two in Cotulla. I stopped at the post office, but it closed at 4:30 p.m. A woman was in checking her P.O. Box so I asked where to find the laundromat. She gave me quick directions.

Went to Garcia's Laundry. It's one block off the main street behind Garcia Grocery. Not impressed.

Found two hypodermic needles on washing machines. Ants running all around on counters, washing machines, floors.

Change machine hasn't worked for a long time. You can get change at Garcia Grocery when they're open. Washers $1.25, dryers $.25 for 8 minutes. I would not recommend going to this laundry at night.

Today a local older lady was there. She gave me the scoop on what a bad town Cotulla is. She usually does her laundry in the morning. She advised the non-locals in the laundry to NEVER leave your clothes or belongings unattended. She said it doesn't matter what shape your clothes are in, if you leave them unattended they will get stolen. Someone stole the wheeled carts from the laundry...they had to buy new carts. She said used condoms were found in the laundromat and someone had been doing it there. The owner had to get bleach solution and clean up after them. This lady also told me there is another laundromat in Cotulla but it is worse than this one, dirtier.

My experience with the washers was this...I did five loads. Three machines worked. One machine had a short in it. I thought it wasn't working, but then I slammed the lid and it started up. The other machine worked, but a word of caution. Before you put any money in the machine, close the lid and make sure the washer wasn't emptied on the SPIN cycle. I had the washer all loaded up, put my money in and closed the lid. The person before me had emptied the machine on the spin cycle. That meant my clothes spun, but didn't wash, then the machine shut down and ate up the $1.25 I had put in it. I had to put in another $1.25 to actually wash my clothes. I went up to Garcia's store and explained the situation. I was refunded $1.25.

Needless to say, I did not sit down and enjoy my book. I did our laundry as quick as I could and couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Fast forward to Thursday, May 10...we've been on the gate for one week. It has not been boring! My water, water every where saga continues...

Weather forecast for last night was 70% chance of heavy rain and thunderstorms. By the time I went to bed at 3:00 a.m., the forecast had been revised to 80% chance of severe thunderstorms and heavy rain after 7:00 a.m.

After reading the forecast, I went to bed around 4:00 a.m. At 7:00 a.m., I was awakened to the sound of a massive downpour pounding on our roof. The motions sensors were sensing/dinging and Bob was getting a workout. He took quite a few pictures of the commotion this morning:

The rain caused a river outside our 5er.

Looking out the back window toward our generator and Pad B.

Bob's theme song this morning: "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head."

Remember the pictures I posted a couple of days ago of Harvey Smith Rd.? Those were taken on a typical hot, dusty day. Here are the same north and south views of Harvey Smith Rd. after a downpour.

Looking north

Looking south

After the rain frogs appeared like magic. They're all over the place.

These beetles eat dead moths.

The "river" flowing past our rig this morning.

Looking "upriver" from our 5er.

The view from the back side with generator.

Voila! Instant lake. Just add water.

I was awakened by a nasty attack of vertigo around 8:00 a.m. Was sick for over an hour. Went back to sleep until noon. I heard thunder as sleep background noise. Sometime in my sleep mode Bob told me I should get up and look out the window at the river flowing past our trailer. No thanks, Bob, I don't feel well. Think I'll keep sleeping. He got photos...lots of water everywhere.

Just before I woke up I had an extensive dream about tornadoes surrounding us. We were in an area like Kansas or Oklahoma, many rolling hills with fields, very few trees. We could see big tornado funnels in the distance and had to snag our cats before we left the place we were staying. In my dream we were trying to catch our cats we had in Hawaii--Captain and Rama--who somehow ended up in Kansas or Oklahoma with us. That's when I woke up.

This morning, the workers at Pad A who were putting controls on the well had to go home. Later in the day, a Chesapeake rep came through to check on Pad A and said he couldn't get on site, the whole pad was a lake.

Not to be outdone, Pad B was also a lake and it's an elevated pad! Water was draining out the culverts, off the Pad, like little muddy waterfalls.

Pad B's new lake.

Um, I think someone forgot a culvert. The edge of the road is eroding.

Yep, this culvert works.

So do these culverts. They're draining the pad in our direction.

This afternoon, Bob headed into town to get our mail. He was going to stop by and meet Kit and Jerry. However, I was surprised to see him return relatively quickly. He said the roads were flooded. He went through a few spots, but gave up when he came to one low spot that was too deep to cross. (Thank you for stopping, Bob!)

Our forecast this morning included tornado warnings, tornado watches, severe thunderstorm activity and flash flood warnings, maybe hail too. Sheesh! We also had sun and wind.

I'm sitting here now looking out the window at thunderheads to the east, south and west. I'm thinking more tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings will be in effect tonight. I may be the one getting soaked checking people in and out tonight.

The site was very busy this morning, then the drilling pipe broke. That put a halt to almost all activity. The eight sand trucks that checked in this morning between 6:00 and 11:00 a.m. are still waiting to drop off their loads . (It's now 6:00 p.m.)

The on-site foreman had trouble coming to the Pad from Cotulla...said he knocked a hole in the pan underneath his big pick-up. He had to stop and take the pan off.

The wind has picked up quite a bit this evening. Could be an interesting night!

I'll keep you posted.

Update at 3:15 a.m. Friday, May 11: Whew that was close. The majority of the storm bypassed us to the north, but we got a good lightning show out of it. Only had to use the umbrella once, but it wasn't a downpour. The trailing edge of the storm went right over us about 8:10 p.m. After that it has been clear. Our chance of rain decreases dramatically.

The next time I have a good internet connection, I will post photos of some dramatic cloud formations, a grackle and the kitties on a new post. Now I must head to bed for some zzzzz's.

Vertigo Schmertigo - Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012

Reno, NV:

Bob's company gave us two tickets to tonight's Blazers/Kings game in Sacramento, CA. Oh boy! Date night! I got dressed in my black jeans and red top (Blazer colors) and wore my Trailblazer earrings, ready to cheer on our team in "enemy" territory.

Bob took off work around 2:30 p.m. to pick me up from the 5er. About 1:30 p.m. I started feeling a little "woozy" and knew vertigo was raising its ugly head. When Bob picked me up, I told him we needed to take some plastic bags along with us "just in case." We got in the car and headed to Costco for gas. By the time we got to Costco, I was getting very dizzy and my tummy was churning. I started moaning and Bob said, "Do I need to take you back home?" I told him I didn't think I would do very well in the car for 2-1/2 hours to Sacramento, so yes he better take me back home.


We headed back to the 5er and, sure enough, as we were pulling off the freeway at our exit, my tummy heaved. Thank goodness for the plastic bags. When we got back to our place and I turned to put my feet outside the car; the whole world was spinning. I had to close my eyes or I would lose my balance completely. I held onto the car as I walked around it to get to our steps. Bob helped me up the steps, kissed me goodbye and headed off to the game.


I was so bummed! I was looking forward to going to Sacramento for the game. Instead, I crawled in bed, got sick again, then slept for two hours. When I woke up, I was fine. It was 7:00 p.m., game time. 


Bob had a great time at the game. The seats were five rows back from the three-point line in the section where you get served by waitresses. And I missed it? Damn vertigo. Never know when it's going to strike. 


As far as the drive to Sacramento over Donner pass...Bob told me he thought I would have been even more miserable because of the change in pressure. His ears kept popping and he thought that would have made my vertigo even more unbearable if I had decided to brave going.


He got home around midnight safe and sound.

Tap, tap, tap...tap, tap, tap -- Jan. 25-27, 2012

Sparks, NV:

A couple of updates since my last blog two weeks ago:

1. The Washoe Drive Fire destroyed 26 homes, but hundreds more were saved. The wind died down that night as did the flames. We also had very cold temperatures and some precipitation: all helped to quell the fire.
2. My interview at the bookstore was the shortest I ever had in my life (about ten minutes). She was looking for someone who had more experience writing Press Releases. Within an hour of my interview, she called to let me know she had hired someone else. No guessing about that job!

I am a night person. I love to stay up late and sleep in late. About 8:30 on a Wednesday morning, I was awakened from sleep by a tap, tap, tap. Thinking it was someone from the RV park delivering our mail, I laid in bed and tried to ignore it. Tap, tap, tap...tap, tap, tap. Whoever it was was very persistent. Wondering if we again had water spraying out the side of our RV, I got up and peered out the side window shade to see who was at the door. No one there.  Hmm...

Tap, tap, tap...tap, tap, tap. What on earth? I looked around to see where the noise was coming from. Bowie cat was in the bathroom intently staring at the shower door. His tail was frizzed about 3" around. What was in the shower? Tap, tap, tap. I opened the shower door and there, above the skylight, was a black-billed magpie. Apparently water had collected around the edge of the skylight and the bird was getting a drink. 

Bowie was growling and his tail was still fluffed. I banged on the skylight, but the mocking bird (magpie) continued to get its drink. I pounded on the skylight some more and the bird jumped up to the top of it--not scared in the least. My next action was going to be to open the hatch and turn on the bathroom fan, but he left. 

Nature's alarm clock. Time to get up. LOL.

Wednesday, January 25: Worked out today, shopped at Costco. I have been going to the health club three times per week for cardio and weight training. My cardio consists of riding the stationary, recumbent bike. This keeps the pressure off my knees but still gives a good workout. I ride for about 64 minutes and do weights for 15-30 minutes, so overall I have about 1-1/2 hours in the gym. 

I have found that riding the stationary bike is the best place to read my magazines. While riding, I am traveling--virtually--to Greece, South America, Italy, basically the world, with National Geographic Traveler, keeping up to date on all things entertainment with my Entertainment Weekly, learning about nutrition and fitness through Prevention and Consumer Reports On Health, and reading interesting stories about everything in Reader's Digest.

After working out and shopping at Costco, I headed out to a friend's house to pick up a book. My car's battery light kept coming on. Not a good thing. As I drove on the freeway, I noticed if I sped up over 65 the battery light went out. Could it be the alternator? Driving back to the 5er, the battery light stayed on most of the way. Must get this checked soon.

Thursday, January 26: I wake up to big, fluffy flakes of falling snow. It's too warm for the snow to stick but it sure is beautiful.

After the weather got the snow out of its system, it cleared up and we had sun. My appointment for part-time PR person at the bookstore was at 10:00 am. See update #2 above. 

After the interview, I stopped by Walmart to pick up a few things. The battery light was on continually in my car. When I got to Walmart, I had no power steering and now the ABS (anti-lock braking system) and airbag lights were on too. I finished my shopping and high-tailed it back to the 5er. Just as I pulled into our space, my car died completely. Uh-oh. I had an appointment for 1:00 p.m. at Tires Plus to get my car diagnosed. 

I put a call in to Bob to see if he could jump start my battery and then follow me over to the mechanic. His work is five minutes away, so he was able to make some time before 1:00 p.m. to help me out. What a hero! 

We got the car to Tires Plus (about 1/2 mile away). Bob continued on his way and I walked back to the RV Park. The call came in about 2:30 p.m. -- both the alternator and battery cable were bad. Estimate for repair: $750. Gulp! Big expense. They didn't have the parts, so the work had to be done on Friday for the alternator and the next Wednesday for the cable package.

The rest of Thursday, I hung out online and, in the evening, watched my TV shows. Around 9:30 pm I got back online and the computer screen and its contents started swirling like a Salvador Dali painting come to life. Vertigo! Ugh. I immediately shut down the computer and got ready for bed before it got way worse. I was in bed by 10:00 p.m., a record for this night owl. Luckily, I got in a quiet and dark place before this became full-fledged vertigo.

Friday, January 27: I had all kinds of plans for today. Got up, ate breakfast, and the vertigo hit full force with the world swirling, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea--the whole shebang. At 9:00 a.m. I returned to bed and laid on my back, vertiginious, until 4:00 p.m. Nasty stuff. I am not happy about the return of vertigo after nine months without it. I got up at 4:00 p.m. and was vertigo free for the rest of the night.

During the day, the mechanic called to tell me the battery cable on my car was not just the negative cable. The whole battery package had to be replaced on my car as it was sold as one piece--add $50.00 to the estimate. They are also going to put some kind of protection on the battery posts, another $10.00. 

Bob went to pick up the car Friday evening and paid for all the work, including next Wednesday's battery cable work. Total bill was around $875.00. 


Not a great day health wise or budget wise.


Tomorrow's another day. Over and out.