At Home in Pahrump - Holiday Activities and some Travel Delays

 Hi there, welcome back. Our last episode concluded on Friday, November 12^th, while we were still at home on our lot in the Escapees RV Park in Pahrump, Nevada. Saturday we left the coach about 12:30 and went out to a late lunch at Terrible's Roadhouse. We wanted to have liver and onions one more time before we left for Yuma. We had a great lunch, and then stayed and gamed for a half hour or so after lunch. After the casino we did a quick Walmart run to get a few things. We also had to stop briefly at Albertsons to get some things Walmart was out of. After shopping we headed back home and stayed in for the rest of the afternoon and evening. We had planned to go to the Elks for karaoke, but Jackie wasn't feeling well, so we just stayed home and watched TV until bedtime.

Sunday, November 14^th, we were out early for an 8:00 appointment for Jackie to get an ultrasound exam having to do with the lower abdominal pain she has been having for a month or so. Unfortunately, the order the nurse practitioner that Jackie saw a couple weeks ago ordered an abdominal exam rather than a lower abdominal exam, where the pain is. Jackie went ahead and had the exam anyway since we were there, but I don't think it will show anything to do with the pains she is having. After the exam we stopped and picked up a newspaper and went back home to enjoy the rest of the morning. We stayed home for the rest of the day, going over to the clubhouse for root beer floats at 2:00. I made a pot of chili for dinner, and then we watched TV for the rest of the evening. Monday the crew to do the front yard landscaping arrived at 7:00 and started work. I went out mid-morning to run some errands. I first stopped at the Sheriff's Office to renew my concealed carry permit. This took over an hour because they have changed the policy and now require a complete background check at renewal, including fingerprinting. Because they were busy, this took a while. I finally had my permit, so I finished my errands, including stopping at the Nye County Administration building to drop off an application and resume for a possible appointment to the Nye County Peace Officer Advisory Review Commission. We had seen an ad in the paper for the commission, and I decided I would give it a try. By the time I got home around noon they were just finishing up the yard. It really looks nice and I am glad we had it done. Jackie did have an afternoon doctor's appointment, but they had called and said they reviewed the sonogram from Sunday and decided she needed a CT scan, so they scheduled that for Thursday and said she didn't need to come in today. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing. I did cancel our reservations for next week in Indio, since it is clear we will be delayed leaving while we see what is up with Jackie. Jackie made a big pot of clam chowder, which we will have tomorrow. Chowder always tastes better after resting overnight.

Tuesday, November 16^th, We went out a little before 10:00 to go to Denny's for breakfast. We are not normally breakfast people, but we are having our friend Millie and another woman from the park over tonight for clam chowder and both of them are early eaters, so we didn't want to have our usual lunch and then eat again by 4:30. I spent some time in the afternoon doing chores, which included contacting the RV park in Yuma to see if we could modify our reservations to come in later. They were agreeable and we will now go into Yuma on December 15^th, giving us almost a month here to get Jackie taken care of. Both our guests came over about 4:00 and we served dinner around 4:30. Everyone enjoyed the meal and both ladies were headed home by 5:30. We cleaned up and spent the rest of the evening with the TV. Wednesday Jackie had a 10:30 appointment with her eye doctor to do the one year followup to her cataract surgery. They dilated her eyes and did the exam, telling her that everything looked fine. After her appointment we had lunch at The Tamale Place, which is right next door to her eye doctor. They have the best tamales. After lunch we went back to the park and relaxed for a while. At 1:00 Jackie went to the clubhouse to play Pokeno with some of the women in the park while I did some office work. We went back to the clubhouse at 4:00 for happy hour, then went back to the coach and stayed in for the rest of the evening.

Thursday, November 18^th, I went over to the clubhouse about 9:00 for the monthly meeting of Board of Directors for the park. There were no big issues and few complaints, so it was a pretty quiet meeting. It was also the first regular meeting for the newly elected BOD members as well as the “new” president and vice president. I left a little early, during the public comments section, because I had a 10:00 dental appointment. It was just a routine exam and cleaning. I also had them make some minor adjustments to the fitting of my recently renovated partial plates. I was back home by a little after 11:00. about 12:30 we left again and took Jackie to the medical center for her CT scan. She had been drinking a barium contrast mixture and had to take some more when she got to the center. The scan didn't take long and by 1:30 we were at the Pour House having a late lunch. Jackie couldn't have anything to eat or drink before her exam. Jackie had a lamb mango curry dish, I had my usual pizza. We had a great lunch and then went home. We did the 4:00 happy hour at the clubhouse, then came back home and watched TV until bedtime.

Friday, November 19^th, we went out after lunch to run some errands. We went to Walmart and picked up mail and also stopped at the medical center to pick up the results from Jackie's CT scan. Although she has not heard from the doctor yet, the report indicated that, among other things, the scan found what appears to be a gallstone. We'll wait for the doctor of course, but to me that explains Jackie's chronic pain for the last month. The scan also put Jackie's mind at ease a little because it didn't find anything serious, likes tumors. After our errands we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day. We went over to the clubhouse at 4:00 for happy hour, then went back to the coach and had leftover pizza for dinner. We watched TV and went to bed. Saturday we went over to Millie's house about 11:30 for a little party. Millie loves to party and the park's RV club, the Lucky Rollers, appointed her the activities director, so she started out with one of her parties. There were a dozen people there and it was a pot luck, so there was lots to eat. We played some games and had some great conversations. Everyone at the party was an Escapee, and most are residents in the park. It was really a fun party and we were home by about 2:30. We relaxed for the rest of the day. Jackie seems to be coming down with a cold of some sort. Poor baby can't catch a break.

Sunday, November 21^st, we were supposed to go down to my brother Russ's house in North Las Vegas this morning to visit with him and his son Russ III and daughter in law Nichole. However, when Jackie woke up she was really sick with something cold or flu like. She didn't have a fever, but she was miserable and we certainly didn't want to go visit anyone with her sick like that. I let my brother know we would not be down and we spent the rest of the day in the house. I did a few chores and played some games and kept Jackie medicated as best I could. Monday Jackie was still feeling poorly. I went out in the late morning and did a Walmart run to pick up some stuff to make some easy meals with, as well as some soups. After I got back we spent the rest of the day around the coach. I did a couple of chores and relaxed while Jackie worked on getting better. Tuesday was a stay at home day as Jackie was still sick. I did go to the clubhouse for happy hour. I made some stuffed peppers for dinner. At least Jackie still has an appetite. After dinner we watched TV until bedtime. Jackie still hasn't heard from her doctor about what is next in her treatment.

Wednesday, November 24^th, we had another stay at home day. Jackie finally did hear from her doctor and learned that she has been referred to a surgical group in Las Vegas to have the gallstone taken care of. When she was contacted by the surgical center they set an appointment for December 8^th. They also said that the actual surgery wouldn't be until after the first of the year. Jackie's initial response was she wanted to put it off until we came back up to Pahrump in April. She didn't want to mess up our winter travel to Yuma any more than it already has been. However, I know that gallstones can cause very serious consequences if they are left unattended and cause an infection, so I talked her out of it. Her health is more important than a trip to Yuma. So it appears we probably won't be going to Yuma until the middle or end of January next year. Other than that I did some chores and went to the clubhouse happy hour at 4:00. Jackie seems to be doing a little better and hopefully will be OK for the Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.

Thursday, November 25^th, Happy Thanksgiving. We hung around the park today, getting a few chores done in the morning and early afternoon. The park's Thanksgiving dinner was at 3:00, so we skipped lunch. About 2:30 we went over to the clubhouse for the festivities. The Silver Seekers club provided the turkey and then each table, mostly made up of eight people, had to bring all the side dishes for that table. Each table had a “host” who assigned the dishes. We had rolls, cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes. Our table was all people that we knew, so we had a really good time. Our friend Nancy was our hostess. Dinner was very good and there was plenty of food, enough for seconds and even leftovers after the dinner. Sometimes these RV park dinners don't provide what I consider enough food. By 5:00 we were home and relaxing with the TV, where we spent the rest of the night. Friday was a stay at home day. We didn't need to go shopping for anything on Black Friday and didn't want to be anywhere near a big box store today. At 4:00 we went over to the clubhouse for happy hour, then at 5:00 the Silver Seekers served turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce and chips for anyone who came. After the early dinner we went back to the coach and relaxed with the TV the rest of the evening.

Saturday, November 27^th, we went out a little after noon to have lunch at ChatThai, one of our favorite places to eat here in Pahrump. The food was great and we had a very nice lunch. After lunch we did some shopping, stopping at the hardware store and then Walmart. After Walmart we headed back to the coach. We had happy hour on our own in the coach, then watched TV until it was time for bed. For the most part Sunday was a stay at home day. I went out first thing in the morning for the Sunday paper. After lunch I went out for a quick trip to Walmart to return a pair of pants that I bought yesterday that didn't fit well. We had root beer floats from the clubhouse in the afternoon and just spent the day relaxing.

Monday, November 29^th, I left about 9:30 and drove to the County administration building for an interview regarding the Peace Officer Advisory Review Commission position I recently applied for. The County Manager and Assistant County Manager, as well as an administrator for the county did the interview. It only went about 20 minutes and it was the usual, “why do you want this position” and some dialog on my past experiences. After the interview I went back home and did a few chores and relaxed. I have Jackie's cold now, so neither of us are at 100 percent. At 2:00 we sat outside on the patio for a while during the park's “walk around” event. We did have a couple of visitors and was nice. The weather was perfect for it. At 4:00 we went to the clubhouse for happy hour and then afterwards went back home. We had leftovers for dinner and watched TV until bedtime. Tuesday we stayed at home for most of the day and worked on getting over out colds. Jackie had a brief meeting with the Lot Appraisal Committee to do an appraisal on a lot up for release. This was her first outing with the Committee. The purpose is to inspect a lot to determine if all the improvements on the lot are in good order before the lot is released. Once the approval is given the old member is given their money back and the lot is made available to the next person on the waiting list. About 3:30 we left the coach, picked up Millie, and drove to Romero's Mexican restaurant for a “dine-out” with other members of the park. There were about 20 people at the dine out and we had a very nice time, and very nice, if a little early, dinner. After dinner we dropped Millie off, went home and watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, December 1^st, Jackie went over to the clubhouse in the early afternoon for the weekly Pokeno game. While she was there I went out and did a quick mail run. Other than that, we stayed in for the day. Both of us are finally getting a little better in fighting our colds. We did some burgers for dinner then watched TV until bedtime. Thursday was a busy day with park activities. I had a 10:00 committee meeting and then we had a brown bag lunch at noon with the Silver Seekers group at the clubhouse. At 1:00 the Silver Seekers had their monthly meeting and at 2:30 there was a park Town Hall meeting. After the town hall meeting we did a quick run to Walmart for some supplies. We mostly needed some vodka since our Costco supply has run out. We were supposed to have been in Indio last week and had planned to go to Costco then. Now we won't be in Vegas until the 8^th for Jackie's doctor appointment. Yikes, had to pay retail price! After Walmart we went back home, went to the clubhouse for happy hour, then back home for dinner. After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed.

It has now been about three weeks since we posted, so it is time to close out this episode and get it online. Until next time, ponder the words of the brilliant Albert Einstein. “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” See ya soon.