Wow! Have I been off Track!

It is amazing how time gets away from you when you are retired. Three Saturdays have come and gone and I haven’t added a single blog post, although there has been a lot of goings on. Not that we’re traveling, just life in general. South Texas is finally getting a taste of fall weather and we’ve actually had rain once or twice since I last posted. So sit back, have a Baptist Beer as my son Joshua would say, and get caught up with Schiessl Household for a spell.

Recovery of the hip has been going swimmingly. Almost too easy. Full range of motion, no pain, and unlimited activity. So much so, that this past week I actually played a round of golf. Full 18 and probably shot in the high 90’s. Got off the tee most times and although my aim was not necessarily on, I was able to sink a few long putts and impress those playing with me. We played a scramble best ball format, so didn’t keep score as such, but it was sure fun to be back out on the course. I am going to take a part-time job as a course marshal which will allow me unlimited free golf. Not bad for 4 hours work maybe once a week.

Did have a bit of disturbing news. Vicki went to the Doctor with chronic bronchitis but has been further diagnosed with COPD. Somewhat of a sweeping catch all diagnosis, however she has seen a specialist, and she will be put through a battery of tests to see what is truly going on. She has been put on some rather expensive medications. One came in at over $500 for a month’s supply. Fortunately, we found an alternative to the cost, so it came to just under $200/month. Then the pulmonologist put her on a different medication which was even less expensive, and he had samples so that helped. I’m always amazed at how health care, a basic human need, must be so expensive. Living now on a fixed income provided a whole new prospective.

We did go out and replace the Ford Escape a week ago. We now have an Electric hybrid Ford Maverick. Talk about a cool ride. It’s a crew cab that seats 5 and a hybrid gas/electric motor. The reason we chose it was because it is one of the few vehicles in today’s line-up that can be flat towed. It has all the bells and whistles, and it gets over 40 mpg. We had our first fill up after 500 miles. It rides like a car. Some of the fun features are, heated seats, heated steering wheel, remote start and tons of room. We are going to add a cover for the back to protect stuff when we travel. We also need to install the braking assist system and towing connections.

The fur babies are doing well although Annie had to go in for some minor surgery to remove a golf ball sized tumor on her left leg. It was a benign growth as confirmed by Texas A&M Vet school and she’s been in the cone of shame for two weeks. Not happy about that, but at least the stitches have had a chance to do their thing. Roxie was also seen by the doctor and diagnosed with glaucoma in one of her eyes. She’s been given drops to lower the eye pressure, which at first didn’t make sense. She’s already blind! But what the doctor wants to prevent is the eyeball actually popping out of the socket. Good call. It’s easier to put drops in her eyes since she can’t see it coming. Unlike Annie who has to have a peanut butter pill twice a day. Amazing how catlike a dog can become when it comes to taking pills. LOL

A bit of sadness in our park as our next door neighbor is not doing well and is on hospice care. If you would, throw some white light and positive energy his way and allow for his transition to be as comfortable as possible it will be truly appreciated. On a morbid note, when he passes, we may buy his place to expand our presence here at riverbend. It will give us a buffer to our southern neighbors and allow us to homestead the property for tax purposes. Also, it will give us a permanent structure as we head closer to the inevitable. But that is still a way away.

Texas weather has been fall like, although it still gets hot during the day. Brownsville is still seeing some rapid growth with building and construction everywhere. The SpaceX program must be bringing in tons of new jobs so that’s a good thing.

Josh and Annalise are busy with fall sports. Football for Oliver and Baseball for Emmett. Both boys are excelling at their chosen sports and it keeps them busy with practice and games. Justin and Elisabeth are doing well and taking care of Frank is certainly becoming a challenge, but they are managing, the troopers that they are.

We are getting ready for the annual Halloween shindig here at Riverbend. I’m going as Bob Ross and will be composing an original painting during the get together. Remember there are no mistakes, only happy little clouds and trees sprinkled throughout your painting. Because the painting is yours! LOL

Hope you keep following us and I’ll try to keep these posts coming in a more timely and consistent manner. Did I mention? We’re still loving retirement.

PS. I promise to include pictures next time, the upload speed is so frustrating I nearly threw my laptop across the room.