21st Century Noah's Ark?

We have been having a lot of rain here at Beale AFB....lots of rain.....We have had thunder, lightening, wind, rain and power outages.  I do LOVE the sound of the rain on the roof of the Caboose. It really is very cozy and friendly to hunker down together in the Caboose on a rainy day.

However, the night before these photos were taken, I did have a fleeting moment of concern....would it be possible for the Caboose to be blown free of it's moorings (electrical, water and sewer lines) and float away????? Would a 21st century Noah's Ark look like a Keystone 31 ft Trailer?

I do believe all this rain has to be really good for our drought.

This "river" is starting to look respectable after the rain

Rainy days are great for catching up a delinquent blog! 

Vultures and the Company we Keep

Michael and I enjoyed a solitary walk along the earthen dam at Blackwelder Lake. These two joined us - vultures. One can't be too choosy about retiree companions! What are YOUR tips for making friends in new seasons of life? 

Up, UP and Away!

We are going to miss being close to the Beale Blackbird RC Club and the runway. LOL Nolan has a plane - and it's been difficult to fly. . . but they love trying anyway....

John had a Hobby Zone Horizon plane.  He let them fly it and it made a HUGE difference. It really is this specific plane that is hard to fly. 

More Father Son time this way as they do repairs! 

Mount Shasta Bread - INPUT?????

It is an adjustment to go from baking 8 loaves of bread a week to 2 loaves every other day....but I'm doing it. I think the Vitamix can be heard around the campground as it grinds wheat berries into flour....and the Baby Bosch is proving it's worth over and over.  Everyone is happy to have fresh baked bread. I'm happy to know that I can provide bread while we're in Idaho, an hour from groceries. 

I've been using the same recipe, but all of a sudden my bread has started doing this!!!!! It looks like the top of a mountain! Bread bakers - what do you think? I'd opened a new thing of yeast....other than that - same everything. 

It tastes really yummy - but why do some loaves look so odd? 

Mecca of McManus - Summer Home

Our travel plans are coming together.  

March: Stay at Beale for a multitude of VA appointments. 

End of March - 1st bit of April: Visit Eureka to see John and Mary and then Crescent City to see Mom G. 

April: Oregon for Bella's arrival. 

May 6th & 7th: We're presenting "The Gift of Parenting" at Calvary Open Bible. 

May 8th  - ?: Jet to TX for ASU graduation and JaRissa's wedding. We hope to stay long enough to see friends, visit Del Rio and San Antonio and meander back - possibly via Grand Canyon. 

June 10th - end of August: IDAHO! 

End of August - 1st week of September - CA for doctor's appointments again

Fall - TBD

We discovered finding campsites in the summer is a challenge. Prices go up and availability goes down. A few weeks ago we began submitting applications to State Park Systems and military Fam Camps. We heard back from all three this week.  We asked questions, they checked references. They discovered we walk on water (good job guys!).   The state of Montana offered us a position at Lost Creek State Park outside of Anaconda. It turns out the park has pit toilets, no showers,  electricity is provided by a generator we could run intermittently and the wifi is at the top of  a waterfall. This sounds fun for a month - but Michael has a CPAP - and we can't figure out how to make that situation work. They would have paid us a stipend AND a free site - that's a clue  it's a place which is hard to keep hosts. 

Jim Creek Naval recreation area appealed to us.....but they want 32+ hours during the day and being on duty every evening....we think this is a bit more of a job than Michael's health will tolerate and is quite a bit of work for a site which we could rent for around $500. 

Idaho is on our short list of possible retirement states. We had hoped to get "close" to friends in ID and to find a spot which would be a  quick drive to Seattle. Who can resist these sorts of campsites? 

Photo via Google Images

We were offered a hosting job Priest Lake State Campground. We'll work 20-24 hours a week, be on call at night, have two solid days off a week and they'll give us a full hook up site, one wifi line,  and free laundry - bartering at it's best.  I will be able to help fulfill the hours as needed. It looks like a beautiful campground - we can hope. The only drawback we can determine at this point is the nearest grocery store is an hour away.

Priest Lake - the Crown Jewel of Idaho - Photo via Google Images

Where is Priest Lake? Not close to Boise or Seattle. ::snort:: It's 30 miles south of  Canada, 62 miles NW of Sandpoint (home of Patrick McManus), 91 miles NW of Coeur d'Alene , 92 miles N of Spokane, WA,  236 miles W of Flathead Lake, MT, 386 miles NE of Lynnwood, WA, 517 miles N of Boise and 554 miles NE of Eugene, OR - home of Bella Angel!

Photo via Google Images

But just LOOK at  all Priest Lake State Park has to offer! Deer, moose, eagles, black bear (not so excited about this) hiking trails, boating, fishing, white sand beach......We are moving to the Mecca of McManus for the summer.....no stress to find a site, lots of new area to explore, AND we can see how Michael does with part time work.

Yes, there IS wifi at the Visitor Center and "most campgrounds." There is a Verizon booster at the Visitor Center and we are hopeful our MiFi will continue to work. If not, they say there is good Verizon on the beach. Shoot....I'll endure for the sake of you, our friends and family who want to stay connected. ::wink::

The Best of Then and Now

This is what it looks like when old traditions meet new routines.

Through the years we developed a tradition of Sunday night ice cream. Not a ton of ice cream - just a mug full, with  a bit of milk - the ultimate hand-made shakes.

Currently, we enjoy campfires.

Why not?

Sunday night ice cream in front of the campfire.

The "best" of then and now.

#WYFF @ U.C. Davis Neurology Dept.

We have had a full week, visited wonderful friends and done some fun things....and here we are again with #WYFF falling on a "blech" type of day.

Woot! Sacramento - UC Davis - Neurology - fun times.

Seriously, we love our team and they love us. We're their fun patients. Other nurses say we have far too much fun at our end of the hallway.

Dr. Duffy and Michael's feet - note Michael holds

his left hand to keep it steady

But - there is something unsettling about the neurology department. On these days, we are smacked in the face with the reality that Michael has an incurable, degenerative, neurological disease - and it simply isn't going away.  For those playing the Boo Yay game with me - this is a Boo! ::snort::

Each neurologist asked us, "When are you going to Japan?"

"Um....still figuring THAT out. It won't be until after the VA determinations are done."

They have full confidence in our ability to figure out the health care picture and go to Japan. They encourage us not to let this disease define who we are or what we can do...but then it does, doesn't it? Just a bit. Mission boards and churches will certainly be interested in this when hiring.

In any event - here we are. Michael is a great sport and diligently preformed all the requested actions....he tapped fingers, followed her pen, tapped his leg, stomped hs feet, counted backwards, moved arms as requested, walked down a hall, heel-toed it (the worst for him), tried to maintain balance while she tugged and prodded, rested and relaxed....and she took notes and assigned numbers.

Checking balance

Many  of you have asked, "How is Michael doing?"  We don't want to blow off those who are praying for Michael - so "fine" isn't quite right - we've taken to saying, "There are good days and bad days." Which is true.   Dr. Duffy pressed. What are the good days like? What are the bad days like?  How many days are you unable to do what you want? How are your emotions?

Here's the thing - he IS doing better on Azilect. The internal, head to toe, jittery, shakes don't happen as often. The balance is still an issue. Chronic fatigue is a big issue. The external tremors are still present most days - some times worse than other times.  His movements are slow, his limbs stiff. Some days it's hard to recall words - but shoot he's still more articulate than the rest of us.  His voice is changing.- hasn't done that in 40 years. Little things like using a computer mouse and keyboard, playing the piano, working puzzles are difficult - but doable.  Some days he feels like a pin ball - bouncing off the walls in the Caboose. Today was an average day. Dr. Duffy said we could do better managing his symptoms. It's not all about symptoms....one doesn't want to lose dopamine or function. It doesn't come back.

Michael will begin a patch of a dopamine agonist in the upcoming week. Pills were discussed, but this will give a steady 24 hour dose and she thinks that will be better. Again, we find ourselves befuddled to willingly take meds which seem to have side-effects which mirror the symptoms they seek to alleviate or worse. They are aware Michael "doesn't do meds," but pressed the reasons it is time to add another med.

We had thought they would note the improvements on  Azilect - there are some fairly good days on it - and would tell us to continue taking it to see more improvement. In other words, we thought we rocked and things were going to improve more if we stayed the course. Evidently, we don't.  Or, we thought we'd ditch it and change to another med. Nope. We are keeping the Azilect and adding to it. 

We were told possible side effects of Azilect were hypertensive crisis - stroke and death-like symptoms.  The pharmacist spent 40 minutes explaining this and tried to get a different drug. Dr. Duffy says this is the lightest of the drugs she has for Parkinson's.  In any event, Michael has been careful, I've adjusted our diet and he's not experienced the possible side-effects.

The new possible side-effects include sleep-attacks, hallucinations and impulsive/compulsive actions. I'm to call if I observe anything like this, and he'll quit taking them. It's a bit freaky to consider a PILL can make a person a crazy gambler....we're praying to avoid all these side effects too.  I'm also believing the gospel is more powerful than the nutty drug. She warned us not to be alarmed if the Pharmacist asks for another consult.

This is a good time to slowly begin this drug. We will be here for another 4 - 5 weeks with VA appointments. We'll be able to see if sleep attacks are a problem before we start traveling around again. ::snort::  Dr. Duffy recommends Express Scripts and says she can handle most of Michael's care remotely - she is a big supporter of us getting on the road. LOL

Neurology days are a bit of a challenge. We find ourselves faced with what we've lost and with what is predicted for the future. I fight tears. I crack corny jokes and others laugh loudly - this is a good thing about the neurology department. LOL

These things we know! God is good. He controls our future. He knows what ministry He has left for us. We are pastors. It's simply who we are and what we do. That won't stop because titles and locations change.

Boo
Parkinson's isn't going away.
Michael has to take another med.
Sacramento traffic is horrid.

Yay
We have a great team of docs.
There are still new meds to try.
We get to spend much more time with Michael.
He laughs at my corny jokes.
I think he's cute as a perpetual slight drunk.
Slow rides home led to Papa Murphy's for dinner!
The stars are amazing out here.
God is still controlling our future.



#WYFF is sponsored by Fulltime Families. View more of our Friday exploits by clicking the #WYFF tab above.