Same-O, Same-O

This week continued with the routine of last week, at least as far as my trips to the Mayo Clinic were concerned. Really nothing new there. I have completed 13 of the 22 treatments so am in the ‘home stretch.’

For those who may be familiar with the Mayo Clinic, you know there are two campuses. One is the St. Mary’s Hospital campus and the other is the Methodist Hospital campus. I am getting my treatments at the Methodist campus. The two are a few blocks apart in the city of Rochester, Minnesota.

My last post mentioned me getting my ‘day pass’ when I arrived at the campus. These are used for COVID-19 screening. Just for hoots I kept a week’s worth of these passes:

The treatments go on. Although I will be done with the radiation treatments by the end of the month, I will be getting my 3-month shot of Eligard (hormone therapy) on June 1st. These shots will happen every 3 months over the next 15 months. It remains to be seen how I react to the rest of the radiation but, to date, the side effects have been fairly subdued.

Pam continues her work in the snug. Painting is nearly done but details need to be completed. Later today we will attempt to remove the rest of the snug’s carpet which will be a real job. Here are some photos of Pam’s work to date.

The snug is looking good!

Ever since we moved in we knew at some point we’d need to replace the kitchen sink faucet as it, believe it or not, made a sound (like a sad sigh) and dripped every time a valve was turned off. (Not to mention the hand sprayer sticking in the “on” position and giving the next person a complementary shower.) Replacement was on the docket. I found a suitable new unit at Menards and set about swapping faucets.

One thing led to another and I ended up replacing several of the drain pipes. Nothing is ever easy, and what should have been a simple project took a trip to the hardware store for more parts and pieces and a couple hours of work. The main culprit was a broken trap and down-pipe that connects the sink drain to the rest of the plumbing, located in the basement.

Additionally, several of the slip rings and gaskets had to be replaced. The job was a real PITA but we now have a new faucet that does not leak or make noises and drains that should last as long as we own the house.

Spring continues to progress. Our lilacs are beginning to bloom. New growth is on all the plants and trees, good to see. Pam harvested a few rhubarb stalks this week and will continue, as growth permits, until there is enough diced rhubarb to make a pie.

A couple other projects are in the works. I sealed the cracks in our decorative water fountain and cut and glued a couple of repair pieces onto Pam’s “farmer and wife’ board buddies lawn ornaments. The fountain is waiting for the sealant to cure and the repaired parts of the buddies need paint. I hope to have photos of these by the next post.

It was a routine week. The time is dominated by my daily 125 mile round trips to Rochester and work on a few small projects after I get home. Pam’s work in the snug is highly detailed and takes up quite a bit of her time. Throw in the routine tasks and occasional animal transport to the vet for maintenance (JoJo just had her teeth cleaned) and the time goes by.

Photo Archive

Family photos from the early and mid ’80s.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

It’s an interesting thing about retirement – after a lifetime of reporting to one workplace or another, a person resists being scheduled in retirement. One of the irritants of the radiation therapy is Himself having to get up at an assigned time every weekday and meet an appointment schedule in Rochester. When the weekend arrives after five radiation appointments, it’s as if a work week has ended (all over again). Not a good memory.

JoJo and I also had to organize our schedules on Wednesday to drive her to Charles City by 8:15 a.m. for a doggie dental. Drove back to Elma quickly so the RAV was available for Himself to drive to Rochester. Himself returns from Rochester and I get back in the RAV to return to Charles City for groceries and doggie pickup. Schedules and timing again. Tiring.

Has anybody else out there been having major issues with the postal service? Ever since the incompetent previous administration replaced the postmaster with Dejoy, and our [regional Waterloo] sorting machine was destroyed [unnecessarily], mail service into/out of NE Iowa has been a mess. There were holiday cards and December bills arriving in mid January, a box shipped from Colorado in April that took four weeks to arrive. Now the USPS appears to have lost our mailed checks to pay for annual supplemental health insurance. Irritating, irritating, irritating.

Be well. Happy Trails.