May 22, 2013 - New Refrigerator Installed

This morning I was up a little earlier than usual, just in case the service tech would be ready for me the first thing. No such luck. It was after 2:00 before they started installing my new refrigerator. A big fly in the ointment was that the refrigerator could not be taken inside through my 24-inch wide entry door. They had to remove the window over my dinette so they could bring it in that way. Of course that made the job take a lot longer than it would have otherwise. The total bill came to $1870.75, of which my Extended Service Plan...

May 21, 2013 - Things are looking up

The first thing this morning I called Camping World and talked with Service Manager, Bill, to see whether they had a replacement refrigerator in stock and whether my claim with Good Sam’s Extended Service Plan could be transferred from Crestview to Camping World. They did and it could! Bill is now my hero. They will work me into their schedule Wednesday. In order to be on hand early tomorrow morning, I drove down to Camping World this afternoon and hooked up to electricity. Then I took my ailing Surge Guard in to see whether it could be...

May 20, 2013 - Return to Austin

This morning I waited in vain until about 10:00 o’clock for Nick to return my call. Then I went inside to the service counter to talk to him eyeball to eyeball but, alas, he wasn’t at work today! The man sitting at his desk checked my order and informed me that it had been placed Friday afternoon but that it would take about a week for the new refrigerator to arrive. He said that Nick had called all around the area (how big an area??) and that the only place he could find what I needed was from the Dometic distribution center in Elkhart,...

May 15, 2013 - Follow-up on Epidural Injection

This afternoon I had a follow-up visit at Austin Pain Associates with a physician’s assistant. She talked about the possibility of having radio frequency performed again. It has been a year since the first one. They do it a little differently than CHARM does. We will wait until after I have seen the spinal surgeon regarding the results of my Myelogram and CT scan before making a decision. I just can’t drum up any enthusiasm over any of my options. :>)

May 14, 2013 - DAR Meeting

This morning I attended the last meeting of the 2012-13 fiscal year for my chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. It included a memorial service for the six members who have passed away this year. After the meeting, a number of us attended the new-member luncheon at Opal Divine’s. We walked over there from our parking lot. While we waited for our food, there was a discussion of various topics of interest to new members. New members who have been in the chapter for two years or less (“little sisters”) were paired with...

May 11, 2013 - Austin - Part 2

Part two of our Austin journey took us to four more sightseeing adventures: The Hike and Bike Trail along Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake), the Texas History Museum, the Driskell Hotel and a walk through the SoCo District. Hike and Bike Trail Like Boise, Austin has a large hike and bike trail but unlike Boise, this one loops around a lake instead of a river. The water here is calm which makes it nice for water activities. At just under 10 miles, you can choose to ride or walk a little or a lot. We were surprised how lush not only the...

May 9, 2013 - Myelogram and CT Scan

This morning I had to get up a lot earlier than usual in order to be at the River Ranch Radiology center by 9:00. My friend, Martha Boswell, picked me up about 8:30. We both were surprised at how large the complex of buildings is (six in all) in the center. It is located behind the parking lot of South Austin Hospital but the large shrubs and trees hide it from the street view. My dentist’s office is located across the street and I had never noticed the complex! The procedures weren’t nearly so bad as I had thought they would be. Someone...

May 8, 2013 - Meeting with CMIT Solutions

This morning I went to talk with Kyle Landry, President of EMIT Solutions of Austin Southwest, about getting a refurbished computer. I had done a search on the Better Business Bureau’s site for companies in Austin who are in this business. There were several on the long list that are members of the BBB and have A+ ratings. I selected four of those closest to where I live and requested quotes. So far, Kyle is the only one who has responded. Both of my computers are very old and I cannot access many things that I used to be able to access....

May 8, 2013 - Austin - The Music Capitol

There was so much to do in Austin that I'm having to break it out into two blogs, to save from posting so many pictures at once. We arrived last Friday staying at Oak Forest RV Park thinking six days would be enough, but now know that we could stay a month and not see everything. First off, it's a very clean city being the capitol of Texas and with that we started our touring with a visit to the state capitol. You've probably heard the phrase "everything's bigger in Texas' and that's certainly true with the capitol building. We almost...

May 7, 2013 - Spending Spree

This morning I took some things to the Next to New consignment shop. Then I checked out the things for sale and went away with a nice (apparently never worn) white Alfred Dunner jacket with appliquéd blue squares on front, a red and white striped top and a pair of gold-toned earrings with garnet stones. The next purchase – a big one – was at Sew Much More. They were having a sale on sewing machines and, since I have been thinking for a long of buying another machine, I decided to check them out. I got a Baby Lock “Grace” which is fairly...

May 6, 2013 - Epidural Injection

This afternoon I had an epidural injection in my lower back on the left side of the lumbar spine. The doctor inserted the needle in several places, two of which caused pain to shoot down my left leg, which indicates that he hit at least two of the affected nerves. I certainly hope this will give me some relief. Because I had declined sedation for the procedure, I was able to drive myself home with no problem. A follow-up appointment is scheduled for May 15. The River Ranch Radiology nurse called me this afternoon to schedule my myelogram...

May 2, 2013 - First Visit with Spine Surgeon

This morning I had my first visit with spine surgeon, Kurt Von Rueden. He has just moved his office to the Lakeway Medical Center so things were not yet running as smoothly as he wished. It was not really a problem for me, however. It’s a 32-mile round trip but is manageable. He was not satisfied with my MRI because it didn’t give him everything he needed to know; so he wants me to have a more definitive type of X-ray done. The lab is supposed to call me to set up an appointment. After that, I’ll see him for another visit to determine our...