Riding the Hill Country

This past weekend I joined my husband on a weekend Harley ride with a group of friends. Our riding group goes to the Hill Country usually every spring.  This ride was a special ride though because our mechanic Tony,who has serviced all our bikes for years was coming along. He drives the most gorgeous Indian bike.  Tony has Stage 4 cancer and stopped taking Chemo a few weeks ago. This will most likely be his last large ride far distance.   There was a larger group that left early Friday morning but Todd had a Dr’s appointment that we couldn’t reschedule and he had a friend that was flying in from Atlanta and renting a bike so we told the group that we would catch up with them later that evening.  I dropped off the dogs at their overnight doggy daycare and then as soon as I got home, we jumped on the bike and rode to Dallas for the Dr appt.  Afterwards, we ate breakfast at the clinic cafeteria which was actually really good.  Todd’s friend Chris was landing at the airport soon and then took an Uber over to the Bike rental place. That’s where we met up with him.   From there, we rode over to our friend Coby’s house where he was joining us.  We got a really late start because Coby wasn’t ready. He never is and its so frustrating!! He had Rangers tickets for that weekend so he wanted to go to the box office and exchange them for another week and game. Fortunately the stadiums were very close to where he lived. While he was in line and we were parked, he discovered he left his phone at home.  So then Todd got in line for him while he drove him to get his phone and back.  That took close to an hour to get all that done.   Finally we were on our way to Hill Country.

We rode a few hours and then stopped for lunch around 2:00 in a town called Hico.   While we were waiting on our meal, my stepmom Deb called and said that Daddy’s other best friend Doc had passed away that morning.  I was so shocked and sad!  One of the first things that I thought was WOW, Daddy has his 2 very best friends with him now.  I know I posted about his friend Billy who passed suddenly last July.  Doc had been sick with a blood disease and had not been feeling well lately.  I know he suffered from pain at times.  The funeral is today in Austin but I am not there because I’ve taken too much time off work as it is. 

We arrived at our motel in Kerrville around 6:30 pm that night.  All together we rode around 300 miles that day and of course it was all back roads.  We dropped off our bags and got checked into our room and then got back on the back to meet our other group for dinner.  We met at a Mexican restaurant that had an hour wait. Funny, our friends saved us seats but then another group that happened to know our friends , saw them and sat in our chairs and they didn’t have the heart to tell them to leave.  SOOOO, we had to sit in the bar and have a drink while a table came open. Once we were seated, our friends in big group were leaving. HAHA!  We were late for everything that day.  Oh well!

Saturday morning, all of us ( I think there were 10 bikes total) started our first part of the day together.  There is a route to take that covers stretches of 3 different highways called The Three Sisters.  They’re very narrow and winding  and twisty twirly rodes and some steep uphill and downhill climbs.   They’re so fun and obviously a great riding destination . In fact there were lots of riding clubs not just bikes. We saw a group of Porsches and Corvettes riding the roads too.    There is a bar and grill in the middle where all the highways meet and we stopped there to have a snack and a drink.  We rode 2 of the sisters before we stopped.  Much of the group wanted to go to some other bars that were along the way but my group wanted to ride the last sister to just be able to say that we did.  Hindsight, the last highway was the worst and really not worth the effort but Hey we know now!  Another guy in the group wanted to ride with us so now we had 4 bikes in our group- Todd, Chris, Coby and now Bryan.   So the 5 of us turned right on the last highway while the rest of the group went their way.   After we finished the last highway we all agreed that we wanted to go to Luckenbach and hang out there for a while. I have been a few times but never with Todd.  They have live music and its just so relaxed and fun atmosphere. It was also 90 minutes in opposite direction but we wanted to keep riding.  We actually came across another part of a highway that was just as fun and winding and twisty as the 3 sisters. I said it must be the ugly stepsister because it was better than the last one.  Along the way, Bryan needed to air up his back tire and as we were wrapping up , Todd realized that our front tire was low  so we aired up too. I think we ended up being at that stop for almost 45 minutes.   Then Bryan realized his back light bulb was out so we had to stop at auto store and he changed that out in the parking lot.  THEN we started our ride to Luckenbach.  Our plan was to go there , have a quick drink and then catch up with our group again and have dinner together. Nope. Once again, we are so behind and we told our group we couldn’t make it to dinner.  When we got to Luckenbach, there was a wedding going on there.  There was one guy that didn’t tell us to leave but said he wasn’t sure how much longer we could stay because the family bought out the whole place for the night.  I bought a tshirt and we all stayed for one beer and then rode into Fredericksburg for dinner.  Fredericksburg will be its own post soon. Its one of my favorite places!! So much history and cute little shops. It’s a German town so we ate at yummy place and had pork schnitzel.    It was close to 9 pm I think before we headed back to hotel which took a little shy of 2 hours.   Sadly we didn’t get to see the rest of our group again that night.  We had to get back to Dallas pretty quickly because Chris still had to return the bike and uber to the airport to catch his plane.  We left at 7:30 am ( Coby, Chris, and Todd and i) and the other crew weren’t leaving until 9:30.   We got to see a few of the them when we were having breakfast in lobby so we got to say goodbye.

This is Wesley , Tony and Todd. Wesley and Todd are wearing Traditions tshirts which was Tony's shop. He closed it 2 weeks ago. 

Bobbie, me and Sherry

Coby, Chris, me

It was so much fun and I am really glad I went.   Friday night I was hurting pretty bad and regretting my decision because of all the squishing and big bumps and such. I felt bruised and im still a little swollen from surgery 2 weeks ago.  I was SUPPOSED to be a vendor at my junk show I do every 6 months but I’m not supposed lift anything heavy and I do that all weekend when I have my show.  It was nice to ride with Todd and spend time on the bike with our friends.  No regrets!  Life is short and you got to get out of the house.    I’ll post later on some of the things and places I saw along the way.  

Got to keep on moving

Hey there blogger land, how’s everyone been? A week ago last Friday , I had my gallbladder removed. It was a quick surgery done laparoscopically and was home the same day.

After I woke up from recovery and Todd drove us home, I slept all day and all evening and then of course woke up at 2am and couldn’t go back to sleep.  I was so sore and swollen but it got better with every day.  I had a few setbacks and mostly it was all on my being a bad patient.  The worst part was getting into my bed and laying down. Our bed is really really high and it felt like doing stomach crunches when I had to lower myself to lay down.  A few friends told me that they slept in their recliner after they had the same procedure.  I didn’t think about that.   Then one day last week during all those crazy spring storms we had,  our chimney box flew off and slammed into our fence which then caused a portion of our back fence to fall down.  Craziness!  After Todd was able to push the fence back up and secure it as best as he could, I thought it would be a good idea to hang the planter back but of course its much taller than me. I have a small mosaic patio chair by the fence and I stood on it-which caused the chair to sink into the dirt and I fell down.  That stung and brought a few tears but I put an ice pack on my stomach and it was good after a few hours. 

Our mangled chimney box that the winds ripped off a roof and slammed into our fence

The great news is that after 6 weeks, my grandma Nanny was finally released from the hospital.  She had spent the last week in a rehab wing at the hospital and had some physical therapy, etc.   She got to go home to her apartment but she cant be alone. She’s still weak and not so sturdy.  Home health care will be coming 3 times a week and my uncle hired a friend/neighbor to watch over her since she’s closest.  I drove out there on Friday evening to spend her first night with her and she was soooo happy to be in her recliner again.  Its such a miracle! Many nights she actually wasn’t expected to make it and here she is walking and talking back at home again. Thank you for the prayers!

My mom went back home to Montana the Sunday morning after my surgery.  I really wished she could have stayed longer to be there with me at home but it was good to have her take care of me that Friday and Saturday. Nothing like Mom’s sweet gentle hand and voice waking me up to take my pain meds, make me drink something, eat something, etc.   I miss her already.  My best friend Kimi came and spent the afternoon with me and stayed the night on Monday since Todd had to travel out of town. I was still really sore and moving slow and it was good to have her around .  I had to return back to work on Tuesday and the rest of the week but fortunately, I got to work from home.   Last Thursday I also had my first jury duty commitment since we moved.  In fact , next week is our one year anniversary in our  home.  Wow- that went so fast!! Anyway, we were held a few hours and finally released by lunch because the persons who cases were called, didn’t show up and the bailiff said one guy was already in jail.  Yikes!  I did a check in from the courthouse and my friends pitched in with the some hilarious comments .  Here is the post.

Have any of you watched the series Breaking Bad? Todd and I recently got Netflix ( I know – welcome to the rest of the world), and we are “binge watching” this show. Holy Cow it’s intense! We are in Season 3 episode 12 now. There are 13 episodes of this season and 5 seasons total. When Todd travels, I don’t watch it. 

So basically that’s some of my last few weeks in a nutshell. 

A friend of mine was getting onto me on facebook because I was up and about the next day.  First thing that popped in my head was the song-  Nobody’s gonna break my stride- aint nothing going to slow me down- Oh No- I got to keep on moving!....

When life gets hard

Hey everyone ( those that are even still around and didnt give  up on me), i cant believe its been over a month since my last post.  These last few weeks , life has been really hard.  There's always good to mix with it but combined its just been a lot! My mom flew in from Montana on February 16 to stay the month with us. During her long stay, she normally is passed around and stays with other family members  to visit. My grandma ( Nanny) went into the hospital on Saturday morning the 18th and has been there ever since. It began being just routine stay at hospital due to inflammation and swelling in her leg.  Nanny has diabetes and has a bad leg wound that wont heal. Its something we monitor very closely and its no big deal to go for a week once or twice a year to have IV's of antibiotic flow through for the infection and then have a wound nurse treat her leg when shes home.  She went in for that but then other things were found while having tests that werent good.  Things have been very touch and go and there was a few tense days and nights that we weren't sure she was going to make it through the night.   Having Mom here during all this has been a blessing because we've been driving to east Texas every weekend to see Nanny in the hospital and i know it would be even harder if Mom was still in Montana.  Its also been very emotional because for the first few weeks we were told that Nanny would be released so the plan was for Mom to go stay the week with her and take care of her but of course that never happened. Nanny continued to get worse and even had to be transported by ambulance to another hospital that was better equipped to take care of things such as dialysis that the other previous hospital didnt have.  She was in and out in daze and didnt recognize anyone or know why she was there. It was so hard to see her that way. She was swollen and in pain and it was heartbreaking. They got her started on dialysis and it made huge improvements! Nanny is now awake and can talk and recognizes everyone.  She just needs her kidneys to function.  We dont know whats next. Either she will be released to go home and have home healthcare assist and she will continue to get dialysis in nearby town a few times a week  or she may have to go straight to an assisted living center.
Mom has chronic Lupus as i think most of yall are aware of.  Stress makes lupus flare up and she's had some painful Lupus breakouts on her face, in her nose, on her head, etc.  She barely weighs 100 pounds and its been very hard to see Mom break down for fear of losing Nanny.  Emotions have been very high.  She also has very weak immune system due to Lupus which means its not good for her to hang out night and day at a hospital with all the other germs.  She feels bad that she cant be there everyday like her brother ( my uncle).  We 're doing what we can though because the hospital she's in is 3 hours away one way.  A lot of time in the car and that also wears Mom out.
The last 3 weeks i was also in a huge point of my job where i was training classes every day monday thru Friday for 4 hours a day.  That was 2 weeks straight.  There's been a lot of pressure and its still regarding our merge conversion so these people are just not happy at all to switch new systems that i'm training.  I finally was able to take one day off last week so that i could spend the day with Mom and i drove her to the hospital.   We have still managed to do some things that are fun and not stay completely in the house or go to hospital. We've had some visits with my friends that are also friends with Mom.  Mom and i went to see The Shack last Sunday and we've eaten out a lot. Todd has been traveling quite a bit too.
I also have a very very special dear friend that was diagnosed positively with prostrate cancer last week. Dr's said its not growing aggressively but its at medium speed. He goes in for consultation in a few weeks to determine which treatments he'll be doing , etc.   Makes me sad and scared but i know they can beat this since its been found early on.
I know i have also mentioned a few times about my friends grandson in Boston. Ari was on a heart transplant list and was also getting worse every week. Just before Christmas, the Dr's said that Ari couldnt go home until he leaves with a new heart.  By Gods Grace he got his transplant a few weeks ago too.  Just found out today that his little body is rejecting it. THEN their home has black mold and they have to completely demolish the home and rebuild and insurance isnt paying a dime. My poor friends are really dealt with some hard things right now.
I have missed blogging. Usually when i get so super stressed, i blog because it helps and its an emotional outlet. I literally didnt have time or the energy to post until today.  I feel like Debbie Downer and Doom and Gloom but i cant help it.   I am also so thankful and blessed to what i Do have and things going right.
I have missed my blogging friends and i hope 6 weeks dont go by again unless its something wonderful.  Oh and this Friday i am having gallbladder surgery. I've been in lots of pain and looking forward to hoping it eases up.
Life is hard but we just have to keep plugging along and take advantage of all windows of opportunity to do what you can .

Mom and i were in traffic and not even moving for 12 minutes so we took selfie

This is the day that Mom arrived

Quick selfie of brother and me with Mom

Had dinner with inlaws one night

Took Mom for yummy BBQ and fried okra

Lunch with friend Wendy and mom after church

My cousin Monya and myself with our sweet Nanny

Mom and Nanny

When the kids came we got into hot tub later that evening. So fun!