Happy Valentines day and Wandering into my 70's

Happy Valentin's Day to all of you.  There is a special place in my heart for all of my followers and for all of you who comment on my blog postings.  I look forward to reading blogs and comments.  You all are my Valentine.

Also:
Happy Birthday to me.
Happy Birthday to me.
Happy Birthday Ole Dizzy.
Happy Birthday to me.

Yep, I was born on Valentines day 70 years ago today.  Now you know where I got all my charm (grin).  I never thought that I would live this long, since my Dad passed away at age 60.

Some days I don't feel near this old but on other days I feel a lot, lot older.  I guess turning 70 has some advantages: 

     I am now an official Ole Fart, right?
     I can get away with more, just blame it on old age.
     I can tell stories from further back in the past than most people. 
     I can tell them over and over again. 
     I can spend more time wondering what I was going to do.
     I can let someone else do the heavy work.
     I can say what I want.
     I can look and dress the way I want to.
     I can do anything, most people don't care or notice "oldsters".
     I am getting closer to knowing who I am.
     I am getting closer to knowing who I am.
     I can repeat things and no one thinks that it is odd.
     I can just be me (of course, I always have been).
     I can blame things on bad memory or just old age. 
     And I better start working on my bucket list.

Now you kiss your Valentine and tell them they are loved.  My wife, my dogs, and you all are my Valentines, so have a great, great day, you hear?

Wandering back to town.

I figured that my prescription would be ready so yesterday my wife and I headed for town.  I dropped her off at Hobby Lobby and I then went to the music shop around the corner to get a second capo, just in case I am picking with someone and we both need one or I misplace one or . . .  Anyway, got that and then headed over to Wal*Mart to pick up my prescription.  For some unkown reason, they gave (no, I paid for them) me two bottles each containing three month's worth of pills.  That is six months of pills.  And here I was worried about having to get them refilled on the road.  These can be refilled three times in the next year.  I guess I will have to stock up on them.  But with my luck, my condition will change (has been the same for many years now) and so will my prescription.  But since I don't go back to him for a year, I am all set medication wise.

At my age I am glad to see that someone, especially my doctor, will think that I will still be around "next year".  Gives an ole fart like me some hope for the future (grin).  Like I believe everything a doctor tells me???  He does pretty good since he realized that he is working for me and I am, therefore, the boss.  Now that is what I call a good relationship with a doctor, don't you think?  Now you all have a great and healthy day and to keep healthy, don't forget your Valentine.  If you do it will not be much of a holiday.

The day after the doctor's appointment

I am still here and since the doctor couldn't find a thing wrong with me (yet), I am back home in one piece minus three vials of blood.  Yep, he couldn't find anything wrong with me (even my blood pressure was normal), he ordered a blood test just to make sure.  He said if nothing bad showed up on the blood test that he wouldn't need to see me for a year.  He then electronically wrote a prescription for a years worth of the same blood pressure medication and sent it to the Wal*Mart pharmacy.  Yes, that is the same pharmacy where the fellow shot himself the other day.

I use Wal*Mart because if I am on the road in my motor-home and need a refill, I should be able to get refills without going back home.  When I pick up my prescription I will ask if I can do that.  This may not be a problem because I also got him to make each prescription for three month's worth of pills and I am sure I can fit all my trips into that time period.

So, what shall I do today?  It already started out good.  I slept in!!  My dogs usually get me up early, but I let two of them out of the bedroom just before sunrise.  I don't know why they wanted out (maybe my snoring) but it was OK with me.  The youngest one who prefers to sleep in her own house (cage) beside the bed, slept in too.  Now, you all have a great day today, you hear?

Wondering to the doc's office.

Well, they finally won!!  Dang, I don't see why a healthy person needs to go to the doctor just to get his prescription filled.  Oh yes, I guess they need more money to pay their bills, or what-ever.  Three months ago we went through this and I won.  I was smart enough to wait until I had only two or three pills left when I called for an appointment.  They said they couldn't work me in that quick, so gave in and called in a prescription for another three months worth of pills.  That was almost three months ago, so here we go again.  This time, they won and I am going in this morning.  Now, I will be exposed to all the viruses and germs of all the ailments that are going around at this time, just by a quick visit to the doc's office.  That office has four doctors and there are always a lot of patients waiting in the waiting room.

OK, I am sorry I am ranting and raving about this but it does make me mad.  He probably has to see me every so many prescriptions to make sure I am OK and to protect himself from the possibility of law suits.  The only so called "professionals" that upset me more than doctors are lawyers and if it were not for the lawyers, the doctors would be able to take better care of their patients.

Now, you all take what I am saying with a grain of salt, or a pill.  I know that doctors try to do the best for their patients and sometimes I just go off the deep end and rant about doing something that I don't think there is a need for when I could be doing . . . let me think.  What else would I be doing this morning?  I guess just sitting on the couch with a computer on my lap either reading blogs or playing Mahjong on the computer.  Just love a couple types of Mahjong games.  I try to better my old scores and always think when I finish a game that I could do better than that, so I play another and another and another. . .  OK, you all have a great day today, you hear?  And I will try not to let my forced visit to the docs upset the rest of my day, I will just call it an "outing" and try to enjoy myself.

Straight pole, crooked back.

Back on Feb. 3, 2014 I posted a blog titled: There was a crooked man. . .  I told you about my power pole being pulled over when the electric company's contractors cut the interfering brush and vines.  Well, yesterday I fixed the problem (I think).  I spend a couple of hours trimming vines and such away from the wires and the pole.  There are still vines attached to the top of the pole but they have been cut off from the rest of the plant so they will not be growing bigger or pulling on the pole or wires.  That was quite a job.  As I stood back and took a breather, I realized that I was only half finished.  The pole is still very crooked and since I cut the brush out around it, it is now leaning much, much worse.  In fact, it was leaning at less than forty five degrees as measured from the ground.  Dang, that isn't a very good situation, now, is it?  I was in such a hurry to get it fixed that I didn't think to take a picture of it, sorry.  I headed into town to the closest place to get to in a hurry that sells treated lumber.  That would be Lowe's.  I got me a two by four, stuck it in the Jeep, and headed home.

After I got home, I cut the end off at an angle so that end of the board would fit flush against the pole.  Then I tied a rope around the pole and got back by the porch and pulled it up.  After I got it up as straight as I could, I tied it off to the porch.  I then dug a shallow pocket for the bottom end of the 2x4.  I stuck the square end in the pocket and wedged the cut end against the pole.  Then I drilled three holes in the 2x4 and used real long heavy screws, I screwed the 2x4 to the power pole.  When I untied the rope, the pole didn't move that I could see.  Job completed.

Oh yes, I suppose you want to see some pictures to prove that I got it back up where it should be?  OK, this first one is taken looking away from the house:

And this second picture is taken from the opposite direction:

We also went to the flea market yesterday morning and so I didn't get started on this project until we got back home.

By the way, when I was coming back from Lowe's, I drove past Wal*Mart just about the time a fellow shot himself in the pharmacy in front of his wife who worked there.  Glad I didn't stop there for something.  After the shooting, they closed the store.

I got my project done and the crooked pole got straight and my straight back got crooked, but this morning it doesn't hurt all that bad.  Now believe me, that was a lot of work for a man my age who has been sitting or laying on the couch for the last few weeks.  No, I was not sick, just lazy.  Now, you all have yourself a really nice day today, you hear?  

Everyone deserves a break today!

As the title says "everyone deserves a break today", so I will comply by not making a long post.  Now, you all have great day, you hear?

Wondering about sun spots

This is the year (2013) when our sun should be at its maximum activity during its 11 year cycle and the sun could produce some huge super flares.  So, what does that mean to us?  Well, that depends on whether we take a direct hit, a glancing blow or a complete miss.  A direct hit could be disastrous, especially to the power grid and comunications.  The man made satellites that circle our Earth and used for communications, defense, and scientific study of our earth and the universe will take the hardest and the first hit.  Dang, there goes my satellite TV which I surely do love.

There have been a lot of super flares but thank goodness not many of them have hit the Earth.  The last major hit that that Earth took was back in 1859 and was predicted by Richard Carrington.  Now, all such events are called Carrington Events in his honor.  Back then in 1859 there was not near as much stuff vulnerable to a flare.  But they did have telegraph and it sure did a job on it by shocking the operators and even set the telegraph paper on fire.  The keys kept clicking even when the battery connections were disconected.

Every now and then, Mother Nature has to show us that we are really not in charge and that we are very, very vulnerable to the ravages and whims of the vast universe.  Although we may be but tiny specs in the eye of nature and the universe, you all are very huge in my life, so you all have a great day, you hear?