Long rounds of clearance, cardiac, dental, pulmonary, etc. Cleared with flying colors. I was to report to the hospital @ 6:45 am, and since it is an hours drive to the hospital, John and I spent the night at the Air Force Inn on base. The bed was so awful, you could feel the springs, just pushing a bit on the mattress. The pain was horrific. Luckily, there was a recliner in the room, so that's where I spent the night. We boarded the furbabies at a local kennel so we wouldn't have to worry about them.
The surgery went very well. Spinal anesthesia, with Versed and Fentanyl. I awoke once during the procedure (not due to pain) and the CRNA says, "It's ok, we're just working on your hip." Lights out! Awoke at last in PACU and felt great.
I was to spend 3 nights in the hospital, but my surgeon came in on Sunday & said I was doing so well, I could go home early! It was the best news yet. Walking for the first time in months without pain. I could have danced if my balance was better.
I'm now 15 days post-op and walking without any assistive devices inside, though I still use a cane when outdoors. I'm able to walk through the stores shopping, just by holding on to the shopping cart. What a blessing.
Snow arrived for the first time on October 20th, just a light dusting. The snow and cold was a great test for our insulating efforts. Outside temps have ranged from 19 - 29 at night while under the rig, the temps have ranged from 35 - 54. Not bad at all!
Last night we got our second snow. It was a bit more accumulation, but still less than 1 inch. We moved the EZ Up canopy over Trooper so we don't have to scrape snow and frost from the windshield.The kids have really enjoyed their walks in the snow.
We finally got an engine block heater installed in Trooper, and a timer on the electric outlet (wireless control) , as well as a remote start. We can get the heater going before we have to go out. Getting into a warm car in the winter is a real blessing.
Now that the leaves have mostly cleared away, we can finally see the lake. We do want to trim more of the brush away, but because of the bogginess in that area, we are waiting on the ground to freeze good so we can walk without sinking into mud. The white areas in the picture is where ice has formed and the snow has fallen on it. You can see how much brush we still need to remove.
There is a local thrift shop that benefits the Boys and Girls Clubs of Alaska we've frequented. We were both able to find snow pants for under $15.00 to complete our winter outfits. No excuses that it's too cold to go outside. Actually, we've both acclimated well to the weather. Often John will go outside to walk the pups with just a flannel shirt on. He's very happy with how he's adjusting.
Another treasure I've found there is yarn. People will donate (I think businesses too) yarn in vast amounts. The shop packages them together in bags for from $2.99 - $3.99. Most often there will be full skeins of yarn, sometimes more than one in the same dye lot. What a find! I've had to get more storage bins for the yarn, but there is always enough in the bags to do a hat, or hand warmers, Quite often there is baby yarn is sufficient quantity to knit or crochet baby sweaters and hats. This could be income producing for me.
We've found that the people of the valley are very friendly and helpful. In reading posts in some of the local Facebook pages, I saw people posting thanks to folks who've helped them out when a need arose. I took that opportunity to start a Facebook group called "Good Deeds in the Mat-Su Valley" We started the night with 4 members, and in 36 hours, grew to 280 members. Lots of people are posting there to thank those who've helped.
One example: A young lady asked for recommendations of reasonably priced restaurants where she and her boyfriend could celebrate the 1 year anniversary of being together. They had very little money, and no transportation. A lady in town replied that she and her husband were both chefs and would love to prepare a meal for the couple free of charge. That's helping out a stranger and what the people in this valley are all about.
Another example: When MTA came out (finally) to bury our phone cable, they moved the snow plow off the supports, placing it on the ground. Neither of us, even working together could budge it. John posted a need for help getting the plow attached to the Goblin and offered to pay. A gentleman responded right away and was here within 2 hours, helped get the plow attached, and refused any remuneration.
We are still exploring building a cabin out of shipping containers. Again, John posted a question on Facebook, asking if there were any contractors in the area who did this type of construction. A retired gentleman responded immediately that he would like to help, stating that he needed something fun to spend his retirement doing, and our project sounded like the perfect thing.
We are really loving it here and are looking forward to becoming participating members of the community. We discovered there is an annual Community Christmas dinner each year for anyone who wants to partake and they are always looking for volunteers. Guess who is going to do this?
I will continue to post as often as I have something of interest to share with my readers.
