Doing It All!

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We are trying, anyway…..to do it all…. before Cory goes under the knife. Not much time left to squeeze in all the things we want to do before he becomes incapacitated. I am already planning on what type of patient he will be. He’s already calling me Nurse Ratched. Monday is the big day! October 4th is when Cory will get his new knee. Chop, Chop. Be ready for some juicy, medical blogs following his surgical procedure. Hope we get an operative photo of his knee to go along with mine…..makes for a good family collage. Fortunately, because I’ve had my two knees replaced, Cory will be able to use many of my hand-me-downs. The walker is now his. Tons of ice packs that I used he can pile around his knee. Even my left over medication I will share with him. He’s all set. Of course, he’s always a bit apprehensive when it comes to me giving him medication. He loves to tell the time I was giving him an antibiotic only to find out it was left over pills I had given to our dog, Chip. It was the same antibiotic given to humans but Cory wasn’t impressed that the bottle was from the vet with Chip’s name on it. Maybe that’s why Cory barks at me sometimes! Woof! Woof! Everyone…..just get ready and be ready for the big day and hundreds of interesting and maybe challenging days to follow. Fortunately, I have Lulu to assist me. She’s limited as to how much she can do….you know why….but she has a good heart and willing way that will help us both to get through this.

Scratch the good, healthy eating, exercise and diet plan! We had to toss all that aside in order to accomplish our goals here. You cannot go to the Catfish Place (St.Cloud) and not order their fried shrimp! You just can’t do it! They have the best fried shrimp in all the land…..it’s to die for. And, oh brother, was it ever good. Just like we remembered. Yummers! Of course, my side dish was their cheesy grits…..another yummers! Remember I started loving grits last year? They have the best!

Up on 192, across from Margaritaville, is a new restaurant called Walk-On’s. It a sports bistreaux. It specializes in Louisiana cooking. Cory ordered a ribeye po’boy and I ordered a shrimp po’boy. OMG. We dropped to our knees while eating them. They were out of this world! Even better than what we had in New Orleans….Yup! And I’m not exaggerating! On top of these delicacies, I had their corn grits! My mouth is still dancing from them. They are off the scale when it comes to delicious grits. You have to try them! You just have to. It’s good we were enjoying the food so much cause we couldn’t talk…..even if we wanted to. It was noisy in there. So many huge TV’s and loud people chatter. Do not go here if you are looking for a relaxing evening out with subtle mood enhancing music and candlelight. It won’t happen here!

We drove across the street to Margaritaville to see what was new there. They have several new restaurants and shops. I had to make one phone call in their outdoor phone both while there. No one was home, though. We are definitely going back to the Capone’s restaurant…..HOMEMADE pasta! My saliva glands are rived up just thinking about it. We did have to get a scoop of homemade ice cream in one of the shops…..oh, bring it on! See why we gave up on the dieting at this time? What choice did we have?

Another fun day we spent at the movies. We saw the movie “The Eyes Of Tammy Faye”. It was a good movie. Jessica Chastain definitely should win an award for her portrayal of Tammy Faye. She was excellent! This time, I only brought our drinks in my pretend cooler pocketbook. Usually I load it up with various snacks, too. I was trying to limit our indulgences. We did wolf down a tasty bag of buttered popcorn, though. Shame, Shame….more weight gain! But….and hear me out. Before going to the movies, we went across the street to the huge outlet mall. We walked and walked through a portion of it to do our daily exercise. See ….. we are kind of trying to do what we can to live a healthier life. Note the one photo I took. It was a stand at the mall selling a pizzaconic! Looked like a piece a pizza wrapped up as an ice cream cone. We didn’t get one but was fascinated by the concept. Food does draw our attention.

Another excursion, we ended up driving in the area of the Bay Hill Country Club and Windermere. I had seen where a TooJays deli offered a tongue sandwich. That’s correct….beef tongue! I’m sensing repulsion on your part….Cory gags when I mention it. But I love it! We were stuffed with popcorn so only used this ride for future reference. And forget it anyway …..they want $14.00 for a tongue sandwich……no way José. Tongue is like one of those give away pieces at the butcher. I’ll get my own and cook it myself. $14.00 …my eye! However, while trolling around this area, we saw a huge white building in the distance. Wow! What was it? As we came upon it, the sign said it was a Mormon Temple. Awesome! Almost like we were in Salt Lake City. It was ginormous.

We are lucky we have air conditioning in our car. As you can see by our dash thermometer, it was 123’ outside that one day. It was a hottie! Of course, we questioned the accuracy but no matter, you had to gasp for air when outside of the air conditioning. Speaking of air conditioning, we just found out, after 14 years, that we are to have our RV roof top air conditioners cleaned every year. We have never done that! Knock on wood….they both work fine. Anyway….having learned this, we have a tech coming out in a few weeks to clean them. Better late than never. He said it was good that we kept our RV inside our polebarn when not in use. He figures the units will be very dirty but could be worse. I’ll let you know! Yuck! Howard Hughes would throw up his gloved hands!

What would our self-gratification be without me having my beloved tuna melt at the Earl of Sandwich? Nothing! That’s what. So, off we went to Disney Springs. It was a good day. Not crowded at all. We used the excuse that our walking around the entire area would burn off the calories created by this bonne bouche. Haha! Cory made his selection (holiday turkey) while I got my faithful favorite of all times: their tuna melt! Best ever! Brought tears to my eyes, it was so good. You have to wear a mask when you are inside any of the Disney buildings. So when we sat in Mr. Toad’s ride to rest a bit, we snuck our masks off for a photo shoot. We kept asking the people to please move so we could drive though. Amazing how many folks actually got out of our way! Note: the car was stationary. Hehee.

Starting today, Disneyworld is celebrating its 50th anniversary. We don’t have annual passes anymore so won’t be helping them celebrate. Each park is doing something special over a certain time frame to celebrate this milestone. Happy 50th Anniversary, Mickey!

And not to be forgotten……we went to Bar Harbor for our seafood fix. I got my lobster roll meal and Cory got a “grouper chunks” dinner. Be still our hearts! It is THEE place to go if you want fresh and delicious seafood…..without a doubt. While, in the area, we visited Costco. Oh, yeah. My knees were just twirling to start skipping around that place. Had to buy one of their rotisserie chickens to bring home. I’m planning various meals with my Instant Pot to feed my patient ….requires lots of chicken. Now I have lots. Gas was $2.81 there….that was a bonus!

One of my photos shows a wooded area and grass. It is in the vicinity of the dump station at TP. Here at Tropical Palms, they took out the poop pond and installed a new sewer system that connects to the city sewer. In place of all this, they are making new premium RV sites. In the process, they have removed the dog park. I’m thinking the work being done over in this grassy and wooded area may be the makings of a new dog park. Time will tell. Stay tuned.

Well, we aren’t done yet “squeezing everything in.”Later today, we shall head to Cheddars to feed our faces again. But why? Haven’t we had enough yet? Nope! Cory got a Happy Half Birthday coupon from them for a FREE desert! Any questions now? I didn’t think so. Of course, he’ll share his desert with me….he’s that kind of wonderful guy. I hope I can say that again after his surgery when I use my nursing skills on him. Pray for us both!

Okey Dokey. Enough said. No applause, please!! I have to end here so I can go prepare my nursing care plan for Cory. We took a bunch of clear, plastic umbrella bags that they offer as your enter a store on a rainy day….figured they would work well sliding over his affected leg when showering. Scratch that idea! His leg would have to be the size of a walking stick to fit in the umbrella bag. We’ll use the Saran wrap and duct tape that he used on me…..remember the excruciating pain I suffered when he ripped the duct tape off my sensitive leg? I shall NEVER forget! I’m scarred from it. But we won’t dwell on that.

See you next time when the surgical doors close! 19 photos to enjoy!

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Comments

[Judy Lane]

Jeff told me to tell u he hates u because u were eating a Earl of Sandwich Tuna Melt. Not nice. Hes jealous!! Miss u guys!!

[Sandy and Cory]

Haha
Tell Jeff it was soooooo yummy! You have to head this way so you can get one. We miss you both. ❤️