Hi all, and happy May Day,

It has been a while, and to tell the truth, there has not been much to report. This blog was created to keep family and friends up to date on my life threatening medical issues, so I guess that having nothing to report is a good thing. Anyway, here are some of the highlights of the last 4 months.

The new rental house has been fixed, painted, and rented out..... This completes the project that started with the sale of my Lockwood Valley property last Sept.

My financial situation now appears to be in order..... OK, more in order than it was..... I am trying to live on a budget, but it doesn’t seem to be my strong point. I have always worked hard, lived cheap, and not worried too much about money. There have been a few bumps in the road, but mostly I had enough to get by.

While camping last November, I fell and hurt my shoulder. It turned out to be a torn rotator cuff..... several trips to the doctor, an x-ray and an MRI, 2 months of physical therapy, a shot of cortisone, and anti inflammatory drugs...... The cuff is still torn, apparently these things do not ever heal by themselves.

My choices are to live with the problem, and accept a limited use of my right arm, or get it fixed, and be out of commission for a few months. My brother Jim had this surgery last year, and said that the recovery was long and painful. I expect that I am a bit tougher than him, and probably won’t have any problem...... LOL

They can do a arthroscopic surgery to fix the tear, and I should be “good as new” in 4-6 months. I have tentatively scheduled the surgery for June 4. I always have plans to get all of my life in order before a surgery, and I really do try..... but.... it never seems to work out.

Outside of these events, life has been normal and unexciting..... that is really not so bad after the last 3 years of high drama. I really don’t have a plan from here, and am finding that somewhat disturbing. These last few years I have been struggling to stay alive and solvent, and not spent any time considering life after illness. I suppose that most folks run into this issue as their “Golden Years” approach.