BATS
It has been quite a while - March - since we distributed a newsletter. Shortly after that the COVID-19 situation began and the entire world has been in a tizzy. Several personal health issues for Mrs.T also developed which occupied much of our time. So this newsletter will bring you a bit more up-to-date.
We were scheduled to return to the US for a small reunion with Ruth, Rebecca's oldest sister, and some of her progeny at the beginning of April. Then came COVID and Ruth canceled that get together. And the airline canceled our return flight. So we decided to stay at the condo for a while longer especially as the airline canceled another return flight rescheduled for later in April. By then the situation in Mexico had also begun to deteriorate with many shops and restaurants closing in response to the pandemic. But we had plenty of food and the virus had not reached our corner of paradise. Most of the Canadians had already deserted.
Simultaneously we needed to follow up on Rebecca's cancer. A couple of newsletters ago the good news was that Rebecca was cancer free. As part of the ongoing followup of those treatments was the necessity to do routine endoscopies. One previously scheduled in Columbus after our expected return at the end of April needed to be canceled because our flights were also canceled. So we had the endoscopy done in Mexico by Dr. Carlos who had removed the stent. Unfortunately this time it came back positive; Mrs. T's cancer had returned. Fortunately a PET scan in Guadalajara (A BIG thank you to Dr. Victor for taking us there!) showed that the cancer was still small and had not spread. We began to plan treatments in Mexico. However, a subsequent video visit with Mrs. T's GI doctor convinced us to return to the north.
We finally managed to get a flight back to Columbus; actually the pandemic aided us here as the airports were nearly empty and we could speed through. And even though we returned to Ohio fairly soon after the video visit, the endoscopy could not be scheduled for another couple of weeks. At that time another nodule was removed and the biopsy came back clean; Rebecca was declared cancer free for a second time.
Now we have been home for the summer with the same pandemic doldrums most of you are enduring. I cajoled Mrs.T into finally putting together a bit of a newsletter. You should find the topics a bit more light hearted than this introduction.
Several years ago Dan and Nick bought me a wonderful present: a bat house. I was very excited. They nailed it together and I painted it black. (Recommended to keep the bats warm -dt) After much discussion we found the perfect place to hang it up on the back of our storage shed. Bats like their privacy you know. I called the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to ask about getting our bats, Some little brown bats I thought would be nice. You won't believe me but they laughed at me. "You cannot buy bats", the lady said after she stopped laughing at me, "You put up the bat house and wait for them to move in." Well I waited and I waited. My enthusiasm waned. Every month or so I would go down and peak up the little entrance. No bats. As the years passed I pretty much gave up. But one evening this spring I was sitting on the front porch admiring the black locust tree when I noticed a couple of birds flying funny. They are drunk, I thought to myself - birds do sometimes become intoxicated from eating over-ripe fruit. No I decided those are bats! Bats! At last! There came some more. Bats do fly in a jerky way. I don't know if it is because the wings are different, because of their sonar, or what. I didn't count but I think there were at least 6 or 10. The next afternoon when they should be sleeping I crept down and peaked in their little door but it was too dark to tell for sure, But I am optimistic. And bats do eat mosquitoes.
Dan has been in a buying mood recently. (Therapy -dt) One of the first things he bought was a Roomba vacuum cleaner. The thing fascinates me. It toddles around going from one room to another making little squeaks and whistles. It goes under the furniture. It goes over the rugs. Sometimes it takes two or three tries to humph itself up onto the carpet. Sometimes it gets stuck and goes umm, umm, umm, and I go over and give it a little nudge with my toe and away it goes. (Actually it does fine without assistance -dt) After a while it gets tired and goes and plugs itself in to rest and gets more electricity. It seems to do a good job sweeping and it is very entertaining. I haven't tried telling it what to do yet for fear of an untoward event, something like the sorcerer's apprentice. But Dan seems to have it under control. When he is tired of it he pushes the 'go home' button and it toddles off to its electric plug and turns itself off. I said we should call it Jeeves but Dan thinks that is not quite the right name.
After buying Jeeves or whoever Dan moved on to buy a power washer. We will really like this. (At least we hope we will when we use it. -dt) It is easy to use and we will save a lot of money by washing the house ourselves. I was getting rather suspicious about all of these 'we's' having been through this before; sometimes 'we' really means me. It sounded like I would end up power washing the house. I like to play in the water as much as anybody but this might involve quite a bit of work. Also suppose I didn't mind doing it but I very much did mind doing it while Dan stood around and told me how to do it. Be that as it may, Dan went ahead and bought the thing and put it together. Now he has figured out how to mix the soap. So far I have limited my comments to a noncommittal "umm" (Sounds like Jeeves. -dt); we will see what happens next.
Dan's next purchase was a red wagon to pull stuff around. In our place we have two outbuildings, the shed and the art shack, plus the various woods, pond, waterfall, and paths. I used to tote things around in the back of my four wheeler but Dan sold it to the neighbors. It is true I hadn't driven it since my stroke but I planned to if I got better. (Actually she had not used it for at least a year before that. -dt) When I complained Dan promised to get me a new and improved model, maybe a John Deere. We did really need something to haul heavy stuff around. The delivery person took the wagon to our nearest neighbors. Ken told her where we had a box for deliveries but she got confused and took it to our other neighbor, This neighbor brought it to us. By the time the next day we finally got it the box was all banged up and one of the side panels of the wagon was bent. (Difficult whom to blame. -dt) Dan called UPS and their customer service person told him to contact Amazon. The virtual assistant from Amazon was no help either. Dan came to complain to me and as I suggested something he had already tried; at least he would yell at a real live person. I suppose it made Dan feel better anyway. (Not really. -dt) After giving it some thought Dan took the bent panel to a metal working place. (We have used them before with great success. -dt) They banged on it a few times and now it fits. No charge. Everybody is now satisfied except me. And I am annoyed. (But she has happily used it. -dt) Sigh!
When Dan starts buying things eventually I start buying things in revenge. (Mrs.T tends to buy in large chunks. -dt) This is silly I know, but I cannot be adult and reasonable all the time. Well maybe I could but what fun would that be? In any case I had been fed up with my recliner in my office for quite a while. It would lay down and refuse to sit back up. (An operator problem. -dt) I am not going to put up with insubordinate furniture. I decided to pitch the recliner and get a nice chaise lounge.
In the past I found that I was not very adept at estimating size. More than once this caused problems when I purchased furniture that was too big to fit through the doors. I had just finished choosing my new chaise when I remembered these unfortunate events. Careful measuring told me I had done it again. I went through the online catalog and selected a chaise that would actually fit. I found a lovely chaise and it was even purple. Dan agreed to help.
Well the first problem was to take the recliner out. It is logical to suppose that if we got it in we should be able to get it out. Well, yes. I turned it this way and that but I could not figure it out. Dan looked thoughtful for a couple of minutes and then he said, "If you lay it down flat and turn it sideways it will go out." Of course it did. Sigh! We got the chaise boxes in my office and with a minimum of wrenches and screwdrivers we got it together. I put on the feet, mostly.
About my health. I have gotten both of my eyes decataracted. (A new word? -dt) Now I can see without glasses. Hurrah! Last check said the cancer was gone. I have another check soon. I am slowly recovering from the stroke. I have been riding Jewel, the large horse, rather slowly. (Jewel has also had health issues. -dt) I still can't remember things or words and my math skills are greatly diminished. This drives Dan crazy, especially the forgetting. (Indeed! -dt) My right arm and leg still act funny. Sigh!
We have stopped going to church in part because Dan did not like the new time schedule and in part because of the virus. I had suggested that we could become Lutherans but Dan vetoed that idea. When I brought up the alternative of Presbyterians he retorted about being ridiculous. Well I don't know what is so ridiculous about Presbyterians but I gave up on the idea of trying some other sect. The truth is although I am not terribly religious I did kind of miss church. For one thing I like the singing. And for another I liked the quiet times when I could think thoughts. I explained this and told Dan that I was going to build a meditation labyrinth. He agreed to this readily enough; I think he may have thought I would never actually do it. Well he was wrong. (Another $$ idea. -dt) I am in my second year and working with the second landscaper but it is nearing completion. As it approaches reality Dan wants to become involved, having ideas abouts how it can be improved. (She requested comments. -dt) I feel that this is a test of my character. And the fact that I have not hit him on the head with a large stick is a moral victory. The labyrinth has four paths outlined with river rocks surrounding a silhouette of the Greek wildflower nymph. The paths are planted with white and purple violets of various species. I hope that by next spring the violets will be in bloom. (Rebecca continues to fiddle with the stones. -dt)
That should provide you a good idea about what has transpired in our isolation and self-imposed quarantine of a sort. Rebecca has had another endoscopy and still is cancer free. We are thrilled about that. And we hope to return to the condo in October.
Here are a few pictures:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/9151458@N07/m8K814
Hope you all have been able to maintain your physical and mental health.
Dan and Rebecca
www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com
Sent from Outlook
