Monday, May 2, 2022
Ray is still coughing quite a bit. I was finally well enough to leave the house today. Rain is expected all week with possible storms tonight. Do they make orthopedic rain boots? I never needed rubber shoes in Texas. The rain has delayed painting the deck.
Sunday, May 8, 2022
We’re finally all feeling well and sunshine is predicted for the week, so hopefully, the deck will be painted. The recent rain made the stream in the nearby valley flow, and I like hearing the water rushing when I’m outside.
We ate at Paula Dean’s restaurant and loved it. It seemed pricey at first glance, but it’s all you can eat—even dessert. Still, it was around $27 per person. Food is served family-style. You choose the number of meats and sides and are charged accordingly. This price included three types of meat: pork chops, roast beef, and roasted chicken; and four sides: salad, green beans, mac and cheese, and creamed potatoes. Drinks are not included.
It was bittersweet to see the show SIX afterward because I’d purchased the tickets for Rose and Brandon’s visit which was canceled due to our illness. However, it was my least favorite of the four shows we’ve seen.
Ray took me on a date to Guy Fieri’s Restaurant on The Landing. The weather was perfect and we dined outside on the patio. Guy’s is next to the zip-line that crosses Lake Taneycomo, so we watched people fly over the water while we ate. The food there is original and delicious, but the menu of $15 cocktails is larger than the food choices. And after dinner, we rode the zip-line. We are out of control, obviously, but we’ve been cooped up, sick, and rained on for weeks.
Today we went back to The Landing for a Mother’s Day lunch at the Black Oak Grill. Great food, relatively inexpensive, and no waiting on Mother’s Day! Win-win!
Monday, May 16, 2022
The trees filled out with green leaves almost overnight, it seems. The orioles and red-winged blackbirds have moved on, but we still have plenty of goldfinches, woodpeckers, and blue jays around. We’ve had some rain and unusually warm (around 90) temperatures, but today’s sunny with a high of 78 degrees. The painters finished the deck last Friday, and we moved patio furniture and plants back into place today.
The guys went to a livestock grazing seminar over the weekend. I called it grass class. Anyway, I was here alone and the painters must have shut off the valve to the bulls’ water. Checking on the bulls wasn’t my chore since they should have been self-sufficient. But God was watching out for us because they still had a little water when the guys returned.
The US reached one million deaths from Covid, and infection rates are on the rise again. Putin continues invading Ukraine. And there were two mass shootings in the US this weekend.
Sunday, May 22, 2022
I rescheduled all the shows Matt and I missed when the Mineral Wells Seniors were here and we were sick. The theaters were really nice about rescheduling. The new dates were set for last week, and I’ve done something to my back. The cows got out and we missed the makeup date for the first show. The other ticket was for the Showboat Branson Belle and I refused to miss that boat even though I was hurting.
Having never been to a chiropractor, I made an appointment for Friday morning hoping to get some relief, however, I was worse. I could walk fine and my pain was like locking up only when stooping and bending to sit or stand, and even that pain came and went randomly. I felt fine when I left his office, but a mile down the road, every move I made was causing me pain and locking up with pain pulsing all around my lower back. Almost any other show in Branson requires little walking, except the Showboat, which has quite a walk to the boat and then throughout the boat to the dining theater. I was miserable and wanted to sit on a bench and cry while Matt sailed away and enjoyed the show. But I stuck it out, hurting with every step, and then spent the entire show anxious about the long walk back to the car and plotting horrible fates for the chiropractor.
Showboat Branson Belle doesn’t disappoint. Dinner was chicken thighs, roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, and a roll. The performers are energetic and unbelievably talented with a show that barely stops for applause. This season’s performance includes a medley of 26 movie songs in nine minutes with costume changes. And the comedian/magician host is hysterical.
Thankfully, afterward, I felt fine and walked to the car with no trouble. I’ve had pain off and on all weekend—worse than before my chiro visit—and my second appointment in the morning. I have my first general practitioner appointment in June. I scheduled that in February. It’s not like 30 years ago when I last looked for a new primary care physician. These days, it takes a while.
Meanwhile, we’ve been watching relaxing TV—thrillers and Bigfoot hunters. No wonder my spine is tight. But it’s 2 pm and today I’ve had no pain.
Around 130 cases of Monkey Pocks are sprinkled around the world. A summer Covid surge is happening. Russia has taken control of Mariupol, Ukraine. Baby formula is on the way from other countries due to a shortage in the US. Gas prices have risen above four dollars/gallon.
Sunday, May 29, 2022
I’ve continued visiting the chiropractor and I’m feeling better. My back pain is less severe and infrequent, but I am still having some pain.
Another mass shooting happened. This one at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas left 21 dead. Tragic.