John and I were up and out the door before daylight this morning as I had an 8:15 a.m. doctor's appointment in Uvalde.  There was no one in the waiting area when we arrived and we only sat a few minutes before being called in to see the doctor.

The steroids I took did their job in so far as they reduced some of the swelling and inflammation of the nerves.  However, the doctor wanted me to be just about pain free by now.  Since I still have pain, we need to find its source, so she ordered an MRI for next Wednesday.  We have to find out if there is a herniated or bulged disc that is causing the continuing pain.  She is also referring me to a back specialist in Eagle Pass and I'm also to go back to see her the first week of January.

Once we were done with the doctor, we headed off to Wal Mart for a quick breakfast and to drop off a prescription.  While waiting for it to be filled, we did a little grocery shopping to restock the milk and fresh product.  We were back on the fort by early afternoon.  

Since the weather was cloudy and misty most of the day, we spent the afternoon working on the computer, reading, and watching some TV.   
 
 

 

Our day started off nice and sunny, but clouds and humidity moved in around noon and stayed the rest of the day.  

After his morning walk and breakfast, John met up with Mark L. and played 18 holes of golf.  My morning was spent catching up on folding laundry, getting it put away, and taking care of a few other household chores.  

This afternoon John dropped me off to get a hair cut while he went to the post office to get our mail and took care of a couple of other errands he had in town.  On our way home we picked up a pizza from PICO's and discovered they make a delicious cheese pizza.  We'll definitely be ordering from them again.  

This evening John listened to Sam's basketball game via the computer while I watched some TV and another episode of Downton Abby on my Kindle.  Tomorrow morning it's back to the clinic to see what the next step is in dealing with my sciatica.   

We were a little warmer today with the temps reaching into the low 60's.  John took his usual morning walk and after breakfast headed down to the clubhouse for men's golf.  Due to the colder temps, only seven guys showed up to play. They split into two teams with John's team winning once again with a score of three under par.

While John was gone I managed to get a load of towels started and did a little straightening up.  The pain is not as intense so I can stand for longer periods of time and get a few chores done. 

 After lunch, John wanted to go back out for some more golf and I decided to go along and get some fresh air.  I also wanted to try filming his golf swing with my new camera.  We started on hole three and played through to eight and then went back on three again. There we ran into Charles and Bob.  They asked John to join them so he played the same holes again.  When they headed across the street to play nine, John stopped and left me off and I just walked across the lawn and into the house.  It was time for a pain pill and I wanted to keep on schedule for taking them.  Since we had our first frost the other evening, the mesquite trees are fading fast and dropping their thin little leaves.  We are seeing the Texas fall colors now--they aren't the vibrant colors we get up north.

 
We spent a quiet evening watching Survivor and a couple of other shows before calling it a night.

The colder weather continued today with the highs reaching the low 50's.  The temperature was below freezing this morning so John had to dig out a winter cap and gloves.  I know, we've turned into a couple of cold weather sissies. 

Matt sent a text this morning asking us to Skype, so we visited with him for a while over the computer.  It's so cold up north right now that he hasn't been able to work for the past couple of days.  I spent some time working on the computer and got my 2013calendar completed and ordered.  We were just getting ready for lunch when Ralph R. stopped in for a visit.  It's always fun talking with Ralph and hearing his stories about his time in the Air Force.  

After lunch, John headed off to the clubhouse where he met up with John B. and Mark L. for 18 holes of golf.  John said he played pretty good today and is encouraged about how his game is improving.  While he was gone, I did some reading and watched another Downton Abby episode on my Kindle.  

The doctor's office called this afternoon to check up on how I'm doing.  The new pain meds are definitely helping and I've been able to be up and around a little more.  I have an appointment on Friday morning, so I'm hoping she'll come up with a plan of action when I see her.    Following supper John and I made a batch of sugar cookies for giveing out as Christmas treats and then spent the rest of the evening watching some TV before calling it a night. 

 

 

Wow!  What a change in the weather overnight.  We went from high's in the upper 70's to highs in the mid 50's.  Add to those temps a strong breeze and we were on the cold side for us.  John bundled us in several layers for his morning walk.

After breakfast, John headed over to the RV park for wood carvers--only three people showed up today.  Several folks have left for the holidays and others were just busy with other things.  John was back home a little after 11 a.m.--he usually isn't back until noon or later.

While he was gone, I sorted through many photos on the computer looking for just the right ones to use on my 2013 calendar.  I make a new one every December using the Shutterfly web site.  Since the weather was still a little on the chilly side this afternoon, John spent some time out in the shed repainting our metal hose holder and decoration from the side of the shed.  

After supper I finally got the last of the photos I wanted sorted out and uploaded them to Shutterfly.  Next, I'll start adding them to the templates I want to use for each month.  Hopefully, I'll get that job completed tomorrow and can get the calendar ordered.

I called the clinic this afternoon to let the PA know how I was doing on the stronger pain meds.  I must say I'm doing better, but I don't know if the meds are just masking the problem, or is the nerve really calming down and healing.  I was told they received a copy of my x-ray report from MN so now I have to wait to hear from them about what the next steps in treatment will be.

 

It was warm and humid when John left the house this morning for his walk and it stayed that way all day.  A cold front is suppose to come through overnight with temps almost 30 degrees colder tomorrow.  We'll have to break out the long pants and sweatshirts again.

Even though I had a rough night, I decided to get to church this morning.  I actually made out okay as the pain is much more bearable when I'm sitting.  There was a potluck after the service and it felt good to get out among people and visit.

John Bridger called while we were on our way home and asked if John wanted to play some golf.  He already had a date to play with Mark this afternoon, so the three of them, along with another friend of Mark's, met up at the clubhouse and played 18 holes.  John said they had a lot of fun and that his drives were much improved. 

I spent my afternoon watching some of the NFL games and another episode of Downton Abby on my Kindle.  I also managed to get the finances updated.  Betty Wright loaned me her heating pad and I used that this afternoon--it seemed to help with the pain, so I'll do another heat treatment this evening while I watch the finale of The Amazing Race.    

John was up nice and early for his walk as there was a rummage sale down the street from us and we wanted to drop in to see if there was, once again, anything we couldn't live without.

While John was gone, I ate breakfast and got cleaned up.  Since the trouble began with my leg and hip, it takes me quite a bit longer to get ready in the mornings.  After John ate, we hopped in the golf cart and headed down the street to Dee and Jerry's.  John said there was quite a crowd waiting for the sale to start when he walked by their house.

Even though we were at the sale 45 minutes after it started, they were already pretty well cleaned out of stuff.  However, John did manage to find a golf cart cover and a little battery tester to use on our boat's battery.

Jerry visiting with one of his customers

 

  

Pretty well cleaned out after 45 minutes

The other day John met Jerry's neighbor, Mark, and they seemed to hit it off.  This morning they met up at the clubhouse and played 18 holes of golf.  I'm glad John has found someone else to play with since I can't go with him right now.  The guys plan to play again tomorrow afternoon.

With John gone a good part of the morning, I managed to get all the Christmas and gift cards ready to be mailed along with the cards for our church friends.

This afternoon we took a golf cart ride over to Unit 37.  On the way we stopped and visited a few minutes with Theresa B. and then ran into Bee and Nancy S. on the road.  This was the first we had seen them since they had been in Mexico for the previous month.  From there we stopped in at Betty and Harlan's and ended up staying awhile.  John and Betty are both wood carvers and he wanted to check to see if there would be carving on Monday as Wallace is away until after the holidays. We had bread dough going in the bread machine, so we had to head straight home from there.

We got the buns made along with a peach cobbler to take to tomorrow's potluck dinner after church.  The rest of the evening was spent watching a movie before calling it a day.  On a side note, the stronger pain killer is working much better--thank goodness!!