Getting a Late Start

When we got up this morning the ground was snow covered but the temperature was about 34 degrees. We took our time eating breakfast and then preparing to leave. By 9am we were ready to go when Tom noticed that we had a flat tire on the car. Oh,my! Well the spare was put on and we left the campground hoping to find that the local Flying J or Bp stations were equipped to repair the tire. We stopped at the Flying J to fill up with gas but were referred to the Bp station for the tire repair. So it was after 10:30am before we were back on the interstate traveling southwest. We drove through rain all morning. The countryside was not snow covered as it had been yesterday. This was a postive sign for us that we were in warmer areas. The motorhome today was noticeably warmer and more comfortable than yesterday. We traveled through Tennessee stopping at a campground in Chattanooga about 4:30 this evening.
Quietly, we will (or maybe not) see the New Year come in. And tomorrow when all those football games are being played we will be moving down through Alabama after skimming through a corner of Georgia.

On the Road to Warmer Weather

The day to get underway and head for warmer winter weather arrived. We left the house at 9:00am to very very cold temps. In fact it was so cold the heater in the motorhome really didn't keep us very warm for most of the day.

At the West Virginia reststop, yes there are still some still opened, Travis jumped off a chair and hurt his right rear leg. He is not putting any weight on it. If it is not better in the next few days, we will have to find a vet and have his leg looked at. We are hoping he just sprained it.

We have stopped for the night at Fort Chiswell, Va. and are planning to get to Alabama tomorrow. The weather report is for freezing rain changing to rain in the morning. If things are too bad, we will stay here for another day.

We had to contact our son because we left several items in the refrigerator at home and have him stop by and take care of them.

Preparing to Travel

Preparations are well underway to head for warmer weather. It is so cold and windy today that we are quite anxious to make our get away. We had several issues that kept us from setting a definite date until they were resolved. Our health insurance provider was changed so we had to be sure we had our new cards in hand before leaving. I had a questionable medical test that needed further evaluation. Our insurance cards arrived and my medical re-evaluation returned normal so we are now good to go. We plan to leave tomorrow morning making our way southward. We probably will not be able to break the motorhome's winterization until our second day due to the cold weather.

Travis Update

We have received the final report on Travis' liver biopsy. He has a mild lymphoplasmacytic cholangiohepatitis which is an inflammatory condition of the liver that could result in fibrosis of the liver. The copper level was normal. He will be treated supportatively with prednisone and ursodiol to reduce the inflammation. Denamarin and Vitamin E will be used to aid inflammation reduction and oxidation of the liver. Taking pills is not a pleasant thing for the poor little guy and pushing pills down his throat is not pleasing to me but we do what we have to do.

Regrouping After the Storm

A winter storm at this holiday time can really wreck plans. We had been invited to a Christmas party on Saturday evening that was called off and then today (Sunday) we were to have a family get together at my brother, Larry's,that was postponed. Oh my, how to reschedule when so many other things are going on in everyone's life!! Well, the Saturday party may be on Wednesday evening. And after talking with family we will be together during the day Christmas eve at Larry's. It is easy when everyone values being together.
Tom spent several hours this morning with the snow blower cleaning out our driveway and walkways plus a neighbors driveway. According to the report in the paper we had about 17.5 inches of snow, quite a snowfall for this area. Taneytown has not done a very good job of clearing the streets. There were 6-7 inches of snow on the roadways today that I'm sure has gotten icy tonight as the temperature dropped. I hope tomorrow plows get out to clear the streets.

The BIG One Arrived…

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Well, all the weather reports were right, we got hit with the big one.  We have anywhere’s from 18 to 24 inches of snow.  All of the local television stations had there news teams on most of the day to cover the snow storm.  After several hours you get tired of hearing the same thing being repeated again and again.

This afternoon I fired up the snowblower and worked on the walkways and the driveway so it will not be so much to tackle tomorrow when the snow is over.  Now I hope the wind does not get up over night and cause a lot of drifting.

All of the events we were planning to attend this weekend were cancelled. 

It Looks Like the Big One is on the Way Here....

The weather reports for the last several days have been saying we might get a little bit of snow this weekend. Yesterday the reports changed to us getting a 6 to 8 inch snow fall. Overnight the reports changed to between 10 to 18 inches with winds up to 35 mph, nice. Its looking more and more like the BIG snow storm is on the way.

I moved the snow blower out of the storage shed, gassed it up, started it and parked it under the deck by the basement door so I won't have to tromp through the snow to get to it Saturday morning. I guess I know how my day is going to be spent.

We have three different Christmas activities scheduled for Saturday. One has already been cancelled and the other two probably will be cancelled as well.

This afternoon Leah and I went to see the movie "The Blind Side." It had a very good story line and was a very enjoyable movie. We recommend it to everyone.

Preliminary Report of the Liver Biopsy

Dr. Jacob, veterinarian internal medicine doctor, called last evening with the preliminary report of Travis' liver biopsy. It appears that Travis has a hepatitis that has been caught in the early stages. He will be treated supportively at this time. A final report should detail any other problems that are present and should be available within the week. Our worse fear was some end-stage liver problem but that does not seem to be at this time. We are hopeful that we will have our little buddy with us for a long time.

Travis' Liver Problems and Family Time

Yesterday morning we had to take Travis down to the Towson area where he had previously been seen by an internist. The internist was to perform a liver biopsy on Travis. It was hard to walk out of that strange place leaving our little buddy behind. Late afternoon we were able to pick him up after the biopsy had been done and he had been observed for a period of time. The biopsy will be sent to Denver and we should know the results by next Wednesday. Travis was very quiet and subdued all evening and night after getting home. We tried to keep him from going up and down stairs and jumping up on the bed or chairs. Today he is beginning to seem more like himself.
We had a December family birthday celebration today. Maddy, our granddaughter, has a birthday on Monday, Beth, our daughter-in-law, birthday is the 23rd and Tom's the 29th. We took everyone to a greenhouse operation that sells pointsettias at this time of the year. Beth is such a lover of plants that we wanted her to get some pointsettias as part of her birthday present. The inventory was beginning to get somewhat low but we were able to find some beautiful plants to decorate our homes. Afterwards we returned back home for lunch and play time with baby Parker. It was a nice family day.

Baby Sitting Parker

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We have been in Virginia this week baby sitting.  Our son had to go out of town on business for the week and our daughter-in-law had to go into work.

In addition to looking  after Parker we also have our older grandson, Anthony.  Anthony is in school everyday, so we only see him for a little while in the morning and in the evening after school.  It has been a good week for us here and we have really enjoyed baby sitting.

Spending Time with Baby Parker

We have been getting in some baby time with Parker. About 2 weeks ago Beth, mommy to Parker, had to go out of town. Tom and I came down to Virginia to keep Parker while daddy, Todd, worked. This week Todd had to go out of town so we are watching Parker while Beth works. Big brother Anthony gets looked after before and after school, also. I've come to the conclusion that Parker is a little bit spoiled and knows just how to squawk in order to get his way and we are as accommodating as we can be, especially when he gives us that dear little smile. He is a charmer. After the first of the year Parker will be going to a babysitter. And hopefully, we will be going to warmer weather in the southwest. Sure will miss Parker!