We Split Up

But only for the day.  Linda and her sister Donna picked up Chase and took him to the San Diego Zoo.  I had a luncheon appointment with my second cousin, Judy, to deliver the hands.

You’re probably thinking “what hands”.  The Bauman family has a tradition that dates back to 1883 of wax hands on the wedding cake for members of the family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Judy’s daughter is getting married in May in Rhode Island and she wanted the hands for the celebration.  So the tradition continues! Is that neat or what.  We had a nice lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, and we had a pleasant hour catching up with family news.  When I was growing up I was lucky to be close to a lot of my cousins, and the families would get together for any holiday.

Meanwhile, the sisters were having a great time with Chase at the Zoo.

There’s a lot more pictures at this link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/winequest/ChaseAtTheSanDiegoZoo#

So we’re having a good time here in SoCal while we wait for a surgery date.

Life at Laguna Woods Village

We’re starting to settle in here at Gezerville.  Linda has done a great job of cleaning everything from the dust and finding places for the stuff we took out of the MoHo.  She’s cleaned the patio and worked on the potted plants.  She’s also rejoined the beading club and completed her first project on Monday.  She sure makes pretty jewelry.

I’ve been pretty limited in what I can do because of my hip, which makes me frustrated and grumpy.  I have attended a couple of seminars in the Photo Lab on mounting & matting photos.  They have a dedicated  room with all of the tools you need to do a professional job.  They also have high end computers with all of the photo software and wide format professional printers.  I’m looking forward to using some of the printers in the near future.

It is a little strange living in a gated community with older adults.  We were driving into the village earlier this week when we saw a woman walking her bird.  We had to stop and get a picture!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s amazing what you can find here.  Anyway, we hope you’re having a fun week, and enjoying everyday.

The Hip Doctor

On Wednesday we made the trip to Santa Monica to see my Orthopedic Doctor.  My hip has gotten worst the last couple of months when it should be continuing to get better.  We were both very concerned.

After the X-Rays were taken (I wear sweats with no metal so I don’t have to put on a hospital gown) the Doctor came in to see us.  He took one look at the film and said you’ve got a problem. 

To review where the hip was injured, the break is between the femur and the knob that fits into the pelvis.  It’s a small thin connection area, and to heal the break the Doctor in Port Angeles put in a plate and some screws.  It was very slow healing, but on the last visit the Doctor determined that it was fully healed.

This time he said that the break was fine, but the knob that fits into the socket of the hip bone had died, and now the knob had collapsed.  That’s what caused the increase in pain and the limping.  The only solution is a total hip replacement.

So it’s back to the hospital for me.  We don’t know when as the insurance (workman’s comp) has to approve the surgery.  Hopefully it will be in the next 2 to 4 weeks.  It’s not that painful so there’s no big rush.  When I get a date and more information I’ll post it here in the blog.

So that’s our latest adventure.  It just goes to show that everything in our lives is not fun and games.  The Doctor said that the recovery is very fast, and I’ll be able to do anything I want after a short time.  Including golf, hiking, and geocaching.  So I really have something to look forward to.

Easter 2010

We are in our condo in Laguna Woods Village for awhile.  This gives us a opportunity to spend more time with our families, which we love to do.

On Easter Sunday we met at Linda’s Moms house for an Easter Egg hunt-for the Grandkids, not us.  Donna & Tiffany kind of hid the eggs in the back yard.  Then Iris, Violet, and Chase went at it.

  Iris had the most success with Chase not far behind.  But everyone got their fair share and more!

After the hunt and some gift opening, Valerie & Rick left to visit Rick’s family, and Katie left to visit her family.  Mom, Donna, Tiffany and us left to go to Lucille’s BBQ Restaurant to meet Matt & Suzanne to celebrate the rest of the day.  We had a great meal and a lot of conversation, especially about Matt & Suzanne’s new addition to their family coming on 9-27!

We had a great family day.  If you want to see more of the pictures check our Picasa Album at the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/winequest/Easter2010#

Our Winter Adventures End

Tuesday morning we loaded up the MoHo for the last time on this trip, and headed into the dreaded Los Angeles freeways.  We left about 9:00am, with one last toot of the air horn as a goodbye to our friends Bob & Maggie.  They’re staying at Indian Waters until Easter, and then start heading North to their home in Bellingham, WA.  We wish them a very safe journey.

We timed it well to make it through the Santa Ana Canyon on Hwy. 91, down the 55 to I-5 and then South to Laguna Woods.  We called ahead for permission to park on the street by our condo to unload and take everything out of MoHo.  We discovered stuff we haven’t seen for years!

A big disappointment was our entrance into the condo.  We contracted for a new floor and finishing off the kitchen ceiling and lights while we gone.  The work was done, and it was just as we had requested.  But the problem was that it was a mess.  There was dust everywhere from the drywall and flooring installation.  That really put a damper on our homecoming.

Wednesday was a big day for us, as we finally moved MoHo into it’s permanent storage spot here in Laguna Woods, space 446.  We’ve been waiting for a year for a spot to open up that will hold our 40’ motorhome.  The nice part is that the rental is only $160 a year, versus $170 a month we were paying at El Toro.   Big savings.  It was a good fit and we currently have no one parked next to us so that we can work on the MoHo with plenty of space.

We spent the rest of the week cleaning up the mess left by our contractors, catching up on laundry, shopping and settling in.  We went down and visited Linda’s Mom on Thursday to install her new computer and printer.  Both are working just fine, but it’ll take a while to get use to the new screens.  It’s a big jump from Windows XP to Windows 7.  Linda’s a great trainer, and she’ll have her Mom up to speed in no time.

So we’re back at the beach.  We don’t know how long we’ll stay here or when we’ll start traveling again because of unknown factors.  As we get things settled, we’ll plan our travels for the Summer.  Stay tuned for updates.