Thursday September 27 2007

A Couple More Muddy Canyon Shots

Off early to Rock Springs. We have an appointment with Joe's eye doctor to see if he needs new glasses and will shop at Walmart. We hoped to get Joe's flu shot at the V.A. but the shots are not ready yet. Maybe also I can shop for a filter fan for over the new stove at Home Depot. Lunch and any other shopping. I have my lists all made out. Its going to be a good day for it weather wise. Hopefully while we are there I can get a copy of my last eye test from the eye doctor to send in for my soon to be expired driver's license. Then I won't have to go into the driver's license place and take the eye test. In that case I can just mail in the application with my fee this time. As long as I don't put off doing it too long.

LATER: We loaded the dogs in the back of the SUV and got away just as the sun was rising. There was a spectacular full moon setting at the same time over in the west. Took the back way to Farson, and the traffic had sure chopped up our road after the last storm, but it was better than getting in the oilfield traffic on the highway. They are also putting a bunch of passing lanes on the highway so there are delays.

We got down to R.S. about ten and went right to Walmart. I was in there two and a half hours. Joe was very patient - he walks the dogs there, has coffee in the snack bar and sits and waits. The good thing is I'm pretty stocked up for winter now. I got me a couple pair of knit PJ bottoms and tried one last night. They are really comfy. And a new pair of jeans. When I came out and we got the groceries loaded from the cart to the back of the car and the coolers, we didn't think we had enough time to have lunch and not be late to the eye doctor, so took the shorts Joe decided he didn't want that we got last time back to Penney's and got a credit on the card, then over to the Dr's. office.

Couldn't believe he was in there three hours. I finally went out to the car for a while, walked the dogs and dozed off 6 or 7 times. After the last nap I felt pretty refreshed. It was too warm in the sun though. I did remember to get the form for the eye test for my drivers license, but it had been longer than I thought since I'd had the checkup. It might not work, but I'm going to mail it off anyway and see if they take it. Otherwise I'll have to go in for the eye test before my birthday.

After Joe was done with the several tests, including the flouracine test where they inject you with dye, the Dr. told him that new glasses wouldn't do him any good. I felt really bad for him. It's pretty well established now that it's not his eyes, but what the stroke did to the part of his brain that interprets what he sees. He has another appointment in a few weeks to have a side vision test.

Joe said later he doesn't think he will get another driver's license after the one he has now expires in a couple of years because of his eyesight. It's pretty upsetting for both of us. We also talked about the heart doctor. That Dr. essentially said that nothing with his heart or medication was causing his dizziness. Joe said he wouldn't go back to Idaho Falls to see him, since he was sure it would end up with them wanting to replace the valve in his heart. I sure wouldn't want to see him go through that, and he doesn't want it either. Between everything, there doesn't appear to be any solution for all the things he's going through, especially the dizziness he has all the time.

So with breakfast very early and no lunch until almost 4 p.m. we went over to the Outlaw Inn and had chicken fried steak which was dinner. Took out the white box of leftovers to the dogs, their favorite part of the trip. Then to Home Depot to get him some pipe fittings for his septic tank project, and looked at vent fans to go over the new stove. I liked the way one of the slender Nutone fans looked. It isn't vented to the outside, but recirculates and filters the air. I think we need to have at least that. The salesman said we'd have to rip out the cabinet over the stove and I said, uh-uh. It will lower the space over the stove by 8", but I think it will work. We will think about it, get more input and maybe buy that when we go back down there about the middle of October. There happened to be a Maytag stove nearly the same model as I ordered sitting there this time, so we were able to look at it. I didn't especially like the industrial look of it, but it will be o.k. It has two ovens, a small one on top, and the large one on the bottom. When I opened the bottom oven I thought boy this is really low! - it goes clear to the floor. As in - think about lifting a 20 pound turkey out of there, but that wouldn't be that often. My friend Jackie said she has that stove and she really likes hers with the smooth cooktop, but that the oven was low. It will be a change from what I've had for 20 years to a whole different way of cooking, but I'll like it.

So it was 5 p.m. by the time we started home. Vehicles coming our way were just solid - we aren't used to this. Five years ago or so you could drive to Rock Springs and not pass that many cars. I said I was going back on the dirt because I was in no mood to do the traffic on the highway. And we did. We only passed one other truck the whole way after we turned off the pavement. I kind of missed the turn we usually take back in the boonies of Farson farms and so we just kept going heading the right direction and went right by the Big Sandy reservoir for a short ways and came out on the road where I'd walked the dogs that morning and hit our road home. We got here about 7 p.m., groceries unloaded and the cold stuff put away and things fairly back to normal by about 8:30.