An alarm

Gosh, I can't believe it has been almost a month since my last post. I was doing so well.

November was fairly routine, with the exception that I went to the wrong nursing home outside of Detroit. Luckily the one I was scheduled to visit was only 30 minutes away and I was able to get to the correct place and complete the engagement as planned. The problem there was that I left my cross stitch project (a pillow case with trains for Griffin) at the hotel in Monroe, Michigan. I had completed all the complicated parts that had to be carefully counted and was down to the last three easy areas! I called the hotel on November 19th and they had recovered my ART. They said it would be mailed by that afternoon. I still had not received it by Saturday, November 27th and was a little frustrated. When I checked my credit card I discovered they had not mailed it until November 24th. Hopefully it will have arrived by the time I get home on Thursday. Right now I am irritated that I forgot my scissors and chewing the thread with my teeth leaves tattered ends that are very difficult to thread through that little hole in the top of the needle.

I had a great week of vacation which included three Thanksgiving dinners and Mira's birthday. I am now endeavoring to compensate for the additional calories in preparation for Christmas!

This week has lots of travel and leaves only one evening for the computer and crafts. I flew to Delary Beach, Florida on Sunday evening, arriving at the hotel around midnight. The next morning, as I was nearly dressed and groomed with suitcase packed, the hotel fire alarms went off. I shut the bathroom door to drown out the noise and continued to finish my hair and make-up. The alarms continued (and they were VERY shrill and loud). When I heard the sirens I realized that even if I completed packing, I could not use the elevators (I was on the fourth floor and had a large suitcase, rolling briefcase, and tote bag), I decided to grab my room key and purse and go find out what was going on. Arriving on the ground I found hotel guests in jamies around pool having breakfast. It was a beautiful morning of sunshine and around 75 degrees. I asked for a Diet Coke. About 10 minutes later we were told we could come back into the restaurant and lobby, but could not go back to the hotel tower until the firemen had checked it out. I finally made it back to collect my possessions and was only about 10 minutes late to the nursing home.

I left Florida on Monday evening at 5 PM, 18 hours after I arrived, and flew to Cleveland, Ohio where it was 40 degrees and raining. From there I drove to Canton, Ohio and arrived at the hotel at 11 PM. Tonight (Tuesday) is my only night to relax, watch TV and embroidery, if my teeth remain sharp enough.

Germs

Tuesday I was at a facility in Ohio doing some record reviews. One of the staff was coughing and said she was getting better. ....... She was taking antibiotics for pneumonia. I had a flu shot over two weeks ago, however, that doesn't protect from colds, etc. I warned her not to be giving me any germs. I just don't have time right now.



Yesterday afternoon I started coughing. It was a congested cough. By the time I went to bed I had a scratchy throat to accompany my cough. I took some NyQuil at bedtime and slept well, but woke this morning to a sore throat, a headache and more intense congestion. I have no desire to let this progress. I started a Z-Pack today and hopefully this will resolve quickly.

Florida

This week I am in Florida, the Palm Beach area. I was loving the crisp weather in Missouri. I had windows open and slept with the down comforter. It was wonderful!!

I arrived in Florida on Monday afternoon to upper 80 degree weather and that has been maintained since my arrival. This afternoon we had some pretty heavy rain, but the temperature remained upper 80's. I happen to LIKE cool weather, which is probably why I will not be retiring to Florida any time soon.

I am amazed at the terrain of this portion of Florida. From city to city is only a few miles. I am staying in Boca Raton. The facilities I visited on Tuesday and Wednesday are less that five minutes away, but are in Delray Beach,Florida. Between there and West Palm are several more Florida 'cities'...... Lantana, Boynton Beach, etc. I am scheduled to be in Juno Beach tomorrow. That will be about a one hour drive.

All I have visited are wonderful communities for OLD people. Discovering these communities has made me re-evaluate what my expectations are for my 'golden' years. These 'retirement communities' are the preferred way to make the most of the next phase of my life. Just need to stay on task to save and avoid debt so I will have the resources to choose where I will live.