Last week I went for my six-month check-up. My labs had good as well as bad news. The good news is my glucose levels were normal, the not so good was that my cholesterol was high but not outrageously high that she would consider putting me back on Statins.
In between visits I have to keep track of my daily blood pressure readings which sometimes are normal and other times not so much even though I take two daily doses of my medication. High blood pressure runs in both sides of my family so I am resigned to the idea that I will have to be on BP medication for the rest of my life.
I have mentioned in prior blog posts that even though HEB has lower grocery prices than Walmart, Del Rio has had a population explosion and it is always packed. I much prefer to shop at Walmart and avoid the crowds. With that in mind, I changed my pharmacy preference to the latter.
When I went to pick-up my medication I got a shock. The clerk said it would be $145.87, I told her there had to be a mistake as I paid $16,30 for the same medication and quantity at HEB. She sent me to another line where they confirmed the amount saying that my medication was not in the $10 or $20 dollar formulary.
Went to HEB where it was in their affordable formulary and while it had gone up since the last refill it only cost me $20.60. Anytime I can save $125.27 I will gladly brave the crowds and you will not hear a peep out of me.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Terlingua Dreams
Governors Landing Campground - Lake Amistad - Del Rio, Texas
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Monday, May 28, 2018
Heat Wave
We have been in triple digits for days and the forecast for the foreseeable future only gets worst. Saturday's high is expected to be 111 and Sunday 109. I do not recall (bear in mind I suffer from CRS) it getting this hot so soon and I do not remember it getting over 110 degrees Fahrenheit ( 44 Celsius) in a very long time. Montevideo, Uruguay temperatures sounds pretty good to me right now.
Due to the high temperatures, I have chosen to stay home for the past three days but tomorrow I will have to bite the bullet as I have to take mother to her physical therapy session.
I filled up my gasoline tank last week at $2.69 per gallon and consider myself lucky after reading how much more other parts of the country, as well as Canadians, are having to pay for theirs.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
NBA Corner
I can not believe that for the fourth year in a row the Cavaliers will be facing the Golden State Warriors. I was naively hoping for a Celtics vs Rockets 2018 NBA Finals...do not know if I will even watch!
Due to the high temperatures, I have chosen to stay home for the past three days but tomorrow I will have to bite the bullet as I have to take mother to her physical therapy session.
I filled up my gasoline tank last week at $2.69 per gallon and consider myself lucky after reading how much more other parts of the country, as well as Canadians, are having to pay for theirs.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
NBA Corner
I can not believe that for the fourth year in a row the Cavaliers will be facing the Golden State Warriors. I was naively hoping for a Celtics vs Rockets 2018 NBA Finals...do not know if I will even watch!
Saturday, May 26, 2018
May 2018 trip to Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila - México
Tuesday I finally made my way to Ciudad Acuña to get my labs done. I got a late start so the wait for the results was four hours versus the three it usually takes. I am not complaining as the same tests at Val Verde Regional Medical Center (our local hospital) are over a thousand dollars while in Mexico I paid $1,145.00 Mexican Pesos at an exchange rate of $17.00 pesos for a grand total of $67.35 US dollars.
I had a lot of errands to run so the time flew by. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your vantage point Ciudad Acuña is experiencing vast growth much like Del Rio. Neither can continue to be categorized as "sleepy border towns".
The parking is a nightmare but at least they did away with parking meters to encourage tourism so the population is no longer subjected to fines...of which I have been at the receiving end of a couple. I found an out of the way parking spot and made my way around town on foot.
With the expansion of Ciudad Acuña to the northern part of the city, they moved the Palacio Presidencial (Presidential Palace) out of the downtown district several years ago. I have featured its modern design on various blog posts in the past.
The former location by the old town square started undergoing a renovation recently. As I walked around I noticed that it was a smaller version of the current Presidental Palace.
There were vendors set up all around the square but I did not get a chance to check them out. I am looking for a new cowboy hat as my old Terlingua one has pretty much bit the dust.
Finally was able to cash in on Tuesday specials of Martes de Cosecha (Harvest Tuesday) at Gutierrez. Even though most people go early there were still crowds in the afternoon with long lines to check out. Customers were buying cartons of tomatoes, onions, and other produce which leads me to believe that they probably have a small restaurant or taco stand.
The line back home was long, compounded by the fact that they only had two lanes open...the fast lane with nothing to declare...and a regular one. They finally opened an additional one when I was about to reach customs and quickly switched lanes.
I took some pictures but unfortunately, I can not post them on this computer. I will have to try to do it from my old laptop. Where is my tall weathered cowboy who is computer savvy? :-(
Forgot to mention that effective this month the toll rate went up to $4.00 to cross from Del Rio into Ciudad Acuña. That rate is set by the Del Rio City Council. The toll to cross from Ciudad Acuña to Del Rio remains the same $28.00 Mexican Pesos depending on the daily exchange rate about $1.65 USD.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
I had a lot of errands to run so the time flew by. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your vantage point Ciudad Acuña is experiencing vast growth much like Del Rio. Neither can continue to be categorized as "sleepy border towns".
The parking is a nightmare but at least they did away with parking meters to encourage tourism so the population is no longer subjected to fines...of which I have been at the receiving end of a couple. I found an out of the way parking spot and made my way around town on foot.
With the expansion of Ciudad Acuña to the northern part of the city, they moved the Palacio Presidencial (Presidential Palace) out of the downtown district several years ago. I have featured its modern design on various blog posts in the past.
The former location by the old town square started undergoing a renovation recently. As I walked around I noticed that it was a smaller version of the current Presidental Palace.
Finally was able to cash in on Tuesday specials of Martes de Cosecha (Harvest Tuesday) at Gutierrez. Even though most people go early there were still crowds in the afternoon with long lines to check out. Customers were buying cartons of tomatoes, onions, and other produce which leads me to believe that they probably have a small restaurant or taco stand.
The line back home was long, compounded by the fact that they only had two lanes open...the fast lane with nothing to declare...and a regular one. They finally opened an additional one when I was about to reach customs and quickly switched lanes.
 |
| A look at the line behind me. No wonder they opened up an additional lane! |
Forgot to mention that effective this month the toll rate went up to $4.00 to cross from Del Rio into Ciudad Acuña. That rate is set by the Del Rio City Council. The toll to cross from Ciudad Acuña to Del Rio remains the same $28.00 Mexican Pesos depending on the daily exchange rate about $1.65 USD.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Thursday, May 24, 2018
NBA Conference Semifinals / Royal Wedding / Drama
This past week has been a mixed bag of things...NBA playoff games, a royal wedding, drama, and sleeplessness...so what else is new?
As you know I am a diehard fan of the NBA and Conference Semifinal games bring me joy and pleasure in particular when teams I dislike loose.
I was going to get up at 4:00 a,m, this past Saturday to watch the royal wedding but one network started covering it much earlier so I never went to bed. I have not missed one beginning with the wedding of Princess Anne back in 1973.
I never went to bed when I watched Princess Diana's wedding and there was no way I would miss her second son's wedding. Hard to believe 37 years have gone by. Harry and Maghen's wedding was absolutely beautiful and I am sure it would have made Diana proud.
With that said I finally went to sleep around 1:00 a.m. on Sunday. About 3:30 a.m. I hear my mother screaming...SNAKE, SNAKE!!! Not having slept in two days I am understandingly out of it, so it barely registers. I try to get up but I do so so fast that my vertigo kicks in and my head starts spinning.
By the time I finally make my way to her she is hysterical and points to the bathroom. I grab a broom and go to the bathroom but find nothing. She tells me that when she turned the light on she saw the snake on the bathroom floor and it was brown, short and thick. Then I recall that this has happened before on prior occasions and it was a centipede and not an actual snake. It is fair to say that neither one of us got any sleep after that!
I brought in my gardening tools and put one in each room in case it decided to rear its ugly self. I am a very light sleeper and a couple of days later I kept on hearing a noise that sounded like I had opened up a can of soda, left it open and I could hear the fizz. I had not done that and the sound continued so I turned the light on to investigate. I did not find anything until I heard it again, looked up and the darn centipede was walking upside down on my bedroom ceiling!!!!!
I grabbed my hoe and knocked it down. I hit it once but the darn thing disappeared under the bed. Needless to say, there was no way I was going to sleep in my bedroom that night.
Last night I was heading to mom's room when I saw the centipede in the hallway heading towards the dining room. I grabbed my hoe and beat the hell out of it smashing it into three pieces. Good riddance!
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
As you know I am a diehard fan of the NBA and Conference Semifinal games bring me joy and pleasure in particular when teams I dislike loose.
I was going to get up at 4:00 a,m, this past Saturday to watch the royal wedding but one network started covering it much earlier so I never went to bed. I have not missed one beginning with the wedding of Princess Anne back in 1973.
I never went to bed when I watched Princess Diana's wedding and there was no way I would miss her second son's wedding. Hard to believe 37 years have gone by. Harry and Maghen's wedding was absolutely beautiful and I am sure it would have made Diana proud.
With that said I finally went to sleep around 1:00 a.m. on Sunday. About 3:30 a.m. I hear my mother screaming...SNAKE, SNAKE!!! Not having slept in two days I am understandingly out of it, so it barely registers. I try to get up but I do so so fast that my vertigo kicks in and my head starts spinning.
By the time I finally make my way to her she is hysterical and points to the bathroom. I grab a broom and go to the bathroom but find nothing. She tells me that when she turned the light on she saw the snake on the bathroom floor and it was brown, short and thick. Then I recall that this has happened before on prior occasions and it was a centipede and not an actual snake. It is fair to say that neither one of us got any sleep after that!
I brought in my gardening tools and put one in each room in case it decided to rear its ugly self. I am a very light sleeper and a couple of days later I kept on hearing a noise that sounded like I had opened up a can of soda, left it open and I could hear the fizz. I had not done that and the sound continued so I turned the light on to investigate. I did not find anything until I heard it again, looked up and the darn centipede was walking upside down on my bedroom ceiling!!!!!
I grabbed my hoe and knocked it down. I hit it once but the darn thing disappeared under the bed. Needless to say, there was no way I was going to sleep in my bedroom that night.
Last night I was heading to mom's room when I saw the centipede in the hallway heading towards the dining room. I grabbed my hoe and beat the hell out of it smashing it into three pieces. Good riddance!
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Physical Therapy / Uruguay
Last week mother's podiatrist suggested she go to physical therapy to strengthen her legs after the fall she took last October. Thought it was a great idea and today was her evaluation appointment. They even managed to work in a couple of exercises.
It was hot today, it got to 97 degrees and the next couple of days will be in the 100's. I love Texas but I need to find another state or country to spend the hot summer months...preferably south of the equator.
I enjoy watching HGTV and wish I had the guts to up and move to a faraway location like many of the people featured in their shows. Though the majority come from cold places in the north of the U.S. and Canada and end up moving to tropical paradises.
Tropical paradises are not my thing. While they are beautiful sooner or later it will end up being hit by a tornado, tropical storm or worst yet a hurricane. I already had my share of hurricane drama when hurricane Ike hit Houston back in 2008.
This past weekend on Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown they featured the country of Uruguay and I fell in love. Being that Uruguay is in the southern hemisphere the seasons are opposite to ours. Right now it is Fall and summers are warm but pleasant. I can always dream, can't I?
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
It was hot today, it got to 97 degrees and the next couple of days will be in the 100's. I love Texas but I need to find another state or country to spend the hot summer months...preferably south of the equator.
I enjoy watching HGTV and wish I had the guts to up and move to a faraway location like many of the people featured in their shows. Though the majority come from cold places in the north of the U.S. and Canada and end up moving to tropical paradises.
Tropical paradises are not my thing. While they are beautiful sooner or later it will end up being hit by a tornado, tropical storm or worst yet a hurricane. I already had my share of hurricane drama when hurricane Ike hit Houston back in 2008.
This past weekend on Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown they featured the country of Uruguay and I fell in love. Being that Uruguay is in the southern hemisphere the seasons are opposite to ours. Right now it is Fall and summers are warm but pleasant. I can always dream, can't I?
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Friday, May 11, 2018
Late appointment / Whataburger / Sad lady
This has been such a busy week, I am so glad it is over. As you know I go online late at night usually after midnight. This week I have gone to bed early...well at least early for me...before 2:00 a.m.
We had a doctor's appointment today and was glad his office called this morning to change her appointment to this afternoon as the doctor was performing a surgery. We had to wait an additional hour and a half but at least we were in a room and both mother and I sneaked in a nap.
We were so hungry after leaving the doctor's office that we made a beeline to Whataburger. It was quite delicious and even though mother ordered from the children's menu...she still did not finish it!
Went to the mall to walk it off. We were about to leave a store when a lady came up to mother and hugged her. I thought it was a friend of hers. She told us she had lost her own mother last December and how much she reminded her of her. She hugged and kissed mother goodbye as she rushed out the store. Her husband was sitting outside on a bench and she ran to his arms weeping. It made me sad but at the same time, I felt lucky to still have my mother.
My procrastination cost me...had the opportunity to fill-up at $2.33 last week but since I waited...today I had to pay $2.48 per gallon.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
We had a doctor's appointment today and was glad his office called this morning to change her appointment to this afternoon as the doctor was performing a surgery. We had to wait an additional hour and a half but at least we were in a room and both mother and I sneaked in a nap.
We were so hungry after leaving the doctor's office that we made a beeline to Whataburger. It was quite delicious and even though mother ordered from the children's menu...she still did not finish it!
Went to the mall to walk it off. We were about to leave a store when a lady came up to mother and hugged her. I thought it was a friend of hers. She told us she had lost her own mother last December and how much she reminded her of her. She hugged and kissed mother goodbye as she rushed out the store. Her husband was sitting outside on a bench and she ran to his arms weeping. It made me sad but at the same time, I felt lucky to still have my mother.
My procrastination cost me...had the opportunity to fill-up at $2.33 last week but since I waited...today I had to pay $2.48 per gallon.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Saturday, May 5, 2018
Finally some rain
The southern part of Val Verde County is in severe drought condition when it rains it is mainly in the northern part of the county by Lake Amistad. Thursday night we finally got some much-needed precipitation.
We go weeks without rain and when we are lucky enough to get some it seems to always come with drama. We had high winds, electrical storms, and heavy rains. The next day you would have never known it was it not for my full rain catchment system and that the shade trees, as well as those pesky mesquites, had come to life.
April is one of my favorite months as Fiesta is celebrated in San Antonio. Though I have not attended a Fiesta event in years I love watching all the coverage on TV. Saw a girl that looked just like a friend of mine and texted her to see if it was her. She texted me back saying she was too old to attend Fiesta...too old? My friend is a partier, how can that be? After sitting on my derriere for a week catching all the action...I understood what she meant! Glad I was able to attend this event when I was younger.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
NBA Corner
Though my beloved Spurs are no longer contenders in the NBA playoff that does not mean I am not watching my other teams. There is a game or two practically every day. So if you do not see me in the blogosphere don't worry I tend to disappear until after the NBA Finals.
We go weeks without rain and when we are lucky enough to get some it seems to always come with drama. We had high winds, electrical storms, and heavy rains. The next day you would have never known it was it not for my full rain catchment system and that the shade trees, as well as those pesky mesquites, had come to life.
April is one of my favorite months as Fiesta is celebrated in San Antonio. Though I have not attended a Fiesta event in years I love watching all the coverage on TV. Saw a girl that looked just like a friend of mine and texted her to see if it was her. She texted me back saying she was too old to attend Fiesta...too old? My friend is a partier, how can that be? After sitting on my derriere for a week catching all the action...I understood what she meant! Glad I was able to attend this event when I was younger.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
NBA Corner
Though my beloved Spurs are no longer contenders in the NBA playoff that does not mean I am not watching my other teams. There is a game or two practically every day. So if you do not see me in the blogosphere don't worry I tend to disappear until after the NBA Finals.
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