December 28 - 30, 2024 - Subdivision Lights - Neck Fan - Mouth Piece - New Shoes - Retirement Party - Doctor - Lunch

MY BLOG REFLECTON

No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.

Aesop

December 28, 2024

Once it was dark outside we drove to see the "Lights of Lake Park Estates". This is a subdivision in which almost every house is decorated over the top for Christmas. Here is some info they put out about the effort.

The Lights of Lake Park Estates originated in 1993 to celebrate the life of neighbor, Ruby Dow, and to salute the care she received from the community hospice, Suncoast Hospice. Because of Suncoast Hospice, Ruby lived her final days in dignity – in her own home – surrounded by those who cared about her. Those of us who had the pleasure of knowing Ruby will always remember her beautiful smile and the last Christmas she shared with us. In 2007 Eddie Dow, Ruby’s husband, whose passion and spirit made all this possible, passed away. With our memories of Ruby and Eddie shining as brightly as our holiday lights, we rededicate The Light of Lake Park Estates to both of them and Suncoast Hospice / Empath Health. 

They ask for donations from those driving through with 100% of the donations going to Suncoast Hospice. So far they have raised over a million dollars. Impressive.

December 29, 2024

One of my Christmas gifts was a neck fan. I never thought about having one but my medicine makes me sweat like a race horse so this thing is great for cooling me off in a hurry. It will run over four hours and then you just plug it into a USB port to charge it. I love it.

Another present was truly a gift for the man who has everything. It is a motion detector to light up the toilet at night. Great for us old guys who have to get up frequently. I can set it to any color I want or let it change colors on its own. LOL

I have been dealing with severe snoring for over ten years. I have had a CPAP all that time and gradually it has failed me. It blows air down my throat but it no longer stops the snoring. For the uninformed, snoring is caused by the tongue relaxing and the muscles falling back and closing off the airway. This causes a vibration when you breathe that produces the snoring we all hear. I tried a CPAP, a chin strap, tape over my mouth, and a mouthpiece, to stop the snoring. Nothing has been working lately. 

I decided to try a new and more expensive mouthpiece. It has multiple adjustments to pull your lower jaw out to keep the muscles from blocking off the airway. It is adjustable depending on how much jaw movement you need. Here is what it looks like. Each of those little sawtooth-like areas are adjustments.

In this picture I am squeezing the mouthpiece together so you can see how the lower jaw is pulled out by the shape of it. I have used it three nights and Kelly says I have not snored at all. It takes a little getting used to having something in your mouth but not bad. This may be the solution. Keep your fingers crossed.

Interestingly, this plastic contraption is only good for 30 days and then you have to use a new one. I don't know why but if it continues to work I'll gladly pay the price. It ends up costing about $1.00 per day.

Handyman payoff:

Recently I was shocked to learn that my sister-in-law paid $210.00 per hour for a handyman at her house in St. Louis. After working for about ten hours to install the garbage disposal, I decided my effort was worth a new pair of walking shoes. My ten year old ones are worn out inside and outside.

A trip to Sketchers today and we found a new pair of "slip-in" walking shoes that Kelly approved of in style and color. (This is very important.)  I never thought I'd pay $90.00 (after a discount) for walking shoes but here I am. They are comfortable.

December 30, 2024

This is a special day for me. Ten years ago today was the Retirement Party Kelly and the girls threw for me at the KC Hall in Perryville. It was held just one day prior to my last day in office. My how the time has flown by! Our family has grown and changed over the years. Now we are blessed with four grandchildren. Kellen was the only grandchild at the time and now he will be graduating high school in May and starting college in the fall. It doesn't seem possible.

This morning I went to the ENT for my surgery follow-up as well as allergy testing. Their testing indicated I have no known allergies. They did the tests on my upper legs and I could see no reactions to any of the sticks. This was interesting since the ENT in Perryville said I was allergic to various molds and put me on shots. Maybe things are different in Missouri. In any event, since the surgery, I have been having a sinus pressure headache and drainage continuing in the back of my throat. The nurse practitioner removed two scabs up in the sinuses and said overall they looked great. She further said that the drainage and headache could easily bother me for another two weeks. I go back in four weeks for a second follow-up. She advised using Flonase until then and prescribed a medication for acid reflux, which could aggravate the throat drainage. I hope all is better in a month.

In the afternoon we drove about ten miles to Pasadena, Florida, and had lunch with Matt and Joyce Wright, friends from Perryville. They are down visiting Matt's sister, Wendy, who lives here. They care for their six year old niece, Avery, so she came along. She is a delightful little girl. She was greatly entertained by how bad I was at her video games. It was a pleasant visit and great to see them.

Tomorrow morning Kelly hosts the breakfast klatch ladies and we have a New Years Ever party to attend here in the park in the evening. We've gone to one here before and had a great time. This year should be no different.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!