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So, what's been happening since April?

I know, I know, these 'updates' are getting few and far between. Such a far cry of what I'd wanted when I started this Blog. But such is life isn't it?

I'll start with now and go backwards this time.

At the moment Stacy is down barbecuing in Boise as it's her week to teach her class at the state POST (Police Officers Standards and Training) Academy. She should be back by Saturday and while it's a week of 90's heat here it is hotter there with 100's. 

I am off work due to a truly debilitating condition I have suddenly developed. It all started with a 24 hour bug I had on the 13th and 14th. Something in that little bug has messed up my inner ear and now I have the condition "BPPV" which means, Benign Positional Paroxysmal Vertigo. 

What's it mean?

It means that at it's worst and for over a day, the world was spinning so bad that if I even sat up, if I did anything but just lay there, I would become sick and throw up. Even now, over a week later and after seeing a Doctor and a Chiropractor I can barely walk without looking like I'm drunk, kind of staggering around because I can't perceive balance. 
After the Chiropractor visit I have improved a bit. When I'm sitting or not walking or moving I can now focus and things stop moving, if I have to walk around everything still is in motion. Driving is totally out of the question, hazardous to me and anyone else! and with Stacy gone this week I'm not going anywhere. It's as if my head was on a loose swivel and things just keep moving, left, right, up, down, giggly and wiggly!

And there's no real 'treatment' for it with everything and everyone saying basically it will run it's course. Stacy had gotten me some motion sickness pills early on and that helped to stop the throwing up but it can't fix the movement problem. There's no pill, no shot, no medicine for it. The little pieces of calcium that are in those inner ear canals that roll around with the fluid to tell your brain basically which way is up, well, I have one or more that is "stuck" in the wrong place throwing all my balance off. 
I am doing an 'exercise' to help jostle my ear canals around to hopefully, sooner than later, get everything back to normal. And I have talked to people that have endured it for a lot longer than a week and a half. One guy that heard of my problem called and he suffered for a year with it! That is unimaginable to me! 

And it's one of those things that's hard for people to get, I mean there's no outside indication of anything wrong. No bleeding or apparent injury, you just walk like a drunk and hope you don't fall and get hurt. In fact the Doctor said that's the thing to really be careful of, falling over and getting hurt.

So on that cheery note- 

What else has been happening?       

Things have had Stacy swamped at work. This has been a record year for kids getting in trouble, almost double the cases in a 'normal' year for this time of the year. And Stacy has been having to juggle her position with it's state level responsibilities as well as cover for the Juvenile Officer.  That person has been off on full bed rest maternity leave since March, and having recently had her twins, she still won't be back until mid to late September. So Stacy has been overwhelmed and at times has been on her last nerve with it all.  

We're, I'm, hoping that by October things will better with the person back to work and some of Stacy's state level stuff winding down at the end of August. Fingers crossed!

As with all your areas, it's been a hot summer here too. Usually 80's for the bulk of the summer with a week or two of upper 90's thrown in. After a late start it's been more 90's than 80's so far. 

Stacy and I, before my 'problem', have been getting the place in shape. We did a veggie garden at home this year, so far, not so good but there's still time. 

As I'm thinking here I remembered that a year ago today we were getting back from our trip to San Jose for Sandy's baby shower. It was so hot on that trip. We had a break down and were stranded in Winnemucca, Nevada, for two days at the cost of almost a thousand dollars to get and have replaced a cast aluminum part that delivers fuel to the engine that had developed a crack so fuel pressure would fail. And then when we got back, we found that a tree had fallen just missing the house but taking out my weather station. 

Sandy, Laura, Sean and their families are all doing well. 
Sandy recently moved to a larger apartment and is very much enjoying being a stay at home mom right now. She's also doing some freelance Architectural work so she's keeping her toe in the water with her career. Erik is still with Netflix and is working to get the 'app' ready to go with the new video game consoles due out at Christmas time. And Sandy posts all kinds of photos of grand baby Justine, getting close to a year old now, every week a video clip or photos. Stacy and I both really like seeing them. 

Laura is really enjoying her job with Animal Control in Pasadena, Texas. From what she's told us, their lives have become much better with the move from Davenport, Iowa, to Texas last year. Tyler has come along faster in school than he was in Iowa so that's a good thing too.  Laura says that Russell enjoys working at the Johnson Space Center.

Sean is working and continues to take night classes to get a degree in an aviation field, he's not sure exactly which one yet other than his A&E (Airframe and Engine) certificate to help his job marketability in the private sector when his contract work is over. He's been doing that work for years now but finally decided he should get the certificate to go with the experience. We're proud that he's getting it done. His wife Brandy, has gotten a babysitting job with a neighbor watching the ladies kids while she works a late swing shift. He said she likes doing the job which is a good thing. 

As for the rest of the 'extended' family? Well, babies getting born, people getting married, people moving, people passing away. It IS life after all and it seems to be happening in those lives too. 

Till next time, Tad

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