Barry & Joyce's Adventures: December 28, 2019

December 4, 2019

It’s been cold here in Palatka for the past few days with the temperatures dipping down into the low 30’s at night. The days have been nice with the temperatures in the 60’s. I actually had to put on a pair of long pants yesterday.

We’ve been sticking around the house for a few days nursing a cold Joyce has caught. On Monday I took her to an urgent care clinic and found out she has a virus that is going around this area. The physicians assistant gave her some antibiotics and some stuff to put in her nebulizer, all of which seems to be helping.

Yesterday I went over to Michelle’s and took Skyler to his jujitsu class and then took him and Abigail out for pizza. I’m really enjoying this grandpa stuff.

December 8, 2019

On Friday we got a call from Richmond American Homes letting us know the permits for the new house had arrived. We’re hoping that they will start the construction process soon and that everything will stay on track for a March completion.

Yesterday we went to St. Augustine for Abigail and Skyler’s football games.

December 10, 2019

Yesterday we went out and did some shopping in St. Augustine and south Jacksonville. On the way back we stopped at the Elks Lodge in Green Cove Springs to have a cold one. This is one of the friendliest lodges we have been to in all of our travels. We’ve met some really nice folks who have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome. One gentleman came in last night and bought the whole house a round of drinks, “just because”. We also had a supper of county fried steak, potatoes, green beans and a biscuit for only $6.00.

December 14, 2019

On Tuesday we attended Skyler’s musical concert in St. Augustine at the First United Methodist Church. Skyler played bells and the Recorder on a couple of tunes. The program was beautiful with all the children doing their best.

On Thursday we went to watch Abigail dance at her middle school. Abby danced in two parts of the program that really emphasized her talents.

December 16, 2019

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in northern Florida with the temperatures in the low 70’s and with relatively low humidity. But Saturday was a whole different ball game.

Early in the morning we started getting some rain moving through this area which was light at first but progressively got stronger. Then around 4 AM the thunderstorms moved in with a lot of lighting and some strong winds. The thunder woke me up so I got up and jumped on the computer to see what was happening. The weather radar indicated some very strong cells to the north of us and a tornado warning in an area just to the north.

Later in the day we found out that a tornado actually touched down in Interlachen that is a few miles to the northwest of Lynch’s Landing RV Park. Yesterday when we stopped at a roadside stand to get some tomatoes the seller told Joyce that he had a lot of debris to clean up on his property. Also, a storm cell was on the ground in Flagler County for almost thirty minutes.

This morning I went up to Fleming Island to meet Dr. Tran, my new primary care doctor. He spent about an hour going over all of my records I had brought with me and just generally getting too know me. Dr. Tram is originally from Vietnam and escaped the communist north’s takeover of South Vietnam back in the late 1970’s. In fact, he was one of the “boat people” that escaped the south just before the fall of Saigon. He was taken to Clark AB in the Philippines and from there to the United States, He went to medical school and joined the Navy and retired after 27 years of service this last October.

Dr. Tram is sending me to a Cardiologist, an Ophthalmologist and a Pulmonologist so that I can get establish with them. He also ordered a full battery of lab work to make sure everything is going good.

December 22, 2019

On Tuesday we had a meeting with Dan, our Building Superintendent for the new house whose job it is to coordinate the actual building of the house. He went over the plans and made sure everything is placed where it is supposed to be. We hope to be able to move in by April 15th.

We have also been doing some last minute shopping and getting the presents wrapped. Our plan is to spend the night at Michelle’s on Christmas Eve so we can be there when Abby and Skyler get up on Christmas Day. We’re really looking forward to that.

December 26, 2019

I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since I lasted posted an update to this newsletter.

I had been having some trouble with a tooth on my upper left side so Michelle’s friend Mandie who works for Dr. Nathan William at All About Smiles Family Dentistry made an appointment for me for Monday. Dr. Nathan is Michelle’s family dentist and also a good friend. Dr. Nathan took one look at the x-ray of the tooth and saw some infection around the root and he though the best option for me was to extract it. We will talk later about my options for replacement.

On Tuesday we went over to Michelle’s to celebrate the Christmas with her, Abby and Skyler. We were also joined by Michelle’s mother Susanna. On Christmas Eve we went out to dinner at The Reef.

We all had a wonderful Christmas Day mostly just relaxing and enjoying each others company. By-the-way, Santa Claus was very good to all of us.

December 28, 2019

Yesterday Joyce and I decided to drive up to the Jacksonville Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic to get registered. After filling out a form and waiting just at few minutes we were met by a lady who took us back to her office where we spent an hour updating our addresses, phone numbers and other important information. She also set up our first appointments including meeting our doctors and getting blood work done. All-in-all it was an easy process.

The building begins.