Medical Issues, Neat Gadgets and Good Friends

At Lake Conroe Thousand Trails, Willis, Texas...

Not too long ago, I mentioned in a post that our health seems to have improved after we began fulltiming. I didn't knock on wood at the time, although I knew better. So what do I get for that omission? Besides the recently mangled finger I wrote about, I now have in my left knee a torn meniscus that will need surgery. I have to tell you that this has been a winter quite unlike any other when it comes to the number of visits to doctors,  dentists and optometrists. Usually, when we set aside some time each year to take care of routine medical and dental issues, we get by quite nicely with just a little fine tuning here and there. This time, it seemed like we needed a major overhaul!

Thankfully, my upcoming surgery is by no means serious and will not require an overnight hospital stay. I really have no right to whine like this; I'm getting old, and this is what happens to old people. And, since I've never gotten old before, this is all new to me; perhaps I can be forgiven until I get used to it!

Since we have been doing a lot of sitting around between doctor visits, I tend to spend a lot of time on the Internet. I ran across an ad for some neat connectors that I wondered why hadn't been invented before now. One is a short hose that fits Phannie's fresh water filler receptacle, on the end of which is an ergonomically-designed grip that makes connecting a hose so easy:

I just leave this in place all the time and no longer have any difficulty connecting the water hose. (And yes, I've tried the quick-connect thingies before and not had very good luck with them.) I'll tell you where to get this gadget later, if you're interested.

Offered by the same company are TV cables whose end fittings follow the same concept. Have you ever had impure thoughts about those tiny nuts they put on these cables? Only Lucifer himself could have devised anything this difficult to get started on the little threaded post on which it is supposed to fit:

Here's the solution: Cables with big plastic grippers formed around the little nuts to enable you to spin them onto the post with no difficulty at all:

There; aren't you jealous?  Well, you needn't be; you can get these with a few clicks of your computer mouse at http://rvcablegrip.com/Hose-Grip.html The guy who makes them is Jim Wright, and he is the real deal in terms of honesty and the proud maker of a quality product.  And, just so you'll know, I have no financial interest in promoting these products. I just happen to like them.

There is, of course, an upside to spending extra months here in the Conroe area where the kids live. We have thoroughly enjoyed our extra interaction with them, and we'll be sad to leave for the summer. (I suppose this will be when the doctors let us go after having taken delivery of their new Mercedes we've bought them.) We also have a number of RV friends who travel through the area from time to time. Chip and Diane visited a few weeks ago, and we just concluded a nice visit with Steve and Jackie below:

We had a lot of fun with these neat folks going to restaurants, movies and playing games and, oh yes, the girls did do some shopping (what with, I don't know; the doctors and drug makers have all our money). We feel so fortunate to have connected with a number of couples like these who have become dear friends. In Steve's and Jackie's case, as with others, it was purely good luck; we just happened to park Phannie beside them one day and struck up a conversation.  

More later; let's all remember that spring is just around the corner!

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 

please forgive me if I don't appreciate it as I should each day.

I had rather own little and see the world than to own the whole world and see little of it. 

-- Alexander Sattler.