Category: RETIREMENT IS NOT WITHOUT HASSLES (Page 4 of 210)
My day-to-day retirement life
A Category 3 is headed our way! Batton down the hatches, Helene is coming soon! It may very well be our first hurricane while living here in Florida. We were traveling during Irma and Idalia, but our home held up. The pups were staying near here while we were gone, so at least Tally is a veteran, Fosse was yet to be born, but her doggy-parents endured the winds and rain at Tally’s side while staying at “Schnauzerville”. We’ll spend the next few days, charging phones, securing lanai & yard items, and stocking up on propane, water, and other essentials. We do not have a generator like most of our neighbors, so it could be hot and uncomfortable living for a few days. The outdoor kitchen will come in handy for food preparation.
Our house of concrete and steel is built like a fortress, with hurricane windows, and a tile roof. It held up well during Irma, and even better with Idalia that packed less punch. I will be worried about the lanai screens and surrounding cage structure. Several neighbors lost theirs during previous storms, but this entirely depends on the direction of the wind swirls. We’ll do what we can to properly prepare that may include lugging the heavy ceramic plant vases and fountain into the garage. Neighbors pitched in to do this the last time in our absence, comfortably on an Alaskan Cruise.
I understand that the noise can be deafening as the storm blows through. My son’s family, that lives nearby spent a couple days at a shelter. They did have some roof damage, that two-years later, claim payment is still being processed. I’m not sure that the property owners and insurance companies can financially withstand another devastating setback, yet people continue to flock to Florida and buy homes.
In the meantime, more storms were brewing in the stomachs and bowels of Tally and Fosse. Fosse is beginning to rival her predecessor, Tinker, as the “Poopingest Pup on the Planet.” Tally’s stomach has been growling and treats have been limited to rice with chicken stock. We had to go out and buy more Spot Shot, and I’ve hauled out the carpet shampooer on more than one occasion.
My wife also has restricted her diet with concerns about diabetes. Low-carb meals are in my future that will certainly aid in helping me lose that post-surgery flab. The scale read 199 yesterday, so progress is being maintained. Advil continues to ease the sciatica pain, as I wait for MRI results and potential treatment. I was up with the dogs in the middle of the night and again just before sunrise and was able to get around comfortably on both occasions.
The two of us went to see Train and REO Speedwagon a few weeks ago, so given the circumstances of hurricanes and diarrhea, all I can think of is the song, Riding the Storm Out!
“Ridin’ the storm out, waitin’ for the thaw out
On a full moon night in the Rocky Mountain winter
My wine bottle’s low, watching for the snow
I’ve been thinking lately of what I’m missing in the city
And I’m not missing a thing
Watchin’ the full moon crossing the range
Ridin’ the storm out, ridin’ the storm out
Ridin’ the storm out, ridin’ the storm out
Lady’s beside me, she’s there to guide me
She says that alone we’ve finally found home
The wind outside is frightening
But it’s kinder than the lightning life of the city
It’s a hard life to live but it gives back what you give
And I’m not missing a thing
Watchin’ the full moon crossing the range
Ridin’ the storm out, ridin’ the storm out
Ridin’ the storm out, ridin’ the storm out
Ridin’ the storm out, waitin’ for the fall out
On a full moon night in the Rocky Mountain winter
My wine bottle’s low, watching for the snow
I’ve been thinking lately of what I’m missing in the city
And I’m not missing a thing
Watchin’ the full moon crossing the range
Ridin’ the storm out, ridin’ the storm out
Ridin’ the storm out
Ridin’, ridin’, ridin’ the storm out”
Songwriter: Gary Richrath RIP
Data from: Musixmatch
Could something as simple as switching from Tylenol to Advil be the temporary solution for my sciatica pain? For two out of three days since making the change, I’ve been able to maneuver relatively comfortably with the dogs in the morning. I also haven’t gone directly from bed to the freezer for an icepack. Now granted, other changes have been made in my routine, like keeping my left leg straight in bed rather than curling into a ball and staying off soft cushioned stairs to provide more lower back support. The combination seems to be working. This morning, I will deliver a disc with my MRI results to the chiropractor, while my physician supposedly received them directly over the weekend. They will both analyze the results and prescribe treatment in the next few days.
I’ll continue to do my fitness center routine, that has also been modified over the weekend to include mile-long walks back to the house from the workout. In the past, the walks have been longer, up to two miles, but with the support of treadmill rails or the dog buggy, relieving pressure off my back. The problem seems to stem from the base of my spine and then along my left side, moving from upper thigh to calf to toes. There’s obviously a pinched nerve somewhere!
The other hassle I’ve been dealing with this weekend is the timer on my landscaping lights. I’ve had a repairman out on several occasions. We replaced lights and made adjustments, but the timer clock that’s set to turn on the lights at dusk gets stuck at midnight, so they never shut off. Before I have him install a costly new timer, I’ve reset the system this morning to shut-off just before midnight to see if that helps resolve the issue. It’s always something!
We loaded up on Costco items this weekend to earn a $50 savings card. The new store is just down the street. As a result, there’s now enough shampoo in the house to last until at least 2017. It was simply a matter of spending money to make money. I also shampooed our outdoor furniture over the last few days because of all the construction dirt from the addition behind us. This project ensued because both dogs were having diarrhea, so I had to haul out the carpet/upholstery cleaner to handle both issues.
We even had a hassle for “Date Night” this week, stopping at three different restaurants before we found one open or willing to serve us. We ended up at the Lighthouse Grill on Lemon Bay and enjoyed a beautiful sunset and some BBQ, so it all worked out. The night before we dined at Dockside with friends. We then finished Season 1 of Bad Sisters, while I watched football and baseball the rest of the weekend.
Today, I need to stop by Eyeglass World for the fourth time to resolve my on-going prescription hassle, and then create a new hassle by setting an appointment at Xfinity to upgrade my phone. I also have to do a late night pick-up of my son from the St. Pete/Clearwater Airport, so I hope his flight goes smoothly. All in all, retirement life does not run exactly like clockwork!
I went to find an image for this post for “Sub-200” and it came up with a bunch of pictures of machine guns. I only meant to imply that my weight is temporarily back under two-hundred pounds. It’s been a calorie battle since surgery in January, losing that daily burn from running that helped me comfortably maintain between 190-195 on average. I could eat and drink anything back then, and yes there were occasional blips of over 200 on the scale after spending weeks on a cruise ship, but it came off easily. This battle has been different.
With limited exercise, I was on an upward trend that was getting out of control, at least from my perspective. Ten or fifteen pounds can be easily hidden under baggy shirts and loosened belts. However, I wasn’t comfortable and for months prohibited from any heavy lifting. I thought walking more might be the solution, but it wasn’t working. I then started to get cramps in my legs that escalated into full-scale sciatica – more pain than I’ve probably ever experienced. It brings me to my knees every morning, as I try to simply pick up the dog poop. Neighbors have seen me on the ground, wondering if I’m OK? The stiffness escalates when I first get out of bed, even despite frequent trips to the bathroom and stretching overnight. My first stop is at the kitchen freezer, that now works properly, for an ice pack.
Moving around for a few hours completely eliminates any pain. I go to the fitness center every morning, spend about 45-minutes on a stationary bike, 10-minutes rowing, and do several sets of light weights. I then try to do some evening walks with the support of the dog buggy. Push-ups have made my pec muscles/cartilage tender, so I’ve backed-off a bit. I’ve also cut back on sweets and alcohol. Bottom line, my weight registered 199.5 this morning. Five more pounds to go, and I’ll be satisfied, if I can at least stay Sub-200!
Once again, I find myself waiting for the refrigerator repairman – Re-Refrigeration. I am now stuck in a warranty dilemma, after yesterday’s surprise news that I would be out $750 for parts and service. This saga actually began last December, before my surgery, when we were first experiencing problems with cooling levels in our KitchenAid side-by-side. I was under the impression that we were out of warranty, so I found an authorized repair service and set an appointment. My wife talked to her dog park friends and got the name of a neighborhood repair guy that everyone used because he was so much cheaper than the bigger dealers. As a result, I cancelled the appointment. Instead, we had her guy look at it, who advised us to call KitchenAid directly because it was apparently still under warranty. Sure enough, my wife made the contact, read off the serial numbers, and found the warranty was indeed good. We would next need to contact Flamingo Services for the authorized work order.
They came out twice in July, and in the meantime my wife had moved most of the contents into our garage refrigerator, just to be sure it didn’t get contaminated. All indications at that point were that we were still covered by the warranty but would need to pay for the service call. Parts were ordered, then delayed while we began our month-long travels. A friend stayed here and noticed that the refrigerator was not cooling properly. Follow-up calls, when we returned, finally revealed that they had “tried” to contact us “several times,” but no one responded. My wife has no records of these supposed calls on her phone log. The parts apparently were then sent back.
Since she was substitute-teaching again, starting in August, I took the slippery Flamingo ball and did more follow-ups. The parts were ultimately reordered, and a service appointment made. Of course, they cancelled that morning, screwing up my plans, and had to reschedule a week later, screwing up more plans. We had set a 1p-4p timeframe, but they arrived at 10a after a 15-minute warning message, so I missed my pre-paid Chair Yoga class, but was glad to see them. Two hours later, after a thorough examination it was determined that they would need to get more parts. They also informed me that our warranty had expired on this three-year-old model, and it would be roughly $750. I was dumbfounded but wanted to finally get this thing fixed, so I agreed to have them locate the parts. They weren’t even sure if they were available. Promptly, at the end of the day, they had secured these pricy parts and would be out today to fix it.
I’m waiting, but justifiably disturbed with the whole situation. The neighborhood guy could have fixed it months ago for half this price, but instead the factory told me to use Flamingo. Am I obligated to pay, or should I refuse until I speak to a manager? If I do pay, I will never get a response. Holding back payment seems like the best plan going forward. My wife will also be here, if they truly made the 1-4 window, instead of showing up early like yesterday. Stay tuned for Re-Re-Refrigeration, I hope I’m soon shivering and stuttering like this from the cold air coming out of the open doors.
I’m moving on to the next milestone, only 500 posts from 3,000. I feel like Pete Rose, aiming for that next hit to earn another record. Shohei Ohtani is in a bit of a stall, throttled by Braves pitching in his quest for 50/50. Aaron Judge, on the other hand, moved out of his funk, and smashed home runs number 52 and 53. The Cubs will probably have to wait until next year, still 5-games out of the last Wild Card spot that now belongs to the Mets. However, the Braves are just a game back, with three head-to-head-matchups in Atlanta remaining in the 2024 regular season. Our neighboring park, Cool Today, just released the 2025 Braves Spring Training schedule. It would be good to see them at least make the Playoffs.
There’s a concert at the Park Saturday night, one of our favorite local bands, Dukes of Brinkley. Tonight, we’re out to dinner with Indy friends at Laishley’s in Punta Gorda and Friday night joining some neighbors at nearby Dockside. “Date Night” has therefore been moved to Saturday night, so we might be able to fit in a little live music.
I’m waiting for the refrigerator repair guy to call with a specific time, although there’s already been several frustrating cancellations. My wife is tired of running to the garage refrigerator during meal preparation. This has been an on-going hassle for several months. She’s substituting again today, so I had Dog Park duty. Once I finish writing, I’ll head to Chair Yoga and the fitness center.
My leg pain was especially bad first thing this morning but has since predictably gone away. Fosse did not help matters, running off to chase a rabbit, while I limped after. Hopefully, I will get some feedback on the cause of this sciatica with Friday’s MRI. It was in my lower back last night, making our evening walk miserable. The Dog Buggy (stroller) at least allows me some support, and Tally enjoys riding along with us rather than being left behind at home. The pain moves from my lower spine area to my upper left thigh, and into my calf, so it’s been difficult to determine the source of the pinched nerve or irritation. I’ll finally get some answers and eventually some relief. Maybe we’ll even have working kitchen refrigerator by then?
Nothing special to report on this milestone post. I’ll spend the day at the baseball card shop, hoping to reduce the inventory that I just added to yesterday. It’s definitely an addiction, opening packs of cards, sorting them by teams or players, and hoping for the Holy Grail. It’s just as bad as gambling, but at the end of the day after playing slots, there’s usually little to show for it. With baseball cards, I have binders that grow in size and number. Today, I’m looking for buyers and have a table to show off my stock. In fact, my sole exercise will be lugging these binders from my office shelves to my car and then to the table and back. Will they get any lighter at the end of the day?
I finally used some gift certificates that my wife gave me at a Sarasota restaurant, Michael’s on East. I’ll always remember the time my son surprised me by buying a pricy dinner there. My wife and I always claim to be celebrating an anniversary in “fancy” restaurants, and usually earn a free desert. We eat out at least once a week and there’s always something to celebrate – birthdays, wedding or first date anniversaries, pet memories, adoption, and simply days together. Our neighbors across the street are headed out for their 50th wedding anniversary. I can say the same thing, but it’s taken two marriages to get there for me.
The Beatle’s song, “Day in the Life,” comes to mind. “Got up, got out of bed, and dragged a comb across my head.” The painful part of my morning is over now that my sciatica has diminished in intensity until tomorrow, so I tend to routine maintenance – my seven morning pills (some only halves), shaving, and brushing my teeth. The dogs slept in a bit, so I was able to sit for a while with an icepack on my leg while solving another Wordle. It’s a football Sunday, but I’ll be out in the hot sun hawking baseball cards. I’m honestly still somewhat in shock, after the I.U. football drubbing of U.C.L.A. last night. I stayed up late to watch the second-half action from the famed Rose Bowl. I’m used to being on the other side of a lop-sided score, like helpless Purdue’s loss to Notre Dame in the afternoon. It’s good to wake up a big winner!
My first blog post was in September of 2016 (See Post #1), and I officially retired on December 30 – “just practicing” was the title. I was working with a therapist at the time trying to put together a plan to keep me busy. Writing was one of my ideas on the list that included books, movies, TV series, and of course running. The blog still continues, approaching the 2,500-article mark, but the running stopped in January of 2024, 8-years later following open-heart surgery. The original plan was to do one post a day, and I’ve tried to hold true to that commitment, although travel, writer’s block, just getting into the initial habit, and hospitalization have created some sizeable gaps. If I do the rough math, I should be at over 2,900 and somehow, I’ve missed nearly 400 days, well over a year!
Like everything else, where does the time go? I have written a couple of unpublished books in this time period and currently working on three more (Magic of 60, Hungry in Hungary, and Bad Boys Hall of Fame). There are excerpts mixed among these pages. I’ve adapted several of my earlier posts to compile my life’s story in a bound Storyworth publication, at the request of my family. In addition, this site includes nearly 300-poems, along with eulogies and personal adoption stories. They are all organized by category for easy reference. Sports (Old Sport Shorts) and pets (Creature Features) are my other writing passions.
A lot of this is just personal therapy, recounting the daily frustrations that everyone experiences. Today, for example, I’m waiting for the refrigerator repairman and troubleshooting my outdoor landscaping. Our schnauzer Tally waits by my side, wanting to go to the dog park. Her sister, Fosse, has claimed the sought-after chair, once mine, across from my desk. We’ll all soon jump in the golf cart, and they’ll join their friends for a romp on the grass, while I observe from the bench. There are towels tumbling in the washer, and my wife is headed to school for the day. We’ll have an informal “Date Night” at Pioneer Pizza, trying out another new restaurant as is the tradition. Tomorrow night, we’ll go to Michael’s On East in nearby Sarasota to use some gift cards. I suggested it because my local baseball card shop, Blue Breaks, has added a store there and I want to stop by for the Grand Opening. If she’ll tolerate an hour there, we’ll enjoy some nice steaks afterwards. On Sunday, I have a vendor table at their original Venice store to hopefully sell or at least trade some of my baseball cards, another retirement hobby. The owners are nice British family with a small business that I like to support. Selling allows me to buy more from them. As always, I appreciate your reading this nonsense as I “Write On…Again and Again!”
Once again, I lost my entire post and will have to rewrite it. My shaky hands hit the wrong key, and the automatic save function didn’t work. Hassles like this are prevalent these days, especially in the morning when I’m in pain. I limp and wince in an effort to take the dogs out and then collapse in my chair with an ice bag on my left thigh. I had a doctor’s appointment scheduled for yesterday, but they called wondering if I had gotten the MRI results. Oddly, they supposedly set it up so they should know, especially after my insistent follow-up. Finally, they took action and got the appointment a few weeks out, so the insurance company can do its usual stall. This little dance only adds to the pain and suffering. The MRI will only pinpoint the pinched nerve but not yet solve the problem. That will be up to physical therapy, stretching techniques, and hopefully not surgery.
In the meantime, my leg loosens up as the morning hours pass and I’m then able to take the dogs to the park and go through my gym routine. I also have chair yoga today. My wife is substitute teaching again, but at least got relaxing, long day at the beach yesterday before dealing with elementary school kids. Between moments of screaming leg pain, I have at least been able to get a few constructive things accomplished like securing our entryway artwork, adjusting the timers on our fountains, getting new glasses, having the oil changed in the car, calling the refrigerator repair company, and trying to get replacement landscape bulbs. Each has presented its own set of hassles.
To summarize my frustrations, I’m in the process of filing an insurance claim for my glasses that involves more paperwork than reward. The refrigerator repair company claims they have called and left messages, but we can find no records. Since we didn’t respond, they sent the replacement parts back. This has been going on for months, so we’re forced to use the back-up refrigerator in the garage – hardly convenient. The lighting company has been slow to respond, and our house continues to be bathed in darkness. These are all small things, but they add up. Next week, I have to deal with Xfinity on a new phone. Life certainly doesn’t get any easier in retirement.
Another painful start to the day. I’ll sit here writing until the ice pack does its work, and my left leg finally loosens up. I go through this process every morning now while taking the dogs out is the worst part. Fortunately, I was talking to a kindly neighbor as Tally did her business, and he did the honors of picking it up. He apparently went through the same thing with a disc problem, knowing that bending over can be excruciating. Fosse did not need to go, so I’m wondering if she picked a spot indoors – I just can’t check at this time.
Within an hour, my leg began to function normally, and soon I’ll be able to help it along with some stretching and a trip to the fitness center. I was at least able to go out again and see that my timer project is working. I’ve installed two on our fountain. The first fills the base with water and the second activates the pump that is then set to then shut off at dusk. I got tired of manually refilling the fountain bowl all the time since most of the water splashes out or is scattered by the wind rather than be recycled efficiently. I chose the lazy man’s way out – technology!
It took me two days of hassle to finally get it operating properly. I had to order two different timers to get the right one, returning the first. I also had to contact customer service because the valve on the water timer was stuck. They have yet to get back to me, but I apparently solved the problem on my own through trial and error. I thought I would have to send that one back too. Instead, today became a Labor Day victory!
My wife has the day off from substitute teaching, so we were all able to sleep a little later. She just got up and took the dogs to the park. In the meantime, I enjoyed my little victory over technology and took Fosse out one more time – this time successfully – she didn’t go in the dining room as I suspected. I think she just wanted multiple treats, one of Tally’s tricks. The more they go out – the more the rewards. I’m surprised they don’t park themselves by the front door. By the way, Fosse chewed up her fourth remote control!
I have one more Labor Day project that has already presented several days of DIY hassle. A landscaping light went out, and I may have shorted out the system trying to get the bulb out of the socket. I also had to do some major digging to expose the underground network of wires. After the fact, You Tube showed me how to properly do it, carefully twisting and removing the protective shroud to gain access, rather than trying to muscle it out. Now that I know how to do it right, it should be easier in the future. Unfortunately, I didn’t happen to be around to ask questions when they installed the system. Rule #1: always learn how to properly maintain the unfamiliar when they initially put it in. This saves time and trouble. Now, I should simply have to take the bulb to the dealer. Hopefully, it’s still under warranty, since it’s the only one of a dozen that failed. However, I still think there may be a problem with the wiring that “Mr. DIY Disaster” caused.
Once I get these problems solved, I can re-focus on my leg, as if I can ignore the pain. It’s already been a week with no feedback on a MRI date. I go back to the chiropractor in a few days, since like everything else his offices are closed for the holiday. There’s not much he can do until I get the results of this test. The lighting store will probably also be shuttered, so that DIY project will continue to wait.
I also initially thought this would be an exciting football weekend, but the IU game was only available through streaming since the Big Ten Network was showing the Northwestern game, and the University of Oregon does not have a contract with Xfinity, so it too was unavailable to watch in our area, except via streaming. Both teams at least won! Televised sports are getting too complicated for this retiree. In addition, the Bears don’t play until next Sunday, so that too was a disappointment. At least, I got my Labor Day victory over the fountain.
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