R and I have decided to put the house that we have lived in for 23 years, up for sale. In addition, we are looking to relocate to an area just south of Portland, Canby is our target area. It is closer to our kids and several old friends, but just out of the metropolitan sprawl and traffic.
It is not a decision that we made on a lark, for we realized that the amount of work involved is enormous! I thought of packing and moving 20 years of accumulation is daunting at best. But we thought that because of various delays that had popped up to prevent us from traveling to Arizona to be volunteeer, the opportunity was being presented to us. It was as if we were not meant to go south this year and were meant to do this. And so we begin.......
Beginning involved finding real estate professionals both here in Eugene and in Canby and we found what we think are good ones in both areas.
JM has a list of our search wishes and has shown us several candidates, but the winner has not shown up yet. Now, as spring gets underway, the number of homes for sales is rising.
MW has helped us here in Eugene with ideas for marketing our home. We have painted the guest bedroom, our bedroom, the master bath, the hallway, and almost all of the woodwork. Last week MW stopped by and gave us guidance on removing the clutter from our place. The ideas is to make the home appear less crowded and therefore larger. Also, all personal pictures and knicknacks have been packed. The lack of pictures allows the perspective buyers to imagine their pictures on the walls as they view the rooms. It's a good idea but has been a lot of work getting things packed away. The garage is cluttered with packed boxes, all marked with color-coded tags. Hopefully it will help on the other end.
The paperwork gets filled out this Friday and the MLS visit by the realtors of Eugene happens on Wednesday April 3rd. Wish us luck. I will keep you posted.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Mexican Dental - Algodones Part II
The sum of our visit to Mexico for Dental work.
The work done:
2 crowns, one porcelain, one gold
2 extractions, one for each of us.
1 root canal
1 cavity filled
1 teeth cleaning
Time; four trips probably 8 hours
Money spent; $1300 dollars.
Money saved; $$$$$$$$
Would I do it again?
Yes, definitely.
Would I do it differently?
It would be easier if we had our trailer parked in an RV park nearby so that the commute to and from would not be so long. Also, allowing time for unforseen circumstances, broken teeth, extra work needed, etc. would be a wise choice also.
The work done:
2 crowns, one porcelain, one gold
2 extractions, one for each of us.
1 root canal
1 cavity filled
1 teeth cleaning
Time; four trips probably 8 hours
Money spent; $1300 dollars.
Money saved; $$$$$$$$
Would I do it again?
Yes, definitely.
Would I do it differently?
It would be easier if we had our trailer parked in an RV park nearby so that the commute to and from would not be so long. Also, allowing time for unforseen circumstances, broken teeth, extra work needed, etc. would be a wise choice also.
Friday, March 8, 2013
We are Back
The Trip is complete. We safely traveled 3550 miles thanks to my personal driver. The Prius averaged 43.3 mpg, which is good considering that R has a lead foot. It was not unusual to glance at the speedometer and see 70 and more displayed, but we made it safe and sound and the car is wondering what happened. This is the second long road trip we have made with this car and I must say that the car is a great traveler. It is comfortable, has considerable room (the back seats fold down) and it handles highway speeds with ease. All that and still getting fabulous gas mileage to boot. We are quite happy with it.Friday, February 22, 2013
Dental Day One
Our first day at Algodones.
Our appointment was at 9am so not knowing the route and layout, we left our Yuma motel at 7:45. Got on I-8 and drove west about 6 miles to the Algodones Road exit which is the same exit for the Quesan Casino. Three miles south on the paved street puts youo at the US/Mexico border. There is an RV park there if you need hook-ups otherwise there are spaces in the desert to park your rig for free. Right on the border is a parking lot owned by the local Indian Tribe that charges $5 to park for the day.
We parked and walked into Mexico. It was 8:15 so it was fairly quiet. The shops were starting to open up and a few other folks were slowly starting to enter Mexico, probably because they had early dental appointments also. At the appointed time our dentist picked us up in front of the Purple Pharmacy and drove us severl blocks to our dentist's office. There must be 40-50 dentists in this small town. Also there are a dozen pharmacies and two dozen optical places as well. Put all those together and fill up the other stores with jewelry, pots, knick knacks, etc. and you get an idea of Algondones. Narrow streets, brightly painted buildings, some vehicle traffic, a few visible police and federalies. Now add several hundred Americans every day to complete the picture.
Our driver, Hector, who is the bookkeeper for the business, delivered us, in a few minutes to the office, which is a new building a few blocks away from the downtown hussle. Like I said, very new and very nice.
A few minutes and both os us were in chairs being examined. After x-ray s I found out that I had a badly cracked tooth that will need to be pulled and a broken tooth that needed a root canal before it could get a crown. R had similar extensive and expensive news.
Bottom line, I had my root canal, not painful but certainly not fun. R had prep work done for a crown. Tomorrow my cracked tooth will be extracted and the other will get a temporary crown. R will also get an extraction (the same tooth number as mine but on the other side) and then get a permanent crown on her prepped tooth. We will both have sore mouths for a while.
We also have an appointment for next Friday to get the permanent crown on my tooth and to have our extractions areas checked.
Dental work is so much fun...
Our appointment was at 9am so not knowing the route and layout, we left our Yuma motel at 7:45. Got on I-8 and drove west about 6 miles to the Algodones Road exit which is the same exit for the Quesan Casino. Three miles south on the paved street puts youo at the US/Mexico border. There is an RV park there if you need hook-ups otherwise there are spaces in the desert to park your rig for free. Right on the border is a parking lot owned by the local Indian Tribe that charges $5 to park for the day.
We parked and walked into Mexico. It was 8:15 so it was fairly quiet. The shops were starting to open up and a few other folks were slowly starting to enter Mexico, probably because they had early dental appointments also. At the appointed time our dentist picked us up in front of the Purple Pharmacy and drove us severl blocks to our dentist's office. There must be 40-50 dentists in this small town. Also there are a dozen pharmacies and two dozen optical places as well. Put all those together and fill up the other stores with jewelry, pots, knick knacks, etc. and you get an idea of Algondones. Narrow streets, brightly painted buildings, some vehicle traffic, a few visible police and federalies. Now add several hundred Americans every day to complete the picture.
Our driver, Hector, who is the bookkeeper for the business, delivered us, in a few minutes to the office, which is a new building a few blocks away from the downtown hussle. Like I said, very new and very nice.
A few minutes and both os us were in chairs being examined. After x-ray s I found out that I had a badly cracked tooth that will need to be pulled and a broken tooth that needed a root canal before it could get a crown. R had similar extensive and expensive news.
Bottom line, I had my root canal, not painful but certainly not fun. R had prep work done for a crown. Tomorrow my cracked tooth will be extracted and the other will get a temporary crown. R will also get an extraction (the same tooth number as mine but on the other side) and then get a permanent crown on her prepped tooth. We will both have sore mouths for a while.
We also have an appointment for next Friday to get the permanent crown on my tooth and to have our extractions areas checked.
Dental work is so much fun...
Monday, February 18, 2013
Medical Report
Actually, there is no medical news. Even with all the testing, they have not found anything that would explain what happened to me. I have having another EEG this morning before we leave, to see if anything is different from the first one. At least it is not a "sleep deprived" test like the last one.
And so we wait.......
And so we wait.......
Two Weeks in Arizona
Today we jump in the Prius and drive to Arizona for two weeks. It is part vacation, part medical ( dental) for you see we are going to go Mexico for our dental work. Algodones is right on the border of Arizona and caters to Americans who don't have insurance and need dental work, prescriptions, or glasses. We have never been there, but have talked to many people who have. Both of us need to have two crowns made so the savings over using our Eugene dentist is several thousand dollars. Well worth the trip. Our appoinment is for Friday Feb, 22nd when we get our teeth prepped and the next day, Saturday, the 23rd, we will get our crowns. I am really loooking forward to not having to chew and just the left side of my mouth. To top it off, yesterday I broke a tooth on the right side, so I really have to be careful for a few days. I am not happy about another tooth breaking, but the timing is just right. I will give you a report on Algodones and how it went.
The second week of our trip will be spent visiting friends in the Phoenix area. That will be fun.
We are not taking the laptop to Arizona, so this is the last report for two weeks. See yo when we get back.
The second week of our trip will be spent visiting friends in the Phoenix area. That will be fun.
We are not taking the laptop to Arizona, so this is the last report for two weeks. See yo when we get back.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
I Watched my Heart
Today was the day for two Ultrasounds. Riverbend Hospital has a Heart and Vascular wing and that was my destination.
First the Heart test. I watched my heart beat. I watched my valves open and close, open and close. I watched it move rhythmically to it's own beat. I listened to the sound of that the ultrasound broadcasted in the room. It was humbling and fastinating. I asked many questions and learned a great deal, but will only remember a fraction of the info.
Another room, another ultrasound, this one of the arteries of the neck. Again, I watched the screen. I asked lots of questions. I learned a great deal. The Tech was looking for plaque. Plaque is the bad guy. It forms up on the walls of the arteries and inhibits blood flow. What are the causes of plaque? Life style choices; excercise, diet, smoking. Add that to any family history and trouble is around the corner. Smoking is the worst! Don't do it!
Test results hopefully soon.
First the Heart test. I watched my heart beat. I watched my valves open and close, open and close. I watched it move rhythmically to it's own beat. I listened to the sound of that the ultrasound broadcasted in the room. It was humbling and fastinating. I asked many questions and learned a great deal, but will only remember a fraction of the info.
Another room, another ultrasound, this one of the arteries of the neck. Again, I watched the screen. I asked lots of questions. I learned a great deal. The Tech was looking for plaque. Plaque is the bad guy. It forms up on the walls of the arteries and inhibits blood flow. What are the causes of plaque? Life style choices; excercise, diet, smoking. Add that to any family history and trouble is around the corner. Smoking is the worst! Don't do it!
Test results hopefully soon.
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