What's new? - Day 793 (Yr 3, Day 60)

Bismarck, ND

Not a whole lot, even though it's been 2 weeks since I posted last.

Let's see... still planning our trip to the Black Hills (I love planning and research!).  I did discover that there is a better route, which is mostly a US highway (not an interstate), but it runs through more areas of civilization and has complete cell coverage.  It takes us about 50 miles out of the way, but I'd rather travel the extra hour and have the peace of mind knowing we're not in the middle of nowhere if we got stuck or just need to pull over to rest or change drivers (which we always do after about 1 1/2 hours).

Meanwhile, we need to make sure the truck is in tip top condition for towing, so we brought it to a local diesel mechanic for the oil/filter change and full maintenance service.  They discovered that the previous mechanic (Ford in Peoria, IL) left a rag in the engine and forgot a gasket.  Reason # 952 of why we hate Ford dealers!!!  They also need to flush the transmission fluid and install new filters, but didn't have the time, so we'll be bringing it back in on Friday.  Costing a small fortune, but since this has to safely carry our home, better safe than sorry.  Of course, as has been seen before, you can't always predict when something might go wrong, but we do try to do as much preventative maintenance as possible.

This week, Mitch had a small change in job areas.  He got really nervous last Friday when his boss called him in the morning and instructed him to stop working immediately and wait for his call (Mitch was convinced he was going to get canned, although had no clue why).  Turns out there was an emergency situation in a few towns about 50 miles north of here (Turtle Lake and Underwood), so he was being pulled off of Bismarck to take care of those areas.  It's been a while (Asheville) since he's had to commute more than 5 miles away from home, but at least he gets paid for time and mileage.  Then again, it means filling the gas tank more often.  This should only last about a week or 2 anyway, then it's back to the Bismarck area.  Still no word about when we'll be able to leave though; all they can say is "before the winter."

And lastly, so far this week I've been suffering through the start of bronchitis / upper respiratory infection.  This always happens to me when the weather changes from hot to cold.  Lately, the weather has been crazy - literally in the 90s one day, 70s the next day, then back up into the 90s and back down to the 70s.  I think my body just got very confused.  This kind of infection is like a bell curve - it slowly gets worse until it reaches its peak and then slowly starts to get better.  In all, it can last at least a month.  I do hope to shake it before we go away next week.  As of today, I haven't reached the peak yet, although I feel close -- maybe by the end of the week when I'll be coughing up yellow phelgm and perhaps a lung.  Right now, it's just very hard to do anything that involves breathing (talking, moving), which sets off coughing spasms.  I am taking Dayquil (or Nyquil), drinking a lot of water and tea, and resting as much as possible.  Spoke to the doctor, who said it just needs to run its course; keep doing what I'm doing for comfort, but it's not the kind of thing that warrants antibiotics.