Quick Update - Day 1829 (Year 6, Day 3)

Zephyrhills, FL

The hydraulic system is finally back up and running.  It needed a new pump, which was replaced last week and then an additional part (the trombetta).  So now we can leave when we need to, and the bed goes up & down once again.

Mitch has a job offer that looks very promising; he signed a contract today.  It is very similar to what he was doing as an IT freelancer in NJ: various installations, builds and repairs.  Jobs will be all over central FL, from east to west coasts.  He still needs to meet with the owner to iron out a few details, and we have yet to see how many assignments (and therefore how many hours) he'll have.  If it turns out to be way too few hours, he'll need to continue job hunting.  But even so, any little amount of work is better than nothing at all.

Another "RVersary" - Day 1826 (Year 5, Day 365)

Zephyrhills, FL

Here we are again - just completed our 5th year of this RV lifestyle, and still loving it.  Granted, it hasn't gone according to plan (mostly by not being able to go where and when we want), but we still do get to travel a little bit, see different parts of the country and meet interesting people, some of whom become lifetime friends.

This time last year, we were in Augusta, GA.  We then traveled to Virginia Beach and then to our current location in Florida.

For me, my favorite highlights were the great Jewish community in Augusta (including being able to park our home on their property for the High Holidays), the day on the boardwalk and sand sculpture tournament in VA Beach, and our 40th anniversary vow renewal in Jamaica.  The least favorite highlight was Mitch losing his job at the end of December (and as of now, 6 months later, he is still looking for work). 

Once again, this year has been mostly uneventful in terms of travel and getting out and doing fun stuff mostly due in part to (1) not having discretionary income and being on a very tight budget; and (2) the arthritis in my hip and knees have made it very difficult to do a lot of walking.  I also haven't been willing to rearrange my weekly schedule - to do my work in the evening in order to go out during the day.

Repairs on the truck and trailer have been minimal, although our current problem of the hydraulic system not working is still not resolved.  RV tech replaced the pump but still needs another part, which hopefully will arrive some time this week.

Who knows what this year will bring.  My hunch is that the job Mitch finally lands will be a static one, requiring us to settle down in one area, probably until retirement.  In that case, we will most likely find a campground or mobile home park to stay at long term, at least giving us the opportunity to take the rig out for vacations or weekends. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

A fun weekend - Day 1819 (Year 5, Day 358)

Zephyrhills, FL

This past weekend was Mitch's great-nephew (Duncan, son of Adam, son of Mitch's sister Jane) bar mitzvah in NJ.  It was actually a double bar  mitzvh (b'nai mitzvah) as he shared it with his very close cousin Ben (son of his mother's sister).

We flew up there on Friday and returned Sunday night.  We had a really wonderful time.  The services were very inspirational and the party was a lot of fun.  One of the things they had there was a photo booth.  I had a bit of fun with that:



There was another lost beach opportunity yesterday (Monday).  Mitch had a job interview in Clearwater and dragged me with him.  He dropped me off at a nearby Starbucks so I could get a little bit of work done and we had hoped to take a walk on the famous white powder beach.  Unfortunately, it was raining, as it has been daily for the past 2 weeks.  Instead, we decided to scope out some campgrounds and mobile home parks in the area, in case he was offered the job (which he learned today, he wasn't).

Update to update - Day 1805 (Year 5, Day 336)

Zephyrhills, FL

Since my last post, my left knee has become just painful and my right knee has become excruciating (it should be noted that on Saturday, during Shabbat services, I was literally crying from the pain -- this coming week, when we have 3 days of services in row due to the holiday of Shavout: the giving of the Ten Commandments, I will not be standing at the assigned times.  The worst pain I experience is mostly upon getting up and getting down.

Anyway, I saw the orthopedist yesterday and he took xrays of the right knee.  He agreed that the left knee was bone on bone but the right one had arthritis behind the knee cap and possibly a degenerative tear (but they won't do an MRI yet).  He gave me a cortisone shot in each knee and recommended physical therapy, and agreed, if available locally, aquatic therapy (it is -- just need to get pre-authorization from insurance co).  It's been a nightmare trying to pin all this down, but I will pursue.  And hopefully, if we need to move before all the PT is completed, I'll be able to transfer it to another location.  Meanwhile, the pain medication prescribed is Tylenol, which doesn't even help me for a headache.  So I plan to be in insufferable pain for a while.  But it is what it is.  Thankfully it's not worse.  It's only joints.

Update - Day 1800 (Year 5, Day 331)

Zephyrhills, FL

Wow, I like even numbers -- today is 1800 days since we officially hit the road (and in a few weeks, it will be 5 years!!!)

So... update on the health side.  Nose no longer running and cough is only slight, so much better on the top of my body.  But... I have been in such absolute excruciating pain with both of my knees since last week.  They were sort of achy when I returned from San Antonio; I thought perhaps because I didn't walk as much as I was used to.  But when I returned, I did start walking again and the pain became significantly worse.  It was so bad on Thursday that I decided to go to the urgent care center to get an xray (it was my left knee that was excruciating; the right one was only painful).  They found almost no cartilage and lots of bone spurs.  Yesterday and today it is my right knee that has me in tears because of the pain.  I was given Prednisone and found an hour here or there of relief, but nothing to write home about yet.  I am lucky to have an appt with my regular doctor tomorrow (Monday) and I will ask to have the other knee xrayed and also an MRI, in case there's anything else going on in there.  What I'm having trouble understanding is that if it's arthritis, I don't think the pain would come about almost overnight; it's generally gradual and I would have felt something at some point.  I have never had problems with my knees until 2 weeks ago, so how could the condition be that bad?  Only thing is, I didn't have any injuries or sudden movements that I recall.  In any event, no matter what we find, I can't really take any action until Mitch finds a job, especially if it involves surgery, as I can't make the time commitment if we have to move.

Update on the hydralic situation... nothing yet.  The RV tech wasn't able to come last week; he finally got back to us after 4 days to admit that he had the flu and couldn't come out at least for another week.  But he referred us to his colleague, who will (allegedly) be coming out tomorrow afternoon (hopefully I'll be back from the dr. by then).

Meanwhile, on the job front, last week Mitch got quite a few calls from recruiters (at least 3 different recruiters were calling him about the same position!).  Clearly he meets the criteria for the job; now they just need to get him an interview with the company and give him an offer already!!

Please G-d this will be a week filled with good news.  We need it already.