Spirometer progress

One of the doctors told Carl that improvement on the spirometer was his "ticket to leave", so he definitely worked on it!

Here is a video of him using it: https://youtu.be/hrRRegsM_8k 

Note that he is breathing *in* (sucking in) to do the measurement. One thing he learned was to blow all air out before starting so he had more lung capacity to breathe in.

Up to 1750!

Carl kept on asking, "Where do I turn this in so I can get my ticket to leave?!?!?"

Moving upstairs

Late Saturday evening, Carl was transferred to an inpatient room upstairs in the hospital...

A much bigger room...

... and private! It had a door between the room and the hallway! Imagine the luxury!

And even an ice bucket thoughtfully provided in the bathroom! (well, maybe not...)

 

Improving breathing

On Friday in the Observation area, a respiratory therapist brought Carl an "incentive spirometer". 

Carl had been saying, "I can only take about 1/2 a breath," or, "Now it feels like I can take about 3/4 of a breath." The respiratory therapist wanted Carl to work on improving that...

On Friday, Carl could only get the spirometer up to about 750. The therapist wanted him to get it up to 1500 -- so, indeed, he was at about 1/2 a breath.

By Saturday, with his pain controlled, Carl was able to get the spirometer up to 1500!!!

At this point, we were thinking that we might be able to head home, but, unfortunately, the medical staff were concerned that his infection would not be addressed by oral antibiotics, so they wanted to admit him to the hospital.

While we were waiting for a room to be assigned (many hours),  

... an imaging tech came by and did a sonogram of his lungs.

Observations in the Observation area

In the Observation area of the Emergency department...

... there were these signs outside some rooms cautioning that the resident was a high fall risk...

... or, when the sign was flipped over, that the resident was just a normal fall risk. We didn't realize when we were in the observation area, but the socks that they give to the patients reflect whether they are a fall risk or not -- yellow socks = fall risk, grey socks = able to transfer and walk unassisted. (Carl had grey socks.)

The Observation area was not a very restful place. While there were walls between the areas where the beds were located, there were only curtains between the rooms and the hallways. Carl's room was right near the doors that led into the Observation area from the regular emergency room so people were being brought in all hours of the day and night and the doors were opening and closing, which was very disruptive.

The second night in the Observation area, the lady in the room next to Carl's got a phone call after 11pm (quiet times were 10pm-6am). She was talking quite loudly... Carl thought, "maybe a few minutes", but after 20 minutes he loudly said, "It is quiet time, please get off your phone!" The lady didn't get off the phone, but talked more quietly for another hour or more... Needless to say, Carl didn't get very good rest. There was no accommodation for a guest in the Observation area, so I went home and took care of (or was taken care of by) Miss Kitty.

Back to the hospital

Thursday (a week ago) found us returning to Banner Gateway hospital... Carl's pain had ramped up and we could not get it controlled at home, so we returned to the Emergency Room. The nurse doing triage was one who had attended Carl on Sunday when we were at the ER.

This time, they did more testing and eventually decided to keep Carl in the Observation area -- also part of the Emergency Department, where they could monitor him more closely and see if the antibiotic and pain management therapies were working for him.

Settled in for the night in the Observation area

Breakfast Friday morning -- when Carl's pain was managed, he really felt amazingly well -- not able to get a full breath, but able to walk around and sit up and enjoy eating.

The status board in the Observation area let us know that he could be discharged at any time.

Lunch -- meatloaf with potatoes and gravy and broccoli -- that was a huge serving of meatloaf and about half a crown of broccoli!

While in Observation, they were able to administer a couple of broad spectrum IV antibiotics which had a better chance of addressing the infection that Carl had. They could also administer pain medications via IV. It took a little while to get the right combination going, but after about 36 hours, Carl's pain was under control and his breathing was becoming easier.

Sinclair fuel stations

When we were out-and-about on Wednesday (we had gone to see Carl's pulmonary care doctor as a follow-up to the Sunday ER visit and were heading home), we saw a Sinclair fuel station.

Carl took a picture to share with his brother -- they used to have one near their house in Elmhurst and would go there to get air for their bike tires.

We have seen other Sinclair stations around our area of Mesa. I don't think we ever had Sinclair stations in Virginia, though I remember their dinosaur logo. I thought that they might be out of business. But it appears they are still active in the southwest and mountain states (https://stations.sinclairoil.com/).

Venture Out Swing Band

On Monday March 9, we enjoyed the talents of several of our neighbors here at Venture Out as the Swing Band presented their annual performance:

They are quite impressive!

If you'd like to hear a 40 second snippet of their performance, check out Carl's video here: https://youtu.be/wiULV9Ki2ok 

We are always amazed by the talent that surrounds us in our community!

Subway's Million Meatball Monday

Subway sandwich stores regularly have "Meatball Monday" where they have a special price on their 6" meatball sub. On Monday, March 9, Meatball Monday coincided with National Meatball Day, so they decided to run a promotion to serve a million meatballs in one day. Carl had gotten the promotion information (you could get a foot-long meatball sub for the special price on the 6", but you had to ask for it at the store, it wasn't advertised -- also, participating locations only). https://newsroom.subway.com/2026-03-05-Subway-R-Seeks-to-Serve-1-Million-Meatballs-on-National-Meatball-Day-with-Free-Footlong-Upgrades

So, we headed out to a nearby Subway... we asked if they were a participating location, they were not. We headed to another one -- initially they said that they were participating, but then they said they were not... so we left. By this point, it was a quest, so, before heading to a third location (they are all within 5 miles of where we live), I called and the manager there said, "Yes! We are participating!"

At the Subway

Carl's footlong meatball sub (and my 6" Chicken Teriyaki Onion sub) 

Cheap seniors, trying to save money, spending all their savings in fuel!

A detour on Sunday

On Sunday early morning (overnight), Carl woke up with pain in his side. He thought that maybe he had slept wrong, but he was having difficulty getting a full breath. After getting up, he got on his computer and had some coffee, and thought that things were okay, or at least, not as bad as overnight. We got ready and were driving to church when he said that he didn't think he was going to be able to be comfortable sitting in church, and maybe we should go to the emergency room instead. 

We headed to Banner Gateway ER and they took him in pretty quickly...

The ER has different "zones" -- he was initially placed in the Green Zone...

... you notice that he is in nice slacks... we were definitely overdressed for the ER. The Green Zone room was a regular room, with glass sliding doors covered by curtains separating patients from the other parts of the Green Zone activity.

A sign in the room indicated that we would probably be moved to a test results waiting area before discharge, and, indeed, they did move him...

... to the Red Zone. In this area, there were just curtains around each area...

Each area had a lounge-type chair, and some of them had a side chair. Some of the areas were only large enough for the lounge chair, and right next to you was a curtain and on the other side of the curtain was another patient in their lounge chair, sometimes talking on the phone, sometimes coughing... it was pretty uncomfortable.

Most of the other people in the Red zone were there for just a short time; the nurse would come to give them their discharge instructions and they would be on their way. 

We had been in the green zone for about two hours when Carl was moved to the red zone. Then we waited for test results. The "provider" (they aren't called "doctors" because they might be nurse practitioners, or physician assistants, or MDs) came and gave a preliminary result of pneumonia, but he wanted to do a CT with contrast for further results. We waited for 1.5+ hours for the young lady to come to transfer him for the CT scan. 

Carl in the red zone

Ultimately, we were at the ER for about 7 hours, and went home with prescriptions for 2 antibiotics and a pain med. 

A new toy at the Bocce ball courts

When we played Bocce Friday a week ago, we had the opportunity to use a new device that they have for the bocce ball courts -- a laser measure. 

The game of bocce has each team try to get their balls as close as possible to the palina. Determining which ball is closest is used in determining which team throws their ball next, and which team scores. Sometimes it is easy to determine which ball is closest just by looking, but sometimes it is not. We have had tape measures that are mounted on top of a cylinder that fits over the palina -- we pull out the tape measure and check the distance to "ball 1" and then "ball 2" to see which is closer (ball 1 would belong to one team, and ball 2 to the other team). 

In this case, the two balls in question were more than 2' away from the palina, and using the tape measure they appeared to be equi-distance. But recently, the courts had received laser measuring devices, and this was the first time either of the two teams that were playing had the opportunity to try it out... The balls that were being measured had been thrown from our end of the court -- generally the team members at the other end of the court do the evaluation, and generally only two people (one from each team) do the evaluation. In this case, because there was interest in the new device, the bench emptied, even a guy from our end of the court went along with a fellow from the next door lane who had used the laser measuring device previously -- I didn't go, so I got the pictures...

A great confab on the bocce ball court as everyone watched one fellow use the new laser measuring device...

"Blue has the closest ball!" (not our team, but you can see the celebration as it was determined!)

Our matches are really just for fun (and maybe bragging rights), so before having the laser measuring device, we would have just said that it was a tie and gone on to the next "end" without changing the score. In this case, the laser measuring device determined that the balls were within 0.02' of each other (about 1/3"). And... it is always fun to have a new tool to play with!

Tennis rummage sale

Twice during the winter season, the Tennis club at Venture Out sponsors and runs a rummage sale. They take donations from residents on Thursday, and on Friday, they run the sale.

The furniture is displayed on the patio outside the tennis courts. Two tennis courts are set up with all the non-furniture items that are available for sale. There is quite a line up in the minutes before the gates to the courts open as people prepare to find their treasures in the sale!

We don't usually get there before the gates open, but we did last Friday so joined the line pretty much at the end. We found a few things that we could use - some duplicates of items that we have in the rig so we don't have to move things back and forth from our "summer home" (Gracie) to our "winter home" (the park model).

The proceeds from the sale go back to the Social Board and serve to fund projects for any of the clubs in the park. They may go to projects that the tennis club has, but they may also go for another club -- glass arts, woodworking, electronics, bocce ball, horseshoes, etc. Each club identifies its needs and wants to the Social Board and the Board decides how the funding gets spent. It means that shopping helps out Venture Out, so we're actually serving our community by shopping! Yeah, right, that's why we do it!!!

A visit to American Discount Foods

A couple of friends had suggested that a visit to American Discount Foods might be an enjoyable outing for us, so, we were in the neighborhood and decided to check it out...

The store was *huge*. I think they get items when the items are close to their "best buy" date or "expiration" date. It isn't a place where you can do all of your grocery shopping, and I doubt that the products they have are the same from one visit to the next, but it definitely is an "experience"!

Carl just took a few photos...

The bulk frozen food was accessed through the back area storage area where the employees were getting the products on pallets to stock the dry goods.

5 pounds of venison medallions

The checkout area (when we came in to the store, we were way over in another corner of the store and we weren't initially sure where the checkout registers were located)

There were sayings on the walls (here a portion of the pledge of allegiance) and Bible verses on the backs of the tee-shirts that the employees were wearing.

Another picture of a quote from the Declaration of Independence

A product that we saw -- we didn't get this... but we'd never heard of "Spicy Cajun Crawtators"!

It was an experience, and we're glad we went. There is another location that is closer to Venture Out that we'll need to check out at some point...

Visiting friends in Florence

Our friends, Nancy and Steve, let us know that they would be visiting friends Mark and Wendy in Florence and asked if we'd like to come out and join them. We decided we'd drive out for a day rather than taking Gracie out there...

We joined up with Nancy and Steve, EJ and Frank, and Mark and Wendy at Mark and Wendy's house in Florence. Mark and Wendy have a nice size lot and are fixing up the manufactured home that is on the lot, so they can accommodate visitors in RVs.

(Side note: we have visited Florence before, and I guess we may have noticed that there is a prison there. But just recently, we've met a man at church who shared with us that he "spent 8 years in Florence"... now, Florence is not the garden spot of the world, so I just thought that he meant that he was in a backwater town for 8 years... but he went on to tell more of his story and he was in prison there -- so now when I tell people here that we're going to visit friends in Florence, I say, "We're going to visit friends who have a *house* in Florence!") 

While we were visiting, Mark recommended that we might enjoy visiting an area called "The Boulders", so we drove out there...

This area of boulders is so different from the land driving up to it...

It looks like some giant was playing with rocks and has just stepped away.

Our group...

Another picture of our group with a different view behind us

Ocotillo amidst the boulders

View out to more distant mountains

Another view out toward the mountains to the east (? or north?)

Mark and Wendy recommended that we go to another viewpoint into the Boulders... 

This appeared to be private property (there was a gate below the sign that prevented us from entering the property).

A view down the road beyond the gate

We went back to Mark and Wendy's place and got supper together -- we had brought a macaroni salad and dessert (since we couldn't cook in the afternoon); everyone else participated in the cooking and we had a magnificent feast!

On our drive home, the sun was setting...

I didn't get the picture that I wanted (at one point, there was a narrow gap in the hills to the west that the sun was illuminating like a gap between teeth) -- but it still was pretty!

We appreciated the opportunity to get together with friends! It was kind of like a miniature Quartzsite gathering but a lot shorter drive for us!

Concert Series - Hillbilly Deluxe Variety Show

Our resort has a concert series -- 6 shows during the season from January-March -- that features entertainers who come in from outside the park to put on a show. Many of them are tribute bands (John Denver, Tina Turner). Some folks buy season tickets and purchase them year after year to get the same reserved seats in the ballroom theater seating. But there are always tickets available to purchase for single shows, so we bought tickets for the Hillbilly Deluxe Variety Show. It was described as a "high energy show that will bring the giddy up! Songs from Shania Twain, George Strait, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Miranda Lambert, Pat Benatar, Journey, and many more!"

Carl got several videos from their performance, and I think you might enjoy a watch and listen: https://youtu.be/4CSg4QfIMhc 

We were on the very last row of the ballroom so not very close up to the performers, but this way you get a view of the whole stage. 

POlka Lovers Klub of America (Po.L.K. of A.) - Arizona Chapter

We joined the POlka Lovers Klub of America for a Sunday afternoon dance at another resort in Mesa.

The band for the day we went was from Minnesota -- they just come to Mesa during Spring break time as some of the band members are in college.

One of the things we like about going to the Po.L.K.of A. dances is that the dance floor is not very crowded. The dance floor at Las Palmas Grand also is a very nice floor.

Lots of people from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa who love to polka.

Their flyer for this season.

We are not polka dancers, but when we've gone before, the band has played two polkas, two waltzes, two Latin songs, and two country songs. The band when we went this time did a lot more polkas, and their waltzes were VERY fast (probably 6/8 time rather than 3/4 time). We generally enjoy waltzing and country/western timed (4-count) music. Each band that plays for the Po.L.K. of A. dances has their own style and favorites -- I would say that the one we happened to pick this time didn't play as much music that we enjoyed dancing to as others might.

We'll still go back again -- we like the dance floor, and the members of the club are very welcoming.

A visit to Silver Star Theater

One of our neighbors on Douglas (where our RV lot and the casa are located) had purchased a block of tickets at the Silver Star Theater for their "Twist and Shout Jukebox" show. We thought it would be fun to share the evening with friends from the park so purchased two tickets from him to be able to participate!

Silver Star Theater

The show we were to see

Information about the facilities for cleaning the air in the theater! This was a monitor with a live view of the status of the air cleaners.

Inside the theater -- Doc had gotten tickets that were right down front -- not the absolute closest, but the next tables back.

Line for the buffet dinner -- when we first went up, there was a long line for the "cold" buffet (salads, fruits) so we got our hot food first. When we went back, there was a long line for the "hot" buffet so it was a perfect time to get a salad for our second course!

After everyone finished their dinners, the show started...

The performers on stage -- 

A video of their performance: https://youtu.be/cb9A3UWHJsg 

The young lady who was in the group was a great singer and performer -- she changed costumes and hair color/length almost every song. She said that she answered an ad for "a female singer needed for a boy band" and that she thought that the guys may have been stretching the definition of "boy band" by a bit.

This fellow played a number of instruments -- he evidently has recently finished cancer treatments.

This is information about the saxophone he was playing.

 If you'd like to hear part of the song with that Big Bubba saxophone, listen here: https://youtube.com/shorts/Iwc6tAC7e0k

The performance included lighting and video changes -- the guys changed their jackets too, but that wasn't as noticeable as the girl changing her dress.

This is the same guy who played the Big Bubba saxophone.

Another outfit...

... and yet another!

We really enjoyed the show and it was made even more special being able to share it with friends and neighbors!