Where is Countryguy???? - Page 2 - Montana Owners Club

CountryGuy · 11-10-2005, 08:54 AM

Small update

First, thanks for the kind words to ALL OF YOU!!

Next, the computer is back from Houston, looks like the repair went OK, and it still boots. Now, I get to see if I can install the software required to restore my backups. That outta be interesting.

Next, Al got an appointment for his Mom for next Wed. She has a partial blockage of a blood vessel (maybe an artery, I have no idea) in her leg, it is more than 50 % blocked. With her medical conditions they cannot give her blood thinners, so, they are seeing a vascular surgeon. I can envision that this could mess up our Winter Texan plans. They are doing everything they can to get her situated before our hopeful departure date, but you all remember my saying, God Willing ---------- time will tell.

Next: Dogs, for those of you with your own situations, like HamRad, I appreciate that you surely understand what this has been like. Addisons and Cushings are both nasty situations to deal with. Thanks Jeff for your kind words. Today we are all doing pretty good, meds going down and everything else behaving. I am looking into some diet changes as possible solution. In the meantime the doggie tagamet that came from Houston is a wonder drug!

Next: Woke this AM and the stick built house was 63 degrees even tho the furnace was set to about 72. TROUBLE!

The repair man was just here, and it looks like ole Carol will have no furnace in the house until at least next Tuesday, and ohhhh joy, it is gonna be 28 here tonight! Al is at his mom's, I am batching it. The electric heaters are running, but if it gets just too uncomfy in here I will be winter camping in the front yard in Montana. Al told me right off, go stay in Montana. And, I will if I cannot stay warm in the house. Thank goodness we found this BEFORE we got all the way to Mission and the temps here in Tipton drop to 0.

End of report.

Carol

Chuck and Carol · 11-10-2005, 09:32 AM

I can relate to your no furnace problem. Spent a week last winter (December) here in Central NY with no furnace. Electric heaters can do only so much. Never been so cold in my life.
My little guy (dog) has been having a bad week. He has had one seizure after another. Trying to get his insulin adjusted again. He won't eat so that causes a problem. How much more we can do, I don't know. He's 12 years 3 months so are we just postponing what we have to do? Losing my cat (had to put her to sleep) when were on vacation in Virginia was awful. She was only 3.
Here's praying everything gets taken care of quickly.

Carol

OntMont · 11-10-2005, 10:46 AM

Hi Carol,

Obviously you were missed! We can relate to your problems as we have gone through (or are going through, in the case my mother) them. We hope that you have hit bottom and the only place to go now is up (or down, as in down south!). Good luck keeping warm, it is cold here today too, and we had a tornado touch down on a school near here yesterday afternoon. Fortunately, just after school was over for the day, so nobody was hurt. Weird weather! Did you know that November 9 & 10 have more weather disasters than any other dates, including the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald?

DHenry · 11-10-2005, 01:32 PM

Sorry to hear about all the problems you have been having. I wish we were closer to you as we would put a new furnace in your house the next day. We always had 20+ furnaces in our warehouse just to take care of the emergency situatuations. At least you do have the Montana to stay warm in. Take care and KEEP POSTING

CountryGuy · 11-10-2005, 02:30 PM

DHenry, thanks for the offer

Well, it is about 9:15, they say the temp here is 38, only 10 more DOWN to go! HAHA

I have one electric heater running on the first floor of the stick built, themometer down there says it is 65. So far, so good.

I have one electric heater running on the second floor, I have been moving it around, from the office to the bedroom. Seems to be keeping me reasonably comfy. I have on several layers, all that really got cold, SO FAR, was my feet. So, I put on another layer of socks too.

After a couple of really long days, I was ready to take a break, so went to the bedroom, crawled under the comforter with the 4 kids/yorks, and read and sorta watched TV.

I think I will be fine in the bedroom with the heater, the comforter and the 4 little body warmers. We use a couple of these electric heaters in Montana and they do pretty good down to about 40 or so.

BUT, I have the fall back plan, sitting out there in the drive.

OntMont, yes, the weather has been very weird!

Carol, with the sick dog, three things you might try, Nutridrops, Nutrical and AD dog food, call your vet. As you know, if the baby will not eat, that will keep the sugar all out of wack, and that just makes them sick to their tummies and then will not eat. When mine get like that I will let them eat anything they want, turkey, chicken, even barbeque pork (all must be cooked of course). Cottage cheese, yogurt works on getting the correct bacteria in the digestive track, unflavored yogurt works best, but I have used vanilla. Even a bit of peanut butter. Also have used heavy dark molasses and mixed in warm water and put down their throats with a shringe. Boiled hamburger and rice, macaroni and cheese. Get the kids attention with something and try to get some food in there to work WITH the meds. Hard, I know. I wish you luck.

OKKK, nuff chatter, thanks again all,

nite, my comforter and the 4 kids are calling my name.

dsprik · 11-10-2005, 05:38 PM

Carol you will be colder down there than we will be up here... only supposed to get into the upper 20's here. About 5 degrees warmer than you. You probably will have clearer skies. Good luck tonight (although I don't believe in luck, but it's the thought).

Chuck and Carol · 11-10-2005, 11:03 PM

I have maple surup to use when he gets really bad. He is on special dog food and snacks. I could not take his snacks away after all these years. It's the same dog food in can form. I slice it, quarter it and bake it to make little crunchy pieces. God, what we don't do for our pets.

. The lower dose of insulin seems to be helping him, but he needs to go back for the all day monitering test. That will be next week. Being blind doesn't help his confusion. We painted and moved furniture a bit and he's completely lost. When the snow comes I don't know how he will be able to go out. Won't be able to see.

Carol

CountryGuy · 11-11-2005, 02:01 AM

Furnace report: First floor of house dropped to 62 with one electric heater running. I had another going in the bedroom and I actually had to get up and turn it down, as it got too warm, and that is a large room with attached bath. Not bad, not bad at all! The sun is shining today, that will add a little solar heat to the place, this is when I am real glad I have nothing more than curtain toppers on the widows, lets the sun in. On really bitter nights, I am sorry I don't have quilts on the windows! HA HA

Carol, During the winter I have been know to hook the kids up to a leash, open door, and let them out, Only I stand inside, and I can pretty much close the door keeping Mr. Winter outside. One of those retractables works real good under these conditions! HA HA. Then ya can gently pull em right back in. Good luck with his sugar, that is a nasty disease for animals and humans.

jrgwdenner · 11-11-2005, 04:41 AM

Oh, Carol, what an idea. I haven't done that with Greta since this morning! He, he! She was very obligatory, too, and came in quickly for her morning doggie treats.

Gypsy · 11-11-2005, 06:43 AM

Carol - It's good to see you back. My sympathies on all the problems and hope you make it through everything you're facing. I know how hard it is to have sick/dying pets, and also dealing with elderly/ill parents. Stay warm and keep your spirits up! There are lots of us out here rooting for you and Al!

CountryGuy · 11-15-2005, 06:46 AM

Further update:

Gateway (laptop computer) came back fine, but, I cannot get the software to load the backups. I think Al heard my frustration sounds all the way to his mom's house. He can deal with it when he gets back from there. I spent over 8 hours on it, and well, lets just say, grrrrrrrrrrrrr

Furnace guy brought out the parts, they did not do the trick, we have decided to do a new furnace, which will be here late Thursday or Friday, I had turned off electric heaters, hoping the fix was a true fix, temp dropped a bunch real quick. SIGH. EH are back on. Tonight mihgt be the real test as they are saying wind gusts up to 45 MPH, 37 for the low and lots of moisure falling from the sky.

I may bake cookies this afternoon, comfort food and warm up the house!

Carol

I still might get to practice my winter camping skills in Montana!

Champ203 · 11-15-2005, 08:44 AM

Al and Carol,

Although we haven't met and I am a newcomer to the forum, I have followed many of your posts before we bought our Mountaineer last month. Your "motto" at the bottom of your signature gives me a positive outlook everytime I read it because the best family times we have shared have been in our RV's (pop-up, TT, and now the 5er). My wife and I can relate to your life experiences as well we have been throught the tough stuff with our pets and my wife is a cancer survivor. So while life has thrown us some curves, our friends and our faith have carried us through. From reading all of these posts it looks like you guys have had a very positive influence in many peoples' lives, and we are all pulling for you and praying for you. I thought I would leave you with a poem that has helped us through many difficult times:

By David Jeremiah

A Bend in the Road

Sometimes we come to life’s crossroads
And we view what we thinks is the end.
But God has a much wider vision
And He knows that it’s only a bend—
The road will go on and get smoother
And after we’ve stopped for a rest,
The path that lies hidden beyond us
Is often the path that is best.
So rest and relax and grow stronger,
Let go and let God share your load
And have faith in a brighter tomorrow.
You’ve just come to a bend in the road

rogersuemegan · 11-15-2005, 09:33 AM

Beautiful!

sreigle · 11-15-2005, 10:58 AM

Champ203, that was a very nice tribute to Carol and Al. We have met them and they truly are very nice people. We feel good about counting them among our friends.

CountryGuy · 11-15-2005, 12:46 PM

Champ203,

Well, first of all, you took my breath away, what a lovely poem, and we do appreciate your sharing it with us! Thank you so much. And, thank you for your kind words about whatever affect we have on other MOC members through our posts. What do they say - - - -

AWWWW SHUCKS!

Steve & Vicki, we also value your friendship and are pleased to say you are our friends, as so many of the others here that we have been lucky enough to meet at the Rallys and in the Rio Grande.

Al was supposed to take his mom to the doctor tomorrow AM, but something came up, and all of a sudden they were driving through downpours of rain and saw the dr. tonight. He is not very concerned about her legs, but is about a blockage in her neck. More tests are being scheuduled. Al pushed a lot and said, LOOK, we have to leave here the day after Christmas, you have 5 weeks to figure out what to do and DO IT! (His mom agrees with this, by the way, she is very vocal about getting it over so we can leave then.)

In the meantime we are, like those in Ohio, under a tornado watch, and about 45 minutes ago, Lenawee was actually under a warning, the sirens were going off, it was lightening like crazy, several hits had to be near here, geesssh they were loud. The Satellite went down (as in no signal) and I was running around with dogs in my arms shutting off stuff, computers, and such, and about to head for the basement, when I checked the TV and radar one more time, and I was in the clear, FOR THE MOMENT. Some of the stuff down the pike, Ft Wayne, Indianapolis and Nashville are headed this way and it is nasty looking.

Can you imagine how high I jumped when I turned on a light in the office and the bulb blew at just the precise moment that the lightening hit and the battery backup for the computer starting beeping! Whewie, that was a thrill!

A cheap thrill to be sure HA HA HA

Anyway, thanks Champ203 for the lovely poem, I am going to copy it and print it out!

Carol

Parrothead · 11-15-2005, 03:42 PM

Carol
We still have you in our prayers and Al's Mother also. Your story about the light really made me laugh. Hope those bad winds pass right on by you.
Happy trails....................

Mac · 11-15-2005, 04:02 PM

Carol,

Our prayers are with you as well!

mac

OntMont · 11-16-2005, 02:44 AM

Carol,

We hope you came through last night's storms OK. We were also under a tornado watch, but dodged the bullet. While I was checking the radar to see where the storms were heading, I noticed some strong cells around where I thought Tipton was and wondered if you were OK, especially if Al was still away. We really hope that Al's mother can be treated successfully. My mother is still in hospital too, but she seems to be getting a bit better now.

Take care.

CountryGuy · 11-16-2005, 03:10 AM

John and Donna,

Yep, we are still standing. Was a bit dicey for about a half hour, and we got a LOT of rain. Blowing now, colder, and they are talking the snow word here too. We are pretty much getting the same weather from the same storms. The strong cells you saw were SE of Adrian, or at least that was the really nasty one that had possible rotation. I am N of there and a bit W. That said there were a couple of doozies that blew through, so you might have seen all that red stuff over Tipton too!

Very glad to hear your mom is mending a bit. We all know how worrisome and stressful caring for elderly parents is. So many MOC members are dealing with the same situation. Lots of prayers for lots of parents go forth daily.

Carol

CountryGuy · 11-18-2005, 03:34 AM

today's update

Al is home, he was able to get the restore program on the Gateway to work, was not real easy, but he is better at that techy thing than I am. I am currently transferring data files over to the Gateway from the HP via the network, tried to keep a running list of files that I worked on while Gateway was sick. Tis a good thing, to have it back and running. Oh, I got a much faster hard drive out of this little episode, and some new memory (which has not been installed yet)

The furnace man is HERE, installing the new unit. Yesterday AM was the worst, it was 58 in the house, that was a BIT below my comfort level! We brought in the last electric heater we own, running 4 of em, brought it up to about 62, which was tolerable, BUT expensive! Don't even want to see the electric bill this month, OWWWWWIEEEE

Al's mom had to have some blood work, to see if her kidneys were functioning sufficiently to have the scans and stuff they are doing on her. Dr. more worried about the neck artery, not so worried about the legs. Not sure when we will hear anything on this.

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy your families, or your T dinner in your Montana. Seems I am cooking for the clan, they are coming here, at least the last I heard, plans can change, I can take a meal to them if I have to!

Now, I want to know, WHERE ARE BILL AND ANN???? Thought we would be hearing from them by now.

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