Hi Everyone..We had some summer like weather this week..Two days in a row Ive had the air conditioners going, and got to use the air in my new truck for the first time this week

I decided to go to the Dr on Tuesday for a follow up on my foot, because it had been 10 days and it was still sore..He looked at it and said it wasnt infected, and wiggled my toes and asked me if I felt any pain..My middle toe hurt when he wiggled it, so the Doc said that I did more damage than I thought I had done..He recommended to keep soaking it in epsom salts, and to take 2 Aleves 3 times a day to reduce the swelling, and also to apply a skin softener on the foot as well..Wednesday I finally was able to walk on it without experiencing any pain, and today it is ok but still healing..What a long drawn out ordeal that has been

I have been having trouble with my electricity going out recently, so I called an electrician..who didnt return my call, so I call another one and they came down and changed the main breaker, and they suggested that I replace the breaker panel, and go with a 30 breaker panel, because there are two wires going to some of the other breakers and they said that the box was maxed out..Ive have trouble running my compressor and my welder, because the breaker constantly pops, so I decided to take their advise and have them make the change..Some of the other breakers in the box are old and on their way out as well, so its time to "Git er Done"..I really did want to spend that much money, but, such is life..I feel its the best/safest way to go

Im finally going to get my conch traps in the water this week..This deal with my foot set me back, but what are ya gonna do?..Thats life..I m just grateful that Im still healthy enough to fish another season

I facilitated my first support group meeting today..Yup..Im officially the new facillitator..The group was very small today, I guess because of the holiday weekend..It really amazes me how my life has filled up after being officially disabled on SSDI..Im as busy as I was before I "retired"..

How was your week?



The New Discovery Channel Series

"Cash Crab"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Fp-jjSzvVo

Last week we took our camper up to Illinois to visit with oldest son's family. Saw one of my grandsons run the 3200 meters in a regional high school track meet. He was the fastest freshman and he beat several upper classmen in his heat. He also runs cross-country. Enjoyed time with the family and helped my son put up a basketball goal for the grandson.
Returning through Arkansas we stayed one night each at two really nice state parks, one of them our favorite, Petit Jean SP near Morrilton. Fished some in the lake there and caught a nice-sized crappie that almost bent my fly rod double. Had lunch at the mountain-top lodge with a breathtaking view of the Arkansas River valley before returning home Thursday.
Today we planted squash in our garden, adding them to the tomatoes planted four weeks ago. Will add bush beans and/or peppers next. Ah, summertime, and retirement too!
I am feeling great, with minimal-to-no progression of symptoms on my sinemet/amantadine/DM/CoQ10 regimen.
Steve, take good care of that foot. Congratulations and kudos for all that you do for other PWP, including us here on this forum. The folks in your groups are fortunate to have you to work with them. You have a rare mix of gifts of generosity, patience, intelligence and sensitivity to others. Thanks for sharing them with us!

Robert

I figured i'd better check in as I havn't for weeks and it looks like I will not have much time for the computer the next little while. Although I will try too keep up with those of you I send the occasional e-mail to. There is so much going on here that it changes on a daily basis...I may have to move again which is a first class bummer. I'd say it's partly due to PD and partly to do with circumstance, but as circumstance has a direct affect on PD, I'll put all the blame on circumstance. It all started with a small insignificant event and has snowballed into insanity ( the human kind). Of course it's the worst of all possible times to have to move and I REALLY don't want to. The people who own the house have made some not very realistic decisions, and everyone around them is going "have they lost their minds???" I had a chance to talk to their daughter-in-law this afternoon and asked her what she thought of the changes and she just rolled her eyes. For me it means there will either be complete strangers renting the main house, or it will be empty. And I am in no condition to do all the maintainance and keep up with putting out the garbage weekly etc etc etc. while they are off leading a life they are nowhere near accustomed to. Can dementia hit people(couples who have lived together for many years), at the same time -after, lets say...35 years? anyway I'm getting out the sleeping pills tonight as a good nites sleep is the first step in hanging on to my own sanity. But first I think I'll have a Salami sandwhich and a cup of hot milk! I'll be around, but not as often. If they find a cure for PD between now and the end of the summer...someone please let me know.
In the meantime, keep those paddles in the water! JW

Are those formidable king crabs or what!!! There's nothing on this earth that tastes better than a king crab from cold waters (in Spain we get ours from Scotland and Ireland), washed down with a glass of cool, hard cider. It has been one of my life's great pleasures and it is the one food I miss the most - Sinemet is not compatible with proteins. Down with Sinemet, down with PD, long live the King (Crab)!!!!

All I have this check-in is grandchildren stories:

My 9 yr old granddaughter is beginning to go through the hormone changing years. On Thursday I was sitting on the family room soft and could see her standing in the kitchen. She was running the palms of her hands up and down both legs and arms. I thought it was a bit odd until she came into the family room and announced, "I have to tell Mom that I need to start shaving."

I giggled, as any good grandmother would do when picturing having such a discussion between mother and daughter.

The next morning I found on the refrigerator...where all good families post stuff...a note Mom had written, "When Amy is 11 yrs old, she can shave her legs. Mom"


My daughter and her family will be moving to a much larger home near the end of June. The house is large enough that the downstairs will need more furniture to fill out the empty spaces. So, yesterday, mom and dad left the three kids (Amy is the oldest) with grandmothers.

I had my walking stick. My counterpart grandmother had her wheeled/seated walker. We walked the kids the three blocks to the library, checked out a tall stack of eight books. Then two more blocks on to the ice cream shop on the busy Gettysburg Square (which is actually round...LOL). We allowed the kids to have double scoops. In his usual very loud voice my 6-1/2 yr old grandson, Simon, asked, "This is the best day I have ever lived. Which grandmothers idea was it to get ice cream?" My counterpart grandmother said, "It was Grandma Carolyn's idea." Simon looked at me and announced, "I love you more than I ever have before."

good for you steve, i know you realy love it. i havent been out grouper ssnapper fishing in 5 months, between farm stuff, family stuuff, and getting my mind to accomidate this pd stuff, well. i need to have my baot hauled, scraped, painted, and the engines adjusted. i'm ready to go.
i can't express to everyone in this forum how much i appreciate you i've learned sooo much here and the realness of what life with pd means to pwp and caretakers. ihope i can contribute my share. i come here every day.

thanks to all of you here
ps - the drought here is getting worse but at least we're having lots of blue skies and sunshine

Hi All,
It's been a fun day. We went to my brothers house for a cook out. I managed to stumble and fall, in dog poop of course. When we got home my daughter and I went out to the shop to work on a school project. I managed to super glue my fingers together 3 times. Once I had both hands glued together. My daughter was a lot of help. She laughed so hard I think she peed her pants. Lucky for me I had some debonder handy. It was quite a site. Both hands glued together and shaking harder and harder. I had to get her to put the debonder on my hands because between the laughing, and shaking I couldn't do it.
I think I'll just stick around home tonight.

Have a good week!

GregD

Been a couple of years so it is about time.

Tennessee is hot and dry - enough to be worrisome. My mother and sister and niece came in to visit from South Mississippi for a week and went back a week ago. They stayed with my aunt but the obligatory visits and forced feeding darned near killed me. All the women in my family are crazy. Get four of them in the same room and you get four fast, high volume monologues going at once. After several days of it I started shutting down and it has taken almost a week to get back anywhere near where I was. Just about the worst I've been.

But I went into "kitchen sink" mode (as in throw everything at it) and have been a little better each day. With a little luck I will be able to do a little fishing myself by the end of the week.

Nothing much happening out my way. The weather has been cool in the mornings and evenings but nice and warm during the day which has been great.

We hosted a BBQ for my young-onset support group. It was fun to have them over and just sit and talk. I'm lucky in that you couldn't ask for a greater group of people. Everyone just gets along so well. Amazing.

I bought a bicycle so i can continue to do whatever I can to stay in shape and fight my PD. It took me a couple of times to "re-gain" my balance but now it's really fun. It's a nice addition to my fitness regimen.

Been trying to get a new phone. Wanted a Blackberry or something similar for my business, so when I'm traveling I can check and send emails, etc. Well, finally broke down and got one but discovered that with my Parkie fingers, working the key pad is nothing more than a journey of frustration each and every time. So, back to the store it goes and I'll just get a "normal" phone. Such is life.

Have also been dealing with printers getting t-shirts made up, as well as marketing materials, letterhead, envelopes, etc. I think I need an assistant to handle all this stuff because I don't enjoy that side of the business. Ugh...

Have a great week everyone!

Todd, wait till the new Mac iPhone is available. It has no keyboard, you do everything touching the screen with your finger. It will be truly revolutionary for people like us.