A cold sunny Monday morning. After Wednesday of this week the temps drop into the highs in the 40s. Brrr...but I like cooler/cold weather.
Saturday was our first foray into East TN. Wow! Still six weeks from the storm and it looked like a war zone. Not that I have seen a war zone in person but looked the same as the WWII documentaries on the history channel. The metal buildings wrapped around and the tanks that were probably underground stacked together in one spot. The houses, the trees and all the rocks moved by the river brought tears to my eyes. The TNDOT has done a fabulous job of opening one lane each way on I 26. We took the Erwin exit to go to Food City but if we had wanted to go to The Farmer's Daughter, turning left was not an option. Read that so many of the small bridges on the way are damaged or gone. I had read the exit for Erwin coming from Johnson City was closed but later we found out that they had opened it. Thus we stopped at Pals for a delicious lunch on the ride back home.
Tuesday morning we noticed that the water wasn't that hot. Of course we know what that means. So we got on the phone, called around looking for a plumber. I remembered using a local guy several years ago. Roy called and he could be at our house by noon. Long story short, needed a new water heater. Roy helped a little bit and that is in the crawl space. Ugh! We had hot water by 5:30 pm. As Roy and the plumber visited, he told Roy that normally we would have had to schedule several weeks out because he was that busy...until he wasn't. Helene has disrupted his business. When water is murky coming out of the faucet you're not scheduling any repairs until the water clears up. At the right time the water heater went out. I think that water heater was about 12-13 years old. That is commendable service.
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Today was one of those days I had been dreading for several months. We stacked Roy's ophthalmology appt and my cardiologist appt. In between the appointments we ate at Zaxby's and went to the Fresh Market. Traffic was getting worse the farther we went down Hendersonville Road. Zaxby's was a great choice because you do not want to eat a heavy meal before being weighed in at the doctor office. We did buy celebratory cake at Fresh Market in anticipation of a good appointment. We got to the cardiologist office a few minutes early. I had fixed my cough syrup in a small bottle and gulped it down. It is the only thing that stops this coughing. My Rowe Casa order should arrive this week with more cough syrup. We got in to the waiting room. I had just sat down when they called my name. All those old people sitting there hated me at that moment. I was seeing a PA, not one of the doctors. I still have kept off most of the weight I lost from the October sickness. My blood pressure was good and my heart rate was back in the 60s. They been keeping it lower but all were pleased with the result. EKG, looked really good and they have pushed back the stress test a couple of months, maybe even after my May appointment. Here's the thing...when I was checking out I asked when I should call to make a May appointment. She said, I can make your appointment today. What? Mission Hospital/Asheville Cardiologists is coming into the 20th century? I know it is the 21st century it just seems like everything moves so slow here. I then told her she nearly put me in shock with this news and guess it was a good place to be revived. That is the first time I have ever seen this woman laugh. She tends toward cranky. I left the office, got Roy from the waiting room and we were off...with a jump in my steps.
Being in Arden reminded me too much of Houston. The traffic, the traffic and well, the traffic. I am so glad we didn't want to buy anywhere that was just like Katy or Houston. Ah, this rural life is great. It has been a while since Roy has been in a Zaxby's and although his eyes had not been dilated they had put drops in his eyes that hindered some of his vision. I order a salad and he asks about hamburgers. It got real quiet around us. Told Roy Wendy's was next door but we were at a chicken place. He ordered a sandwich and went back and got an order of egg rolls. Those egg roles were pretty good.
We may get some snow on Friday. The fall has been a little warmer than usual so it seems like quite the surprise. I used to not get cold often but now that has changed. If I could carry a space heater with me everywhere, I would be so happy. There are no battery operated heaters, at least there weren't the last time I checked. Just checked, still not good choices.
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