Here to there and back kind of day

A really nice spring day. The grass is greening over, flowers are popping up and the tree buds are fattening up ready to burst. While going over the lawn tractor in the shed I interrupted the birth of some mice. Dealt with that, later I'll have to open up the engine block and clean out the nesting materials and whatever else was dragged in there over the winter. Hard to keep those little buggers out, having a cat on the prowl doesn't deter them as long as the door is shut Scotia can't get in there. Though I'm still suppose to be taking it easy from last weeks surgery I did a little leaf raking in one part of the yard where the late season leaf dropping formed a impenetrable blanket that even moles had difficulty emerging from. This afternoon Carol and her sisters are taking a etching class. I'll drop her off with them then I'll head into the office to use my office computer which has the software I need to produce my town's warrant and budget document. Need to get that started and well along. That and the town report were things I used to do as a part-time employee on a computer system they provided. The software, Adobe InDesign, is a bit expensive so I haven't yet purchased. I was able to do the town report on my home computer with a free 30-day trial version. The task does add some coin to the household budget and keeps me from straining myself, at least for today.

Happy Easter

Another Easter has come and gone. Again this year my family gathered at our Mom's house, 14 of us altogether. Again as good of a time as can be with the usual family give and take of stories, politics and kidding with news of recent activities and those on the horizon. Some nieces and nephews grown up with jobs or others commitments as well as a sister and sister-in-law not able to attend my thoughts include them in the hope that we'll see them in the near future. With all the gabbing and eating it's funny that no thought to snap a few photos though the Easter Bunny Cake made it's appearance reflected with frosted diversity - when the cake was done baking Mom realized she didn't have any white frosting so she went with coconut and pecan, a bunny of a different color. Tastes good anyway you frost it!

Compare to last year's Bunny Cake

Is that a laser in your pocket?

My GreenLight Laser surgery for BPH was successful though the final effectiveness may be a week or more before the results manifest itself. I'll spare readers the details, I don't think it makes very good reading. Suffice to say I'm glad the surgery is over and I look forward to getting through the recovery stage. Some of the prep for surgery was something familiar to many and for me when I had accompanied Ian for some foot surgery a few years ago. Such as how many people ask you what your name is and what's your birthdate? What kind of surgery are you having today? Have you ever had surgery before? Do you have any allergies? Are you allergic to latex? At least four people for each must have asked me those questions and more though I thought the janitor stopping by to ask was a little too much. The gurney ride to the the operating room was surreal, is it normal to think about jumping up and running out to the parking lot? Then there's that movie scene of looking up into the giant lamps hung over the the operating table and the nurses moving around making last minute adjustments. The anesthesiologist's assistant setting the oxygen mask near my mouth instructing me breath regularly and then... waking up in a new room with new faces and of course - new questions. I think I got them right because a little while later they let me leave.

First time for everything

In this case it's surgery. I've decided to have prostate reduction surgery. It's a minor procedure so I'll be home by suppertime and will be out of work recovering for a few days at least. A couple of weeks ago I had a cystoscopy exam and my urologist determined that I had BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia), enlargement of the prostate. Earlier this year because the blood work from my annual physical showed a rapid rise of the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) since the previous physical I had a biopsy to check for prostate cancer, the lab results came back benign so that was a relief. So began the journey to the point I'm at now. It seems urologists can't get enough of what's going on down there.

I think it's a good time to have it done at my age and being in good general health. The method of surgery I'm having is called GreenLight Laser Therapy which working through the urethra vaporizes the intrusion and more of the prostate that has closed in the part of the urethra that descends from the bladder. Pretty freaky but I'll be under anesthesia so I can avoid witnessing the process. The recovery isn't quite a bed of roses for a reason I'll spare you from in this space but I will say "it's going to sting".

Let the healing begin

Now back to our regularly scheduled programing. Justalittleisenough is never enough when it comes to RV shows. Carol and I made our annual stop at the Portland RV and Campground Show. The organizers were able to put on a much better show than they had the last 2 or 3 years and there were plenty of interesting campers including a couple lines of expanded teardrop type campers. Nice quality but still very compact. There were a couple of travel trailers we liked and a "park model", basically a little house good for seasonal campsites which in this case was of cabin style construction with a screen porch. This sort of dovetailed into a booth we visited when we first arrived, campsites you buy as part of a campground on a lake in New Hampshire. Tempting.

Came this close?!?

So much for my delusions of grandeur to win $260 if Kentucky was to be victorious in their semi-final game against University of Connecticut, they lost. Carol and I watched the game forgoing our usual Saturday night Netflix DVD. It was an exciting game though Kentucky never seemed about to seize the lead for any length of time and the clock ran out on them. Well, it was fun while it lasted. Now it's baseball season so that will be the sport of choice through the summer - PLAY BALL!

Just a reminder, it can snow in April

At least in Maine, we know that all too well. In this case it happens on All Fools Day, appropriate for anyone thinking that it's spring time and we've left the snow behind. Here on Ledge Hill the tally is around 8 to 10 inches. Though I'm expecting it gone in a few days I did clear the driveway and enough of a path for the dogs to do business. On the plus side temperatures are on the rise for the next week and some rain will fall. The wait for "true" spring continues. As a teaser Carol and I will head for another campground and RV show, this one in Portland. Also, two weeks from today it's pick up the camper day as I'll retrieve the rig from storage in Cumberland.