Gloomy Rainy Day

(Avon Park, FL) Hi 81 Lo 61 -- It's the middle of February and it was muggy when we got up, so we knew it was going to be a very warm day, but it turned out cloudy and rainy by late afternoon. That's OK because we sure need the rain.

Today we finally took care of Jim's atrial fibrillation once and for all. As we've covered before, Jim had A-fib (heart out of rythm) about five years ago and they cardioverted him back to normal. That means they used a defibrillator to "jump start" his heart back into rythm. His A-fib returned this past December and the cardiologist had intended to let him live with it and just manage the stroke risk with Warfarin. However, we (along with Jim's regular physician) pushed for the cardioversion, and the cardiologist finally agreed to it. So we went to the Tampa Veterans Hospital today and they put him to sleep and did the deed. It was a very short procedure, and after about two hours in the recovery room he walked out of the hospital and about a quarter of a mile to the car and we were on our way home. Very simple and routine. His heart is back to normal, and if it stays that way for three months he'll be off the Warfarin. So that's one stressful thing that's been taken care of.

We had signed up for a table at tomorrow's flea market in the clubhouse so Jim could sell some of the knives in his collection. But after thinking about it all this week he decided he can't part with any of his collection just yet. However, we are looking forward to going over tomorrow to see what people have for sale.

We're gearing up for the 2012 NASCAR racing season. They're practicing at Daytona today and all this next week, with the twin Gatorade Duel races on Thursday. Then next Sunday it's the Daytona 500. We always look forward to the new season after three months of no racing. We used to go to five or six races a year when we lived in NC in the 90's, but we're now content to watch the races on TV. It's a lot cheaper and we don't have to fight the traffic.  :)  We gave some thought to going over to Daytona, but they charge $20 just to watch them practice. Going to the track has become too expensive for us. We may go to another race someday at a track we haven't been to, but until then we're happy in front of our TV.

Update on mom. She has a Kindle Fire tablet, and with low blood circulation in her fingers she couldn't get the touchscreen to work. I asked on Facebook if anyone had any ideas about this. It was mentioned that a stylus would work. I ordered one and had it shipped to her. She tried it out and it's working great. In fact, she's much more comfortable "writing" on the screen like with a pen than trying to move her fingers on it. Thanks to those of you who recommended it.

Here's a little "Dr. Seuss" humor for you. (Click  on the image to make it larger.)