ZOELO
Thursday, December 23, 2010
SETTLING INTO OUR NEW HOME
It’s official, we are now Californians. We have our drivers’ licenses, car registration, voter registration and even organ donations. The logistics of moving have been almost overwhelming but we now have cable tv (free but $10 a month for HD), broadband for our computers and a digital local phone. We even have our Netflix streaming up and running. We have had our rig brought down to the storage lot here in the community in the hopes of better control on selling it. Susan has sent down many of our old pictures from Scottsdale since she is moving and so our place has a more settled appearance now. I am especially happy to have our Chinese liquor cabinet back.
There are clubs for every conceivable interest here (even a medical marijuana group) but we have been too busy to check them out. We did have two couples over for Thanksgiving. We went to the annual Christmas parade of boats at Newport Beach. Unfortunately, it was raining and so not the usual 200 boats were out. We also went to a LGBT dinner and met some interesting people that we hope to get to know better. Of course, Zoe is already thinking about how she could make it better. Now that the logistics have been taken care of, we are hoping to become more active and meet more people.
I’ve found a great doctor who is a diplomat in both cardiology and internal medicine. I like the idea of someone who can treat all of my body. I’m also going to an orthopedic doctor as my walking seems to be getting worse rather than better (It’s my back not my legs.) He has the most fantastic physical therapy setup I have ever seen. My daughter Peggy calls it a ‘spa’ and in truth it is. There is a table where you lay down with low electrical stimulation while a warm whirlpool bed massages your back. There is an arcade kind of platform where the screen is divided into four squares and a circle moves around between the squares. You need to move little balls into the circles with the movement of your balance. There is also a vibrator platform that most people stand on but because of my knee replacement, I sit on it and do leg exercises. I’m looking forward to getting on the ‘rack’, a table that stretches you. It looks like it will feel good to get pressure off my vertebrae for a while. After the exercises, a chiropractor checks my spine to see what progress has been made.
Right now I am going three times a week which is a drag but I want my walking improved by Sept. when we go to Venice for two weeks.
Sunday, December 05, 2010
BIG CHANGES
Zoe and I have never shied away from changes and are on our way to another one.
When we left the houseboat this year, we headed to an Alfa repair place to have some upgrades installed (Blue Ray e.g.). While they were working on the rig, we drove down to see some friends in a retirement community at Laguna Woods, CA. We were thoroughly impressed with the town of over 18,000 residents. It has everything and all maintenance inside and out is taken care of (my favorite part). It is a beautiful location between San Diego and Los Angeles and has huge tree (Zoe’s favorite part) over 50 years old. It is only six miles from the ocean and there is LGBT group of over 200.
We shared with each other that we were ready for some changes in our life. I felt that I no longer had the strength or energy to help with the maintenance of the houseboat or the rig. Zoe felt that she was getting not sharp enough to drive the rig as it was too tiring for her. So we have both the houseboat and the rig up for sale and have leased a two bedroom condo that we are excited about furnishing. We have always thought of ourselves as ‘minimulists’ since we live in an RV. We have been amazed at the boxes and bags we have filled for the move. Our backs know each one.
So if you know of anyone in the market for lovely houseboat or a great RV, send them our way. Our phone will stay the same but our new address is 2131 A Via Puerta, Laguna Woods, CA 92637.