~Tuesday, December 28, 2021~
Day 562
We’re so thrilled Easton and Carson (our grandkids) are enjoying their Christmas gifts from us. Easton…..a new bike (which he helped assemble) and Carson……a new mini-trike. With the weather not very cooperative to riding outside at the moment, mom has allowed them to motor around on the large expanse of floor in the living room. They’re lucky to have the space.
Since it was our last day at my mom’s before heading to Oregon, there was much to be done. The first thing was trying to schedule our arrival in Arizona for a later date so we could spend more time with mom after Oregon. We also had some other tasks we needed to fit in before heading back on the road with the trailer. We were able to change our arrival to Lost Dutchman State Park and keep our departure date the same. Yeh!! Next…..errands, one of which was a nail trim for Sadie. I guess it wasn’t meant to be after 2 failed attempts in 2 different cities. These counties are so strict with the pandemic, with appointments required. As of late on our travels, it’s been pretty easy to just do nail trims on a drop-in basis since they’re quick and easy. Not El Dorado County. So I scheduled a visit when we return back to El Dorado Hills in about a week. At least one of my errands worked out when I got a call back from the appointment center at Kaiser. There was an opening today at the Folsom location, so off I went to get my first of two Shingles vaccines. I was going to get the Shingles shot in Napa when I was there for my physical a few weeks ago, but they strongly advised me not to get the Tetanus and Shingles shots on the same day. The Napa facility is much easier too, with their injection clinic being on a walk-in basis, unlike El Dorado County. Hopefully I’ll be able to find a Kaiser 2 months from now to receive my second dose. Evidently, the Shingles vaccine is strongly encouraged after the age of 50, the same age as the more invasive colonoscopy. Ah……the joys of getting older.😠
My final stops included picking up Sadie’s dog food and a few goodies at the Nugget grocery store, where I’ll come up with any excuse to visit. Anyway, while I was at Pet Food Express, one of the workers overheard my conversation with someone about grain-free vs. grain-friendly food. The brand we’ve given Sadie for years (First Mate), has come out with a grain-friendly version too, but there’s still a lot of biased reviews about it and conflicting information. Now they’re saying grain-free is too high in pea protein which can damage the heart. The grain-friendly versions are more oat based. It’s all so confusing. So until we get more concrete information, we’re sticking with what works since we feel great about the quality of what she’s getting.
When I got back to the house, Jeff was working on organizing and packing up the truck despite the frigid temps. I think the snow elevation has dropped to 500-feet per my last reading. The windshield wipers also needed replacing which was a piece of cake. It just kills us that you have to replace the whole wiper, and not just the blade. Now that’s environmentally friendly isn’t it? Another example of putting dollars over sense. The last to-do item was replacing the brake lights on the truck. For the past month or so, our right turn signal has been going off at an annoyingly fast speed which usually tells you your turn signal needs replacing. In the truck’s case, it’s a way of alerting you that the brake lights need replacing. After Jeff’s inspection, it appeared 2 lights were out (one on each side). At least we had 2 replacement bulbs to get the job done. My hubby is always prepared. This task was more of a pain than he thought it would be in getting to the bulbs and removing them. An hour later, we were back in business. It’s nice though that the truck gives you some warning when things malfunction.
Mom had made dinner reservations at Visconti Ristorante in Folsom…..a great way to cap off our time together. And the place was hoppin’, even on a Tuesday. Our server Steve was very friendly and super helpful, mentioning he and his wife’s favorite dishes. Since I was having a hard time deciding on what to have with the LARGE menu, he suggested a split dinner for me….½ manicotti in a Vodka Sauce and ½ Eggplant Parmesan. The Eggplant Parmesan was the best I’ve ever had, with the sauce to die for. Mom ordered a prosciutto, asparagus pasta dish and Jeff….chicken and spaghetti. Our dinners were made even better with a bottle of Salmon Vineyard 2019 Petit Syrah. Fun atmosphere, delicious food, great service…..and a great visit.