You would think that we were the busiest people in the world as infrequently as I've been updating this Blog! But that has definately not the case.

I went back in for my stress test last Monday. I've had a stress test before which was just getting wired up and walking/running on the treadmill. This time I was having a "nuclear" stress test, what they call myocardial perfusion imaging, that looks at the blood flow to the heart muscle which is done both while resting and again after exercise to see if there is any narrowing in the artery. First you get those sticky patches (electrodes) hooked up to the ECG/EKG. Then, through an IV line you are injected with thallium, a radioactive dye which mixes with your blood. You then lay on your back for 25 minutes with your arms over your head while this special scanner, similar to an xray machine takes images of the heart from all directions. Next was on to the treadmill, where the electrodes were hooked up again and the blood pressure sleeves put on. I did AWESOME on the treadmill!!! It was back to the table for another 20 minutes of imaging and I was done. And so the results? I have a very healthy heart - and that's great news.

And so it was back to the courts. And perfect timing too, because today was Polly's last day here. She was taking off- back to Michigan. You can tell it was a HOT morning from the looks of the three of us. This morning I seemed to be teamed up with either Susan or Polly - That's Polly on the left and Susan on the right! Polly only learned to play pickleball this summer;about a month ago. She's a great player and will look to find a place to play back home.

We usually get together with Mo and Jeanne for dinner every couple of weeks. Jeanne is out of town visiting her family in Nova Scotia for a couple of weeks, so we gave Mo a call to see if he'd like to join the two of us. He suggested the Lighthouse. We had not been there but always like trying new places to eat so it sounded like a great idea.
The Lighthouse Point Bar and Grille is located at Lake Sumter Landing in The Villages, and sits right on the bank of Lake Sumter, so you get a beautiful view of the lake while dining - whether inside or out. When it first opened it was almost entirely open, more of a "beach bar" type of restaurant, which is now enclosed, but with a nautical theme, and still with an outside dining area. The atmosphere is very 'friendly', the music is enjoyable and not too loud, the menu is excellent and the prices are reasonable. They are best known for the Haddock - so that was the menu choice for the three of us. And while fried fish is probably not the best choice - the fact that it was fried in trans fat free oil seemed to make the choice OK. Haddock is not a fish that you find frequently here in the south - so this was indeed a real treat for us. And it was excellent.

On Thursday we took a trip to Camping World to pick up a few things for the RV, and then headed down to Wauchula to drop some stuff off and to do a quick check to see that everything was OK. And it was. It's amazing - Peace River does not even look like the same park in the summer, although there were probably 20 or better rv's in the park. We talked with Ranger Bob for a bit - no major news, Elnor is still there................

From there we headed over to Tampa. And now I can give you an update on Rich. The results from the tests done for the Neurologist determined that Rich needed to see a Vascular Surgeon. So, on Friday morning it was off to USF Health. For as many years as we have lived in Florida - this would be our first visit to Davis Island which is where Tampa General Hospital and the doctor's office are located. We will be making our second visit to Davis Island next Wednesday to Tampa General. The problem is with Rich's Superficial Femoral Artery. The Femoral Artery extends down the outside of the lower leg and provides blood to the arteries that circulate the knee, calf and foot. He had the surgery on the right foot back in April. For six weeks or more after that he had to limit what he could do. As a result, the amount of blood flowing to the foot was minimal, because of the inactivity. That's why this problem showed up just after he was able to get back on the court and play pickleball. So noe, a stent will be placed in the Artery, about six inches above the left ankle. If all goes well, the doctor says he can be back on the courts playing again after just a three or four day recovery period, enough time for the puncture wound to heal. More Good News!!!!

And hopefully - for both of us- life will return to "pickleball normal"!!!

I know it's been a while since you've heard from us. We've got some inquires from some of you wondering what's been going on and we thank you for thinking of us.

Believe me, I wish I had some interesting news; some exciting new adventures to share and pictures that would excite you. But our stay here at The Villages this year seems to continue to be one of pickleball or doctors.! Seeing Denny and the family has without a doubt been the highlight of the summer. And our decision to stay in Florida this summer was definately the right one. We've been following all of our friends as they travel to the north and west and we really enjoye reading about the pickleball tournament in St. Clair, MI, and following all the pickleball fun in Chesapeake Bay! We know that Dean and Margie have gotten pickleball going in New Jersey. It's amazing how many people you run into here that know the same people you do in another state. Just the other day one of the guys that plays pickleball with Dean was at Pimlico playing pickleball with Rich!! And at breakfast the other morning we ran into a fellow USAPA Ambassador visiting The Villages from Providence, RI, and we learned that Harry and Karen were visiting family here earlier this year and we've run into people that play with some of our RV friends in Michigan!!!

And for all you friends that like Pickleball and like to Cruise - there is a pickleball cruise leaving NY in May 2011 for Bermuda with three pickleball courts available for play night and day!!!

Rich is still working with his doctors to get the feet back in pickleball shape!! Not there yet!! More recently I've given Rich a bit of a scare. For a couple of days I was getting some tingling sensations in my left arm, and that was followed by some tightness in my chest. Rich insisted that I see the doctor, and being a Friday it was too late to set an appointment, so we went to Urgent Care. They were wonderful, took my blook pressure, served me up an Aspirin, some nitro and blood pressure medication, took some blood, a chest exray and an EKG. There was a bit of an inormality on the EKG, but the blood work came out OK.

It appears right now that I may have Angina, which causes the blood vessels to the heart to spasm. As for the tingling in the arm - we think there is a good possibility that that is from Carpal Tunnel - FROM ALL THIS TYPING!!!! Pretty coincidental that they both showed symptoms on the SAME DAY!! They still want me to come in an do a stress test - and that is scheduled for tomorrow and if that's OK - I can go back on the pickleball court.

The weather here, like most places across the country, continues to be especially HOT and Humid and for the past several days we've been getting some good rain storms in the afternoons (just about the time that Rich wants to go play pickleball!!).

Not much else going on - pickleball, eating out, meeting new friends, pickleball, doctors, eating out, pickleball................