I made a slight mistake on a previous post.  I said it was my stem cell transplant anniversary (Birthday) in March, I was wrong and can blame it on chemo brain.  It is May 3rd, I don't know what I was thinking.  I can tell you that retiring has made a difference in my health.  I have not had a major illness since.  I do miss my coworkers, but not the job so much.  

I have had a cough ever since the treatment, and I also have had some issues with swallowing dry foods.  Last week I nearly choked to death on a hamburger.  Both have gotten worse so I went to my regular doctor.  We tried antibiotics, no change, a 24 hr. allergy med like Claritin/zyrtek, no change.  Now I just came back from getting a chest x-ray, which was clear.  So we are now trying an acid reflux pill to see if it is that.  Acid reflux can cause a cough and difficulty swallowing.   None of this is a big deal, I cough and clear my throat often, but still very minor issue. 

My brother in law, Bill, is trying to get Purple Martins to nest by his house.  He gave me a very nice Martin house complete with a winch to raise and lower it.  I guess house sparrows will move in and that will prevent the Martins from moving in, so, you have to check the "apartments" often and evict any sparrows that try to move in.  Raising the house and being able to lower it makes posting the eviction notice at the door much easier.  I'm thinking because sparrows have no legal system a 24hr notice should be good.  Check it out, this set up is really cool!

 

So as you can see by the picture, we live in the ground.  We live in what is called a hillside ranch style earth home.  We call it the bunker.  When storms come through we barely notice.  Cleaning out the chimney is very easy as is clearing the gutters.  The roof is about 2 ft. off of the ground :)

 

That's it for now,

God Bless,

Scott