April 16 - 30, 2026 An Eventful Finish to April!

16-Thu-We were up and got around about 8 AM. We decided to change the sheets on the bed, which is quite a task! Then I mowed the front yard. I helped Steve with measuring some awning material we had from a few years ago. We need to replace the slide topper on the bedroom slide out. We are going to need help and a level surface, so that project was tabled. We watched some more episodes of The Pitt. I fixed chicken parmesan, couscous and romaine lettuce for supper. We also had berries later. 

17-Fri-Today Steve has his back procedure. We were up at 8:15 and of course he could not eat. We putzed around until about 9:45, then we got dressed and I fixed my hair. We left for OKC in the pickup about 11:00 AM. We arrived at noon to Align Interventional Pain Center. Kristi met us there. We went in and sat in the waiting room until they took Steve back about 1:00. His procedure is finished about 2:15 or 2:30. We left for home after getting him a snack. We got 13.5 miles south of Perry (our home) and heard a big boom of thunder. Then the pickup went dead. Of course I was driving because Steve had had some anesthesia for his procedure. Well I got us over to the side of the road (on I-35). And we looked at each other and decided we had been hit by  lightning. Nothing on the pickup would work! It would not do anything! Steve tried disconnecting the battery but no luck.There was a lot of traffic, not one person stopped to check on us. We had no luck with the pickup starting. So we called Sam’s Wrecker and they had no driver. Next we called Big Jim’s Wrecker. He came and got us. He loaded the pickup on the flatbed tow truck and we rode in our pickup (while it was being towed)  and arrived home safely! It was little bit like being in a carnival ride. We could see everything up there. Then we had to get in my car and go to Stillwater to pickup up Steve’s pain meds. We finally got home for the last time at 6:30 PM. We ate leftovers for supper. What a day! 

Here is where we got hit by lightning

Steve & I can't believe this happened

The view from the wrecker.

18-Sat-We were up at 8:15 and had breakfast and watched some TV. We stayed home and I made sure Steve did nothing, no lifting, o twisting. I did go get the mail. Then we watched TV most of the day. For supper I made chicken nuggets, French fries, green beans and berries.

19-Sun-We got up at 9 ish. We had breakfast and watched TV. Basically we did not do much. Mainly putzed and watched TV. Steve did put the code reader on the pickup. It showed different codes, but nothing we thought we could fix. We also did some computer work. For supper I made pizza and berries. 

Huge weed!

20-Mon-We were up at 8 and had breakfast then made the bed. After my shower i fixed my hair. We went to Seth Wadley Chevrolet to see if they could check out our pickup. They said to bring it out. So we Called Big Jim’s towing to see if he could take the pickup out there. He said he could. It was $135 to get it towed in town. Then we went to Homeland and checked the mail. We returned home. The weedman was here this afternoon. The Align Interventional Pain Center called to check on Steve and ask how he was doing. Also the car insurance people called back. 

Our Poor Pickup (disabled)

21-Tue-We were up at 8 AM. We had breakfast and made our bed. I had a hair appointment at 10 AM. So we went to Linda’s for that. We also stopped at the post office and the ATM. When we got home we had some lunch. We also checked on the pickup, no progress. We ate supper at La Macarena with Linda, Hazel and Nadia.

22-Wed-We were up again about 8. We did some routine things inside the house then we went outside and picked weeds in the yard! I am kind of mad. We pay a yearly amount to keep our yard sprayed for weeds and they have not done a good job this year. We had lunch and watched some TV. Then it was time to pay some bills. After that we started looking at different pickups online. I fixed turkey bacon, eggs, bagels and berries for supper.

23-Thu-We got around and left for OKC. Steve had an appointment with the VA back doctor (Ogletree) to check in on his progress with the people she referred him to. We went to Walmart for groceries on our way home. We ate lunch and watched some TV. Then we talked to the Chevy garage. No real information forthcoming. We are pretty much in limbo. I fixed cube steak, french fries and salad for supper. We also had berries later. We spent some time in the bathroom tonight from 9:45 to 10:PM because they blew the tornado sirens! Nothing hit us! I am telling you, this weather is out to get us! That lightning strike was scary enough.

Tornado coverage!

Devastation at Enid, OK

24-Fri-We got up about 8:45 today. After breakfast we watched coverage of last night’s tornado damage (in Enid OK, where I used to work). Then we had showers. I ran the vacuum and we did some laundry. We also worked on the computer. We went to the Chevy place and still did not get any info on the pickup until next Tuesday. They say they have to get information from GMC and they are waiting on that contact. I made turkey burgers, fries and salad for supper.

25-Sat-We were up at 8:30. I called Direct TV to make sure the order is cancelled.  Steve & I went downtown and looked at the car show. It is something we always enjoy! Then the family came today.We are having game day at our house. Everyone arrived about 1:00 PM. We visited and played Mexican Train til about 4:30. Then we went out to eat at La Macarena! I had fixed some fresh strawberries and we had angel food cake to with them. We ate that first, then games, then early supper. After everyone left, Steve and I watched Landman

 

How about that sign? NO Airbags, we die like real men!

26-Sun-We were up about 8:45 and had breakfast and watched some TV. Then we made our bed and got dressed. We got on the computer to look for pickups. We are trying to get adjusted to the fact that a new or newer pickup is going to run about $40,000 or more. We watched the 2nd season of 1923. and did some laundry. Supper was Tilapia, french fries, romaine and berries. 

27-Mon-We got up about the usual time and had our breakfast and got dressed. I had a doctor  appointment at Stillwater with Dr. Branam. Just a follow-up since she is a new doctor for me. Then we drove through the GMC lot and looked at GMC Canyon  pickups. No one came out to see if we wanted to buy one. We got gas then went to Wilson Chevrolet. We drove three Chevy Colorado pickups! We listened to the pitch from the Sale Manager and he offered us around 3,100 for our broken pickup and then not turn in an insurance claim. He would take it, even though it was dead. We considered this. Because we need to get things rolling if we are going to get to Montana for our summer volunteer job. Also we felt like we were getting nowhere with the Chevy garage in Perry. Basically they said it would cost about 8-9,000 dollars to fix our black pickup with no guarantees that it would not need  more work later, like wiring harnesses and sensors, etc. We need something reliable in Montana. I had a medication to pick up and then we went home and contemplated the deal. We decided to buy the new pickup, so we called them and went back to Stillwater and bought a new pickup. We got home about 7 and went to Braum’s for a hamburger.

This is the new pickup we bought!

These geese were wanting hamburgers and ice cream for supper!

28-Tue-We were up at 7:30 this morning. Both of us did not sleep very well. Steve was very anxious. We went to the insurance agent and cancelled the claim on the black pickup. Next we went to OKC for an appointment at the VA. Then we went to Camping World to order the base plate and things we would need to get the new pickup ready to tow. We then stopped at the Chevy place in Perry to pay the diagnostic fee. We took copies of the tow bills and diagnostic fees by the insurance agent to turn in a claim for those items. We ate supper at La Macaroni with Hazel and Linda.

29-Wed-We were up at 8. We got ready and had to run out to the Chevy place and take them another check for $30 because Steve messed up when he wrote the check. You know we don’t write many checks these days. We had Big Jim’s Towing move the pickup down to Linda’s Beauty Shop. We needed it on a flat place so we could remove the cargo glide from the bed and put it in the new pickup. We stopped at Linda’s and made sure the black pickup was locked up. Then we left for OKC at 9:30 for Steve’s appointment with the SCI clinic. We were out by 11:30. Then it was on to Align Interventional Pain Center to get the staples out of Steves’ back. We finished there and then went to Stillwater to get the pickup. They had to put the step rails on and get it ready. Steve drove it home and I drove the car. I fixed potato skins (stuffed with chicken, bbq sauce and topped with cheese) for supper. We also had berries.

Our beautiful new pickup! It took being struck by lightning for us to buy a new vehicle! The color is Snowdrift Metallic! We love it!

We are riding in the new pickup! It has all the bells and whistles!

30-Thu-We were up at 8 AM and had breakfast. We watched one TV show. Then we got dressed. I mowed the front yard.We had lunch and then went to Linda’s so I could get my hair colored. We showed off our new pickup. We went home and rested a bit. Then we started trying to source the special plus nuts to attach the cargo slide to the new pickup. That was rugged. I finally called the place where we originally bought it at Ponca CIty and they said they could order them! Yay!. I fixed eggs, Canadian bacon and toast for supper. Berries are our dessert most every night. 

Full moon coming up behind our house.