Laundry had accumulated since leaving home over two weeks ago; I still had clothes, but had run out of comfortable shorts and tees, my go to wardrobe. Consequently, on Sunday, a load of laundry was washed and dried (all were darkish clothes), folded, and put away. Golf had been tentatively been scheduled for the afternoon, but it was too cold and windy for the fair-weather golfer. The solar briefcase system—a work in progress—reconfigured, the solar panels were deployed at the back of the RV facing the southern sun, and the 50 amp power was turned off. I wanted to see if I could use solar and propane for the basic necessities of RV life. That occupied the time until bedtime.

The Palm Creek Photography Club met Monday morning; there were only nine people there, and while they socially distanced, I felt uncomfortable. In combination with a somewhat boring program, it was cause to leave early for errands and golf. The grand experiment of living without “shore” power was successful, except that I ran out of propane in the auxiliary tank, and had to turn on the RV propane tank real early, in the dark and cold! The auxiliary tank was filled at U-Haul, just a short drive from Palm Creek, and cost less than $15 to fill. Golf was on the schedule again, but cold temperatures and winds proved too much for this fair weather golfer. The time was used to “finish” the solar project by reconfiguring some of the wiring and adding connectors and cable to make it more versatile. Now, I’m just about tinkered out, and ready for action.

Finally, after numerous emails and attempts to access the Palm Creek Pickleball Club website, I was successful yesterday afternoon, and scheduled “round robin” play for today, Tuesday. Because I didn’t have any history with the club, I was assigned to play in the 2.0-2.5 mixed group. I really had a great time, but was a bit more advanced than all the others in the group. The group captain suggested that I consider moving up to the 3.0 group—perhaps next week after I get my feet wet.

Tuesday was also a big anniversary for me; ten years ago, I had life saving surgery for prostate cancer. I was diagnosed on September 20, 2010. We immediately made an appointment for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and over the course of the next three months, made three 1,400-mile round trips there and back, including one for a radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) on December 15. We arrived for surgery a couple of days after a record December snowfall of over 24 inches in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa, and record low temperatures. We rarely saw temps above “0”.

Thanks to God, the surgery was successful, and now, ten years later, I remain cancer free. Less than one year later, my big brother died of gastric cancer. Cancer definitely changes every aspect of one’s life. After the initial shock and realization that life is finite and somewhat fleeting, priorities change. Perhaps that’s why I enjoy Kay, kids and grandkids, and travel and photography so much; it helps fill the soul.