A Sign Of The Times And These Times Are A Changing

Veronica returned home from work and quickly whisked me into her vehicle to take a look at a "surprise".
As it turned out the surprise were  brand new signs that had been strategically posted in and around our neighborhood.

Because of the problems that I have had with the well known dog, Barney and Barneys' owners, this surprise was really nice to see.

If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you know that while on my walks and bike rides, Barney has been unleashed during his walks that his owners take him on, has charged at me and nipped at my arm, charged me and actually bit me and broke through the skin and on the last incident, Barney has charged at me again at which time Barneys owners and I had a not so friendly exchange of ideas about Barneys behavior and their own behavior.

Now if Barneys' owners decide they want to let Barney run amok through our neighborhood and if Barney decides to charge me again, when I call Animal Control or the police, this sign adds some "bite' to my formal complaint...pun intended.

Our Annual Visit To The Poulos Christmas House Lights Show

This last Thursday evening Veronica and I took our 2nd annual visit to the Poulos residence to view the awesome holiday light show that they put on every year.
Last year was our first year on the Outer Banks and our first opportunity to visit the Poulos residence.
In case you never viewed last years blog entry about this annual event, the Poulos residence home won the 2005 "Best Christmas Display" in the nation contest on NBC's Today Show and had the privilege of being visited by Al Roker himself.
In 2006 this residence gained even more attention when it was on HGTV's "Over the Top Holiday" program.
Veronica and I went early enough that we did not have to battle the crowds that usually show up for this beautiful holiday spirited light and decoration show.
This also gave me the opportunity to take my time and get some good photos/videos.
We noticed that they were several decorations that had been added to this years presentation. You can click on any photo to make it bigger.
Click on this link if you would like to view the photos/videos taken during last years 2010 Poulos family Christmas House presentation

Below is my love posing with an antique Ford pickup truck.

What's a holiday light and decoration presentation without a holiday porker

Here is Veronica posing with none other than the "Main Man" himself...Santa

Below are a couple of photos that I took while experimenting with different camera settings

Here is Veronica hanging out at the Reindeer Parking area. She had heard that Rudolph and the clan were supposed to be arriving soon, to attend the Poulos festivities. Unfortunately they were running behind schedule due to some really strong head winds. We ended up missing out on seeing them this year but there is always next year.

I believe that this was a new addition to the massive number of decorations at the Poulos residence

Below are a few videos taken while we were at the Poulos Christmas house 

Below is a really neat Mickey Mouse Christmas tree topper that Veronica noticed.

Doctors Visit Update

I went to a local Orthopedic doctor yesterday to get my knees checked out.

The X-Rays showed minimal arthritis and some calcification in the joints of my knees.

After much pulling, twisting and shaking the doctor told me that the ligaments in my knee were fine but because I had torn my meniscus years ago, there was a chance that I could have torn it again.

The only way to find out for sure was to have an MRI done.

I told the doctor that I had met my financial deductible for the year through my insurance company and that there was no rush to get the MRI done because I originally thought that the deductible had been met up until August of next year. As it turns out my deductible has been met until the 1st of next year, which is only 3 weeks away. At that point in time I will need to start over paying out again until my deductible has been met for next.

So this morning I called the doctors office to let them know about my mistake....which could cost us several hundred dollars of out of pocket expenses in order to reach next years deductible.

They will see how booked up the MRI schedule is and see if it is possible to get it done by the 1st of the year.

Until I know for sure, I will be giving my knees a break and I won't be riding my bike nor going for any long walks.

I will also be icing it down every night.

At least nothing glaring came to light during the knee exam and x-rays. Hopefully the MRI will come back clean and then it will be a little time to rehab the knee back into shape and then back to my normal routine.

At least that is my game plan at this moment.