Lunch with Jan (Way More Fun than a Visit to the Dentist....)

We had a very busy day today, starting with driving over 50 miles to visit a dentist in Scottsdale for our regular dental checkups and cleaning. It's always a bit stressful to visit a dentist, and our travels add to the stress. Every summer we have to find a dentist who takes our insurance and schedule cleanings. It's usually not too difficult to identify dentists on the Cigna site, but trying to figure out whether the dental practice is a good one and especially whether the hygienist is thorough--that's definitely difficult.

This time we lucked out. We found a dental practice (Southland Dental) that has outstanding reviews and actually had open appointments on short notice. The entire staff is extremely friendly and seems very competent. We got thorough exams and cleanings. Unfortunately Ken needs a new crown. Usually that would take weeks, but Dr. Nelson arranged to use a nearby dental lab, so Ken will have his crown prep this coming Tuesday and get the crown installed the following Tuesday, just before we leave for the Grand Canyon.

After our dental appointments we went over to Jan's house, which is practically around the corner from the dentist. It's been four years since we visited--too long. It was really great to see her again. Happy is still going strong at fifteen, although he is now completely deaf. Jan has recently acquired two cats also, Lucky and Rocky. Both of them are quite affectionate. All the animals are lavishly spoiled, of course. Happy expects a treat every time someone comes in the front door.

We went to Uncle Sal's for lunch. It was George's favorite place, and he and Jan took us out to eat there when we visited in 2009. It's the kind of place where "everybody knows your name," and even the friendly upbeat waitress reminded us of Carla on Cheers. We had a delicious lunch and a great visit. We'll be back in Scottsdale next Tuesday when Ken goes to the dentist again, so we'll have a chance to meet Jan's friend Larry, who was out of town at his daughter's wedding this week.

On the way home we did some shopping at 99 Cents Only, Fresh and Easy, and Costco. We stopped at CVS to pick up prescriptions and found out that CVS is indefinitely out of one of Ken's meds. We are actually pretty glad that we'll be moving to new prescription plans in August.