Sunday evening

 This week J worked almost exclusively on the back bathroom. Painting, assembling the vanity, bolting it into place, prepping the space where the new cabinet will go. 

And from Saturday  on, he did the kitchen floor--mopping, drying, painting with the grey paint, letting fans run all night in the kitchen so it would dry (blocking it off with the baby gate so we couldn't step on and ruin it), then early this morning he covered it all with clear sealant. And again it was blocked off all day, no one allowed in the kitchen.  No breakfast, and he went to Publix for sandwiches for us three. Good thing he felt up to it because I sure didn't.

Today was a very difficult day: I felt sleepy, logy, no energy, couldn't think clearly--but that's not new!  It all just felt worse today.  MissS came over this afternoon and for different reasons she was also headache-y, tired, low energy. We spent the time talking, and then just watching Outlander, and some HGTV.  She didn't even stay for dinner, but left for home around 5. J and I just sat outside and listened to the birds, and the low buzz of the little planes. It was very peaceful. 

Friday morning I slept until almost 9am, waking to realized I had overslept. Because I was due to meet Sis and MissS at 10 at a certain cafe for breakfast/brunch/girl time. I did make it, but a bit late. Then had an appt for a bang trim. 

Later Sis came over for dinner, where we all got caught up. 

At home I cleaned out the linen closet, clearing an entire shelf and a half. Yesterday after the Meeting we dropped it all off at Goodwill, with a bunch of clothes. And then it's been quiet. 

Thursday J and I both had Dr appts; fortunately they were only 2 blocks from each other. Mine was my annual skin exam, at which some keratoses were removed for biopsies. And I had two frozen off. 

J's was for the annual pulmonology and CT scan of his lungs. His report was just top notch. We'd both had breathing tests, pulmonary function tests (PFTs), and whereas I blew a discouraging 74%, he blew 106%! How is that even possible?  So his doc says he is doing a great job for an 83year old.  "See ya next year!"

 J also got his replacement phone; it was fairly easy to set up, and he likes it. Thank goodness for the warranty I'd gotten for it--it was well worth the extra cost considering J's bad luck with phones.

The big event for the week was Monday evening, when Sis, MissS, and I all got to see  touring production of the Broadway musical, "Anastasia". It was lovely to see the live play with all the costumes and sets and lighting effects, but the best part was the music. The songs from this animated feature (which Disney made 20 years ago) are just heart-breakingly gorgeous.  This was a different version than the movie, and so there were a lot more songs than we expected or were familiar with, but it was a great event.  MissS and I are huge fans, but Sis hadn't ever seen it or heard the music.  I think she didn't enjoy it as much as we did, but that might be due to the crowds.

Well, I am fairly tired, so will close here. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have more energy.

TYG

 

Sunday

 Quick update: I forgot it was Sunday/Blog day this morning, and didn't get up  slept until almost 9:30. Now it's almost 11:30 and I clearly won't get this done before MissS gets here. 

I'll pick this up  later.

Monday morning: Slept in again because I didn't fall asleep until after 4am-ish. Why do I have these nights of not sleeping?? Maddening. This, despite my melatonin, and not one but two Benadryl taken over several hours. I read and finished a war correspondent's autobiography; very well written and absolutely fascinating.

Sunday afternoon MissS came over as usual and we had a great time again with much laughing and watching Outlander, and HGTV shows on the Discovery+ network.  J and I are debating whether to drop Hulu entirely. For the amount of money we pay for it, ($73something) and the amount of money paid to the Internet provider ($75something) you would think the options available would cover it all. But then you add in Netflix and Amazon Prime which we have bundled with Starz, it all seems just too much money. But that's the only way we get network programming which includes daily news and J's game shows. Still, we are fairly determined to drop Hulu at least for a while. Theoretically we can access local programming with a simple antenna, but the last time we tried that, it didn't work. It's a question of whether he really wants to pay that much for live news and a couple of game shows. So far he's always voted to continue Hulu.

On Friday I received a notice from my disability provider, Mutual of Omaha. Apparently I have been overpaid, not for two months, but for 4. Ouch. So I either have to pay them the amount of the overage (approximately $5300), or take a far lower monthly benefit until this is all paid back. The lower benefit would be roughly $320 a month, instead of the $1700something. Double ouch.   ( The letter threatens me with being sent to collections if I don't pay the full amount within 30 days, but I could swear the rep I spoke with the week before mentioned I could do this second option; there was no mention of the whole amount needing to be repaid all at once. So I will have to call them today and clarify).

This week was very busy: one plumber came Monday afternoon after the second leak started, and then arranged for a different plumber, same company, to come back Wednesday with a permanent fix at no charge.  He was here as scheduled, and spent several hours with J, both of them working together to get this done,  and yes, finally everything is repaired. 

Which means J got to start on the repairs of the bathroom walls where the vanity had been--drywall fitting, drying after the primer, painting again, replacing tile, grouting, and then assembling the new vanity when it arrived. It's not in place yet. It is sitting in the living room. Waiting to be moved. But J managed to uninstall the old vanity and drag it to the curb by himself.

That vanity turned out to look amazing, and I can't wait to see it in place. One of the legs didn't fit comfortably in the bottom, so J was monkeying with it for a couple of days, trying different fixes. We damn sure did not want to return it; at $300 it was ridiculously inexpensive and the last one available. It has a gorgeous marble counter just like the one I have in my bathroom. What a steal!

Bob was here again that day to help J with fitting the drywall in the corner of J's bathroom. That same day MissS' new TV was delivered here for security's sake, and she was here later that day to pick it up. She is under a lot of stress at work, and was facing an early morning meeting, a long day at work, and then another required meeting after work. That is one grueling schedule!  But she had Friday off, and that helped.

The new fixtures arrived  Thursday.  So once this whole thing is done for good, it will all be worth it.  Then he gets to start on the repair of the kitchen floors: we finally have the cash from the worker's insurance company, and some cash from Home Depot, and between the two we were able to fund all the new bathroom supplies and the paint repair stuff and the rest of the baseboard.

That is what J is working on today, this morning. Then later he will switch to the bathroom again. I'm so bloody tired of the mess! It's been almost 5 months now since this whole episode started... and I know J is stressed out too. 

We have been to HomeDepot multiple times this week. Usually I just drive us both and he goes in alone, but this week I felt strong enough (and my knee is almost healed) to actually go in with him and push the cart, etc. After we got home from these trips I needed to rest and put my legs up, but surprisingly I did not need naps any of the days. 

On Tuesday afternoon we worked outside in the yard, and I repotted a couple of plants, and we cleaned up a bit on the side of the house. It was just gorgeous weather and slightly cool and windy. Perfect for outside work.

Once this is all over, then we are tackling the kitchen cabinets:  they desperately need repainting after 6 years (yesterday was the 6 year anniversary of our arrival in Florida). We are going to paint the lower cabinets a pale grey to better complement the floors, and the upper cabinets white. I was so tempted to go with pale pink on the lowers, and if I lived here alone I would go for it. But J definitely did not want pink, so we'll be safe and go with the neutral grey and white.

And we will change out the drawer and cabinet hardware. I need to order them, but they aren't terribly expensive. This whole job will take roughly...3 weeks, I'm thinking. 

Right now it's a sunny, windy day, and about 74 degrees with no humidity. It is just absolutely perfect weather. I'm sitting outside on the pool deck, enjoying the breeze and birds. Just a few minutes ago the flying school started up, so since we are in the flight path, it's an endless cycle of taking off, circling over this neighborhood,and then circling back for landing. Occasionally an actual plane takes off from the airport next to the school, but these are only a few times per day, as opposed to what it was before the pandemic began. It's so nice...

The dogs are out here lying in the sun, and Fiona just joined me, too.  The painted buntings are popping in and out of the bushy growth of ginger  and snow-on-the-mountain shrubbery which grows along the fence between us and Louise's house.  Two pairs of cardinals are flitting around, as well. It's so pretty and peaceful.

Tomorrow we take the dogs to the vet for a nail trimming. I'm so dreading this. I did groom Missy last week, using our new pet clippers. She is so patient and easy to work with, and she loves the attention.  But I cannot do the nails!  I'm afraid they are badly overgrown. This actually might be why Murphy is walking so slowly recently.  And Sophie--I wouldn't even attempt her nails. It's hard enough giving her a bath (which has to be done today,too), because of her being blind and deaf. So the vet it is. Fifteen dollars a piece. Worth it.

The replacement CD player arrived, and works just fine. It's only a minor inconvenience that it only holds one CD at a time. But the price was right. My project this week is removing each of the almost 300 CDs from the old machine, locating the original case (which is in two drawers in the guest room dresser) and then filing them in grouping I am doing. Organizing is  tough. And the removal  process is slow going.  I could only manage about 100 the first day. If I do some every day, I should be done by the end of the week. 

At that point J said he will look for a repair person to hopefully fix the old machine. These are very expensive if new, and I don't even know if any repair people would do this, due to its age. But he is hopeful. If the cost of the repair is over $100, I don't think he'll do that, though.

Tonight, my sister and daughter and I are going to see a musical play called "Anastasia", based on a Disney animated feature about the missing lost daughter of Nicholas, Tsar of Russia. I've always been fascinated by this story, and the imposters who claimed they were Anastasia. After seeing the Disney version with its exceptionally beautiful music, I am so looking forward to this, especially since the three of us don't usually spend a lot of time together. This will be amazing.

This week nothing much on our schedule as far as appointments, except for J's appt with his pulmonologist.  That's on Thursday. Mostly this week is more bathroom and kitchen work. 

I'm able now to stand and cook for up to an hour before I need to rest. Last week I tried a new slow cooker recipe, a pork roast with a cinnamon and brown sugar and vinegar rub, which melts into this yummy liquid. It was absolutely fantastic. There was almost a full pound of roast pork, and we ate the whole thing. No left overs!  Except the cornbread and the broccoli we had with it. That actually required me to stand for an hour or so but then the slow cooker did the rest.

I've also made a simpler dinner for us on another couple of nights; I can tell I am improving.

I made a phone call to Dad also, which was overdue, because I kept forgetting. But fortunately he wasn't upset with me, and was very understanding. His voice sounds stronger each time we talk, and that made me happy.

The pool sits at around 78-80 degrees, so not quite warm enough to get in yet. But it's looking so sparkling clean and blue, and the sun glimmers off the water, looking so inviting. 

Well, the metal chair I am sitting in is definitely not comfortable for sitting too long. I'm going to go back inside and maybe take a nap, considering the late night ahead. J was awake off and on too, so maybe we will both stretch out. It's encouraging that I am sitting outside, and not coughing, and makes me want to do more out here while I can.

Maybe tomorrow. 

TYG

Sunday

 We had a great, if busy, week. J spent most of two days on phone calls. 

One was for the continuing supply of Pradaxa. And the other was to schedule a simple therapy appt. Both of these got done eventually, but they take a hell of a toll on him. 

The drug company he'd been getting the Pradaxa from for free for several years now has updated their eligibility criteria and J no longer meets those criteria. But they did refer him to Social Security, which helped by reviewing his eligibility there; when that didn't work our either (we don't qualify due to our income being over the limit),  the rep suggested he contact his health insurance provider and inquire if they had a program in place. 

Amazingly they do, and he qualifies. So it's going to cost us $140 for a 3-month supply, mailed to him at no cost. This is great news, since Pradaxa  (even if using the GoodRx coupons) starts at $479 a month and up to $598 at worst, depending on the pharmacy. This would be out of the question.  His supply will be here this coming week.

And the other phone call was simply trying to navigate the acceptable therapists on his insurance company's list, and figuring out who was closest, who could see him in person, and how quickly. Then he had to go to a local office and fill out forms for this appt. 

On Monday he had his chest CT, and Thursday he drove to the pulmonology office for his follow up appt--only to be told the appt was next  Thursday. Poor guy. 

On Tuesday we both went to my pulmonologist's office for the follow up appt to discuss the recent chest xray. He was very pleased with my progress again, but stated that the xray showed worsening shadowing in the right upper and left lower lobe. This  might explain the occasionally more frequent bouts of shortness of breath.   I had repeat breathing tests which are done twice a year also, and that was a bit worse, going from 79% to 74%. But again, he didn't seem worried about that, stating that these tests can show varying results quite often depending on the day, whether I'm having symptoms, etc.  So we left it that I'll have the next CT scan in late April and then see him again in June. 

On Friday it was very busy: we did grocery shopping in the morning, and the plumber came in the afternoon to cut through J's bathroom wall to the outside, because he wants an outdoor shower. Which he will install himself, but he needed the plumber to do the pipes correctly and seal it up afterwards.  

EDIT: this afternoon the pipes which the plumber installed started leaking!! OMG. Water all over the floor, not for the first time...What next!?   J called the company on their emergency line, but they don't have servicemen available on Sundays. They told him what he could do, and will be out here tomorrow morning. J told them he doesn't want the same guy to be here, so they'll send someone else. He has cleaned up all the mess, and we'll need a new vanity, and insulation, and drywall, paint, etc.  Sigh.

We also had our new larger rug delivered.This will replace the dark black and white one we had in the kitchen. Now that we have a very dark grey floor, we need a lighter toned rug to brighten up the space. 

It turns out we now suspect the worker did not supply us with the correct shade of grey we requested for the kitchen floor!  We brought the list to HomeDepot, in order to get a quart of matching color to make the repairs, and the paint guy there couldn't find where this order had been filled... Since we didn't see the actual can of paint the worker used, we don't know if he (accidentally or not) gave us the wrong color--which would explain how dark it is...

And then Bro and SIL came for dinner.  We had a great time, and tried a couple of new recipes that looked easy enough.  ( Unfortunately J didn't think the directions would produce the desired result, and over-cooked the meat while under-cooking the potatoes.  He usually does follow new recipes with painstaking precision, so I don't know what happened that day.) It was all tasty anyway, and there was a yummy dessert which they had brought. 

We all enjoyed ourselves a lot. They'd had  tough week too, with various  home repair issues, so we traded stories all around the table. They left around 8-ish, and we collapsed. J slept like a log, but for some reason that was one of my no-sleep nights.  It was awful. When J got up at five to let the dogs out and take them for their walk, that was when I fell asleep until 8:30.

So Saturday morning, I rushed around in a fog to get ready for the AlAnon meeting. The meeting was wonderful as always, and I felt a lot better. We then went to Lowe's to look for additional molding for the baseboards in the kitchen, and I found an outdoor thermometer and a motion detector sensor light to finally install in our ridiculously dark front entry. 

Saturday night MissS and Sis came for dinner. BIL has left for India for 3 weeks, and Sis was able to relax a bit at our house. We had a great dinner which J made: a vegan Shepard's Pie, and a salad on the side.  Then giant chocolate chip cookies for dessert, which someone in my AlAnon meeting was happy to give us, leftover from the meeting.

J installed the hall light and the thermometer this morning, and WOW. What a difference! It's the little things...for years I have been wanting a light there, and an outdoor thermometer. Now, $22 later, I have both. So simple; why did we never do that before??

I heard from my LTD insurance (Mutual of Omaha). My case is being moved to "permanent disability department" instead of the "long term disability department". The only difference is they won't bug me so often  (her words!) for information from my doctors.  I learned I have my disability benefit through December of next year, as long as my primary keeps declaring I am unable to work. That's good to know. I get a little over $400 every month, which certainly helps, combined with my SS.

And the 16 year old Sony CD changer/player stopped working last night. Sigh.   Our current model is no longer being made, so we have a big decision ahead: how to manage my extensive CD collection now--do we replace the entire system, or just buy a new CD player to plug into the existing system?  We are still discussing.

Right now we have to deal with the bathroom again. It's been in disarray since November. Four months of being torn up, with the roof leaking after the storm, and partial repairs, and then not finding anyone to help J.  Now we've been ready to finish, but no--still not able to do so. 

However! MissS came over this afternoon, and as usual  we had a good afternoon. Pretty lazy, watching TV and coloring, which is exactly what we like to do.

Zeke finally called his dad this evening, and it was the first time since his monthly infusions started; J was so relieved.     

Another good day, and really we are lucky--compared to those in the Ukraine...

TYG

Sunday

 At last the Outlander drought is over!  When MissS gets here we'll be watching the first episode of Season 6, thank God. It's been almost 2 years since Season 5 ended.  I am so looking forward to it. I have already read the previous book and the  ones since then twice over.  

The Network people have also confirmed there will be a Season 7... which means there will be 8, and 9 too, possibly before she finishes writing the current one, number 10.  Since the Number 9 book just came out in November (after six years from the previous one) I hope to God we don't have to wait another 6 years.

J is outside mowing and using the edger, despite his severe wrist pain and the way the arthritis is flaring up today. I know it will be a quiet day for him when he is done, and he probably will take a pain killer.

I had wanted to get the dogs washed but I think that won't happen now. Maybe tomorrow.  All of the dogs are enjoying spending more time outside because the weather has been so lovely, and that includes rolling in the dust/sand we have in certain spots on the lawn. All we can do is laugh, and shrug it off. Yes, more work washing 3 doggies, but they have so much fun!

J's persistence with the floor tile development resulted in two big pay-offs, one from Home Depot ($540, the estimate the worker originally gave us), and one from the worker's own insurance; the adjuster came last week and by Tuesday they had contacted us with a settlement offer of $1200-something. Holy COW. J is thrilled that they agreed how bad a job this guy had done.  I'm so proud of him, and utterly astonished that he made all this happen. He is a very skilled negotiator. I was very skeptical for some reason,that anything would result from his complaints. I'm so glad I was wrong.

 He is actually going to attempt to repair the tiles in question himself. It seems do-able, from what I've read. I'm anxious about this, but we cannot find anyone to take on this repair.

 The second amount has already been deposited in our bank. Now J is considering what other "big jobs" he can finish with this amount, this windfall.  He's been talking about replacing the gutters in the front of the house, or installing an outdoor shower, or installing an irrigation system... He also got estimates for having a well dug, but backed down on that little investment once the bids came in: one was for $4000-ish, the other was between $4000-6000.  Gulp.  And--Never mind!

J also submitted a review of this guy's work with some photos to the BBB. We don't expect anything from them, but if anyone goes to look up his reviews and other information, there will be more of the story. We don't necessarily want to put him out of business--but we do want him to learn the lesson of fixing the damn shoddy work. 

In other news: I got my MRI report: all normal as expected. No worries there. Just the occasional flare-ups which are part of the gastro condition.

Tuesday was a do-nothing day--except for driving to my hair cut place. I decided to change to a moderate medium shag style with lots of layers, instead of the all one length style I'd been trying to grow out.  I like this change; it feels silkier, and doesn't "frizz" the way the longer hair did.   My stylist raised her prices, which was unexpected, but J has reassured me it's one more way I can take care of myself, and I'm not to bother feeling guilty.  He's so wonderful.

That day we learned also that our tax refund had been deposited. We felt temporarily rich, and maybe that's why we ordered another take-out dinner, to celebrate. J loved his pot roast, but my fish and chips was horrible. I will never order that again from this place.  So disappointing; other foods from there have been delicious, so possibly they were having an off night.

Wednesday Sis and I got to go shopping together, looking for handbags etc. We hit several stores, and by the end of the day I could hardly talk!  I sat on the sofa after she dropped me off back home, and J went right into his care-giver mode, pampering me. I changed into pj's, and almost fell asleep.  Have to say it was so nice.

Sis and I had  had a late lunch at her favorite vegan place downtown, and so I didn't feel terribly hungry. But J made pork chops with rice and veggies, and that was so yummy. (He is still feeling very remorseful over the kerfuffle on Sunday morning; he is doing everything he can to "make up" for his "failings".)

The next day we met again at the Garden Center, where she picked out things for her veggie garden. I was looking for something in particular but didn't find it. Then I drove down to Port Orange to deposit a check, and return the bag I'd bought the day before (the handle was put together backwards which I hadn't noticed in the store), and searching for a new one.  While there, I found a wallet I loved even more than the wallet I'd also bought with Sis, so I bought that one. (The next day I returned the first wallet...those people must think I'm nuts...)

I also returned  a bracelet to yet a different store which I'd bought for my birthday, because in my brain fog I hadn't noticed it was "silver tone"  and not " silver" when I ordered it based on the online description. Quite a difference in the shine factor. Sigh.  I'm very relieved I don't own that anymore. Disappointed too, because it was a real bargain...and now I know just why it was such a bargain!

I have been wanting to get back into my cross-stitch projects for several years, but due to my fatigue level while working full-time, and my fading close-up vision I haven't done so.  Now, I am slowly coming out of the fog, I have plenty of time, and I've had my eye exam; this exam proved my contacts weren't strong enough.  With the new lenses it makes such a difference!  

So now I am feeling ready to try picking up my old hobby again.  I am preparing for it by first making some alterations on two pairs of shorts I bought online, which ended up being quite baggy and far too long. Not worth the return, as they were only about $5 apiece after my discount. They are cheap enough that I can attempt to fix them, and if it doesn't work out I can toss them. 

I end up being far busier than I expected, with just "recovering", and ruminating on what to plan for, in my retirement. Even if I wanted to I couldn't work while I'm on disability, so that's a possibility for the future but not now.

This upcoming week I had tentative plans to meet up with my old friend Jennie, while she is visiting Orlando with her husband. But my health issues won't allow it (I am just too exhausted still to consider driving there and back, and the energy required to actually be social) and I had to email her to explain this. I haven't heard back from her. I dearly hope she understands, since this is the second time we've had to postpone a planned visit (both during Covid isolations).

I also have two other commitments this week, one on Tuesday, and one on Thursday (the day Jennie suggested we drive down and visit). Both of these are doctor appts which have been scheduled for months, and so I don't want to move these.  

And there is also something happening Wednesday, which I can't remember at the moment; this makes a three-day stretch with something planned each day.   I know from recent previous experience that I will be utterly wiped out after Tuesday's appt with the pulmonologist, so on Wednesday I will have less energy, and Thursday even less so for J's appt with his pulmonologist; I will be completely drained. 

Frankly I don't like that feeling, and I guess I am learning to put my health issues before anything else. I'm not used to that, and it feels kind of...selfish...in a bad way. (Why aren't I making that effort to keep our long-standing friendship going??    What's wrong with me--she's been so generous over the years to make the effort for me... why shouldn't I push myself more??  Sigh.)

Well, J is now on his Zoom call with only his oldest daughter, and speaking so loudly!! He doesn't realize that he doesn't have to raise his voice on these calls. I have reminded him a few times, and he says he understands, but he continues to speak loudly. I cannot bear it, so I am now done with writing.   MissS will be here,shortly. Yay!

TYG