Snap, Crackle, Pop

 Well, I followed through and have my first orthopedic appoint is October 7th.  I hope I am still able to walk by then.  But I've at least taken the first step.

Last week we had a mishap.  Ron accidently left the freezer door open, and it wasn't discovered for 2 days.  We lost everything including all the meals I had prepared for Mike in anticipation of having knee surgery.  All in all, I'd say we lost about $2,000 of frozen meat and I don't know how much in frozen vegetables and time.  It made us both sick!  I've been concerned about Ron's memory for a while, but I still believe his seizure meds have a lot to do with it.  Last night I found the bag of salad on top of the refrigerator in the breadbasket.  I don't tell him about it because it just upsets him.  I feel like I have to follow behind him all the time.

Aging can certainly be a challenge!

 Happy Independence Day!

We will be going to my daughter's house for a cookout later this afternoon.   Nothing too elaborate but just some good ole burgers and hotdogs.  I'm struggling to feel there is much to celebrate this 4th of July as our country continues to struggle.  There is so much division you would hope we could come together for one day to recognize the sacrifices made by so many for us to have our freedom. 

I'm looking down the barrel at two knee replacements.  I've done the cortisone and gel shots and I'm at the end of the line on those.  I said that when I could no longer shop for my own groceries I'd say "Uncle" so here I am ........."Uncle"!  I'm going to start by talking to a few orthopedic surgeons before I decide on who will do it.  My lungs are finally under control so I don't think that will create a roadblock. Ideally, I'd like to have the first surgery in early November but of course it will depend on the doctor.

We had a little mishap today.  Seems Ron didn't shut the freezer all the way yesterday and today we found everything inside had completed thawed.  There was probably $2,000 worth of food lost.  I will have to replace all the meals I had prepared and froze for Mike.  I was trying to get a lot of stuff ready for when I'm down from the knee surgery.  But accidents happen and you just have to shake it off and start again.

Keep on keeping on!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th full of celebration and fireworks!

Fireplace DONE

 Our fireplace turned out just as I imagined.

Flooring has been installed and all that is left is painting the new baseboards.  They are coming to work on that tomorrow and Monday.  Then I can start putting my house back together.  Ron and I will be so glad to get this finished.

We had snow today, but it is supposed to be in the 50's so should melt off pretty quickly.  The roads have already cleared off but there will be slick spots tomorrow morning.  One of the perks of retirement...we don't have to go anywhere!

dream come true!

 

This is what I'm having built on a wall in my living room only it will be covered in shiplap.  They are supposed to start building today.  I have ordered the fireplace and the mantle and they will be here next week.

I have wanted a fireplace for the entire 52 years I've lived in this house.  Now, with the electric fireplace option, I can finally have one!  And since I have to wait for the floors to be installed I might as well spend more money...........

Things are never as they seem!

 Well, I did get the wall repaired and the living room and hall painted but no floor.  It was supposed to been installed today but found out last week that it has to be ordered.  This was quite irritating since we picked it out December 28th and chose this particular floor because they "had in in stock".  I specifically did not want to have to order a floor because I knew it could be forever before it was received.  The dealer tried to get me to come up and pick another floor, he said he'd have to order it as well.  That made no sense to me so I said I'd wait as long as it took but I wouldn't pay the increase in cost.  He had said the cost would increase after January 1.  Another reason I placed the order in December.  Our contractor assured me that we will not be billed any increase in cost.   So now I wait.................

After the living room was repainted, I was trying to decide what I would be putting back on the walls.  I have a schoolhouse clock I purchased about 45 years ago.  It was the first thing I bought on my own after the divorce.  At the time it was a major purchase.  Anyway, this clock has hung in my living room all this time.  The clock has always kept good time, but the pendulum stopped working years ago and it started chiming (3) times on the hour.  The girls and I would count them down and explain the quirkiness of the clock when we had visitors.  Eventually we just learned to tune it out.  Since it was taken down to paint, I started considering purchasing a new clock.  I searched for one and found several options.  However, the longer I thought about it I realized I just can't part with this old quirky clock.  So. guess it will go back on the wall to chime away every hour on the hour.  Since Ron and I don't hear as well as we used to. we don't notice the chiming anymore.

In the recesses of my mind.....and the nightstand drawers~

Finally. work on the house begins tomorrow.  Somone is coming to repair the sheetrock and toe kick (whatever that is). I don't really care what happens as long as we get started.  The thing I'm looking the most forward to is getting the flooring installed.  It's a big job but I just can't wait until it is done.  Then we can get furniture back in place and start looking forward to what Spring may hold for us all.  I'm hoping Covid is manageable by then.  Today I heard of yet another new variant, Stealth Omicron.  It is supposedly even more contagious than Omicron if you can imagine that. 

I got off to a slow start today even though I was up at 6:00 am.  I started cleaning out more drawers and am always amazed by the stuff I find.  Two different types of self-tanning kits.  I don't know why I even bother since I just end up looking like an orange Oompa Loompa.  I threw it all out and I'm just going to let my age spots grow together and call it good.  I found more than one bottle of pillow spray.  One for stress relief, one for sleep, one for just the sweet smell of lavender.  Guess I'll resurrect them and see if they do any good. Of course, they have probably lost their potency after all this time.

Since everything is packed up in the house, I can't turn to crafting to pass the pandemic time.  I wanted to make some valentine gnomes, but I can't get to anything I need to make them.  Guess I'll concentrate on staying on my diet today.  I am having visions of baked treats......................this won't be easy!

One down and one still testing

Well one of my daughters tested positive for Covid last Thursday.  Her symptoms have been pretty bad.  She's had a high fever, severe headache and joint pain, shortness of breath and loss of taste and smell.  She has been at home all week and the doctor has put her on an antibiotic today.  Fortunately, her sister hasn't tested positive so far.  Last Thursday they had 30 teachers test positive just on Thursday alone.  Kindergarten went to online learning because every kindergarten teacher was home recovering from the virus.

Oklahoma legislators are on a rampage authoring all kinds of bills going after school curriculum including a ban against teaching social and emotional concepts.  This one really made me do a double take.  Another representative authored a bill requiring the homeless get a permit for homeless campsites.  Huh?  So, people who have no home, no money are required to get a permit to be homeless?  I swear, not everyone who lives in Oklahoma is this stupid.  Just the ones in government.

I am now in my 13th day of isolation.  I haven't stepped out of my house in the past 13 days because the Covid numbers are so high here.  Our hospitals are at capacity with no beds or ICU beds available.  We did get the OK from the insurance adjustor to start repair on the house, but our construction manager is sick with Covid, and they don't have enough workers healthy enough to get started.  I have no idea when we will get back to normal.

The artic blast that hit across the country nipped us.  Temperatures are low and the wind has howled but we didn't get any precipitation. 

Hope all are staying healthy and warm!