Saturday - the end of July

I bought a new academic calendar. I am "officially" turning pages - toward the end of the year.
This will be a very busy time.
If you don't hear from me, I'm taking a break from the interesting net.

Random Thoughts on Tuesday

My life really IS a country song. It changes depending on the day.
Today is Tuesday. Sandy called at 8 to say she and Linda wouldn't be in to work today: she had things to do around the house, and Linda had her grandchildren [boys btw the ages of 7 and 15] to care for. Besides, the state is putting a closed til 4:30 sign on her road, to stop traffic while someone fixes something.

So here we are. I decided not to bath or shower. H***,  I'm on VACATION for two more weeks...
Besides being a beautiful day, it's senior discount day at the market.

But I am keeping house today.

I began to run the sweeper; it's amazing what kind of dust I can see when the sun shines. I'm getting sweaty and "in the mood to clean". Then, I hear the beep of the answering machine. I've missed a call. It's from Madeline, the speech therapist. (If we don't answer, HomeHealth mightnever call back.) So I hear she will call again in 5 minutes, so I sit w/o turning on the sweeper... Then I get tired of waitnig, give Stan the BELL and say, If you hear the phone, ring the bell. LSS: he doesn't ring, but I get finished and hear the phone: she's coming in three hours.  Yay, I have time to clean something....
[sounds of me dumping stuff into the middle bedroom, smells of me with Orange oil wiping things, sounds of me "ooofing" and tugging on furniture] Hey, there's something besides dust under this bed... I can't get down to look... I could move the bed.... or not. I'm pretty sure I know what it is, but I have no place to put it so it stays right where it is.

We get a visit from Madeline, the speech therapist, who told us to use lemonade to encourage muscles in the throat to swallow. He perked up for Madeline, listened attentively and seemed to enjoy her visit. She's coming back next week, for her follow up.
We have not heard from the blood work taken yesterday, but I will call.

So, there you have it. I'm cleaning, tossing and re reading or re-stuffing 'stuff ' I found last time I cleaned, but could not find a place for.  I need a new hairstyle. (I also uncovered the scales...) All this could be blog topics for future days.
Hope you day was productive.

Saturday promises to be the hottest day of the year so far.

Greetings gentle readers,

We are in the middle of Summer and I can feel it: warm and muggy - wonderful humid continental climate.

Nothing much to report here.

Progress is stopped -for the moment - on the move to Sun Valley.

It's 8 AM and Stan is sleeping. He's been up, got his meds, turned off the O2 and motioned to turn off the tv, the lights and let him sleep.
I'm going to get dressed and get the paper.
It's Saturday. Whooppie!
I'd rather be sleeping (but it's gonna get hot, so I'd better prepare...)

Tuesday - Forty Years Ago Tonight

Hello Everybody
          I'm glad I'm not related to Mel Gibson or the mother of his little girl. Talk about STRESS. I'm watching Joy Behar on HLN and the chatter/gossip channel. It's 9:30PM.

This has been one heck of a day.

          I was late getting up again.  This weather seems to be drawing all of the strength out of me.
After some delay, I started out to the "Other House" (like "Your Other Mother" of Coroline fame...) and watered the flowers there before I left to get gas @Kroger and the Electrolux hose in NutterFort. La, la, la, la...  I talked to Timbuck about the basement and whom to hire.

Now, I'm watching the NASA channel - much more appropriate: The anniversary of Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon. 1969 - 2010. They say 40 YEARS. (I think it's 41. What do you say?) Congratulations again, Apollo Astronauts!

Then I get the call from Linda: the nurse thinks Stanley needs a chest x-ray. So, I okay the trip to the ER via EMS and now its 1:15... He got there about 2 and when everything was done we were dismissed @ 7:15 - so much for the "couple hours" I had hoped for. Durn Dr kept leaving to save lives...

Linda and Sandy stayed with us; then, they went home to prepare for his arrival; then they took care of settling him in. And, they cooked our dinner.  Boy, do I feel cared for.

Tomorrow - I'll try to take care of "Park Boulevard" again.

Oh yea, I saw a cool desk at a yard sale (in the rain) probably won't be there tomorrow. Or it will be ruined by the water... Just what I need  - - - more stuff...... Guess what kind of furniture it was?! if you are the first correct guesser, you may get a surprise!!!!!

5:30PM and rain (heavier now) is falling through the sunshine

Dearest readers,
I am trying to live my best life: I am enjoying the beautiful summer that waits outside the door. But I need a purpose to get moving. So these are my random thoughts as I wait for something else to happen - something that lurks or looms or hovers or waits until conditions are in their proper order to proceed.

These huge drops of rain are falling from the sunshine. Although it was temporarily darker for a moment inside (I've kept the lights off to conserve, of course), this is a true summer shower. It's only 5:30 or so and it's over as fast as it came here. Not the case however, in southern WV and the eastern edge of Ky. I've been watching the weather - floods abound in those deep valleys in the southern mountains.

On Friday, Sandy and Linda gave the flowers a hair cut. Trimmed up the flower boxes, so they wouldn't be so scraggly. Stan got a make-over, too. Now, I would like one - but I will wait to cut this hair until I have to go back to work. Aughhhhhhhh! A month less a few days... (maybe that's it, but I don't think so.)

It's been a typical Sunday: lounging around,  watching the History Channel - same old Shroud of Turin, again, or The Mayan Calender End of Time Theory - or USA character action/detective stories. Took the garbage to the edge of the driveway in my truck! It's so hot (not as hot as Phoenix, of course) but the stuff smells and the bag melts in hand as soon as it is in the truck waiting for its ride to final destination!

Am avoiding paying bills. Must pay bills.(Maybe that's it.) Aughhhhh. Eat a cookie. The lawn looks great. Step outside again - heat blasts. Inside now: Read the paper. Coffee and a cookie. Sleep in the chair. Eat a cookie. Avoid paying bills. Sleep in the chair. Fix lunch. Eat lunch. Make meatballs for supper (to be eaten later tonight). Eat a cookie. Sleep in the chair. Avoid paying bills.  Call home health - Stanley's right big toe is infected. She calls back (Jen) says have a Doctor look at his toe (and his chest x-ray if needed). Until then, put gauze between the toes. (Not necessary for this infected spot) And so it goes. Call the Dr in the morning.

We loved having the Miller's with us yesterday. We shared food, cake'n ice cream, Zoey's presence. A good time was had by all. Maybe we'll see them in September. (Maybe that's it. One never knows...)

Wednesday - not currently raining; in over my head again.

Wish I were witty; wish I were pretty - that goes a long way in some quarters - but no wishin' can make it so, Roy.
I'll just have to settle for clever and smart!

Friday's News: Rain in massive amounts, sporatically appearing on the scene.

Mundane details of the day: Humid, ocassionally overcast, but sunny, no rain before noon here in central WV.

• Linda and Sandy went to breakfast and WalMart before coming here at almost 10 o'clock.
• I called Leah to get our brunch date rearranged. We changed plan to get to Bob's about 11, now.
• I decided to go to the boulevard to water the flowers and see if Jeff is working there today.
• I do and "No"; then to the bank.
• Call Leah and tell her I'm coming - but she's in C-burg, not Fmt. TG I called ;-) we'd have missed each other.
• Mindy got her "new" car [Gold PT Cruiser] and had the oil changed - They met me at Bob's. Girls' lunch out. Yeaaaah!
• After, I decide to drive to Mgt to get the sink and lights at Lowe's, but first the faucets at HomeDepot.
• I noticed the time. It's short. Can I make it? I try. Wreck #1 on I-79 at Goshen Road. Time lost 15 minutes or so.
• At Lowe's, sky is dark. I find the stuff, get a guy to load it for check-out and a guy to put it into the truck (sink and petestal in the bed, w/bungees; lights and med cabinet in cab w/me.) TG for VISA.

Thunder rolls, sky opens up and dumps inches of rain on the truck and me. I wait 15 minutes then try the interstate for home ... rain, traffic... (but first a stop at SEARS in C-burg for the microwave [Sharp and stainless] in the front seat...
Wreck #2 on the other side of I-79 after I get on at the Meadowbrook Mall exit... But I'm coming home and it's raining again... again.. again... Linda unpacked the microwave. Sandy carried it up the stairs.

Will the chair lift man come this evening? He's supposed to...
He did. Chair lift is fixed. Paid for, too.

And the rain still falls...

If this is Tuesday, this must be Switzerland.

Well, that's close. People used to call this part of the country (USA) "Little Switzerland", I suppose, because  it had "mountain" sports like skiing, and the requisite snow, an area that made cow's milk into cheese, beautiful scenery, friendly people, and a tad bit of isolation. Same kind of things could make it "Little Italy", too.

West, by God, Virginia is a beautiful place to live, (despite the current heatwave which registered 100 degrees on my car thermometer in the parking lot at Lowe's this afternoon.)  Nevertheless, I find myself here, wondering if I will ever be able to sell my house on the Boulevard, which currently holds the equity of my life's savings.  As I drove around my old neighborhood today, I saw  a few more houses with "for sale" signs in the yards. I have scoured the interesting-net to see what the asking prices are... it really doesn't matter. I can only afford to "fix" part of the problems. (That number is yet to be determined.) Someone else must take on the rest... After I empty it and clean it.

Today's progress: I made a command decision to use mold and mildew resistant drywall in the bathroom, paint it and move on. Jeff has already removed all the pink (and some red) tile that lived there for 40 years, removed the sink (anyone want an ancient cast iron porcelain one bowl bathroom sink with chipped drain area and rusted overflow?), taken to the porch the pink toilet we got from Mom n Dad 15 years ago (goodbye pink flushing machine.), removed the "no emotional attachment" medicine cabinet which left a hole 13 1/2" by 26" in the wall above the missing sink. Now - my excursion to Lowe's has revealed 1 American Standard Restoration pedestal sink and pedestal can be found in Buchannon for @200 bucks, then the American Standard toilet , if I get the 15 inch height will be @220. the faucets for said sink are on 8 inch centers @ 152 w/o tax. (They have little porcelain roundels marked hot and cold, which match the fixtures on the bathtub, which are X's with porcelain roundels.) And I haven't settled on the flooring... nor the medicine cabinet... nor the paint... But, the window - double hung, cheap replacement @200. w/o installation and trim. And Don't Forget Everything needs TRIM. $$$$$

But, I am not the only one involved in this renovation. I report back to Stan every day. I tell him; he tries to tell me. He's feeling about the same. He's having trouble with phlegm. And swallowing.

Tomorrow, I can't work in the heat over at the boulevard; I have a Dr's appointment in Mo-town. Friday, I'm having lunch w/ Leah - place to be determined. Next week, JJ and his football buddy will help me move the big stuff from the first floor, over here - temporarily, of course, until I need firewood in the winter... LOL
Well, that's what they do in Switzerland isn't it - make a fire, roast marshmallows and keep warm.
Keep warm, gentle readers.

Live for today, for tomorrow may never come...

Does that mean - spend it while you've got it? You can always count on the government to bail you out...

The weather has been perfect this week. Low temps in the 70's and low humidity. Sunshine and breezes.
What luck - it's not too hot to work in the old house. I cleaned the window sills when I opened the windows downstairs yesterday. I turned on the fan, not the AC. The chestnut tree has stopped smelling up the neighborhood and the purple petunias I bought are fragrant enough to change the "old, empty-house smell" to something less odiferous.

I'm still emptying the ocean - one teaspoon at a time. Yesterday, Jeff found the leak in the bathroom at 230. It turns out that the 100 year old drain pipe was 8 inch cast IRON (which ran across under the floor from the place where the tub and commode came together to drain) and ran up above the library doors toward the outside wall. He cut out many feet of ceiling in both rooms to get to it. Dusty - black coal dust.
Today he inserted plastic pipe with some kind of deal at each end to seal the pipe to the old one. No water leaked.

Tomorrow we will try to  finish the basic repalcement of commode and sink and mebbe floor -sheet lineoleum, and window - we only have three hours...; then there's the wall treatment to cover the holes left by the iron sink... (We-I'm buying the big stuff, Jeff installs or tears out and replaces.)

I ordered the replacement ceiling today - it will be here in 21 days. I picked out the floating floor - something a little cheaper than Pergo -SwiftLoc. But we won't install until the ceiling is up. (And the furniture is OUT.)

Until then, the plan is to keep working. Window in the bathroom. - Move to another room. Empty it. Maybe the window (looks like three more after the bathroom...) then the walls in the office/bedroom upstairs... $$$$$$$$$$$$$ It's only money. And to get back my "investment" I need to clean the ducts on the furnace and price AC for the furnace...

Still, too many things left to carry out of there. SIX weeks til I have to go back to work.

On the 4th of July, we are having a picnic her in the valley. You are all invited to attend. RSVP ASAP.
Leah and Jay are coming. As are Keith, Delia and Tracy. And maybe John, Zoey and Trisha. A good time will be had by all. 90 degrees is forecast - hot "as the fourth of July" as they say.