MORE EXCUSES...BUT LEGITIMATE ONES

   

            Howdy dearest reader…if you watched any of the Bridgerton

programs you know where I stole the second and third words of my greeting. In any case, it’s been far too long since I posted a single thing, including the two final chapters of my latest book. Chapter 11 is complete and I just need to find time to sit down and finalize Chapter 12 and then I’ll post both.

          Meanwhile, my life has been super busy with other stuff, the main focus being asking for and receiving bids for new ductwork beneath the house (more on that later), and a new furnace/heat pump. These projects are not something that was on my radar, nor were they projects I wished to do in my lifetime.

          You see, I thought I could live in this house for the remainder of my life and not spend a significant amount of money on it. I’ve lived here for fifty-seven years and planned to just continue to live here until the coroner pulled up in the driveway. A twenty-six-year-old furnace changed my plans, providing I want to be warm and comfortable next winter.

          My son, the HVAC tech, has worked on my furnace this year after it ceased to function multiple times. The last time, he told me I needed to bite the bullet…or heat resigster…and get a new furnace. What a disappointment he was to me in that moment…just kidding.

          I have no idea how many of you have been faced with having new and expensive work done on your homes. It’s been quite some time since I looked at doing anything beyond minor maintenance. The last furnace installation was just that, a furnace installation that cost between one thousand and two thousand…a BIG sum of money back in 2000. Times, as we all know, have moved on and the price of everything has increased.

          Informing me of the need for a new furnace, my son also told me I needed to replace the ductwork below the house. He said it’s been close to twenty years since his dad and brother went below the house and removed all the insulation and desiccated rats so he and his brother could install new ductwork. He said he was sure it would need replacing. Oh, woe is me.

          I am so grateful I had no idea what the crawl space beneath the house looked like. I am so very sad I looked at the photos the ductwork person took so he could show me why I needed to have the crawl space renovated. I could barely sleep that night thinking about all the rats that were undoubtedly living beneath me. Those photos convinced me that the work had to be done.

          So, today, Sound Crawls came and took care of the crawl space. You couldn’t pay me enough to go beneath the house, safety suit/gear or no. I went beneath just once in all the years I’ve lived here and will never ever do so again. Anyway, they finished for today and will come back next Thursday, to finish up. For now, there are motion cameras in place to see if any rats come to call. If it’s just one, they’ll set a trap. If it’s more than one, then they’ve missed an opening. According to my neighbor who had this done last month, you could actually go down there and sleep once it’s finished...not that I have any intention of doing that.

          Tomorrow, the gentleman from Washington Energy will return and sign me up for the new furnace/heat pump. I don’t know how soon they’ll want to do the work, but as far as I’m concerned (and for financial reasons), it could wait a couple of months. Whenever, however, I’ll be warm and comfortable next winter and cool this summer no matter what the outside temps become.

          In the previous paragraph, I mentioned financial reasons. I assumed (made an ass out of my own self) I would die completely free of debt. Well, that won’t be happening unless I live another twenty years and pay off the home equity loan I’ve applied for during that time. And, yes, I could pull funds from my IRA or sell some stock, but as the young man at the bank pointed out, I’d have to pay taxes and it would put me in a higher income bracket, thereby eliminating all the old, poor person considerations I now receive.

          Still, it’s good to know I had that option, again assuming they approve the loan. Hopefully, I won’t need to return to the bank any time soon to ask for an increase in that loan…a friend pointed out my roof is looking a little scruffy just the other day.  Please, could nothing else happen until after the coroner arrives and this house becomes someone else’s responsibility.

MORE EXCUSES

    

          Currently, I’m surrounded by an absolutely humungous mess. I’m having my windows cleaned inside and out on Monday. This, of course, necessitates I remove all the glass, plants and furniture from in front of the windows throughout the house. I’ve almost completed this process, and while I look forward to sparkling windows and sparkling plants, glass and furniture once all is back in place, I’m feeling just a bit tired.

          I look back over the years to when I used to wash my own windows, all of them, inside and out in one single day, two times a year. That included packing the stepladder around so I could reach the ones that were higher up. I don’t remember being totally exhausted by the process, but I think these days the process just might kill me. Thankfully, I can afford to pay my neighbor who’s in the business to come do this for me once a year. It’s quite possible, however, that having to do what I’ve done today just may kill me before too many years.

          I last posted on April 25^th and promised I’d be a better blogger, but I haven’t. So, apologies once again, and once again, I have great excuses, There is, of course, my weekly schedule which includes my exercise class, driftwood class, friend visits and the usual keeping house/garden stuff. Add to that the fact that the Northwest Driftwood Artists annual show was scheduled for May 9^th. I still had a couple of pieces to complete, so most everything that wasn’t exercise or classes or friend visits went by the wayside so I could finish.

          I entered three pieces in the show, i.e., Caught in the Waves, I Spy With my Big Eye and Shipwreck. The show was a huge success with more than 400 people in attendance from an extremely wide variety of places both locally and nationally. The show isn’t judged, but each visitor is given a ballot and asked to vote for their favorite in the categories of Extra Small, Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large and Hanging. All my pieces were in the small category and I’m extremely pleased to report Shipwreck tied for third place. Yay moi.

Caught in the Waves        O Spy With My Big Eye                 Shipwreck

          Since there are numerous projects that require my attention, I’ve decided to forego my driftwood classes for the month of May. The first thing on my list is to acquire bids for a new hard ductwork system below and above my house.  I’ll also be getting bids on the installation of a heat pump and/or furnace. Once the bids are in hand, then I need to figure out the financing and get that squared away so that come winter I’m warm and cozy.

And this whole process actually pisses me off. I hate putting money into a house that I’m sure will be a tear down once the coroner has come to collect me. But since who knows when that will happen, I have to replace the ductwork and furnace if I want to remain here and not freeze…hmmmm, that would bring the coroner rather quickly.

I’m going to be one very broke lady once this is all paid for which means no great trips unless you count the senior center, gas station and the grocery store…although the way prices are going, I may need a loan in order to do my gas and food shopping.  Still, I cannot really complain tho because I am healthy and do have a few pennies left at the end of the month.

Finally, it is my hope and strongly wished for desire to end May with a totally clean house and a garden that isn’t more weeds than flowers. I’m putting my nose to the grindstone and keeping it there no matter how much it bleeds or small it becomes. With this goal in mind, I’ve also made the decision to spend at least an hour in front of the keyboard in order to finish Maddie’s and Spence’s story. I’ve already finished half the next to last chapter and know what’s going to be in the last. It’s just a question of sitting myself down here and getting it done…and, okay, already, I could have spent this time finishing that chapter instead of complaining and providing excuses.

          So onward…the thought of all these projects being accomplished almost makes me giddy.

EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES

 

          Okay, I know I haven’t been posting anything and that includes the next chapter of my book. I have a zillion excuses to offer and hope you’ll forgive my writing lapse. I’d much rather be writing than…   

          Trying to set up a new computer. I bought a new computer at the beginning of April and let it sit in the box while I tended to other things, i.e., cataract surgery. Once that was taken care of, I moved on to the new computer. I didn’t feel savvy enough to just go it alone, so I asked for assistance. My first assistor wasn’t able to do much because the one place she wanted to get to wouldn’t come.

So, I asked another assistor to give me a hand. This person used to be an IT person at a rather large institution. I assumed that he would marry up the old with the new and transition files that way. Nope, his way was to copy to a stick and then paste to the new computer. This worked well enough in that I was able to continue what he’d started and move everything over…or at least I thought it was everything.

I continued to have problems in that I no longer had Outlook. So both my erstwhile helpers returned and between all three of us, I am now able to access Outlook, Xfinity and Yahoo is set up for when Xfinity gives email the heave-ho. I am so very thankful to both my assistors and must think of something I can do in the way of showing my appreciation.

Of course, once the computer situation was remedied, the printer decided to stop cooperating. It was talked to by the computer and was happy to print whatever it received; however, after one clear line, the next would be all smudged and unreadable. Well, I  could fix that!!! I had all the printer cleaning and aligning things recommended, plus I used a kit I bought some time ago to clean the printer heads…all to no avail.

So, I ordered a new printer. It had to be a Canon that used 250-251XL cartridges. I found one and it arrived and sat in the box for a week or more as I tried to find the energy and brain cells to allow me to take on another form of technology. Let me tell you, I could have waited another month or more for the upcoming experience.

Removed the ink cartridges (most almost new) from the old printer. Took the new printer out of the box and got it set up. Installed the old cartridges only to have the printer tell me they weren’t going to work…where were the ones that came with me??? So, put in the new cartridges. Still no go but figured out it was because of the cord Canon had included. I removed the old USB cord from the old computer and plugged that in. AH, SUCCESS…but nope, not going to print.

Thankfully, my first assistor happened to come by (actually, she planned it because I’d lamented via text) and found the problem within like a minute. I don’t think she was here for more than three minutes total.

So, just this morning, I went to print only to have the damn computer want me to save the document instead of print. DAMNIT, the document had already been saved. I wanted to PRINT!!! I went online and followed the suggestions I found there and VOILA, I could print.

Then on Thursday, came the frosting on the cake or what I hope is problem number three solved without further issue.

I went to the Lynnwood Olive Garden restaurant to have lunch with a friend. After lunch, I went to the bathroom prior to leaving the restaurant. When I reached my car, I couldn’t find my key…on a stretchy bright green thingie. Sometimes when I go to the bathroom, my key will drop out of my jeans pocket. I went back inside the restaurant and checked the bathroom…no key. Asked the restaurant greeter and we looked at the floor where I sat…no key. The wonderful lady even went in the back and checked a couple of places where it might have ended up, including the garbage and, NO KEY.

Well, I thought of everyone I could call for help and decided on AAA. The very nice young man arrived in less than thirty minutes and within five minutes, he had my car door open and again, NO KEY. So, it had to be some place inside Olive Garden. I left my car unlocked when I began to return to the restaurant.

On my way there, I once again felt in all my pockets and, again, NO KEY; however, as my hand traversed the front of my jeans/sweatshirt, I felt something…the plastic thingie on which my key was fastened. I pulled up my sweatshirt and VOILA, there was my car key, stuck inside the front of my jeans. I guess when I went to the bathroom, rather than fall to the floor, my key somehow ended up down the very front of my pants. Funny, right…wrong!!!

There is my tale of woe for April. I had to devote way too much time to technology and searching. I’m hoping that May allows me time to do the stuff I really like to do, i.e., writing, driftwood sculpting and gardening. I guess I should ask y’all to pray for me based on my April experiences.    

TIMES ARE HARD

  

         

Apologies, dear readers, for leaving this space blank for so long. My life has been a bit of a challenge and may, for all I know, continue to be one for some time.

I had cataract surgery just over a week ago and my eyes seem to be doing just fine. I opted for the distance lenses as opposed to being able to see near. I’ll either need new glasses or continue with the readers I purchased the other day. I was told not to wear my old glasses at all and my appointment for new glasses isn’t until the end of the month.

          The ophthalmologist told me my cataracts were very dense, and I guess they were because everything is so very BRIGHT. My son called to check on me a couple hours after he brought me home. I was in bed with the blind pulled down almost all the way, and what I could see was very bright. I told him he should go out for a walk and he said he wasn’t doing that in the pouring down rain. I said it must be sunshining at my house and he responded that he lived in a convergence zone. Later, when I got up, it was still very bright and pouring down rain. It took me several hours to realize that the brightness was because I was actually seeing through a clean, unobstructed lens. So, that’s out of the way now.

          Someone told me that using a ten-year-old computer was tantamount to driving a car until the brakes failed. So, I ordered a new computer. Well, that’s led to hours of frustration on my part, even with the assistance of two other people. Finally, most of the files and photos have been transferred, but unfortunately, there are files that did not get transferred. I cannot go back for them because I wiped the old computer’s hard drive, so there’s nothing else to bring over.

          What this means is that I lose the list of “favorite” links on my internet browser and all the other file folders that were located in Outlook. I’m going to have to recreate new links and new folders. I tried for a new folder this morning in Outlook and wasn’t allowed to make one, so I’ll have to research how that gets done. Of course, this new computer has all the latest programs and that’s going to be a new learning experience…one I’d just as soon not have to have. And, I know, learning new things at my age is good for my brain…seriously, my brain is tired and would prefer not to have to learn anything new. I guess I’ll just have to persevere and learn by the seat of my pants which is how I’ve always had to learn my computer stuff.

          If all this isn’t enough, my furnace has been acting up. It was installed in 2001, and my son, the HVAC guy, has been keeping it running. I thought for sure Easter Sunday that it was done for good. AJ came over and changed out some parts and brought it back online. On Tuesday, he had to come back because it stopped again, and once again, he brought it online. I’ve discovered that the furnace comes on first thing in the morning and brings the house up to temp. Then it stops and doesn’t come back on until the temperature reaches 63 degrees. So, if I want a shower, I’d best do it first thing or wait until it kicks on again a few hours later.

          This problem brings up the question of whether I want to invest in a new furnace and/or a heat pump. AJ also thinks I need to have all the ductwork both under the house and in the attic replaced as well. I haven’t yet investigated to see what the cost would be or whether there is a program for poor seniors that would help with the cost. That’s on my todo list. I hate to invest thousands of dollars in this house because I’m sure whoever buys it will simply tear it down and build something else or a couple of small houses. Not just because of the furnace, but because it’s going to need a new roof fairly soon and the south foundation has sunk four inches…I got a price for that about four years ago and it was $39,000.

          So, is it time for me to sell this place and look for something smaller? I don’t know. Just thinking about that had me in tears this morning. I’ve been here for fifty-seven years and my home is full of STUFF that has meaning for me. How do I downsize and eliminate stuff that has meaning for me. There’s no way I could take it all because it wouldn’t fit in a smaller place. Just typing this and thinking about  how hard it would be to move brings tears to my eyes. It seems like it would be so much easier if I could just stop, quit, give up, enter the great beyond, join John and all those that have gone before me. And, don’t assume from that sentence that I plan to off myself because that’s not a choice I could make…at least at this point; maybe if I were terminally ill. I’m just alone and terminally poor.

          Anyway, please excuse the pity party I’ve been having for myself. I have two chapters to write about Madeleine and that book will be finished. I promise I’ll get them done very soon. The words are all in my head and I just need to send them out my fingers. Then, maybe I’ll check with amazon and see about getting these books of mine published. Even if I didn’t make any money, the idea that what I’ve written is available for purchase would be a huge plus for me.

          So, those are my excuses for being absent for so long. Do hope you’ve missed me, or at least missed Madeleine…still looking for a title for this one.

WISH I WERE MARCHING TOO!!!!

         

Today is the big march throughout the United States and the world to protest the idiot in the White House and all of the horrible things he’s managed to implement. I do wish I were going to join in, but will have to limit my marching to a trip around the neighborhood.

          It’s hell getting old and being unable to participate in the events you think are very important. Unfortunately, for me, I am having a problem with the calves in my legs and they are not up to marching/walking for very long. I’ll be seeing a vascular doctor in May and perhaps s/he will have an answer that will eliminate whatever the problem is…constricted arteries maybe?

          At least it’s not raining so all those marching will remain dry, at least in the Northwest. It’s supposed to sunshine later with a temperature in the mid-50s, but it doesn’t look too promising as I write this. Meanwhile, I’ll be with those marching in spirit with the hope that every single location remains safe and that the turnout is extremely high.

          Things in our capitol city simply must change and the sooner the better.

NO HABLA INGLES???

          

 What the hell has happened to the world??? I just spent thirty minutes on the phone attempting to cancel a dispute about a charge on my credit card. Do the people in charge of customer service for these accounts ever have to call in about their own credit cards? If they do, I hope it takes them forever to get things squared away.

          First, my call was answered by a robotic woman who gave me multiple choices with regard to why I was calling. After listening to the same loooooooong message twice, I said I wanted an operator. I assume the robot recognized that word because I was subsequently transferred to another woman, a human this time who didn’t have English as her first language.

          After answering a bunch of questions, some of which were difficult to understand and which I had to have her repeat, I was informed that she would have to transfer me to the disputes department. She couldn’t help me, but the disputes department would. I hoped the next human would have English as his/her first language.

          The transfer was successful; however, I now was dealing with a man who was very hard to understand for a couple of reasons. First, English was not his first language, so some words were difficult to understand. Second, there was some kind of problem on his end because words and sentences were garbled to the point I couldn’t understand and they didn’t make sense.

          By the time we finished getting this dispute cancelled (or at least, I hope that’s what we did), I’m sure this gentleman was just as frustrated as me. I also realize that there are a lot of English-speaking people who don’t care to work at these kinds of jobs whereas individuals who relocate to the United States are happy to work at any job that will earn them money…or at least that’s my understanding. But I’m old and my understanding could be seriously wrong.

          In any case, it doesn’t seem to matter much who you call or what you’re calling about, it’s extremely rare to find a person on the other end of the phone that speaks good, understandable English. The lesson here is, I guess, to make sure I know what the hell I’m doing so I don’t have to make these calls.

          Okay, rant completed and I feel so much better. Now, off to work on my driftwood.

FEELING SORRY FOR MYSELF

           

Boy, today is gray, gray, gray with rain falling as though from a hose. It’s nasty outside. Inside, I’m sitting here typing this and feeling sorry for myself…yes, I’m having a pity party. No particular reason. I got up, let Kuma out, had my latte, read the crawl on TV and went back to bed. When I got up, I just felt bad.

          I know I need to and can adjust my mental attitude, but part of me feels justified in having a pity party. Why you, dear reader, ask. Well there are a multitude of reasons. Maybe if I list them all, I will feel better.

          First, I saw the hand doctor yesterday and I will be having surgery on my right wrist, again. I have two ganglion cysts and carpel tunnel for the second time. The surgeon is going to take out the cysts and ease the muscle pressing on the nerve. It isn’t yet scheduled but will probably be within the next couple of weeks. There goes any garden or driftwood sculpture work for at least a month or more. I’ll be able to use my fingers for small stuff, like typing, but nothing that will require a lot of strength or use of my wrist.

          Second, I’m having cataract surgery next Wednesday and it’s not an April
Fool’s joke. My son AJ is going to take me in for the surgery and then back to see the MD the following day. I’ll begin putting drops in my eyes next Monday and will have to continue that for quite a few days after surgery. I’m not real concerned about this surgery, but I do hate having to rely on my son for assistance. It’s not that I believe he begrudges me the time, just that it is a indication of my not being fully competent on my very own.

          There is also an appointment in April with the back doctor, but I think I will cancel that. I really don’t want to begin getting injections in my back. Using my heating pad alleviates most of the pain. Plus, I’m quite able to attend my exercise classes, do my own at home PT and exercises, plus work in the garden. I also do all of my own housekeeping, laundry and the other stuff I have to do on a daily basis without exceptional pain. So, I think I’ll email that doctor and then cancel the appointment. I can always make another one later on.

          I saw my podiatrist in February and the test they performed on my ankles for what I believe is blood pressure showed nothing but red. That is very bad, so I had to get an appointment with a vascular doctor. That’s now scheduled for the beginning of May. Unfortunately, at night I wake from a sound sleep with muscle spasms in my calves and feet. Some times even getting up and walking around doesn’t help these muscle/nerve spasms whatsoever. When I look at my legs and feet, they look perfectly normal with no swelling, discoloration or anything obvious So, I ask myself, if this is happening because of low blood pressure to my feet? I have no idea.

          Hopefully by June, I’ll have had all the necessary procedures required to keep this eighty-year-old body moving along without assistance. That leaves only one item I haven’t addressed here, and that’s loneliness. Being alone, except for Kuma, on a daily basis, no matter how many activities I crowd into my days, sucks. Usually, I can pick up a book, watch TV or find a project to keep me busy. Still, there are times like right now where I’d give almost anything to have John back and being a pain in my as just so I could have a big hug and feel the pressure of another body against mine.. That, of course, isn’t going to happen.

          I suppose it’s good that I can sit here and type all my frustrations and unhappiness and worries out with my fingers. I’m sorry that you, dear reader, read them and think I’m a whiner. Still, I do try to post only happy writings and chapters from my latest book. For today, I’m going to blame the gray, dusk-like light outside the window and pouring rain for my being down.

          Like Little Orphan Annie proclaims, “The sun will come out tomorrow.” And, my attitude will undergo a transformation to the more upbeat person I try to be most times.