I thought I would have been feeling a lot better by now. I don't, but the steroids have loosened up those arthritic fingers and I have been tying knots with wild abandon.
I may have misdiagnosed myself, after all. When HeWho rehabs came home yesterday, he was feeling poorly. "You gave me whatever you have!" Really? I have kept my distance and unlike him, I smother my face in my pillow while coughing all night. But …… he was coughing my same cough and complaining that his head was hurting. He, in fact had every symptom I had. I know this, because for two full hours he proclaimed them loudly as I brought him food and asked if he wanted to go to the clinic. "NO."
I called anyway and made an appointment for this morning, because I am a loving and concerned wife tired of listening to his complaints. Although my head still aches along with my throat, and I am dizzy and coughed so hard last night that I looked around to see if my toenails were on the floor. I knew he would have to hear from a medical professional before he would succumb to any treatment.
I can take remedies to ease my suffering, he has to be more careful because of the blood thinners. He came home with a mask on his face! He has the flu. Fortunately, they were able to prescribe the drug that will minimize the duration and symptoms. (fortunately for him, because his wife got him in the clinic in a timely fashion). He has had his lunch, homemade chicken and dumplings, and now he naps. I am pretty sure that I also have the flu, but I am too late for the magic drug and will just have to tough it out. The good news is that I have had my pneumonia shots. Yay! The bad news is that the steroids have exacerbated my insomnia.
Last summer before my granddaughter Layla would be heading to college, her mom (daughter Jill) pulled out a pile of Layla's t-shirts from all the years of dance and told me she was going to make a quilt for Layla. Just the fronts of the shirts. Of course I asked about the backs and the sleeves that I knew she would simply discard. She looked at me like I was from another planet, but she gave them to me. I grabbed up every single scrap.
I can't sit and watch TV with idle hands. So, I have been cutting those scraps into 1" strips and pulling them taut to make my "threads". Realizing I would need more to fill in I made a trip to the Dollar Tree and picked up some $1 tees to fill in and cut them. The bins in the picture are only part of my efforts.
This is one of the chairs I recently painted and reupholstered and this is where I have spent a lot of my time lately. I still need those little wooden peg things for the holes in the chair where the screws are, so don't look at that.
This represents many hours of my time. Taking my "thread" in hand I would poke one end through the rug canvas and using a latch hook rug tool, I would pull it through, tie it with two knots and clip it off and repeat over and over again until my hands would refuse to work anymore. I figured at the rate I was going, I would be able to present the rug to Layla when she graduates from college!
Last night, with steroids racing through my now limber fingers I made great headway!! Purple and green are up next and with three more days of steroids I will be able to have this rug ready by summer!
I asked Jill about her progress on the quilt …. she hasn't even started. That's okay, I am more than willing to help my girl. My girls are about as interested in sewing and I might be interested in sky diving. Layla did show an interest, but dancing is her passion. She made the dance line at Ohio state as a freshman. I never doubted that she would, she is so talented. Oh, and by the way, she also made the dean's list. I am so very proud of her.
I have been so sick. No fever, so I didn't think I had the coronae virus. If I did have it, I got it at Walmart, the only outing I have had for the past month. It would no doubt be the generic variety for me, as I am cheap.
After a weekend of a nightmare headache, I whined on the phone until my clinic agreed to see me. They suggested that I wait until Wednesday and I started crying. The headache was clearly a sinus headache, but I could not find any relief from the pain. I had already diagnosed myself and only needed confirmation and prescriptions.
I saw the newest nurse practitioner and she was not offended that I already knew what I needed. I like her, she is a smart woman. We decided on the antibiotic paired with steroids to go ahead and knock this thing out of me.
HeWho was my chauffer, drove me home before picking up my prescriptions. While my head was still hurting, I felt better knowing that relief was coming soon. I made dinner and left the dishes. Decided to start the steroids the next day in case they kept me awake. A good plan.
Got up early with the dogs and the same headache I have had for the past five days. I took the first dose of the dose package. Six pills today, plus the antibiotic and as long as I was swallowing pills; I decided to go ahead and take my regular medications. Charming Eddie stood waiting at the door to be scooped up and dried off. I put him back in the bed and went back for Cujo.
Cujo was not ready to come in, but I wanted to crawl back to bed. He stood looking at me as I tried to convince him to come in. He just stared at
me. It was drizzling icy rain and there was a sprinkling of snow on the ground. I threatened and cajoled, but that little stinker just stood there. I did not want to go out there. My toes were cozy in my slippers and I knew they would get wet if I ventured out there …….
But I wanted to go back to bed for just a bit! I went towards him and he flipped over to his back and lay there with his tail between his legs, knowing I was unhappy. When I bent down to pick him up, he made himself heavy and uncooperative, like a toddler. I was trying to get the towel between me and him and twisted my back in the doing. Pain shot through my back right under my shoulder blade.
I dried the little devil and got back to bed very carefully. The pain was making it hard to get a good breath. I lay down and tried to settle in. Never went to sleep and after about 30 minutes my stomach started rumble. This went on for awhile and I became increasingly restless and Eddie kept trying to crawl up on my belly. I got up to walk around and see if I felt better. Good thing I walked to the bathroom because everything came flying up and out of that belly …. in the sink. All liquid, I did not see any pills. I certainly felt better.
I was happy to feel better, but now what to do? Since I didn't see the pills doesn't mean that they were still in my body. But, it also didn't mean that I didn't lose some of the medication. HeWho is wise, or thinks he is, suggested I take all the pills again. I didn't think that was a good idea, not knowing how much was in my blood stream. They had had plenty of time to dissolve, after all. The dose pack of steroids could not be simply replaced.
I chose the safe route and decided to start over tomorrow. That means that my head still hurt and I still felt pretty crappy all day, but I have high hopes for tomorrow. And I will eat something before I take those pills! I do know better!
Such a disappointment! Yesterday began with me mopping the river of water in my kitchen before having coffee. Then , HeWho may, or may not be a plumber, telling me that the for-real plumber was not coming until Wednesday!
HeWho rushed home from his re-hab (it sounds like he went in for a drug problem) and began a search for a different plumber. In the mean time, one of my tenants had a load of wet clothes in the washer for an entire week as she waited for the problem to be resolved. We went ahead and ran that washer, then assumed a two man procedure of sweeping all the water out the back door. I swept to a point he could reach from the door and he swept the water out.
We were just finished with that bit of exercise when the new found plumber showed up. I was prepared to escape to the bedroom with the canines if the plumber needed to enter the house.
HeWho came in and headed to the bathroom to flush the toilet. He came out and told me the problem was gone!
What did the plumber do in such a short amount of time? Nothing. Apparently all the chemicals HeWho had poured down the drain finally dissolved whatever was creating the problem.
I must confess that I am disappointed. I will never know what started my week of mopping.
As I sit and wait for the plumber to arrive, I have time to meditate on the past week of water. As it stands (literally), I lost, water won. Hopefully the culprit will be revealed today.
In the meantime, as laundry continues to pile up (there will be an entire load of wet socks), let's see what HeWho is not a plumber has been up to. As you all know I have recently purged our closets and removed all of the clothes that have outgrown the shrinking man. Despite the fact that I have bought clothes to fit him, he still grabs the baggy ones that are a full 4" too big. My clothes, on the other hand, have been set aside to go to the sewing room to be altered to fit my smaller self.
Before you ask yourself why I don't just alter his jeans ….. jeans are hard to alter, especially men's with all those pockets and belt loops. Not to mention all the stains on his. We have chlorine, pool paint, mud and grease, sometimes all on one pair with various rips and tears. He never manages to rip them in a spot that would look like it was meant to be.
I was sure I had eliminated all of his too big jeans until I happened to look at his backside last Monday night while on the phone with our daughter. "Where did you get those jeans?" I screeched. He assured me they were "in my closet". Never mind that we share a closet and his closet is also mine. Adrienne and I started laughing together as I described the saggy bottom on the jeans her dad had on. She has seen him wear jeans that are his size and still with a saggy bottom because for whatever reason he would insist on buy the "full cut". The man has no butt and skinny legs.
I did some laundry Tuesday, thinking the water problem had been resolved by HeWho is not a plumber. While I was folding laundry, I grabbed a pair of his new jeans and demonstrated the difference between "good jeans" and "bad jeans" when I picked up the pair he had worn Monday …….
And that is when I realized he had worn a pair of my jeans that were in my stack of pants waiting to be altered!!! They were too big for my ample bottom! He wore those to re-hab! He went out in public in ladies jeans!!! "I wondered why they were so short." says HeWho is not a plumber. Most people would have taken them off to investigate. Well, normal people would. Not my husband. I never want to meet those people at his re-hab facility. What would they think of me, letting him leave the house in ladies jeans?
All week long I have battled the water from the backed up drain. The nasty aroma of copper sulfate drifting through the air. My home smells like a giant fart!
Many trips to the store for various remedies that do not work. Power plungers, routing implements and such lie carelessly about the laundry room that is currently out of commission ...….. I hope that the sign will stop someone from trying to use the washing machines. If not I will be mopping even more today.
A for-real plumber is scheduled for tomorrow!! I am all a tither with anticipation. My guys pulled a lot of gunk and hair out, but it is still blocked. I saw a small sock stuck in the drain pipe thing from one of the washers. You know the hook looking thing that goes into the pipe that leads to the main drain. Of course I removed it, but I wonder why it was there … and where the mate to that sock is.
Yesterday, everything started draining. Slowly, but draining. It was raining when I woke and the problem seems to be even worse today. I dared to shower this morning and flooded the bathroom. The toilet that had been flushing sluggishly is not flushing at all. I was thinking I might as well just pee on the floor like a dog!
Can't wash dishes, can't do laundry. As much as I would like to run away, Linda, you are right that it would still be here when I returned. Besides, HeWho has cardio re-hab until March. I dare not leave him on his own. He is taking a blood thinner and has to be reminded to swallow his pills.
So, here I am. Watching movies and hooking a rug. Too cold to paint the store and I can only imagine what paint and copper sulfate would smell like. I can hardly wait until the plumber arrives tomorrow! Not only am I ready to stop mopping, I am curious to see what has been blocking the drain.
Still mopping my kitchen too much. When I attacked the laundry room and shower rooms with Clorox yesterday, I took note that the men's room was also flooded. I mopped and cleaned and patted myself on the back for all my efforts, then took a nice nap.
Well, I forgot to take my glasses off when I napped and now my eye orbits are sore and tender to the touch. This morning I noticed that the water issue had not been resolved. HeWho has no re-hab today has been a busy guy. Two trips to town for drain opener.
For the past few weeks someone has been leaving the electric heaters on in the shower rooms and leaving the doors open. This behavior is not acceptable if you want to stay in my good graces. As you all know, I have spies strategically placed among the tenants. If any shenanigans are going on, I will know in a matter of days.
Now that I know the culprits of the heater situation, I am thinking the drainage problem is not my laundry room at all. I am thinking it is most likely "look what was flushed down the toilet and is now backing up the main drain for this building" situation. HeWho is not happy about this. Not that he will be confronting the bad actors. That will be me. That's okay, I am quite capable of getting my point across. I will simply remove the heaters and they will be forced to ask for a heater and hear my speech about the use of the heaters, or they can be cold.
HeWho will be the one snaking the drain. I prefer my job.
Can't trust that day. Yesterday was a lovely day. Everything I touched turned to gold (I wish). While it didn't turn to gold exactly, things went smoothly and I accomplished all I set out to do.
After a restless night, Charming Eddie has suddenly decided that his favorite spot to sleep is on top of me, I awoke to another spectacular day with the sun shining brightly and the temperature hovering in the 50's. I let the dogs out into the now soggy yard with all of the recent snow having melted. When I went to check on them, Cujo was trying to wriggle his fat body through an opening in the fence. He couldn't make, though he tried. I was just thankful it was him and not Eddie with his long, sleek torso and svelte body.
Now, this particular part of the fence had been noticed long ago by the lady of the manor and pointed out to HeWho should be in charge of fixing stuff. I even told the man to just slap a board over the offending breach and screw it on. We can replace the bad boards come Spring.
He is partial to nails, while I prefer screws. Easier to take apart. I assumed he would patch it on the inside of the fence, but in his manly wisdom he chose the outside and used three boards, still leaving space at the top. This where I found fat little Cujo frantically squirming. He would have gotten stuck when he got to his midsection and would have hurt himself. I grabbed a piece of strand board, in the shape of a triangle and slapped it over the hole and screwed it down.
I was slopping back to the door through the muddy mess left behind by the melted snow, a little irritated that my slippers were wet. Thinking I would tell the men that I wanted a good load of dirt in the back corner of the yard in the Spring. The dogs were skipping along beside me, as Martha, the boy cat, gave us all the stink eye. He was grooming himself and shaking his paws off, one at a time.
I stepped inside and saw a growing river of water in my kitchen. The origin was a mystery. I checked the pump room and it was dry ….. but, it is Monday. HeWho plumbs was on his way to walk on a treadmill, an hour away. I called him and described what was happening as I was frantically mopping. "Well, go to the gray box with the big handle on it and turn the water off." Like I may be unaware of which box provided power to the pump. It says "pump" on the box. The man who installed the pump wrote it on there. I like labels. HeWho prefers to flip the breakers one by one while I watch to see if the one he wants to work on goes off. I even suggested that it might be fun to label them.
I didn't think that the pump was the problem and said so. "Well, do you want me to miss re-hab and come home to fix it!?" What should I answer? Many answers came to mind, but I just hung up on him. No response IS a response, right?
The water was still growing and was headed for the living area and the store. I grabbed the broom and started sweeping the water out the back door. I knew the pump was not on, I would have heard it when I ventured to the labeled gray box and turned it off. But, I left it off and threw on the clothes I had on yesterday and a pair of flip flops and headed to the public laundry room.
I opened the door to the store/office and peered out, hoping to be all by myself. I had had no shower, my hair was sticking out in all directions and most importantly I had had NO COFFEE. I opened the laundry room door and found the problem. The laundry room had about 2 inches of water on the floor, as a washing machine was in it's final spin. Hmm, no wonder I was sliding around on my floor and suds were forming as I pushed the water out my back door.
Knowing that the problem was the drain and not the pump I was rounding the corner to go back in and flip the pump back on before I started fielding complaints. There stood a camper, waiting for me. A talker, this one, when all I wanted to do was get the pump back on, so I could clean up the mess in the laundry.
I called HeWho re-habs and told him I found the problem and he assures me that he will fix it after he has re-habbed. My hero. There is a drain in the laundry room floor, but it was draining very slowly. Who knows what is clogging the drain(s). Could be a tiny sock, could be a big ball of lint. Could be that I just want to go back to bed until Tuesday!
I swept the water out of the laundry room and decided to go ahead and clean the shower rooms and gather all the trash, etc. I am just now having my first cup of coffee at 10:45 AM. This is just so wrong.
