It’s a thing of beauty and a joy forever! It will probably last longer than WE do. :0) It was installed yesterday and the grin hasn’t left my face.
Travis, our wonderful plumber, is coming back sometime today to clean up the installation debris, old unit, etc., and has agreed to cart off the old backup regular water heater that failed and has been sitting down there, as well. I’ll write him a check today.
My husband and I both think that the water is getting hot more quickly than with the old unit. I don’t know if that’s because the former one was failing or if the new one is more powerful, more efficient, or what, but it’s NICE.
Any condensation goes into a drain in the floor. It’s wonderful not to have to ‘wonder’ if the hot water will come on when I’m washing my hair in the kitchen sink in the mornings, or whether the hot water will STAY on when I’m taking my shower in the evening, constantly having to turn the knob to adjust the temperature.
Our wonderful plumber is here. The installation of our replacement tankless water heater has begun. The water to the house is off until further notice.
I know without a doubt that I wouldn’t be a good burglar. When I get stressed, I need to find a bathroom, and that’s a real problem if you’re trying to get away with something, be quiet, or cooperate when the water is off. The only ‘comfort’ today, since I have no clue how long the water will be off, is that we have two bathrooms upstairs that I can use and leave to flush later.
I guess it is my perverse nature that I react this way. Usually hours and hours can pass and I can easily wait – but turn off the water and tell me I ‘can’t’ and my system goes into ‘high production.’
I’m hoping that this will be a smooth, relatively quick installation. We are so lucky to have Travis Hawkins as our plumber. 479-461-8347. It is beyond price to know that someone knowledgeable will come when needed, and that we’ll get a fair price and can trust the work done.
I’m going to work in our office, write posts for the blog, and then work in my art room to stay out of the way. :0)
“Branch Manager and Assistant Manager” – @Buitengebieden On X
Well, I’m feeling quite happy now.
Our plumber just came to take some measurements for the replacement of our tankless water heater.
I had told my husband that I wanted HIM to handle things, since the two of them speak the same language, and that I would just try to stay out of the way, but available, if needed.
Travis, the plumber, said he would be back tomorrow at 8:30 for the installation.
The best part of the whole thing is the resolution of the question of the chimney for the unit, which has to be vented through the roof. My husband had gone on chat (with me typing) to ask if we could use the stainless steel chimney we already have with the new system. The chat people couldn’t help us and gave us the number of the more technical folks. We talked to them, and they basically said to use the PVC pipe they wanted. My husband wasn’t convinced.
When Travis and he were down in the basement taking measurements and talking details, they talked about the chimney. They have agreed that the stainless steel chimney should be fine for the new system, and that they don’t need to run the PVC pipe. This will save Travis a LOT of time and labor, and should save US some money.
We had agreed that we would do what Travis wanted to do, since HE was the one who was doing the installing, HE was the one who had experience with this new unit, and HE would be the one we would call about any problems.
Since Travis is fine with this, it’s a win/win for everyone. :0)
It’s a great day to stay inside today. It’s 49, cloudy, windy, gray and wet outside. My husband and Amber just left to drive down to the bottom of the driveway to get our mail and hopefully retrieve what is now an empty trash can and drag it back up to where it lives.
I told you I have been working on my Etsy site, basically redoing it from the bottom up.
I started by lowering my prices as much as I can.
I’ve been having technical issues on trying to design a banner to go across the top, plus a logo. The last couple of days I painted what I hoped would work as a banner, and then this morning I designed a new logo.
We got up and left this morning – in the cooler, rainy weather we’re having – immediately after feeding animals to get lab work done for our 6 month routine doctor appointment Wednesday afternoon. We like to treat ourselves to a Dari Restaurant breakfast afterwards.
They called us back to the lab part of the clinic, but then told us, after taking some of my blood, that we weren’t due for any more lab tests. I explained that it had been six months since we last saw the doctor and that we ALWAYS got fresh lab work done so that she could see how we were doing and could make recommendations for what we should do until we saw her again. They checked the records again and said it was ‘too soon’ for our lab tests. I was too shocked to ask when we WERE due for the tests, and we left.
We went ahead and enjoyed our breakfast out, but I’m still at a loss. If we don’t have the test results for the doc, all we can tell HER is that we’re still old. All she can tell US is that we seem to still be alive, and then give us another appointment.
It seems like there is a lack of communication somewhere. With my luck, our doc will want us to get lab work some other day after Thanksgiving, and my husband will probably get ugly about having to go to the doc 3 times…
There is nothing to vote for or against in my county today, so I won’t be collecting and wearing a sticker such as the one above today. My SIL, who lives in Charlotte NC, is not only voting today, she is a poll worker for the first time! I applaud her motivation and energy to do this. I am always thankful to the volunteers who help with our elections here, and I always thank everyone who isn’t actively helping someone at the time I’m there. If you have an opportunity to vote today, I hope you take advantage of it.
Kelley Blue Book
Our 2006 Honda Ridgeline Truck looks mostly like this one, but we changed out the grill my husband didn’t like and ours is not nearly as shiny as this one after 17 years.
For the first time in that time, we put our mounted snow tires in the back of the truck and I drove it to the tire place in town to have THEM take the regular tires off, put the snow tires on, and air them up. It was two hours or so very well spent, in my opinion. We had trouble just heaving the tires into the back of the truck and rolling them from and to the place we store them in the shop. I’m really glad my husband honored his agreement to let the experts do the job this time.
I particularly noticed that the tire guy just picked up each tire and put it in the back of the truck like it was no big thing. I had to stop and tell him that I resented that a bit, but was grateful for his strength and expertise. We laughed together over it. The whole job was $32, so that was certainly a win/win as far as I’m concerned. Now we will be as able as possible to get down our driveway – and up again – if we have to – when it gets slippery this winter.
Navien Tankless Hot Water Heater
My husband stayed at the house while I went to get the tires changed, waiting in case the people who might deliver the tankless hot water heater our plumber ordered for us came. They called right before I left, so I was able to leave a check for the unit. The tankless is expensive, but we’ve learned the hard way that it’s no fun to run out of hot water when you’re in desperate need of a nice hot shower after working. We spent more on the installation of the current heater than we did on the unit itself, with a lot of expensive rules about venting and the use exclusively of stainless steel on the pipes. We’ve had the current unit, a Rheem, since July of 2014, so it has lasted almost 10 years with only one problem for which we had to call our plumber.
123RF.com
Since the new unit is about $1,000 more than the previous one, I’m HOPING that the installation will cost a lot less.
Ildar Abulkhanov-Getty Images-istockphoto
Today I’m hoping to weed the last 2 planter boxes in my square foot garden and cover them with tarps for the winter.
When we bought our truck, we bought a set of snow tires at the same time and had them mounted on wheels so that we could simply change the tires from regular to snow tires and back again when needed. We had everything we needed in our shop.
For 17 years now my husband and I have changed the tires twice a year – changing the regular tires to snow tires – and back again. It has become more and more difficult as we have gotten older – no surprise – but last time was so difficult that I was afraid we wouldn’t manage it.
We had a frank talk after we finally prevailed and agreed that it was getting to be too much for us. We’ve had ‘frank talks’ in the past about various things. When push comes to shove, we either remember the talks differently or are back to square one when actually faced with the subject again, the ‘agreement’ having flown away with the wind.
I saw that my husband had printed a reminder that it was time to change to snow tires.
I reminded him that we had agreed last time that I would take the tires to the tire place and have THEM change them out for us. (This still leaves us getting the wheeled tires out of the shop and into the back of the truck, finding the lug nuts and the special ‘thingies’ included in the nuts for the regular tires.
Then we’ll get the regular tires and lug nuts that go with them out and stored in the shop again once the job is done, but that is nothing compared to trying to muscle the tires off and on the truck rims.
My husband shocked me, agreeing. He added that he would listen for the people who are supposed to be contacting us regarding a new instant hot water heater delivery while I’m gone. Can you see I’m struggling to close my mouth?
HUGE relief! We’ll gather our trash in a bit, put that and the tires in the back of the truck. I’ll drive the trash down, get it set up by the road at the bottom of the driveway, get our mail, and head for the tire place.
Actually, I’m better today, but still creaky, crunchy, and corroded.
We’re still finding things in our house that are showing how long we’ve lived here – 36 years. I guess we can’t really gripe. Things are long out of warranty. Though we can’t replace EVERYTHING, we are replacing what needs to be, one thing at a time.
Last night my husband took Amber out for her last outing, then came back in, saying that the garage door wouldn’t close when he pushed the button. He had to decouple it from the electricity and close it manually. This morning he looked at the situation and the wiring for the control was corroded. He was able to fix it (hooray!), but we’re having to deal with something not working a lot these days.
We’ve almost replaced all the fluorescent lights – my husband is having to remove the old ballast transformers, rewire the fixture, and then we add the newly purchased LED tubes. This is due to the government requirement not to make our fluorescent tubes anymore. Same with the lights in our lamps. When we started switching the old bulbs for the new, we were told the new ones would last a lot longer – even years. Apparently our lamps didn’t get the memo. So far, we can’t tell a difference. The new ones just cost a fortune.
We’ve talked to our plumber about replacing our hot-water-on-demand equipment as soon as he can get to it. It’s trying to die. After looking at it, it’s the same corrosion, hard water type problem that is getting to everything else, even though we haven’t had it nearly as long. He cleaned it out as well as he could and we have our fingers crossed each time we need to reset the system. I keep reminding myself ‘one-thing-at-a-time.’
We have a paper that comes out every two weeks, I think. It’s free and I get it when we go to Lunch Bunch. I was FLOORED when I read one article on the front page, listing a bunch of stuff about which I was not aware that is or will happen in our little town of Greenwood.
THING ONE – I’ve told you about the bridge between us and town being completely taken out and replaced. It is finished for all practical purposes, but the barricades are still up and it isn’t open for traffic, so we are still having to go to town a back way that is much longer and aggravating.
THING TWO – Now it looks like just as this bridge is opening and we can enjoy getting back to our normal route to town, the main road to town is going to be barricaded by another thing.
The powers that be have long discussed a bypass that would go past the ‘square’ in town, easing the bad traffic that happens twice a day due to people trying to drive through Greenwood from towns to the east – with people trying to get to work in Fort Smith – plus the traffic caused by kids trying to get to, or leave, school by buses and what my husband calls, “Mommy traffic.” This has been a pie-in-the-sky thing for years. Apparently, Phase I of the bypass will START before the end of THIS YEAR! This will obliterate the intersection of Hwy 10 and Hwy 96 – an intersection we have to go through to get to town. Oh, GOOD!
I read a lot about it online yesterday, studying maps provided. They said it is due to start in November – no estimated end date. This would mean that the back way we’re having to take NOW wouldn’t be possible, NOR our normal route to town. We’ll have to take a rural road that goes into pasture-type land behind our house and WAAAAAAAY out to HWY 71 South and then BACK to GREENWOOD…. to tell you I’m not looking forward to this is a vast understatement.
THING THREE –apparently, they’re going to build a new medical center to replace the one where our primary doctor is, from just off the square in town to out on HWY 71.
THING FOUR – likewise, they’re going to build a new library to replace the easy-to-get-to one in town out to HWY 71.
THING FIVE –They are going to build a new Senior Center – you guessed it – out on HWY 71.
They say this will be more ‘convenient’ for people living in South Sebastian County. I have to admit feeling a bit selfish. I like things they way they are. The only one of these last three that won’t affect us yet is the Senior Center. I may be as old as dirt, but I’m not old enough to go there to do anything yet, and may never be. :0)
I guess that’s the list. I’m still feeling pretty shell-shocked. Too many changes in too little time.
I have to tell you that I’m pleased with myself for handling the problem of our pharmacist retiring and sending my husband’s prescription to Walgreens – something that meant we would have to drive to Ft. Smith once a month. I asked our doctor to call the prescription in to Humana. They did that, and I got confirmation today that the med is on its way. HOORAY.
I hope that you are able to handle the changes happening in your life – whether they are simply small and irritating, intimidating, or even scary or life-changing. Try to handle one thing at a time and try not to feel stressed. We can do this.
I’m feeling hostile and angry this morning. Yeah. Bummer.
I noticed the other day that the descriptions on my items on my Etsy page weren’t showing. I assumed it was a glitch and wrote a reminder to myself to check it out again later.
I put some new stuff on Etsy yesterday and discovered that my descriptions were still missing. The page on the right was simply empty. I had a picture, price and then reviews by customers underneath.
Sometimes my computer is wonky and things will show one way on one browser and another way on another browser. I use Firefox, so I checked my Etsy site using Chrome. Same problem. I tried rebooting my computer. Same problem.
I went through a long process and finally found a way to contact a real person on Etsy. I got on chat. She immediately wanted me to send her a screenshot of the page. I tried, but due to being inept on computer stuff, I was having trouble. So while she was checking on her end, I was trying various stuff trying to send her a picture. I finally managed to send her something, emphasizing that all the pages had the same problem.
After a bit, she came back on and told me that Etsy was ‘experimenting’ with moving the descriptions down on the page under the reviews. I checked my page and did, indeed, find the description. I checked several other pages and found the same thing. So the descriptions are THERE, just not where the shop owners or customers are expecting them to be. I asked if this would magically heal itself when the experiment was over. She couldn’t tell me.
So, part of me is relieved that the descriptions didn’t just go to LaLa Land, but the other part is hostile because
I think Etsy should have told the shop owners involved that the experiment was being done and what that entailed, how long it would last, etc. rather than causing me panic.
I think the experimenters should also have told the people on chat so that they would be in the know and could have told me what was going on right away, just in case the above notice had been ignored, saving THEM a bunch of hassle.
I think they should be putting a notice on Etsy about the change so that customers aren’t inconvenienced. They want to get in and out quickly. If they can’t find information reasonably quickly, they go elsewhere.
I’m still feeling stupid I had such a bad time trying to GET a Screenshot and then put it where the chat person could SEE it.
Not a happy start to my day. I’m old enough that I should be USED to feeling stupid by this point, but I still avoid it when I can…
We just finished changing out the fluorescent tubes for LED T8 tubes and rewiring the fixture in my art room. We had the easiest time yet, with absolutely no problems – no accidents, no harsh words, no bloodshed. :0)
I spent yesterday afternoon moving stuff out of the way and putting the ladder under the fixture so it would be ready. I did well because the ladder went right where he needed it to work as comfortably as possible.
After we did that – in record time – I showed him one of the lights that is attached to my drafting table. In moving the table a bit to get it out of the way, I broke the plastic thingie that the light fits into in order to attach to the table. :0(
Thankfully, we had another one in the shop. I was able to put the replacement part on myself – with some fumbling around – but he doesn’t need to know that.
This afternoon I’ll work on getting my art room back together. If I can get that done, I’ll continue working on the Christmas presents for my friends, sort my new marker collection, and more!
Since it’s raining off and on, this is a good ‘stay-at-home-and-be-happy-we’re-dry’ day.
We had a good time at Lunch Bunch. Kay and Bud were there. Bud seemed touched that we remembered his birthday with a card. He said one of his thermometers read 116 yesterday. Our shop thermometer read 110, and the one under the deck roof showed 108. UGH. It’s ‘only’ 97 right now, but we’re under both a ‘Heat Advisory’ AND an “Excessive Heat Warning.” Not sure why we rate both, but it does get your attention.
Dreamstime.com
We’re still having to drive miles out of our way to get to and from town since the bridge between us and Greenwood was taken out completely and is being replaced. We drove past our driveway on the way home so we could go check out the progress.
This stock photo gives you an idea of what is going on, but our road is completely closed off. There is a HUGE hole where the old bridge was taken out and they are working on a 3rd of 3 humongous concrete supports that go all the way across the road from one side to the other. There is a big tractor/digger/crane beside the hole which is dug far down below where the old bridge was. I’m not sure what happens after they get that 3rd support poured. I don’t have a clue how they will go across from one support to the next – in line with the road… I’ll try to take some pics next time we go.
We’re home for the day now and I’ll start my projects for the day as soon as I finish this. Stay cool and hydrated.
I think I MAY have solved the problem of continuing to receive a medication for my husband at a price we can afford.
We reached the ‘donut hole’ for the first time in our medical coverage. We would need to spend another $7500 this year in order to make our way out. If we DO spend that much, paying for prescriptions won’t be the largest problem! The prescription price for this med had quadrupled!
I reached out to our supplemental coverage and they agreed they could provide one month of the medicine before we actually reach the donut hole. I reached out to AstraZenega, filled out the form for financial help, only to be told on the insurance page – almost the last page on the form – that we didn’t qualify because we had supplemental coverage.
Since our doctor says this is the only medicine that will do what my husband needs, it’s important that we get it. I was told they no longer provide written paper prescriptions. I wrote again, explained that I can found a possible source we could afford, but we needed the paper prescription. Otherwise, my husband would have to do without the medication. She answered today, saying it would be waiting for us at the front desk. She also warned us that many places will not accept paper prescriptions anymore.
I thanked her profusely. We will pick it up tomorrow and start the procedure to see if the source will accept the prescription or not. It’s always something, but at least in this case, there is hope.
The last couple of days have been challenging. I’m a reasonably calm person. I won’t say, “nice,” because it’s hard to judge from the inside. But I have found that most people don’t have trouble dealing with me.
I have been on my last nerve the last couple of days with my husband. The idea of a hole in the back yard dug by my friend with the backhoe beckons.
Friday we were driving home from errands and it was so hot the dash cam was hanging from its cord when we got in the car. I put it back up and we started home. My husband wasn’t happy with its ‘attitude’, though, wanting it to tilt downward more. I change the thing three times as we drove. He suddenly pulled to the side of the road, yelled at me, and did it himself. I did NOT bite him in the leg, although I have to admit I thought about it.
Later when we were converting fluorescent fixtures to accepting LED tubes, he had trouble getting the legs of the step ladder to close. He started acting like a two-year-old having a tantrum and I told him I would handle it. He looked at me as if I had sprouted another head and then threw up his hands and said, “Okay, YOU do it!” and left the room. I did it and put the ladder back in the garage.
Later, he asked me what happened with the ladder. When I told him, he went to the garage to check, obviously not believing me. He came back inside, saying nothing. Later, he asked me how I got the legs to close. I explained what I did. He looked at me a minute and then went back to reading.
To his considerable credit, this is a man who has fixed things his whole life. He can look at something and figure out how it works, figure out why it isn’t working, and figure out what to do to fix it.
In the past couple of years he has had two mini-strokes. He is doing remarkably well, but he has trouble speaking at times, has difficulty typing, and gets frustrated with stuff like smart phones (which I have to admit are smarter than both of us together). Most of the time he handles the changes very well, even with humor. A lot of the time you can’t tell anything has changed.
The biggest thing I’M seeing is the change in temperament. He has to ask me to figure out how to change which chime sounds on the driveway detector, and this HAS to be frustrating for him.
We’re trying to get the lowest price possible on a medication he takes. We’re in the “donut hole” on Medicare for the first time ever, and the price for this med skyrocketed. I found a place where we could get it more cheaply. He said he would rather write the manufacturer because he saw a deal they were offering. Several days have past and we haven’t heard from them. I asked him about it and he said he had heard from them and put it in his important folder on the computer. When I read it, there was nothing about the special price. He didn’t remember telling me about any prices. So now I’ve written our doc to ask her for a prescription so we can get what he needs.
Whole new “ballgame” and it’s difficult to deal with since I’m older than dirt.
We have the first floor now almost completely converted from the old-style fluorescent fixtures, ballast transformers and tubes to the new-style LED tubes. We put fluorescents everywhere when we built because we liked the fact that they last a long time and give a really good amount of light.
We just learned that the tubes we have been using will no longer be made starting this August (!) so we really had no choice. My husband ordered a box of LED lights (count of 30). He got antsy waiting for the delivery, so he went to our local Yeager’s and bought the 6 tubes they had that were the color we had ordered online. We laboriously put the six in and then the box of 30 more arrived.
We have now finished the kitchen (above). Last night my husband sneaked in and converted the one in the pantry. (He said the last two tubes were “calling to him.”)
The only fixture left to be converted on the first floor now is the back bathroom, beyond the utility room.
Yesterday we spent all day converting these three fixtures in our office. We worked well together. In fact, my husband complimented me on what a good job I did helping him, anticipating which tool he would need when, etc., plus “helping him stay calm.” He cooperated with my insisting we take breaks, hydrate, eat lunch, etc. and this, I think, helped both of us a lot.
I’ve been having to flip the switch in the office 5 or 6 times each morning in an effort to get all three fixtures lit at the same time. Now, one flip and the room is ablaze in light! I keep finding myself expecting a light to suddenly go off. :0)
The tubes are expensive, but the regular fluorescents weren’t cheap, either. They are supposed to last 50,000 hours. They use less energy. They allowed us to get rid of the ballast transformers which were failing. Even though the conversion is a lot of work, these tubes may last longer than we do. :0)
We have another box ordered, but we have agreed (at least right now) to replace the upstairs tubes as they fail, rather than continue the race we’ve been on lately. Having been married to this man 54 years now, I know that this agreement will probably last until the delivery of the box of tubes, but at least I’ll get a break until the 20th, when the delivery is estimated.
We’re home from my haircut and now I’m feeling newly confident about not ending up in Lower Slabovia while trying to get home from town. We’re having to go the back way because the bridge between us and town is completely gone now, with only a huge hole and a backhoe in the bottom of it. It’s been years since we had to go the back way. The last time there wasn’t even a street sign at the turn off and I just drove right on past it.
I asked my husband to drive me to the hairdresser so that we would be lost together if we didn’t get back. It is amazing what has happened to that part of Hwy 10 since we were last there. There is a whole housing addition going up with either duplexes or triplexes. There is another sign further out about ANOTHER new housing addition. On the other side of the road, the place that used to be a gymnastics place is now a Crossfit place. There is now a new auto sales place right before our turn-off to come home, so it’s now easy to see where we are.
Now I’m not worried about getting lost or having to go even more miles out of our way in order to get back home the next time I’m out. Confidence is very important to me, particularly on how to get where I’m going since my sense of direction skill was given to someone else when I was born. :0)
When we got back from errands this morning, I went right out to the garden with the flat of head lettuce and the flat of spinach. I got them planted before lunch. I’ll set up the automatic watering system tomorrow, but I THINK it’s supposed to rain tomorrow afternoon and evening, giving my new plants lots of water. (I hope not too much!)
My plan is to prep my two brick tomato planters next and get them planted, and then figure out what else will go in the main garden.
After lunch and a rest, we went out to the shop to get the snow tires off the truck and put on the regular tires. We had a hard time. I insisted we come in and rest after we got the tires on the front. We drank water and rested a bit and then went back out. We got it done, but it was a close thing.
My husband surprised me on the walk back from the shop after we finished. He has finally agreed that when the snow tires need to be put back on, we’ll put the tires and wheels and lug nuts in the back of the truck. I’ll make an appointment with the tire place so they will change the tires for us, air up the tires and put the others in the back of the truck. The only thing we’ll have to do next time is get the tires in and out of the back of the truck and into the shop. This has been a long time coming, and I had almost given up hope on getting him to see reason. I’m relieved.
We will do some serious relaxing this evening. :0)
I’m trying to ‘gird my loins’ to help my husband change the tires on our truck today. We need to get the snow tires off and the regular tires on, aired up, etc.
When we first bought our truck, we bought an extra set of wheels so that we could have snow tires mounted on them. We store them in the back of the shop, along with the lug nuts that go with them, so that we are able to change to snow tires reasonably quickly, if needed.
This was in 2006, so that was awhile back when we weren’t as older-than-dirt as we are now, and at our mature age, 17 years makes a big difference.
I tried to convince my husband that I could take the truck, with the regular tires and lug nuts in the back, to the tire place and get this done tomorrow. I discovered that this is apparently now a thing of pride – that we are independent, capable, and NOT older than dirt – despite appearances.
I made it through the day yesterday without stuffing my face the way I have been. I’ll try to do it again today.
Another arrow in my quiver – I’m NOT going to loosen the fastening on my jeans to make myself more comfortable during the day. I’m going to keep them fastened, reminding myself that my overeating has CAUSED this discomfort, and that acting ‘maturely’ might relieve that if I keep it up.
I’m in this fight by myself, since my husband insisted we stock up on a bunch of assorted chips. Maybe a bit of frustration and anger will help me in my goal…
Each person makes a decision – or a series of them – when he or she wants to change, in the effort to STOP a bad habit or START a good one. I’m trying to look at all the excuses for what they are – smoke.
TODAY I will eat healthy meals and try not to eat anything in-between. I will drink a bottle of water if I get hungry, and I will do a good session of yoga this afternoon. Maybe I can earn another small pat. :0)
We’ve been out since all afternoon running errands. The biggest thing we did was to iPhone 13 SEs. My husband wanted to go in and check it out because of an ad he saw on his computer. Usually we don’t qualify for one reason or another, and it was the same this time. The offer was for people on cell phone plans who basically had iphone 8’s or newer. We didn’t qualify because we’re on a cell phone plan as the basic house phone which has several stations all over the house.
We priced just getting new phones rather since we didn’t qualify for the trade-in’s or special deals and it was only a dollar or two more per month than the ‘deal.’ The biggest cost was the sales tax today plus the ‘upgrade fee’ for any changes on your plan. We decided to bite the bullet and get the new phones.
The lady who helped us was really nice and very patient with us. She got us the best deal she could, upgraded the new phone that needed it, transferred our data, etc.
My husband has been fuming for half an hour or so that ‘someone’ was talking to him through the phone and wouldn’t stop. It was some kind of verification message. Instead of listening to it, he just wanted it to stop. We played with all the settings having to do with sounds, notifications, etc., thought we had it turned off and then she would start talking again. He finally listened and found out the lady wanted him to verify that he wanted a Google for business or not. He couldn’t find the keypad, so I helped him with that. He hit “one” for “NO! NO! A THOUSAND TIMES NO!” and she miraculously stopped. HOORAY!!!!!
We didn’t get any paperwork with the phone, so will go online and see what general things we can find. The one thing I tried to look up talked about a button on the left side of the phone that you moved the switch so the orange showed. I couldn’t find any button like that, so gave up. I’ll study my phone more later.
My technical ineptness is rearing its ugly head again. If all else fails this evening, we’ll go back to the nice lady and see if she can get our phones to be on vibration and silent mode.
My husband is working on all of our computers, trying to get them to “see” each other, share files, etc. This is causing daily changes to my computer and is quite a challenge for me, since I’m am almost a technophobe.
Today the type on this page is humongous, rather than the almost-too-small-to-work-with type I’ve been working with. I have no clue how to change it. Also, the way I find and save and use images here is completely different. When I ask my husband about it, he says he hasn’t done anything to change those.
So the sweet gif I found of a cat massaging a dog’s head that I wanted to use for this post to talk about the massage I’m getting this morning is saved somewhere not to be found. I thought maybe it was because it was a gif rather than a jpg extension, so tried to save a jpg. That didn’t work, either. My images aren’t all showing in the list and aren’t in alphabetical order, so trying to use anything is a real challenge.
He will be working on my computer again today, so I’m hoping things will eventually straighten out. I may also end up bald from tearing my hair out…
My husband is still in a death struggle with the shop computer. I thought there was a TV problem, and then an Internet problem, yesterday. I finally found out after dinner that it was a HUSBAND problem. HE had made it so the TV didn’t work and my computer didn’t work so that he could hopefully increase the download speed for stuff he was trying to get on the shop computer. Communication is one of the things that has suffered since his strokes.
ANYWAY, we talked about it and agreed that I would have at least a short time at the computer today before he turned everything else off again for the day. Hopefully he will get all the stuff he needs on the shop computer today and he can continue to tweak it however he wants and I can get back to normal.
It’s rainy again today, so I won’t be spending much time outside. Amber came up to greet me this morning while I was making the bed. I pet her and she was SOAKED. I got a towel and dried her off the best I could before coming downstairs. She really doesn’t seem to mind. Her hair is thick enough she might not even realize how wet she is! She greeted me with a huge smile, so I guess HER morning is off to a fun start.
I hope that your day is a good one. Once I do a couple more posts, I’ll watch for you again tomorrow.
A SHORT HISTORY: We married in 1969. Between then and 1977, we lost three babies to miscarriages. (Rh Factor) In 1978 we had our son. In ’79, we lost another baby to miscarriage. In ’80 we had our daughter and our family was complete. Two months later, on February 5,1981, we lost our daughter, Jade, to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
“Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the unexplained death, usually during sleep, of a seemingly healthy baby less than a year old. SIDS is sometimes known as crib death because the infants often die in their cribs.” The peak incidence of SIDS occurs between 1 – 4 months of age; 90% of cases occur before 6 months of age. Babies continue to be at risk for SIDS up to 12 months.”
She was “perfect,” and she was gone. Our minister said, “Jade was born, lived a little while, and then died.” I couldn’t listen to more.
The pain was so intense that we both seriously considered suicide, then decided we had to live for each other and for our son. I read everything I could find on SIDS, and discovered the experts knew very little about it – why it happens or what can be done to prevent it. The experts also told us we were lucky that our son was only 2 – that he wouldn’t understand or remember it. Soon after we lost her, he took Jade’s blanket across the room to the trash can, threw it in and said, “Broken.” So much for the experts.
Lasting effects –
I still can’t hold a baby in my arms without crying, even after all this time.
I worry for pregnant women or women with babies under 1 year
I can’t go to a funeral without falling apart and bringing all the attention to me, so I try to show I care in different ways.
There ARE some positive effects, though –
I have learned that there is a core way down deep inside that enabled me to not only survive but to enjoy life again.
I have looked at life differently since then, cherishing the people in my life, and all the things that are beautiful and bring me pleasure.
I am much more forgiving, even though I threaten my husband from time to time of having the backhoe guy on speed dial to dig a hole for him in the back yard.
Our family grew closer and stronger.
A really frustrating thing is that the experts know little more now than they did 42 years ago about SIDS. There are now baby monitors that are very helpful to parents. The experts now suggest that babies sleep on their backs. I haven’t found anything more about the shots that babies get at two months. I will never forget, though, that our pediatrician came out to the house when he heard we had lost her, and cried with us.
I hope that one day I will see Jade again, finding that her spirit is healthy and happy; and that one day the mystery of SIDS is solved.
I actually have to check my watch to see what day it is. THEN I check a calendar to see if anything is written there. THEN I see what the weather is doing and the forecast. THEN I check my ‘to do’ list. THEN I check with my husband. This last is the deciding factor.
My husband suggested that we might leave our 96-gallon trash can toward the bottom of the driveway, putting our bags of trash in the back of the truck as we have always done and putting them into the can and wheeling the can down to the street before pickup each week. Right before lunch we drove down to get the can. We wheeled it up to ‘behind the robot’ and I used a LONG bungie cord to secure it to the welded edge of a pole so it shouldn’t blow away in the gusty winds we sometimes have.
Since we’ve had some washing rains lately, my husband put a flat-bottomed shovel in the back of the truck so we could move some of the gravel ‘chat’ off the street and back onto the driveway. We discovered that a little of THAT activity goes a long, long way. We took turns, and it was really hard going, using the shovel to break up the chat and then move it onto the driveway. We lasted about half an hour before pooping out. This will take SEVERAL sessions when the weather is cooperative to complete.
We inadvertently paid Hot Rod Magazine twice answering renewal notices. Last month we got TWO copies of the same magazine. I asked my husband to see what he could do. I discovered today, when we got yet another notice that our subscription was about to end, that he had done nothing. Thankfully, he still had the two magazines. I got online and contacted their customer service people via the ‘leave a message’ thingie on their website. I gave all the info on the two subscriptions, as them to merge the two into one so he got only one copy each month, email him with a new subscription expiration date, and STOP sending us more notices to pay our bill. I thought it might be like throwing a bottle in the ocean, but he just told me he got an email from them saying they are ‘looking into it!’ Hooray!
I think I’ve finally done it. Oddly enough, I’m convinced I’ve done it because I HAVEN’T been able to exercise lately and I am thinking about it and MISSING it. YES! You read that right. I AM!
In my former life, The fact that I’ve not been able to continue my ‘however-many-days-in-a-row’ streak and continue putting starts on my calendar would have caused me to give it up. My current feelings are more mature (yeah, I know – hard to believe), but I’m simply looking forward to feeling good enough to be able to do a session of yoga. Each day I’ve been closer, and this afternoon might be the time I can do it again. And also, hopefully, when I’m able to do that, I’d like to start with my alternating warm-up and weights videos one day and elliptical trainer the next again.
I’m writing this day down on my calendar because it’s hard to believe that I’m not having an out-of-body experience or something. It doesn’t MATTER that I haven’t been able to keep up my ‘streak.’ I won’t even keep track of it anymore. The IMPORTANT thing is that I’m doing ONE DAY AT A TIME.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE – I just received a text from Patty, Linda’s daughter. She said that Kay had called her and said she was sick and wouldn’t be at Lunch Bunch today. Patty is out of town and said that Linda wouldn’t be there, either. I told my husband that Lunch Bunch was called off for the week. He said, “We could still go to the Waffle House.” I thanked him for the offer, but told him (again) that I was really trying to eat right and that when we had a chance to do that, we should, and that I would rather just stay home today and eat our normal lunch. I managed to NOT eat anything in-between meals yesterday, had bought some dried fruit to eat if I DID eat between meals, and that I was trying to take one day at a time, eating right and doing my exercises.
It’s funny. I’m older than dirt, but am just NOW starting to act a bit more like an adult. :0) The question of how long does it take to build a habit varies a lot from person to person. The answer for ME is around 172 days – at least on exercising. The ‘habit’ of eating right is just in its infancy for me, but I won’t count.
My husband has been having a computer problem. As I understand it (only a relative term), he wants to delete a program on his computer and replace it with another one. The computer won’t allow him to do this. It says my husband doesn’t have ‘permission.’
He finally got on chat with Microsoft support and wanted me to type for him. (Since his strokes, he really has trouble, so this is an easy thing for me to do. The guy on chat asks a question – my husband dictates an answer – I type it. It becomes more troublesome as we go, though. My husband gets frustrated when the guy asks for something that doesn’t make sense to him. I type whatever my husband answers, and then the guy on chat gets confused. Things escalate. To say this becomes ‘stressful’ is an understatement. My contribution is to keep my mouth firmly shut and do or type what my husband says, trying to remain calm.
We got to the point where the Microsoft guy was saying the problem was beyond his scope, then my husband asked if he could help us add another user. He did that, and we thanked him.
So now my husband is wrestling with another part of the problem intensely, so I’m keeping a low profile at my computer while he mutters at his.
Now I’ll drive down to get the mail and fix us some lunch.
I received a call from our local clinic awhile ago. The receptionist said they were having trouble verifying my new Humana card. She said there was a problem about my birthdate and my coverage. I called Humana to find there was an estimated 20 minute hold time. I then went on the website and found a chat option. After verifying that the information was correct, and also finding that proof of my coverage was a 20 page pdf, (arrrgh) I called the clinic back. I couldn’t get through, so left my number. (arrrgh)
They called back and I was passed from one person to another, but the lady who had called me still wasn’t available. (arrrrgh) The lady I was talking to went ahead and tried to help me. I told her what Humana had said. I told her that my birthdate hadn’t changed in almost 76 years now, and that my information on the card was correct, according to Humana. There was a number on the back of the card for any questions from the provider. The lady told me that my ID number was different. I read her what was on my card and she verified that was the number she was seeing. I told her that was the same number that was on the last statement I had received from Humana. She said they would call the number and see if they could resolve the problem.
I’ve had the same insurance for almost 11 years now. This is definitely under the categories: “nothing is ever simple” and “it’s always SOMETHING.”
I’ve been alternating between a warm-up video and weights exercise video one morning and a session on my elliptical trainer on the next. The sessions on the elliptical have been a character-building exercise, to say the least, because they’ve been done in silence.
My MP 3 player was ‘lost,’ then found – only to discover it was ’empty,’ having dumped all the music recorded on it into the ozone. My husband tried to fix it, but finally pronounced it ‘toast.’ I was going to try to find another one on the net.
We went to Lunch Bunch yesterday, and Patty told me about Pandora – that it was free to use on my phone. I downloaded that when we got home, but the only earbuds I have are too large and hurt my ears. I ordered a cheap, but compatible pair that I should receive soon.
Meanwhile, my husband found another MP3 player on one of the high shelves in the office! Apparently, years ago when we ordered the one I’ve been using, we ordered TWO. It was still sitting there, ready to be used, except the black fabric-like covering on the earbuds was crumbling off. I cleaned up the earbuds while he figured out how to load music onto the player. He actually found a list of some of the songs I like on HIS computer and downloaded them for me!
SO –
I switched the earphones I had been using on the old MP3 player to my computer, so now I won’t have to wear the huge, clunky ones that fall off my head when I’m trying to do the online exercise videos.
I put the new MP3 player on the charger so it will be ready for me to use later this morning.
I will receive the new earbuds I ordered for my phone, on which I now have a Pandora account and access to lots of music when I’m out
I’m finally doing this more. I try to make sure that I have a bit of time for myself each day, where I ignore all the ‘shoulds’ and just do something that makes me smile – or at least, calm down – in that life is sometimes a challenge, isn’t it.
I have a mental list of what makes me smile – (in random order, as I think of them) –
Playing in my art room – trying a new technique – playing with color and texture
Listening to music
Reading
Being outside, working in the yard
Watching a favorite movie
Spending time with a good friend
Shutting my eyes and dreaming
Talking with our son
Spending quality time with my husband
Finding creative people on the Internet
Writing my blog
My goal is to spend more and more time smiling. What makes YOUR soul happy?
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