Merry Christmas....more or less.

Wow, where did the past 19 days go??
It is Christmas Day, and soon I will be headed over for dinner.

It was a wonderful holiday, as usual, with the usual overabundance of gifts for everyone - except for me.  That was on purpose, though, and totally with my OK.  See, from Dec 9-15 was employee appreciation week at the home improvement place.  We got free food one day, and all week we got a double discount of 20% on anything we bought.  I decided to bite the bullet and get a snow blower.  I couldn't get the lowest level one, but it turned out that I didn't want that one, anyway.  The one I did get was originally $499 - much more than I wanted to spend, but it has an electric start, which I am assured that I will be glad of.  Of course, the fact that I bought a snow blower more or less assures the community that it will not snow this year, or possibly even next year.  Anyway, David went with me to get it, and I was explaining to him that it was going to have to live on the patio square, covered with a tarp, because there was no way to keep it in the garage.  The only spot would be in front of the car.  But to get to it, I would have to pull the car out, and to do that we would have to shovel enough of the drive to be able to back the car out (and maybe two cars, if there is a snow ban and Kym is in the drive behind me).  So, the shoveling that the snow blower would be needed for would already be done just to get the snow blower out.  In the back, we could just fire it up, snowblow our way to the front, and use it.  David was apparently a little horrified that the snow blower had nowhere to live, and proposed to everyone else that they get me a shed for Christmas.  Just a small one, but large enough to get enough stuff out of the garage that the snow blower could be accessed with the car inside.

I thought it was a great idea (Mom warned me repeatedly that it would be all I got - and I had to chip in $50 if I wanted a slightly larger one, which I did).  So it was purchased, and on a reasonably warm Sunday afternoon 10 days ago, Lynda, David, Jenny, and I put it together.  It is wonderful, and I love it.  Right now I have the mower, seed spreader, sawhorses, lounge chairs and plastic chairs in it, and it isn't even halfway full.  And I have been able to rearrange so that the snowblower is appropriately staged, with the snow shovels right next to it, easily accessible with the car in its usual parking spot.  Yay!  We were supposed to get snow last night, but....the storm moved east.  It stayed warm here, rained a little - it must have heard that I bought a snow blower.

We had dinner, then went to church before doing presents.  For some reason, they selected the 9:00 service, and we didn't get out of there until nearly 10:15!  The minister did an actual sermon (an endless one, at that) and I spent most of my time stretching my hand and rolling my eyes (more about my hand in a bit).  We have since decided that we won't go next year. Once we all got settled back at the house, it was going on 11:00. I actually did get a couple of gifts anyway - an enormous Pyrex measuring cup (both of my sisters think it is the greatest thing ever invented), a necklace and earring set, and a Chili's gift card from the Hruska kids.  And of course, I got stuff from my kids this morning.  It was an interesting experience, watching everyone else open things when I had basically nothing to open.  I did have the photo of the shed from the front of the box in my stocking, along with the magic "spatula" that came with it.  The spatula was necessary for snapping the plastic panels into the tracks of the trim.  It was instrumental in the perfect assembly of the shed, and I had wondered what happened to it afterward.  :)

Not having to make a Christmas list was sort of a relief, and it was nice to be able to focus on others and watch them open what I gave them, and not worry about what I was going to open next.  Also, during shopping, if I saw something I wanted for myself (a movie, for example), I didn't have to worry whether it was on my list, and therefore off-limits until after Christmas. :)

I'm not really a big Christmas fan.  I always get a little sad, no matter what is going on (I think I have talked about this before).  I thought maybe it would be especially bad this year because of having limited things to open, but it really wasn't.

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OK, backtracking a bit.....
I had my trigger finger surgery on Dec. 18, just a week ago.  It seems like so much longer!  It went well, no pain, and I have been able to start stretching, bending my finger, making a fist, etc., without a lot of pain.  I worked on Saturday at the tax place, and on Monday at the home improvement place with the big surgical bandage still on.  On Tuesday, that was reduced to a bandaid, but I don't get my stitches out until next Monday.  I don't expect that I will need much, if any, therapy.  It really is very flexible already.  The only reason I hesitate when stretching is because the stitches pull.  Once they are out, I can do more.  Hopefully, this will be the end of surgeries for awhile!  I also got my permanent crown on the 15th.  Now I just have to pay for everything.  The copay for my knee was $100, and I still have some therapy copays to take care of.  Then there will be the copay for this surgery.  I better be making some money this season at the tax place!  Of course, I will also have the home improvement place three nights a week, so that should help.

More Repairs

Last Monday Mom got her new lighter-weight brace instead of her cast.  Gravity is supposed to take care of keeping the bone in line, and she can move her lower arm.  She keeps it wrapped to her side much of the time, but it's mainly for security.  Right now she, Dad, Lynda and David are in Florida for a long weekend.  They left on Thursday night and will be back on Monday, I think.  They are there partly to take delivery of a new fridge, stove and microwave for the condo. Since everything will work again, I think I need a do-over for my messed up trip in September!

On Dec 4 I had a followup appointment for my arthroscopy.  It's doing a lot better, though not perfect.  He told me to massage it to keep the scar tissue from re-forming (though he also said he had never had to redo a scope because the tissue came back....).  I also reminded him about the trigger finger issue in my left "bird" finger, and we set a surgery date for Dec 18.  I don't work again at the tax place until Dec 20 (unless she cancels me because it's not busy).  They had already put out the schedule for the week of Dec 18, but I don't expect to have a problem being off since I said it was for surgery.

BCPA has a new online scheduling system which is fantastic.  It became available on Friday, Dec 5 and I immediately signed up for the spring season.  Now I have to decide what to do about asking off from the home improvement place, since the shows I want seem to fall either on the weekend or one of the nights I am supposed to be there.  I don't want to ask off too far in advance, anyway, so I have some time.

So now that all schedules are settled and coordinated, I better get my butt busy doing some Christmas shopping before surgery day.  It won't be much of a hindrance, but I'd rather get it out of the way as much as possible.  Dec 18 is only 6 days from when I need to be done, anyway.  :)

December already??

How did that happen?
As usual, it just seems like it was September, like, a couple of weeks ago, and then suddenly it's less than three weeks to Christmas!  I may have said before that I am not a huge Christmas fan, and that is still true.  I just always feels like I don't have enough money to do for people what I would like to do.  And I hate those "every kiss begins with Kay" ads where the wife/girlfriend gets some stunning piece of jewelry that looks way out of scale for their apparent income level.  It's not that I am jealous, or that I want jewelry, too.  And in general, I am far from lonely and not all that interested in being in a relationship.  But somehow, at Christmas, it does make me a little sad.

We Gather Together

Thanksgiving was great, as always, though it seemed a bit odd for a variety of reasons.  Of course, there was still concern for Mom, and the need to take care of her.  I worked so much early in the week, between my two jobs, that I couldn't be around much.  Lynda and Jenny took turns spending the night, and I spent afternoons and all day Wednesday there.

Mom couldn't do the mashed potatoes or bake a turkey, and at the last minute Bob and Sharon canceled due to Sharon's health problems.  (I suspect it might also have had a bit to do with being told by Dad that they couldn't stay at their house, as usual, but everyone else says that's not true.)  They usually bring Fannie May candy, and they just hadn't managed to order it, so Lynda bought some.  Diane and Ted brought along their son Chris's friend Felix, from Germany.  He had not experienced an American Thanksgiving before, and was a little taken aback by a holiday devoted to eating.  He certainly did his share.  :)  Because Bob wasn't there to do the grace, I was tasked with finding one online.  It's harder than you would think to find one that is enough religious without being all King James-y or Bible thumper-y, that says what you want it to say without being too.....too something.  In the end, I found a perfect one:

Lord, as we pause in our busy lives
to gather around the Thanksgiving table,
sharing the precious bond among family and friends,
let us remember that this abundant harvest,
this feast of delicious and nourishing dishes
is the fulfillment of our faith
that You will always provide for us.
As we go through this cherished ritual,
the Thanksgiving holiday ceremony,
let us feel the comfort of Your care for us
in every bite we eat and enjoy.
In this tradition,
begun by courageous travelers long ago
to thank you for their lives and safety,
we thank You
for the joy and happiness you give us, to lift us up,
and also for the sometimes difficult lessons and challenges
You give us to make us stronger, better,
and more aware of our need for You.
Thank you for the support and courage You give us
to get through troubled times.
Thank You for answered prayers
and also for the times You said "no,"
to keep us from stumbling off Your path for us.
We know that in all things,
You are working for our good.
Now, as we draw together in unity
to savor this wonderful dinner,
we are thankful for those who prepared it,
for those who join us to enjoy it,
and most of all, we thank You, Lord,
for the many different kinds of blessings
You continually grant us.
We pray that You'll bless this food,
and bless all of us as we gather together.
In Jesus' name we pray; Amen.

By Joanna Fuchs

  

The next day was the brunch at the farm.  We started a little later than usual, so in addition to the breakfast foods, we hauled out all of the Thanksgiving leftovers, too.   We had simplified by eliminating waffles and a couple of other things, but believe me, there was plenty of food.  Afterward, when Diane and Ted were getting ready to leave, I asked Felix if he enjoyed himself and if he got enough to eat.  Did he want to make a sandwich to take with him?  He said he had a great time, and he didn't think he would ever want to eat again.  Then he pulled off another piece of monkey bread.  :)  I have often wondered what Jorge or someone would think if they were here for Thanksgiving.  Now I kind of have an idea!

Worked Out at Work

After a lot of "whatever you wants" and "whatever works best for you", I have finally gotten an answer from the home improvement place about what my tax season schedule will look like.  I will be working there Tues, Thurs, and Fri, 5-9 from Jan 12 to April 15.  Mondays always seem to be busy at the tax place, and having Wednesdays free (from the home improvement place) will give me the ability to go the alumni board meetings on the one Wed a month that they meet, without asking off work.

I adjusted my availability at the tax place, and all is well.  I am still available plenty of hours there, and will most likely be working a lot of Sundays, since our regular Sunday person is not coming back this year.  So once I get my head on straight, it should all work out well.  I'm actually looking forward to getting back into tax season.  I know that's a little sick, but that's me!

One of Those Days.....

Any woman can relate to this:
You know how, while digging around in your underwear drawer, you come across a bra that you forgot that you had?  It looks practically new, everything intact, and you can't remember why you didn't wear it.  You put it on, look in the mirror, move around, maybe bend over..... everything looks good and feels good, so you decide to wear it to work.  And then approximately 37 minutes into your day, you remember exactly why it was exiled to the back of the drawer..... it's one of those days.

Actually, it started yesterday.  I was supposed to work at the tax place until 4:00.  Things ran late, but it didn't matter.  I got done about 4:20 and just sauntered on out like I had all day.  As soon as I started the car, though, I remembered that I had to be at the home improvement place at 5:00!  So I rushed home, changed clothes, grabbed something to eat, and went to work - again.  Just as I arrived there, I got a call from Jenny, saying that Mom had fallen and broken her arm, and was then in the ER.  I was told not to leave work, so all evening long I was texting back and forth, until it was determined that she would stay in the hospital last night.  It turned out that she not only had a broken arm, but also three broken ribs, and she was in a lot of pain.

Chad's phone was out of minutes, so I had no way to call him to tell him.  When I got off at 9:00 I drove down by the house to see if he was there (no).  Oh well.  Then at 10:30, he knocked on the door - he had been at work.  Duh.  The last place I would have looked.  :)  So this afternoon when I get off at 2:00, I will take him to get a phone card, then go see Mom.  She expects to get out today, but probably not by 2:00.  She didn't even get sent to a room until going on 11:00 last night, after arriving at 5:00 in the ER!  My brain is completely scrambled as far as days and times.  I am not geared up mentally for combining two jobs, let alone the extra stuff like 80 yr old parents who climb on ladders.

What actually happened was, she was on a ladder touching up paint in the bedroom.  She was coming down frontwards, started to fall, and Dad tried to catch her.  He couldn't hold her, and she fell anyway, then he fell on top of her.  She had fallen against the bedroom door, so he couldn't get out, and he called Jenny, who then called 911.  Just before getting on the ladder, she was up on the dresser painting that wall and then discovered that she couldn't get down.  I talked to Dad last night, and it really rattled him because she lost consciousness briefly. Jenny said the EMTs were great, though. Parents!  It's hard enough to think about people dying eventually, and I really don't want them dying from something stupid like climbing on ladders.

So as soon as I get off here at the tax place, I have to run home, get Chad, go to the hospital, then run him to get a phone card before taking him to work.  Tomorrow I have no work anywhere, but Monday and Tuesday should be....interesting.  I work 9-4 here, then 5-9 there both days, so I need to get groceries tomorrow and be ready to quickly assemble break stuff and dinners.  Then I don't work again at the tax place until Saturday (though I work at the home improvement place both Wed and Fri nights, 5-9).

This week is Thanksgiving, and I think the number one thing I will be thankful for this year is that my mother will be OK, except for that hardheadedness that we can't seem to do anything about.

This and That

Last Friday was the cookout that Lynda and David usually have at the farm every year.  The weather was terrible on Thursday - really windy, cold, rainy.  But Friday turned out perfect.  It was mostly sunny, though cool - a perfect night for a bonfire.  David had built these little temporary walls that were wedged under the shop door, blocking most of the entry.  But because they were a wooden framework covered with plastic, you could still see through them  They really helped block some of the cold without seeming closed off.  Braden's group, Red Scarves, was the musical entertainment, and Cindy, from Lucern House, danced in front of them.  At one point, she grabbed beer (cap intact) and pretended to drink it.  I have a short video of her with the beer bottle.  When Lynda appears in the frame, she quickly puts it back down.  Hilarious!  I mean, Cindy is plenty old enough to drink if she wanted to, but.....  It was a nice mix of people, and a good time, even though it was pretty cold by the time it was over.  The couple whose wedding we attended (Kendra and Janae) was there, and I was telling Kendra that I was helping with a geocaching class on Saturday.  She looked surprised, and said, "Are you are geocacher?"  Turns out that she has tried it a couple of times when she lived in Vermont, and she wants Janae to try it.  So we might possibly be getting together to go out sometime!

On Saturday, I spent the morning at the park with the geocaching class, then came back to town for a memorial service in the afternoon.  Today I didn't do a whole lot, except rake the backyard with Kym.  I wanted Chad to get out and help, but he found one excuse after another not to.  He was supposedly going to be going to work on this house they are fixing up to move into.  But his ride didn't materialize, and eventually, after Kym and I were done and were discussing what to do with the patio furniture, he finally came out, grabbed a rake, and started on the front yard.  I just didn't say a word.  He has been in a snarky, nasty mood for days, partly because his hours are getting cut (along with everyone else's) since the "new" has worn off of Pizza Ranch.  I guess he is going to be looking for another job to mesh with it to pay for this new place.  Pleeeeease let him be successful in finding something!

Goodbye, DST! Hello, November!

It suddenly turned wintery yesterday, and last night was our first hard freeze.  When I came out of work at 9:00, it was 37 degrees.  When I started the car, there was a dinging noise and a light came on on the dash.  What the....?  What could possibly be wrong with the car already?  I had plenty of gas, I knew.  But it was a little picture of a road with a big snowflake in it, and underneath, it said "possible icy roads"!  I was really surprised - I had no idea that it would do that.  People who have seen my car have said that it has some features that they have seen only on high-end cars (like the automatic windshield wipers that come on when needed and run as fast or as slow as they feel necessary) and I guess this is another example of that.  It's a small thing, but I am impressed.  We did not get ice last night, though my wasabi coleus went from green to brown and mushy.

Since I was working and Kym didn't get home from work till 7:00, I didn't buy any Halloween candy.  I usually have about 100 trick or treaters, so I felt a little bad about being gone, but there was no way around it.  Hey, I saved some money and I don't have any leftovers!

Today we gave each new bush in the yard - 10 all together - a fertilizer spike to help them through the winter, and I started raking the back yard,  Blitz was outside playing with his ball and enjoying running around in his new coat.  He quickly claimed one of the leaf piles as his own, and stood or laid in the middle of it with his toys.  I just raked around him.  There are lots of leaves still to fall, but last year we made the mistake of waiting too long before raking.  Then we had a sudden early snow and they were frozen to the ground.  Thus began the winter of 2013-2014, and it didn't let up until March.  Not going to make that mistake again.

How did it get to be November already???

Training for the early part of the tax season is two weeks from today, and the regular training starts the next Monday.  Still trying to figure out how the home improvement place and the tax place will fit together.  For the early tax season, at least, I can work daytime hours and then still work at the other job at night.  I can attend the daytime training classes and work evenings, too.  The really busy part of the early season only lasts a week or two, anyway.  But tax season is another matter.

I was originally told that part-time at the home improvement place had to be at least 10 hours.  If I could do two five-hour days, that would work, but giving up three evenings a week might be difficult.  There are plenty of weeks when it wouldn't hurt for me to be off in the evenings, but it's hard to guess when they would be.  I'm afraid that it is all going to be kind of last minute, but at least I did tell them about the conflict.  I know that I could quit totally until April with no hard feelings, but I really don't want to have to.  I earn more at the tax place, so I don't want to give up hours there in order to keep the other job happy.  One way or another, the next few weeks will make things more clear.  I just hate not knowing how things will go.

Time to go set the clocks back (if I can remember which ones I have to do, and which do themselves).  I plan to use my extra hour tonight sleeping!  :)

Mission Accomplished

Today was my last therapy!  In fact, I didn't even stay the whole time (though she was willing to give me a workout if I wanted).  I honestly think I can do better on my own by swimming, so I said no.  She said the therapist's goal for me was to get to 130, and I did.  I also did stairs, the seated stepper, walking without a limp and everything else she needed to document.  The actual therapist wasn't there today, but he will call me tomorrow if he disagrees that I should be done.  I don't expect to hear from him.  :)  So I can expect a bill for $125 at some point for the copays they haven't been making me pay each time.

I swam on Friday and again yesterday.  Yesterday I was probably there a total of 90 minutes, 30 of which was swimming (the rest was stretching, warmup, cooldown, etc.).  Today my knee feels really great - very loose and pain free, so it doesn't surprise me that I got a good measurement.

This morning I went to work to get my flu shot, went by the post office to mail the other Jen's car key back to her.  I confiscated it from Chad some time ago, but she never let me know how/when she wanted to get it back.  I sent it with a tracking number so that, if necessary, I can prove that it was sent.  I really hope that will be the end of her, though the new Jen is no prize, either.

OK, time to shower and get back to the home improvement place, this time for work!

Making Progress

So I had therapy yesterday, and I fully expected they would tell me I was done.....but they didn't.
I was there on Tuesday, when they measured me at 117, which I told them couldn't be right, so they measured again - 120.  (She said that that could just be a measuring difference between 126 last time, and 120 on Tuesday.)  The steri-strip had come off just that morning, which was sooner than I thought it would be, but it seemed fine.  I didn't have any problem with anything they asked me to do, but they sent me home with some new exercises and a strip of latex to use as a resistance band.

On Friday, they had me go up and down stairs, do some calf raises on the machine and some balancing.  When she did the stretching, she said my range of motion was really good, but when she measured, it was 123.  Disappointing, since I thought it felt exceptionally loose, but it's really subjective, anyway.  I mean, they can't tell just exactly from what point they measured before. Afterward, I went home, got my suit on, and went swimming.

It was one of those days when the water was absolutely perfect.  The hot tub had been fixed (just the day before, I was told, so that means it was only partly working for close to two months), and there was hardly anyone there.  I did a lot of soaking and stretching in the hot water, then got in the pool.  I didn't plan to actually swim, but I felt so good that I just went for it.  Somehow, hot or cold, water is just so.....healing to me.  I can go a long time without wanting to swim, but somehow when I can't I just get desperate to get in the water.  Even when I was doing laps, it just seemed that I could go forever without needing to breathe, without getting tired.  I really only stopped after 20 minutes or so because I was afraid of overdoing it, what with therapy and all.  I did a lot of cooldown walking and some treading water before I showered and left.  I felt really good afterward, and had plans to go back today.

During the night, my plans changed.  I don't know what caused it (probably a combination of things), but I woke up in the middle of the night with my legs just aching all over.  I had to get up and take some Advil but it was still some time before I could get back to sleep.  Therapy, swimming, and being on my feet for four hours at work was apparently juuuust too much for one day.

So instead of going today, I plan to swim in the morning.  Sunday mornings have always been a good time to go - not very populated. Tomorrow night is Lynda's birthday dinner and I might be expected to go to a concert of Braden's in the afternoon, so I have to allow some shopping time in the early afternoon (the mall is still open tomorrow, right?).  My next therapy is Monday afternoon, and my plan is to blow them away with how much better I am by then.  :)  Wish me luck!

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

It's Wednesday, and I am not working tonight.

My appointment at the doctor on Friday was good.  The larger incision had leaked recently, but when the PA put a new bandaid on it, it didn't leak again. He showed me pictures of the white, fibrous, ragged-looking scar tissue in the joint before they vaporized it  It wasn't even very gross, and it was interesting to see how clear the area was in the "after" pictures.

On Monday, I had my therapy appointment to remove the stitches,  It wasn't looking all that good, still bruised, irritated-looking.  He decided to wait until today to take them out, to give it a couple more days to heal.  Before I left, we set up four weeks (weeks!) of therapy appointments.  I reallllly don't want to do therapy for four weeks.  For one thing, it's a $25 copay every time.  And I really don't think I need it, seriously.  My hesitation in moving/stretching it was because of the stitches.  I always have this baseless fear that I will rip them open.  When I had my knee replacement I had a huge row of staples.  When the therapist first stretched me and I flinched, he said, "Do you think that if I bend it too much all of the staples will come pinging out one by one?"  When I said that was exactly what I had pictured, he said that he had been doing that job for 19 years and it had never happened.  Didn't make me feel any better, though.

Today was my second therapy appointment.  I started with six minutes on the seated stepper, and I went full-out.  I tried to stay close to 120 steps per minute.  :)  Then he took out the stitches before stretching me.  He said it was healed enough not to need a steri-strip.  My bend had been 110 degrees on Monday - today it was 126!  He mentioned a bump I had noticed near the larger incision but didn't really know what it was.  He stretched me a few times, then turned to make some notes in his computer.  When he turned back, he said, "Well, you know, I think I'll put a steri-strip on that after all".  Turned out, it had started to bleed all over - but the good news was, I no longer had a bump by the incision.  It started to puff up again, and he was concerned enough about it to call my doctor's nurse, but they never called me back, so they must not think I need antibiotics or something.  So now I have a steri-strip (the glued on kind), and he suggested I call off work tonight.

I really don't know if I did the wrong thing going back to work on Monday.  Maybe it was too soon for being on my feet for four hours.  I have been icing it tonight and I will see how it is tomorrow.  I really need the money, so I hate to call off again, but I would like this to heal.  I don't go back to therapy until next Tuesday, so that gives it several days to heal before we try again.

Bandaids

Yesterday when I woke up, I found that my big bandage felt hard, like a cast.  I thought that was strange.  Then when I went to remove it, I saw why.  Fluid had seeped through the additional wrap, particularly on the back side of my knee, where I didn't notice it before.  The actual surgical dressing had been completely soaked, and had dried and hardened.  I had to cut it with scissors down the only spot that was dry, then peel it off.  As I showered, it seeped a little, and I covered it with a gauze pad held down with a bandaid (and put a bandaid on the other, non-leaky, incision).

By the time I got home from the movie, the gauze was soaked, though I hadn't really walked much and kept my leg elevated at the movie.  So I changed it and kept an eye on it for the rest of the night.  It didn't bleed through again, so maybe it was just icky because I had removed the bandage, I don't know. We will see what happens when I change it in a bit.  I go to the dr tomorrow for a followup.

It does seem looser.  I'm just hesitant to bend it much, not because it hurts (it doesn't) but because of its tendency to leak.  For the same reason, I haven't really tested it on stairs yet to see if the pain is gone, but my guess is that it is.

Knee News

So yesterday was my knee surgery to loosen up/remove scar tissue.  I had to be there at 8:30 for a supposed 9:45 surgery, but it was actually after 10:00 by the time I went back.  I was home by about 12:30.  At this moment it is still heavily wrapped up, but I can remove the bandages tomorrow, and switch to bandaids.  On Friday I have a followup appointment, then on Monday I have a therapy appointment where they will remove my stitches and evaluate whether I need any actual therapy.

I noticed late in the evening that it had bled through the ace bandage to an extent that was more than they told me was OK, so I called the answering service, who paged the doctor and he called me back.  They had obviously woken him (it was 10:15), so I felt a little bad, particularly when he said that kind of surgery usually has a lot of fluid, and to just overwrap it.  It didn't leak any further after that.  It hasn't been painful, though I can feel the stitches pulling a little.  While I am looking forward to getting rid of the big bandage, I'm not looking forward to having to see the mess.  I am eternally grateful that there are people who want to be doctors and nurses, and who want to deal with that kind of stuff, because I just don't.  I will do it, though.

I had a really terrible night.  Part of the problem might have been the pizza with onion I had for dinner (maybe I wasn't ready for onions), and the G2 I drank during the evening.  It is kind of salty, and part of my problem was that I was really thirsty and my eyes were dry.  I probably used my expensive eye drops four times during the night. I was taking hydrocodone on schedule and it made me a little loopy.  I felt like my heart was racing and I couldn't breathe if I was lying on my back, but didn't know how else I could position myself.  I tried two pillows, but that didn't really help.  I felt like I was just dozing, not sleeping, and I kept waking myself up snoring or talking or drifting in and out of weird dreams.  I was probably up about every hour or so. I skipped the 7 a.m. dose of hydrocodone and finally fell deeply asleep until 9:30, then laid in bed intending to watch a movie but I couldn't get the DVD player to work (or maybe the TV - it said it was in DVD mode, but it wasn't showing the movie).  I ended up dozing off again until almost 11:00.  I used Dad's cane when I got up last night, but otherwise, I haven't used crutches or anything.

I spent today watching a movie, three episodes of an old Amazing Race season, and part of another movie.  With all of the bleeding last night, I was trying not to put much stress on it today.  The surgery center called this afternoon to check on me, but I really haven't had any problems or pain. And though I can't really bend it yet because of the bandage, it seems a bit looser already.  The doctor told me that he uses a machine that vaporizes the scar tissue, and it should not redevelop.  I am really anxious to see how it will be painwise, like on the stairs.

Tomorrow, once I take off the big bandage, it will be back to real life.  I am going to a movie with Mom (it's Wednesday).  Dad is still in the field helping with harvest so he will be busy.  Then I have NCHS Alumni Foundation at 7:00.  Friday night is the Homecoming game, where I will be helping man the alumni table. And next week I work M-F 5-9 again.

Catching Up

The drive back from Florida was fine, except for a standstill traffic jam in Atlanta and about ten minutes of absolute pouring rain in the mountains of TN (my absolute least favorite place to have rain).  I got back right at 12:15 a.m., which wasn't too bad considering the slowdowns.  A couple of times during the late morning and midafternoon, I got really sleepy, so I had to stop a little longer and walk around at rest areas (which, coincidentally, had geocaches) to perk up.  The weather was perfect (except for that tiny stretch in TN) and walking around for a few minutes really helped.

The next week I worked 35 hours, which was kind of a shock after a week off.  It was inventory week, which didn't involve me at all.  It was supposed to be my first week on weekday team for real, but the first day and a half I was still outside.  I had to work with Skeeterette both of those days, and she said not one word to me.  She did come out and talk to Kevin (the other waterer) and ask him about his weekend.  She pointedly ignored me.  It annoys me, but in reality I am glad I didn't have to talk to her.

The next week (last week) was my first full week of weekday team.  I worked 5-9 M-F, which is OK for now, but just can't happen during tax season.  I need to find out how to change my availability so that they have adequate notice that I can't do nights after November.  The real problem is that now that I am permanent parttime, I can't just quit and be able to get unemployment, so I have to keep working until I start having tax place income.  My plan is really to work minimal hours at the home improvement place during tax season, then start back fulltime when garden season starts again.  Of course, it would be good if Skeeterette were gone by then.

Rain, Sweat, What's the Difference, Really?

To catch up a bit:
On Thursday, I did, indeed, take a little nap.  By then it was past raining, exactly, but continued to sprinkle the rest of the daylight hours till nearly Sunset Celebration.  I did go out to stock up on pop, but I was still so full from lunch that I didn't have dinner.  Instead, I got some ice cream at the homemade place on Duval, where the chick there slipped me a foreign coin with my change (which I didn't notice, of course, until later).  I also did a little geocaching, since there were several new ones placed since my last visit, and a couple of them were nearby.

Then I went to Sunset Celebration, which was a little less interesting than I had found it in the past, maybe because the rain/not rain kept some of the coo-coos away.  The guy with the trained cats was there, though.  And he announced that his old cat, almost 20, had "rejoined the universe six months ago....so many stars to visit!".  I thought that was a very sweet way to put it.  Later, after it was full dark, I went down to take a night swim.  The pool area is not illuninated but the pool is, and I had the whole place to myself for an entire hour!  It was so nice floating back and forth, with palm trees and the building surrounding me.  Heaven!

On Friday, I awoke to a grey sky.  Really?  AGAIN?  I putzed around the hotel a bit, then went down to check out, but leave my bag until it was closer to time to go back to the ferry.  I was kind of stuck with my sun hat, since I couldn't check that with my bag, and I felt a little stupid with it, since it was clearly not sunny.  It was, however, really good for the constant sprinkle that lasted most of the day.  I first walked down to get a couple of geocaches by the Coast Guard ship that is permanently docked there.  I didn't tour it because I didn't want to spend the necessary $10.  The ship was the USCGC Ingham, which took part in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, and was the most decorated vessel of its time (received 35 awards and has the only confirmed kill, for a Coast Guard ship, of a U-boat in WWII).  It was also part of the Mariel Boatlift which helped hundreds of Cubans to reach the US in 1980.

I used my foreign coin as swag for one of the caches, so that worked out OK.  I then walked down to one near the cemetery, called Flying Pigs (really cute).  It is at the cache owner's home, so I was prepared to meet him, but I guess he wasn't around.  Very interesting place, though, with lots of statuary and artwork around.  Then I walked around to the gate of the cemetery for another cache, and to go inside to look around.  They actually have maps available to the graves of prominent KW citizens, so I walked around there for probably an hour.  The Jewish cemetery corner was interesting, since it had no flowers, only small stones on the gravesites.  These are left in remembrance when someone visits, and it was cool to see, though I wondered if anyone left stones on the ones whom no one visited just so that they didn't look left out.  As a whole, the cemetery was fascinating.  So many styles of grave markers and coverings.  One was covered in pots of cactus.  Another had coreopsis growing in the enclosure.  Some had shelters built over them, some were above ground, and others below.  Really, I could have stayed there a lot longer, looking at everything.  It was so, so hot, though, in spite of the sprinkling, and I wasn't sure if I was just wet from walking around all day, or from being completely sweat-soaked.

But it was getting toward midafternoon, it was semi-sunny and hot, and I had had nothing to eat, so I headed back toward the hotel.  Sort of by accident, I ended up down at El Meson de Pepe's, the Cuban place I liked so much last time.  I had a Ropa Vieja sandwich and fries, which was enough to keep me full through dinnertime again.  I was debating between two sandwiches and asked the server which one was less food.  She looked at me skeptically and said, "In Cuba, there is no such thing as less food".  So, ropa vieja it was, served with two different sauces.  The red one was especially good.  Going to have to find out more about that.

Then I picked up a couple of drinks and snacks for the boat, picked up my bag, and went back to the ferry terminal.  It seems that Friday was the beginning of bike week, an annual poker run from KW to Miami.  The taxi driver told me that by Sunday, KW would be back to normal, but on Friday and Sat, Duval St was full of booths of all sorts of biker stuff, jewelry, clothes, souvenir stuff, and bikers - lots and lots of bikers,  None of them seemed to be staying at the Westin, though.  :)

The trip back was fine, though it rained a good bit of the time, and was still sprinkling when we reached Ft Myers.  And it rained steadily all the way to Bradenton, though Cathy said it didn't rain here yesterday at all.  (Of course not.)

Today, I spent most of the afternoon with Cathy, and Mark's granddaughter Hailey.  We went to see Cathy and Mark's "vacation home" and went swimming there.  Really great pool, and I had a good time.  It has been awhile since I have swum laps in an outdoor pool and it was really nice.  We also worked on getting Hailey to swim underwater.  She's a smart little cookie, and she caught on fast.

Now I am recombobulating the condo, packing up, and getting ready to head north tomorrow.  Not sure if I will be able to meet up with HJ or not, but I will try.  I need to check the rest area map and see if there is anywhere near Atlanta that I can leave the travel bug I am carrying that wants to go back there.  I would hate to get all the way back home with it.  I didn't want to leave it in KW, since it wants to go to Atlanta.

It's been an imperfect trip with lots of aggravations, but I managed to salvage quite a few good times from it after all.  I hope the drive back will be smooth.  I need to stay on my timeline and get back before midnight because I have to be at work at 7:00 on Monday morning.  But I think this might be my last week with Skeeterette, so there's that.

Welcome to "Sunny" Florida!

Well, the a/c guy came at 7:30, but since it was past closing time he couldn't check to see if they had the part he needed in stock.  IF they did, they might be able to get it fixed on Wednesday.  If not, a neighbor was arranged to come down and let him in while I was in Key West.  He offered to hook up a temporary fan motor for the night, at the low, low cost of $150 (!!!), but I said no.  So I passed a restless, hot night with no a/c.

The next morning I discovered that there was no water in the master bath shower.  Hmm.  I found that the hot water had been shut off at the water heater, and once I turned that on, I had hot water in the kitchen and in the bathroom sink (and in the other bathroom)....but nothing in the master bath shower, not even cold water.  <sigh>  Just an inconvenience for me, since the other shower works, but it's a pain for Mom and Dad, since they are already facing the a/c repair, and they will be replacing the fridge when they come down.

Cathy arrived mid-morning, just as I was talking to the a/c people to see when they might wander back with the part.  They had it in stock, and I was next on the list, thanks to rain that canceled some outdoor jobs.  (Yes, it was pouring rain.)   Since it was going to be a bit before they got back to me, we decided to run down to see their "vacation home" just 20 minutes or so down the road.  We had barely gotten two miles away, though, when they called and said they would be there in 30 min.  So we turned around and went back to wait.

The guy finally got there an hour or so later, and we sat and talked while he was working, then we went out to lunch.  After a long lunch, she dropped me back off at the condo, and we will get back together on Saturday, when we will go to the vacation place for a swim.

I ran down to Books-a-Million and picked up some clearance audiobooks, then went back and loaded one onto my iPod for the ferry trip.  I was so involved with that that I never actually ended up having dinner, just snacked on things I had in the kitchen (OK, it was Root Beer Float Oreos).  I tried to get to bed early, knowing I had to be up at 4:00 to leave for the ferry at 5:00, but I just couldn't get to sleep.  I managed maybe, maybe four hours.

This morning, I got Ft Myers with time to spare, even though it rained just a bit on the way.  I stopped to get gas so I wouldn't have to deal with it later.  I went in to use the restroom, and a big guy walked ahead and turned to open the door for me.  The door was foggy with humidity, and when he pulled it open, he pulled with it a small man who was coming out at the same time.  They both looked startled - neither one had seen the other coming.It was sunny and hot when I boarded the boat, but before we could leave it was....you guessed it!....raining.  It didn't last long, but stayed overcast the whole way.  We took longer than usual getting here because they drove around some storms on the way down.

Because it was too early to check in, I stopped at Sloppy Joe's for lunch before going over to the Westin.  The room was ready, though, so I am now checked in.  My room overlooks the courtyard where the pool is.  I would think about going down there for a dip but...... it's raining.  Doesn't look like it will last, so in a bit I will go out for some drinks for the room (there is a fridge).  The Westin thoughtfully provides umbrellas, but right now I think I might try out this yummy bed for a little nap.  Maybe by the time I get up it won't be raining anymore.

Oh, for anyone wondering if my absentminded tourism also happens on domestic trips, the answer is "yes".  I left my cellphone in the car at the dock (but fortunately remembered it in time to fetch it  before we left), and then I left my hat in the restroom of the arrival dock here in Key West (and remembered it just as I got downstairs from the boat - it was still there when I went back).

Headed South....Slowly

I am now in Bradenton, as of 12:30 this afternoon, but it's been a slow road getting here.
Actually, part of it was planned. The early part of the trip was flawless.  I was on the road by about 5:15 AM.  The car performed perfectly, I had lots of entertainment, and I made good time.  It clouded up at Whitehaven, the KY welcome center, where I had stopped to eat my sandwich (and also found a geocache).  It stayed cloudy, but never did rain, with the exception of a very few little sprinkles.  I stopped for gas three times (Paducah, KY, Morrow, GA, and Alachua, FL (I was at a half tank that last stop, but it gave me enough to get the rest of the way here).

I had planned to stop in Atlanta to see two friends, Mike G and HJ, both of whom I met at Vaughantown in 2012.  At the last minute, HJ had car problems that prevented him coming up, so that was a little disappointing.  I found Mike's restaurant, Doc Greens, without a whole lot of trouble, though I think Mr TomTom was playing with me toward the end.  On the map, it looked like a simple exit and a right turn.  TomTom took me in a big circle for some reason, and I came up on the little strip from the other side, so I almost missed it (I had looked it up on Google Earth so it would look familiar).   Mike and I had a nice dinner at his restaurant and a fun conversation - I think we sat there close to two hours.

I got through Atlanta before the rain started, but before Macon it started to really pour.  I hate hard rain more than I hate hard snow, and since it was after dark by then, it was even worse.  I decided to stop at Tifton, GA to sleep in the Walmart parking lot, since my drive time was messed up by both the stop and the slower speeds required in the rain.  By the time I got to Tifton the rain had stopped, but it was killer humid.  I got the car really cold, then got in the back to try to sleep, but it was no use.  Opening the windows made it worse, (plus it was not as safe), and my new backseat has somewhat of a contour, so I couldn't get comfortable.  I decided to just bite the bullet and get a motel.

I drove on to Adel, just down the road, and found a really great Days Inn.  She asked if I had AAA, AARP, or was a senior (yes, yes, and uh, not even close), and I got a discount!  She never asked to see either of my cards, though.  The room was actually quite nice.  It was on the main floor and my car was right outside the window.  There was a fridge, a microwave, and coffee-making facilities, too!  By then it was almost midnight, and I didn't take anything into the room except my purse.  I just went in, took off my clothes, cranked the a/c up to high, and fell deeply asleep.  I intended to get up and continue at 5:00 AM, but when I woke up it was full-on thunderstorming, so I went back to sleep until 6:00 AM.  Same story, so back to sleep I went, until 7:00 AM, when it was no longer raining.

I justified the long stopover by figuring that if I had pushed through and come on down here, it was going to be close to 3:00 AM before I got here, then I would need to sleep, so I wouldn't be available to do anything until about noon, anyway.  Plus, it was safer not to be driving in the hard rain and lightning, right?  It rained a little during the morning, but it was never really bad.  And when I got here, I discovered that there was one more reason that it was good that I had stopped - the a/c isn't working here (the fan won't run).  It's currently 87 degrees in here, and I have now been waiting for the guy for three hours.  I did run quickly to the grocery store, but can't really go anywhere else for fear that they will show up while I'm gone.

One little benefit of being stuck here is that I figured out how to use the mobile hotspot on my phone, but I'm sure it's eating data, so I won't spend the evening on the computer.  Still, it's nice to have wifi here at the moment.

So - day #2 has been pretty much wasted.  I would like to get to Capalbo's (Fire & Stone) for dinner, but I'm not sure that will be possible.  When I talked to them an hour ago, they thought it might be another two hours before he got here.  Cathy is having a cold tomorrow, so we are going to run around - not sure what we will be doing.  I'm sure the Illinois tomatoes I have for her will make her feel much, much better.  :)

Broken "Bird"

A few weeks ago, I had a dream that I had broken my left "bird" finger.  Of course, it was only a dream.  I even mentioned it to Mom and Dad, saying that if I need to have trigger finger surgery again, I bet it will be my left "bird" finger.

Last night, I dreamed again that I had broken that finger.  And when I woke up, that finger was bent over and locked.  I got it straightened and it locked a little as I bent it a few more times.  I took Advil then, and I haven't had any further problems with it today.  The knuckle is a little sore now, but it's been good all day.

So we will see what happens tonight.

Skeeterette

OK, so remember my old, nasty little bosslet, Skeeter?  Well, I must be working with his big sister. When the season first began, it was fun.  We worked hard, as truck after truck brought so many carts of plants that we could hardly keep up with finding homes for them on shelves.  In fact, lots of times we had carts all over because there was no shelf space.  We all did everything, arranging, watering, putting away.  Then the end of May came, and with it came a new "live nursery specialist".  <sigh>

Let's just call her Skeeterette.  She is slightly younger than me, and came to us from Texas (where the market was completely different, for one thing).  She is loud and rude, and she apparently knows nothing - I mean nothing - about plants.  She told us that she was a seasonal at a store in TX 18 months ago, but now she tells everyone she has worked for the company for two years.  IN two years (2013 and 2014), maybe, but not FOR two years.  Anyway, my main gripe with her is that she is so ignorant.  She consistently puts sun plants in the shade and vice versa, she does not seem to grasp that certain kinds of potting material do not hold water well, and no matter how often or how much you water them, they will not stay wet for any period of time.  As time has gone on, she has become increasingly hostile to me, and at this point she either ignores me or talks down to me.  I can't even tell you how many times she has talked to me as though it was my first day and I was somewhat slow.  Irritating as hell, especially from someone so stupid.  She is a total control freak and it has gotten to a point where I am afraid to do anything, like putting things away, because I know she will come behind me and change it.

A couple of times it has really come to a head.  In one instance, we were told by a manager to put small palm trees against the fence and the larger ones on a low table.  We installed signage above the small ones, on the fence, and everything was approved by the manager.  That night, she came in, swapped the two sizes around, tore down our sign, and threw it in among the small palms.  In the morning, we put it back the way it had been.  When she came in in the afternoon, she blew a gasket, demanding to know WHO kept doing this, changing what she did.  When I told her that the mgr had told us to do it that way, she went stomping off to him to see if I was lying.  A few minutes later, she came back, but said nothing to me.  Then about 20 minutes later, she told me, in a very, condescending way, that we had to put the small palms by the fence because the big ones would get knocked over by the wind.  I said I knew that, that's why we were told to do it that way in the first place.

The other day, she came in and found me checking my (company) email, and asked if I was watering.  I said yes, that is what I was supposed to do.  Then I went to refill my water bottle.  When I came back, I told her that I had been told that I was now on weekday team, but was assigned to garden until they no longer needed waterers.  She barely let me finish my sentence before she cut me off, saying her boss had told her all about it.  So I asked why she asked me if I was watering.  She completely ignored me, turned to another guy, and started a different conversation with him.  So I asked again why she asked me if I was watering.  She then turned back to me and snapped, "Nancy, I am helping Kevin right now.  I was just thinking out loud, that's all, just thinking out loud!"    She was still calling me by the wrong name two months after she came (we had words about that one day, too).  She can't ever be wrong, or ever apologize, by the way.  She just acts like it's no big deal.  She called our only black employee by the wrong name repeatedly, and when she was corrected she just waved her hand, like "so what".  She also bought everyone a Gatorade one day, but didn't buy him one, even though he was standing right there.

Today, it poured rain most of the morning.  The other waterer ended up going home mid-morning because he was soaked and cold.  I was outside working, though, and didn't know he had gone.  One of the other managers came out looking for Skeeterette, but I said I had no idea she wasn't in the house plants, where I had last seen her.  When she finally reappeared, she was carrying a huge coffee.  I asked if she had been at lunch, and she said yes, she had gone to get coffee.  I told her she might have mentioned to me that she was leaving, since I was alone in the department, but she said, quite snottily, that she had "told everyone". Funny - there were three different people looking for her - plus a truck driver waiting to unload - who didn't seem to know where she was.  I guess they weren't "everyone", either.

I have complained to HR about her attitude toward me, but she told them she thought I was "out to get her" from the beginning (which, I admit, is sort of true, but for good reason). One of the other knowledgeable waterers left instead of being assigned to another area because he simply could not stand to be around her one more minute.  The company wonders why we have so many write-offs and don't make sales numbers.  Maybe they should take a look around at the wrongly placed plants, and watch her as she discounts stuff randomly for people, even at the checkout!  They haven't asked for a discount, she just gives them one.  Now she has some customers trained to ask for a discount.  They aren't getting one from me.  Anyway, I will only have to work with her for a few more weeks, two of which I will be gone.  Then it will all be on her.  Once there is no one else to cover her butt it will be very apparent that she knows nothing.  I really hope she won't be out there next year, or I might have to reevaluate whether I want to do it again.  It's really a shame because, even though it was tough, it was really fun in the beginning.  We had a great team and we all got along.  She has ruined everything.  You know it's bad when even people from other areas complain about her and her attitude and her big mouth.  She has only one known ally in the store, another ex-Texan in flooring.  The assistant store mgr in our area tends to side with her, too.

One little funny:  As I was leaving today, she was outside on the fork truck, and she hollered to me to ask the seasonal guy to come unlock the gate so she could get back in.  I found the guy and told him she needed him.  He said, "You know, you could walk really slowly if you want."  I think he thought I had to go back out.  I told him I was leaving, I had passed the message, and now it was up to him, so he meandered along, going the opposite way from the back gate, and I assume he eventually got out there (he's obviously not a fan, either).  As I passed the back door, though, with her still outside the gate, I saw it start to pour rain again.  Heh.

Plans in Place

Woohoo!  Lynda got me a hotel room at the Westin in Key West for next Thursday.  At first she couldn't get a room for that day, so I said Wednesday would be OK.  But the following day, there was  a room available.  Yay!!  So I called Key West Express and booked my ferry ticket.  Parking is now $9.00/day, which is ridiculous but there is nothing to do be done about it.  At least the ticket is covered by the holiday voucher I had (which was set to expire this December).

So, I will leave Monday morning at about 5:00 AM, meeting up with Mike in Atlanta at dinner time.  I will spend the night near Atlanta, see my other friend, HJ, then go on to Bradenton.  Then I will have the rest of Tuesday and all of Wednesday in Bradenton.  I'll take the ferry to KW on Thursday, getting there about noon, and I will have the rest of that day and all of Friday (till 5:00) in KW, then take the ferry back, and be back in Bradenton by midnight.  Then I will have Saturday in Bradenton, and leave VERY early Sunday morning to come home.  It's a whirlwind trip, but it will be nice to be away for a few days.

Now it's time to make the lists - things to get done before I go, things to take, food I want to get to take with me on the road, CDs I want to take, etc.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the car does on the highway.  I know from the short drives I have done so far (Springfield, Decatur) that it's very quiet on the road, but I want to see how the mileage is on the highway.  Off to list-make!

Knees News

Whenever Kym begins a conversation with, "OK....."  I know it's not going to be a good conversation.   So, OK.  I have to have some knee surgery.  It's actually an arthroscopy on my replaced knee, in hopes of relieving lingering pain when going up and down stairs and tightness when bending it.  "Scar tissue impingement", they call it.  So, surgery is schedule for Oct. 6, a Monday.  I will have a followup appointment that Friday with the PA, John, who will release me back to work.  On the following Monday I have to go to therapy to remove the stitches and evaluate whether I am in need of any actual therapy beyond that.  Years ago, when I had the arthroscopy that started the gradual downhill slide that became the replaced knee, I was on crutches for three days, so I need to make arrangements for some new crutches (I think I can rent some from Schnucks).  I have approval from work to be off that week, but beyond that I just don't know.  I hope I won't have to be off any longer than that.

I'll be gone next week to Florida, and then I'll be back to work for two weeks, the first of which is inventory week (and I have been promised extra hours).  Then I will be off for the surgery.  So I think, if I got my timing correct, I am looking at one more "regular" check, then two one-week checks, which isn't great.

When I went to the doctor last week, I also asked him about my left knee.  It clicks and pops and locks so much sometimes that it's almost nauseating, but it rarely hurts.  In my mind, there must be something they can do - short of a knee replacement - to stop the catching and clicking.  But he said he doesn't even want to talk about that one until we get the other one fixed.  I agree with that, but what he actually said was he didn't want to talk about replacing the other until the first was fixed.  Uh, I wasn't planning on going that far.....  

But now that I have had time to think about it, maybe it makes sense to think about getting it replaced (after the right one is fixed).  I definitely don't want to do it if the right one stays this way.  I don't want to limit myself to the condition of my right knee on both sides, you know?  Even if the left one is creepy and clicky, I can still kneel on it and bend it all the way.  I have committed to walking part of the Camino in 2016, probably October.  But let's say my left knee stops being clicky and starts being clicky and painful - that's a problem.  So I have kind of been thinking about this timing:

1. Fix the right knee now.

2. Work tax season at the tax place and summer at the garden place.

3. September-ish, get left knee replaced.

4. Work tax season at the tax place and summer at the garden place, then go to Spain in October.

In order to make that happen I am going to have to really bank money during this tax season.  Luckily, I am starting from a position of relative financial comfort, but I need to be diligent about building up some savings.  And, of course, that means I can't consider Spain next year, which I kind of wanted to do.  But right now, I just have to get past the Oct. 6 surgery and see what happens.

NSC+DMV=LUV

If you were to google "people who love the DMV", this might be the only entry you would find, but I think I can say today that I do.  Since the new car, I have been noticing how really awful my license plates have gotten.  They are from 1995, my first new car on my own (Escort wagon).  The front one was slightly crinkled in an accident in the PT Cruiser when it was about six months old.  A kid ran a stop sign and though I tried to miss him, I hit his back bumper.  No damage to him (of course) but my car needed a new bumper.  The plate is scuffed and faded, but readable.

The back plate numbers have become puffy with rust under the paint, and, though I have tried to remove them, there are several years' stickers under the current one.  My sticker expires in December, and quite often it is beyond cold when I have to apply the new one. (Even though the PT was bought in June and the Outlander in August, I am stuck with my December sticker because I have transferred the plates from car to car.)  I have had problems several years trying to get the new sticker to stick, since I have no warm place to put it on.  One year it even fell off after I applied it in the bank parking lot, becoming unusable in the process, and I had to go straight back in to the bank for a different one (which I then took home and put on in my garage - sheltered, but still not warm).  And I can't tell you the number of times there has been panic when I remembered on Dec. 31 or Jan. 1 or 2, that I forgot to get a sticker.  Another $100 expense is not something I generally need at Christmas time, either, especially one I forgot about.  Never buy a car in December!

So, I needed new plates.Who wants to go to the DMV for me?  Anyone??

I decided to look online to see if they could be ordered that way, and of course, the form that I needed was not available online.   <sigh>  So, it was off to the DMV on the day after a three-day weekend, when I figured they would probably be busier than all get-out.  Imagine my surprise when there were parking spots right in front of the door - regular ones, not the ones marked for people taking driving tests!  When I walked in, instead of standing in line to take a number to stand in another line, I walked right up to the counter!  My number was 22, which is my favorite number - and they were currently serving number 20!  And the best parts were yet to come.

I had seen online that a replacement set of plates was $9, with a replacement sticker at $20.  The new plates will automatically come with a new sticker; there was no avoiding that.  I had thought maybe I could just hold the new plates until renewal time, but no.  Oh well.   I asked if there was any way to change the expiration of the sticker, and she gave me wonderful news.  When I come in to get a new December sticker, I can instead apply for an extension of up to four months!  It costs $8/month, but it gets me to an April expiration date - way better, both weather- and money-wise.  For a mere $32 I will never again have to stand in the subzero wind chill, trying to scrape off old, frozen stickers and get the new sticker to stick and stay stuck.  Score #1!

The new plates can take up to 90 days to arrive because I want to keep my same number.  I wonder what they do for the expired sticker to get you from December to April to avoid being stopped?  Anyway, I stood there, waiting for her to tell me how much it was going to be, and she told me that because they were "defective" plates, not lost or stolen, there was no charge!  Score #2!

Total time from walking in to walking out with the knowledge that I have spanky-new plates and an anticipated April expiration date on the way, 15 minutes.  15 minutes!!  It took longer than that to drive over there.  Hmm, what will I do with the rest of my morning now?  :)

Quick Up-To-Speed

There are a couple of blogs on Blogger that detail a couple of trips in recent years to Spain and elsewhere, so I won't rehash that.

April 15, 2014   10th anniversary at my tax prep job.  This year I did just over 300 returns.

April 16, 2014   Beginning new seasonal position in the garden center at a major home improvement store.  The season will end this Sunday, and I will transition into a permanent, part time position for the winter, until it is once again time for the garden season.  The pay is decent, I haven't had any unemployment income this year, and I get a raise starting on Monday.

Kym is still living here with Blitz.  Chad lived here for over a year, but as of June is living with a new girlfriend in Atlanta.  They seem to be getting along well, so I hope it lasts.

I have spent this summer fixing up things around the house.  Had two trees removed early this summer (the big spruce that was threatening the foundation, and the ash in front of Kym's window, which had died).  In their place, I planted an emerald green arborvitae, which I love. The city came and took out the dead maple on the boulevard, too.  Also took out the evergreen under the front window (it did not survive last year's brutal winter) and replaced it with three variegated boxwoods.  Having a very small patio put next to the deck to accommodate my new gas grill.  The home improvement store's employee discount has come in quite handy all summer!

A New Life All Together

I know I have said it before, but it is amazing just how quickly lives and fortunes can change.

On Monday, two weeks ago, a dear friend called me and said that he was having some problems with a sort of depression, and he would be out of the loop for a bit (which worried me a little) - haven't heard from him since then.  And later that same day, the brilliant comedian and actor Robin Williams was found dead, an apparent suicide.  While this understandably shocked everyone, it has raised the discussion of depression issues in the media.  I hope because of this, my friend will seek some help, too.  For some reason, maybe because of my friend, Robin Williams' death really hit me hard, and it's still hard to believe.

Just a week or so ago, I was lying awake trying to figure out where I was going to come up with the rest of the money for the real estate taxes.  Even if I haven't borrowed from it "temporarily", it's a short time from the first payment in June to the second one in September.  Then you have from September to June to come up with next year's.  (This happens automatically for me out of my pension, and I really should just pay the whole thing in June and be done with it, but I hate giving the county any money ahead.)  Anyway, I have also gotten just a little behind on a couple of other things, and was mulling over all of this and trying to juggle like I did in the old days.  When do my paychecks come?  What are the priorities?  What can I put off a week or two in order to make a more important deadline?

So, between the sadness for RW, worry about my friend, and money issues, I wasn't having the best week.  I finally decided that I should go get a small signature loan to pay the taxes and give me a little breathing room.  I went in to the bank to sign the papers, and while I was there, the woman asked if I had ever thought about taking some out of my home equity line to pay off all of my credit cards, and also take advantage of lower interest rates.  I hadn't wanted to deal with the hassle of appraisal and all of the expense of a refi, and I told her that.  That is when my world changed.  She said that since my most recent refi was within 10 years, there was no more involved than filling out one paper and signing it.  What??  So I asked how it would change my payment or terms of my loan if I were to do that.  It seems that I could have enough money to take care of everything....and my payment would stay the same, due to the lowered rate.  Again, what???  And the remaining 15 years on my 20 year mortgage....would change to a 15 only!  So why not??  She needed an hour or so to do the paperwork, so I said I would come back the next day.

Overnight, I thought about another little problem.....my aging PT Cruiser.  I had shopped around for another car, but couldn't foresee affording one, so I resigned myself to just fixing whatever happened as it came along.  (In January, I had to have the engine replaced - the ENGINE.)  I figured whatever happened would be cheaper than a car payment (which I couldn't afford, anyway).  I was beginning to suspect that it was due for a big transmission problem, too - and the A/C hadn't been working.  I was planning to go to FL for a week or so in Sept, but wasn't sure I could trust it to get there, so how do I arrange that?  What if I borrowed enough more to make a down payment?  With no credit card payments, I could afford a car payment if I was careful.  So, off I went to the dealer to talk about a car that I had seen and loved, but not driven - a Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE, built right here in Normal, IL.  As I got into the car to test drive it, the PA on the lot was playing "Walking in Memphis", and I had the feeling that this could actually be my car.  Turns out, it was.

The next morning, I called the bank to ask what would happen if I added $5000 to my request and kept the payment the same.  It will add not quite two years to the term, so that's not bad.  So.....ultimately, I ended up with a 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE, mercury gray (a dark, metallic gray), with a panoramic sunroof with "mood lighting", satellite radio, fancy stereo with a 10 in subwoofer that Chad is drooling over, CD, Bluetooth, touch screen media control with additional controls on the wheel, seven air bags, and a backup camera.  It has no keys, just clickers.  You only have to have the "key", not insert it anywhere.  No need to even get it out of my purse to unlock the doors. Very similar in size to the PT, but taller.  Slightly smaller cargo area, though.  The payment will be a very manageable $289 for 72 months.  And, of course, I could pay it off sooner.

So, to recap:

Sunday, Aug 17 - with bills looming, an aging car, and the idea of maybe going to FL in Sept, I applied for a signature loan to get the taxes taken care of.

Monday, Aug 18 - with newly refinanced house at a lower rate and money for a down payment, I purchased a new car.  Transportation problem solved for FL, too.

Tuesday, Aug 19 - down payment made, and the car is mine.

I honestly feel like I won the lottery.  How can it be that in the space of two days I can be out from under all debt (except the house, and now the car), AND have a new car?  It is just incredible to me, and I am really, really grateful.  Of course, I won't turn down the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes if they come around on Saturday......