October 22, 2015
September 1, 2015
The Expressway is in our Backyard
Interstate 295 is just beyond our back fence. It's an average sized back yard bordered by an 8' wooden fence. The cars going by used to sound like ocean waves. That was, until they took down te thick bank of trees between our fence and the road. It's a fast lane plus road widening project and, once they begin work AT NIGHT they plan to install a 20' cement wall. It's supposed to make things really quiet, so bring it on.
August 23, 2015
A Shower AND A Toilet? WooHoo!!!
Yep, Mark finally got it all done. We have a beautiful marble shower, an ultra high rain shower head and sliding glass doors. There's even a built in shelf for shampoo and soap. In addition, there is new tile, paint, and a tall toilet. I'm married to a tall man. All that up there stuff is for him, not me. Still, I'm very pleased. Today Mark finished painting, caulking around the door frame and toilet, and he hung the toilet paper holder. We are holding off on the towel bars until I get the 30" long sticks I ordered to go in the towel hanging things. I don't like to fold a wet towel to make it fit on the 24" and 16" rods that come in the set at Lowe's, especially here in muggy Florida. And you know who would end up with the short stick. Yes, the shorter person. If you don't spread your towel out here, it makes a towel smell musty. Ewww. Too bad they don't sell the rods in the hardware stores. I ordered the brushed nickel 5/8 inch thick, 30 inch long rods today and they should arrive in a couple of days. Yay Amazon Prime.
May 9, 2015
Finger Surgery
April 9, four weeks ago, I had some repairs to my right hand - the ring and middle fingers. These repairs did not require the dreaded occupational therapy. Take a look at the before x-ray:
About five years ago my middle finger was fused. The joint was removed and two pins were wired so this joint would not cause intense pain anymore. It was good, except sometime before healing completed, the fusion was jolted...broken really, and the wire and pins shifted. Although my finger is listing to the right, it has been pain free until two weeks prior to this surgery. The wire was bulging between my long and ring fingers, threatening to break the skin. It wasn't really uncomfortable, just creepy. What was uncomfortable was a pin, whose hooked top was cutting into my finger pad muscle at the base of my finger, closest to the hand. It felt like a long rose thorn was in there, sticking, sticking, sticking. Ouch! The surgeon tried to remove the pins, but the bone has grown onto them, so he cut off what he could, making the ends smooth to the bone. The wire has been re-positioned so it is flat against the bone and comfortable. The repair on this finger was a success and I don't have any pain.
About 10-15 years ago I had joint replacement of my ring finger. That artificial joint has collapsed with age and my bones protruded on either side of my finger. The doctor shaved the bone sides down and repaired the tendons that had slipped off the top of my finger. Not that it does any good, as that finger, like the long finger, is frozen in place. Currently, I have the feeling of a steam burn down the length of the back of my finger. Even the breeze makes it burn. It will improve with time.
Looking at the x-ray, you can see that my thumb was fused (on the same day of the middle finger surgery, years ago). My first and second finger have 20 year old artificial joints. Other joints are deteriorating, but are not intensely painful, so the doctor and I chose to let them do their own thing. It looks like my middle joint of my pointer finger would be intensely painful. It is not. My middle joint on my pinkie finger has fused itself.
I like this doctor. His attitude is, if it doesn't hurt, don't mess with it. I'm with him!!
About 10-15 years ago I had joint replacement of my ring finger. That artificial joint has collapsed with age and my bones protruded on either side of my finger. The doctor shaved the bone sides down and repaired the tendons that had slipped off the top of my finger. Not that it does any good, as that finger, like the long finger, is frozen in place. Currently, I have the feeling of a steam burn down the length of the back of my finger. Even the breeze makes it burn. It will improve with time.
Looking at the x-ray, you can see that my thumb was fused (on the same day of the middle finger surgery, years ago). My first and second finger have 20 year old artificial joints. Other joints are deteriorating, but are not intensely painful, so the doctor and I chose to let them do their own thing. It looks like my middle joint of my pointer finger would be intensely painful. It is not. My middle joint on my pinkie finger has fused itself.
I like this doctor. His attitude is, if it doesn't hurt, don't mess with it. I'm with him!!
March 22, 2015
My New Bicycle
My husband retired from Snap-On Tools. Several years ago Mark won two really nice commemorative Trek mountain bikes, complete with twenty confusing gears and stiff hand brakes, value new was about $700 each. Mark rides his bike pretty regularly, but because of my health, I think mine has less than a mile logged on it.
I have rheumatoid arthritis and have had a slew of hand surgeries to replace joints, fix tendons, fuse joints, so my ability to squeeze hand brakes is non-existent. We decided, since my bicycle was impossible for me to stop, a new one with coaster brakes would fit the bill. We ended up at Sam's Wholesale Club where I got this pretty seafoam green beach cruiser with a big comfy seat. I didn't like the silver mesh basket and so Mark attached my old wicker bike basket. The color matches the seat and drink holder, and it looks really nice.
After probably 40 years of non-riding, getting back into the saddle of a bicycle is a little shaky for me. It almost feels like this bike is too big for my short 5'2" frame, but the manual says it's a fit. I have a hard time starting off, wobbling all over the road, and going slow makes me unsure too. I ride smoothly with speed, but am afraid of stopping. Turning is scary too, with the required slow down. I have secretly been taking my bike on spins up and down my street and to the next one in our neighborhood when Mark was not home to get stronger and hone my sorry bike riding skills.
After several rides, I gained confidence to ride farther, but had a spill was while turning a corner onto a sidewalk outside of the safety of our neighborhood roads. In my defense, the sidewalk was uneven by two inches due to a tree root grew beneath it, so I was navigating a sharp turn, that bump, plus there was a really poorly placed telephone pole. I hit the pole dead on and fell sideways in slow motion onto the busy street - how scary and humiliating!
The big question is, "Why was she riding on the sidewalk?" Our neighborhood is a big loop with two entrances off of a 40 mph two-lane road that does not have a bike lane. This was my first attempt to do The Big Circle and because I don't have the confidence to share the road with cars rushing past me, my bike and I ended up laying down on that road! It was only for an instant, but scary enough! I was alone and someone stopped his car to check on this grey-haired lady that can't turn a corner and failed to brake as the pole became an obstacle. I couldn't reach my foot down far enough to stop my bike from falling off the curb and there was no saving the inevitable. I am no worse for wear, with only a mildly scraped knee, no holes in my jeans or damage to my new bike. It could have been worse and I think a bike helmet is in order.
My Brownie Scout promise is that I will not attempt the full circle ever again! I will avoid fast roads and uneven sidewalks, and I will wear head protection. I want Mark to get our car a bike carrier so we can transport our bikes to ride in the park. If I ever fall again, I want grass to be near enough to aim at as I tumble to the ground.
I have rheumatoid arthritis and have had a slew of hand surgeries to replace joints, fix tendons, fuse joints, so my ability to squeeze hand brakes is non-existent. We decided, since my bicycle was impossible for me to stop, a new one with coaster brakes would fit the bill. We ended up at Sam's Wholesale Club where I got this pretty seafoam green beach cruiser with a big comfy seat. I didn't like the silver mesh basket and so Mark attached my old wicker bike basket. The color matches the seat and drink holder, and it looks really nice.
After probably 40 years of non-riding, getting back into the saddle of a bicycle is a little shaky for me. It almost feels like this bike is too big for my short 5'2" frame, but the manual says it's a fit. I have a hard time starting off, wobbling all over the road, and going slow makes me unsure too. I ride smoothly with speed, but am afraid of stopping. Turning is scary too, with the required slow down. I have secretly been taking my bike on spins up and down my street and to the next one in our neighborhood when Mark was not home to get stronger and hone my sorry bike riding skills.
After several rides, I gained confidence to ride farther, but had a spill was while turning a corner onto a sidewalk outside of the safety of our neighborhood roads. In my defense, the sidewalk was uneven by two inches due to a tree root grew beneath it, so I was navigating a sharp turn, that bump, plus there was a really poorly placed telephone pole. I hit the pole dead on and fell sideways in slow motion onto the busy street - how scary and humiliating!
The big question is, "Why was she riding on the sidewalk?" Our neighborhood is a big loop with two entrances off of a 40 mph two-lane road that does not have a bike lane. This was my first attempt to do The Big Circle and because I don't have the confidence to share the road with cars rushing past me, my bike and I ended up laying down on that road! It was only for an instant, but scary enough! I was alone and someone stopped his car to check on this grey-haired lady that can't turn a corner and failed to brake as the pole became an obstacle. I couldn't reach my foot down far enough to stop my bike from falling off the curb and there was no saving the inevitable. I am no worse for wear, with only a mildly scraped knee, no holes in my jeans or damage to my new bike. It could have been worse and I think a bike helmet is in order.
My Brownie Scout promise is that I will not attempt the full circle ever again! I will avoid fast roads and uneven sidewalks, and I will wear head protection. I want Mark to get our car a bike carrier so we can transport our bikes to ride in the park. If I ever fall again, I want grass to be near enough to aim at as I tumble to the ground.
Our Bathroom is a Religious Experience
Our master bathroom has a huge garden tub and not a lot of room for the toilet. The tile in the shower has a big cross design, appropriate considering the praying one does getting in and out of that tub to take a shower. I have planned since day one to tear out that gross, stained, useless tub that was installed when the house was constructed in 1987. I took a video for Mark when I saw the house for the first time with our realtor and you will see the master bedroom, master bath and kitchen.
We have checked out a lot of options for installing a shower, including the ready made inserts. We settled on a more sturdy and easy to keep clean shower floor and walls made from cultured marble. Mark and I went into the showroom and chose the color we liked in a matter of minutes - a creamy white that is heavily marbled with a beige/tan color. The Atlantic Marble Company website has a video that shows how cultured marble is created.
Now all we have to do is pick out a shower head and buy a new toilet. That, plus Mark will have to replace the floor tile and hopefully match up the tile on the walls and expand that to the edge of the new shower. It should be installed in a week or so.
February 21, 2015
Home and Garden Show
Mark and I bought tickets to go to the annual home show in Jacksonville next weekend. I'm pretty excited, as we finally decided it is TIME to renovate our master bathroom and we hope to get a lot of ideas. We have a small bathroom that is overwhelmed with a huge garden tub and a toilet in it. The vanity is outside of the door. Hard to explain. Anyway, the tub MUST GO and into its space will be a nice big shower. No scary high ledge to step over like in the giant bathtub/shower. I can't find a picture of our ugly shower/bath right now, but I did find a picture of our house! Google must have driven by sometime in October 2014.
February 1, 2015
Costco
I have rheumatoid arthritis, a painful, energy sapping inconvenience in my happy life. Yesterday was one of those days, but we needed stuff from Costco, stadium-sized, with mile long aisles of endless hard cement floors. It looks different when you don't feel in tip-top shape. My big sweetie recognizes my challenge at keeping up with his long strides and patiently slows for me. I am distracted by clothes and books, he waits. He is sidelined by tools and sports equipment and I breeze past, knowing he will easily catch up. I love him. I love that he understands that, after doing the Costco Mile, I have no energy left to help put away a grocery cart full of things we didn't plan to purchase and have no room for in the tiny kitchen of our 1300 sq ft retirement home into which we recently downsized. While I separate massive packets of hamburgers and pork chops into freezer bags of 3 each, he hides away a few granddaddy oak trees' worth of toilet paper in a garage cabinet that I cannot reach. The trash bags are too heavy for me to lift. Thank God for a car with a trunk massive enough to stash away five basketball players.
Costco is a store so huge, it would make people from third world countries cry at the excess. I wander down the aisles and get to a point that I could just collapse on the floor and cry from exhaustion, but I won't. Mark is a dear and realizes my predicament and offers to get me a wheelchair or motorized cart. I usually just man up and press on. Mark makes sure there is something simple for us to eat after we finally get home and unload. I don't care much for the already prepared meals. I am a better cook than the folks at Costco kitchens, mixing up foods for the masses.
I like their chicken alfredo, nope, too many carbs. Instead, we had my very favorite insty meal that Costco offers: hot roasted chicken and a spinach salad with cheese, cran-raisins, boiled eggs, and the most delicious poppy seed dressing. Markle-Farkle, my sweetheart, if you are reading this - Thank you for taking such good care of me, thank you for never letting us run out of toilet paper. And thank you for fixing blueberries and strawberries in heavy cream for dessert.
Costco is a store so huge, it would make people from third world countries cry at the excess. I wander down the aisles and get to a point that I could just collapse on the floor and cry from exhaustion, but I won't. Mark is a dear and realizes my predicament and offers to get me a wheelchair or motorized cart. I usually just man up and press on. Mark makes sure there is something simple for us to eat after we finally get home and unload. I don't care much for the already prepared meals. I am a better cook than the folks at Costco kitchens, mixing up foods for the masses.
I like their chicken alfredo, nope, too many carbs. Instead, we had my very favorite insty meal that Costco offers: hot roasted chicken and a spinach salad with cheese, cran-raisins, boiled eggs, and the most delicious poppy seed dressing. Markle-Farkle, my sweetheart, if you are reading this - Thank you for taking such good care of me, thank you for never letting us run out of toilet paper. And thank you for fixing blueberries and strawberries in heavy cream for dessert.
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