ROAD TRIP

I woke up early because the mold guys were supposed to come by. I got a phone call saying they were going to come on Sunday instead. That meant I had an almost free day. 

After breakfast, I put the new dog car seat in the car. I got a new car seat that is bigger so Lucky could lay down if she was tired.  I put Lucky in the car and we took a road trip about 30-35 minutes from home to a semi-tourist spot along water. It had nice walking paths and boats. We walked about 1.5 miles. We were almost back to the car and I missed a step and fell. I'm okay but a bit bruised. 

We came home so I could eat lunch and watch a zoom talk about Native Americans. 

Then I needed to run an errand so I packed Lucky back into her car seat. She was such a patient girl while we had to wait. 

I felt much better after getting out of the house and breathing fresh air. I think the mold situation is getting me down a bit. My home world has really shrunk.

Until tomorrow...

DAY ONE OF MOLD CLEANING

 I finally caught up on my blog posts. You have no idea the bad feeling I get when I fall behind. 

Today was the first day of MOLD CLEANING. The guys arrived and immediately put up plastic walls so I cannot go downstairs and cannot see anything. They went in and out the plastic room. There was a lot of banging and scraping and music. It went on for 2.5 hours. They brought out bags and bags of stuff. They had hazmat type suits on. 

Finally they left and said they would be back tomorrow. The dehumidifiers are still running. I am happier now more than ever that I have solar power. I can't imagine having to pay for all this electricity if I didn't. This is two full weeks of round-the-clock dehumidifiers and fans running.  

Then after tomorrow, it will be into next week until the cleaning is finished.  

Someone said to me today that it must feel like I am on a mini vacation. No. It does not. It feels like I am displaced.  Many years ago my apartment caught on fire when I was at the movies. I came home and had to pack up some things that were all smoky and move out to a hotel. This feels a bit like that. At least with that crisis my insurance covered the damage. It looks like insurance will not cover any of the damage. 

I am doing my best to only go near that part of the home with a mask on and I am running my air purifier at night. I am going to get my other air purifier and run it during the day.  If it was warmer I would have all the windows open but I own a bird that would die with the cold air we have now. I do not want to get sick from all this bad air.

Until tomorrow...

RED CURRY LENTILS WITH SWEET POTATOES & SPINACH

 I spent part of today running up and down in the house getting last minute items from downstairs. The other part was taking Lucky outside in between rain storms. It was really raining today. Since we can't really go out in the backyard, I have to take her for walks. 

I heard nothing again from the insurance company. 

I made red curry lentils with sweet potatoes and spinach. It is SO good. I ate it over rice. I like making my own curry because I can control the heat. 

I tried to work a bunch today. I finally feel like I can focus on getting something done after all the chaos. 

 Sorry about the posts being so haphazard. With these storms, I have been unplugging my computer early. I worry about power outages and thunderstorms. I want to conserve my battery and don't want to leave it unplugged too long in case we loose electricity and I need it. 

Until tomorrow...

MOLD

The restoration people came today to do the demo. It was a little scary to hear all the banging and crashing. After a couple hours they let me know they found mold in the wall and the floor. They had to wrap the wall and windows up until they can come back. When they come back they will do some cleaning of the mold and some other stuff. 

Meanwhile they put dehumidifiers downstairs and in the crawl space. They have to run 24/7 until they come back. Once they come back I will not be able to go downstairs for a few days. 

They informed me that I can not live downstairs and only go downstairs with a mask on for short amounts of time. So I spent an hour moving all my necessities upstairs to the guest room and clearing my photo studio out of the guest room.  I have five days worth of clothes but this process may go longer. 

Finding the mold was not expected. I thought a small amount of mold maybe but this much I was not prepared for. 

Tonight I had to search for Lucky. She snuck downstairs and climbed into my bed. I had to convince her that we were sleeping upstairs. 

It was quite a day. People keep telling me to relax. This is super stressful. I got most of my blood tests back and so far so good. 

Until tomorrow...

LAB WORK

 It is raining today on and off so I decided to go get my lab work done. I took my lab paperwork and they took out 20 vials. TWENTY VIALS. I was worried but it was my regular lab guy and we talked through the whole thing and then it was done. I have to wait a few days to get all my results. 

Tomorrow they are coming to demolish the area that is leaking. I had to clear out the area. Take down pictures, move plants, cover my chair, etc. I don't want things to get ruined or break. I also cleared a way for them to get to the area. Moved furniture so they could bring their big equipment in. 

Until tomorrow...

ANOTHER SUNNY DAY BEFORE THE STORM

Since it was a very sunny day, Lucky and I took another long walk. We ran into a woman and her mini Chihuahua. She was super nice and her dog was adorable. 

I spent part of the day picking up after a month of roof leaking, tax prep and being sick. Things needed to be put back in their proper place because every room in my home was cluttered. I hate when things get cluttered. I suddenly can't find anything.  Like right now, I am trying to find a piece of paper that someone gave me and I can't find it anywhere. I may have put it "somewhere safe" but of course now I can't find it. That is a real safe spot! 

I started watching the new Lord of the Rings series on Amazon Prime. I let you know what I think. 

Until tomorrow...

REMOVED THE DECK

 Today was the day that the guys arrived to remove the deck. They seemed a bit confused at first. I used Google Translator to communicate with them. One of the workers was not enthusiastic about doing the work until the boss arrived. The boss really worked fast! He did more work then the two of the guys. 

They took the deck off and put the pieces in the backyard so it can be put back on when the roof is fixed. Then they put a giant tarp on the whole area to try and stop the water entering.

Until tomorrow...

NEW DOCTOR

 I got to see my new doctor for a medical appointment. I had a 90 minute doctor appointment. She listened to me, asked questions, discussed things and sent me off with lab work, physical therapy paperwork and an MRI order.  With other doctors, that amount of movement would have taken 2 or 3 appointments. It was so great. Then she made me another appointment for 90 minutes in a month. 

In the afternoon, I had my first invisilign check in. I am about 1.25 weeks behind due to the gastro issues. I really didn't want to wear braces when I had food poisoning and gastrointestinal issues. The dentist agreed that was a good reason to be a little behind. My teeth looked good and she gave me 3 more sets of braces. 

Until tomorrow...

MORE RAIN

 I am just going to say it: More Rain. 

That's it. 

Until tomorrow...

BULGAR CHILI

Last night was another bad rainstorm. Trees falling, flooding, people hurt. Luckily I am only dealing with a leaking house. 

After a day of work, finally, I made Bulgar Chili. I was skeptical but it tastes really good. Black beans, tomatoes, and bulgar wheat. It gets thick and chewy. I have enough to freeze a few servings. 

My brother called to help me with a wifi issue. I got a new wifi device and I needed to install it. It was super easy but last time the switch over was a mess so I didn't want to take any chances. I am now wifi'd up! 

Until tomorrow...

NEW CONCIERGE DOCTOR

This has been a crazy day. But frankly, when has it not been a crazy day recently?  

I called another primary physician first thing this morning to find out information and they had a cancellation at 1 pm to come by and meet the doctor. This doctor is part of a new trend (well, it is an old trend but for the wealthy) for family practitioners. As I understand it investers/corporations have purchased doctors practices in an effort to make them profitable. In turn physicians have left practices and moved to concierge services. It is really hard to find a family/primary practitioner anymore. If you do, you may have to wait months to get an appointment. I had to wait two and a half months to see my last doctor only to find out she was moving to the East Coast. The doctor before that had a four months wait to get an appointment. 

Concierge doctors take on very few (a couple hundred instead of thousands) of patients and charge them a monthly fee. In return the doctor will see you that day if you are sick or injured. Will take phone calls, video chats and emails every day. Will take weekend phone calls and will come into the office on the weekend if there is an emergency. If there a need they will even make a house call. If you think it sounds like the doctors of the 1950s you are correct. Just minus the technology. 

The only thing that they don't do is labs, x-rays, that sort of stuff. That gets done at a hospital of lab and is covered by insurance. 

It is an extravagance I know but I am going to try it out. The doctor was awesome and came recommended. It has been hard not having what I call my "quarterback" or "coach" in charge of my care. I have all these doctors and no one to manage them but me. I need someone to oversee the big picture. When I get sick, I just don't have the energy or brainpower to do it. It is exhausting and I have been doing it for three years. I am ready to hand over the reigns. 

While I was waiting to go inside, I spoke to my friend in the Netherlands. It was too short of a phone call but I got this opportunity to meet the doctor. 

Guess what? It is raining again. Do I sound like a broken record? It was a horrible storm with 70 mile an hour winds. Dehumidifier and two fans going all day. I also got word there is another big storm slated for next week. WTH!?! Everytime it let up I rushed Lucky outside to pee or for a quick walk. 

Since I have had no wifi for three hours, I am going to bed. What's my trick? I keep all my electronics charged up and I keep movies downloaded on my iPad just for this reason. I watched Addams Family Values 2 (I think that is the title).  It was entertaining. 

I haven't had to use my generator yet but it is at 100% and ready to go. 

Until tomorrow...

SOLAR GENERATOR WORKING

 I figured out my solar generator. The hardest part was finding a plug that was within 4 feet of where I could put it. I have an older house and there aren't many plugs especially in the garage (where you would put a generator). Then to find one that is within four feet. The plug I wanted to use is 5 feet from the generator so that didn't work. You can't use an extension cord either.

Then I had to figure out how I would get the electricity from the generator to the items I need. That took math and measuring. I think I have enough extension cords. 

I got the generator going and it took 2 hours to charge it up. It was super fast. 

The water damage restoration guy came today. He has a gadget that he puts against the wall that shows what is still wet in the wall. There is a lot still wet in the wall that I didn't know. That is so depressing. He says that part of the floor needs to be taken up. I will need to figure out what to do about that. 

It is supposed to storm again tonight and tomorrow. Ugh. 

Until tomorrow...

SOLAR GENERATOR ARRIVED

 Surprise! My solar generator arrived early. I am glad I was home. It was a nice surprise but I have to say these companies think they are doing you a favor but what if I was away from home? They would have left it on my steps. 

I was lucky the delivery guy carried it into my garage for me. I tried to get it out of the box but it is too heavy. I haven't even tried to get the solar panels out of the box.

The plan is tomorrow I am going to charge it up while the sun is out and it charges from my solar panels. 

I had my book club this afternoon. I tried really hard to finish the book but I missed the mark by a few chapters. I skipped to the end so I knew how it ended. I did enough so I could fake my way through the book club meeting. It is a good book and I am going to finish it. 

Until tomorrow...

GARDEN PLANS

 I attended a webinar on vegetable gardening in my area. They talked about container gardening. I learned what to plant, what time of year to plant it and how to plant it. I learned a lot. I have a plan for what I want to plant in my container garden. I also want to plant a few things in pots. 

Here is the plan: in the container I want to plant small amounts of lettuce, green beans and cucumbers. Then in pots I will plant a tomato plant, squash, and carrots. I may also plant red peppers.  I know you are thinking that is too much in a small space. I plan on only planting a few seeds or thinning out. I am super excited about this. Then I have my herb garden: mint, parsley, thyme, rosemary, cilantro and oregano. 

Doesn't this sound so fun? I grew up with a family garden. As a kid I was not so happy about it because we had to weed all the time and pick vegetables and fruit. The number of green beans and blueberries I picked... 

Until tomorrow...

CANCELLED INTERNIST APPOINTMENT

 This has been a long week of calling people and having strangers walking through the house. It was not my plan to have this happen. 

I was supposed to have my new internist appointment today. I waited 2.5 months for this appointment. Last night I got a call telling me that the doctor is moving to the East Coast and did I want to still see her tomorrow?? Of course I don't. What is the point? Now I have to find another doctor. 

The electrician came by again. I have a GFI outlet that I can not get a plug into. I thought it was broken but it turns out that they are new plugs that sort of child proof. Would be smart to tell people when they are installed. 

Until tomorrow...

INSPECTOR VISIT

 Today was the day that the insurance company inspector came to inspect. She was very thorough and looked at everything. She needs to speak to the roofer before she can tell me if the damage is covered.

I was supposed to move onto my 3rd set of invisilign last week but it didn't work out. I guess when I was sick I didn't wear my invisilign enough and I got set back. I am still on my 2nd set for another week at least. 

Until tomorrow...

A DAY OF ACTION

 Today was a day of action. 

I went to the foot doctor and he looked at my painful foot. It turns out I had a painful swollen nerve in between my foot joints. The doctor gave me a VERY Painful shot of cortisone that is supposed to help.

Then I got home and the handyman arrived to help me set up the dehumidifier and pull down the insulation. 

After that the roofer arrived and he installed a tarp to, hopefully, keep any rain out of the house. 

As you can see he used my plants to anchor the tarp. Fingers crossed this holds until the rain stops enough and he can fix it permanently. 

The dehumidifier has been pumping away all day. 

I hear another atmospheric river is coming in about 5 days. UGH!

I am exhausted and am going to bed. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO OF INSURANCE PHONE CALLS

 This morning there was water dripping out of the holes I drilled. Not a lot but some. 

To add insult to injury, I lost the internet today for the whole day. 

I spoke to the insurance rep today and the inspector is coming tomorrow. 

I spoke to the restoration rep and she said their company can not come but she gave me a lot of tips. 

The dehumidifier showed up today and it is so large I can't lift it. My handyman is coming tomorrow and he can help me take it downstairs. It is useless unless it stops raining. 

It was really windy today but the rain seems to have stopped for a bit. 

I had my last physical therapy appointment for a few weeks so I will see how that goes. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY OF INSURANCE REPORTING

 I spent the day talking to contractors, insurance company reps, restoration folks, handymen, and family. I have everything set up. I bought a dehumdifier that will arrive tomorrow. I have a fan running most of the day drying things out. I have a air purifier running in my bedroom to clear the air. 

The contractor came and told me that I only need a handyman to fix the situation. He was super nice and really honest. I spoke to restoration people who gave me a bunch of tips on what to do until they can get to my house. I started to pull out the insulation and called my handyman and asked him to come and pull the rest out. 

I spoke to the insurance people and they are super nice and gave me all sorts of information. I am in the disaster zone so it will be covered. 

My family gave me all sorts of information like to drill holes in the area where the water has been accumulating so it can drain. 

I am exhausted and can't wait to sleep. I got no work done. 

Until tomorrow...

STRESSING OVER MY HOUSE

 I am stressing about my leaking house. How bad is the situation? How expensive will it be to fix? How long will it take to fix? Ugh! 

It rained all day. Horrible rain.  It is never going to stop. 

The Oscars were very interesting to watch. I was happy the Ke Huy Quan won the Oscar. I didn't like the movie but he was good in it. 

Until tomorrow...

MY HOUSE IS LEAKING

 I found a horrible leak in my house today. Okay I knew there was a little leak but I had no idea the leak was this big. The leak is coming from my roof deck down through the wall into the atrium and then down into the crawl space. 

I called the roofer and he came over to look at it. We are going to have to wait until the rain stops and then take the deck off and then find the problem in the roof and then put the deck back on. Then I can dry out the downstairs and patch the problems. 

I hope that is the only problems. Ugh!

I tried to watch Tar, Marcel and finally watched Everything Everywhere all at once. I got about 15 minutes into Tar and Marcel. I watched Everything Everywhere all at once with an expectation I would understand it but never did. It was a horrible movie. Maybe someone can explain it to me. Please.

Until tomorrow...

LUCKY GOT HER SHOTS

 I took Lucky to the vet this morning to get her distemper and rabies shots. She also got her nails trimmed. It was early in the morning but got done pretty fast. The rain is still going and it isn't pretty. 

Lucky and I went to the post office to mail some mail. We drove part way so we didn't have to walk too far in the bad weather. 

I am feeling better and feeling like I want to eat more food. 

Until tomorrow...

VISITED GUT DOCTOR

Today was a visit to my gut doctor finally. I got good news. She said I was tested for celiac disease last year and it was negative. That doesn't mean that I didn't have a gluten episode and stopping gluten for a short time will make me feel better. 

She is pretty positive that something caused me to get a bacteria infection in my gut. The antibiotics may have cured it but the bacteria may have screwed my gut up. It may take months to straighten out. 

I spent time with my brother on the phone dealing with some of my tech issues. He is so helpful. 

Until tomorrow...

LUCKY'S 14TH BIRTHDAY 🎉

I took my car in to the shop to get checked. I am anxious to take a drive but I don't feel like it breaking down somewhere. 

They checked it out and it is in great shape. A little oil and air in the tires and it is good to go. 

It is Lucky's 14th birthday ! I sent her to go for a walk with the dog walker. She seemed so happy. 

Such a good birthday girl! 

Until tomorrow...

VERY BUSY DAY

 Today was very busy. First I got up early and took my car to the shop to get checked. It turned out it just needed fluids. It is in good shape. 

Then I went to physical therapy. My therapist thought I was in good shape. Turns out most people do not do the exercises at home. I have been doing them and I seem to be getting much better. 

Then I came home to let in the landscaper and handyman. The landscaper finished up some last minute things. The handyman waterproofed the standing garden, capped the non-working plug. He is coming tomorrow to finish the work. 

The poor landscaper had the catalytic convertor stolen out of his truck. He had to take the bus and has no tools. I felt so bad for him. 

It was a busy day. 

Until tomorrow...

CUTTING THE PHONE CORD

 I wish I had good news that said I was better. I am a bit better but not 100%. I see the doctor in a few days. 

While doing my taxes I realized a few things that I don't want to pay for anymore. One of them is my home phone. I need a home phone but I don't want to pay for a landline that costs so much. I spoke to the woman at the company and she said that the FCC no longer prioritize getting landlines up and running in an emergency. They prioritize wifi and cellphones now. I asked about what if electricity goes out? She suggested I get a backup battery for the wifi to run the phone. I decided that is the way I am going to go. 

Until tomorrow...

CAUGHT UP WITH A FRIEND

 I did so much today. Tax prep, laundry, changed my sheets, spoke to my friend, washed dishes, and made dinner. 

It was so great to catch up with my friend. She lives far away and we catch up every couple of weeks. She used to live near me but she moved away a number of years ago. I keep hoping she will move back. She is moving near some of my relatives soon so that is good. 

Until tomorrow...

FINAL DAY OF ANTIBIOTICS

 I am trying to keep up with everything blog, laundry, dirty dishes, dog, bird and me. It is hard when you don't feel well. I also have to finish my tax prep but today it is raining again and I do not have the energy to do much of anything. It is another day of sitting on the couch and watching TV. 

I am still eating gluten-free and running out of some food. I am going to have to buy some more food. Today is my final day of antibiotics. This will be the test to see how I feel once the antibiotics end. 

Until tomorrow...

NO PHYSICAL THERAPY

 I had to cancel my physical therapy appointment. A) you are not supposed to go if you are not well but I think it is in case you have Covid and I do not have Covid and B) I was afraid I would get sick at the physical therapy appointment and there is nothing more awful than being away from home when you get ill. 

Until tomorrow...

ELECTRICITY!⚡

What a great day! Two guys came and fixed the electricity to my garbage disposal, the outlet on my deck and the backyard. Then they cut the power to the broken outlet in the backyard. I am just so happy to have the electricity working again. I told them this made my day! 

Not a lot else happened except I am still not feeling well. I am on day four of antibiotics. I started to feel a bit better yesterday but today I am not feeling quite as good. I am still eating gluten-free. I guess we have to see what happens once the antibiotics are completed. 

Until tomorrow...

FINALLY A SUNNY DAY

Today was a sunny day. Finally!  I enjoyed it while it was here. More rain is coming this weekend. Ugh. 

I took Lucky for a ride in the car and then a walk. 

I am tried a new thing today. I ate only gluten-free food to see if the fact that I have been eating an enormous amount of gluten in the past two weeks is effecting my system. I figure it couldn't hurt and if I feel better, well, great. Plus, if I see another piece of toast I may scream. I just happen to have a packet of instant gluten-free vegan oatmeal. It was good. Then I have some packets of rice noodles that I cooked up for dinner  it's been two hours and so far so good.  It maybe the antibiotics and nothing to do with what I am eating but I'll do anything at this point. 

The electrician is coming to fix my garbage disposal and hopefully backyard. 

Until tomorrow...