REBUILD DAY 1

I can now see the sky from inside my house. The guys showed up today to work on the house and the first thing they did was tear off the small roof above where the leak was.  This was a multi-hour project. They tore off the wood underneath the roof to expose the downstairs. It is now an open ceiling and I can see the sky.  I was told that this is only going to stay like this overnight and I hope that's the case because it's pretty cold outside at night.

The guys worked all day and for the first time in months I stepped out on my upper deck but didn't go very far because there's no railing.

There is a plan now to replace all sorts of flashing, gutters, roof, wall, insulation and floor. I spent part of the day on websites choosing floor and eco insulation that has no fiberglass in it. No pink stuff. We are going to use a product called Rockwool. From what I understand it's a type of rock mixed in with wool to make a pretty solid product that also becomes a bit soundproof but it is super warm and not attractive to bugs and water repellent. They do not make denim insulation any more. 

It's been a big day and I have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow so good night.

Until tomorrow...

PROGRESS!

 Progress! The contractor showed up today after cancelling (because he ate bad food last night). He took measurements and we talked about flooring and insulation. He is coming back tomorrow to remove the current roof on the small section where the leak is. I know it is complicated but I have a main roof and a small roof that my deck was on. Then I have a tiny roof where a drain goes down. I only mention it because you would think the cost would decrease with each roof size. That is not how roofing works. It cost me just as much to get the small roof done as it cost to get the tiny roof done. The tiny roof is 3' x 2' and the small roof is approximately 15'x5'. Things like this make me crazy.

Anyway, that happened this morning along with a very long phone call with my ex-foster kid's worker to discuss things like summer school and such. 

I received my meditation stuff. I bought things to help me meditate better, or at least that is the hope. I am still waiting on my small rug. I have hard wood floors and I am not looking forward to getting down on them with no rug. 

I decided to volunteer for the flagging group. I figure the doctor wants me to be more social and this activity is outside so it is a win/win. My social activities are now attending a car show in a few weeks, flagging volunteering in a few weeks, co-leader of the arthritis group, and book club currently online. I think I am full for now. 

I have to say I love AGT (America's Got Talent). People come on with such funny talents. I am watching a dinosaur break dance. No wonder everyone wants to come to America! The audience went crazy. 

I just spoke to my friend and now I am going to sleep. 

Until tomorrow...

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

 Happy Memorial Day! I hope you had some time to rest. 

Lucky and I went to the park. We took a long walk in the freezing cold wind. It was beautiful. There were a bunch of dogs. We ran into a nice lady with two dogs. She had a newly adopted Shiba Inu and a tiny terrier mix. Lucky liked walking with other dogs. I think she had fun. She came home and zonked out. She slept for three hours. 

The contractor is supposed to start work tomorrow. Not soon enough. 

Tomorrow it is back to work. 

ANNUAL INDY RACE

Today was my annual tradition of watching the Indy 500. I got up early and watched the whole race. It had a wild ending where there had been crash after crash so they had to make the last couple of laps the end. If you know anything about racing, that isn't much time to pass another car. So it was an interesting ending. 

While I was watching the race I worked on my long lasting puzzle. I am determined to get this puzzle completed. I know most people would tell me to quit it and free up your living room for other things. This puzzle has been something I have worked on for two years. I want to finish it. Today I got about one-sixth of it done. I also found that the "missing" boarder piece was not missing at all. 

I started to clear out a space for my meditation nook. I need a place where I can meditate and I went through the current home and there aren't many spots available with the house in disarray. I chose a spot in the living room under my ficas tree. I have my meditation stuff coming in Tuesday. I just need my pillows and I will be set. 

Until tomorrow...

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND PASTA SALAD

I made pasta salad for the holiday weekend. It is a pasta salad I never made before. It is pasta with fresh snap peas, chickpeas, yellow squash, lemon vinaigrette and mint leaves chopped up. Yummy! 

I basically walked the dog, read my book and picked up around the place. 

Until tomorrow...

FIRST ACCUPUNCTURE APPOINTMENT

Today was my first accupuncture appointment. I will be honest, I have avoided most Eastern Medicine for years. I thought it was all "woo woo". I felt like it was not going to do anything for me. 

Then I went to Sedona and my thoughts of Eastern philosophy changed. People who knew nothing about me had me in tears over my trauma. But the most important thing I heard over and over was that I held too much stress. 

I went back to Sedona two years later and I heard again that I carried too much stress. 

I was converted. I believe in the mind body spirit connection. That is why I am trying accupuncture. If people have been doing this for 2,000 years there must be something to it. 

At the appointment the Dr. talked to me for about 40 minutes. She wanted to hear everything about me. Eating, sleeping, exercise, pain, current medicines, the story about my autoimmune diseases. Everything. 

Then I laid down on a table and she rolled up my pants legs and began putting the super thin needles in. I give myself injections weekly so I wasn't afraid of the needles but I was surprised that I didn't even feel 80% of them going in. 

Then she leaves the room. I have a panic buzzer just in case. It was funny because it was the same wireless doorbell I have on my side door. I laid there. I had a weird sensation in my left arm that felt like warm. My left wrist had a slight sting for about 10 min. Then I got some zings: the bottom of my left foot and the top of my right thigh. They didn't hurt but felt like the pain if someone punched me. Then I got restless legs on my right leg for about 10 min. 

Then she came to check on me. I said I was fine (and had almost fell asleep). The minute she left my nose began to itch. Of course I can't scratch it and the more I wriggled my nose, the mask tickled my nose more. 

I started fantasizing that I was on Survivor and I had to ignore the itch in order to win immunity. It got me through. I guess I won immunity. 

I came home and drank tons of water and sat outside and read my book in the sunshine. 

I go back next week. 

Until tomorrow...

GOOD NEWS FROM THE INSURANCE COMPANY

 I finally heard from the insurance company about my home. The woman called and said that the company feels terrible that I was treated so poorly the first time the inspector came out and they are covering some of the damage. We are in negotiations to cover the rest. It felt good to hear an apology about the way I was treated. 

The builder called and he is ready to start work on Monday or Tuesday. I can't wait. I told him to do what he needed to do. I want it done before my parents visit. 

I had another physical therapy session this morning. I have been in a lot of pain in my neck and shoulder. Seems that by trying to fix my shoulder, my neck got tweaked. Now we have to stop the pain in my neck before we can work on the shoulder. Ugh!

Thought you might like to see Lucky in her new bed. I started noticing that her old bed was smelly so I bought a couple of new beds and she seems to really like them. They are soft and kind of furry. 

Until tomorrow...

ORIENTATION TO MINDFULNESS COURSE

Tonight I had my first mind body stress reduction course. It was really the orientation to the course. I am really looking forward to the 8-week course and learning how to decrease pain and stress. It seems that I'm going to have a bunch of homework to do. Mostly practicing meditation and different forms. One of the forms they showed in a film was giving everyone in a group each a raisin and have them eat it mindfully. One lady on the video said she almost walked out the door at that point. But at the end of the eight week program she noticed such an improvement with her outlook on life. 

So I am trying this program/course and I'm going to see where it takes me. I already have homework to accomplish before the first class starts in 2 weeks. So I'll be getting that completed this weekend.

I have been keeping up with riding the stationary bike 30 minutes a day. Today I had to ride it early in the day so I could attend this course. Normally I ride the bike after dinner.

I spoke with the contractor and we are set to begin fixing my home, hopefully next week. He is promised me it will be completed before my relatives come and visit. I know what they say about contractors price double the time but I hope he can do this relatively small project in one month. We both agreed this should not take more than 10 days of work. 

Until tomorrow...

GARDEN PROGRESS

 I did it. I went to Lowes and bought a tomato plant, rosemary plant, and soil. I felt comfortable at Lowes because the gardening center is mostly outdoors and the rest is quasi outdoors. Most of the people there (customers and staff) were wearing masks. I lugged a big bag of soil out to my car, into the trunk, out of the trunk, and down the stairs to the backyard. I certainly got my workout in. 

I planted the tomato plant in a giant planter that took ages to fill with soil. They didn’t have the tomato plant I usually buy but these beefsteak tomatoes should be fun. The rosemary will be happy in the large pot I put it in. Then I looked over at the squash and two of the seedlings are popping up through the soil. I did a happy dance! My giant salad is coming together! Lettuce, cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes and squash. Now I just need my carrots to come up. What a super salad this will be. I can also add strawberries and blueberries if they grow fruit. 

The herbs are not doing as well. I see a little bit of dill popping up and I just planted the rosemary. I already have mint and oregano. I am waiting for the parsley, thyme and basil. Patience. 

I have become a farmer! I can’t believe I am getting this excited about growing veggies from seed. The landscaper texted me today to see how everything is going. He was excited to hear the progress. I need him to come and fix the drip system so it waters all the plants. 

Until tomorrow…

BENCHES COME IN DIFFERENT SIZES

It was a sort of sunny day today so I went out and measured my bench. The bench is quite hard so I wanted to purchase a cushion. Interestingly benches come in different sizes so there are many different size cushions. It took me awhile to find a cushion I liked and that fit my bench. I finally found one and it should arrive on Wednesday. 

Tonight I got the invite to be the co-facilitator of my local arthritis support group. I guess I am in! 

Lucky went on a walk with the dog walker for the first time in two weeks. Since she fell off the bed. I just bought her a bed rail so she can't fall off the bed again. She did good on the walk but the dog walker takes her on a flat area. He says he is getting nervous that a bigger dog might knock her over and hurt her. She is getting more frail. We are going to give it a few more weeks and talk again. She would miss him terribly. 

Until tomorrow...