Yesterday I got on Angie's list and requested quotes from a few contractors. One never contacted me, one quoted me $6K not even looking at the house, and one called me in an hour and came out in 2.
I liked him, he seemed like a quality guy and had very good reviews. He looked at our old taping job where they repaired the drywall back in 2000 and said "We will do a much better job than this". He said he would get back to me with a quote.
I went to bed early and had Cleo in my bed, which meant I couldn't move much. I didn't sleep well as a result but I will ALWAYS take the cat in my bed vs. sleeping alone. I just sleep better with a cat in the bed. It's counter intuitive, but even when I am not sleeping well due to crowding I am resting better and feeling more loved.
I got up, got ready, got Ron ready, went to work. Sales are dead. I saw people bringing in food from the gas station, which charges double our prices. Why would you pay double for the same thing?!
We stocked, I did what I could (not much). Oh, I forgot, we went to the warehouse first. But we didn't get a lot of stuff = sales are dead.
The other vendor is very happy with his new guy. That's good, he seems like a hard worker. I have never seen him loafing around on the clock, unlike some of his other employees. One guy used to read the entire newspaper sitting on a stool in the stockroom, on the clock.
We finished up and came home, I was pretty tired. The guy from yesterday, Carlos, had texted me he had sent a quote.
I took a nap so I would be fresh before reading it. I slept alone and had nightmares, but I did sleep. I guess the cats decided to give me a break and some room, for a change. And the weather wasn't awful today, 60's, overcast, fine if you are wearing a fur coat to run around the neighborhood.
I took all my pills as directed.
I got up, looked at the quote, wow that is good. I talked about it with Ron and we agreed to hire him. He is going to do the drywall, paint, baseboards, install the vanity and widen the bathroom doorway for Ron. All for literally half what I was quoted by 2 other guys.
I think we are the charity case for him. He has excellent reviews so I am not worried about it being a scam and I didn't get anything sleazy off of him, either. I feel good about hiring him. And I did.
I would be an idiot, not to. I did my homework, got several quotes, made sure he is highly rated. He is also close by. I like that. I don't like the idea of my poor guys driving crosstown in rush hour traffic to do my job.
I am only several miles, at best, away.
I will need to provide the paint but I WANTED to do that. I would much rather buy good quality paint than have someone use cheap grade stuff that flakes off in 5 years. I can make sure everything is matched and looks good. My aunt has agreed to help with the paint run, it will be about 9 gallons.
Primer, trim, etc. I like the Behr Marquee so I will do that. It isn't cheap but I would so rather pay an extra $100 and have good paint I don't have to worry about for a long time, that is easy for the guys to apply, etc.
I remember one complaint I had with my Walmart paint 16 years ago, it took several coats. I don't want that. The Behr covered some dark purple paint swatches I had on my wall, in one coat.
I will also need to buy some drinks and snacks for the workers, I have 5 gallon buckets and Walmart delivers bags of ice ($30 minimum but I can do that). I will chill the drinks in the fridge, put them in the buckets with ice. Then the workers can go after them all day long. Get some one ounce bags of chips and some snickers, good to go.
I have always believed in taking care of my workers.
I am glad I am moving ahead and I can stay in budget. I didn't have a huge budget, but now I can afford the flooring and Ron's room. My aunt really wants me to get Ron a new mattress, but also said it may be hard for him at Ikea, trying out various mattresses. I can't just buy something and take his old mattress, I need to make sure it works for him. I can get a water proof cover.
This is all moving really nicely. I was worried I would have tangles but not yet.
I need time for my deposit to clear my account and get the checks, plus I have to take Ron to pain doc on the 10th, so we start on the 11th.
Friday, January 31, 2020
Thursday, January 30, 2020
A trip to the Waffle House
Ron and I came to an agreement, when we eat out we will take paratransit to the destination and then take a Uber home. He has fit in every Uber so far, only one had stuff in her trunk (? why?) and the wheelchair wouldn't fit but we got a new driver for no charge.
I woke up, went in Ron's room to check on him. Saw some water underneath a coupler on the wall. I am very glad we did not close up the drywall. I took a picture and sent it to the plumber. It was not extreme, just some moisture on the 2x4 underneath. I took a shower and it was still OK, flushed the toilet, fine, so I didn't worry about it when we went to the Waffle House.
Ron is having problems sitting up for very long, in his wheelchair. It isn't as bad if he's working but is very bad if he is out shopping or eating. I gave him some Kratom at one point which did help. I have quite the arsenal in my fanny pack, hemp cigarettes, kratom in 3 varieties, etc. We had a good meal but were finished by 10:45 and we weren't due to be picked up until after 12.
Then Mike the plumber texted me he was on the way. I hailed a Uber (3 minutes) and we went home ($12). That's when Ron and I agreed to take a Uber home rather than paratransit, when we eat out, which, frankly, isn't very often these days.
We barely beat Mike home, he said he had never seen that (a leaking T valve), they redid it, and left. I hunted for some contractors.
First guys quoted me $13K, about $6K for drywall and painting.
I put out a request on Angie's list.
Today's first guy also quoted me that, and he doesn't know about the laundry room ceiling.
Second guy (I like what I heard, over the phone) is coming at 2:30. We will see what he quotes.
Everyone so far has had really good reviews. It doesn't have to be luxury work but I want a repair that will stand.
A little backstory, we had a very bad flood in Houston, Allison, you can look it up on Wikipedia. Our house was actually OK with floodwaters standing in the yard, but not in the house. Then the [censored] law enforcement came along in their air boat, which created a wake that went into, and flooded, ALL the homes on the street. And they would have been fine up to that point. So the house, I have been told "got a couple inches" of water, so they had to do the drywall. Well, whoever did it did a terrible job with the taping. You can see the seams. That hasn't been a huge issue for me but I do NOT want more seams.
Ron talked to a friend who is involved in a handyman ministry, literally begging them to come help. Nothing.
So we are on our own. I have tried to be sensitive because I don't want Ron to feel unmanned but he has been very clear this is my project. So I am trying to find someone reliable. Then we get to work.
We will likely have to stay in a hotel for some of it. I just don't see Ron doing well with the noise. I will talk to him, though. I think he will be OK for insulation and maybe drywall. He will absolutely have to go (and cats locked out) for painting. Flooring as well, that's going to be very loud.
The house is "packed out" so it will be easy for the men to work in my room and computer room, then we can move Ron's stuff to the computer room when they do his room, but I don't want to do it for about a month. Mike told me it is best to wait about a month after plumbing work, leave it open so it can be easily adjusted if necessary.
Plus insurance is not covering anything in Ron's room, that will be on us. I really want to get the drywall closed off for now and then paint, flooring can wait a little bit if I have to save some more money (although I did not choose an expensive option). Ron's room can, and should, wait a little while. It is perfectly reasonable to focus on my room.
I will be glad to get my bed back.
I woke up, went in Ron's room to check on him. Saw some water underneath a coupler on the wall. I am very glad we did not close up the drywall. I took a picture and sent it to the plumber. It was not extreme, just some moisture on the 2x4 underneath. I took a shower and it was still OK, flushed the toilet, fine, so I didn't worry about it when we went to the Waffle House.
Ron is having problems sitting up for very long, in his wheelchair. It isn't as bad if he's working but is very bad if he is out shopping or eating. I gave him some Kratom at one point which did help. I have quite the arsenal in my fanny pack, hemp cigarettes, kratom in 3 varieties, etc. We had a good meal but were finished by 10:45 and we weren't due to be picked up until after 12.
Then Mike the plumber texted me he was on the way. I hailed a Uber (3 minutes) and we went home ($12). That's when Ron and I agreed to take a Uber home rather than paratransit, when we eat out, which, frankly, isn't very often these days.
We barely beat Mike home, he said he had never seen that (a leaking T valve), they redid it, and left. I hunted for some contractors.
First guys quoted me $13K, about $6K for drywall and painting.
I put out a request on Angie's list.
Today's first guy also quoted me that, and he doesn't know about the laundry room ceiling.
Second guy (I like what I heard, over the phone) is coming at 2:30. We will see what he quotes.
Everyone so far has had really good reviews. It doesn't have to be luxury work but I want a repair that will stand.
A little backstory, we had a very bad flood in Houston, Allison, you can look it up on Wikipedia. Our house was actually OK with floodwaters standing in the yard, but not in the house. Then the [censored] law enforcement came along in their air boat, which created a wake that went into, and flooded, ALL the homes on the street. And they would have been fine up to that point. So the house, I have been told "got a couple inches" of water, so they had to do the drywall. Well, whoever did it did a terrible job with the taping. You can see the seams. That hasn't been a huge issue for me but I do NOT want more seams.
Ron talked to a friend who is involved in a handyman ministry, literally begging them to come help. Nothing.
So we are on our own. I have tried to be sensitive because I don't want Ron to feel unmanned but he has been very clear this is my project. So I am trying to find someone reliable. Then we get to work.
We will likely have to stay in a hotel for some of it. I just don't see Ron doing well with the noise. I will talk to him, though. I think he will be OK for insulation and maybe drywall. He will absolutely have to go (and cats locked out) for painting. Flooring as well, that's going to be very loud.
The house is "packed out" so it will be easy for the men to work in my room and computer room, then we can move Ron's stuff to the computer room when they do his room, but I don't want to do it for about a month. Mike told me it is best to wait about a month after plumbing work, leave it open so it can be easily adjusted if necessary.
Plus insurance is not covering anything in Ron's room, that will be on us. I really want to get the drywall closed off for now and then paint, flooring can wait a little bit if I have to save some more money (although I did not choose an expensive option). Ron's room can, and should, wait a little while. It is perfectly reasonable to focus on my room.
I will be glad to get my bed back.
Pretty cute
I think he stole my cat.
Torbie is the one in his arm, Baby Girl is by his foot.
Don't worry, his room is getting painted.
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Wednesday evening
Ron is very "rickety" getting from one place to another, he generally needs assistance getting from bed to wheelchair, etc. This is the main reason he stopped getting out of the wheelchair into the paratransit vehicles, he had a couple of bad times he almost fell on concrete and we both agreed it would be safer if he just stayed in the chair. It makes more work for the driver but, at the end of it, they are paid to transport people in wheelchairs.
I often have to assist him. He occasionally falls. This is just our life, even if he was at a five star nursing facility he would have this issue. All I can do is be strong enough to assist him, and, for now, I am.
He has never had a problem getting to the bathroom by himself.
He almost fell a couple times today, each time I got him and he was fine. Each time he said thank you. This is just our life. Everyone seems very surprised by this so I am laying it out as clear as I can.
We went to the bank today, had a pretty easy time depositing the insurance check. Yes, we got it, they were very prompt in payment. I filled out the customer satisfaction survey and gave them a very good report. I definitely plan to stay with them.
The bank said it would be a while crediting my account - considering the size of the check I am not surprised. It will give me time to find a contractor and then I can get them to work. I also had to order new checks. So that should all come about the same time, deposit, checks, and then I find a contractor. The one guy seemed nice but he quoted me way over budget. Very good customer service, again, and happy with the bank.
Then we went to Walmart, I am finally happy with the paint chip I found for the bathroom, a nice light purple. The one was too dark, I agree. I also got some soda and dinner. Ron reminded me to get Cleo a burger which was a big hit when I came home.
"I only call her" I told him "When I have something delicious in my hand". And she came, and had it. The other cats tasted it but were not crazy about it. I gave her a few pats as she gobbled it up. She was very cute and has a very healthy appetite.
I'm not worried about her sneezing because she is so perky and hungry. It has been my experience the truly sick cat will not eat and is lethargic. She is eating dry food right now with a good appetite. Not worried about her.
We came home. The first Uber said she had a full trunk. Why would you have a full trunk if you are doing Walmart pickups? That makes zero sense. The second lady was much nicer and she and Ron discussed classic rock on the way home.
She was very nice.
I got up very early and plan to go to bed early. We have a trip to the Waffle House tomorrow, here's to hoping they don't screw it up. At any rate it is later in the day so I get to sleep in. Maybe until 8. I'm just a wild animal.
Spotty is playing with a cough drop he found somewhere. Not sure what that's about but he's having fun.
My only concession to the corona virus, I stopped using my steroid nasal spray. My allergies are pretty good right now and I finally got rid of that annoying dry cough. I feel my house is healthful, mold free, dry. But there was a lot of dust and that may have done it for me. I have a HEPA filter on the furnace so that helps too, I will be changing that out in a day or so.
Ron's in bed, he is fine. The cats are good. I will be going to bed early. I did up my pills for 2 weeks so that is done. I have been experiencing some nausea lately so I added some ginger root to the mix. I find that very helpful. The cats enjoyed playing with the squeaky mouse for a while, Biscuit, Cleo, and Spotty. Cleo has an unusual quirk she likes to grab the mouse and lick the string. That explains how the last mouse got such a frayed string.
Oh, I'm tired. I will be going to bed early.
I often have to assist him. He occasionally falls. This is just our life, even if he was at a five star nursing facility he would have this issue. All I can do is be strong enough to assist him, and, for now, I am.
He has never had a problem getting to the bathroom by himself.
He almost fell a couple times today, each time I got him and he was fine. Each time he said thank you. This is just our life. Everyone seems very surprised by this so I am laying it out as clear as I can.
We went to the bank today, had a pretty easy time depositing the insurance check. Yes, we got it, they were very prompt in payment. I filled out the customer satisfaction survey and gave them a very good report. I definitely plan to stay with them.
The bank said it would be a while crediting my account - considering the size of the check I am not surprised. It will give me time to find a contractor and then I can get them to work. I also had to order new checks. So that should all come about the same time, deposit, checks, and then I find a contractor. The one guy seemed nice but he quoted me way over budget. Very good customer service, again, and happy with the bank.
Then we went to Walmart, I am finally happy with the paint chip I found for the bathroom, a nice light purple. The one was too dark, I agree. I also got some soda and dinner. Ron reminded me to get Cleo a burger which was a big hit when I came home.
"I only call her" I told him "When I have something delicious in my hand". And she came, and had it. The other cats tasted it but were not crazy about it. I gave her a few pats as she gobbled it up. She was very cute and has a very healthy appetite.
I'm not worried about her sneezing because she is so perky and hungry. It has been my experience the truly sick cat will not eat and is lethargic. She is eating dry food right now with a good appetite. Not worried about her.
We came home. The first Uber said she had a full trunk. Why would you have a full trunk if you are doing Walmart pickups? That makes zero sense. The second lady was much nicer and she and Ron discussed classic rock on the way home.
She was very nice.
I got up very early and plan to go to bed early. We have a trip to the Waffle House tomorrow, here's to hoping they don't screw it up. At any rate it is later in the day so I get to sleep in. Maybe until 8. I'm just a wild animal.
Spotty is playing with a cough drop he found somewhere. Not sure what that's about but he's having fun.
My only concession to the corona virus, I stopped using my steroid nasal spray. My allergies are pretty good right now and I finally got rid of that annoying dry cough. I feel my house is healthful, mold free, dry. But there was a lot of dust and that may have done it for me. I have a HEPA filter on the furnace so that helps too, I will be changing that out in a day or so.
Ron's in bed, he is fine. The cats are good. I will be going to bed early. I did up my pills for 2 weeks so that is done. I have been experiencing some nausea lately so I added some ginger root to the mix. I find that very helpful. The cats enjoyed playing with the squeaky mouse for a while, Biscuit, Cleo, and Spotty. Cleo has an unusual quirk she likes to grab the mouse and lick the string. That explains how the last mouse got such a frayed string.
Oh, I'm tired. I will be going to bed early.
Wednesday morning
Got up super early, got Ron ready. I went to put something away and he fell on the floor right as our ride came. I got him up and we went to work.
We stocked, I fixed a soda machine, and we got our Dr Pepper delivery. Yay! All done. We left pretty early and came home, I took a nap.
Cleo slept with me last night and during my nap. She is such a sweetie, still timid but wanting love so badly. I am always quiet and gentle with her. She doesn't like me to pet around her head but will let me pet her back and tail all day long.
I heard a crash during my nap, but when I got up Ron was in bed, so if he fell he got himself up. We are getting ready to go run an errand and then home.
We have tomorrow off, we haven't talked about what we might like to do. Probably nothing. I think it will be cold by our standards. Let me check. Yeah, 50's, rain. I will stay home.
Now if my aunt called and invited me out I'd go but I'm not going out on public transit.
Part of my errands involves going to Walmart today so I can get some more soda and maybe some ice cream, a hamburger for Cleo (Ron's idea, and an excellent one).
I don't get the bear hate, it has been a family member for over 10 years and very glad we had it up on the stand during the "event". Once Ron and I figure out what we are doing tomorrow I may call a contractor to come by and give us a quote on repairs.
I want several quotes from highly rated guys. The first company has fantastic reviews but quoted me way more than I've been given for repairs.
I also may look into getting in touch with an agency to do a door widening on the bathroom, if we can get that for free without handing over our financials I will take it.
But it is drywall repair, paint, flooring, hang some doors. Although I am honestly not as worried about the doors. Ideally widen bathroom door. It shouldn't be that much, but we will see.
I do have a lot of drywall to fix. Oh, and the bathroom cabinet, connect the sink in there. I will be glad when we get the bathroom back. I really don't like the way Ron gets on the toilet, from his wheelchair, now.
We stocked, I fixed a soda machine, and we got our Dr Pepper delivery. Yay! All done. We left pretty early and came home, I took a nap.
Cleo slept with me last night and during my nap. She is such a sweetie, still timid but wanting love so badly. I am always quiet and gentle with her. She doesn't like me to pet around her head but will let me pet her back and tail all day long.
I heard a crash during my nap, but when I got up Ron was in bed, so if he fell he got himself up. We are getting ready to go run an errand and then home.
We have tomorrow off, we haven't talked about what we might like to do. Probably nothing. I think it will be cold by our standards. Let me check. Yeah, 50's, rain. I will stay home.
Now if my aunt called and invited me out I'd go but I'm not going out on public transit.
Part of my errands involves going to Walmart today so I can get some more soda and maybe some ice cream, a hamburger for Cleo (Ron's idea, and an excellent one).
I don't get the bear hate, it has been a family member for over 10 years and very glad we had it up on the stand during the "event". Once Ron and I figure out what we are doing tomorrow I may call a contractor to come by and give us a quote on repairs.
I want several quotes from highly rated guys. The first company has fantastic reviews but quoted me way more than I've been given for repairs.
I also may look into getting in touch with an agency to do a door widening on the bathroom, if we can get that for free without handing over our financials I will take it.
But it is drywall repair, paint, flooring, hang some doors. Although I am honestly not as worried about the doors. Ideally widen bathroom door. It shouldn't be that much, but we will see.
I do have a lot of drywall to fix. Oh, and the bathroom cabinet, connect the sink in there. I will be glad when we get the bathroom back. I really don't like the way Ron gets on the toilet, from his wheelchair, now.
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Most of Tuesday
Abusive comments will be deleted. Malicious comments or gossip seeking ones about Ron will be deleted. His underwear is his business, it matters not if it is disposable.
That said I am battling a horrible depression today. I didn't sleep well due to Cleo hogging the bed, but who can say no to that sweet face?
She is just sneezing, nothing else, and has a very good appetite. She is acting normal, so I'm not worried about her.
But I didn't sleep well because she hogs the cot. I got ready, got Ron ready, we went to Walmart. He wanted to wait by the bathroom/customer service as it was "warmer".
I did my shopping and got everything done except the lavender paint chips. "Summer Haze Light" is the leading contender for cream right now.
I got soup for cats because Cleo particularly enjoyed that, this morning, and I put probiotics in there which can only help her recover and help the other cats stay healthy.
I found some carpet cleaner, to clean the carpet, which wasn't helped by the 2 spray cleansers I was left with after the great purge. It did help.
I also got some more bleach, bleach is a good thing to have around here.
I didn't get much food as I had a lot. I was battling a pretty horrific nausea as well. But I got a little.
I got some deli plate lunches for us.
I paid and found Ron, we had a little time to wait. He was bitter and resentful about waiting, about the entire trip. That sucked.
Our driver came and we went home, I took him to his bedroom and he sat in his wheelchair while I put everything away.
I am sure he eventually got himself to bed but he didn't ask for help doing it.
I ate about half my lunch, which later provoked a migraine. It was good up to that point. I took my pills, laid down for a nap with an adorable and precious Cleo.
She loves to sleep with me, I find it so sweet and endearing. We had a pretty good nap except for the headache. I got up and smoked something, that helped. It also made me hungry. LOL But I didn't snack because that is just chemicals and not real hunger. It did wonders for my headache, taking it in about 10 seconds. That is unbeatable, even Imitrex couldn't do that.
We have to get up early but I already took out the trash, etc. It was pouring earlier but is now very dry and sunny. Well, sun's getting ready to set, sunny. Ron is quiet, sleeping or something. I will need to get up at 2:30 tomorrow but I will be done early as well, I'd rather that, and I detest sitting in rush hour traffic. So nice to skip all that and travel "off peak" to quote the bus company.
I didn't get the bigger cot because that is only 7 inches and that didn't seem to be a meaningful difference for me. I am going to spend 12 hours in bed when I get my bed back.
Ron just said he didn't want to eat because no food means he won't have a bowel movement. It doesn't work like that.
I did buy some remedies for my athlete's foot, and have been putting baking soda in my work boots. Cleo likes to play with my boots and I don't want her around anything toxic, so I am just doing the baking soda. And they don't smell so it's doing that at least.
I also got some apple cider vinegar (the clear kind) to apply with a cotton pad, to the affected area. I will clear it up. Oh, that reminds me I was going to do a load of towels.
And that is pretty much my day.
That said I am battling a horrible depression today. I didn't sleep well due to Cleo hogging the bed, but who can say no to that sweet face?
She is just sneezing, nothing else, and has a very good appetite. She is acting normal, so I'm not worried about her.
But I didn't sleep well because she hogs the cot. I got ready, got Ron ready, we went to Walmart. He wanted to wait by the bathroom/customer service as it was "warmer".
I did my shopping and got everything done except the lavender paint chips. "Summer Haze Light" is the leading contender for cream right now.
I got soup for cats because Cleo particularly enjoyed that, this morning, and I put probiotics in there which can only help her recover and help the other cats stay healthy.
I found some carpet cleaner, to clean the carpet, which wasn't helped by the 2 spray cleansers I was left with after the great purge. It did help.
I also got some more bleach, bleach is a good thing to have around here.
I didn't get much food as I had a lot. I was battling a pretty horrific nausea as well. But I got a little.
I got some deli plate lunches for us.
I paid and found Ron, we had a little time to wait. He was bitter and resentful about waiting, about the entire trip. That sucked.
Our driver came and we went home, I took him to his bedroom and he sat in his wheelchair while I put everything away.
I am sure he eventually got himself to bed but he didn't ask for help doing it.
I ate about half my lunch, which later provoked a migraine. It was good up to that point. I took my pills, laid down for a nap with an adorable and precious Cleo.
She loves to sleep with me, I find it so sweet and endearing. We had a pretty good nap except for the headache. I got up and smoked something, that helped. It also made me hungry. LOL But I didn't snack because that is just chemicals and not real hunger. It did wonders for my headache, taking it in about 10 seconds. That is unbeatable, even Imitrex couldn't do that.
We have to get up early but I already took out the trash, etc. It was pouring earlier but is now very dry and sunny. Well, sun's getting ready to set, sunny. Ron is quiet, sleeping or something. I will need to get up at 2:30 tomorrow but I will be done early as well, I'd rather that, and I detest sitting in rush hour traffic. So nice to skip all that and travel "off peak" to quote the bus company.
I didn't get the bigger cot because that is only 7 inches and that didn't seem to be a meaningful difference for me. I am going to spend 12 hours in bed when I get my bed back.
Ron just said he didn't want to eat because no food means he won't have a bowel movement. It doesn't work like that.
I did buy some remedies for my athlete's foot, and have been putting baking soda in my work boots. Cleo likes to play with my boots and I don't want her around anything toxic, so I am just doing the baking soda. And they don't smell so it's doing that at least.
I also got some apple cider vinegar (the clear kind) to apply with a cotton pad, to the affected area. I will clear it up. Oh, that reminds me I was going to do a load of towels.
And that is pretty much my day.
Life and limb
Cleo has a cold.
Bubba used to get them, you just have to let them run the course just like a human.
Cleo is terrified of the vet and I would only take her if it was "life and limb".
She wants to sleep with me which I find PRECIOUS. But very crowded, so, when I go to Walmart later, I will be looking for that bigger cot.
The bath went well and Ron is fine, he fell getting in so I worried about him but he does not have a subdural hematoma or anything. I slept OK except for being crowded.
Ron's digestive issues improved with some Metamucil. I put a little generic benefiber in there too. That's what worked for my digestive issues. I was having horrible griping pains but that helped.
For some reason, I manifest stress in my gut.
I need to get him a shampoo cap. I forgot to wash his hair.
The other cats are fine, when I got up I did some soup for cats with probiotic in it and made sure Cleo got some, and the others. That will boost their immunity. She is "dry" - not runny nose or eyes like Bubba used to get, just sneezing. I won't burn any incense around her, either.
She has had her shots.
She is asleep in my bed right now, an adorable ball of fur. She got big when she was gone, though.
They are about a year old now (her and Spotty). So mature adult cats, hard to believe how tiny they were, and how stubborn Cleo was about letting me touch her.
It is raining which will make our trip unpleasant but we will make it. I am debating getting a humidifier for Cleo.
Bubba used to get them, you just have to let them run the course just like a human.
Cleo is terrified of the vet and I would only take her if it was "life and limb".
She wants to sleep with me which I find PRECIOUS. But very crowded, so, when I go to Walmart later, I will be looking for that bigger cot.
The bath went well and Ron is fine, he fell getting in so I worried about him but he does not have a subdural hematoma or anything. I slept OK except for being crowded.
Ron's digestive issues improved with some Metamucil. I put a little generic benefiber in there too. That's what worked for my digestive issues. I was having horrible griping pains but that helped.
For some reason, I manifest stress in my gut.
I need to get him a shampoo cap. I forgot to wash his hair.
The other cats are fine, when I got up I did some soup for cats with probiotic in it and made sure Cleo got some, and the others. That will boost their immunity. She is "dry" - not runny nose or eyes like Bubba used to get, just sneezing. I won't burn any incense around her, either.
She has had her shots.
She is asleep in my bed right now, an adorable ball of fur. She got big when she was gone, though.
They are about a year old now (her and Spotty). So mature adult cats, hard to believe how tiny they were, and how stubborn Cleo was about letting me touch her.
It is raining which will make our trip unpleasant but we will make it. I am debating getting a humidifier for Cleo.
Monday, January 27, 2020
Well, I got him a bath
I can't talk about a lot of today but I did get him a bath. That was tricky, getting him in and out.
If I need homecare assistance with anything I need help with getting him in and out of the tub. Ron found it very taxing.
Once I got him in there he did fine on his own it was just getting him in and out.
If I need homecare assistance with anything I need help with getting him in and out of the tub. Ron found it very taxing.
Once I got him in there he did fine on his own it was just getting him in and out.
Monday
I had a terrible time sleeping last night. Ron had a terrible time with his digestion, between us it was a pretty tragic scene. I am happy with how I handled things.
However, at 5 AM, yet another 911 trip to the bathroom Ron: "I don't think I can make it to work". I thought about him strapped in the back of a wheelchair cab riding around picking up other people, then going to work and over 100 yards to the nearest bathroom, the difficulties he was having just getting into the next room (the bathroom is situated between his room, and mine), and I agreed with him. He absolutely could not go to work.
Not with that going. So, he didn't, I took a Uber which he saw as money well spent (put it on his credit card), had a ride in 5 minutes.
Got to work, gone for 3 days and still had product in the vending machines. THEY ARE KILLING US! I stocked what I could, got my delivery, did the inventory, took the cash out (bills), etc. It took me about 4 hours because it was dead.
I was able to recruit Ben, works for the other vendor, to help me with Snack 2 so that is up - or was, when I left.
Again, about 5 minutes on a Uber - I cannot emphasize how much I love that. With Yellow I wait forever for a ride, every time. Uber it is 5 minutes or less, any time, day or night, and really makes me feel cosmopolitan that I can get a ride like that any time day or night. So another good ride home.
Ron was better, and wanted a chicken salad sandwich (I raided today's delivery). That has settled well. He even asked for cookies and he never eats sweets. I had some little bags of Walmart Iced Oatmeal cookies, about 100 calories a bag and nice little portions, only $3 for 12 bags total. And that is probably part of what is killing my sales.
That and the [censored] scale. Who puts a scale up by a vending machine? A sadist. They do. Killing our sales, but I can't object because management did it and it is a "health and wellness" thing. AGH.
I laid down but my head was getting pretty bad (it had been fine until I got home which is really a sad statement), and I was getting queasy, well on my way to a full blown migraine. So I got up and smoked some hemp, which worked immediately. That is some good stuff. I am still good, a little tension but not bad. I went back to bed (with CLEO!) and slept pretty well. I didn't want to disturb her of course. She allowed several nice little pats and strokes. She is so sweet.
I am glad she trusts me.
I got up and checked the mail.
Now, I do believe in basic common sense, so I will say I got some VERY good news that has me very impressed with a certain company. And that is all I will say for now. GLAD I checked it.
Ron said the change deposit went through and was $600, that will help with inventory this week, and I might even get a full paycheck. He said he was worried about paying my Dad and I stated if he had $500 a month for vodka he could certainly spare $250 for my Dad, worst case he could switch to drinking the (awful) brand vodka and that would act as an automatic regulator and get his monthly vodka bill down to $20. He laughed pretty hard at that.
But, we have inventory money for this week so I'm happy. Sales have got to get better. I am keeping them stocked...
But I can certainly take tomorrow off, which we will. I have an annoying little fungus going on with my right ring toe, between it and the pinky, I want to get some cream. I have to be careful what I use because Cleo likes to play with my shoes. I have been putting baking soda in my shoes to absorb wetness and odor, that works fine and is safe for her, but I am thinking maybe put some vinegar on my foot? I used to use tea tree before Cleo but I don't want that anywhere near a cat.
Worst case I will get some generic "antifungal cream" for 88 cents a tube.
Ron is sleeping which is good, he was up most of the night. And that's the weird thing, he didn't really eat yesterday, so either 1. His stomach got irritated from the vodka or 2. He picked up a virus somewhere. Happily no vomiting as part of the program.
But I am definitely getting the waterproof flooring.
However, at 5 AM, yet another 911 trip to the bathroom Ron: "I don't think I can make it to work". I thought about him strapped in the back of a wheelchair cab riding around picking up other people, then going to work and over 100 yards to the nearest bathroom, the difficulties he was having just getting into the next room (the bathroom is situated between his room, and mine), and I agreed with him. He absolutely could not go to work.
Not with that going. So, he didn't, I took a Uber which he saw as money well spent (put it on his credit card), had a ride in 5 minutes.
Got to work, gone for 3 days and still had product in the vending machines. THEY ARE KILLING US! I stocked what I could, got my delivery, did the inventory, took the cash out (bills), etc. It took me about 4 hours because it was dead.
I was able to recruit Ben, works for the other vendor, to help me with Snack 2 so that is up - or was, when I left.
Again, about 5 minutes on a Uber - I cannot emphasize how much I love that. With Yellow I wait forever for a ride, every time. Uber it is 5 minutes or less, any time, day or night, and really makes me feel cosmopolitan that I can get a ride like that any time day or night. So another good ride home.
Ron was better, and wanted a chicken salad sandwich (I raided today's delivery). That has settled well. He even asked for cookies and he never eats sweets. I had some little bags of Walmart Iced Oatmeal cookies, about 100 calories a bag and nice little portions, only $3 for 12 bags total. And that is probably part of what is killing my sales.
That and the [censored] scale. Who puts a scale up by a vending machine? A sadist. They do. Killing our sales, but I can't object because management did it and it is a "health and wellness" thing. AGH.
I laid down but my head was getting pretty bad (it had been fine until I got home which is really a sad statement), and I was getting queasy, well on my way to a full blown migraine. So I got up and smoked some hemp, which worked immediately. That is some good stuff. I am still good, a little tension but not bad. I went back to bed (with CLEO!) and slept pretty well. I didn't want to disturb her of course. She allowed several nice little pats and strokes. She is so sweet.
I am glad she trusts me.
I got up and checked the mail.
Now, I do believe in basic common sense, so I will say I got some VERY good news that has me very impressed with a certain company. And that is all I will say for now. GLAD I checked it.
Ron said the change deposit went through and was $600, that will help with inventory this week, and I might even get a full paycheck. He said he was worried about paying my Dad and I stated if he had $500 a month for vodka he could certainly spare $250 for my Dad, worst case he could switch to drinking the (awful) brand vodka and that would act as an automatic regulator and get his monthly vodka bill down to $20. He laughed pretty hard at that.
But, we have inventory money for this week so I'm happy. Sales have got to get better. I am keeping them stocked...
But I can certainly take tomorrow off, which we will. I have an annoying little fungus going on with my right ring toe, between it and the pinky, I want to get some cream. I have to be careful what I use because Cleo likes to play with my shoes. I have been putting baking soda in my shoes to absorb wetness and odor, that works fine and is safe for her, but I am thinking maybe put some vinegar on my foot? I used to use tea tree before Cleo but I don't want that anywhere near a cat.
Worst case I will get some generic "antifungal cream" for 88 cents a tube.
Ron is sleeping which is good, he was up most of the night. And that's the weird thing, he didn't really eat yesterday, so either 1. His stomach got irritated from the vodka or 2. He picked up a virus somewhere. Happily no vomiting as part of the program.
But I am definitely getting the waterproof flooring.
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Most of Sunday
I am not going to name names.
I know... it's OK.
But I hate it when a celebrity dies. Everyone weeps, wails, gnashes their teeth over the poor dead celeb. In the meantime, lots of people having lived what I would consider much more meaningful lives are easily forgotten.
I remember how upset D. was at an anniversary of her son's death came and no one even called or texted. But everyone is going to remember today because ___ died.
I am not a big sports fan, Ron was never really into it for obvious reasons and that was fine with me. He does like baseball, though. I will watch that with him or listen to him talk about it.
But I can't see him having a meltdown like some of these guys are doing, over a dead basketball player. I read his daughter died with him, that is sad, I feel for her siblings and mother... but people die every day.
I remember when Gravy died... no one gave a crap, and worse, they wanted me to listen to all their stories of their dead pets and give THEM empathy they wouldn't give me. "Oh, I remember when I was 10 and my puppy got run over..." tears in their eyes, but couldn't even say 'I'm sorry about your cat". WTF?
One guy at work is very repetitive. He has like 5 stories, the first time he went drinking off base in Germany, when his dog died, etc. So I got to hear multiple versions of how his dog died and how he was too greedy to get her spayed and ended up giving all the puppies away to complete strangers... forget if they were humane or not, he was "tired of buying dog food", etc. And here I had agonized for an entire day over whether to put Gravy down or not.
I felt very isolated. I believe I had some good support here, I don't remember anyone being awful at any rate. And that's the sort of thing you remember.
Same with my mother, when I found out my mother died my father in law was very concerned at first, then found out it had been a while ago and I just found out - TOTALLY dismissive. It was painful, as far as I was concerned it had just happened, and I had been warned to steer clear of her, advice I am usually glad I took.
I was pretty much totally isolated taking care of Ron when my grandmother died. I had internet but that is about it and even then the prevailing attitude "She was old, anyway". And both deaths (or my discovery of them) happened within a month.
Now, if I didn't snap the first 3 months of 2003 I never will.
Ron run over
Laid off
Nearly evicted
Ron's family disowns him
Caregiving 24/7 for head injury dementia
Mother dies
Grandmother dies.
Little outside support
Extreme money issues
Ron back in hospital.
Makes the last couple months look like a cake walk! LOL
So I never get upset over a celeb death. The last and only one that really affected me was the actor River Phoenix. He bore a remarkable resemblence to a former friend and boyfriend of mine, John. That I found upsetting with the photos up on the tabloids everywhere with OD on the headline, reminded me of John. And I actually looked him up, we had lunch out of it. And I went home happy I had married Ron.
Yeah, John was a pretty big mess... and one point about 15 years ago he admitted to me, in a letter, he had been homeless for 3 years. I asked him point blank if he was an addict and he never answered.
What is it with me and addicted men? John had found out I'd bought a house, it had 3 bedrooms, and hoping to move in with us, I believe. But I would never move a (unrelated) man in here any more than I would allow Ron to move a woman in. That's just common sense. That would be epic trouble.
Especially with some of the stupid comments Ron is prone to making about me and other men, it being "OK as long as I can watch". Makes me look like a complete whore. No, no, no no. No.
He made a joke to the plumber he would let the plumber sleep with me if the man gave us half off. I was horrified.
But Ron has been very quiet today.
It was nice out but depression had me pretty bad today, hopefully it will be nice for a few days. I plan to go to bed early tonight.
I will be glad when I get my bed back, it is hard to have the cats sleep with me on the cot. But it's very lonely without them.
I know... it's OK.
But I hate it when a celebrity dies. Everyone weeps, wails, gnashes their teeth over the poor dead celeb. In the meantime, lots of people having lived what I would consider much more meaningful lives are easily forgotten.
I remember how upset D. was at an anniversary of her son's death came and no one even called or texted. But everyone is going to remember today because ___ died.
I am not a big sports fan, Ron was never really into it for obvious reasons and that was fine with me. He does like baseball, though. I will watch that with him or listen to him talk about it.
But I can't see him having a meltdown like some of these guys are doing, over a dead basketball player. I read his daughter died with him, that is sad, I feel for her siblings and mother... but people die every day.
I remember when Gravy died... no one gave a crap, and worse, they wanted me to listen to all their stories of their dead pets and give THEM empathy they wouldn't give me. "Oh, I remember when I was 10 and my puppy got run over..." tears in their eyes, but couldn't even say 'I'm sorry about your cat". WTF?
One guy at work is very repetitive. He has like 5 stories, the first time he went drinking off base in Germany, when his dog died, etc. So I got to hear multiple versions of how his dog died and how he was too greedy to get her spayed and ended up giving all the puppies away to complete strangers... forget if they were humane or not, he was "tired of buying dog food", etc. And here I had agonized for an entire day over whether to put Gravy down or not.
I felt very isolated. I believe I had some good support here, I don't remember anyone being awful at any rate. And that's the sort of thing you remember.
Same with my mother, when I found out my mother died my father in law was very concerned at first, then found out it had been a while ago and I just found out - TOTALLY dismissive. It was painful, as far as I was concerned it had just happened, and I had been warned to steer clear of her, advice I am usually glad I took.
I was pretty much totally isolated taking care of Ron when my grandmother died. I had internet but that is about it and even then the prevailing attitude "She was old, anyway". And both deaths (or my discovery of them) happened within a month.
Now, if I didn't snap the first 3 months of 2003 I never will.
Ron run over
Laid off
Nearly evicted
Ron's family disowns him
Caregiving 24/7 for head injury dementia
Mother dies
Grandmother dies.
Little outside support
Extreme money issues
Ron back in hospital.
Makes the last couple months look like a cake walk! LOL
So I never get upset over a celeb death. The last and only one that really affected me was the actor River Phoenix. He bore a remarkable resemblence to a former friend and boyfriend of mine, John. That I found upsetting with the photos up on the tabloids everywhere with OD on the headline, reminded me of John. And I actually looked him up, we had lunch out of it. And I went home happy I had married Ron.
Yeah, John was a pretty big mess... and one point about 15 years ago he admitted to me, in a letter, he had been homeless for 3 years. I asked him point blank if he was an addict and he never answered.
What is it with me and addicted men? John had found out I'd bought a house, it had 3 bedrooms, and hoping to move in with us, I believe. But I would never move a (unrelated) man in here any more than I would allow Ron to move a woman in. That's just common sense. That would be epic trouble.
Especially with some of the stupid comments Ron is prone to making about me and other men, it being "OK as long as I can watch". Makes me look like a complete whore. No, no, no no. No.
He made a joke to the plumber he would let the plumber sleep with me if the man gave us half off. I was horrified.
But Ron has been very quiet today.
It was nice out but depression had me pretty bad today, hopefully it will be nice for a few days. I plan to go to bed early tonight.
I will be glad when I get my bed back, it is hard to have the cats sleep with me on the cot. But it's very lonely without them.
Today's been Cleo day
I woke up and Cleo was in my bed, she was so cute and precious, purring even (she has a nice motor). I got up and she stayed in the bed. I took my shower and got on the computer for a while.
I decided to take a nap and she was still in my bed, I slid in, very carefully. Torbie wanted to sleep with me, too, and perched on my chest as I bent one leg to accommodate Cleo. I even managed a nap for about an hour. She eventually went outside, where she is hiding in a little blind and watching the yard.
I also had Big Daddy or 'Paw" as I call him, came by, Cleo and Spotty's father, an intact male orange and white tom. He seems friendly enough (I have not encouraged him as I cannot afford more vet bills and he is well cared for). I don't mind him visiting as long as we all get along. He meowed some, greeted his offspring, and left. He really looks a lot like Spotty but Spotty is smaller. I am convinced he is their father and would LOVE to neuter him.
But, transportation... agh.
Oh, and I found a discarded cat collar in the computer room? The kind with the little bell? WTF? I found that a little alarming. My guys do not wear collars.
Ron has been sleeping all day, his right. I did go ahead and make some trips for tomorrow in case he sleeps past the deadline. I know how to do it on the computer and it is not hard. Headache off and on but I am trying not to smoke again. At least I have plenty now... I was getting low before I made my supply run.
Speaking in hypotheticals I believe the medicinal is far more expensive than the cheap stuff one might obtain from a low level drug dealer. BUT I am interested in results, not in getting high. And the stuff I get is organic, tested, etc. God only knows what I might get in a little baggie. No, thanks.
It is still a lot cheaper than prescriptions and seems a lot safer too. I think it's a shame that it didn't work for Ron, but he couldn't operate a lighter and pipe with his hands anyway so I would have had to do it for him every time. Unless he got a vaporizer? Not vaping but they have a little thingy you put the herb into and turn it on and get the result. I think that is all one handed. They had some "thingies" at the store but I only had a certain amount and would rather spend it, as I did, on herb. The pipe works OK for me, I would rather it had a flat bottom so I could put it down, but it works OK for me now.
I am getting better at not burning my index finger when I fire the lighter and stick it down in the bowl. And I'm not swallowing big handfuls of headache pills every couple hours, that CANNOT be good.
It is nice to have finally found something that works.
Ron woke up, we talked a little about the collar and I told him I made trips for tomorrow. He was fine with that.
I need to figure out dinner.
I decided to take a nap and she was still in my bed, I slid in, very carefully. Torbie wanted to sleep with me, too, and perched on my chest as I bent one leg to accommodate Cleo. I even managed a nap for about an hour. She eventually went outside, where she is hiding in a little blind and watching the yard.
I also had Big Daddy or 'Paw" as I call him, came by, Cleo and Spotty's father, an intact male orange and white tom. He seems friendly enough (I have not encouraged him as I cannot afford more vet bills and he is well cared for). I don't mind him visiting as long as we all get along. He meowed some, greeted his offspring, and left. He really looks a lot like Spotty but Spotty is smaller. I am convinced he is their father and would LOVE to neuter him.
But, transportation... agh.
Oh, and I found a discarded cat collar in the computer room? The kind with the little bell? WTF? I found that a little alarming. My guys do not wear collars.
Ron has been sleeping all day, his right. I did go ahead and make some trips for tomorrow in case he sleeps past the deadline. I know how to do it on the computer and it is not hard. Headache off and on but I am trying not to smoke again. At least I have plenty now... I was getting low before I made my supply run.
Speaking in hypotheticals I believe the medicinal is far more expensive than the cheap stuff one might obtain from a low level drug dealer. BUT I am interested in results, not in getting high. And the stuff I get is organic, tested, etc. God only knows what I might get in a little baggie. No, thanks.
It is still a lot cheaper than prescriptions and seems a lot safer too. I think it's a shame that it didn't work for Ron, but he couldn't operate a lighter and pipe with his hands anyway so I would have had to do it for him every time. Unless he got a vaporizer? Not vaping but they have a little thingy you put the herb into and turn it on and get the result. I think that is all one handed. They had some "thingies" at the store but I only had a certain amount and would rather spend it, as I did, on herb. The pipe works OK for me, I would rather it had a flat bottom so I could put it down, but it works OK for me now.
I am getting better at not burning my index finger when I fire the lighter and stick it down in the bowl. And I'm not swallowing big handfuls of headache pills every couple hours, that CANNOT be good.
It is nice to have finally found something that works.
Ron woke up, we talked a little about the collar and I told him I made trips for tomorrow. He was fine with that.
I need to figure out dinner.
Saturday, January 25, 2020
Ron got a birthday card
From my stepmother. The feline model in the photograph looked oddly familiar and it took me a while to figure out it was Torbie. "Happy Birthday to Mew!"
Very cute/ They also sent him a check.
I was very surprised to see that.
It wasn't huge but they just loaned us 4 figures. Ron was touched.
Sometimes I think my family like Ron at least as much as they love me, if not more, at times. That is not necessarily a bad thing unless we are having Bad Times.
I took a nap; woke up with a headache. Fixed that, ate some of my hamburger from yesterday.
I am still seeking a good paint in a quality cream color, the Behr samples were not good but the actual paint is great. I need to find out if I can take my paint chips to the store and have them matched that way.
And I need a lighter purple for the bathroom.
A lot of people have been suggesting floor and decor for me, as a flooring source, BUT I have not got my samples yet, Lumber Liquidators sent them in a day and then sent me a tracking number for them. I had them less than a week. I also like the options better for the LL.
I just don't see the point in buying a flooring option with a cork back (Floor and Decor) if I am looking for something water proof. It just doesn't make sense.
But I will examine he samples when I get them.
I know a guy at work, I had to have a talk with him, and one other guy, about personal space. He liked to crowd up behind me (like the other guy) when I was stocking the vending machines, forcing me up into the machine.
I finally went to a friend of his and said "What he is doing is sexual harassment and if he does it again I will file a formal complaint". He has never done it again; and this was him getting within 3 inches of my body, not just standing nearby
Anyway, at one point he kept saying he was really "handy" owns a couple of houses he rents out, etc. Ron bought a cheap window unit A/C. Ron had forgotten what I told him about him bothering me, invited him over to install it in (Ron's) window. He came out, the window is plenty big, fumbles through a few parts in the box and says "I will have to cut a hole in the side of the house and install it that way". WTF NO WAY. Ron and I were adamant. He snooped around a little and left. The unit was smaller than the window so I know it would have fit if he had used the parts that came with the unit.
So, he likes to come to our vending area "Why are you out of x?" "It's right here". "Oh, I didn't want that, I wanted this" "It's right there". "Oh, never mind I wasn't hungry any way".
When the house got robbed he wanted all the details and kept asking me questions about damage the perps might have done, "Did they do this? Did they do that?" He got very excited when I said they pulled clothes out of my dresser and threw them all over. "Did they spread [feces] everywhere? On the walls? Sometimes they do that..." and I swear he seemed sexually excited by it. That really revolted me.
Anyway, he heard about the flood and made a big production out of coming to me and telling me he could "work something out" when I was "ready to hire him".
He does a maintenance thing at work, not very well. It is not uncommon to see him standing around gossiping with a woman while his assistant does all the work, and the work he does do is sloppy. I might let him help if he were not creepy and he volunteered, but no way am I paying him good money. I very politely told him I had someone already. He was very offended.
But if I am going to pay someone to work in my home I want a good worker. The Roto rooter cleanup guys are a classic example, they came early, worked until 2, took a 20 minute lunch, and worked until 7 one day I recall. And, as a result, they are making some $$ they deserve.
I want to pay for work done well. Not half ass shoddy work while you peep into every corner and go gossip about my troubles to everyone, do a half ass job, and charge me double. No, thanks.
That is the big reason Ron never called Chuck back, Chuck loves people in trouble... get all the juicy details, spread them around to everyone else, dangle juicy gossip, "You won't believe their troubles", same reason we are not hiring the guy from work. He doesn't want to work for us, he wants to gossip about us.
I got a lot of that after Ron's accident, a lot of so-called friends calling for the juicy details. It got so bad I stopped taking calls and recorded a new message every day with updates, they could call, listen to the message, and hang up, without bothering me. They called all hours of the day and night, got their juicy gossip without bothering me.
But I detest being gossip fodder; may be hard to believe with the blog and all but I do. And the last thing I want is someone, Chuck or this guy, soaking up all our troubles so he can go gossip about them.
I am going to go check the mail...maybe I got my flooring samples. Spotty keeps begging so I will check his food bowl.
He needed food, which I gave him. Cleo has been sleeping in my bed most of the day. Ron is OK. I will call my parents in a little bit and let them know Ron liked the card.
I couldn't help but think of some of my favorite winter coats when I went to check the mail. One was a reversible gray/purple feather/down coat with little ties. You tied it shut, about a dozen ties. It was very warm. It had a couple of small rips, and it would tear now and then, I would have to patch it, but overall very warm waiting on the bus. The feather shafts were a little prickly but other than that a great coat, very warm. My coworkers always made envious comments; I got it at a thrift shop.
Then I had the Land's End Stadium squall. It was very warm and light, it was stolen from the hospital waiting room while I was up seeing Ron one day. I was pretty upset about it. It was very cozy.
Last year, well 2 years if you go by the calendar, I bought a regular Squall from Land's end which is good for all but the very worst days. And I have (in storage) long underwear. That will not be getting tossed because I really hate being cold.
That's it for now.
Very cute/ They also sent him a check.
I was very surprised to see that.
It wasn't huge but they just loaned us 4 figures. Ron was touched.
Sometimes I think my family like Ron at least as much as they love me, if not more, at times. That is not necessarily a bad thing unless we are having Bad Times.
I took a nap; woke up with a headache. Fixed that, ate some of my hamburger from yesterday.
I am still seeking a good paint in a quality cream color, the Behr samples were not good but the actual paint is great. I need to find out if I can take my paint chips to the store and have them matched that way.
And I need a lighter purple for the bathroom.
A lot of people have been suggesting floor and decor for me, as a flooring source, BUT I have not got my samples yet, Lumber Liquidators sent them in a day and then sent me a tracking number for them. I had them less than a week. I also like the options better for the LL.
I just don't see the point in buying a flooring option with a cork back (Floor and Decor) if I am looking for something water proof. It just doesn't make sense.
But I will examine he samples when I get them.
I know a guy at work, I had to have a talk with him, and one other guy, about personal space. He liked to crowd up behind me (like the other guy) when I was stocking the vending machines, forcing me up into the machine.
I finally went to a friend of his and said "What he is doing is sexual harassment and if he does it again I will file a formal complaint". He has never done it again; and this was him getting within 3 inches of my body, not just standing nearby
Anyway, at one point he kept saying he was really "handy" owns a couple of houses he rents out, etc. Ron bought a cheap window unit A/C. Ron had forgotten what I told him about him bothering me, invited him over to install it in (Ron's) window. He came out, the window is plenty big, fumbles through a few parts in the box and says "I will have to cut a hole in the side of the house and install it that way". WTF NO WAY. Ron and I were adamant. He snooped around a little and left. The unit was smaller than the window so I know it would have fit if he had used the parts that came with the unit.
So, he likes to come to our vending area "Why are you out of x?" "It's right here". "Oh, I didn't want that, I wanted this" "It's right there". "Oh, never mind I wasn't hungry any way".
When the house got robbed he wanted all the details and kept asking me questions about damage the perps might have done, "Did they do this? Did they do that?" He got very excited when I said they pulled clothes out of my dresser and threw them all over. "Did they spread [feces] everywhere? On the walls? Sometimes they do that..." and I swear he seemed sexually excited by it. That really revolted me.
Anyway, he heard about the flood and made a big production out of coming to me and telling me he could "work something out" when I was "ready to hire him".
He does a maintenance thing at work, not very well. It is not uncommon to see him standing around gossiping with a woman while his assistant does all the work, and the work he does do is sloppy. I might let him help if he were not creepy and he volunteered, but no way am I paying him good money. I very politely told him I had someone already. He was very offended.
But if I am going to pay someone to work in my home I want a good worker. The Roto rooter cleanup guys are a classic example, they came early, worked until 2, took a 20 minute lunch, and worked until 7 one day I recall. And, as a result, they are making some $$ they deserve.
I want to pay for work done well. Not half ass shoddy work while you peep into every corner and go gossip about my troubles to everyone, do a half ass job, and charge me double. No, thanks.
That is the big reason Ron never called Chuck back, Chuck loves people in trouble... get all the juicy details, spread them around to everyone else, dangle juicy gossip, "You won't believe their troubles", same reason we are not hiring the guy from work. He doesn't want to work for us, he wants to gossip about us.
I got a lot of that after Ron's accident, a lot of so-called friends calling for the juicy details. It got so bad I stopped taking calls and recorded a new message every day with updates, they could call, listen to the message, and hang up, without bothering me. They called all hours of the day and night, got their juicy gossip without bothering me.
But I detest being gossip fodder; may be hard to believe with the blog and all but I do. And the last thing I want is someone, Chuck or this guy, soaking up all our troubles so he can go gossip about them.
I am going to go check the mail...maybe I got my flooring samples. Spotty keeps begging so I will check his food bowl.
He needed food, which I gave him. Cleo has been sleeping in my bed most of the day. Ron is OK. I will call my parents in a little bit and let them know Ron liked the card.
I couldn't help but think of some of my favorite winter coats when I went to check the mail. One was a reversible gray/purple feather/down coat with little ties. You tied it shut, about a dozen ties. It was very warm. It had a couple of small rips, and it would tear now and then, I would have to patch it, but overall very warm waiting on the bus. The feather shafts were a little prickly but other than that a great coat, very warm. My coworkers always made envious comments; I got it at a thrift shop.
Then I had the Land's End Stadium squall. It was very warm and light, it was stolen from the hospital waiting room while I was up seeing Ron one day. I was pretty upset about it. It was very cozy.
Last year, well 2 years if you go by the calendar, I bought a regular Squall from Land's end which is good for all but the very worst days. And I have (in storage) long underwear. That will not be getting tossed because I really hate being cold.
That's it for now.
Friday, January 24, 2020
The rest of Friday
I had a nasty headache most of the day, which, after my shower, drove me out of the house to the head shop to see what they could suggest.
I took the bus, I don't have sneakers and I didn't want to walk the entire distance, both ways, in my work boots. That worked well, it is a nice bus stop I have, with a glass shelter, wood bench, and even one of those fancy aggregate concrete trash cans! Ooooh!
I'm deluxe now.
So I took the bus a couple of stops to the location, went in, he had to buzz me in which I found very sad. But I can understand why they do it.
So I went in, basically asked what do you have for headaches? I told him the strain I had been using, he said that was good for it also the Hawaiian Haze - all the Haze varieties, he told me, were good for pain. I got a larger portion of that.
I also discovered hemp cigarettes. I thought that was awesome, something I could take on the go. I got some of them. They were not cheap but did an EXCELLENT job slaying the headache when I got home, and a lot easier to smoke than the pipe.
Then I asked the guy how to smoke it. The pipe, I mean. Do I just break off a bigger piece of bud and put it in, like Ron used to do with pot? Or do I break it into itty bitty pieces like the guy in the video said?
He said, break it up. That was good to know because I was totally uninformed. I am spending some money on it, I might as well get all the value out of it.
Then I got some incense which was super cheap and later proved to be an excellent quality.
And I went back home. I smoked one of the cigs and it did the job on the headache. I put them in my fanny pack (they are smaller than a regular pack) so now I have them when a migraine hits... more effective, cheaper, safer, than prescriptions.
You know how "everyone' with migraines takes triptans like "Imitrex" etc? I cannot, it interacts with lithium. I can take Excedrin, and that's about it. So worst case I can take some Excedrin and this. There is always a place to smoke, somewhere, should the need arise.
I found it interesting the smokes had lung-improving herbs in the mixture as well. They are supposed to be "mint" but still very green tasting and burnt, then a little mint in there as well. I will not be using them unless I need to, it's just not fun or tasty.
I did think about my bio mom rolling over in her grave because one thing she made me swear I would never pick up tobacco. It is very odd puffing on something but I have to say it is pretty unbeatable for helping the headaches.
I never smoke unless I am battling a bad headache. One thing I like, unlike the Excedrin they do not keep me up.
But the headache is gone. So the hemp does the trick. Sometimes I just have to do it again a few hours later.
Which is why I plan to take the smokes with me. They fit.. and I almost forgot again, I need to take the pepper spray out of the pack. That could be a felony if I am caught taking that into work and they won't believe I forgot. Ok, that's put up, put the blanket on Ron again and plugged it in, turned up the heat for him.
I plan to go to bed pretty early as I am tired... but the headache is gone and I was careful what I ate today. I have a bacon cheeseburger with BBQ sauce (probably my favorite food) in the fridge for tomorrow.
As far as I know I've only got the Walmart delivery going tomorrow. I am about out of protein shakes. And, as I said, I'm tired.
Spotty knocked the bowl of food over so I swept all that up, and got the whole floor while I was at it.
I have my favorite sample next to my chair, just getting used to it... and liking it. It looked good in the sun as well as the sun shone through, it seems very tough, Ron could fall on it... pee on it, etc.
I did talk to Ron about the pee and he didn't have an answer.
I took the bus, I don't have sneakers and I didn't want to walk the entire distance, both ways, in my work boots. That worked well, it is a nice bus stop I have, with a glass shelter, wood bench, and even one of those fancy aggregate concrete trash cans! Ooooh!
I'm deluxe now.
So I took the bus a couple of stops to the location, went in, he had to buzz me in which I found very sad. But I can understand why they do it.
So I went in, basically asked what do you have for headaches? I told him the strain I had been using, he said that was good for it also the Hawaiian Haze - all the Haze varieties, he told me, were good for pain. I got a larger portion of that.
I also discovered hemp cigarettes. I thought that was awesome, something I could take on the go. I got some of them. They were not cheap but did an EXCELLENT job slaying the headache when I got home, and a lot easier to smoke than the pipe.
Then I asked the guy how to smoke it. The pipe, I mean. Do I just break off a bigger piece of bud and put it in, like Ron used to do with pot? Or do I break it into itty bitty pieces like the guy in the video said?
He said, break it up. That was good to know because I was totally uninformed. I am spending some money on it, I might as well get all the value out of it.
Then I got some incense which was super cheap and later proved to be an excellent quality.
And I went back home. I smoked one of the cigs and it did the job on the headache. I put them in my fanny pack (they are smaller than a regular pack) so now I have them when a migraine hits... more effective, cheaper, safer, than prescriptions.
You know how "everyone' with migraines takes triptans like "Imitrex" etc? I cannot, it interacts with lithium. I can take Excedrin, and that's about it. So worst case I can take some Excedrin and this. There is always a place to smoke, somewhere, should the need arise.
I found it interesting the smokes had lung-improving herbs in the mixture as well. They are supposed to be "mint" but still very green tasting and burnt, then a little mint in there as well. I will not be using them unless I need to, it's just not fun or tasty.
I did think about my bio mom rolling over in her grave because one thing she made me swear I would never pick up tobacco. It is very odd puffing on something but I have to say it is pretty unbeatable for helping the headaches.
I never smoke unless I am battling a bad headache. One thing I like, unlike the Excedrin they do not keep me up.
But the headache is gone. So the hemp does the trick. Sometimes I just have to do it again a few hours later.
Which is why I plan to take the smokes with me. They fit.. and I almost forgot again, I need to take the pepper spray out of the pack. That could be a felony if I am caught taking that into work and they won't believe I forgot. Ok, that's put up, put the blanket on Ron again and plugged it in, turned up the heat for him.
I plan to go to bed pretty early as I am tired... but the headache is gone and I was careful what I ate today. I have a bacon cheeseburger with BBQ sauce (probably my favorite food) in the fridge for tomorrow.
As far as I know I've only got the Walmart delivery going tomorrow. I am about out of protein shakes. And, as I said, I'm tired.
Spotty knocked the bowl of food over so I swept all that up, and got the whole floor while I was at it.
I have my favorite sample next to my chair, just getting used to it... and liking it. It looked good in the sun as well as the sun shone through, it seems very tough, Ron could fall on it... pee on it, etc.
I did talk to Ron about the pee and he didn't have an answer.
Early Friday
I slept pretty well but for the headache, the cats, and the spill.
Headache is self explanatory. The cats hog the cot and STILL seriously thinking about the larger cot.
I tried to take a drink out of my water bottle in the middle of the night and managed to slosh it all over me, my nightgown, and the bed. It was a rather clammy cold time after that.
But I slept OK considering, got up. Ron told me there was a plant explosion in Houston but happily did not affect us and no one killed. We have manufacturing nearby, a food wholesaler, crane maker (the big ones used on high rises), steel, some oil rig parts manufacture, etc. All basically metal work so OK. A little noise at night, very little, some noise during the day if I am outside I can hear the forklifts, but not bad overall and I sleep fine everynight Not WORRYING about what might happen with the businesses.
I got up, took some Excedrin and Mountain Dew, did some CBD when I finally got up (after I fed the cats). It is helping but the headache keeps wanting to come back. Apparently cashews are out for me. Ron is good he had some juice and is watching TV.
He hadn't been able to use his TV for a while but figured it out and is happily watching the morning news. I hate watching the news, it probably goes back to the time the jerk shot up my Dad's office (Dad was meeting with my doctor but we did not know that), and we were sitting in front of the TV with the news going, watching them bring out body bags and was one of them my Dad?! Yeah, that pretty much ruined news for me.
You couldn't believe the scene when my Dad walked in the front door that night. I "have" to watch news at work because that's all they want, news and morning shows.
I hate morning shows even more than the news.
Anyway, the smoke is helping somewhat so that's good. I have a lot of demands on me so I need to be 100% as much as possible.
I am so happy and relieved insurance is paying for us. I really did not have a high opinion of the company because they kept changing their name, but the rates were decent and the coverage looked good so we kept them. My Dad is a vet and I could have gotten USAA but they were significantly higher. So we stayed with our guys.
And they paid, and were very helpful in the whole process so I feel very vindicated. I also feel vindicated about not stalking them, Jackie (my claims person) did a great job of keeping me posted and explaining. I mentioned her in a review so she will hopefully get a raise, I actually posted on the company's wall asking them to. LOL
So today my only big plans are to go to the head shop and get some more smokable. It is proving helpful with my headaches. I don't have a lot left and I still have some money out of my pay.
I need to do a Go Fund Me update.
So that's all done. I was delighted to discover something new when we turned into the subdivision yesterday, a brand new sheltered bus stop with a bench and glass enclosure, at the subdivision entrance. I had asked for just this several years ago on a survey and they apparently noted it. It is lovely. I will put up a photo. I can see now why they did the wheelchair ramp leading up to it now. Although I have to say a ride on the bus is very rough for Ron. That was very nice and I am delighted.
I have never had a "full" bus stop right next to my residence, it was always the pole in the ground. Everywhere I lived.
One bus stop was right next to a porno "bookstore". I used to get hassled a lot even dressed like an Amish because passersby thought I was a whore. It got very tiresome. I ended up walking further and going to another bus stop.
I was even stalked for a while, I am not as observant as I should be but this was right after I moved out of my Dad's place, and the stalker drove the same car as my stepmother, so I noticed it. And he was around a lot, and would follow me when I took the bus, etc. I got his license plate and told Ron what should I do?
I was pretty green. The next time he came up on me Ron was with me. I told him. Ron went over to the driver's side door and beat on it with his white cane until it opened, then shouted the license plate at the driver and said "We know what you're doing you pervert! Do you want us to call the police?" The man was middle aged and bolted. The next time I saw the car it was at a drugstore and he was loading a feeble-looking older woman into the vehicle, he saw me, paled, shoved her in the car and drove off. And that was the end of it.
There was a time when Ron would do anything to protect me, and in a very sick and twisted way he thinks he still is. That is the saddest I think.
But overall riding the bus has been fine. I found my pepper spray recently and put it in my fanny pack, but I need to take it out before I go to work again or I will be in BIG trouble. They do regular bag searches for stuff just like this.
And Spotty just walked by. He is so cute. I saw Cleo earlier but she is in and out. At least she knows home is warm and always has fresh food and water for her.
I am going to try another smoke, a hot shower, see how that goes for my headache.
Headache is self explanatory. The cats hog the cot and STILL seriously thinking about the larger cot.
I tried to take a drink out of my water bottle in the middle of the night and managed to slosh it all over me, my nightgown, and the bed. It was a rather clammy cold time after that.
But I slept OK considering, got up. Ron told me there was a plant explosion in Houston but happily did not affect us and no one killed. We have manufacturing nearby, a food wholesaler, crane maker (the big ones used on high rises), steel, some oil rig parts manufacture, etc. All basically metal work so OK. A little noise at night, very little, some noise during the day if I am outside I can hear the forklifts, but not bad overall and I sleep fine everynight Not WORRYING about what might happen with the businesses.
I got up, took some Excedrin and Mountain Dew, did some CBD when I finally got up (after I fed the cats). It is helping but the headache keeps wanting to come back. Apparently cashews are out for me. Ron is good he had some juice and is watching TV.
He hadn't been able to use his TV for a while but figured it out and is happily watching the morning news. I hate watching the news, it probably goes back to the time the jerk shot up my Dad's office (Dad was meeting with my doctor but we did not know that), and we were sitting in front of the TV with the news going, watching them bring out body bags and was one of them my Dad?! Yeah, that pretty much ruined news for me.
You couldn't believe the scene when my Dad walked in the front door that night. I "have" to watch news at work because that's all they want, news and morning shows.
I hate morning shows even more than the news.
Anyway, the smoke is helping somewhat so that's good. I have a lot of demands on me so I need to be 100% as much as possible.
I am so happy and relieved insurance is paying for us. I really did not have a high opinion of the company because they kept changing their name, but the rates were decent and the coverage looked good so we kept them. My Dad is a vet and I could have gotten USAA but they were significantly higher. So we stayed with our guys.
And they paid, and were very helpful in the whole process so I feel very vindicated. I also feel vindicated about not stalking them, Jackie (my claims person) did a great job of keeping me posted and explaining. I mentioned her in a review so she will hopefully get a raise, I actually posted on the company's wall asking them to. LOL
So today my only big plans are to go to the head shop and get some more smokable. It is proving helpful with my headaches. I don't have a lot left and I still have some money out of my pay.
I need to do a Go Fund Me update.
So that's all done. I was delighted to discover something new when we turned into the subdivision yesterday, a brand new sheltered bus stop with a bench and glass enclosure, at the subdivision entrance. I had asked for just this several years ago on a survey and they apparently noted it. It is lovely. I will put up a photo. I can see now why they did the wheelchair ramp leading up to it now. Although I have to say a ride on the bus is very rough for Ron. That was very nice and I am delighted.
I have never had a "full" bus stop right next to my residence, it was always the pole in the ground. Everywhere I lived.
One bus stop was right next to a porno "bookstore". I used to get hassled a lot even dressed like an Amish because passersby thought I was a whore. It got very tiresome. I ended up walking further and going to another bus stop.
I was even stalked for a while, I am not as observant as I should be but this was right after I moved out of my Dad's place, and the stalker drove the same car as my stepmother, so I noticed it. And he was around a lot, and would follow me when I took the bus, etc. I got his license plate and told Ron what should I do?
I was pretty green. The next time he came up on me Ron was with me. I told him. Ron went over to the driver's side door and beat on it with his white cane until it opened, then shouted the license plate at the driver and said "We know what you're doing you pervert! Do you want us to call the police?" The man was middle aged and bolted. The next time I saw the car it was at a drugstore and he was loading a feeble-looking older woman into the vehicle, he saw me, paled, shoved her in the car and drove off. And that was the end of it.
There was a time when Ron would do anything to protect me, and in a very sick and twisted way he thinks he still is. That is the saddest I think.
But overall riding the bus has been fine. I found my pepper spray recently and put it in my fanny pack, but I need to take it out before I go to work again or I will be in BIG trouble. They do regular bag searches for stuff just like this.
And Spotty just walked by. He is so cute. I saw Cleo earlier but she is in and out. At least she knows home is warm and always has fresh food and water for her.
I am going to try another smoke, a hot shower, see how that goes for my headache.
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Thursday
I was helping Ron put his socks on when the insurance claims adjuster called. I answered and she went through everything, said they were paying it all.
Excellent.
That was a good way to start the day. We went to work, sales were DEAD. People keep getting up on the scales over by the vending machine, the scales show people as heavier than they are so no one wants to buy food after checking their weight. I also determined we had enough inventory we could skip our supply run this week.
I took a little cash out of the machines. We went to the bank. We came home.
I had battled a vicious headache all day so I smoked some more CBD when we got home, then laid down with Torbie for a couple of hours. I got up and got on the computer for a while.
We don't have to work tomorrow due to inventory level and will take a little time off.
Insurance said I would get the check 7-10 business days so a while yet. I am still unclear on some of it but I got the gist: they are paying the claim.
I was really worried they would do something underhanded but I guess I gave a good statement about what happened. I very clearly did everything I could to minimize the damage. They agreed, and paid up.
So I'm happy.
I am still fighting with the headache but I did get my pills. I am trying to limit caffeine but have gone way over my limit, I hope I don't pay for that later.
But I have tomorrow off so I can sleep in.
I should also be getting some of my flooring samples, tomorrow.
Excellent.
That was a good way to start the day. We went to work, sales were DEAD. People keep getting up on the scales over by the vending machine, the scales show people as heavier than they are so no one wants to buy food after checking their weight. I also determined we had enough inventory we could skip our supply run this week.
I took a little cash out of the machines. We went to the bank. We came home.
I had battled a vicious headache all day so I smoked some more CBD when we got home, then laid down with Torbie for a couple of hours. I got up and got on the computer for a while.
We don't have to work tomorrow due to inventory level and will take a little time off.
Insurance said I would get the check 7-10 business days so a while yet. I am still unclear on some of it but I got the gist: they are paying the claim.
I was really worried they would do something underhanded but I guess I gave a good statement about what happened. I very clearly did everything I could to minimize the damage. They agreed, and paid up.
So I'm happy.
I am still fighting with the headache but I did get my pills. I am trying to limit caffeine but have gone way over my limit, I hope I don't pay for that later.
But I have tomorrow off so I can sleep in.
I should also be getting some of my flooring samples, tomorrow.
INsurance paid everything
I have $11K to make repairs, should be plenty.
See, I told you it would work.
See, I told you it would work.
I was helping him get dressed
He was very rude and mocking. Said I "sounded like a mommy" as he laughed derisively.
I asked if he had any other women willing to help him get dressed, where they were, and would he like me to be a bitch about it. He shut up after that.
And he peed on the carpet again. I need to talk to him about that. I may need to help him use the urinal from now on (not looking forward to that).
Definitely doing vinyl planks in his room.
I asked if he had any other women willing to help him get dressed, where they were, and would he like me to be a bitch about it. He shut up after that.
And he peed on the carpet again. I need to talk to him about that. I may need to help him use the urinal from now on (not looking forward to that).
Definitely doing vinyl planks in his room.
I had to have a little talk with Ron about DT
He drank all his vodka during the birthday blackout. When he sobered up yesterday he asked where it had all gone. I told him.
He was going to wait and order it today, but I remembered all the comments about DT and how BAD it would be for Ron to suddenly stop, so I told him that (he did not ask why so many people were worried about this, for him). At first he thought it was "funny", until I mentioned the seizures and risk of death. He called his #1 vodka guy, and nothing. He waited about an hour.
He remembered someone had given him 2 bottles of wine, but they needed a corkscrew which we did not have. So that wouldn't work. He called Alex who brought him 2 big bottles of his usual vodka.
I will say he behaved himself and I slept pretty well, considering I had a parade of obese house cats in my cot. At one point I had to evict Torbie so I could roll over. I am sure I'll feel terrible about it when she's gone but I couldn't breathe.
I am going to have to buy the bigger cot. Probably after I get paid.
I started my cycle, about on time (movers took my calendar) and have my typical first-day headache. I will not miss any of this when it's done.
I do have a decent amount of female supplies so I am OK in that regard. 3 pair of jeans, about 15 tshirts, socks, and underwear are working for me clothing wise. I have one pair casual pants I will use for very dirty work like painting, etc. because I am not crazy about them.
I plan to turn the former computer room into my retreat, have a nice papasan chair only in there and a bookcase with my Bible stuff on it, then I can sit in the chair and do my Bible study/prayer time and have a nice, clean, designated space.
Ron's room will be done last but at the very least rip out the carpet, new flooring, drywall and paint (not in that order). Ideally get him a new mattress and dresser as well.
Bathroom gets new drywall, paint, cabinet with sink and faucet, paint the medicine cabinet to match the sink cabinet (white). Ideally a couple of grab bars as well for both of us (I could use one where you come out of the shower, even if Ron doesn't). They can be white as well.
Then my room, new drywall, paint, flooring. Ideally put a curtain rod at the front of my closet enclosure so I can hang curtains to block my clothes. Move my stuff back (dresser, bed, clothes), done
Laundry room, repair ceiling, drywall, paint (current contenders are aqua or mauve) get some black or white milk crates to store my laundry potions (current milk crates are hot pink and won't match).
Garage, drywall definitely, paint if I can afford it.
I like the paint sample I put in Ron's room, I didn't at first but it has grown on me, a soft blue with some gray in it.
My room will be a cream color, as will most of the house. Esalerugs.com has a ton of brightly colored rugs if I decide to go that route and are very affordable. Bathroom will be a lavender/mauve and the laundry room as well, possibly. If I don't go mauve in the laundry room it will be aqua.
The cats are good, I saw Cleo and got a pet this morning. She is pretty cute although she did run outside last night in the middle of a thunderstorm. I also saw Spotty, Biscuit, and the older girls.
Ron is having a bad day for his back. He had some pain in his knee but I applied the magnets. That helped. We go to work in a while, stock, take money out of the machines, go to the bank to turn it into $20's, maybe deposit a jar of nickels. Then home and we work tomorrow, as well, supply run and stock.
But we can't do the supply run if we don't go in today and get the money. I don't think we will need a whole lot of stuff.
I think I am going to have to smoke some CBD bud for my headache.
He was going to wait and order it today, but I remembered all the comments about DT and how BAD it would be for Ron to suddenly stop, so I told him that (he did not ask why so many people were worried about this, for him). At first he thought it was "funny", until I mentioned the seizures and risk of death. He called his #1 vodka guy, and nothing. He waited about an hour.
He remembered someone had given him 2 bottles of wine, but they needed a corkscrew which we did not have. So that wouldn't work. He called Alex who brought him 2 big bottles of his usual vodka.
I will say he behaved himself and I slept pretty well, considering I had a parade of obese house cats in my cot. At one point I had to evict Torbie so I could roll over. I am sure I'll feel terrible about it when she's gone but I couldn't breathe.
I am going to have to buy the bigger cot. Probably after I get paid.
I started my cycle, about on time (movers took my calendar) and have my typical first-day headache. I will not miss any of this when it's done.
I do have a decent amount of female supplies so I am OK in that regard. 3 pair of jeans, about 15 tshirts, socks, and underwear are working for me clothing wise. I have one pair casual pants I will use for very dirty work like painting, etc. because I am not crazy about them.
I plan to turn the former computer room into my retreat, have a nice papasan chair only in there and a bookcase with my Bible stuff on it, then I can sit in the chair and do my Bible study/prayer time and have a nice, clean, designated space.
Ron's room will be done last but at the very least rip out the carpet, new flooring, drywall and paint (not in that order). Ideally get him a new mattress and dresser as well.
Bathroom gets new drywall, paint, cabinet with sink and faucet, paint the medicine cabinet to match the sink cabinet (white). Ideally a couple of grab bars as well for both of us (I could use one where you come out of the shower, even if Ron doesn't). They can be white as well.
Then my room, new drywall, paint, flooring. Ideally put a curtain rod at the front of my closet enclosure so I can hang curtains to block my clothes. Move my stuff back (dresser, bed, clothes), done
Laundry room, repair ceiling, drywall, paint (current contenders are aqua or mauve) get some black or white milk crates to store my laundry potions (current milk crates are hot pink and won't match).
Garage, drywall definitely, paint if I can afford it.
I like the paint sample I put in Ron's room, I didn't at first but it has grown on me, a soft blue with some gray in it.
My room will be a cream color, as will most of the house. Esalerugs.com has a ton of brightly colored rugs if I decide to go that route and are very affordable. Bathroom will be a lavender/mauve and the laundry room as well, possibly. If I don't go mauve in the laundry room it will be aqua.
The cats are good, I saw Cleo and got a pet this morning. She is pretty cute although she did run outside last night in the middle of a thunderstorm. I also saw Spotty, Biscuit, and the older girls.
Ron is having a bad day for his back. He had some pain in his knee but I applied the magnets. That helped. We go to work in a while, stock, take money out of the machines, go to the bank to turn it into $20's, maybe deposit a jar of nickels. Then home and we work tomorrow, as well, supply run and stock.
But we can't do the supply run if we don't go in today and get the money. I don't think we will need a whole lot of stuff.
I think I am going to have to smoke some CBD bud for my headache.
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Wednesday afternoon
I did some research on the first phone number... it is for psych emergencies, basically, so not Ron, yet.
I looked up senior services and they have a few things, help with dental, help with caregivers... that may prove useful.
I had two very bad experiences with one agency here. I actually worked there for a few weeks, it was poorly run and managed and the director a tyrant. Years later, I called for a referral to a caregiver group, I mean, Houston is huge and surely they have one, right? I mentioned in passing I was bipolar and she couldn't let that go, kept trying to send me to a bipolar group. I said I do not want that, several times, she still didn't get it. I finally demanded "Do you have a caregiver group or not?!" and she said no, which I know is BS because Houston is a city of millions. So, useless, they gossip as well, information was not kept confidential, etc.
Ron is comfortable in bed with Biscuit. I made our trips for tomorrow with his blessing.
And I just saw Cleo, which is always nice. She's a good little girl.
I looked up senior services and they have a few things, help with dental, help with caregivers... that may prove useful.
I had two very bad experiences with one agency here. I actually worked there for a few weeks, it was poorly run and managed and the director a tyrant. Years later, I called for a referral to a caregiver group, I mean, Houston is huge and surely they have one, right? I mentioned in passing I was bipolar and she couldn't let that go, kept trying to send me to a bipolar group. I said I do not want that, several times, she still didn't get it. I finally demanded "Do you have a caregiver group or not?!" and she said no, which I know is BS because Houston is a city of millions. So, useless, they gossip as well, information was not kept confidential, etc.
Ron is comfortable in bed with Biscuit. I made our trips for tomorrow with his blessing.
And I just saw Cleo, which is always nice. She's a good little girl.
I got a nap
We both did, actually... it was a little crowded with Torbie but I made it work.
I do, often, think about the larger cot.
I feel better and clearer. I am going to think on things for a couple of days and then make a decision.
I am going to ask Ron to give it a month with the business before he makes a final decision. If that decision is resigning I will accept it without conflict.
I will also consult with some people I respect about reaching out for help. My aunt just had surgery today, so I will have to give it a few days. If everyone agrees I will call the crisis line and reach out, see what can be done. I also need to talk to Ron about this as it will directly affect him.
The good news all my stuff is in storage so no clutter worries.
I hope whoever comes out likes cats.
I do, often, think about the larger cot.
I feel better and clearer. I am going to think on things for a couple of days and then make a decision.
I am going to ask Ron to give it a month with the business before he makes a final decision. If that decision is resigning I will accept it without conflict.
I will also consult with some people I respect about reaching out for help. My aunt just had surgery today, so I will have to give it a few days. If everyone agrees I will call the crisis line and reach out, see what can be done. I also need to talk to Ron about this as it will directly affect him.
The good news all my stuff is in storage so no clutter worries.
I hope whoever comes out likes cats.
I can't make this stuff up
Ron is ranting and raving about his ass crack.
I wish I were kidding. I would make a video but he is naked, using a lot of very bad language mixed with 70's psychology and a few Bible verses.
He apparently took it to heart when I made, at various points helping him into bed, comments about the stench. He told me he wanted me to come clean it, with a wipe.
I got the rubber gloves and did it... a couple of times. He kept demanding I do it again and I said no, I have done everything short of give you a bath which is what you really need. Then he started on about how everyone has an asshole and his is no worse than anyone else's, even though he doesn't bathe....
Remind me I do not want a caregiving job after this.
I wish I were kidding. I would make a video but he is naked, using a lot of very bad language mixed with 70's psychology and a few Bible verses.
He apparently took it to heart when I made, at various points helping him into bed, comments about the stench. He told me he wanted me to come clean it, with a wipe.
I got the rubber gloves and did it... a couple of times. He kept demanding I do it again and I said no, I have done everything short of give you a bath which is what you really need. Then he started on about how everyone has an asshole and his is no worse than anyone else's, even though he doesn't bathe....
Remind me I do not want a caregiving job after this.
So I made the video
I talked to him, made a video. It is uploading now.
We did not cover the bathing issue, just work and the drinking. It gets a little ugly at the end but not bad for him.
Note: high levels of denial, including the amount he drinks every day. The impact this is having on me, etc.
Now he is baby talking Torbie and petting her.
He did say he wants to leave the program, I will confirm that a few more times with him and then talk to the other vendor about a reference because I don't trust Ron.
Once I get the other job he can resign and we can take it from there... I am OK with that as the job has caused him high levels of stress. BUT he admits in the video he is extremely depressed and I think it could hurt him in that regard.
As one poster said, it is a cluster.
We did not cover the bathing issue, just work and the drinking. It gets a little ugly at the end but not bad for him.
Note: high levels of denial, including the amount he drinks every day. The impact this is having on me, etc.
Now he is baby talking Torbie and petting her.
He did say he wants to leave the program, I will confirm that a few more times with him and then talk to the other vendor about a reference because I don't trust Ron.
Once I get the other job he can resign and we can take it from there... I am OK with that as the job has caused him high levels of stress. BUT he admits in the video he is extremely depressed and I think it could hurt him in that regard.
As one poster said, it is a cluster.
Wednesday morning
He woke me up 4 times last night, once spilling a bottle of vodka all over the floor. I put the seatbelt on him and took him back to his room.
I did yell at him each time he woke me up, the third time he came in my room, grunting, which is a really creepy way to wake up. I figured out it was him and yelled at him for waking me up, told him I would be waking him up when he went to sleep to see how it felt. I will not but TEMPTED.
However, somewhere in there it dawned on me that we need a talk and we need a video. We need a video of the talk for the record because otherwise some zealous law enforcement officer is going to come after me when Ron kills himself.
I will also talk to him about leaving the program. Maybe he really can't do it, even if I'm doing all the accounting. That will also go into the video. He is, as far as I know, out of vodka now so he will be as sober as he gets and better able to talk.
Today is not going to be a fun day.
I pulled a muscle in my arm because I had to put him in bed 2x.
Here's my issue: if he is not drinking he can care of himself and I do very little assistance. When he is drinking he falls, a lot. He gets lost in the house. He urinates everywhere. When I replace his mattress (he doesn't want me to, yet) I will have to get something waterproof. He can't work. He is abusive.
I am just exhausted. But I will make a video to CYA because I'm not going to prison for his bad choices. I want him on the record, and public, saying he won't bathe, etc. That may be very important one day.
I will say he is over 65 so his bones can't be good - where is the calcium in his diet? And alcohol leaches calcium out of the bones as well. He is going to seriously hurt or kill himself if he goes like this.
I did yell at him each time he woke me up, the third time he came in my room, grunting, which is a really creepy way to wake up. I figured out it was him and yelled at him for waking me up, told him I would be waking him up when he went to sleep to see how it felt. I will not but TEMPTED.
However, somewhere in there it dawned on me that we need a talk and we need a video. We need a video of the talk for the record because otherwise some zealous law enforcement officer is going to come after me when Ron kills himself.
I will also talk to him about leaving the program. Maybe he really can't do it, even if I'm doing all the accounting. That will also go into the video. He is, as far as I know, out of vodka now so he will be as sober as he gets and better able to talk.
Today is not going to be a fun day.
I pulled a muscle in my arm because I had to put him in bed 2x.
Here's my issue: if he is not drinking he can care of himself and I do very little assistance. When he is drinking he falls, a lot. He gets lost in the house. He urinates everywhere. When I replace his mattress (he doesn't want me to, yet) I will have to get something waterproof. He can't work. He is abusive.
I am just exhausted. But I will make a video to CYA because I'm not going to prison for his bad choices. I want him on the record, and public, saying he won't bathe, etc. That may be very important one day.
I will say he is over 65 so his bones can't be good - where is the calcium in his diet? And alcohol leaches calcium out of the bones as well. He is going to seriously hurt or kill himself if he goes like this.
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
I think this is the saddest thing I have ever seen
Ron is calling everyone in his phone book telling them it is his birthday, because no one except my family called him. This year seems to be a big one for him.
The problem for Ron is that he alienated so many people with his drinking over the years only one person took his call. The rest sent him to voicemail.
The problem for Ron is that he alienated so many people with his drinking over the years only one person took his call. The rest sent him to voicemail.
Paint chips
Blue is Ron's room
bonus cats
White covered the paint I didn't like but I want a cream
Another bonus cat
Purple is bathroom and likely laundry
What is it with Tuesdays really sucking?
I took a shower, at some point he threw the credit card at me and told me to take a Uber, took his vodka bottle, and went back to bed.
Well, then. I decided I could take a hint and did just that. I had a little trouble figuring out how to add the credit card as a payment option, I could add it but I couldn't make it be the payment, easily, at first. I did get it eventually.
I got to work and took the money out, did the sales tax form, mailed it, stocked what I could, and left. for the bank. I got to the bank, made the deposit, and called my aunt. It is a very sad fact I did not want to go back to my residence, which absolutely did not feel Homelike. It was pretty much the last thing I wanted to do.
So I called my aunt and bitched. She felt a little bad for Ron alone on his birthday but I told her any empathy I had was driven off after an hour of solid verbal abuse. I decided to go to the Home Depot and get some paint samples.
Dad loves research projects and he said the Behr Marquee was the best, I can get that at HD. So I took a Uber there, got a cart, and headed over to the department. I couldn't find a good cream paint chip, I got one that was OK but not "Oh wow I have got to get this it is perfect" like the other chip I have at home. I need to find if they do matching.
I got a nice medium purple, a blue with a little gray in it, a plain white, and their version of cream. I wanted to test the white on the paint samples I had painted on my walls, some time ago. They are a dark purple and need to be covered before the wall can be painted.
And...the white did the job, very nicely. I am happy with the brand, not happy with the cream, which seems like a plain white to me and NOT what I wanted, but this is why I bought the 8 ounce and not a gallon. The purple is VERY nice, a winner, and very pretty. I will make a little video later.
The blue is good in Ron's room, I feel so picky saying I would have liked it a little grayer, but I will live with it for a few days first. I am keeping my little jars of paint, and the sample cards, for reference.
I also signed up for the "pro" loyalty program, I will apparently get discounts. I will be spending some money there so it seems reasonable to get a discount if possible.
I will need at least 5 gallons for my bedroom, hall, and front room. One-two gallons for Ron's room, one gallon for the bathroom, 5 gallons of ceiling paint... The guys will bring their own tools but it will be a lot cheaper if I provide the paint, that way I know I like it and it is high quality. That is a good sum so if I can get a percentage off I'll do it. I will also need to buy the cabinet for the bathroom and the sink faucet for in there, ideally a cabinet for above the toilet as well...
Cha-ching. So many people are getting rich off me.
I came in and Ron was naked in his wheelchair, lost. I found a huge puddle of urine in the hall. I know, let's install hardwoods. I cleaned that up. Ron got another vodka bottle and went back to bed eventually.
He kept screaming "Play the stupid game" which is something he says a lot, it basically means "Live your life, even though you detest it". Eventually he managed to relate he wanted to go back to bed. He had peed in the bed as well, I had to change it. I took him, he almost fell out of bed and was mumbling about walking.
I asked if he wanted me to pull him up in bed, he said yes. I told him, 'You have to speak English to me". He has this REALLY horrible habit of taking a mouthful of vodka and grunting at me for a couple of minutes. He had me read to him, about alcohol, before his heavy drinking days, many years ago, and I read most alcohol is absorbed through the lining of your mouth. So he has this thing where he will take a swallow and hold it in his mouth as long as possible because he feels that gets him drunker than just swallowing like a normal person. And he grunts at me until I figure out what he wants... well, he wants me to - it is very rude, very, very, rude. I have walked away from him when he does that and he gets angry because he "has" to swallow the vodka and talk to me like a human being. He did that with a cab driver one day, kept grunting at her and she finally asked, in real concern, if he was OK. He swallowed the vodka, laughing, and "explained". She was pretty pissed.
Then he starts up with his whole "What will I have to do before you put me in a nursing home?" Not much, these days. The irony, I told him, the nursing home will not let him drink and he won't need it anymore. But he will be stuck because everyone would know he would go right back to the bottle on release.
He never once said thank you for anything I do... just kept going on about "I see how it will be now" and the nursing home. This is all me.
The only thing I said was this: he asked me where I would put him. I said I knew of one along a bus line and I would probably do that. That is all.
I did not make threats, this was all in his head that he is going into a nursing home.
Ron was a psychology major for about a year, in college. One thing they did was have him read a lot of pop psychology books, the intimate enemy, pairing, I'm OK, you're OK, etc. And he demanded I read them, too, so I could come up to his exalted level of understanding.
This from a man who peed in the hall, today.
So anyway one book talked a lot about "scripts", how someone will write a script for their life and make it happen, hell or high water. An example is "I'm no good with money" and Ron failing to save for sales tax, and on one occasion loaning the money out to a disreputable person when he did save it, then going "Oh no! I'm just no good with money!"
Now he has the "I'm going to end up in a nursing home" script, doing whatever he can to drive me away, verbal abuse, bad behavior, blackouts every night, spending money on vodka above all else, etc. Doing whatever he can to drive me away so I won't fight it when he does need a nursing home.
Then, the "payoff" "And I can lie in my bed all day and be safe with no worries". He really thinks it will work that way. He is trying to make this happen, at my expense I might add.
It makes me profoundly angry. If he really wants to "check out" go ahead and do it but don't waste all our savings, run the business into the ground, etc. before you do it. Don't destroy my health.
Today I stood by the bed and I told him "If you fall I am going to let you, because I'm not wrecking my back for you". That took him aback and he was much more careful moving after that. But I'm not going to wreck my back, he's already literally pissed away our savings, which we could really use right about now... dragging me down with him because "I want to be safe in my bed at the nursing home".
He has been in long term facilities twice before. And both times they had other patients who were very loud screaming all night keeping him up. If he thinks he will get a peaceful 12 hours he is kidding himself. And the food! Horrible. No alcohol allowed... he is not thinking about that. Not to mention he will have no SS check, just, what is it? $80 a month and that is it. He is NOT thinking it through.
I will have a talk with him on this when he is sober, whenever that is. He really has it in his head he can "quit" life and get everything he wants, waited on hand and foot, and it doesn't work that way. God wants us striving every day, not "quitting" life sitting around draining vodka bottles having pity parties all day long. I am CERTAIN God does not want that.
And that's what frustrates me the most. He wants to "quit" life and drag me down with him. Then, today, almost in tears as he told me "I can't take care of you anymore". He hasn't taken care of me in a real way in a very long time, he has just torn me down, pretty much ever since my diagnosis in 2006. The verbal abuse only got really bad as I got "better". I was better, he wasn't, huge imbalance - could have used some counseling at that point, looking back - so he became a drunk and a verbal abuser to "teach me my place". He feels very threatened by my recovery.
But then again I remember one night I was suicidal, before my diagnosis. I put all the knives in a toolbox and gave them to Ron, asked him to put a lock and keep it out of sight please. He threw a knife at me about an hour later saying "Why don't you do it?" in the most bitter and hate filled voice.
He hasn't taken care of my needs in a very long time.
Well, then. I decided I could take a hint and did just that. I had a little trouble figuring out how to add the credit card as a payment option, I could add it but I couldn't make it be the payment, easily, at first. I did get it eventually.
I got to work and took the money out, did the sales tax form, mailed it, stocked what I could, and left. for the bank. I got to the bank, made the deposit, and called my aunt. It is a very sad fact I did not want to go back to my residence, which absolutely did not feel Homelike. It was pretty much the last thing I wanted to do.
So I called my aunt and bitched. She felt a little bad for Ron alone on his birthday but I told her any empathy I had was driven off after an hour of solid verbal abuse. I decided to go to the Home Depot and get some paint samples.
Dad loves research projects and he said the Behr Marquee was the best, I can get that at HD. So I took a Uber there, got a cart, and headed over to the department. I couldn't find a good cream paint chip, I got one that was OK but not "Oh wow I have got to get this it is perfect" like the other chip I have at home. I need to find if they do matching.
I got a nice medium purple, a blue with a little gray in it, a plain white, and their version of cream. I wanted to test the white on the paint samples I had painted on my walls, some time ago. They are a dark purple and need to be covered before the wall can be painted.
And...the white did the job, very nicely. I am happy with the brand, not happy with the cream, which seems like a plain white to me and NOT what I wanted, but this is why I bought the 8 ounce and not a gallon. The purple is VERY nice, a winner, and very pretty. I will make a little video later.
The blue is good in Ron's room, I feel so picky saying I would have liked it a little grayer, but I will live with it for a few days first. I am keeping my little jars of paint, and the sample cards, for reference.
I also signed up for the "pro" loyalty program, I will apparently get discounts. I will be spending some money there so it seems reasonable to get a discount if possible.
I will need at least 5 gallons for my bedroom, hall, and front room. One-two gallons for Ron's room, one gallon for the bathroom, 5 gallons of ceiling paint... The guys will bring their own tools but it will be a lot cheaper if I provide the paint, that way I know I like it and it is high quality. That is a good sum so if I can get a percentage off I'll do it. I will also need to buy the cabinet for the bathroom and the sink faucet for in there, ideally a cabinet for above the toilet as well...
Cha-ching. So many people are getting rich off me.
I came in and Ron was naked in his wheelchair, lost. I found a huge puddle of urine in the hall. I know, let's install hardwoods. I cleaned that up. Ron got another vodka bottle and went back to bed eventually.
He kept screaming "Play the stupid game" which is something he says a lot, it basically means "Live your life, even though you detest it". Eventually he managed to relate he wanted to go back to bed. He had peed in the bed as well, I had to change it. I took him, he almost fell out of bed and was mumbling about walking.
I asked if he wanted me to pull him up in bed, he said yes. I told him, 'You have to speak English to me". He has this REALLY horrible habit of taking a mouthful of vodka and grunting at me for a couple of minutes. He had me read to him, about alcohol, before his heavy drinking days, many years ago, and I read most alcohol is absorbed through the lining of your mouth. So he has this thing where he will take a swallow and hold it in his mouth as long as possible because he feels that gets him drunker than just swallowing like a normal person. And he grunts at me until I figure out what he wants... well, he wants me to - it is very rude, very, very, rude. I have walked away from him when he does that and he gets angry because he "has" to swallow the vodka and talk to me like a human being. He did that with a cab driver one day, kept grunting at her and she finally asked, in real concern, if he was OK. He swallowed the vodka, laughing, and "explained". She was pretty pissed.
Then he starts up with his whole "What will I have to do before you put me in a nursing home?" Not much, these days. The irony, I told him, the nursing home will not let him drink and he won't need it anymore. But he will be stuck because everyone would know he would go right back to the bottle on release.
He never once said thank you for anything I do... just kept going on about "I see how it will be now" and the nursing home. This is all me.
The only thing I said was this: he asked me where I would put him. I said I knew of one along a bus line and I would probably do that. That is all.
I did not make threats, this was all in his head that he is going into a nursing home.
Ron was a psychology major for about a year, in college. One thing they did was have him read a lot of pop psychology books, the intimate enemy, pairing, I'm OK, you're OK, etc. And he demanded I read them, too, so I could come up to his exalted level of understanding.
This from a man who peed in the hall, today.
So anyway one book talked a lot about "scripts", how someone will write a script for their life and make it happen, hell or high water. An example is "I'm no good with money" and Ron failing to save for sales tax, and on one occasion loaning the money out to a disreputable person when he did save it, then going "Oh no! I'm just no good with money!"
Now he has the "I'm going to end up in a nursing home" script, doing whatever he can to drive me away, verbal abuse, bad behavior, blackouts every night, spending money on vodka above all else, etc. Doing whatever he can to drive me away so I won't fight it when he does need a nursing home.
Then, the "payoff" "And I can lie in my bed all day and be safe with no worries". He really thinks it will work that way. He is trying to make this happen, at my expense I might add.
It makes me profoundly angry. If he really wants to "check out" go ahead and do it but don't waste all our savings, run the business into the ground, etc. before you do it. Don't destroy my health.
Today I stood by the bed and I told him "If you fall I am going to let you, because I'm not wrecking my back for you". That took him aback and he was much more careful moving after that. But I'm not going to wreck my back, he's already literally pissed away our savings, which we could really use right about now... dragging me down with him because "I want to be safe in my bed at the nursing home".
He has been in long term facilities twice before. And both times they had other patients who were very loud screaming all night keeping him up. If he thinks he will get a peaceful 12 hours he is kidding himself. And the food! Horrible. No alcohol allowed... he is not thinking about that. Not to mention he will have no SS check, just, what is it? $80 a month and that is it. He is NOT thinking it through.
I will have a talk with him on this when he is sober, whenever that is. He really has it in his head he can "quit" life and get everything he wants, waited on hand and foot, and it doesn't work that way. God wants us striving every day, not "quitting" life sitting around draining vodka bottles having pity parties all day long. I am CERTAIN God does not want that.
And that's what frustrates me the most. He wants to "quit" life and drag me down with him. Then, today, almost in tears as he told me "I can't take care of you anymore". He hasn't taken care of me in a real way in a very long time, he has just torn me down, pretty much ever since my diagnosis in 2006. The verbal abuse only got really bad as I got "better". I was better, he wasn't, huge imbalance - could have used some counseling at that point, looking back - so he became a drunk and a verbal abuser to "teach me my place". He feels very threatened by my recovery.
But then again I remember one night I was suicidal, before my diagnosis. I put all the knives in a toolbox and gave them to Ron, asked him to put a lock and keep it out of sight please. He threw a knife at me about an hour later saying "Why don't you do it?" in the most bitter and hate filled voice.
He hasn't taken care of my needs in a very long time.
It is hard to have respect some days
Ron kept me up last night babbling drunken nonsense. It has been my experience if I ask him to stop he gets worse, and ugly as well.
He woke me up early today bitching and moaning because it is his birthday and we have to go in to work, for 2 hours. 2 hours, and not even early ones.
He was the one who chose not to save for sales tax. He is the one who wants to play the "Oh no!" last minute "Can I raise the sales tax?!" money drama, been doing it for 20 years. He did not think last week.
No, he didn't want to even DO the sales tax, I had to do it. Then I told him we have Monday as a bank holiday so we will have to go in Tuesday, get some money out of the machines, write and mail the check, go to the bank and deposit the money to cover the check as they will get it quickly.
He was FINE with it for days even though today is his birthday.
This morning it was bitch, whine, and scream about it. "Let the check bounce". I keep telling him the check is not even in play, yet. "We don't have the money" even though he just told me he has $400 in his checking account.
Whining "But it's my birthday" even though he had NO problem forcing me to get up at 2 AM on MY birthday, years ago, and forcing me to go into work and work several hours without even saying anything nice... but I did it because that is what the business needed.
He keeps accusing me of "playing the game" (basically, being responsible) because I see a need to pay our bills and be responsible.
I finally told him this was HIS fault, he is the one who never wants to save up sales tax money, while at the same time spending $500 a month on vodka. He didn't argue with me on the amount, either. I also told him "You had weeks to pay this, and you chose to wait until the last minute".
Now he is telling me I am a defective and he pays all the bills so he is the "real" voice in this house, so to speak. He doesn't PAY me anything, how can I pay the bills if I don't make enough? If he paid me a fair wage I would make a lot more.
Now he's babbling how he's going to have to ride 2 hours, each time, three times. That is incorrect. Half an hour to work, 20 minutes to the bank, 15 minutes home.
"Oh, use a Uber, you go do it all".
"I don't have any money for that".
So he is lying in bed feeding me a steady diet of verbal abuse thinking he can wear me into "agreeing" to cancel the trips (how I'm supposed to get to work and the bank?). What I find most upsetting is the fact he thinks this will work; trying to bludgeon me into going along with him. Have I, in the past? I don't think so.
But the fact that he thought it would work is upsetting.
He kept going on "I was going to pay" so I told him he had better be careful with his threats to make MY life miserable, I knew where he kept the vodka, I knew where he kept his cell phone. If I took both he would be in BIG trouble. I also told him he needed to clean his @ss crack because it stank and he would make the drivers ill.
Now he is going on about how he won't have sex with me because I am "fat" and revolting. I told him some time ago, we were talking about a fetish of his and I said that was very unsanitary. He was shocked to hear that and some basic information about female anatomy. How bacteria is transferred from one area to another and it is a REALLY bad idea to use some positions as a result...and I would not, again. He was all bent about that but no sex is worth a bladder infection.
Now I am a "freeloading bitch". I told him I at least paid my debts unlike him who spent the exact amount if the loan, due, on vodka. If I were the alcoholic I would scale back to drinking something cheaper and save the difference.
He kept going on how Dad loaned "Him" money. I said he did not - did not mention Ron has, to my knowledge, NEVER paid back a loan, one woman had to take him to court - Dad had loaned the money to me so I would have plumbing and Ron was incidental. I said, further more, even though I made a lot less I had been the one to pay Dad back.
I didn't ask Ron about the money, I just waited to see what he would do - and he didn't. So that said to me Ron is still the irresponsible guy who thinks he doesn't have to pay people back. It is a good thing I am mature.
I will convey to Dad not to ever loan Ron, on his own, money.
In the meantime Ron is being the prototypical verbal abuser trying to sling hate at me. Ron is now saying Dad loaned "him" the money so Ron would "keep me away from them". I wish I had my personal checks at the house when Dad offered to pay me, because we had to make the check out to Ron, so Ron thinks it was "his" money now and "his" loan even thought he hasn't paid a nickel on it.
But I ask myself, does it matter if Ron thinks Dad loaned "him" the money and I am the one paying him back? Does it feed the whole "other people will bail me out because I am a poor pitiful blind man in a wheelchair"? Does it matter?
Ron is just being hateful today... he really wants the world to revolve around him and thinks everyone wants to celebrate his birthday, even though he brings no joy and smells bad.
And I will say it again, more than one occasion I had to get up VERY early on my birthday to go to work and get it done, and I did it. I wasn't happy about it. Ron has an 8:30 pickup so it's not even early... but I didn't turn it into a personal attack on Ron.
And he doesn't realize, I might actually be willing to take a Uber if he paid for it, but he is being so ugly I am not going to "help" him in any way.
He basically threw the credit card at me and said he canceled the trips, so I am on my own. On the plus side plenty of time to do a good stock, now.
I'm going to go take a shower.
I'm not sorry I made the crack comment.
He woke me up early today bitching and moaning because it is his birthday and we have to go in to work, for 2 hours. 2 hours, and not even early ones.
He was the one who chose not to save for sales tax. He is the one who wants to play the "Oh no!" last minute "Can I raise the sales tax?!" money drama, been doing it for 20 years. He did not think last week.
No, he didn't want to even DO the sales tax, I had to do it. Then I told him we have Monday as a bank holiday so we will have to go in Tuesday, get some money out of the machines, write and mail the check, go to the bank and deposit the money to cover the check as they will get it quickly.
He was FINE with it for days even though today is his birthday.
This morning it was bitch, whine, and scream about it. "Let the check bounce". I keep telling him the check is not even in play, yet. "We don't have the money" even though he just told me he has $400 in his checking account.
Whining "But it's my birthday" even though he had NO problem forcing me to get up at 2 AM on MY birthday, years ago, and forcing me to go into work and work several hours without even saying anything nice... but I did it because that is what the business needed.
He keeps accusing me of "playing the game" (basically, being responsible) because I see a need to pay our bills and be responsible.
I finally told him this was HIS fault, he is the one who never wants to save up sales tax money, while at the same time spending $500 a month on vodka. He didn't argue with me on the amount, either. I also told him "You had weeks to pay this, and you chose to wait until the last minute".
Now he is telling me I am a defective and he pays all the bills so he is the "real" voice in this house, so to speak. He doesn't PAY me anything, how can I pay the bills if I don't make enough? If he paid me a fair wage I would make a lot more.
Now he's babbling how he's going to have to ride 2 hours, each time, three times. That is incorrect. Half an hour to work, 20 minutes to the bank, 15 minutes home.
"Oh, use a Uber, you go do it all".
"I don't have any money for that".
So he is lying in bed feeding me a steady diet of verbal abuse thinking he can wear me into "agreeing" to cancel the trips (how I'm supposed to get to work and the bank?). What I find most upsetting is the fact he thinks this will work; trying to bludgeon me into going along with him. Have I, in the past? I don't think so.
But the fact that he thought it would work is upsetting.
He kept going on "I was going to pay" so I told him he had better be careful with his threats to make MY life miserable, I knew where he kept the vodka, I knew where he kept his cell phone. If I took both he would be in BIG trouble. I also told him he needed to clean his @ss crack because it stank and he would make the drivers ill.
Now he is going on about how he won't have sex with me because I am "fat" and revolting. I told him some time ago, we were talking about a fetish of his and I said that was very unsanitary. He was shocked to hear that and some basic information about female anatomy. How bacteria is transferred from one area to another and it is a REALLY bad idea to use some positions as a result...and I would not, again. He was all bent about that but no sex is worth a bladder infection.
Now I am a "freeloading bitch". I told him I at least paid my debts unlike him who spent the exact amount if the loan, due, on vodka. If I were the alcoholic I would scale back to drinking something cheaper and save the difference.
He kept going on how Dad loaned "Him" money. I said he did not - did not mention Ron has, to my knowledge, NEVER paid back a loan, one woman had to take him to court - Dad had loaned the money to me so I would have plumbing and Ron was incidental. I said, further more, even though I made a lot less I had been the one to pay Dad back.
I didn't ask Ron about the money, I just waited to see what he would do - and he didn't. So that said to me Ron is still the irresponsible guy who thinks he doesn't have to pay people back. It is a good thing I am mature.
I will convey to Dad not to ever loan Ron, on his own, money.
In the meantime Ron is being the prototypical verbal abuser trying to sling hate at me. Ron is now saying Dad loaned "him" the money so Ron would "keep me away from them". I wish I had my personal checks at the house when Dad offered to pay me, because we had to make the check out to Ron, so Ron thinks it was "his" money now and "his" loan even thought he hasn't paid a nickel on it.
But I ask myself, does it matter if Ron thinks Dad loaned "him" the money and I am the one paying him back? Does it feed the whole "other people will bail me out because I am a poor pitiful blind man in a wheelchair"? Does it matter?
Ron is just being hateful today... he really wants the world to revolve around him and thinks everyone wants to celebrate his birthday, even though he brings no joy and smells bad.
And I will say it again, more than one occasion I had to get up VERY early on my birthday to go to work and get it done, and I did it. I wasn't happy about it. Ron has an 8:30 pickup so it's not even early... but I didn't turn it into a personal attack on Ron.
And he doesn't realize, I might actually be willing to take a Uber if he paid for it, but he is being so ugly I am not going to "help" him in any way.
He basically threw the credit card at me and said he canceled the trips, so I am on my own. On the plus side plenty of time to do a good stock, now.
I'm going to go take a shower.
I'm not sorry I made the crack comment.
Monday, January 20, 2020
Monday morning and some of the afternoon
So we went to work, stocked, came home. I was pretty beat by this time so I fed Ron and then laid down for a nap.
Ron gave me this whole speech: he was really tired, and would 'take a few sips" of vodka to sleep, OK? I told him I wasn't going to give him permission to drink, and if he did he had better be quiet. He was, reasonably so, but I found his pants in the sink when I got up. I got him to bed, minus the pants.
Chris from the "Disciple House" called me about the equipment, he is on his way over in about an hour. It will be good to have that done with.
It is ironic I am donating to a rehab facility and my husband is an addict, but no one knows more than I what they go through. And they will use it which is really what I want, it's all in good shape.
I put Ron's pants in the wash along with some other things and they are running right now. After the guys leave I need to... I will go ahead and do it now, put the backpack on the wheelchair.
Tomorrow we round up the money for the sales tax, send the check, and make the deposit. The nice thing about depositing cash it goes in the account the same day. We did the stocking today (not much). They had another folding table near our vending machines so were giving out "free" food again.
I had a good nap with Torbie and hoping they bring my sleeping bag today. I am warm enough but it is a near thing. I also prefer to have a lot of covers and I only mad
+e a 5 foot square afghan... next one I make is going to be a lot bigger. I worked that one in strips and it worked very well for me, then single crocheted together, and all around the edge. Very cozy and has held up well, just not quite big enough.
BUT the last thing I want to do right now is go out and buy a bunch of yarn. I tend to do that when manic, get tons of the stuff and never make anything, then get rid of it later when I am manic again. So not going down that rabbit hole unless I find something REALLY nice.
And I forgot to put my nightgown in the wash..it is not "dirty" though.
I don't feel bad about donating most of my exercise stuff, it will go to a good home, be valued and used. That is what I really want at the end of it. I didn't want to break it up and I don't have to, now. And I will have a ton of room now.
When the guys are gone I am going to go work on the computer room for a while. I have some junk in there that can "go". I also have some stuff I want to keep and I need to figure out how I am going to do that. I have a decent amount of energy.
Walmart is coming between 4-5, I really had the pick of the litter on same-day delivery times, at 2 AM. That is handy to know. I just need to get out a little cash so I can tip the driver. I have leftover Chinese food to eat for dinner, and of course protein shakes if I don't want Chinese, but it sounds good for now.
My mood is better, not as manic. Some days I really wonder about taking that antidepressant in the morning when I am manic, is it going to be too much? Today, I think, it was, but I take it as directed. I also had a lot of caffeine and that didn't help either.
I did some research on paints and found a good one I can use for the main area of the house + my bedroom. Oddly enough I am drawn to it for both. And then I can always put a throw rug or a bedspread if I want a splash of color, or change the curtains on my closet "door" (planned). I am excited to get my vinyl plank samples and pretty sure I am going to go with this one:
Core Luxe Bourbon Barrel Oak
I like it and it would work in all 3 rooms. I keep coming back to: waterproof. I was telling Ron about it (he has been good about listening, even though it is all pointless to him) and said it can handle cat puke, urinal spills, etc. That is huge for me, and, if we get flooded again, I won't lose my flooring. Laminate and hardwood would be destroyed. I am 9 inches in the flood plain.
I don't think tile is in the budget at this point. Which is fine as tile can break and Ron does fall... got to think of that.
So just sitting waiting on the guys. My usual TV channel is doing SVU which I don't like as it's too depressing. I will have to find something else to watch.
And of course I need to figure out how I am going to organize the stuff I do have in the house right now.
Ron gave me this whole speech: he was really tired, and would 'take a few sips" of vodka to sleep, OK? I told him I wasn't going to give him permission to drink, and if he did he had better be quiet. He was, reasonably so, but I found his pants in the sink when I got up. I got him to bed, minus the pants.
Chris from the "Disciple House" called me about the equipment, he is on his way over in about an hour. It will be good to have that done with.
It is ironic I am donating to a rehab facility and my husband is an addict, but no one knows more than I what they go through. And they will use it which is really what I want, it's all in good shape.
I put Ron's pants in the wash along with some other things and they are running right now. After the guys leave I need to... I will go ahead and do it now, put the backpack on the wheelchair.
Tomorrow we round up the money for the sales tax, send the check, and make the deposit. The nice thing about depositing cash it goes in the account the same day. We did the stocking today (not much). They had another folding table near our vending machines so were giving out "free" food again.
I had a good nap with Torbie and hoping they bring my sleeping bag today. I am warm enough but it is a near thing. I also prefer to have a lot of covers and I only mad
+e a 5 foot square afghan... next one I make is going to be a lot bigger. I worked that one in strips and it worked very well for me, then single crocheted together, and all around the edge. Very cozy and has held up well, just not quite big enough.
BUT the last thing I want to do right now is go out and buy a bunch of yarn. I tend to do that when manic, get tons of the stuff and never make anything, then get rid of it later when I am manic again. So not going down that rabbit hole unless I find something REALLY nice.
And I forgot to put my nightgown in the wash..it is not "dirty" though.
I don't feel bad about donating most of my exercise stuff, it will go to a good home, be valued and used. That is what I really want at the end of it. I didn't want to break it up and I don't have to, now. And I will have a ton of room now.
When the guys are gone I am going to go work on the computer room for a while. I have some junk in there that can "go". I also have some stuff I want to keep and I need to figure out how I am going to do that. I have a decent amount of energy.
Walmart is coming between 4-5, I really had the pick of the litter on same-day delivery times, at 2 AM. That is handy to know. I just need to get out a little cash so I can tip the driver. I have leftover Chinese food to eat for dinner, and of course protein shakes if I don't want Chinese, but it sounds good for now.
My mood is better, not as manic. Some days I really wonder about taking that antidepressant in the morning when I am manic, is it going to be too much? Today, I think, it was, but I take it as directed. I also had a lot of caffeine and that didn't help either.
I did some research on paints and found a good one I can use for the main area of the house + my bedroom. Oddly enough I am drawn to it for both. And then I can always put a throw rug or a bedspread if I want a splash of color, or change the curtains on my closet "door" (planned). I am excited to get my vinyl plank samples and pretty sure I am going to go with this one:
Core Luxe Bourbon Barrel Oak
I like it and it would work in all 3 rooms. I keep coming back to: waterproof. I was telling Ron about it (he has been good about listening, even though it is all pointless to him) and said it can handle cat puke, urinal spills, etc. That is huge for me, and, if we get flooded again, I won't lose my flooring. Laminate and hardwood would be destroyed. I am 9 inches in the flood plain.
I don't think tile is in the budget at this point. Which is fine as tile can break and Ron does fall... got to think of that.
So just sitting waiting on the guys. My usual TV channel is doing SVU which I don't like as it's too depressing. I will have to find something else to watch.
And of course I need to figure out how I am going to organize the stuff I do have in the house right now.
Putting the mania to good use
Researching paint brands. It looks like Benjamin Moore Regal Select is going to be the top contender... then I will need "bathroom" paint for laundry and bathroom. I was thinking do aqua in the laundry and then mauve in the bathroom but I could do the same color for both, they are small enough one gallon would stretch.
Dad is a member of Consumer Reports, that is the only magazine he ever got, so I recruited him as well. I wish I knew what paint had been used for the main area of the house as it has been very durable.
Ron is up and I helped him got his motion sickness pills on board, working on getting him dressed. Cleo is home and allowed some petting and took some treats (with more petting), she is a nice little girl, tail in the air and happy. Spotty was just playing with her.
That's it for now, the older girl cats are in Ron's bed.
Dad is a member of Consumer Reports, that is the only magazine he ever got, so I recruited him as well. I wish I knew what paint had been used for the main area of the house as it has been very durable.
Ron is up and I helped him got his motion sickness pills on board, working on getting him dressed. Cleo is home and allowed some petting and took some treats (with more petting), she is a nice little girl, tail in the air and happy. Spotty was just playing with her.
That's it for now, the older girl cats are in Ron's bed.
Very early Monday
Freezing, holes in my drywall, 70 linear feet between house and garage = a lot of drafts. I got the space heater, I stole every blanket in the house, save one, for Ron. Running the space heater (non stop I might add) I was OK and could sleep but I can't do that every night, we would have a horrific electric bill.
I woke up at 2 and my body's like: We're Up. I also had a headache so I went ahead, got up, took some Excedrin. Now I'm really up.
I thought about it for a while and decided to check out Walmart. I found they had sleeping bags for $10. So I decided to layer another bag on top of what I have already and that should do it for warmth. Then I can run the space heater at a lower setting. I got some other stuff to get it to qualify for an order.
I learned something interesting: when I place the order that early I have the pick of the litter for same day delivery times. So I set that up. I allowed them to substitute so I will get something if I don't get exactly what I ordered.
I already took my shower so I don't have to worry about that, now I have about 2 hours until our pickup, I just need to be quiet so Ron can sleep. He is generally very good about being quiet so I can sleep, at least lately. He knows that is a deal breaker.
I just need to return the courtesy.
It is just chilly in here, I may get dressed early so I will be warmer.
I woke up at 2 and my body's like: We're Up. I also had a headache so I went ahead, got up, took some Excedrin. Now I'm really up.
I thought about it for a while and decided to check out Walmart. I found they had sleeping bags for $10. So I decided to layer another bag on top of what I have already and that should do it for warmth. Then I can run the space heater at a lower setting. I got some other stuff to get it to qualify for an order.
I learned something interesting: when I place the order that early I have the pick of the litter for same day delivery times. So I set that up. I allowed them to substitute so I will get something if I don't get exactly what I ordered.
I already took my shower so I don't have to worry about that, now I have about 2 hours until our pickup, I just need to be quiet so Ron can sleep. He is generally very good about being quiet so I can sleep, at least lately. He knows that is a deal breaker.
I just need to return the courtesy.
It is just chilly in here, I may get dressed early so I will be warmer.
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Sunday Afternoon
Horribly depressed the last day or two.
But I found a home, I hope, for the weight stuff. I am going to donate it to a local ministry they do drug/alcohol (!) rehab and the guys can use it. Nothing like a good workout to clear your head. Not sorry to see it go and maybe as soon as tomorrow!
I got Baby Girl brushed today and got some probiotics into Spotty so happy about that, the soup for cats is insanely expensive but they love it and an easy way to mix probiotics. He laps it up, he's happy, I'm happy.
Ron gave me money for Chinese food. We have a deal, and this is one of the nicer things about longer term relationships, you work this stuff out. I knew he wanted garlic pork. So I got 2 lunch specials (I got orange chicken if you were curious), and it came with 2 soups and 2 eggrolls for the order. So Ron gets the eggrolls - I am just not a fan like he is - and I get the soup, which was egg drop. Yum for both of us.
He has tons of pork to eat later and I ate about half my chicken, that will make a good lunch tomorrow or dinner.
A typical grocery list for me will have things like soup for cats, cat treats, protein shakes for me, salty snacks (I need to eat a lot of salt), soda for me (I am a thirsty beast), yogurt, etc. I get cat food online; Iams in the orange bag for most of them and the Urinary diet for Biscuit (Royal Canin). The vet had to approve that but she did.
Anyway I will be moving that out - it is so funny everyone wants the kettlebells. I am keeping those but I think it is funny how popular/desirable they are.
The garage is dry today now that it is colder and drier so it is just concrete issues in the garage.
I ordered some samples from Lumber :Liquidators. They had some nice choices for vinyl plank. Some of the vinyl is stick on, some you glue down. I don't want that, I want the snap together planks. I will not be installing it but I want it to be an easy job for the person who does do it. I don't want strong odors, either. As I've said, the bonus room and Ron's bedroom are on the diagonal so they will be a little more work for the installer.
The plan for now is I buy the supplies myself and then hire someone to do the install; because if I buy the flooring from the installer they will crank up the price at least 100% to make a profit on me. If I already have it (and I will buy a little extra) all they have to do is install it.
The great thing about the vinyl is it is completely waterproof. Urinal spills, cat puke, accidents, knocked over drinks, it won't matter. I just need to decide which one I like the best and have someone come out and measure. I am guessing it is about 300 square feet, if that. My bedroom is 11 feet square, bonus room is 8 feet square and two corners cut off of that, Ron's room is about - I just measured, 9x11 - a lot bigger than I would have thought. So just about 300 square feet (I will, of course, buy extra).
I saw Cleo a couple times including just now, she let me pet her. I sat down and called her, she came just in arm's reach and let me pet her. Always on her terms. I believe she is also sleeping under my cot but I haven't looked. If she has a cozy spot where she feels safe I don't want to disrupt it.
Biscuit is eating his food which makes me happy, he has been sleeping with me. Baby Girl was sleeping with Ron but didn't like the measuring and moved. But now I have a good idea what the room needs.
As I said I will have to wait on drywall in Ron's room until I finish installing the sink in the bathroom (shared wall). But the bathroom will be easy, it already has tile, will get a nice coat of mauve paint and a new shower curtain. The sink cabinet will be white with a white sink and chromeish faucets. My only real design question, it has a wood tone medicine cabinet door on the wall to your right as you stand at the sink. Leave it or paint it white to match the cabinet? Oh, and ideally - this ideal - get a new cabinet with doors above the toilet so I can store things without them being seen, and a towel bar on the bottom. A grab bar next to the shower, I can use that even if Ron won't. That can be white, so basically mauve and white.
Bathroom is easy, like I said.
My room I am thinking a dark flooring with ??? walls. I love purple, but I love turquoise too and they did some turquoise walls at work which I HATE. I am THINKING go with a nice cream which I love and will match pretty much anything I do in the future. I took the doors off the closet a long time ago so I could fit my dresser (stained magenta) in there. Put up a curtain rod and some cream or natural cotton curtains, to cover it. That's done.
Bonus room dark flooring (definitely) and orange walls, work out in there.
I just heard Biscuit growling, a huge orange tabby tom outside wants to come in; likely Cleo and Spotty's father. Obviously a pet but some scratches on his face, which almost exactly match the healed scab on Biscuit's ear. Pretty sure they had a conflict. Good thing Biscuit has had all his shots.
Now someone made the point "What are you so worried about rebuilding when insurance hasn't even said they will help?" Well, as Dad would say, I will cross that bridge when I come to it. There is nothing I can do (that keeps me a figure of sympathy) to hurry things along, I just have to trust the process.
The only way they could deny me if they felt I had not done anything to stop it. I turned off the water, I called a plumber, I turned off the water again and called another plumber, getting it fixed. I immediately called an abatement team as well. We have no mold, the house is dry as a bone (unquote), and I repiped the house. That's pretty diligent. I just need drywall, paint, and flooring.
And, one way or another, I will get it.
Worst case I will get another job and save that money. Part time work pays a lot better than it used to.
I think I am going to take my shower after Ron's done in the bathroom so I don't have to do it, tomorrow morning. It's already an early wakeup with me depressed and having to take a shower that early can really suck at times.
But I found a home, I hope, for the weight stuff. I am going to donate it to a local ministry they do drug/alcohol (!) rehab and the guys can use it. Nothing like a good workout to clear your head. Not sorry to see it go and maybe as soon as tomorrow!
I got Baby Girl brushed today and got some probiotics into Spotty so happy about that, the soup for cats is insanely expensive but they love it and an easy way to mix probiotics. He laps it up, he's happy, I'm happy.
Ron gave me money for Chinese food. We have a deal, and this is one of the nicer things about longer term relationships, you work this stuff out. I knew he wanted garlic pork. So I got 2 lunch specials (I got orange chicken if you were curious), and it came with 2 soups and 2 eggrolls for the order. So Ron gets the eggrolls - I am just not a fan like he is - and I get the soup, which was egg drop. Yum for both of us.
He has tons of pork to eat later and I ate about half my chicken, that will make a good lunch tomorrow or dinner.
A typical grocery list for me will have things like soup for cats, cat treats, protein shakes for me, salty snacks (I need to eat a lot of salt), soda for me (I am a thirsty beast), yogurt, etc. I get cat food online; Iams in the orange bag for most of them and the Urinary diet for Biscuit (Royal Canin). The vet had to approve that but she did.
Anyway I will be moving that out - it is so funny everyone wants the kettlebells. I am keeping those but I think it is funny how popular/desirable they are.
The garage is dry today now that it is colder and drier so it is just concrete issues in the garage.
I ordered some samples from Lumber :Liquidators. They had some nice choices for vinyl plank. Some of the vinyl is stick on, some you glue down. I don't want that, I want the snap together planks. I will not be installing it but I want it to be an easy job for the person who does do it. I don't want strong odors, either. As I've said, the bonus room and Ron's bedroom are on the diagonal so they will be a little more work for the installer.
The plan for now is I buy the supplies myself and then hire someone to do the install; because if I buy the flooring from the installer they will crank up the price at least 100% to make a profit on me. If I already have it (and I will buy a little extra) all they have to do is install it.
The great thing about the vinyl is it is completely waterproof. Urinal spills, cat puke, accidents, knocked over drinks, it won't matter. I just need to decide which one I like the best and have someone come out and measure. I am guessing it is about 300 square feet, if that. My bedroom is 11 feet square, bonus room is 8 feet square and two corners cut off of that, Ron's room is about - I just measured, 9x11 - a lot bigger than I would have thought. So just about 300 square feet (I will, of course, buy extra).
I saw Cleo a couple times including just now, she let me pet her. I sat down and called her, she came just in arm's reach and let me pet her. Always on her terms. I believe she is also sleeping under my cot but I haven't looked. If she has a cozy spot where she feels safe I don't want to disrupt it.
Biscuit is eating his food which makes me happy, he has been sleeping with me. Baby Girl was sleeping with Ron but didn't like the measuring and moved. But now I have a good idea what the room needs.
As I said I will have to wait on drywall in Ron's room until I finish installing the sink in the bathroom (shared wall). But the bathroom will be easy, it already has tile, will get a nice coat of mauve paint and a new shower curtain. The sink cabinet will be white with a white sink and chromeish faucets. My only real design question, it has a wood tone medicine cabinet door on the wall to your right as you stand at the sink. Leave it or paint it white to match the cabinet? Oh, and ideally - this ideal - get a new cabinet with doors above the toilet so I can store things without them being seen, and a towel bar on the bottom. A grab bar next to the shower, I can use that even if Ron won't. That can be white, so basically mauve and white.
Bathroom is easy, like I said.
My room I am thinking a dark flooring with ??? walls. I love purple, but I love turquoise too and they did some turquoise walls at work which I HATE. I am THINKING go with a nice cream which I love and will match pretty much anything I do in the future. I took the doors off the closet a long time ago so I could fit my dresser (stained magenta) in there. Put up a curtain rod and some cream or natural cotton curtains, to cover it. That's done.
Bonus room dark flooring (definitely) and orange walls, work out in there.
I just heard Biscuit growling, a huge orange tabby tom outside wants to come in; likely Cleo and Spotty's father. Obviously a pet but some scratches on his face, which almost exactly match the healed scab on Biscuit's ear. Pretty sure they had a conflict. Good thing Biscuit has had all his shots.
Now someone made the point "What are you so worried about rebuilding when insurance hasn't even said they will help?" Well, as Dad would say, I will cross that bridge when I come to it. There is nothing I can do (that keeps me a figure of sympathy) to hurry things along, I just have to trust the process.
The only way they could deny me if they felt I had not done anything to stop it. I turned off the water, I called a plumber, I turned off the water again and called another plumber, getting it fixed. I immediately called an abatement team as well. We have no mold, the house is dry as a bone (unquote), and I repiped the house. That's pretty diligent. I just need drywall, paint, and flooring.
And, one way or another, I will get it.
Worst case I will get another job and save that money. Part time work pays a lot better than it used to.
I think I am going to take my shower after Ron's done in the bathroom so I don't have to do it, tomorrow morning. It's already an early wakeup with me depressed and having to take a shower that early can really suck at times.
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