AKA “brain dump.”
Even though the past few weeks have been hell in many ways, we have also gotten a few things accomplished. I can use my washing machine again without having to carry the outgoing water out to the garden in buckets. It was what I thought: a huge clog of grease in the outgoing pipes that had been building up for many years. The plumber also found a leak under the kitchen and replaced that piece of old pipe. In doing so, he found that the electrical cord to my dishwasher was rubbing against the hole and was frayed, and he fixed that. He and his helper reattached a drawer front and a wood panel that had come off in the kitchen. Then, between him and my husband, we got the bathroom sink faucet fixed, although in the end it ended up that we had to replace it and that wasn’t cheap. Sandy was able to replace it himself. All in all, we spent over a grand on these way overdue repairs.
Also, I now have a yard maintenance guy who knows plants and he has done one clean up session and one basic mow this month. That is a huge relief.
Credo sent me an upgraded phone for free because we had to for their network upgrade. It is a refurbished Galaxy S9. Even though it is annoying to redo passwords and get used to a new format, I realize that because my S7 still works perfectly fine as a mini-computer/camera, we can take it as an extra phone to Europe. Maybe get a SIM card for it instead of the new phone while we are there, and have extra storage for photos.
I’m sitting on the front porch right now. Even though it is humid it is not bad. Sandy decided to go to the big farmers’ market next to I-40 this morning. I decided to stay home. My friends sell at the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market, but it is nice to have a market that sells on Sunday.
My anxiety is starting to ratchet up about Co-vid again, and I’m sure that I am not alone. I’m worried about our trip to Portugal and Ireland. If I have to reschedule, when would I do so? I’m going to buy a bunch of N95 masks for the trip. The good thing is that these two countries are getting a lot more vaccinations done right now. The bad thing is that I don’t trust people on the plane to be vaccinated or to mask properly. What would happen if either of us got a breakthrough infection over there, or over here just before the trip? So many scenarios going through my head!
In a way, it would be a relief to reschedule. But I feel a time pressure to make this trip while Sandy is doing fairly well, and who knows what could happen in the future to stop us again? Will it ever be “safe”?
My friend Jerry just had a heart attack two days ago. I think that he will be okay. He got a stent and I understand that he will get more on Monday. It is amazing what heart surgeons can do these days.
Seems like everyone has health troubles right now.
I don’t think that I ever said what happened with my eye appointment. My eyes are healthy other than allergies. He prescribed me some eye drops but I keep forgetting to put them in twice a day, so I’m still dealing with fuzzy vision. It was a relief that that was all it was. I don’t even need new lenses.
Sandy just got back with corn and shrimp and andouille sausage. Guess we will eat well today! I was thinking of making squash casserole, and I have a few little potatoes from the garden.
I’ve done just a little bit of cleanup around the house, but I’m going to do more. Still trying to rest this foot. I have some paste leftover from our paste painting session on Wednesday in the fridge. I think that I’ll get that out and play. Maybe finish the lake tapestry. HAHAHAHAHAHA! How many times have I said THAT in the last six months?
I am looking forward to this weekend when I go to Topsail Beach for a three day workshop with Dan Essig at Leslie Marsh’s studio. This will be my fifth? workshop with Dan. I always learn something and come away with my most satisfying work from his classes. It’s been so long since I bound a book that I could use a refresher class anyway. I miss book making. Dan was the artist who introduced me to it. Anyway, I will try to remember to take photos this time.
I hope that I will be able to sleep sharing a bed with Sandy at our AirBNB in Surf City. He stopped using his cPAP machine several months ago and even took it back to the place. Stubborn, stubborn man. I can’t use earplugs any more because I’m pretty sure I have psoriasis in my ears. That’s another worry for the Europe trip – damn! At least in Ireland there will be a spare bedroom. If there’s a sofa in the one in Portugal, that would be good. I slept on the sofa at the lake for two nights – fortunately for me, it is very comfortable!
Therapy is going well. I am afraid that I have become that person who often says “My therapist says…” but I really, really, really like this person. Some of my best sessions have been the ones in which I am feeling good. So much about my life is changing. I think that I am moving in a positive direction, despite my worries this weekend.
slowly she turned 