Category Archives: Ramblings

If It Ain’t One Thing, It’s Something Else…

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My old Granny used to say, “If it ain’t one thing, it’s something else” every time something broke or quit working. I say it a lot these days!

In case you don’t know, I live in SW Missouri, and we’ve had a little snow and very cold temperatures recently. (This week it’s a bit warmer, thank goodness.) There’s still snow on the ground, and I’m almost certain our car is going to be stuck in the mud as the snow melts. I should have parked it elsewhere before the cold snap. (Shit. I can’t do everything.)

We have a private well, and the pressure tank is outside (in a wellhouse that used to be insulated). There are also exposed PVC pipes under the house, so there’s always a chance our pipes will freeze. This is a real pain in the ass every winter! We always have to run the water a bit to prevent the pipes from freezing, and there’s a heater in the wellhouse to keep things from freezing in there. Anyway, when it’s going to be below freezing, I turn on the cold water a bit in each sink and in the tub. If it’s going to be in the low teens and single digits, I turn on the hot water a little, too. I also turn on the heater in the wellhouse. I check everything multiple times during the night. I was doing so well…

Monday morning, the temp was 39 degrees. The sun was shining bright and warm. The high was in the 40s that day. I turned off the water and the heater in the wellhouse to give everything (pump, water heater, heater) a break. About an hour or so later, I went to use the water, and nothing happened. No water! Not a drop. No water in the kitchen or bathroom. I thought, Ok, I doubt the pipes have frozen, but maybe there’s a chunk of ice blocking one of the main pipes. So, I put my little heater on the pipes going into the water heater. (That has worked before when the pipes froze, but hadn’t been frozen for long.) The heater went for hours. Still, no water. Fuck. 

I texted our well guy. He said he would send one of his guys out the next day (Tuesday). That was yesterday, and just as our well guy promised, one of his guys came out to check our well. We were so hoping the problem was the control box on the pressure tank, or maybe a bad switch. It turned out to be the freaking pump!! That’s going to run about $4,000+ and counting labor, closer to $5,000. That will come out of our new house money. There goes the money for our kitchen cabinets. If it ain’t one thing, it’s something else.  

We are currently waiting for the well service crew. We have called on them before, so they are familiar with everything. They are quick to get things done when people don’t have water! This morning, they are picking up the new pump in Springfield. If all goes well, they will be here today to pull the pump and replace it. If not today, then tomorrow, but they really do their best to get to us asap.

Maybe one of these days, our luck will change. I’m so tired of fighting this house and all of the problems it throws at us. It’s depressing, and I don’t know how much more I can take.

Short and Sweet

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I thought I was doing well by posting every day. That lasted 3 whole days, and then I forgot. I need to get my shit together!

On Wednesday, a Home Health nurse came to check on Dad to get the ball rolling for weekly nurse and physical therapy visits. A nurse is supposed to come today and then weekly afterward. I’ve yet to hear from a physical therapist. I am confident that Dad will get stronger and be back to doing things on his own soon.

Also on Wednesday, our HVAC guy was finally able to come install our unit. I was hopeful that he would get done without problems, but apparently, Contractor #1 got a unit too big for our house and didn’t install enough vents for that size unit. UGH. HVAC guy mentioned the wrong size wire for something…something…something…that I didn’t understand, lol. Anyway, parts need to be ordered, including vent covers that Contractor #1 neglected to get. HVAC guy will be back next week to finish, fingers crossed.

I need to cut this even shorter than I had planned because the Home Health nurse just called and is on her way. Dad hates having to be checked on like this, but it helps me know that he is doing well and I’m doing things right.

Until next time,

Realization

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It just occurred to me last night that the reason I am so exhausted and in more pain is that I’m doing everything. I mean, I knew I was doing everything, but I hadn’t really thought about all the little things (and bigger things) Dad used to do to help. Have you considered that I’m just an idiot? I guess I just didn’t realize how much he really helped.

Before Dad’s bout with pneumonia, he was helping. (And helping even more before his fall and heat stroke.) Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect him to help. I’m just saying that he isn’t helping like he used to. Maybe he can in the future, but not now. He used to wash dishes at least once a day. He would transfer laundry from the washer to the dryer, and then put most everything away. He used to scoop the litter box when he got up in the morning and again when he went to bed. (I’d do it about 1,500 times in between.) He also gave the cats fresh water daily, knowing that since I walk with crutches, I can’t carry the water bowls. He swept the bathroom floor every time one of the cats (mostly BobCat!) kicked litter all over the place. Dad did a lot of things to help, some little, some big. Now he’s not helping at all. It’s all on me now. 

I have to pace myself and do a little, then take a break. Meals have become a major pain in my ass. Oftentimes before, Dad would just make himself a sandwich for dinner, and he was fine with that. He got his own snacks and breakfast. I would prepare lunch, sometimes something quick, and other times, I’d actually cook. Now, I wait on Dad hand and foot. I don’t mind that so much because he is my Dad and my best friend. I’m taking care of him the best I can. Anyone who thinks otherwise can kiss my ever-lovin’ ass.

Until next time,

Good Days Are Few And Far Between

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Yesterday was rough. I hadn’t slept well the night before, so my legs didn’t benefit from restorative sleep. That’s important because without restorative sleep, my pain level never goes down, and I’m unable to function properly the next day.

Most days, with or without restorative sleep, I don’t even brush my damn hair. I just use my fingers to pull up my hair into a ponytail. I need to take care of myself as well as Dad, but sometimes I just don’t have the energy.

Taking care of Dad is very important to me, and I need to be able to do what needs to be done. He is doing better now that he’s walking a little. He’s using his walker to get around and doesn’t need me to be right there by his side, as I was for the first week or so after he came home from the hospital. Even though he’s doing better, I still need to be able to fix meals, do dishes, laundry, etc. I’m hoping that soon, I will be able to get him in the shower. I’ve not been too confident about that because I can’t do much to prevent him from falling in the shower! God forbid anyone offer to help.

Yesterday, I was exhausted when I got up, and my pain level was sky high. Performing even the simplest tasks was a painful experience. I was in tears at one point, and Dad felt bad that he was putting me through this. I reassured him that none of this was his fault. It must be difficult for him not to be self-reliant like he used to be. It sucks to get old. He will be 89 next month.

When Dad was in bed for the night, I watched a little TV and got ready for bed. I hoped for a good night’s sleep, and that’s what I got! Almost 8 hours of sleep did my legs some good! I feel much better this morning, and I even made breakfast quesadillas. I hope tonight is a good one, too.

Wish me luck. I need all I can get!

The Outhouse and Update

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Funny, not funny… More like embarrassing, disgusting, depressing, and irritating!

Several months ago, our toilet decided it was going to spring a teeny-tiny, itty-bitty, slooow water leak. Contractor #1 tried to fix it, thought he had fixed it, in fact. It was not fixed. We were going to have Contractor #1 look at it again, but we never saw him after that. That was in May, I believe.

In June, we were hopeful that Contractor #1 would be coming to work on the house and that we would ask him to look at the toilet leak again. We didn’t know at the time that he had no intention of coming back, so we just waited and put up with the water leak. It was very slow, after all. Then the freakin’ toilet decided it wasn’t going to flush anymore. I turned off the water to the toilet at this point. We used a pitcher of water to flush the damn toilet after that.

Dad fell and had a heat stroke in July. Up until then, I expected Dad to find another contractor to finish the house. It’s his money so it’s his responsibility, right? He should be making the decisions and hiring people because I know nothing about building a house and hiring people. I don’t know what’s a fair price to pay for this or for that. But now, it was up to me. Dad was in the hospital and didn’t come home until the beginning of August. By then, I had made arrangements to get the car fixed: alignment, new tires, and a/c. It was in serious bad shape! With the help of Other Daughter, I even found Contractor #2, who has finished up the house nicely! (Update at the end of this post.) I decided that, as big a pain in the huge royal ass it is, we can suffer with the toilet having to be flushed with a pitcher of water, because why spend the money on a new toilet or whatever would need to be done when we would be in the new house soon? That would be money better spent on the new house!

So, here we are, mid-November. We are still flushing with a pitcher of water. The bathroom always stinks like an outhouse. It’s like having an inside outhouse! I hate it! I hate it when someone comes over! Even close friends and family. I light candles (good candles) when I think someone is coming. When we move to the new house, it’s going to be weird having a flushable toilet! There are many things we’ll have to get used to. That might make an interesting post later on!

Anyway, the house is nearly ready for move-in. The HVAC is the last big thing left to do. The HVAC guy is always busy, but he said we are on his schedule for next week. Fingers crossed. Hmm… Maybe kitchen cabinets are actually the last big thing we’ll have to do. IF IF IF we have any money left over, that is. Even if we can’t get all the cabinets we want, we’ll make the kitchen usable. I can deal with it, being that it is a much better situation than this old dump of a house we are in now. We also need to go pick out a stove and a stove hood. I have some new furniture that needs to be put together, too. My new medicine cabinet needs to be hung in the bathroom. There are a few little things to be done that may or may not wait until we move in.

Of course, there’s still the flooring and trim that have to be done later. If we had done it after painting the interior, as most people do, it would have taken at least $6,000 for vinyl planking, plus labor! That would have taken a lot out of our funds, and we definitely wouldn’t be as far along as we are now. Nothing wrong with plywood floors for now. 

When the day comes that we will be moving into the new house, we can finally say goodbye to the inside outhouse! I can’t wait! (It gets old after a while!)

It’s a busy time of the year, friends. Pay attention and wear your seatbelt!

Until next time,