Yesterday. Glad that's over. It was another one of "those" days. If I'd had a valium yesterday, yes, I would have taken it. It started out well. My sweet clients stopped at Trader Joe's and while they were there they picked up a whole bag full of fresh produce. Apples, oranges, bananas, pre-sliced cantaloupe, grapes, a slaw salad, and some green beans. What a treasure trove that was! I am just sure all that goodness is going to speed my recovery.
Sweet clients. They've been with me for around 20 years and we have a good bit in common so it's always fun to see them. I was saddened to hear that the husband, who is just a few months younger than I am, is believed to have leukemia in some form. According to them, the docs are still trying to pin down the diagnosis, but it appears to be related to Agent Orange which was used in Viet Nam (yes, he was there) and can lie dormant in the system for as many years as have passed since then. He is being told that if it IS leukemia, it is the version of the disease to have because it progresses very slowly. He, at this moment, looks the picture of health............. I was pleased, though, to hear their happy reports of the good treatment he is receiving through the VA--as it should be and often is not.
Once the clients got here, Mr. Fixit and son were here working on the beehive. I have to tell you that thing was huge. It was more like 4 bee hives joined together. The bees built condos, I suppose. They actually had to cut out a section of the front of the house to get to it. The hope was that they could get that section out whole and then just replace it. No......... of course not. In the end they had to bust it out. And once the hives were removed, they had to rebuild, re-stucco, etc. Right now, the stucco is drying and will be painted tomorrow. We got some paint that will not match exactly but will be very close so I don't think it will be noticeable.
They pulled what I consider a big blooper. In fact, it made me angry. It was well-intentioned, but possibly quite stupid in the long run and, at least, thoughtless. They got the hive mess out of there and then they dumped an entire bottle of spectracide in there, concentrated. As I was walking my clients out, we got near the front door and smelled this AWFUL smell. Yes, indeed that spectracide. I had the back doors open all afternoon, trying to get rid of the smell. It was okay by nightfall, but it was the first thing I smelled when I got up this morning. So, the back doors will be open today as well even though it's very mild today. I am not at all sure it is wise to be forcing a person recovering from double pneumonia to breathe air that is full of chemicals. But, they didn't ask, they just did it and I found out later........
Mr. Fixit's son took another run on getting the back door (15-pane French doors) right. Mr. Fixit definitely did not want to admit that sonny got it wrong. Instead, he used the excuse that the old paint was bleeding through. No, I was here, I looked, I watched and it was that there just was not good coverage in quite a few areas. Of course the old paint will show through if you don't put enough new paint on it! Anyway, it looks better now though the panes still need to be cleaned with a razor blade to get off paint that ended up on the glass. Once that's done, I'll clean the windows. Then, sonny is going to have to paint with the white paint that is the house color to fix all the spots where paint from the door got onto the stucco. I don't care, I just want it done. I am grateful to have a good coat of paint on that wooden door to help it last longer as it takes a beating from the morning sun...........
So, Mr. Fixit and son were in and out of the house all day. Thankfully they did stay out while the clients were here. However, now more than ever, my whole house needs vacuumed as debris from the front yard has been tracked through the living room and down the length of the hall.
And then there was the crazy visiting nurse. She was scheduled for 2PM. Called to say she had to have her car worked on because it wouldn't pass smog and rescheduled for 6. Later she called back to see if she could come at 3. Two extra phone calls I didn't need and no, come at 6 as scheduled. She shows up at 6:41 (not 6, as scheduled). And starts yammering at me as to why I haven't had dinner. Wouldn't it be obvious that I was waiting for her to come and be gone and out of my way before trying to eat? Geez. And she had the unmitigated nerve to ask me what Mr. Fixit and son were charging me for the work they were doing. How is that ANY of her business? Odd: On Friday, the doc said there are no "crackles" left in my lungs; yesterday, she said she heard "crackles". I wish they'd sing from the same book.......... Either she's hearing things or the doc messed up his front porch exam. But, now the waters are muddied, n'cest pas?
I did get a chance to lie down in the afternoon. That was partly to get away from the chemical smell which hadn't permeated my bedroom yet and partly to get my feet up off the floor so they'd swell less. Yup, they're still swelling......... They're improving, but with what resembles "scar tissue" that is inflexible all over them from this "rash" no matter the improvement, it still hurts when they swell. I did dig through my entire closet yesterday and found a pair of slippers that are a bit larger and easier on the feet than the slop-around shoes I've been wearing. SO, at least I don't have to worry about ordering something, blind, to hopefully replace those. Even the price of slippers shocks me. I swear they are about double what they were the last time I bought some......
Finally it was time for Mr. Fixit and son to knock off and go home. It took me another hour to get them out of here. I hate that. And they both sat here and smoked! And he did his usual repetitious thing telling me I am to go out and look at the stucco mid afternoon and call him if to tell him what I think. I don't honestly know what good that is going to do. Seems to me, in order for me to truly evaluate it, I think I'd have to climb the ladder, and I am NOT going to climb the ladder. Then, just as he was leaving he changed his mind and decided that I was not to call him unless I saw a problem (and, of course, telling me that twice, at least).
He was hinting broadly that they should get a bonus or a "tip". They did save me a substantial amount of money. (Hundreds of $$$). But I'm not sure I'm in a position to give anyone a "tip" until I see the fall out from the medical bills that I know are coming............
They (Mr. Fixit and son) did do some extra stuff that I didn't specifically ask them to do, but they were on the clock anyway. It was stuff like lifting heavy objects. Son carried two heavy printers to the curb. Both printers are old enough to have originated at least in the Clinton era. One for sure didn't work and another was missing part of its case and had been robbed of part of its ram. More stuff out of this house, Hallelujah! They also noticed my kitchen trash bag was full so they lugged that to the curb for me for which I was MIGHTY grateful. I am pretty sure that bag weighed a ton!
I forgot to tell you that Mr. Fixit came over at 8:30 the other night and fixed the toilet that has not been refilling properly and dealt with the closet shelves that I was puzzling over. Relief to have those off my mind but now I have a new problem. Apparently I need a new valve on the sprinkler system. I just got a 400% water bill, apparently from a leak in that system!
So, the size of my upcoming blessing continues to grow as I plod through more caca daily. I don't know exactly what this upcoming blessing is going to be but it's gonna be a humdinger! In the meantime, I'm about to go to church and I'm praying that YOU will be BLESSED today!
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