Then The Floods Came …

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

Today I did something I never ever considered would be something that would have to be done. I had to use my wet dry vacuum to clean up the ceiling in ‘The Bathroom’. I can imagine what you all must be thinking, that one of the 14 new connections I made in the bathroom failed. Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not. It’s normal. It’s the perfect amount of connections. I’m sure. And, none of them ruptured or leaked.

What happened, you see, is that I had everything in place for the sinks to be connected to the water supply, but I hadn’t done the drain. That was today’s job. In order to connect the drains I had to reroute all the hoses for the water supply so they wouldn’t interfere. This involved a lot of cutting and rearranging everything, and the water supply had to be de-energized. So, your presumption, though wrong, was logical considering that I had to disconnect and reconnect everything, numerous times, to make things line up OK.

When I was finally satisfied that everything might work, I went outside and re-energized the water circuits. Upon entering the house I could hear water running and knew, immediately, that everyone would be delighted to learn that I had failed to turn off the new, unconnected faucets. All four of them were blazing away, splattering water everywhere. They have lots of water pressure in ‘That Bathroom’, believe me. I lost precious time as I turned once to go outside and turn off the water, then immediately realized I could save a lot of time, and water logging, if I just sucked it up and go into the rapidly flooding bathroom and turn off the faucets. Needless to say, I got amazingly wet.

As water dripped on me from the ceiling, I plotted my next course of action which was to bring my wet-dry shopvac back into the house and make sure it still works. It does, and I was able to suck up all the spilt water, including the water that sprayed into the hall, soaking the carpet. I was very proud of my shopvac. I used it on the ceiling, the mirror, the door, the walls, and finally the floor. You will all be happy to know the linoleum floor we installed does not leak.

You may also be glad to know that the GFI outlet works just fine. It got soaked and disconnected. That’s probably what I smelled when I got the water turned off.

I got it all cleaned up and actually got one of the sinks connected, temporarily, so it could be used. That, and I wanted to see if I could do it after all the turmoil. I could and I did.

As I write, Jeran and Gilligan are sitting behind me singing the entire Phineas and Ferb theme song, word for word. That’s what they are watching on the Man Room TV while eating Lunch. It’s 8 pm, but it’s lunch because Gilligan doesn’t like supper.

That’s my day.

Man Stabs Self In Face With Corn Prong

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

In a freak, one in a zillion accident, a St. Helens man stabbed himself in the face with one of the fork prongs he was using to devour a succulent ear of corn. Details are lacking due to there only being one witness who is unwilling to share them although she was sitting next to him at the time. In her defense, she was sitting to his right and the wound was inflicted on his left cheek. Even so, it’s evident she wasn’t paying attention to him.

Speaking as an uninvolved participant, I will relay what few details the victim knows. However, please understand that these details are pure fiction, like normal. That, and it happened so fast the victim isn’t really what happened. So, I’ll just make something up.

While eating a wonderful meal of halibut [a gift from a neighbor for Jerrie mowing his lawn], baked potatoes, and corn on the cob. Everything was going along just great, removing corn kernels row after row, until the incredibly sharp corn tong on the left side came loose. Due to the need for the corn prong operator to maintain pressure on both prongs, he was temporarily disoriented by something on the TV which caused him to briefly pull prongs in opposite directions, thereby removing the left prong.

Immediately recognizing the error, the victim pushed the prong back toward the corn cob. Sadly, the corn cob had swiveled out of square with the victim’s mouth. He lunged forward to grab it with his teeth thereby placing his left cheek directly in the path of the offending prong, severing a major artery through his cheek, causing massive bleeding.

With the exception of the last two items, the foregoing is the absolute truth.

Honest.

Here’s proof …

OK. So it’s little and not really a big deal. It was so insignificant that Diane didn’t even offer to put a bandaid on it. But it still hurt, and it was a really weird thing to happen. It fits right in with the direction my life goes on a daily basis and proving that I can hurt myself with virtually anything.

Even corn prongs.

My Thumb, Ozzie, Home Improvement, & Thanks

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

I’ve decided that my thumb must be sprained. One of those kinds of sprains that don’t swell up, or turn a nice blue color, and you have no proof that anything is bent. So, when not wearing my thumb brace, I’m considering adding a couple of band aids so people will know something’s wrong. I don’t think I’ve used up all the cool Spider Man band aids Diane bought me last year. They are quite festive and really highlight an injury.

Ozzie has decided that it’s OK to start playing again. It’s been a long time since he’s chased anything and we’ve been worried. He also doesn’t spend most of his time in his kennel which we thought was his new ‘normal’. I think it’s because he’s lost some weight. He got a little bit porky when I was feeding him an entire pouch of food every morning but I had to quit when his hair stylist told me he was getting fat. He really was. I think he was up to 10 pounds which is about 3-4 pounds too much for him. So, I dropped back to 1/2 a pouch each morning and over the last year he’s trimmed down very slowly and once again has a waist you can see. And he’s playing again.

It’s funny to watch him and I’d post a video, if I knew how. He stands and stares at his chosen toy for a bit, darts at it, nipping, then jumping back as he spins in a circle. He does this over and over until he actually nabs the toy and during the spin launches it like a discus thrower. Funny to watch because when he does this he has no idea where the toy goes so has to go hunting. Sometimes he flings it clear over the couch. It really annoys Panzee to see him having fun again.

This morning we made a trip to Longview, Washington to purchase more components needed to re-plumb ‘the bathroom’. I have a vision in my head about how it’s going to work, and I even drew it on paper. The paper version doesn’t look anything like the one in my head. So, we went to Lowes where I stood in the PEX connector isle visualizing, and checking all the hundreds of choices to see which ones I think will work. I wound up with 30 separate connectors that will be needed to split input and drain lines for one sink into two inputs and drains for two sinks. Amazing. I will, of course, keep all of you, who I know are sitting on the edge of your chairs, apprised of my progress.

Since today was Sunday, and we were in Longview, we ate a Sizzler where we all ate dead chicken. It was very good, like normal. Our plate remover person was Maranda. She was handsomely tipped for her efforts and winning smile. I went online and gave her a very good review.

Every day I’m amazed at the variety of people who visit this blog. I know that my titles have something to do with their curiosity, but having them visit provide an opportunity for me to visit their blogs. It’s all very enlightening for me. I enjoy it very much. To date, people from 34 different countries have looked at some of my entries.

Some more than once.

The majority, of course, are those of you who are bonded to me by blood or long-term friendship. I appreciate your time, too, even if you only check in to see what portion of my body I’ve damaged since my last entry – kinda like going to a car race hoping to see something exciting, but denying that you’re there to see the wrecks. Personally, I’m there for the wrecks, except when I’m working on a pit crew, which I’ve been known to do.

Perhaps you can tell, of you’ve read this far, that I really don’t have much to share, so I’m rambling. If Diane was reading over my shoulder, which she hates to have me do to her, she’d tell me, “Jerrie, just stop. You’re not making any sense.” I hear that a lot.

I will take that advice now, with a sincere thanks to you all.

You make my day.

Urgent Care or a Movie – Hmmmm.

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

Thanks to all of you who sent my thumb good tidings. It appreciates it immensely. I know because I asked, and it nodded approvingly. Honest. It did so in a manner that limited the pain.

Today Jeran and I spent some time in our yard moving blackberry vines to the burn pile where they will await further attention once the rains come. I’m going to burn them to smithereens. We also moved one complete azalea, and many branches from one of the several rhododendrons that populate our yard.

Here’s Jeran ready to transport the first load. In all, there were four trips. Jeran drove most of them, learning how to drive the lawn mower. He did a really good job helping me, and I appreciated his company. I have no idea where he came from. Perhaps he was left behind when Jennifer showed up and went garage saling with her Mother. That had to be it.

Actually, I knew Jeran was coming up to help me so his arrival wasn’t a surprise.

After gathering all the vines and branches strewn around the place, Jeran took a break and took about 50 pictures of various things from his vantage point on the swing. He took this one of me as I was cleaning up the remaining pieces that we chose to leave on the ground. My method was to run over them with the mower going full blast, shredding the remaining, offending debris. In case you’re wondering, yes, those are wings on the back of my shirt. Sadly, they are partially covered by my festive suspenders. The wings belong to “Figment”, a very small Disney World dragon. I know this is true because on the front of the shirt has “Figment” in large letters. I think Diane got it for me as a testament to my flighty behavior.

Throughout the day, while three generations of ladies (Diane, Jennifer, and Jean (Diane’s Mom)) were out having fun garage saling, I would get occasional texts reminding me to eat, drink water, rest, take my meds, etcetera, with the ultimate threat of a visit to Urgent Care upon their return to have my thumb checked by an expert. Since they didn’t return until almost 4:00 pm, and Urgent Care opened at 12:01 pm, I figured it was an idle threat. I validated the idle part by suggesting we go to Scappoose and see “Red 2”, which premiered today. The offer was accepted, we went, had a great time, and I ate an entire bag of popcorn using only my left hand.

On the way home we stopped at Rite Aide and purchased a thumb immobilizer, which is what the doctor would have given me had we chosen to waste 4 hours of our afternoon at Urgent Care. So, we got to see a really fun movie, and I got popcorn.

Now I have a stomach ache.

It’s always something, right?

I Broke My Thumb, but The Toilet Works !!

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

I’m guessing that puts thoughts in some of your heads that make you go, “Hmmmm.” Diane did the same thing, but she wanted me to go to the emergency room to have a professional look at it. I didn’t think it was necessary because I was tired, hungry, and just wanted to sit down for a while in a quiet place and wait to see if my thumb would turn a different color. That’s usually what my body parts do when I break them.

Not this time, however. It didn’t even swell up. It just hurt. A lot. For a long time. All the way to my shoulder. “How,” you may ask, “can a normal human being hurt their thumb that badly on a toilet without slamming their hand under the lid?” It’s complicated, but I’ll see if I can explain without pictures …

You see, Wednesday, Daniel and I worked diligently to accomplish our goal of getting the linoleum put down. We did that, but I was an incredible mess by the time we were done. The glue was everywhere. If you leave it on your hands long enough it will glue your fingers together. I know that’s can. Daniel helped peel from my sticky fingers.

After cleaning up a little, we used a really heavy roller, that we got from Don’s Rental, to squish out the air bubbles under the linoleum. There weren’t many bubbles, but the roller smoothed out the flooring nicely. Once that was done we called it a day and I went home. Sore and tired.

Yesterday the goal was to get the toilet installed. Doing that required us to replace the sheet rock behind the toilet. I have no memory of why we found it necessary to remove it, but we did. Replacing it was a simple task that required only two trips to ACE Hardware for drywall screws and whatnot. Jack was working today so we got to see him on one of the trips. One of the ex-Mayors of St. Helens was working today, too. He’s Diane’s cousin so we greeted to him, also.

While getting the drywall bolted to the wall, Daniel asked one of the children to clean the toilet so we could install it when we were ready. This caused a complication in the other work going on around the house which Diane was supervising. She had all three of the resident kids, plus a couple of their friends, cleaning up everything, from the roof down, all the way to the street. It was impressive because all she had to do was give instructions once, then walk around the house once in a while smacking a large spoon into the palm of her left hand. They all realized the threat and worked really hard. Besides that motivation, they were all working to earn money for the Columbia County Fair which started yesterday. The fair also has a rodeo which is always fun to watch, partly because Jack, Jack’s first wife’s brother, is the rodeo announcer.

Sorry. I’m getting a little off track, aren’t I?

One of the children took a feeble stab at cleaning the toilet, but it wasn’t quite good enough to install on a brand new floor. So, Daniel cleaned it up again, then we added a brand new wax ring, set the toilet bowl, and bolted it to the floor. It was during this last evolution that I think I broke my thumb. Here’s how I did it … I had already tightened the left bolt and was working on the right one, while resting my chest on the toilet seat. I was using a box end wrench to tighten the nut and it was going well until the metal washer shifted to one side into a position that would not have allowed the plastic cap to be snapped to the underlying receptacle. You know what I’m talking about … this little bubbles on the sides of toilets that always get sucked into your vacuum cleaner if you don’t secure them properly.

Anyway, I felt a compelling need to adjust the washer to allow the cap to get by it so it would snap in place. I did this by losing the nut a little then used the box end of the wrench to push the slippery washer back into place. Sadly, I didn’t loosen the nut enough the first time and had to exert far more pressure than necessary to accomplish the task. Of course it slipped off and, since pressure was being applied in the direction of the toilet, the second joint of my right hand slammed into the toilet bowl really, really hard. It hurt a lot.

After the pain receded to a tolerable level, due to the rapid intake of air while make the “SSS” sound through clenched teeth, I looked at it and determined that it wasn’t a job ending injury, because it wasn’t purple, I realigned the washer and tightened the nut. Then Daniel attached the tank, and the plumbing, and we were ready for the “flush” test to see if it leaked. It didn’t so we quit while we were ahead and so I could go home and ice my poor little thumb, which I did.

Diane wanted to take me right to the emergency room, but I showed her that it wasn’t an odd color and the only time it hurt really bad is when I try to touch my injured thumb to my little finger (on the same hand). I cannot do that. So I don’t.

Now it’s Friday and a lump had started growing on my injured digit which, Diane thinks, might be because I’ve been typing all this time. I explained, however, that typing does not required me to touch my thumb to my little finger, so it’s OK. Still, I sense that she will find a way to get me to Urgent Care so they can take a picture of it and see if there are any bone fragments floating around in there.

I’ll let you know how that goes.

Oh … Diane wasn’t really smacking a spoon in her hand to keep the kids busy. They all worked really hard and were a huge help getting things cleaned up outside. Diane was pleased, as ware Jennifer & Daniel.

Now I must dress and mind Diane and go see a doctor.

Cheers.

Ozzie, Swimming, and Blackberry Vines

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

They’re finally gon … ‘scuse me … sadly, the Namponians departed this morning amid hugs and smiles. Lydia and Cedric spent the night, again, and they kept Maryssa awake until well after midnight. Actually, we were all up past midnight which really tosses my internal clock in the trash. That’s because, of course, the dogs don’t care when I go to bed because their sole focus in the entire world is getting up at the crack of dawn so they can get their pouch and canned food. This morning it was 0515 when they made their wishes known.

Last night Bob was making frequent attempts to at least touch Ozzie, knowing that holding him was probably out of the question. Maryssa wanted to hold him, too, but he wouldn’t let her pick him up. So, I just picked him up and transferred him to her arms. He glared at me for only a little while before accepting the fact that he was trapped in a stranger’s arms and I wasn’t going to rescue him. He sat in her lap for half an hour, at least. Here’s proof that at least one of them was happy …

Yesterday we went to Uncle Jack’s and Aunt Wynette’s house to swim in the pool. They have one of those and it’s awesome. The kids always love it. Special for us was the inclusion of Gilligan and Baylee who have never had the pleasure of swimming in a large pool. They had an absolute ball. Gilligan, the consummate daredevil, spent all of her time bobbing up and down all around the edge of the pool until her little hands and feet had sore spots on them from pushing herself to the bottom using the pool edge and from pushing off the bottom to get back up. Over and over. Here are some pictures of all the fun we had …

Here’s Baylee, just floating around …

… and Jennifer keeping a watchful eye on Gilligan …

… Steffani giving Maryssa a piggyback ride …

… Lydia and Maryssa playing catch with Gilligan …

… Jeff teaching Baylee how to float on her back while Jennifer watches …

… Diane enjoying the antics from the safety of a shaded area …

… Maryssa and Lydia received wise council from Uncle Jack …

After everyone left I went outside and eradicated as many blackberry vines as I could in the back yard. I got lots of them, and they got me back. I learned that it’s probably a smart thing to wear long sleeves when working with blackberry vines, but I didn’t wear them because the barbs really stick to clothes, but they just scratch your skin and are easily removed. It hurts, but it really makes the job easier to do when you don’t have to constantly remove the vines from your clothing. I also removed a dead azalea and I’m pretty sure I dismembered more than one rose-bush in the process.

Yesterday morning, before lunch, we had a revisit from the doe and her babies. They were trying to play with Breezie in our back yard while mom was in the next yard. After playing for a while, Mom convinced the twins it was time to go and they wiggled their way through the fence. Too cute.

This afternoon, after collapsing on the couch for a short period of time, I took Jeran to his piano lesson. He’s doing really well for the short time he’s been taking lessons. The up side of it all is that he really loves taking the lessons. He’s going to be great one day. I’m looking forward to the time when we can play duets together, like my Mom and I used to do.

Now I’m going to rest some more.

The Namponians

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

Namponians are a rare breed, in the overall scheme of things, who wander in a seemingly aimless manner from their designated territory to surrounding ‘countries’ spreading joy and happiness in their never-ending quest to take over the world with their seemingly benign mannerisms. There is, however, a method to their madness because on these quests they bring children, exposing them to life outside the sphere of influence controlled by the Namponian elders, most of whom spend their days caring for the previous elders. It’s a vicious cycle maintained by the vast majority of Namponians who may travel about, but always return to pick up the mantle of support required by contracts initiated in their names at birth by those whose fruit of their loins they are. There’s no escaping this homing cycle. That’s why it’s not difficult to have them visit because the hosts know they will not stay.

In the case of Diane and myself, the Namponians arrived yesterday afternoon. The family unit is composed of two adults and a young female whose teeth I thought were silver implants until they removed her braces. Now they are white and very attractive teeth. To celebrate the occasion of their arrival, local fruits of other related loins descended upon us to visit and discuss the next time we may inhabit a location where we can breathe the same air. That is a requirement, to establish the next gathering as a primary point of business. That, and for the young, no matter where they are from, to eat pretty much everything within their grasp, sometimes retreating to dark corners so they can consume their rations in privacy. This time, however, the youngest four retreated to the roof with their bags of rations where they sat, ate, and plotted the overthrow of their respective family units.

OK – I can’t continue this. It’s mostly lies, and you know how I hate to be caught telling lies. Namponians are real people. Honest. They do tend to stay within a few miles of their homes, like deer, but they do visit outside the invisible fencing surround their territory once in a while when the elders randomly turn the fence off to see what happens. Oddly, as many enter and leave during these occasions so the population is always in stasis. This simplifies the budgetary process.

The following photos are provided as proof of this invasion and to provide others a visual reference as to the manner of their physical makeup in order to identify them should they invade your space.

First, we have three of the local FOLs, Jeran, Cedric, and Lydia, and 1 of the 3 Namponian FOLs, Maryssa, on the roof, where it got pretty cold once the sun went down. We eventually put the ladder back up so they could return to the warmth of interior.

Next are Bob and Steffani whose loins produced the Namponian fruit.

Here’s the FOLs again, with their midnight nectar, Namponian Orange Juice. It’s really Sunny Delight. We just let them believe it was NOJ.

Then we had the annual “Who’s Taller” competition, which Maryssa won overall. But, Lydia’s butt is distinctly higher than Maryssa’s. We attribute this difference to the grandfather, brother Jim, the transplant Namponian.

And, finally, the four FOLs, still consuming.

I have to add that the FOLs were unable to consume everything so there was plenty remaining for Daniel to gratify his dietary needs when he arrived around 8:30 pm after a hard day working the innards of INTEL.

It was a good day.

Vaccums, Sprinklers, & Lawn Mowers

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

This is my 365 blog entry since Thanksgiving 2011. If you are obsessive, and do the math, it will be readily evident to you that I haven’t written one a day. The only time that happens with regularity is when we are traveling someplace. Then dailys are required so those who wonder can travel with us vicariously.

Vicariously. That’s a nifty word. My brother, Jack, taught me that word in 2010. I’m sure I heard it before then, but never associated it with anything I do so didn’t give it much thought. It was he, Jack, who suggested daily reports when we took our USA Tour after retiring from my day job so he could travel with us vicariously. So I did that. All those blog entries were created with Apple’s iWeb which ceased to exist in November 2011 so the only copies available are on my computer. I might just start putting those out there on this and just change the dates.

Jennifer gave me today off so I could rest. She said I’ve been working hard and deserved it. I agreed. So, while resting I vacuumed the house and we rearranged the living room. We did this mainly because Bob, Steffani, and Maryssa are going to be here tomorrow and it’s an unbreakable rule that when company is coming you either have to paint the outside of your house, or paint three rooms, or clean and rearrange everything so it will look different from the last time they were here. We actually clean fairly often even when visitors aren’t expected, but when they are it gets done twice as hard.

The livingroom remake includes addition of the ‘new’ rug Diane purchased. Looks good. After Diane was happy with my work, she sent me outside to fix the in ground sprinkler that someone ran over. It’s the one at the end of the driveway in an area that has no pavement on it. People aren’t supposed to drive there, but they do it anyway. I don’t know who did it. Might have been me. So I cast no blame on anyone. It just happened. While fixing it I moved it away from the driveway about six more inches. I don’t know if that’s enough. We’ll see.

When I finished fixing the sprinkler I was released to, finally, mow the yard. I was going to just do the front, but wound up mowing and bagging the entire front and back yards. I finally finished about 9:15 pm. The moon was bright, but just a sliver, so I had to use the mower headlights on the last 1/4 of the back yard. I’ve always wondered why riding mowers have headlights. Now I know.

Now I must go shower and remove the stench of mown grass from my body. Then I will plead with Diane to dress my blackberry and apple tree wounds. Next year I will not sustain those kinds of wounds because I’m going to remove the low hanging fruit bearing limbs and eradicate the blackberry bushes. I’m also going to remove a forsythia thing that just sprouts willy nilly out of the ground, and another flowering bush that’s about eight feet tall and is composed mostly of dead sticks.

I forgot to mention that, while rearranging things earlier in the day, we saw a doe and two spotted fawns stroll through the yard. Very adorable little creatures. We’ve seen lots of deer, and evidence of deer who eat the flowers, but never tiny fawns. It was a special treat. They looked almost exactly like this, but different because this isn’t our back yard. I got this photo from the web. But, these are pretty much the same size as the visitors.

Now I must go. Hope everyone had a pleasant Saturday.

VA, Village Inn, and the ReStore Store

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

Today Diane drove me to my PT appointment at the VA Hospital on Pill Hill in Portland. I endured about 45 minutes of severe pain from EB then we went to the Village Inn, on Wielder Avenue, near the Lloyd Center, for breakfast. From there we went to the Habitat For Humanity ReStore store near Mall 205, which is, oddly, near I-205.

At the ReStore store we purchased some different festive ceramic tiles for the bathroom project, but all we went there for was to see if they had any pedestals that might fit the sinks Diane and Jennifer purchased last week. They didn’t, but we learned they allow returns.

So, while Daniel and I worked on the bathroom, to secure the overlayment flooring, Diane and Jennifer returned to the ReStore store to return the sinks and pedestals in favor of ones that match. This meant, of course, that they timed it just perfect for Portland’s rush hour traffic on Friday afternoon. They returned around 6:30 pm after stopping at Fred Meyer in Scappoose for salad to go with the lasagna that Lydia cooked. They got a watermelon, too. It was all very, very good.

As mentioned above, Daniel and I secured the layer of flooring, to which we will glue the linoleum. Because of that, it has to be absolutely smooth, with no nicks and divots due to the screws used, all of which were secured a tiny bit below the surface of the wood. Daniel used floor leveling compound to fill those divots, and the cracks between the board. Tomorrow we can see about cutting the linoleum. I’ve been wanting to do that for days, now. Just cut some linoleum. It doesn’t have to fit. I just want to cut it. With my knife.

While waiting for Diane and Jennifer to return, after we had done what we could do in the bathroom, I watched TV with Lydia and found out what I’ve been missing. We watched “The New Girl” which is all about sex and weird relationships. There are morals in there somewhere, but all of them are pretty loose ones. It’s funny on the same lines as “The Big Bang Theory” which Diane and I really like. I think there are 22 episodes stored on the DVR for later viewing, when we have a chance to sit down at home. Lately that’s been difficult.

I need to mow the yard again, too. The grass continues to grow even though we haven’t watered it all year. It’s still kinda green, too.

Did I mention hat Daniel and Jennifer laid out the new tile in a desired pattern for the wall? They did it wrong, of course, because some of the new tiles we got have a kind of rorschach pattern on them, and they are all the same. Lydia and her OCD-ness fixed it by ensuring all the patterns were lined up in the same direction. It’s going to look right nice when done. That will happen one of these days. I keep telling Jennifer that but I don’t think she believes me. She’s resigning herself to a life with nights interrupted by children using their bathroom who don’t know how to close doors quietly and who don’t realize gravity takes over when you let go of the toilet lid.

That’s it for today. Gotta save the cat from Panzee now.

Nicks, Dings, and Other Things

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

Today Jeran told his Dad, Daniel, that he’s surprised that I haven’t hurt myself yet while working on their bathroom. Little did he know that I’ve managed to collect memorable scrapes and punctures over the past week about which he is unaware. Most of them, I admit, were collected yesterday when Jennifer and I installed the tub and I connected the plumbing through a tiny little hole in the floor that was surrounded by screws with their pointy ends poking out.

Installing the tub wasn’t really a big deal – Jennifer and I just mixed up a 50 pound bag of thinset mortar, in one of her festively colored storage containers, for lack of a better option, and dumped it on an old tarp I’ve been using to cover the loads in my truck when I go to the dump. This mixture was situated in the area where the tub would sit then we just laid the tub back down in the gooey mess. Jennifer sat in the tub to get it back to level then stayed to enjoy the heat generated by the curing mortar while I wounded myself, over and over, connecting the drain. But it’s done, and it doesn’t leak. The fancy faucet even works. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll remember to take the camera to capture a picture before we put the walls up. I’m sure everyone is clamoring for one of those.

This morning, after coffee with Larry, Larry, and Lisa, and another trip to the church parking lot with Larry to revisit the black top patch repair job, I returned to the bathroom project. Today was Daniel’s day off and he was eager to get to work when I arrived. Our goal was to get the overlayment down on the floor. That involved replacing the toilet drain which, in turn, required removal of a bit of floor so I could get the sawsall in a position to whack the drain off at a reasonable level. Once done we had to make an ACE run to get a sleeve and a piece of 3″ ABS piping for the drain. We only needed 3 1/2 inches of piping but 2 feet is as short as they’ll go so it cost $6 for that 3.5 inches. That’s OK.

Next step was to put down a layer of roofing felt between the subfloor and the overlayment. I don’t know if roofing felt is appropriate but its way better than the really thin paper we removed on the destruction part. We wanted to do it in must two pieces but there were just too many things sticking out of the wall to allow us room to do that, so we did it in four pieces. One piece had to have two holes cut, one for the toilet and one for the A/C vent. The holes weren’t perfect, were totally fixable, but I’m not going into those details. Let’s just way the overlayment is down and looks great. Next is the linoleum. Tomorrow.

The evening ended with Diane, Jeran, and I going to the movie to watch “Despicable Me 2”. Totally fun movie. We laughed almost non-stop throughout the entire thing. The movie was Jeran’s reward for helping Diane all day long without complaint. He was tasked with cleaning up their patio and surrounding area. It was a hard task because he wasn’t sure what should go and what should stay. When Daniel and I returned from ACE Jeran was just tossing something in the dumpster and reported that he’d “found an easier way to clean up the patio.” Daniel asked him what that was and Jeran said, “I just throw away the things Grandmas tells me to throw away.” Makes sense to me. There’s no need to make decisions using that method.

Diane worked in the living room, dining room, and kitchen the last two days straightening things up, and today it was vacuuming and shampooing the living room/dining room carpets. Not an easy task. Jeran helped with a lot of that today, moving things around for Grandma. Jennifer pitched in when she got home from work.

Cedric & Lydia were participating in Pacific Camp at their church, as they’ve been doing all summer, so weren’t around to participate. They did, however, appreciate the results of everyone’s efforts.

Tomorrow, as I mentioned, is linoleum day. First, however, Diane will be driving me to the Portland VA Hospital for my physical therapy on my right shoulder. My therapist, EB, doesn’t a great job, but I don’t think what’s wrong is going to go away. So, I’m prepared to live with it and skip these trips. Therapy isn’t really helping and the next option is surgery. I’m too busy right now to entertain that option. I’d be one-handed for longer than I can go without going to the bathroom and I know Diane wouldn’t help me with that. I’ve asked before. It’s always a resounding “No! Never!” She will, however, change my Depends when necessary.

They’re pullups.