Jan 27: I'm back home!!

Happily, I'm home again!!

As noted, there is still stuff to be done, and things are very disorganized.  They reassembled my study a couple weeks ago, and it was so exciting to have one room where I knew where everything was.  But that changed, and for the cleaning and finishing of things they moved every room around, and combined different room's stuff stacked together.  It's very confusing.  I've told myself, again, that I'm so much luckier than so many other people, I have a home to come back to and there was no loss of property.  Plus a spiffy new bathroom!

So, my good humor should be restored soon.  Right now I'm sore, tired and cranky.

There are multiple people to thank, Susan was absolutely incredible today.  Tersha was the one who moved me in and was here helping Friday, and Shannon pitched in, especially the night I found out the extent of the damage.  And, of course, the workman from ServPro.  They really have been terrific.  There is still stuff to do, much of which should be done Tuesday.

I'm going to take a shower now (which apparently does not have great pressure) and then, for the first time in THREE MONTHS I'll get to sleep in my own bed!

Thanks for checking in,   Laurie

Jan 24: Turned 50 yo & I now have a toilet!

Words you never think will be appropriate in the same sentence!

Post dating this, actually writing late on the 25th.  Lots going on, so will be brief....

Work progressing on the house, but, of course a couple of snags.  I was assured--repeatedly--that all would be done on Thursday or Friday.  It was clear as the week progressed that wasn't happening.

Thursday I hit the milestone of being 50 years old.  While decades are a milestone to anyone, this is especially poignant to me.  For a few years there it didn't seem possible I would be alive by 50, much less thriving to the degree that I am.  So, to me, this is a true celebration!!

Today the workers were all over the house.  At one point there were at least seven, with three of them crammed in the bathroom.  Several hours after things were supposed to be done they finished what they could.  I now have a working toilet!!  The tiling was finished, grout still drying, the tub is hooked up, but also needs 24 hours before use.  There is a shower curtain up temporarily while we figure out how to do what with a glass wall.  The vanity, medicine cabinet and wall cabinet are up.  The other rooms are all freshly painted.  The new bedroom closet has nifty folding doors and spiffy new adjustable shelves. That's the good news.

While they did get the bed put up before they left, and the two bureaus, the sofa still needs to be cleaned, and the bulk of all the furniture and closet contents and everything else is still piled in the study, living room and porch.  The kitchen table is covered.  There is no faucet in the bathroom sink.  There are two air scrubbers running.  Despite a very thorough cleaning there is still dust all over and several big scrapes in my bedroom floor.

Tonight my cousin Susan and her daughter Emily are sleeping there, washing hands and brushing teeth in the kitchen.  I went for several hours without a mask, and while I feel it in my sinuses the lungs seem to be OK.  I'm still at the hotel with the cats.  Tomorrow several celebratory events are planned, I'll go back to the hotel.  Then on Sunday, before leaving, Susan & Emily will get me moved back into the house, but after the air scrubbers have been working for several days straight.  Then Tuesday the workers come back to make the sink functional and put everything back.  I will still have quite a bit of work to do getting everything where it is supposed to be, but at least I'll be in my own house.

So, off to  bed I go before an excitement-filled day tomorrow.

Thanks for checking,   Laurie

P.S.  Mom is fine, moving very slowly and looking older.....

Jan 13: The last several weeks

Christmas and New Year's has come and gone.  Unfortunately I was sick again for another major holiday.  Again, another severe respiratory infection with a lot of coughing and high temperatures, although not quite as bad as the round at Thanksgiving.  But, with another bad illness and the knowledge that it had to be connected with all the plaster, insulation and other stuff floating around the house (got bad again after had to go routing through things to find gifts), I behaved myself this time.  Called up one of the pulmonologists I used to see and was squeezed in Wednesday, the 26th.  We agreed on antibiotics, he gave me codeine tablets for the cough, wouldn't give me a nebulizer (probably out of concern of how the rescue inhaler raises my heart rate) and wanted me to have steroids: the lung doctor's answer for so many things.  I refused.  My last DEXA scan was stable after three years of no steroids and more activity, I didn't want to set myself back again.  Breathing, obviously, trumps all else, but not breaking bones all the time is another high priority.  We compromised on my using the highest dosage of inhaled steroid. 

It's taken a few weeks, but I'm feeling much better now.  I still have a cough, but at this point who doesn't?  The coughing spasms stopped.  They were, of course, painful for my chest.

At that point I also had ammunition to talk to the contractor and staff, so a 'plastic door' went up between the kitchen & dining area and the rest of the rooms where the construction is going on. This area was cleaned fairly thoroughly before the separation.  This allows me access to my TV and where I make my jewelry, as well as the basement and both washers & dryers.  I wear a mask whenever I go into where the construction is going on: not just the bathroom but the living room, bedroom and study, along with intrusion into the porch where so many things are piled.  To give credit where credit is due, the workers have been very good about cleaning up after themselves, much better than I've seen before.  But it's still a lot of stuff floating around.  I spoke with the claims adjuster as well, and there will be several days of an 'air scrubber' being used after the final cleaning, even though that will mean more days in the hotel.  But I'm extremely sensitive to all the dust and fumes.  I was over there today for a few hours, have the ionizer running in the 'clean' part, wore the mask for the  brief time in the rooms being worked on and still have some sinus pain. 

In case you've lost track, I've now been living in the hotel for over 10 weeks.  The good news is that I've got everything I really need here, but the cats and I are all getting very rammy. 

The house, finally, is moving along.  The holidays got in the way both in materials coming as well as days off, but as of Friday there was real progress.  The window is in, and looks phenomenal.  The tub is installed, along with the seat which will be tiled and allow me to sit and shower, since there is a handheld being put right next to the seat.  I'm spending a lot of money on upgrades for four reasons:

1) Doing it while everything is already torn up is less expensive and makes the most sense.  Also, I would have had to be out of the house for at least 2-3 weeks and paying for it myself, so several thousand dollars saved with insurance paying instead.
2) The changes will increase re-sale value, especially since it was so dated.  There were several things that didn't meet code, and it's now been discovered that the plumbing is very deteriorated, so it can be replaced before creating a real mess--literally.
3) The changes will make it more usable should my health deteriorate again, allowing me to stay in an income producing house.
4) Things are going to be much more pleasant for me!

The contractor told me yesterday that he anticipates me being back in the house in less than two weeks, which would make it a full three months as well as being a great birthday present! 

With more things being done it is now more evident how much smaller the room will be: it was already small, but it's amazing how a couple inches less with insulation makes a big difference.  On going over and staring at it something became obvious: a shower curtain won't work.  I love shower curtains: you can change them and all the towels and get a whole new look in a few minutes.  So that means a glass shower wall, but I don't know whether those are widely available or something else that will have to be ordered.  So will be on the phone with the contractor first thing in the morning.

This is why people hate having work done on their houses!  Yes, I know that once it's done things are going to be much better, but this stage of things has gotten really old.

More later,  Thanks for checking in,   Laurie