October 21, 2024 Monday--5am

Good morning!

I don't have a lot of seed left in the bin, but I will at least help the little birds fatten up a bit before winter.  Haven't seen any more partridges.  I'm glad really.  Don't want them to think I will be here all winter.  The little birds are very resourceful and travel all over the neighborhood.

Well, I was out of commission for a week after the chair shopping excursion.  Was just starting to feel better by the time I had the new eye doctor appointment on Thursday.  That was a failure.  

Turned out they don't take my ND Medicaid.  And then Medicare...what a joke.  The lady told us Medicare covers the eye exams...but not the refraction part.  What is the refraction part, Leah and I asked.  Well, that's the part where they flip the lenses back and forth to see which is clearer...so they can get your prescription!  What is the point of an eye exam if they don't find out your prescription!?  The refraction would run about $80.  

I already know that even with my Medicaid coverage I wasn't covered for the glaucoma testing I had done quite a while back.  My (now retired) eye doctor was surprised because it runs in my family.  And now I have the macular puckers, have had cataract surgery, and MD runs in the family, too...so I'll need to have more tests and exams that aren't covered.

We left.

I will have to call around to find a place that takes my ND Medicaid.  Searched online and have three possible places to call this week.  Was a lesson in "never assume", right?  I just figured that if Dr. Dye transferred my records he would transfer to someone who would take my insurance.  Never assume.  lol!

I wasn't up to anything (barely regular stuff) until Saturday.  I did get laundry done and worked on coloring over the weekend.  (Yes, I've never watched Star Trek New Generation, so I am popping in now and again to watch a few episodes.)

I'm getting closer to being able to put these together and be done with the very last project I need to finish before I move.

Allie spends a lot of the day watching her CatTV--lol!  Was too chilly to have the door open until it warmed up enough and the wind died down on the weekend.

Now Leah was busy last week.  She flew to Des Moine, Iowa for work early Monday morning.

Nice room!

She flew back late Tuesday evening.  Was a good conference, she said.

Wednesday, they had to move the old rocker recliner away from the corner in the living room...

...for the delivery of the new little brown lift chair!!

Here you can see what I mean about the small piece on the end of the footrest that is curled underneath so you can't see it when the footrest is down.  Ahhhh!  Perfect!

The new chair is Blink approved! :)

Dagan and Leah were busy all weekend.  They had cat doors (actually access panels) to install and a bigger access panel on the ceiling in the maintenance room for all the cable wires they had to reinstall.

This was the cable and monitor wiring stuff...in progress.  All a baffling mystery to me.

Below that is the cat door with the cover still on (because they don't want Blink wandering through there until they get the carpet remnant installed on the floor).  That cat door is right next to where my washer and dryer will go.  And it leads through...

...to come out under the stairs where the cat boxes will be.  There will be carpet remnants cut to fit on the floor that can be replaced as needed over time.

The other cat door leads from my bathroom into the maintenance room.

It will be kind of behind and to the side of where my toilet will go.

So Allie will use this to get into the maintenance/laundry room.

Here's from the maintenance room on the other side.  The hole is behind the water softener.

We're going to have the plumbers move the water softener away from the wall farther for my chubby cat and any further chubby cats--lol!

Hopefully they can move it a few inches.  There's quite a bit of room back there.

Somebody really likes my kitchen sink--lol!

Leah took measurements and sent me a picture so we could make a decision on the bathroom mirror.

I wanted a round one with black trim.  My whole apartment will be squares and rectangles, you know?  So I went online comparison shopping and found the cheapest one I could find in town.  TaDa!  Nice!  Really like it.  Should look good!

Leah sent pictures to show me how deep the windowsills are in the living room...

...and the studio!

Plenty of room for a plant or two and for cats to sit. :)

Sunday--Dagan popped by to bring in my winter clothes bins from the garage...

...and haul out some more donations for me.  (Not my Dyson or the shoes next to the box--lol!)

It is definitely time to get my winter clothes back in the closet!  Past time, actually--lol!  Been quite nippy up here some days.  Last time there will be a long trek from the garage at the backside of the parking lot with these bins!  Nice!  They'll be in the storage area right outside my front door in the basement.  

I'm so excited that the plumbers are coming back to start all the finishing work today!  Really hope to maybe have pictures next week of my new bathroom...and maybe have sinks up and running.  When they get finished it can finally get cleaned up down there.  Get rid of all that dust everywhere! Whoohoo!  

I think the earliest I might be moved would be before Thanksgiving...but at least before Christmas.  Depends on how things go, of course...but it is getting closer.  A month or two?  Been so long it seems unreal, doesn't it?  Hard to believe it is actually going to happen pretty soon.  Another totally new chapter in my life.  Huge, huge, huge change from this hermit/monkish life!

Once all the construction is done and the appliances are all installed, I will probably do a short video tour.  And maybe another one once all the IKEA furniture is together before I move.  Can you tell I am getting excited--lol!  Leah and I have been texting more again...about things like window well covers (probably can't get before this winter), automatic blinds, my fake plants from IKEA stored in the garage, shelves for the laundry/maintenance room...all kinds of little things.  Dagan always mentions that they'll be putting down my big rug so they can start putting together IKEA furniture soon.  We're getting excited!

Tuesday I go over to watch the boys while Dagan and Leah go to Liam's parent-teacher conference and then for dinner with a lady.  They want me to sit in my new chair most of the time so I can be sure it is a good one for me.  (There's a 30-day return, I guess.)  I'll be there from about 2:30-7ish.  Looking forward to spending time with the new chair!  And the boys, of course--ROFL!  I'm bringing the Henry Winkler book.  Will get to see how far the plumbers have gotten in two days.  Should be a good week!

Meanwhile, I'll be coloring cards, writing letters, and keeping out of trouble. ;)  Maybe I'll find a new eye doctor.  Been thinking about colorful frames...?  Who knows!  Have a great week.  Be sure to vote, everybody!  Till next time...  

October 14, 2024 Monday--5am

Good morning!

Fall is here.  The trees across the way always turn one-by-one right to left.  One down!

 Another week spent in coloring sessions every day--well, through Thursday.

I thought I'd be finished this week but I had a very good reason to be too sore to do much of anything by Friday--lol! ;)

I did briefly hear a familiar sound!!  Only had the door cracked open because it's been so cold--but caught quick pictures of the three young partridges who had come to eat a little as they ran away.

Been really colder up here.  Had a frost warning and then last night a freeze warning (28 degrees).  

Anyways, what did I do Friday to have knocked me totally out of commission for a good while?  I saw Slumberland had a big sale going Friday-Monday.  We went off to look for a lift chair Friday evening.  I remember it took a long time for us to find my big brown chair I've had for ten years.

The trouble is...in most all of the chairs my feet hang over the edge of the footrest.  I have plantar fasciitis.  If my feet hang over like that I can't walk when I go to get up.  Pointing your feet like that sets it off something fierce.  Took quite a while to find the one I have that supports my entire foot, as you can see.

I am only 5' 1" tall and do not have long legs.  I guess most people are used to not being able to have their feet supported in lounge chairs?  Puzzles me.  It really does.

Anyways, I have some pics from Leah and I'll end with the lift chair adventure. :)

This is the view from their deck.  They got a new roof for it!

I will be able to go upstairs and sit out on the deck any time the weather is permitting.

The boys went to the Home Depot kids' making fun time.

Looks like they made fire trucks.  Posed pic.

Not as posed--lol!

They went to Leah's sister Michal's recital.

This looks like it was a Lego Halloween display with giant Lego people.

Leah sent me door pictures.  The laundry/maintenance room door they had to remake smaller was installed.

The front door to the apartment--closed.

Has the right handle on it now.

Open.

Closed from the outside view when you come down the stairs.

Probably not too exciting to you guys, but it is exciting to me--lol!

The big news is---drum roll---the plumbers are coming next Monday!!  Whoohoo!!

Okay--Friday night...the search for a chair.  Dagan and the boys picked me up about 5pm and Leah met us after she got off work.  Nothing at Slumberland fit the bill.  All I really have to do is sit in them and put the footrest up.  Wouldn't matter if they were $800 or $3000...whether it had all the bells and whistles (massager/heat/pillow that pumped up) or not...if my feet hang over the edge it is a no-go.  All I needed was a separate control for the back and for the footrest.  No bells and whistles needed.  My brown big comfy chair does have massage --which I never use.  (Ian loves it so, of course, he was hoping I'd have to buy one with the vibrating massage feature--lol!)

In the second store there was one that at least my heels were on the very edge of the footrest.  Was the best one so far...

...but way more than I wanted to spend!  But about 500 to 600 dollars cheaper than the other one we had found where my heels balanced on the edge of the footrest.  *sigh*

Hit another store--nothing.  And a final desperate trip to HOM Furniture...which we remembered had virtually nothing ten years ago when I got my brown chair...so we weren't expecting much.  

Well, surprise! Surprise!!  The perfect chair for me was there!  Smaller than my brown one.  No bells and whistles.  Can't see it, but when you put up the footrest there's another small added piece to it tucked under the bottom in the front there.  So it holds my heel just perfectly!

And $550 dollars less than that best one we had found so far--whoohoo!!

And cloth!  I much prefer a cloth rather than anything leather or fake leather.  We needed two of them.  A chocolate one will go in Dagan and Leah's living room and will be delivered on Wednesday!!  I ordered the burgundy one for my apartment!!  (Told you I want splashes of color.)  

My red one will be delivered towards the end of November.  HOM was the only place that mentioned no tax on a lift chair because they're considered a medical expense.  No extra delivery and set up charge for bringing them at separate times, either.  I am sooo happy!!

But I am sooo sore and I hurt all over.  Recovering from all the walking through four furniture stores (lift chairs are always farthest from the front doors waaaay in the back of the stores--lol!) and then getting in and out of I don't know how many chairs.  I haven't been out shopping in a store at all for over three years, I think.  Needless to say...that took everything out of me and I am paying for it...and will be for a while yet...BUT...I AM SO EXCITED!! 

I already knew I didn't want to go with to pick out appliances.  I totally trust Leah to pick them all out and she knows I am fine with anything similar to what they have--which she suggested, of course.  So, I knew this was THE big exhausting trip out for me...and it is done!  And it turned out better than expected in so many ways.  What a relief!  And a red chair!  I will have a red chair!  So cool!

Just need to get some spoons back and that will take some time.  This week Keanna comes Tuesday, the brown lift chair will be delivered to the house on Wednesday, and I have an appointment with my new eye doctor on Thursday.  I am just resting and recouping to hopefully be in better shape before the eye doctor visit.  And the plumbers will be here in a week!  Appliances will be next big purchases.  

Dagan and Leah will be able to start putting IKEA furniture together once the plumbers are done.  There are still other small issues with different contractors, but it is getting closer and closer to the finish line.  Oh, and when they start on the IKEA furniture Dagan and Leah will have to unfold my living room rug to get it down on the floor to save their knees!  So you'll get to see that soon, too.  I'm sure the folded-so-long rug will be a bent mess for a while, but it should flatten out.  

Meanwhile...ballot in the mail last week.  Between wars, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes and fires...my heart goes out to all the people who are enduring these catastrophes.  Trying to stay as optimistic as possible.  Praying for positive changes.  The world needs much love and compassion and kindness.  Spread it whenever and wherever you can. Till next week...  

October 7, 2024 Monday--5am

Good morning!

What a beautiful week!  Cooler temps.  Patio door opened all day.  I still have loose wild bird seed in the one bin in my pantry.  I couldn't resist putting out a little bit of seed on the patio.  I figured--what can they do to me?  Tell me I have to move out? ;)  You could really tell nobody is feeding the birds anymore.  That seed sat out there.  No birds.

Well, I never did get to letters.  So sorry those of you who are waiting on me.  Every bit of spare energy I had was used to color birthday card fronts...all week long!  I would work an hour or two every day.

As you know I love to color assembly-line-style so I don't have to think--lol!

I thought this was funny.  To see a picture of Annie and a baby bunny on the screen right behind Allie lounging on the TV cabinet.

Finally!  After 5 or 6 days the little birds/sparrows found the seed!

Allie was beside herself...and glued to the patio!  We have missed them.  (Note: was so windy I had to partially shut the door that day.)

No seed out there right now, but they are coming for an apartment inspection on Tuesday.  I might put a little out.  I can sweep it away tomorrow night if there is any left. ;)

Since I was up at the table coloring every day, Allie spent most of her time either in her chair next to the table or in front of the patio--lol!

Leaves are falling.  We had both wind and fire warnings for a couple of days.  Even dust warnings due to the strong winds.  Don't hear that very often.  We need some rain.  Had frost one night, so maybe it will be snow before rain.

Felt really good to color every day.  That's been my contribution so far for Inktober this month.  

I should be finished up this coming week so I can finally put them together.  They do have a lot of detail to try to color carefully.  Always takes longer than I think--lol! ;)

Am absolutely loving the fall weather!  Today I am going over to watch the boys after school because Dagan and Leah have a parent-teacher conference for Ian.  I'll go over again in a couple weeks when they have one for Liam.  Can hardly wait to read more of the book by Henry Winkler. :)

I hope you are having sweet, sweet days like I have been having.  I pray everyone is safe and well and happy.  (Which I always do.)  Nothing better than ordinary days.  Precious ordinary days.  :)

I made myself a note in my bullet journal to sweep off the patio tonight.  Yup--already put some more seed out--lol! ;)  

Till next week...

September 30, 2024 Monday--5am

Good morning!

We had a hot week in the 80s, but it is supposed to drop down into the 70s today and then be in the 60s starting tomorrow for a while--nice!  Fall might actually finally be here!

I've been gradually feeling better so I got caught up on all the usual tasks I'd been putting off (laundry and such).  Got letters owed all set up finally.  Am even ahead on some of the monthly stuff--like setting up my bullet journal for October and sending off some October birthday cards.  (If you get yours early it is because I don't trust USPS right now because it just took three weeks to get a letter from Florida!)  Had a couple of nap-days.  Was just a nicer week over-all. :)

I am trying something new.  Sandra over at This & That mentioned these new barefoot shoes she got to wear around the house to help with her back pain.

I, also, was raised with never wear shoes in the house, but these will only be worn in the house.  They are very lightweight, big, wide, thin, and loose.  Well, I bought my usual size but have been wearing them without socks, much to my surprise.  They are very comfortable.  I still feel weird having shoes on it the house, but I think of them as like slippers in a way.  

So far, so good, I guess.  I haven't had any sharp lower back pain (have degenerative spine)...but, then again, have been a couple of low-key weeks--lol!  I'll let you know what I think of them over time.

Got another notice from the office.  Sorry.  I would not refer anybody here anymore.  Loved it before Goldmark took over management, though.

I was trying to get a picture of Allie sleeping but woke her up somehow.  She looks like--"What do you want?"

The boys went to the new Transformers movie one evening.

Mama got pics of them in the front yard like she always has done for school pictures when she was homeschooling.  Liam--7 years old.  You can see why he had to get a tooth spreader at the orthodontist.  The gap between his two front teeth is widening.  But--funny--without it he won't look like Liam at first if it gradually disappears.

Ian--10 years old.  Ian wouldn't look like Ian, either, at first if he ever decided to cut his hair--lol!  He's wanted his hair longer since he was about 4 or 5, I think.

Leah got me pics of the pocket doors!  This was taken standing inside of the studio.  The orange-walled door is to the bathroom and the tan-walled door is to the livingroom.

Then this is looking into the bathroom and studio from the livingroom.

So, I have three pocket doors.  Saves a lot of room!

I still have more end of the month stuff to get done here soon...banking, rent check down to the office, and the monthly online shopping.  Glad to be feeling pretty decent...better than when we last talked that's for sure.  Looking forward to the weather cooling off this week!!  Keanna comes on Tuesday.  Other than that I have no plans at all...just catch up on letters and my to-do list.  Fall is my favorite time of year...well, all the way till New Years!!  Till next week, my friends...