Warning Shot

My dad is 56 years old…and was in the hospital this week for heart problems.

Being from Kansas it is not surprising that he is a ‘meat and potatoes’ kind of guy, and fried is always better – add cheese and it is a food Trifecta. It is also not surprising that he has smoked for 40 years considering 26 of them were spent in the Navy. He is a computer guy so it is not surprising that his activity level is right up there with…mushrooms. I am not surprised his heart was screaming for help. That being said, why was I surprised when my sister called to tell me he was in the hospital? The news threw me even though I knew it would come someday.

They were getting ready to go to the desert – they go and play in the sand dunes with their quads – and my dad was starting to feel worse. He had been having a backache for a few days but now it had moved around to his chest and both his arms. When he started feeling nauseous he decided to go to the Dr. This was an hour before they were supposed to leave for the desert and after all the Dr’s offices were closed. They went to Urgent Care who sent him to the Emergency Room. There they started running tests and decided to keep him overnight. The next day he had a stress test. Immediately after that they scheduled him for an angiogram.

The diagnosis was 3 blocked arteries - 2 of them at 75% and the other at 100%. The one that was 100% blocked was forming offshoots so his body was actively trying to remedy the situation (I think that is good). The day after the angiogram they did the Balloon Angioplasty and inserted stents in the arteries to open them up. The Dr’s finished the arteries that were 75% blocked and Dad was doing so well that they went ahead and tried to do the artery that was 100% blocked. They were successful with that one as well. Yippee! Dad went home yesterday with instructions to see a cardiologist and to change his lifestyle. This is where the hard work begins.

Considering the fact that I was not surprised to get the phone call from my sister, I was surprised by my reaction to it. I was not panicked even though they are in San Diego and I was unable to be there and boss people around. In fact I got the call around midnight and was calm enough to go to bed shortly afterwards. I kept the phones on the headboard just in case there were new developments but I figured no news is good news. The next day I waited until around 1pm to call and find out anything and was calm then too.

Thursday, the day of the procedure I was a mess. I wasn’t a sloppy mess, there was no crying or freaking out, but I was terribly unsettled - I couldn’t focus and was very restless. I wandered around the house looking for something to take my mind off of it but everything that was thought consuming I didn’t want to do. When I got the call that he was okay I was relieved but I had so much residual anxiety that I didn’t really calm down again until Friday – which is the day Dad went home.

We know that our parents are going to die. It is a fact of life and is unavoidable. I know this and yet I have never really given it much thought. Sure, being the type of person that I am, I have considered the logistics of the whole thing, but never the feelings. I know at some point I will have to move to California and take care of them and I have pondered the way life will be after they are gone. I have even gone so far as to imagine how we would feel at their funerals…but never their actual death. I have never thought about the process of their passing.

I am going to consider it a type of healthy avoidance and move forward. My dad is okay for now, and if he takes this warning shot across his bow to heart (heh, pun intended) I will have many more years to make sure he knows how important he is to me. But…just in case…I love you, Daddy…please stick around.

Much Thanks

I am in the process of changing the look of my blog. As a control freak, everything must be perfect so I am still working out some of the crap I hate. At the moment, however, I am at a point that I can live with. I have to say 'thank you' to my friend Jerry. When I got to the code manipulation part he was available to talk Geek to me and help me get it sorted out.

In a while I will give an update on my dad. I want to get all the details first. Keep him in your thoughts though; he may need some good thought mojo to get him better.

Is There a Problem Here?

Should it bother me that my cats are more popular than I am?

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Blankets, hot tubs, and near death experiences

While we were in Vegas the last time (3 yrs ago) I fell in love with a store called Alpaca Pete’s. I had just spent $1200 on a couple of clocks at the time so I didn’t think it was a good idea to spend another $600 on a blanket. This time when we went to Vegas I hit Alpaca Pete’s before the clock store and found a blanket that I could live with. I really wanted the white one, but with 4 cats (only one of them white) I thought it best to go with a multi colored one. I got an oversized one and negotiated the guy down from $700 to $550. Additionally, I got free shipping and I didn’t pay tax (shhh). As soon as it arrived I opened it and put it on the bed…and the kitties HATE it. LOL. It must feel funny against the pads of their paws because they hop from the comforter to the pillows. If we place them directly on it, they don’t move until they find an escape route and then hop away. I have to say though, since we put it on the bed, we have more room because the kitties don’t sleep with us. Actually, that isn’t true…now they sleep on our pillows which is nice also. Now we have a fur blanket, and with using the kitties as pillows (hey, they don’t seem to mind) we have fur pillows also! I think the bed looks really…Disco 70’s now. It is a waterbed frame with a fur blanket on it…very Lounge Lizard. But OMG!!! Sleeping with this thing is like heaven. It is nice and warm (we drop the house to 60 degrees at night) and soooooo soft. It is like sinking in warmth. I had no idea how luxurious it would feel! And if I take a nap I sleep on top of it and pull up the comforter…heaven.

Alpaca Pete’s is in the mall at the Stratosphere and we were on our way to the tower when we ended up there. At the top of the tower, on the 108th floor, is the restaurant, the observation deck, and the rides. Michael and I went up for the ride while everyone else went to the observation deck to watch us idiots try to kill ourselves. I was fine with everything…until I sat in the chair. Up until then I didn’t give it much thought since we were just taking care of the logistics: buy tickets, wait in line, are we next? Walk up the stairs, go back and put glasses in the bin, get into seat, look down…Oh Shit! What was I thinking? At that point the kid operating the ride gives a maniacal laugh and wished us the best in the afterlife…and we are off. The ride itself wasn’t anything interesting…it was the plunging over the edge and hoping like hell the brakes worked that was so scary! It was over in about a minute and a half and I was REALLY happy to get off. I loved it though and wanted to hit the other ride that swings you over the edge but since they were having high winds it wasn’t open.


The winds really did a job on some of the hotels in Vegas. They were having freakishly high winds and apparently weren’t prepared for them. On the strip, the front entrance to the Miracle Mile shops was barred. They weren’t letting anyone out of that exit because the winds had damaged the signs on the Bellagio and the Paris hotel and shards of glass were whipping around everywhere. The next day we drove though before the repairs had begun and in the daylight things looked bad.


Once we got home and got settled I went to check the chemicals in the hot tub. I hadn’t checked them in almost 2 weeks and was fully prepared for the worst. As I suspected, the little strip said there were no chemicals in it so I started dumping crap in: algaecide, foam out, shock, clarifier, etc. I wasn’t even going to bother with the Ph levels until I got the rest situated, though I noted that I hade never seen the water so cloudy before…and…ewwww…there was unidentifiable stuff floating on the top. I got brave and went to scoop it out with my hands and got a shock…the water was c-c-c-c-o-o-o-l-l-d-d-d! That unidentifiable floating crap was ICE!! Great…now the hot tub needs to be repaired! I knew that Michael had been in the basement flipping breakers (a stove light issue) and suspected that he hit a wrong one. I had him go down and flip everything back…still no go. I hit the reset button on the outlet and Bingo! Power. It must have gotten tripped by all the rain we had been having. By last night the water was lukewarm to the touch so things are working. I was also concerned that because it got so cold that the hoses or pipes were damaged, but they are fine. Whew! So now I am planning on checking the chemicals again today and hopefully get it squared away so I can get in it tonight.


While I was working on the hot tub I was also taking care of a water spot on the wood floor. When the shower leaked it damaged a 3x3 foot area. I got some stuff to help blend the finish and some Feed and Wax and started to work on the spot. Yay! It worked. And fast too! I was done with the spot in about 30 minutes…and you can’t even tell where the water mark was. I was so impressed that I went around the house polishing all the wood furniture! I was a polishing fool! I have an antique vanity that someone was using as a plant stand ( I know, Idiot!) so I am planning on using it there next.


So I have covered all the topics I promised I would. And believe it or not they are all linked. The commonality? ME! Because, really, it is all about me.

To Vegas and Back

Well, we made it back in one piece and we still have money in our pockets. The trip was nice but unless one is a big gambler or has never been to Vegas before, 8 days is too long to spend there. I absolutely hated to leave the Poodins for that long. It is funny how something you so take for granted leaves a huge gaping hole when they aren’t there. The first day back, I don’t think Autumn’s feet touched the floor. And when I did have to put her down she stayed attached to my ankle! Man! I love that cat!

The first leg of our flight left BWI at 8am and got to Atlanta…sometime. We had a 2 hour layover and then started the second leg of the trip. Our neighbor, Jackie, came with us and stayed at Planet Hollywood for 4 days. I have to admit that having her along made a long ride a bit shorter - Michael and I both had a great time picking on her. But now I don’t think she will ever travel with the Andersons again.

Once we got to Vegas we went to Planet Hollywood (PH) and hung out with Jackie for the afternoon. She went there on one of those timeshare sales pitch things. She got a great room, but in exchange she had to go to a sales meeting that lasted just long enough to suck the soul from her body and then had to promise to give them BRAAAIIIINNNNSSS (sorry, had a Zoombie moment there). And since we were in Vegas we had to eat at a buffet for supper. Good God! It was like sex with food - the mashed potatoes alone were climactic!

After supper we left Jackie and we went to our hotel. We had the golf package at Primm Vally Golf Resort so I was looking forward to seeing our accommodations for the week. Our rental car was a Charger so it was a nice ride to the resort and I could drive it around when Michael was golfing. Our room was nice if not a bit…common. We did have a nice bay window with a huge window seat though.

The next day my family wandered into town and we all met up with everyone as they came in. I have to say, that baby is just the cutest thing ever! What a great baby – he was happy the whole time and we played and played and played, and then he napped, and then we played some more. He gave me hugs and I don’t know what happened to me. I don’t know if it was the baby drool saturation level (turns out babies are…juicy) or that intoxicating baby smell but somewhere along the way I think I promised him a car. When he got over stimulated I gave him back to the parents and went shopping. Usually by the time I got back he was a happy boy again…or was it that I was a happy girl? Eh…either way, I got shopping done and played with a happy baby.

While we were there we also hit some shows. The second night we were there we went to see The Phantom of the Opera. We had seen it a few times before but the music always makes me cry. And we had great seats. We were in the second row in the orchestra, right smack in the middle of the row. We could see the actors sweat!! We also saw George Carlin and the last night we were there we went to see The Blue Man Group. Awesome!!

The day after we got home Merry Maids came by, the contractor came by, and we got a call from the realtor saying they wanted to show the house over the weekend. We spent most of the day Friday getting ready to show the house and taking care of little things like nail holes, touch up paint, etc. we got feedback from the realtor saying that the house shows well, so I am going to leave things the way they are now.

Well, I am going to get this posted so I can go to bed. I will post more tomorrow and here is a teaser for tomorrow’s post: it involves the Stratosphere hotel, an alpaca blanket, the hot tub and wood polish…and they are all related.

Anderson Luck Strikes!

Well, the shower was finished for a hot second. The contractors left the house Saturday night at 9 and it was done! All we had to do was wait for the grout to cure and the mud on the new closet to dry and we could use them. Yippee!


Ahem...yes...that is how it was supposed to go...in a perfect world. In a world that doesnt include the Anderson Luck. A quick note about the Anderson Luck before I continue about our disaster: the Anderson Luck is a mostly unknown phenomenon that strikes Michael and me. Have you heard people claim that 'if we didnt have bad luck we wouldnt have any luck at all'? Well, it is kinda like that...but multiplied by 10. So anyway, to continue...


Michael and I get up Sunday morning to get ready to go to Indiana and I am in the process of feeding the Poodins when I hear dripping...I search for it but cant find it. I figure since it rained the night before the noise must be coming from outside. I go about getting ready for a road trip. Michael comes down and is puttering about and notices that the floor is wet. He looks up and notices that the beam between the small dining room and the kitchen is FULL OF WATER!! And it has leaked down both walls that the beam is attached to so now the paint has separated fromt the walls.


I called the contractor back and he was already on another job but swore he would send some one right out since I told him it was a bad leak. I think he thought I was exagerating but when his partner Jimmy got there he told Wayne (our contractor) that there was a lot of repair work that was going to have to be done. Wayne finished up his other job and he and Sonny got here about 7 pm and promptly started to cut holes in all the walls looking for the leak. They originally thought that when they installed the shelves that they hit a supply line with a nail, but after cutting into that wall, found that wasnt the case. Then they started checking the drain for the new shower which involved cutting holes in my small dining room ceiling. On the third try water poured down on them when they removed the sheetrock. Once they found the water they had to find out which pipe it was coming from. Back upstairs to the shower! After 7 cuts into the drywall in the closet they finally found the leak. Whew...it was something they did so they have to do all the repair work...and so it starts again. The Anderson luck...








My small dining room ceiling

















Sonny checking the pipes in the dining room

















The beam between the dining room and the kitchen...this was full of water and looked like one long balloon. When we drained it, it took almost an hour.











Another one of the beam.
























The wall where the water leaked down...
















The other wall where the water leaked down.

Progress!

Wow...it is amazing how much can get accomplished with the right motivation! The house looks like a tornado hit it. Between the stuff that is getting put into storage, the stuff that we are keeping in the house, and the stuff that is going to Goodwill, it looks like we are a couple of slobs. We have been using a neighbor's truck to get stuff to storage and have already made 3 trips so far. I couldnt believe the amount of stuff
we had been accumulating in the bedroom downstairs! We cleaned that out and have made it into a library. We moved a couple of recliners down there and put the bookcases in there too. It is the most peaceful room in the house at the moment.

With everything going on I am surprised the kitties arent more psycho than they are. I think they are used to me moving furniture from room to room and they think this is just me being restless again. Heh...Yeah...I hope they keep thinking that until we shove their furry little butts in the Boxes of Doom and then pack the boxes in the Big Rumbly Machine for the next 10 hours. LOL.

I have posted pix of the disaster that is currently taking over my life. The pix are of the Formal Dining Room. It is normally the cleanest and least cluttered room in the house. Now we are using it as a catch all for the stuff to go to storage.

The window seat is being used as a catch all for the stuff that is going to Goodwill. I hope the guys dont get it mixed up and send our Goodwill stuff to our storage space.



The bathroom is almost finished. It has been a struggle the entire time. If the contractor shows up he only stays a couple of hours. The last few days though, he has been spending 4-5 hours here trying to finish the job. We are expecting it to be finished by the weekend. I know...I know...I have been saying that for weeks now, but he has 15 tiles, the windows, and the grout and it is finished. In fact, we asked him to come early today since we wont be here after noon and he showed up at 9. Trust me...this is progress.

The Realtor is coming tomorrow because we apparently need to be humbled - she is telling us what we should list the house at and what still needs to be done before it can go on the market. Ugh...not looking forward to that. But for as humbling and as frustrating as this all is...it is still better than Day +1 at the old office. Ha Ha.