Anticipation & Preparation

Combining both anticipation and preparation is the key to being ready.  There are so many things I am and have been planning and preparing for, and anticipating, but the main focus this week was for our family gathering occurring next week.


While anticipating what all we will be doing and what I need to have ready for company and 26 people at Mom's early birthday party, I stayed busy while sometimes schlepping my way through the less desirable tasks.  Much of the anticipation was good, as I envisioned the great times and fun that lie ahead.  My excitement was building also.

Sunday 6/24 - Church was a joy as usual.  In this photo the band was jammin' before the service began.  Being outside makes it all the more lovely and I think spiritual.

It was a bit of a lazy day with rain showers periodically.







I spent a lot of time here at my computer looking at glass desks and storage bench seats that I am considering getting for my new sunroom/office.  I wanted to prepare for 'move in' day and was antsy with anticipation.


Then I went to the barn to practice and prepare for the parade of horses.  It is difficult to anticipate how our horses might react to any given thing that might occur.  Amiga didn't mind the skirt or the neck sash too much.  She does tend to get revved up out in the field though, and I have yet to figure it out.  Maybe she is just anticipating and preparing for something.



Jan was at the barn and helped me measure both Amiga and Zorro so we would have their height correct in the write-up about them.


Jan also helped me with costume ideas, what to do with sashes and hat and what kind of blouse would look best.  I still had some preparation necessary.






It was getting dark by the time I got home.  Joe was playing cards, so I took Maggie for a quick walk on the golf course, going past Turtle Pond.   I was glad to hear from Courtney and that she hadn't thrown up in over a day.  That seemed like great progress.

Monday 6/25 - I finally got myself to Ballroom Aerobics and lifted weights.  I really need to do this more than once every other week.

The painters had arrived and were at work out in the sunroom.  By quitting time, they just about finished the ceiling with two coats.  The lighter color is going to brighten the room and make it feel larger.

I managed to spend most of the afternoon at my computer, looking up a variety of things from fan size and model, to Spanish gaucho dress, to office furniture.  I got this blog started and messaged with Courtney a fair amount.  She has been at home for five days now and settling into a routine.  Besides her feeding tube, she gets a daily blood thinner shot, an infusion of antibiotics, and 1000 ml of fluids per day through her PICC line.  She reported going almost 48 hours without throwing up.  A huge landmark, but was now pretty sick again.  Dang pancreatitis.


Michelle took this photo while walking Druid.  It is a good example of the past two days of pop-up storms and showers.  One would roll through, it would clear off again, and then another would roll in.

It was questionable as to weather Mirror Lake Blast was going to happen or not, but it did.  Or at least got started as usual.  Patty arrived shortly after Joe and I, and we saved spots for Shirley, John, and Margie. 

This little guy was dancing from the start and eventually came up front when I and another lady were dancing.  Then later, he kept waving me up to join him.  The rains came, went, and came again, so Mirror Lake ended early.

Joe headed to a poker game and Patty brought me home.

Tuesday 6/26 - I decided to pull myself away from this computer early and get started on some jobs around the house.  I wanted to complete a few unfinished projects and get started on cleaning.  The debris from the hole in the ceiling was still scattered on the ledge but I needed a tall ladder to get to it.  I did two loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and started on guest quarters up stairs.  The toilet wouldn't stop leaking but Joe fixed that.  Also the light cover in the bathroom had fallen down when the roofers were pounding, and we couldn't figure how to get it to stay back up.  We need an engineer.

I used Kramer's Best Antique Improver on the antique chest of drawers, but still needed to put on the new handles that finally came in the mail, before being done.  

I was working out on the screen porch and Monita found Stevie's favorite spot to lounge in.

Before I knew it, it was time to report for pool duty.

Two hours into my shift, a storm front was coming, so I collected trash and put down the umbrellas early.  Once the front 'hit' and it got dark and windy, everybody left so I cleaned restrooms.  I got the call to close, proceeded to shut down my register, and was home by 5:00. 

The painters were done for the day.  All the calking was finished, the ceiling paint was done, and the window trim was well under way.  

I was concerned that the new paint was darker than the old, and wasn't the right mix.  A day later, painter Raina reassured me it was going to work fine.

Joe and I were off to John and Margie's (friends from California) to enjoy dinner with them and Andy, Rita, Brian, and Michelle .  We had a great evening.  However it ended on a rotten note.  Courtney's feeding tube had clogged again.  We hadn't really anticipated another tube blockage with this new (what we thought was larger) tube so we weren't completely prepared when it happened.  Several calls were made, but nothing could be done until morning. 

Wednesday 6/27 -Joe was up and out the door, headed to Nashville, to assist with Courtney's care (getting feeding tube unclogged) while Mike was in class.  Courtney's PICC line had gotten clogged first thing in the morning, and that was a more urgent need.







I went to the barn at 8:30 to meet the Farrier.  Zorro came right to me (video) when I went out in the pasture to get him.

Jo's horse Chaco had thrown a shoe, so I let her go first (even though I was in a hurry to get back home) because she was going to ride.  While waiting, I led Zorro around everything out front to get him used to all the stuff so he won't be so nervous about it during the parade.  Anticipating possible problems, many of us have been trying to prepare our horses for this event.

Zorro got over his fears and then found exploring kind of fun.  He is a curious boy.

Zorro got trimmed and Amiga did too, including new shoes on her front.  We discussed lameness issues and will continue to try to get her trimmed every six weeks. 

It had started to rain while I was at the barn, and actually continued to do so, off and on, the rest of the day.  When I got home the painters were here and also the spray insulation guys.

Meanwhile in Nashville, Joe was with Courtney, and NO progress had been made.

I made a trip into town and bought various things, including two ceiling fans, party supplies, and also a much needed new one-piece swim suit.

When I got home, I inspected the new blown in insulation under the sunroom floor.  The painters were hard at work, but it was so dark and gloomy, they needed extra lights to assist them in seeing what they were doing.









Not wanting to see Courtney put on hold again we were getting frustrated watching time, and the day, slipping away and nothing getting done.  I was getting so aggravated, I decided to go to the gym and see if that would help my disposition.  Well, the workout helped some, but I had strained a muscle between my shoulder blades.

At this point I decided to accept a dinner invite and meet a bunch at Legends for the Chicken Pasta buffet.  The food, lively conversation, and libations helped.  I also got the update on Courtney which was more positive.  It had been a pretty frustrating day for her because it took most of the day to get the procedure to replace her feeding tube set up for Friday.  She needed to wait until then because of the blood thinner she had been on.  After trying to get help for her clogged PICC line all day, Joe took Courtney to the Vanderbilt ER and finally had it successfully cleared.  Also on the positive side, Courtney had been feeling much better and not had any nausea and she had started to take in more liquids orally without problems.

Thursday 6/28 - It was a stormy morning and I knew I would not be opening the pool at 9am.  I took these photo's of the sunroom.  Painting is done except for the last bit of molding that won't go in until the tile is down.









Courtney's pick line had clogged again so Joe took her in to the clinic and they got it cleared another time.  They gave some pointers on it, which will hopefully help. 

The dehumidifier installation guy came and completed the job as specified, by moving the drain pipe out from under the plastic encapsulation and running it out through a hole he had drilled in the wall.  Now water will be draining under the back deck as it should, except I'm thinking it should be run out farther from the foundation.

Travis arrived and started putting up plywood on the underside of the sunroom floor, to cover heat ducts and insulation.
 

Joe took Courtney to her 1:30 appointment with the gall-bladder surgeon, Dr. Gunter.  He thought Courtney looked pretty good, and said he would be able to remove the gall-bladder soon.  He said it needed to come out as soon as possible, so they made a tentative appointment to have it removed on July 18.  More progress is reassuring.

I had gotten word that the pool was going to remain closed the rest of the day so I got to work here around the house.

The painters were gone so I borrowed their 12 foot ladder.  I got up onto the platform by the fireplace, cleaned up the hole in the ceiling and put white Styrofoam insulation in it to cover it.  Then I cleaned up all the debris from the platform, fireplace shelves, and floor.

The tile guys had arrived at lunch time and were quick to get to work. 

Next I got the new handles on the antique chest of drawers.  They were more difficult to replace than I anticipated, so I only did the two broken ones.  They match close enough, you can't tell which are the new ones.  Then I swapped out the phone stand with this chest.








At one point when I was outside, I noticed this patch of mushroom in the mulched flower bed.  We'd had so much rain in the last few days that these popped up over night.  They are interesting looking, kind of pretty, but not the look I was going for.

At another time I noticed Stevie up on the 12 foot ladder.  And then she started playing so I took this (video).  What a wild and crazy girl.




Travis got done with the ceiling under the sunroom.

And when the five o'clock whistle rang, the tile guys packed up and left.  They made good progress, but I was worried about them being able to finish the next day.

I had moved the tall ladder onto the screened porch, and Stevie was at it again (video) checking things out.  There wasn't as much head room out in this space.





I had gotten such a late start, I only got this much trim work done on the ceiling, before it got too dark to see what I was doing, even with the porch lights on.






Lying in bed, willing myself to sleep, I was full of anticipation and kept thinking about all the preparation (tasks to complete) before company arrived.

Friday 6/29 - The house was in shambles, but it is a construction sight after all.  I sat here and worked on this blog and some e-mails for far too long.  I had other things I needed to do!  

Courtney threw up twice in the early morning hours and actually ejected her feeding tube out quite a ways and had to push it back in.  It was a very good thing it was going to be replaced.



Tony and Larry were back tiling by 9:30.  Then finally, after lunch I got to work on painting.  I had to evict my little helper because I could just imagine her walking through the paint tray.  Someone suggested she might make a good roller brush.



I worked hard all afternoon and was progressing right along.  Meanwhile, Courtney was in the process of getting a new feeding tube put in, a 20 minute procedure that required anesthesia, so actually took most of the afternoon.

My neck (from looking up), sore shoulder/back muscles, arms, and hands were getting tired, but I wanted to get done with all the rolling before day's end.  



Progress for Tony and Larry slowed at the very end because they needed to cut tile to fit in the remaining space along the windows and around the air vents and door.






They got done before I did.  I used the motivation from Courtney's struggles to push through the fatigue, and I too finished the ceiling paint job.  The trim work still needed another coat of paint, but the bulk of the work was done.

Courtney's procedure went well and Joe got her home and then drove home.  I had gotten all the brushes cleaned up and was grabbing a quick supper when he arrived.  

Off to the barn to work with Amiga, I kept moving knowing day light would not last long.  Amiga did great.  First I rode her to the bean field and back.  Then on my first circuit of the parade route, Amiga perfectly gaited just about the whole thing, even stopping on cue, and continuing to the barn.  I was so pleased with her, in reward I got off and tied her in front of a fan while I untacked and cleaned up.

Saturday 6/30 - Last day of June and it is hard to believe summer is 1/3rd over.  One can prepare for, but never fully anticipate how fast time flies.  I will be glad to get the porch and sunroom finished and everything back in it's place.  I did trim painting for 90 minutes.  Then Jan came over to help me with my costume, and we got it all figured out.  Patty also dropped by.  We discussed the Parade of Horses, with excited and concerned anticipation.
  

Stevie takes bird watching to a whole new level.

The day had heated up and it was packed when I got to the pool.  My shift went fast since I kept busy with neatening and cleaning chores and chatting with customers.  Several people were in the pool until 7pm.  It was 8:30 by the time I got home.

I have been antsy with anticipation and busy with preparation
for all the company coming this next week!
I am especially excited about Courtney being able to visit.