A Clean Sweep

I decided it was time (way past time actually) to make a clean sweep of my daily routine and get back in the habit of walking, working out, and riding.  Too much time has been spent on my computer or phone.  Communicating with others is good, and important, but it doesn't need to be so frequent.  And I need to curb the time spent researching to get ideas for things like (at the moment) hanging cat shelves.

As much as I have been cleaning around the house, behind and under furniture as it is moved, you would think it looked like I made a clean sweep of this place.  But everything (nick nacks, pictures, furniture) is scattered everywhere and it feels anything but tidy.  CLAYGO is a concept I like.  It works with dishes, clothes, junk I bring into the house, laundry/cat room, etc.  I also go by the philosophy, a place for everything and everything in it's place.  That's partly why this summer has been un-settling, because we have been 'under construction' since mid April.

Sunday 8/5 - at 6:30am I was at church helping clean the pavilion.  Stevie was taking ladder play to a new height (video), yikes.  I went back to Church and sat with Lisa and Nolan for the 9:30 service because Shirley was sick.

After taking Maggie on a long walk, I went to the barn to pay my bill and ride.  Unexpectedly, it started raining, as I was walking Amiga into the barn.  And it poured while I got her ready to go.  I decided to ride bareback so my saddle wouldn't get all wet.  

The above photo (from the internet) shows how hard it rained at times, and the other photo shows what the mist in the mountains looked like after the rain.  I rode out in a sprinkle, it cleared for awhile, but then rained quite heavy some more.  I love the tranquility of the woods as the rain falls and the sound of my horse walking.  It was so peaceful, and Amiga did a great job, staying at a relaxed walk almost the whole time.

I changed out of my wet barn clothes and went to the gym for a good workout.  After dinner (for all), I took Maggie on a long walk.  My muscles were already feeling sore from bareback riding and weight lifting.  

Monday 8/6 - Stevie seems to do her 'circus act' first thing in the morning, or during the 'witching hour' at dinner time.  I took Maggie on a 90 minute walk and the day was already heating up.







The workers were back, to work outside again, since no rain was in the forecast.  I went on a much longer (2 hr. 15 min.) ride.  Going out from the barn, Cash came over to greet Amiga.


I took the Holly trail into the Glade and dropped in on Terry.  Donkey and Sunny came to escort us to the backyard.  Terry and her place were looking very good.









Then I decided to take Beachwood to Chestnut Hill to see if there was a way to get through.

The barricade was still there as I had remembered.  I rode down a nearby cul-de-sac, but it was way too overgrown to make riding out to Chestnut Hill very doable.









To the left of the gate there were big rocks into the woods.  To ride this direction a long path around would have to be cleared.

But on the right side I discovered four-wheeler tracks which gave access to Chestnut Hill.  It was kind of over-grown and there was low overhead clearance.  I wasn't sure of the footing so walked Amiga through to the main road.







We proceeded down Chestnut Hill, past Elizabeth's, back to the barn.  It is a little hairy, riding along the edge of this road.
Amiga was very hot and sweaty when we got back so I hosed her off before putting her back out to pasture, where she then enjoyed a good roll.

As soon as I got home I spent about 90 minutes planting two bushes at Allen's.  The workers were finishing up and had just about completed the entrance to the porch.  All the rotten boards were gone and the screen door was hung better than before.

I met Patty at Mirror Lake Blast.  It was so hot, and I think I had over exerted earlier and gotten somewhat dehydrated, so I had little energy for dancing.  The band was mediocre and did not play good dance music, so Patty and I left a little early.  

Meanwhile, in Nashville, Joe and Courtney were at the Ryman, watching Gordon Lightfoot in concert.  This had been a BIG day for Courtney.

Earlier she had met friends for lunch.  It was the first time for her to drive her car, dress up, and put make-up on since she got sick mid April.

Tuesday 8/7 - Patty picked me up at 9am and we hit an estate sale on our way to the barn.  Then we saddled up Zorro, I went bareback on Amiga, and we hit the trail (video).

We rode for 90 minutes and Zorro did great!  We took turns leading and following.

Zorro followed without tailgating and lead the way without hesitation.  At one point he willingly went off with Patty in one direction while Amiga and I went a different direction.

He wasn't even too worried riding past the workers and equipment out in the bean field.

He navigated the hills and creek fearlessly and did great on the obstacles except the tarp.  Although Patty did get him to take two steps on it.

Once home I fertilized all my plants out front and then got ready and left for work.

The pool was the perfect temperature and it was a hot day so I had lots of customers.  Joe and Patty both came out to cool off for a bit.

I think Blog Spot needs to make a clean sweep of this blogging program because it has a lot of quirks and won't let me position photos and text entries where I want them.  I know people view it on different size screens, so it doesn't really matter, but I hate publishing an odd looking blog.

Wednesday 8/8 - I blogged and took care of some e-mails and then went to the gym during a downpour, just after the workers got here.  I got in a great workout.  When I got home some workers were back outside and some were inside.  Travis was removing this one strip of crown molding, in preparation to put in new crown molding all the way around.  Another storm came through and the two guys on the roof came scurrying down.




I fixed lunch and went on the porch to eat, while it was raining quite hard again.  And I discovered two leaks dripping down the porch walls, one along the kitchen and the other down the porch side of the living room.  UGH!!!  I pointed it out to Travis and he and Tony tried to figure out where it was coming in from.  There had not been any leaking since the new roof, but this was since the removal of rotten siding that was touching the roof.

It had cleared off and I left for the barn as planned, to meet Jan and Judy and do some trail work.  Well it poured just after we arrived, and kept it up for quite some time.  The weather looked like it would be lousy the rest of the day, so we gave up and I came back home.







Phil was painting these new strips of lumber, now inside the garage, which as you can see, has been taken over by the construction work and equipment, as has our driveway.


Inside, the house was no better.  They had now built a platform to stand on while repairing the hole in our ceiling.

More debris had come down onto the plastic, and some on the carpet.  So once the guys were gone for the day, I did another clean sweep.





I don't know what the cats were plotting and scheming in this photo.

Look at the clutter in the sunroom and dinning room.





Even the balcony was in disarray.  The crown molding was done being installed up there, but I was worried that its much brighter white color stood out too much.

Joe was at poker for the day and night and I just hung out here in addition to taking Maggie on a long walk after dinner.

Thursday 8/9 - I had woken at 2am, five hours after going to sleep, and couldn't get back to sleep, so got up at 2:30 to e-mail, Facebook, and blog.  After a 5:30 - 7:00 nap, I was back up and soon off to work.  The pool needed more cleaning than usual because of the wind and rain we had had.  This frog was in one of the skimmer baskets.

I went to the barn right after work, hoping to join Jan and Judy for trail work, but more rain was moving in for the afternoon.  So home I came.  Travis had made this tent to contain the debris, and was working on patching the hole.

 
Travis and Phil left early for the day because their ceiling dry-wall mud needed to dry.  You can see their progress in this first photo.  It wasn't minutes after they left and Stevie went up the ladder and on to the platform.
Then, just after I took this second photo, Stevie decided to come down, miss-stepped trying to get onto the ladder and fell.  I saw her somersault from the ladder and land on her four feet 13 feet below, with her head kind of hitting a stair step.  She was dazed for several minutes, and then kind of walked it off.  I checked her all over for broken bones and felt nothing, nor did she complain.  Phew, glad cats have nine lives.


I quick figured out a way to make an anti-cat ladder climbing device with this large golf umbrella.  Stevie showed no interest in ladders or acrobats the rest of the night.  In fact, she laid low all night, not seeming to move from the couch at all.  I recon she was feeling pretty sore.

Jan, Judy, Polly and I had a night planned at the fair in Cookeville.  We went to watch the Ranch Riding Clinic.




















Well, it turned out being way too muddy so the clinic was cancelled.  We found other things to do, including eating, because it was a county fair.

It was a fun night, even with the disappointment of not getting to see the clinic, or hardly any horses actually.

Friday 8/10 - Phil and Travis were back here at 9am, working on patching the hole and putting up the rest of the crown molding in the living room.









Travis suggested taking down the ugly vertical blinds from the arched window, while they were up there.  I agreed.

Look how much better this wall looks, (before photo on left).  I didn't realize the vertical blinds (which we never use) were such an eye sore until they were gone. 

I went to the gym and got in a good workout, although could tell my sugar/energy level was depleted (I hadn't eaten in five hours).  I grabbed lunch as soon as I got home.



Phil and Travis were finished with all the crown molding in the living room and had moved into our bedroom.









After an hour long dog walk, I was now ready for a nap, but there was nowhere to lie down.  I ended up on the bed in Britney's room, which made the perfect spot.


Joe and I had a very enjoyable evening out with Mike and Jan.  We ate at Manny and Isabel's and then went on to the CC Playhouse and watched the play Legally Blonde.  We enjoyed the lively dancing, witty lines, and great costumes.





The only photo I took all evening is this one, out in the Playhouse garden, of this large cemented rock planting I liked and thought I could do sometime.

Saturday 8/11 - I got a lot done on this blog prior to Joe getting up.  It was feeling like a lazy day with my fur babies napping away.  I think they are going to like lying out here in the skylight sunrays come winter.

I did get up and moving from my desk before Joe left on a poker playing weekend in Cherokee.  I had him help me move the heavy furniture around in our bedroom, as I thoroughly cleaned behind all of it.

I continued cleaning off nick nacks and pictures as I hung and placed them back where they had been.

The room was restored, cleaner than when this project began.  And I love the look of the crown molding.

My 1:45 - 7:30 shift at the pool went quickly because we were busy since it was a beautiful day to be sunning and swimming.  I could relax in bed, with this room now completed, and fell right to sleep.

Every Little Thing Is Gonna Be All Right

I was going to title this blog "When Will It Ever End?" but that seemed too negative.  And then I remembered the Bob Marley song "Every Little Thing Is Gonna Be All Right" which is actually titled Three Little Birds.  It seems so much more positive and happier.  But deep inside (sometimes not so deep) I am thinking "When will it ever end?"

Courtney has been sick since mid April, well over three months, and much of it spent hospitalized.  This has been very long, difficult, and frustrating for her, but also hard on all of us as we worry about and try to care for her.



Sunday 7/29 - We had tickets to see Cirque du Soleil: Corteo in Nashville.  Judy and Shirley parked here at 9:30 and we all left together with Joe driving.  The cats were performing their own circus act with the ladder and climbing tree in the sunroom.


Our first stop was Carol Ann's Home Cooking Café.  We were a little early, which gave us time for photos.  They still didn't have the doors open after 20 minutes of waiting, so Joe went through the back door to the kitchen.  The new cook said he was running a little behind and it would be another ten minutes.










We didn't have time, so we moved on to Sonic where we all enjoyed big hamburgers for lunch.





We had to scurry to get to Bridgestone Arena downtown, and parking was a bit of a challenge, but we were seated and had ten minutes before the show began.

Shirley's Facebook comment about the production was on the mark, "It was amazing: acrobatics, music, humor....quite a show!!"

During intermission, Joe checked his phone messages and Courtney had said her vomiting had gotten worse during the day and it was enough of a concern that Mike was going to take her to Vanderbilt ER to see if they could figure out what was causing the vomiting.














About the time the show ended (3:30) Mike and Courtney arrived at the ER and said it was packed.  They triaged Courtney, installed an IV, drew bloodwork, and then sent her back out in the waiting room.

There was nothing we could do for Courtney's situation so we went to Daniel's as planned and dropped the yard tools off.  We gave Shirley and Judy a tour of his house before heading home.

When I went to bed at 9pm, Courtney and Mike were still in the waiting room, waiting.  Ridiculous.  I prayed that every little thing was gonna be all right.

Monday 7/30 - I was woken by a text Joe was reading at 1am.  Mike had just gotten Courtney home from the ER. 

Can you see who was at the top of the ladder early in the morning?  Stevie even has a way of making it look comfortable. 


I read Courtney's whole text message when I got up at 5:30.  Finally they took her back into a room about 9:30 pm (six hours after arriving), gave her IV fluids, and an anti-nausea prescription.  All who looked at Courtney seemed sure it wasn't pancreatitis since her lipase was normal and she had no pain.  The attending physician said that Courtney's case was very, very weird.  He reviewed her last CT scan and lab work before deciding anything.  Then they did a current CT scan which came back normal but showed there was still some inflammation from pancreatitis although it showed improvement from the last CT scan.  An order was placed for an "urgent" GI visit... but at the speed Vanderbilt goes, who knows when that would happen!!??? and they sent Courtney home.

In order to get last week's blog done and posted, I stayed home from Ballroom Aerobics.  (It turn's out it had been cancelled anyway.)  Maggie likes sitting out in the sunroom with the cats and I, especially when Joe isn't home.

Courtney reported that she had thrown up when she got home from the ER and again at 6:30 in the morning.  The poor girl.





Joe and I finished moving all the heavy furniture back out of the living room and later I got all the nick nacks and wall hangings down.  We also cleared quite a bit out of our bedroom.




I got to Mirror Lake Blast before any of my clan so sat with Patty and Mike.  Soon Patty and Therese, her friend from Iowa, arrived.  







Joe and Shirley were too tired to join us, but later Michelle came.  We enjoyed the food, beverages, and dancing.

Tuesday 7/31 - I finished getting ready for Tony and Larry, including moving my car out of the garage.  Stevie found a good spot to nap in the 'rubble' out here with me in the sunroom.  Pretty soon Monita, who likes to be with Stevie and/or I settled down near Stevie.








I got this blog started and was feeling pretty good about finally getting caught up.  Courtney also reported sleeping through the night and not waking to get up and throw up.  She did throw up later after her breakfast.

We had three pop-up showers including thunder so Maggie went back into the mancave with Joe.
The construction workers never showed up - ALL DAY LONG, ugh!  I had started a load of laundry but forgot to put it in the drier.
When I got to work, Mike had only had one customer all morning, but it cleared off enough that I had 16 people during my shift, including Joe, Patty, and Therese.
I remembered to dry (and fold) the laundry when I got home.

Wednesday 8/1 - It is hard to believe that July is over and many schools will be starting fairly soon.  Like most mornings, the cats and dog hung out with me here in the sunroom.  It is such a lovely place to sit, even with all the crap that is stored out here at the moment.








I went to Ballroom Aerobics, but it has been cancelled the next two weeks, so instead, I did my weight workout.  I did the whole circuit, (although with less weights) for the first time in like forever.  When I got home Monita was lounging here at the edge of the couch.

Cliff Hanger

It was a rainy morning and continued to do so, even with some thunder, through the lunch hour.  I had gotten word that no workers would come this day.  I busied myself in the garage, sorting through paints and saving the cans that were still good, and making sample smears of several of them.  I also started painting the corner cat shelf.













I met Jan at the barn and we decided to ride down Chestnut Hill Road to see how precarious it was and if there was a way we could get into the Glade coming from this direction.




It was not necessarily a comfortable ride, but certainly doable.  Our horses were awesome and the cars that passed us were very respectful and slowed, moving over to the opposite lane.  But, Chester and Boz lead the way down the road, which made us nervous.


I met Patty and Therese at Legends for the Chicken Pasta Buffet.  The line for the build your own stir fry was long, but well worth the wait.  We stuffed ourselves.  This beautiful sunset was ending as we left Druid parking lot.

Thursday 8/2 - I had not slept well, too many worries but most of them trivial.  I was concerned about the new house paint not being the exact same color as the old.  I was trying to decide what to do about the cats and their non-stop licking.  Stevie was losing more hair and Monita had made a sore on her belly that was getting bigger.  I was also processing what to do if the workers didn't come again and kept thinking that Joe needed to hit the road earlier than originally planned.




This is the fruit pizza Therese and Patty had made.

I woke Joe up earlier than he had planned to get up, and had him help me move the rest of the heavy bedroom furniture (except bed and large dressers) before he left for Nashville.  Our room is quite bare now.  The place was ready for construction work, but I had to leave for my job before the guys showed up.  I locked the cats in the sunroom and the dog in the mancave.

It was cold, overcast, and sprinkled three times so I had no customers.  I did mop the pool office really well, and also did a lot of reading.  I also got word that Courtney's two Dr. appointments went well.  They thought that her vomiting was probably due to a combination of factors: her general susceptibility to nausea, some lingering pancreatic inflammation, a new fluid cyst in her abdomen, and the various traumas to her digestive system over the last few months.  It was recommended she take an over-the-counter histamine-2 blocker to reduce the amount of stomach acid produced at night.  Her portal vein thrombocyte was also gone so she was taken off blood thinner.

The cats and dog immediately started exploring the living room that Larry and Tony were finishing up plastic wrapping when I got home.  The cats loved running and sliding on or going under the plastic.








I wasn't home long before heading back out the door to go to Patty's house.  She and Therese had invited Shirley and I for dinner.  We enjoyed yummy chicken quesadillas.  After chatting while letting our full bellies rest we dug into the fruit pizza.  Oh boy was it delicious.


It was almost 10 pm when I got home, but I still took time to put a final coat of paint on my cat shelf.  This is what our garage currently looks like... construction mayhem, but every little thing, is going to be alright.

I had washed and dried our sheets but still needed to make the bed before getting into it.  And then I crashed.

Friday 8/3 - The 127 yard sale shoppers (Therese and Patty) had gotten some little ladders made out of tobacco drying poles, so I borrowed one to see if it would work as a cat ladder up to the shelf.  As I was holding it to take this photo, Monita started up it.








It was a quiet morning here on the porch.  The cats made themselves at home amid more rubble.  I left at 10:30 to shop in town and the workers still hadn't arrived.


On my way in, while stopped at a light, the truck behind me rolled into me.  Ugh.  Luckily very little damage was done and I decided to just let it go.  I was trying to 'pay it forward' or work on getting good karma.  My first stop was the paint store to get the color lighten on the 2 and 1/2 gallons left in the 5 gallon bucket (which they did) and to buy one more gallon.

A few other stops and I was home at nearly 2:00.  Larry and Tony were hard at work.  Patty, Therese, and I went to the pool to swim and sun, but that was cut short by a big pop-up downpour that lasted quite awhile.  It was almost 4:00 when I got home and the workers were packing up because of the rain.  Nothing had been done inside.





We three ladies met at Reds for dinner at 6:30.  Then we moved into the bar area to listen to some Karaoke.  The singing wasn't too great but we still had fun.  Michelle came to join us a little later.

Saturday 8/4 - I hadn't gotten a photo of the work progress from the day before because it was raining and then it was too dark, so I took this picture before going to work at the pool at 8:45.

I may think this place is a mess, but Stevie likes the additional 'play ground' equipment (video).

It was a beautiful day to work at the pool, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Patty and Therese came right near the end of my shift.  It was tempting to stay and hang out with them, but I needed to get Maggie out for a walk since she hadn't done anything just before I left for work.



Maggie and I walked for an hour.

Patty picked me up at 4:00 and we headed to Hebbertsberg for the town dance.  Michele and Connie were waiting there for us to arrive.








Shirley was also there and performed with the sweet T's.







This was Hebbertsberg's last dance for the summer so it was packed, and there were a lot of people dancing.  It seemed that everybody had a great time.

Bob Marley also sang "Don't Worry, Be Happy"  a good song to lift one's spirts when it seems your troubles are too much.  Music, singing, and dancing are good therapy.