Musings on a Small Life

Mom called me around 11:30 EDT, she had called the hospital herself (because no one at their end had called, of course). No other news, other than Harry's being admitted and has pneumonia. She has no idea how severe, if family should be gathering for a death watch. I don't think it's that dire at this point, but of course you never know. It's certainly not good. From my point of view, the best case scenario would be that Harry recovers at least somewhat and goes into a care facility. Worst case would be that he doesn't recover and passes. I hope I don't have to drop everything and fly to Halifax any time soon, but if I do, I want to publicly thank my co-worker for agreeing to care for the boys. Even if I find a bona fide pet sitter, I still wouldn't trust the person in my house, with my babies. So thank you , S., for being willing to feed Nicki and Derry, if/when it comes to that. And thank you all for your prayers and Light and good vibes. My mom and ...

Amidst the media frenzy for William and Kate's wedding (coverage has already started here, hours before the ceremony), life for we plebes plods along. Mom called me last night, long story, but it turns out that Harry actually cracked his pelvis in two places when he fell the day before yesterday. He went back to the ER yesterday afternoon and has spent the night in a bed there, but if he is ambulatory today, with pain meds, he'll be sent home. I understand that, there just aren't beds for everyone and only the most dire cases can stay. So I don't know what Mom will do regarding his care. They have someone coming in once a week, from a care company, to do the housework that Mom no longer can do. They do provide personal care, that's part of their function, so Mom might have to arrange for it (at home), particularly if it's going to take Harry several weeks to get back on his feet. If he gets back on his feet, IMO. Poor Mom. She's only admitting now, tho...

I talked with Mom last evening...Harry fell (yet again) while she was out running errands. He had been in the basement at the time, so wasn't even negotiating steps when it happened. They did end up going to the hospital via ambulance a bit later, when it became apparent that Harry really couldn't get up and move around (Mom had gotten him onto his butt and up the basement stairs that way, one step at a time). Nothing broken, just strains and sore muscles. He had to return home via ambulance too. But today he still can't get out of bed, even to go to the bathroom, and Mom is trying to care for him as best she can. She put her back out (again) a couple of days ago, so she's not that mobile either, and I'm sure she did additional damage trying to get Harry back up onto the main level yesterday. I called her a short time ago to see how things were going, suggested she contact Harry's family doctor to apprise him of the situation, something she didn't think ...

I really can't, I'm stumped. This is just an update, miscellaneous items. I had a great long Easter weekend. Could have done with the Monday off too, as shops were closed both Friday and Sunday. I got everything done I had wanted: The priming and painting of the vanity (put three coats on it, looks fresher, now I want a nicer counter top), the guest room closet painting, errands on Saturday, even reading time in. Plus a friend and I went for coffee on Sunday--Starbucks was open of course. He had a good idea as to what to do to give the sides ("arms") of the stairs a more finished look, so when he takes me for paint on May 7th, I'll get the trim too. It's lovely of him to do that, saves me the $50 delivery fee on about $30 of trim. Coffee's on me this time! My Easter Sunday choice of food! Never mind how many additional scoops of topping I added after I took the pic! Mr. Handyman has not been back. He was going to pop over Saturday AM to go over what...

A huge thank you to Frankie's "The Lady" (from Frank's Corner ) for the link to Christine Kane's song, "Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrsFguCeqMw I absolutely loved it, had never even heard of Christine Kane before, actually. But that song is my anthem, at this middle-aged, long post-divorce time in my life. Oh, it was brilliant. If you haven't heard it, do take a listen. As for my Good Friday holiday...Got a couple of loads of laundry done, some vacuuming, painted the guest room closet and bulkhead and sanded and primed the bathroom vanity. I hope that "primer" was the right stuff--it was café au lait in colour and like water or stain--not the consistency I am accustomed to for primer. It's pretty toxic too, could feel my lungs burning, so I hope only the one coat is okay. That's the stuff, the B-I-N can on the counter, before I opened it. I'll double check when I'm at Rona tomorrow,...

Image courtesy of Microsoft's Image Gallery I'm doing a little happy dance today, for our long weekend. Unlike government offices, though, we are open on Easter Monday. Still, three days off is great. And with no bus service (and nothing open) tomorrow, I haven't any excuses for not doing work in the house. (I'm sure I'll manage to think of something.) Mr. Handyman hasn't been back, though I do have a long "honey do" list, and I'll be at Rona again on Saturday. That "to do" list keeps getting longer and longer! I was thinking last weekend that it would have been so nice to have had someone handy in my life, someone who could do all this work for free (partner/friend/relative). But then I thought that there's always a price to pay. It might not be money, but it could be sex or cooking and cleaning or generally putting up with a putz. Something . Frankly, I'd rather pay a handyman in dollars, thanks very much--that's the ...

Yeah, okay, I know "should" is the one word to eliminate from our vocabulary, because things are the way they are and that's it. But I can't help feeling that it ought to be warmer by April 18th, that I shouldn't have to wear long johns, top and bottom, plus my winter coat, scarf and mitts on freakin' April 18th ! If I believed in the proverbial hell, which I don't, I'd say it was cold, not hot. Because endless cold is my idea of hell. At least yesterday's visitor(s) to our back space didn't mind the weekend's freezing temps, wind and hail. I hope you all have a warm day!

Though Mr. Handyman isn't doing work here this weekend. No, he stopped by yesterday to put another coat of mud on the two kitchen ceiling spots that are being repaired. One of the two was a bit of a mess--air bubbles--so he had to take the tape off and do it again. He said he wouldn't charge me to come back and finish that off, which is fair. Then we discussed doing a few other things re: trim and stairs; he has some ideas on how to finish things off. So he'll be back again in a week or so, to go over what he'll do, the kind of trim I need to buy, etc. He offered to meet me at Rona one Saturday AM, so that I bought the right stuff. I didn't think to ask if I would have to pay him for his time. If so, he can just tell me what, specifically, I need, and I'll go up myself. In the meantime, I've started painting the guest room closet. I put the primer on this morning, but oh, it stinks. Even I, with my lack of ability to smell, can tell there's an odou...

So Mr. Handyman came over just a bit before 1PM yesterday, got the closet door on up in the guest room, etc. Then put another small hole in my kitchen ceiling, in one of the areas I'm hearing that elusive drip.   And what did we see? You got it, nothing . The joists run one way and the spacers running the other, so when you look up it's like little compartments. One direction  The other direction There's not one damned thing to see. No pipes, no sign of water leakage whatsoever . Everything is perfectly dry in the areas we checked. Granted, he didn't take out the entire ceiling, just the little bit in the pic above, which he had to enlarge slightly to repair.  I absolutely can't explain the sound, but I've been living in this house for 11 years and the sound is a new one. There was no mistaking the rapid drip, drip, drip before the caulking (and that would have been in another "compartment"), but I'm completely at a loss over the continued sl...

I did get a few floral snapshots yesterday, on the way home. Too bright out for the best snaps (i.e. blown out highlights, even with some editing in PhotoShop Elements). Oh well! I don't purport to be a photographer, just someone who enjoys snapping pics.  :-) I stop by this particular house every year, it's close to our townhouse complex. I love the addition of the old pieces of wood, that's what gives the crocuses more interest, IMO. And I got a few other floral snaps as well: Even the forsythia has started to bloom, and in a few days I should be able to get some half-decent snapshots of those too. As for the drip issue: I'm having Mr. Handyman come today after lunch (I'm taking a half day off work) to open up the ceiling a bit more. I heard the drip again after showering last night, for about a half hour after, actually. That slow, intermittent drip...drip...drip. Didn't think to grab my camera (for video mode-- sound ) until it had almost stopped, b...

Crazy at work, trying to wrap up this rankings survey. Done, it's finally done, done, done! But is it only Tuesday, 1PM? God's teeth, it feels like it should be Friday. Feels like I've put a full week's work in, in just a day and a half. My boss's word for the project? "Ugly." And that was bang-on. In other stuff, welcome to the new followers! Beats me how you found this blog, and uh, you do know this is musings on a small life, right? Nothing exciting, no travels, nothing deeply philosophical. Okay, sometimes philosophical. But trust me, nothing grand or even particularly interesting to be found here. I won't weep and wail and gnash my teeth if you un-follow.  :-) Mr. Handyman came by to put the second coat of mud on yesterday, will be by again later this afternoon. I hemmed and hawed yesterday about another hole in the kitchen ceiling, to look for the ever-elusive leak, but after my shower last night I could hear a slow, intermittent drip...dri...

I was overwhelmed by all the birthday wishes yesterday, amazed that so many took the time to come to my personal blog and leave a comment. Thank you! Thanks to Judi at Sammy, Andy and Shelly's blog for this cute birthday graphic! It was a good day...though while I didn't have any alcohol, I did have far too much sugar and have what I call a "sugar hangover" today. LOL. My girlfriend brought a strawberry custard pie, which we intended to sample after eating out, but we were too full to do so (and had dessert at the restaurant). I have to say, a piece of that pie went down nicely for breakfast this morning, before my usual fare. Fruit, dairy, carbs...Pie's a breakfast food, right? Mr. Handyman is coming by again after work to put the second coat of mud on the closet and the patch behind the stove. Unfortunately, I heard the ever-elusive drip last night, post-shower and post-toilet flushing. But didn't hear it this morning, so surely it can't be the toi...

I think every women deserves flowers on her birthday, and so what if you don't have anyone to give you any? Give them to yourself! I bought birthday tulips for myself last year, and I did the same again this year, picked some up yesterday. Along with dessert for sometime today and of course more chocolate. Right now, Mr. Handyman is here for a couple of hours to start on the guest room closet. When he emailed yesterday I debated about having him start on my birthday, but why not? My girlfriend won't be up till later and since she'll have a car, doing a few errands (if she's willing) will be easier and faster. And in the meantime, I'm listening to jazz and enjoying the temporarily sunny morning.  :-) Have a lovely Sunday, everyone!