Barbara now has her boxers all twisted up in a wad because I didn't mention her in my last post.
I swear, I think that skank pees standing up.
Stucco and Shawn put up the sheetrock on the ceilings and walls at Creekside over the weekend. I'm so glad to see so much of it coming along so well.
Cherokee and I went to Jefferson City to get them some supplies, and stopped at a yard sale for a contractor, and I got some nice ceramic tile for some of the areas where we will be using it. I'm going to have to mix and match, but it's all nice ceramic, and good colors to blend together. I got it cheap, too, so that was a bonus.
I got up at 6:30 this mroning, but just could not go, so I went back to bed, and slept until noon. I went to Subway to get me a foot long sandwich, and saved half of it until supper. I then came back home and went back to bed. I sorely need rest.
Steve said he needed to rest today, also, and had just layed around.
I did my hair and I'm ready for bed. I need it, too, still.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011 PM
It's late and I'm tired, but it's time for an up-date.
Steve Richards (Stucco) caught the man who took my purse. It was who I had suspected all along, and I'm so disapointed in him. It was really curious how it all happened.
Teddy Sweeny had worked for me some at Creekside, and I had grown fond of him. He is the husband of Leslie, who works as a waitress at the Down Home. She is a really sweet lady, and I had made it a point to like Teddy. He had come by often to 'visit' after I could no longer afford him, and I was pleased, thinking that I had made a friend. He came by last Friday night, with his daughter (from a previous marriage) and Leslie with him, and asked me to give them 'the fifty-cent tour'. I was pleased to, and we went through the house. He had left us and came back downstairs to 'go to the bathroom'. Steve was sitting where he could see the stairs, and noticed that Teddy had came back downstairs, but did not head in the direction of the bathroom. He asked Cherokee where my purse was, and she told him I had put it in the livingroom. He opened the front door, and caught Teddy with my billfold in his hands, taking out bills. He rebuked him, and Teddy put the billfold back. When we all came back down the stairs, he told Leslie that they had to go 'now', and they left in a hurry, I thought. As soon as they had left, Stucco told me what had happened. Teddy has not came back to the house to visit or to talk with me.
Penny had told me that he had a drug problem, and I suppose that it's a matter of time until he's lost all his friends by stealing from them to support his habit. It's really sad to see such a young man (his father is a pastor in Rutledge) throw away any hope of a drug-free future for a habit that's so costly. It sure makes me feel better knowing that Stucco is so devoted to me. It has strengthed our friendship.
Penny said that she was going to confront Teddy about the issue, but he has not gone to visit them sinse the incident. It must be troubling to Leslie to know that her husband is such a man, to put his drug habit before his family friends. I've known many of the Sweeny family for many years, and I'm friends with Leslie's parents, who are the Newberry family. Randy Newberry is a local preacher, also.
Drug abuse is such a plague on our society.
I don't believe Leslie knows that Teddy was caught in the act at my house, because she's not changed in her behavior towards me when I've been in the restaurant. I think she would feel more shame than he's capable of.
Progress at Creekside is slow. It's just so hot, and the humidity is really high. I come home every night, usually late, with every stich on me wringing wet. My skin is often puckered from wearing wet clothes. I love that old house, and I love experimenting with colors, woods, windows and doors, but it's tiring, too.
And costly.
Stucco has/is installing new windows in the downstairs sunroom. They're much larger than the ones that were there before, and they work more smoothly. The ones facing Rutledge Pike are eight feet tall, and rounded at the top. They're dramatic, and let an incredible amount of light into the area. I got them at a good price, and they're low-e, which will make them far more energy-effecient.
I want to get a lot done, so that when Steve comes home, he will be pleased.
Cherokee and I went to Dandridge today to look at some tile we had found at the Habitat Store there. Peggy Chandler is volunteering there now. It was a delight to see her.
I took some samples of the tile we already have, and we matched it with two boxes, which I got for $5.00 a box. I just love to find bargain prices for the things we need.
We went to Shoney's in Dandridge for lunch, and ran into Jane, one of the former volunteers at the Goodwill. We had lunch with her.
Renae came by yesterday with her new fellow. He's somewhat similar to Shane in his looks, but his personality is far better. He laughed and cut up with me a little, and he joined in our conversation, which Shane would not have done.
I found a wood stove, which I had planned to use at Creekside, but it's a little small, so I'm still looking around everywhere I go, in case things look better somewhere else. Elaine is going to need all the help she can get to heat that big house.
The upstairs sunroom has been primed, and is ready for the color coat. The new upstairs bath is ready for primer, as is the linen closet right outside the bathroom door. I expect to get them done this week-end. The northeastern corner bedroom is ready for primer. Only the two bedrooms in the center of the upstairs need a little more plaster work, and, of course, the east bath room needs sheetrock and plaster. There's a lot getting done, but a lot needs done.
I'm so tired, Im going to leave this now, and get back soon.
Steve Richards (Stucco) caught the man who took my purse. It was who I had suspected all along, and I'm so disapointed in him. It was really curious how it all happened.
Teddy Sweeny had worked for me some at Creekside, and I had grown fond of him. He is the husband of Leslie, who works as a waitress at the Down Home. She is a really sweet lady, and I had made it a point to like Teddy. He had come by often to 'visit' after I could no longer afford him, and I was pleased, thinking that I had made a friend. He came by last Friday night, with his daughter (from a previous marriage) and Leslie with him, and asked me to give them 'the fifty-cent tour'. I was pleased to, and we went through the house. He had left us and came back downstairs to 'go to the bathroom'. Steve was sitting where he could see the stairs, and noticed that Teddy had came back downstairs, but did not head in the direction of the bathroom. He asked Cherokee where my purse was, and she told him I had put it in the livingroom. He opened the front door, and caught Teddy with my billfold in his hands, taking out bills. He rebuked him, and Teddy put the billfold back. When we all came back down the stairs, he told Leslie that they had to go 'now', and they left in a hurry, I thought. As soon as they had left, Stucco told me what had happened. Teddy has not came back to the house to visit or to talk with me.
Penny had told me that he had a drug problem, and I suppose that it's a matter of time until he's lost all his friends by stealing from them to support his habit. It's really sad to see such a young man (his father is a pastor in Rutledge) throw away any hope of a drug-free future for a habit that's so costly. It sure makes me feel better knowing that Stucco is so devoted to me. It has strengthed our friendship.
Penny said that she was going to confront Teddy about the issue, but he has not gone to visit them sinse the incident. It must be troubling to Leslie to know that her husband is such a man, to put his drug habit before his family friends. I've known many of the Sweeny family for many years, and I'm friends with Leslie's parents, who are the Newberry family. Randy Newberry is a local preacher, also.
Drug abuse is such a plague on our society.
I don't believe Leslie knows that Teddy was caught in the act at my house, because she's not changed in her behavior towards me when I've been in the restaurant. I think she would feel more shame than he's capable of.
Progress at Creekside is slow. It's just so hot, and the humidity is really high. I come home every night, usually late, with every stich on me wringing wet. My skin is often puckered from wearing wet clothes. I love that old house, and I love experimenting with colors, woods, windows and doors, but it's tiring, too.
And costly.
Stucco has/is installing new windows in the downstairs sunroom. They're much larger than the ones that were there before, and they work more smoothly. The ones facing Rutledge Pike are eight feet tall, and rounded at the top. They're dramatic, and let an incredible amount of light into the area. I got them at a good price, and they're low-e, which will make them far more energy-effecient.
I want to get a lot done, so that when Steve comes home, he will be pleased.
Cherokee and I went to Dandridge today to look at some tile we had found at the Habitat Store there. Peggy Chandler is volunteering there now. It was a delight to see her.
I took some samples of the tile we already have, and we matched it with two boxes, which I got for $5.00 a box. I just love to find bargain prices for the things we need.
We went to Shoney's in Dandridge for lunch, and ran into Jane, one of the former volunteers at the Goodwill. We had lunch with her.
Renae came by yesterday with her new fellow. He's somewhat similar to Shane in his looks, but his personality is far better. He laughed and cut up with me a little, and he joined in our conversation, which Shane would not have done.
I found a wood stove, which I had planned to use at Creekside, but it's a little small, so I'm still looking around everywhere I go, in case things look better somewhere else. Elaine is going to need all the help she can get to heat that big house.
The upstairs sunroom has been primed, and is ready for the color coat. The new upstairs bath is ready for primer, as is the linen closet right outside the bathroom door. I expect to get them done this week-end. The northeastern corner bedroom is ready for primer. Only the two bedrooms in the center of the upstairs need a little more plaster work, and, of course, the east bath room needs sheetrock and plaster. There's a lot getting done, but a lot needs done.
I'm so tired, Im going to leave this now, and get back soon.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Sunday AM
I''ve been told I need to post again.
Some people love to read my posts, I presume, and Elaine asked me last evening to post again and up-date everyone.
I've been busy with so many things, and I really have neglected to post all the activities and happenings.
There's some progress being made with the house at Creekside.
We are now doing plaster and drywall upstairs. I was beginning to think I would never see this day. Things have taken so long and been so slow. Penny has shown a great skill with the plaster work, much to her joy and mine. She had never tried her hand at it, and she's really pleased that she's doing it so well. It's really just a chore that takes a little skill and a lot of practice, but she took to it right away, and she's quickly building speed and confidence in her ability. Randy, of course, is pretty good at it, and is a great help.
I tried to work some on plaster in the upstairs sun room yesterday, but we had not run the air conditioning , so I was mostly sweating and burning up. There was just a little plaster left in the opened bucket, and I didn't want to open another bucket and start the mess with it, so I gave up around 7:30 and washed up the dishes that had accumulated, picked up some tools and put them away, and did a little general cleaning up. Then I left early and went by the Family Dollar Store. Fern gave me a case of cookies that had been mashed to feed to my birds (the ones I have left).
I didn't stay there long, as I was too tired to have much of a visit.
I came home, did a quick feeding, and got into the house and began nightly rituals, getting ready for bed.
I think I need to tell about my appointment with the sleep disorder clininc in Morristown. It didn't go too well.
Dr. Little decided that he wanted to check my sleep disorders, so he made me an appointment with the sleep disorder clinic, and I showed up to 'sleep' for them. I warned the nurse in attendance that it might be a little interesting for her, and she seemed a little dubious at first.
The room was really nice, a bit small, but well-furnished. It looked like the bedroom in many homes, with a queen-sized bed, a chest, and a night stand. They were black, and seemed a bit worn, but nice. The mattress was hard, and I despaired of sleep right away. I had no idea how bad it could get.
The nurse explained to me what they did, and took a list of medications I regularly took. She asked if I were going to take my Ambien for the night, and I told her I had before I left the house. She seemed surprised that I had been able to drive over there after taking it, but she had little idea just how things work for me.
I changed into my regular bed clothing, and she began to wire me up to the monitoring system.
She came out with this vast array of wires, electrodes, and clamps to hook up to me in various places. The ones she hooked to my head had to be glued on with what seemed like a mixture of flour paste, silicone caulk, and super glue. It was somewhat rubbery, white, and stuck like outdoor flooring adhesive. In long hair with some hair spray and a few hair pins, it was a true delight. Perhaps for her.
She then put two straps around my chest and stomach, which somewhat resembled the belts they use (according to the television accounts I've seen) to electrocute convicts or to bring monsters to life that have been sewn together from the body parts of other people.
These belts, too, had wires attached to them, and they were supposed to monitor activity, heart rates, and, I'm supposing, stomach activities. I figured that part should be interesting, as I hadn't eaten anything sinse lunch, and the nice nurse had given me some peanut butter and crackers, which almost always disagree with me. So much for maintaining one's dignity.
She then hooked up a lead to my first finger on my right hand, which was the least invasive of all the leads I had been treated to. There were leads glued to my face below and above my eyes, behind both ears, to my chest in two places, to my back in two places, and to both legs and both feet.
Then she turned on the closed-circuit monitor to watch all this pleasant activity.
I was wired like a Sony.
I asked her how I was to go to the bathroom during the night, should that happy event need to happen, and she told me to just sit up on the side of the bed, and she would see me and come and un-hook the monitor to let me go.
I suppose that her wishing me a good night was just a formality. I knew by this time that it would not happen. Not there and not under those circumstances.
I soon learned that the mattress on the bed was a cleverly disguised rock with some sheets stretched across it. We have an air bed at home, and this contriveance was not an acceptable alternative. I tried in vain to distract myself by watching television. That didn't help much, as there were very few cable channels for a selection. Most of the early night consisted of me watching some concerned naturalists extract snakes, alligators, monitor lizards, and other dangerous animals from the back yards of families with small children who thought that the assorted animals were put there for their pleasure.
That wore out pretty fast, so I then began the ritual of surfing to find something entertaining or informative (NOT about how to catch a snake or alligator).
I finally found some sort of religious channel with a wide array of deeply disturbed self-proclaimed preachers and faith healers who thought they had a direct channel to God's own ear.
One little lady was fairly entertaining, and I thought that she might be some distraction from the torturous treatment I was supposed to quietly endure.
She had a sickly sweet voice, a condescending attitude, four chins, and a wig that looked like a cross between astro turf and badly-worn carpet. She prayed for people to get jobs, some people who were trying to get their 'loved ones' saved, for world peace, and for the American economy. I don't know why she just didn't ask God to give her some hair that she could manage and an affordable membership at a health club. She could have also used some counseling. I was laughing so much that the nurse came in and told me I was disturbing her other patient. I figured he was already pretty disturbed, or he wouldn't be there in the first place.
I then found another religious chanel that had a pathetic older couple on that thought they had found the only true route to God, and they were it. They told of some children's ministries they had been a part of, and showed some rather terrible pictures of their own family, which were highly-glossed and glared in the studio lights, so that you couldn't tell if there were people or wild animals in the photos. I don't know why they thought we needed to know the names of their children and where they lived. I hope some crazed stalkers were not watching, lest they get some ideas for new victims with which to take their pleasure.
The poor old lady looked like she had been in some sort of terrible accident which had split her face in two at some previous time, as she had a long scar running the length of her face from top to bottom. Perhaps she had just laid on it and caused a wrinkle when she was able to sleep, which I was NOT!
I fought relentlessly with those wires, leads, belts, and the varmit glue traps all night. I had to get out of bed and make it up several times, where I had torn all the covers off all the way down to the mattress. The nurse occasionally came in to try to help me, but was of little comfort. I felt like that was pretty nice of her, sinse I had been such a disturbance to her other patient. There was just no way I could rest in such an environment.
I finally changed the TV back to the lady with four chins, and she bored me to sleep praying in some sort of 'heavenly language' which I have not yet learned to understand or speak.
I guess I slept about an hour when the cheerful nurse came in to wake me and send me home. I allowed as that perhaps I might have been the most restless patient she had ever had, and she assured me that I had been. She said that several times, she thought I might have gotten quiet and was going to get to sleep, but I would jerk and become restless again.
I hope they make some money selling that tape to America's Funniest Home Videos. Dr. Little might consider using it to show people how NOT to sleep.
I drove home in the early dawn, but had a buzz like never before. I stopped at the Down Home for breakfast, but the glue in my hair was itching and burning like poison ivy, so about all I could think of was getting home and taking a pain pill and trying to sleep in an environment that I had some relation to.
I called Steve to tell him about my night of pain and torture, and regaled him with the account. I darkened the room, took a scalding hot bath, laid the phone off the hook, took an Ambien, and went to bed (a REAL one).
I slept until after 1:00.
I'm just DYING to hear Dr. Little's recommendations. Perhaps general anesthesia???
Some people love to read my posts, I presume, and Elaine asked me last evening to post again and up-date everyone.
I've been busy with so many things, and I really have neglected to post all the activities and happenings.
There's some progress being made with the house at Creekside.
We are now doing plaster and drywall upstairs. I was beginning to think I would never see this day. Things have taken so long and been so slow. Penny has shown a great skill with the plaster work, much to her joy and mine. She had never tried her hand at it, and she's really pleased that she's doing it so well. It's really just a chore that takes a little skill and a lot of practice, but she took to it right away, and she's quickly building speed and confidence in her ability. Randy, of course, is pretty good at it, and is a great help.
I tried to work some on plaster in the upstairs sun room yesterday, but we had not run the air conditioning , so I was mostly sweating and burning up. There was just a little plaster left in the opened bucket, and I didn't want to open another bucket and start the mess with it, so I gave up around 7:30 and washed up the dishes that had accumulated, picked up some tools and put them away, and did a little general cleaning up. Then I left early and went by the Family Dollar Store. Fern gave me a case of cookies that had been mashed to feed to my birds (the ones I have left).
I didn't stay there long, as I was too tired to have much of a visit.
I came home, did a quick feeding, and got into the house and began nightly rituals, getting ready for bed.
I think I need to tell about my appointment with the sleep disorder clininc in Morristown. It didn't go too well.
Dr. Little decided that he wanted to check my sleep disorders, so he made me an appointment with the sleep disorder clinic, and I showed up to 'sleep' for them. I warned the nurse in attendance that it might be a little interesting for her, and she seemed a little dubious at first.
The room was really nice, a bit small, but well-furnished. It looked like the bedroom in many homes, with a queen-sized bed, a chest, and a night stand. They were black, and seemed a bit worn, but nice. The mattress was hard, and I despaired of sleep right away. I had no idea how bad it could get.
The nurse explained to me what they did, and took a list of medications I regularly took. She asked if I were going to take my Ambien for the night, and I told her I had before I left the house. She seemed surprised that I had been able to drive over there after taking it, but she had little idea just how things work for me.
I changed into my regular bed clothing, and she began to wire me up to the monitoring system.
She came out with this vast array of wires, electrodes, and clamps to hook up to me in various places. The ones she hooked to my head had to be glued on with what seemed like a mixture of flour paste, silicone caulk, and super glue. It was somewhat rubbery, white, and stuck like outdoor flooring adhesive. In long hair with some hair spray and a few hair pins, it was a true delight. Perhaps for her.
She then put two straps around my chest and stomach, which somewhat resembled the belts they use (according to the television accounts I've seen) to electrocute convicts or to bring monsters to life that have been sewn together from the body parts of other people.
These belts, too, had wires attached to them, and they were supposed to monitor activity, heart rates, and, I'm supposing, stomach activities. I figured that part should be interesting, as I hadn't eaten anything sinse lunch, and the nice nurse had given me some peanut butter and crackers, which almost always disagree with me. So much for maintaining one's dignity.
She then hooked up a lead to my first finger on my right hand, which was the least invasive of all the leads I had been treated to. There were leads glued to my face below and above my eyes, behind both ears, to my chest in two places, to my back in two places, and to both legs and both feet.
Then she turned on the closed-circuit monitor to watch all this pleasant activity.
I was wired like a Sony.
I asked her how I was to go to the bathroom during the night, should that happy event need to happen, and she told me to just sit up on the side of the bed, and she would see me and come and un-hook the monitor to let me go.
I suppose that her wishing me a good night was just a formality. I knew by this time that it would not happen. Not there and not under those circumstances.
I soon learned that the mattress on the bed was a cleverly disguised rock with some sheets stretched across it. We have an air bed at home, and this contriveance was not an acceptable alternative. I tried in vain to distract myself by watching television. That didn't help much, as there were very few cable channels for a selection. Most of the early night consisted of me watching some concerned naturalists extract snakes, alligators, monitor lizards, and other dangerous animals from the back yards of families with small children who thought that the assorted animals were put there for their pleasure.
That wore out pretty fast, so I then began the ritual of surfing to find something entertaining or informative (NOT about how to catch a snake or alligator).
I finally found some sort of religious channel with a wide array of deeply disturbed self-proclaimed preachers and faith healers who thought they had a direct channel to God's own ear.
One little lady was fairly entertaining, and I thought that she might be some distraction from the torturous treatment I was supposed to quietly endure.
She had a sickly sweet voice, a condescending attitude, four chins, and a wig that looked like a cross between astro turf and badly-worn carpet. She prayed for people to get jobs, some people who were trying to get their 'loved ones' saved, for world peace, and for the American economy. I don't know why she just didn't ask God to give her some hair that she could manage and an affordable membership at a health club. She could have also used some counseling. I was laughing so much that the nurse came in and told me I was disturbing her other patient. I figured he was already pretty disturbed, or he wouldn't be there in the first place.
I then found another religious chanel that had a pathetic older couple on that thought they had found the only true route to God, and they were it. They told of some children's ministries they had been a part of, and showed some rather terrible pictures of their own family, which were highly-glossed and glared in the studio lights, so that you couldn't tell if there were people or wild animals in the photos. I don't know why they thought we needed to know the names of their children and where they lived. I hope some crazed stalkers were not watching, lest they get some ideas for new victims with which to take their pleasure.
The poor old lady looked like she had been in some sort of terrible accident which had split her face in two at some previous time, as she had a long scar running the length of her face from top to bottom. Perhaps she had just laid on it and caused a wrinkle when she was able to sleep, which I was NOT!
I fought relentlessly with those wires, leads, belts, and the varmit glue traps all night. I had to get out of bed and make it up several times, where I had torn all the covers off all the way down to the mattress. The nurse occasionally came in to try to help me, but was of little comfort. I felt like that was pretty nice of her, sinse I had been such a disturbance to her other patient. There was just no way I could rest in such an environment.
I finally changed the TV back to the lady with four chins, and she bored me to sleep praying in some sort of 'heavenly language' which I have not yet learned to understand or speak.
I guess I slept about an hour when the cheerful nurse came in to wake me and send me home. I allowed as that perhaps I might have been the most restless patient she had ever had, and she assured me that I had been. She said that several times, she thought I might have gotten quiet and was going to get to sleep, but I would jerk and become restless again.
I hope they make some money selling that tape to America's Funniest Home Videos. Dr. Little might consider using it to show people how NOT to sleep.
I drove home in the early dawn, but had a buzz like never before. I stopped at the Down Home for breakfast, but the glue in my hair was itching and burning like poison ivy, so about all I could think of was getting home and taking a pain pill and trying to sleep in an environment that I had some relation to.
I called Steve to tell him about my night of pain and torture, and regaled him with the account. I darkened the room, took a scalding hot bath, laid the phone off the hook, took an Ambien, and went to bed (a REAL one).
I slept until after 1:00.
I'm just DYING to hear Dr. Little's recommendations. Perhaps general anesthesia???
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011 Afternoon
I feel really tired today, and my legs are so sore that the very thought of walking makes me cringe, so I'm taking a slower pace.
I don't want to sound like I'm wimping out, but I feel so tired. I guess it's likely that I am tired and weak, owing to the fact that I've had two surgeries this year (sinse Easter), and that I've been working so hard for so long on the house at Creekside.
Kerry has quit us. He didn't like that Steve wanted him to quit plastering the same room (for two weeks) and begin building things and putting in windows and doors (which we have in abundance). Steve had launched on me, so I told Kerry that his talents were wasted on plaster work, and that we wanted him to work on other things. We then left the house to take me to the doctor in Morristown, and, when we got back, he had packed his tools and left.
It's not too much of a loss, as he was really slowing down, though his skills and abilities are pretty good. I know the heat is bothering so many people, but I'm working in the heat, too, and I'm not getting the salery he was. We keep the air conditioning on all day, and the electric bill at that house is about the same as this house. One morning, you could have hung meat in the upstairs there. It was cold.
Most carpenters don't get to work in air conditioning, so I felt like it was a pretty good job to have in the heat of summer.
They run the central systems upstairs, downstairs, and two window units upstairs. That should keep even the hottest people sufficiently cool enough to keep up the pace.
I think everyone is getting tired of the endless labor with not too much visible result. Things like plumbing and electrical are enclosed in walls, but if you don't get them done, the house doesn't work very well. They are both things that take a lot of time and effort (besides the money involved), and they have to be done just the same as drywall, floors, ceilings, doors, and windows. All the projects on a house cannot be glamourous.
Yesterday, when Penny gave me the hours for labor for last week, she charged me for 8 hours for Kerry, but he had left before noon on Monday. Steve is livid about all that cost for so little result, and I am, too.
It seems like you can't get good honest help anymore.
I worked alone up at the house until 9:30 last night, and came home so tired that I didn't want any supper. I got a bath, washed my hair, and went to bed. I couldn't sleep for a while, but I finally slept, but didn't move much during the night, I think. The bed looked undisturbed this morning. I like to go to bed tired, but I usually move about quite a bit, due to restless leggs, pain, and troubled sleeping habits. Last night was a rare exception.
Teddy had brought his granny up to see the work on the house last night. She had once lived there, and she's really impressed with all the work. She loved the old place, but couldn't afford the costs of heating it in the winter. That will stop this fall, as I'm triple-insulating the walls, and really 'beefing-up' the insulation in the floors and ceilings.
There had been none in the walls, so I believe there will be a tremendous change.
She liked the deck on the west end of the house.
Troy Cook, an elderly man I'd known all my life, died last week. He and his wife, Margaret, had been gospel musicians in the Wesleyan Methodist Church for many years, after leaving the Church of the Nazarene in disgust. The Nazarenes used to be about like the Wesleyan Methodists, but had fallen into liberality and unspiritual practices, so the Cooks came to the Wesleyan Methodists. She had taught at Treveca Nazarene College in Nashville many years ago, and had taught Ben Speers music. She played really well, and I had played organ while she was on the piano at several meetings in the past. She died several years ago.
They left behind a life of service to the church.
Their daughter, Dorcas, had been killed a couple of years ago in a car crash. I believe she had been at Hobe Sound when Charles was there.
Yesterday, Penny and I were out in the truck on errands, and we stopped at a yard sale in this man's basement. He was selling a huge old upright piano, so I tried it out for him. I played a few hymns, and then shopped around for several small items. When we started to leave, he asked if I could play 'In the Garden' for him. I played two verses with many improvisations, and he leaned against his garage door and wept openly. When we started to pay, he wouldn't take any money, saying that I had earned everything I wanted by making him so happy to hear such good music.
That was very gratifying to me. I like that my efforts and talents can be good for others.
Randy is still working out really well, and he gets more done than anyone else. He's got such a good work ethic, and I just love his little family of his wife, Rhonda (Elaine's oldest daughter) and his three little tow-headed sons. He says they're rowdy, but they always seem so well-mannered around me. They're beautiful children.
Aleen Collins had given them her swimming pool earlier in the summer, and they took down part of it and got it home. Randy doesn't want it, though, so I don't know if it will ever get put up. The children would enjoy it, and Rhonda told me they swim. They have a good yard for a pool, as they're out in the hot sun, and a pool would cool them a lot, and give the boys a lot of pleasure. I think Rhonda would like it pretty well, too. She's got a lot of pleasant personality, like Geri a bit, and like Keisha a bit.
I saw four raccoons on the porch last night, so I set a humane trap today to try to catch at least one. I hope the cats get over going into it before bedtime.
I think I may lay down for a while. I need some rest.
I don't want to sound like I'm wimping out, but I feel so tired. I guess it's likely that I am tired and weak, owing to the fact that I've had two surgeries this year (sinse Easter), and that I've been working so hard for so long on the house at Creekside.
Kerry has quit us. He didn't like that Steve wanted him to quit plastering the same room (for two weeks) and begin building things and putting in windows and doors (which we have in abundance). Steve had launched on me, so I told Kerry that his talents were wasted on plaster work, and that we wanted him to work on other things. We then left the house to take me to the doctor in Morristown, and, when we got back, he had packed his tools and left.
It's not too much of a loss, as he was really slowing down, though his skills and abilities are pretty good. I know the heat is bothering so many people, but I'm working in the heat, too, and I'm not getting the salery he was. We keep the air conditioning on all day, and the electric bill at that house is about the same as this house. One morning, you could have hung meat in the upstairs there. It was cold.
Most carpenters don't get to work in air conditioning, so I felt like it was a pretty good job to have in the heat of summer.
They run the central systems upstairs, downstairs, and two window units upstairs. That should keep even the hottest people sufficiently cool enough to keep up the pace.
I think everyone is getting tired of the endless labor with not too much visible result. Things like plumbing and electrical are enclosed in walls, but if you don't get them done, the house doesn't work very well. They are both things that take a lot of time and effort (besides the money involved), and they have to be done just the same as drywall, floors, ceilings, doors, and windows. All the projects on a house cannot be glamourous.
Yesterday, when Penny gave me the hours for labor for last week, she charged me for 8 hours for Kerry, but he had left before noon on Monday. Steve is livid about all that cost for so little result, and I am, too.
It seems like you can't get good honest help anymore.
I worked alone up at the house until 9:30 last night, and came home so tired that I didn't want any supper. I got a bath, washed my hair, and went to bed. I couldn't sleep for a while, but I finally slept, but didn't move much during the night, I think. The bed looked undisturbed this morning. I like to go to bed tired, but I usually move about quite a bit, due to restless leggs, pain, and troubled sleeping habits. Last night was a rare exception.
Teddy had brought his granny up to see the work on the house last night. She had once lived there, and she's really impressed with all the work. She loved the old place, but couldn't afford the costs of heating it in the winter. That will stop this fall, as I'm triple-insulating the walls, and really 'beefing-up' the insulation in the floors and ceilings.
There had been none in the walls, so I believe there will be a tremendous change.
She liked the deck on the west end of the house.
Troy Cook, an elderly man I'd known all my life, died last week. He and his wife, Margaret, had been gospel musicians in the Wesleyan Methodist Church for many years, after leaving the Church of the Nazarene in disgust. The Nazarenes used to be about like the Wesleyan Methodists, but had fallen into liberality and unspiritual practices, so the Cooks came to the Wesleyan Methodists. She had taught at Treveca Nazarene College in Nashville many years ago, and had taught Ben Speers music. She played really well, and I had played organ while she was on the piano at several meetings in the past. She died several years ago.
They left behind a life of service to the church.
Their daughter, Dorcas, had been killed a couple of years ago in a car crash. I believe she had been at Hobe Sound when Charles was there.
Yesterday, Penny and I were out in the truck on errands, and we stopped at a yard sale in this man's basement. He was selling a huge old upright piano, so I tried it out for him. I played a few hymns, and then shopped around for several small items. When we started to leave, he asked if I could play 'In the Garden' for him. I played two verses with many improvisations, and he leaned against his garage door and wept openly. When we started to pay, he wouldn't take any money, saying that I had earned everything I wanted by making him so happy to hear such good music.
That was very gratifying to me. I like that my efforts and talents can be good for others.
Randy is still working out really well, and he gets more done than anyone else. He's got such a good work ethic, and I just love his little family of his wife, Rhonda (Elaine's oldest daughter) and his three little tow-headed sons. He says they're rowdy, but they always seem so well-mannered around me. They're beautiful children.
Aleen Collins had given them her swimming pool earlier in the summer, and they took down part of it and got it home. Randy doesn't want it, though, so I don't know if it will ever get put up. The children would enjoy it, and Rhonda told me they swim. They have a good yard for a pool, as they're out in the hot sun, and a pool would cool them a lot, and give the boys a lot of pleasure. I think Rhonda would like it pretty well, too. She's got a lot of pleasant personality, like Geri a bit, and like Keisha a bit.
I saw four raccoons on the porch last night, so I set a humane trap today to try to catch at least one. I hope the cats get over going into it before bedtime.
I think I may lay down for a while. I need some rest.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011 AM
I don't post so often anymore. I know I say this a lot, but it's ever so true.
The house is coming so slowly! It seems like we (Penny, myself, Randy, and Kerry) work on a project for a month, and then Steve comes home and commences to tear it apart. It's almost like we're going backwards.
This time while he was home, he cut a window opening in the dining room wall to install a window that Penny and I had selected for that area. Then, instead of installing the window, he started re-wiring the overhead lights in the living room and on the front porch. He got the front porch hooked up to two different light switches, and they both turned on and off the light on the front porch. One of them was supposed to be used for the living room light. They are side-by-side next to the front door. So that had to be done over.
He left last night with the hole still in the dining room wall, and no window in it.
I just hope we don't have bad weather.
I tried to work on the plaster upstairs yesterday evening, but it was so hot up there. The portable air conditioner cut itself off. I don't know why, it just wouldn't work. I was bathed in sweat, so I quit after a while, but got some done.
We now have all the lathe and plaster torn off the wall on the front side of the living room and the ceiling. I noticed that there was a rather flimsy electrical box for the ceiling light, and commented about it to Steve. He told me that I had not told him I wanted large light fixtures anywhere. I had, and had shown him the light fixtures I intend to use. Many of them are hanging from the ceiling in the downstairs sun room. Several more of them are setting on the floor in our living room at home, and have been there for several months. I think he has his head up his backside.
It is becoming really tiresome and tedious to have to repeat so many jobs.
I would really like to get the plaster work done upstairs (in the areas where there is sheetrock hung), but there's so little time, and my efforts cost me so much energy.
I took the nails out of some trim yesterday afternoon in the dining room, to be where it is some cooler. I don't know if we will re-use all that trim, but we will have it stored more easily, and it will be there if we decide to use it.
I insulated the outside wall of the library day before yesterday, and used four batts for each cavity. It should be much easier to heat and cool. I want it to be a nice room for Elaine and her family. I have a neat idea for an old window opening in that room.
There's much more to tell in an up-date, but my typing is terrible this morning. I'm trying to correct everything, but I'm sure I will miss something, and Barbara will 'launch' on it.
I feel like I need to go back to bed, but duty is a hard master, and it calls loudly for me.
The house is coming so slowly! It seems like we (Penny, myself, Randy, and Kerry) work on a project for a month, and then Steve comes home and commences to tear it apart. It's almost like we're going backwards.
This time while he was home, he cut a window opening in the dining room wall to install a window that Penny and I had selected for that area. Then, instead of installing the window, he started re-wiring the overhead lights in the living room and on the front porch. He got the front porch hooked up to two different light switches, and they both turned on and off the light on the front porch. One of them was supposed to be used for the living room light. They are side-by-side next to the front door. So that had to be done over.
He left last night with the hole still in the dining room wall, and no window in it.
I just hope we don't have bad weather.
I tried to work on the plaster upstairs yesterday evening, but it was so hot up there. The portable air conditioner cut itself off. I don't know why, it just wouldn't work. I was bathed in sweat, so I quit after a while, but got some done.
We now have all the lathe and plaster torn off the wall on the front side of the living room and the ceiling. I noticed that there was a rather flimsy electrical box for the ceiling light, and commented about it to Steve. He told me that I had not told him I wanted large light fixtures anywhere. I had, and had shown him the light fixtures I intend to use. Many of them are hanging from the ceiling in the downstairs sun room. Several more of them are setting on the floor in our living room at home, and have been there for several months. I think he has his head up his backside.
It is becoming really tiresome and tedious to have to repeat so many jobs.
I would really like to get the plaster work done upstairs (in the areas where there is sheetrock hung), but there's so little time, and my efforts cost me so much energy.
I took the nails out of some trim yesterday afternoon in the dining room, to be where it is some cooler. I don't know if we will re-use all that trim, but we will have it stored more easily, and it will be there if we decide to use it.
I insulated the outside wall of the library day before yesterday, and used four batts for each cavity. It should be much easier to heat and cool. I want it to be a nice room for Elaine and her family. I have a neat idea for an old window opening in that room.
There's much more to tell in an up-date, but my typing is terrible this morning. I'm trying to correct everything, but I'm sure I will miss something, and Barbara will 'launch' on it.
I feel like I need to go back to bed, but duty is a hard master, and it calls loudly for me.
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