Avoiding Ditches in the Hall

We now have plywood-patched hall on part of the upstairs, one sheet of plywood almost down and the carpet (and all of the padding or whatever that was) ripped from the stairs. There was/is a 3” difference in the hall floor's slope north to south across about 8 feet. Then there is the slope from the top of the stairs east to the window and the other slope that ran from this same point near the top of the stairs going west to our bedroom door. Reminded me of the top of a circus tent.

We have always had to step down into the upstairs rooms on the south side. It was strange to walk into my sewing room on a flat surface - and stepping up to our bedroom. I knew there was something odd under the carpet but I assumed it was just a missing floorboard. The things you discover when you rip out that carpeting. That something ‘odd’ under it was pieces of plywood, paneling, shims - both wooden and metal (or it was part of a lightning rod) - and more plywood and more paneling, layered to almost make it level. The original flooring was installed so both sides of the floor met at all the doorways without a step. It would have made a good pine-wood derby place.

We discovered there had been a fire in the floor a very long time ago – long before we moved here – and a small, scorched box of wooden matches. Is there a connection here?

Right now, avoiding the holes along the sides of the plywood is my goal. It reminds me of learning to drive on narrow roads when where I lived was out in the country. We had deep, Washington-rain style ditches on both sides of the tar and gravel roads so you drove down the middle – until you came to the brow of a hill.

Putting holes in the ceiling downstairs is NOT in the plan. Of course, re-doing the floor so thoroughly was not in the plans either. Once the carpet was up, there just was no way to do anything to the floor – even putting down more carpeting – unless we did some major work. I just love old houses.

Now it looks like the stairs were put in slightly off-kilter. I am learning to LOVE that little bit of crooked.

Flooder

Our upstairs bathroom is getting close to being done. I finished sealing the grout on the floors and wall on Sunday. Tonight I was finishing up scrubbing the excess grout sealer off the tile before the Toilet, Sink and Faucet (capitalized out of excitement) are installed tomorrow.

I've lost about an inch since I was 'young' and I must not be adjusting to my shortening height. I tried stepping over the bucket and managed to flood the new tile floor. Bob was standing there talking to me at the time so he went to get mops and I worked on slopping the water back into the bucket.

We got the mess cleaned up. I have a great appreciation for my new floor -- and now it is freshly cleaned. I don't recommend this as floor-washing method.

As I was sopping up the mess, Flooders came to mind. The water pooled nicely on the tile instead of leaking under the baseboard. The Flooders were the boys who lived in the section of the dorm Aaron was assigned to when he went to LeTourneau. Once upon a time, a bunch of the boys boarded up the tile bathroom, turned on the showers and went swimming – until the boards let loose a whole lot of water and flooded the dorm.

I don’t want a pool. I did wonder if it would be a good idea to add a lip to the floor that would prevent spills from draining out into the hall….

Hyper/Hypothyroid - get it right

Just an update. I felt very good for a while but since June or July, I've been getting tired again. That has been discouraging. I've been to doctors and nothing was obviously wrong. So, I looked for someone else.

I went to an endocrinologist today. We seemed to be able to communicate. She said that my last test indicated that I’m getting too much thyroid now. That makes sense since it is dosed by weight and I’ve dropped a bunch. HOWEVER, my fear of getting much worse by changing meds became very real while we talked about it. She said that I’m not showing many symptoms of hyperthyroid but that it does make you feel fatigued. Fortunately, this is caused by medication dosage so the first thing is to reduce it.

I'm going to try Synthroid again. I’m going to try a higher dose of Synthroid than I had when I was heavy. I told her that my tests always came out ‘normal’ before but I still felt horrible. She said that the ‘normal’ is being officially lowered and that what was my ‘normal’ is now considered quite high. I hate trying to understand thyroid test results – some, when the number is up means you are low, but another can mean just the opposite. I told her that I am concerned about changing it but I’m more concerned that I feel so tired. If I don't improve, she will try some other things.

She did say that I might gain some weight. I do NOT want to gain. Hyperthyroid usually causes you to loose weigh. I haven’t been loosing since I started not feeling well, so we’ll see.

They also measured my height – 62 ¾” – I’ve lost ¼’ since last summer. That’s not good. Too much thyroid can be bad on bone density. I do want to stop shrinking.

She also said that people on the West Coast – except California – often have a vitamin D deficiency. Too many gray days, among other things. I got blood sucked for some tests, including the vitamin D.

Understanding Vitamin D Deficiency might be good to read. Apparently, once you leave childhood, it is a problem for a lot of people.

It was interesting talking to her. She didn’t have an appointment right after mine so she stayed and talked. She’s from Romania. Her husband works for Microsoft – telecommutes - and was transferred here seven years ago. She got her training before coming here and had to do post-med school training again before she was permitted to practice here. Bob and I both told her we enjoyed her accent. She is bothered by it. I said that it reminds me of many people from my childhood and I miss hearing it.

Wadda Mess - Upstairs Bathroom

Today, Monday, October 22, 2007, I’ve had a change of heart. I love HGTV. However, I've been amazed (and critical) to see how unprepared people are when they start a project. I had forgotten that, until you start ripping up and tearing down, you don’t really know what will work. I LOVE LOWES AND HOME DEPOT. Home Depot has the price but Lowes has a better selection. They both save me from even more driving to get stuff.

This morning, I was off to Home Depot to get some primer and picked up sample tiles, knobs, and a vanity light. I wasn’t finished shopping but had to hurry home because I was watching two grandboys while my DD#1 went to see how the kidney stones were progressing. On that front, things look stuck so she thinks she will have more surgery/procedure. She is thinking, why wait another week, check it again and then schedule it. Getting it over now sounds good to her. She has a stent in which is like a heavy wire that keeps the uriter open for it to pass, which can be quite painful.

When I got home, the bathroom was bare. A friend is doing much of the work and he and Bob got a lot of exercise ripping, pulling and carrying it all out. Anyone wanna cracked toilet? Howsabout an ugly vanity?

The boys arrived and we had fun for about three hours. Zander, the older one, cried – sobbed - when his mom came. He wanted to stay longer. They haven’t been here much since Bob’s surgery since he gets so tired. They watched the guys across the street dump rocks into a retaining wall with a backhoe. Then they made their way upstairs to get a good look at our mess.

The discovery of the day: packed between two joists, was a stash of very old walnut shells that would do any varmint proud. That’s the very down side of an old house.

Dinner came and I went – to Lowe’s for more tile samples and the bathroom fan fit for a king we saw last week and then to GI Joes for a portable throne for night emergencies. Once I got the fan home, we decided that it was a bit over the top for a little bathroom so I get to retrace my steps in a few hours. I got gas on the way home - $3.05 and gallon for middle grade. Lovely.

Bob is frustrated that he gets so worn out. He hasn’t had much reserve energy since his prostate surgery a year and a half ago although he doesn't hesitate to do what exhausts much younger men. It takes the fun out of it for him to be so tired.

I've taken a few pictures and will try to add some later.

I think I’m just postponing the inevitable – going all the way downstairs to brush my teeth than back up to bed. Fortunately, I no longer sleepwalk to the bathroom like I did when I was a kid.

Kathleen, who thinks a tiny bathroom doesn’t need a fan with a nightlight, a dual bulb light fixture, and a heater tonight. I wonder what I'll think in the morning... It’s a bit crowded up there on the ceiling – especially when we will already have a ceiling light - and a vanity light so I can see those wrinkles more clearly…

I'm Stoned

I got to see the doc at 1 pm today. Tomorrow I check into day surgery and have they will attack this lovely 6mm kidney stone with Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL). The short version is that they blast it with a machine and put in a shunt that lets the pieces come out easier. They are going to see what's going on in my kidneys since there is some cloudy stuff they are not sure about but appears to be pre-stone materials.

I have to be there at 12:15, the surgery is at 2:15 and I will probably be ready to go home by 5. The procedure is scheduled to take an hour – plus the time that I need to be there before hand, recovery room and a few hours spent in day surgery.

I just hope I don’t have the same problem I had last time. Last time, I really had to go – to use the facilities – and the nurse said they wanted me to wait for a while since I probably didn’t ‘really’ have to go. I guess that sensation is common after the procedure. However, I ‘REALLY’ had to go. When I finally convinced them, I filled the container I had to use so they had so they could evaluate the stuff.

I will then need to strain it for a week or so and collect the pieces so it can be sent off to wherever they send it to see what its composition is. I have so much fun to look forward to, tomorrow. Bob will need to bring a book or two, and maybe some jogging stuff since he just can’t sit for very long. Emanuel hospital is nice – and large – so there would be a lot to see. That is where Natalie was born, Zander had his surgeries, and Alyssa also had her kidney stones taken care of.

Of course, it is much more fun than the other choice is. He – Dr Winchester – said it is too large to pass and it is at least partially blocking the exit point of the kidney.

I finally got anti-nausea pills this afternoon. By the time we left the doc’s office, got the pills and made a have-to stop at the grocery store, we were gone about four hours. We just got home a bit ago.

http://www.web-feet.us/RLS/htdocs/litho.html is a look at the procedure.

I will also be exchanging my APAP machine. Apparently this one has been used and shipped as new. I was able to get it re-set this morning. A good night’s sleep will be wonderful.