Finished Bathroom Repairs

Well the bathroom is finally done. We have to wait 24 hours for it to dry so Tiffane will give it try tonight.

These first pictures are of the new vinyl flooring that was put in by a local handyman on Wednesday.

These are of the tub area as it was being done

Finished!

Now we still have to finish the hole in the living room wall and the flooring in the hall, guest bedroom, and living room.  Those have to wait until we can save the money to buy the flooring as everything we got from the insurance went to pay for the bathroom repairs.

General Update

I haven’t weighed myself if a few weeks...got pretty disgusted that things weren’t working.  We have a major plumbing problem which cost us $400 to fix the pipes in the guest bathroom and will cost an additional $1,000 for our home insurance deductible for them to cover fixing the damage caused by the leaking pipes (i.e., the hole we now have in the living room wall, tiles in the bathroom, and laminate flooring in the hall, guest room, and living room. Thankfully, I think we're going to be able to cover it financially, but it will wipe out our savings account.  So Nutrisystem is going by the way side come the end of the month when our current food supply runs out and that also means I can totally forget my 30th class reunion I was hoping to go to this summer.




Hole in living room wall.




Leaky pipes and valve.



Hard to tell, but water damage to laminate flooring because water was coming up from between cement slab and flooring.



Bathroom tiles coming up because water was coming up from between cement slab and flooring.



New piping and valve.



New faucet and knobs.

Weight Loss Update - Week 2

Well week 2 and I gained .4 lbs...not much I know, but still bugs me. Eric did better this week by losing 2.1 lbs.

Weight Loss Update

One week on Nutrisystem...I lost 4.6 lbs!!

Day 1

Well today is day 1 of my Nutrisystem journey.  I found a digital scale that I can hook to the pool lift outside and my starting weight is 230.4.  I had guessed 230 so I was mighty darn close!  I really think the hardest part for me will be drinking enough.  As a disabled person who worked full-time through most of my adult life, I learned early on to limit my fluid intake to avoid using the restroom.  Now that I'm retired and at home most of the time, that isn't such a big deal, but old habits die hard!

20th Anniversary

I'm not sure this picture really does it justice,
but this tree made of poinsettias was just beautiful!

Yesterday was our 20th anniversary.  I surprised Eric with an annual pass combo to Busch Gardens and Sea World.  We went yesterday, and I have to say that it was the most enjoyable day I've ever had at a theme park that I can remember.  I can't ride the rides (except for the train), but the weather was beautiful (high 70s), there were very few people on a Tuesday in the winter months, and Apollo enjoyed the day out and the attention when I allowed people to pet him.

Unfortunately, Eric determined, after two roller coaster rides, that his heart could not take the adrenaline rush any more.  He had asked his heart doctor if it was OK for him to ride the roller coasters several months ago because I insisted he check first since his heart attack several years ago.  I am very happy that he decided on his own that it was too much for him.  I was very proud of him knowing how very much he loves his roller coasters.  Regarless, we both had a great time watching the coasters and looking at all the beautiful Christmas decorations, and he said he would still be happy to go and see shows, the animals, and just have days out of the house so I don't think the money was wasted on the annual passes.

For Momma

Over the years, my momma has made me several lovely quilts.  When I started learning to loom knit about a year ago, I wanted to make something special for her in return.  Well in May I started a shawl pattern that she liked.  I admit it was a big undertaking and I took several months off during the summer, but I finally finished it and gave it to her today.  I know that if I look closely, I will find mistakes, but overall I am really proud of how beautiful it turned out.  You can't really tel, but the crosses are done in small clear glass beads.

Finally!!!

I am so happy!!  I have someone else in the house now who loves Christmas decorations!  See what a wonderful job she is doing!

Better Posture and Less Pain!

OK so I'm not the fastest person in the world to ever post on my blog, but I find this interesting to see so thought I'd share.  Back in April, I got a new wheelchair through Medicare and my insurance.  It is purple, my favorite color, but you can't really see that in the pictures below.

Sitting in my wheelchair has become increasingly difficult over the years as the curvature in my spine gets worse, and it caused a great deal of pain in my left hip and leg as that is where most of my weight was distributed.  I have always thought there had to be something better.  I went to the local guy here in Ocala that does these sort of things and we decided on a new chair and seating options to try and help my posture. Well it did help some, but not enough to relieve the pain.  Then I remembered reading in a book once about a quad that wore a corset to help her so I did some research on corsets and decided to give it a try.  What an amazing difference it has made!  I sit so much better and rarely have the pain in my hip and leg any more.

Next thing I'm working on is trying out an attachment to the wheelchair that will give me some movement back in my arms.  Going to the OT for that on Tuesday so I'll have to let you know how it goes.

More Knitting Projects

Well here are some more pictures of knitting projects I've made recently.  Momma and Sarah were kind enough to be a model for a few of them.

This first one I made up totally on my own without a pattern and figure it would make a nice bag to take to a farmer's market as it will stretch well.

This second one I also made up. I did a stitch combo that I think I created as I don't remember seeing it in any other pattern. I could be wrong though.  The close-up picture shows the way the stitches look on the back and on the front.

I belong to a Yahoo group that picks a pattern and then does it together. This is one we are doing now for a can koozie, but I altered it slightly to work with Sarah's water bottle. Of course, once Sarah took it home, I had to make one for Michelle too, but I forgot to take a picture of the one without a strap that I did for Michelle.

Here are two more water bottle koozies that I did for Sarah and Michelle with straps.

Sarah is always fussing at me because I never make anything for myself so I made a koozie for the cup I use for my drinks.

Finally, I've done a ruffled scarf which Sarah modeled while taking her own picture in the mirror.