Friday Was Work Day

Judy took of Friday from work and she, me, step-son Steven and his wife Laura loaded up and went to the new house to work on the basement apartment.  The day was spent working in the kitchen and dining area.  It was a long day with much accomplished.

The kitchen is taking shape. The stove is in and working. All the cabinets are hung and ready. The ceiling is in.  All that is left, mostly, is the flooring.  We haven't decided whether to paint the cement or lay linoleum.  I lean toward the linoleum, but Judy is thinking painting for now until we win the lottery.  Money is thigh right now.  Even the Waffle House visits are in jeopardy.

Here is Steven installing the sink and dishwasher.  This young man is amazing.  There is nothing he cannot do in a home.  He has closed in and built the area for the automatic garage door, redone the electric stuff on the main floor, hung the lighting and fans, installed most of the stuff in the basement and continues to impress me.  And he is so quite and laid-back.  He doesn't brag, doesn't cuss or drink (you can tell I didn't have much of an influence on his upbringing.) and is just an all-around great guy.  I am truly blessed with great step-kids, an awesome daughter and son-in-law, and the worlds greatest grand kids.  Now if I could only win the lottery, life would be perfect.

This it the thing that kills me.  My back will not let me stand and reach like this for long.  Judy is the bearer of all the hard work.  She, too, is amazing.  And the good thing???  She loves doing this stuff.  She is in love with house projects.  Her next project, when we finish this and move in, is to build a deck outside our entrance.  Now that I can help her with, if she lets me.

Enough for now.  Got to go stretch out on the floor to ease the back pain.  Then I'm heading out to Rome, GA, to sit with Marni and Bug and watch J-Man in a high school band competition.  It's gonna be cold as a mother-in-law's heart, but I have a good coat so all is well.  The best part is I get to see the grand-kids after about a three week absences (unheard of in our life.)

Later, peeps!

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

I have been infested with a heavy dose of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly lately.  Let me explain.

The GOOD!  My step-son and his wife, Steve and Laura, finally signed the closing papers on their new house.  This is his first home because he has lived in our basement since he was 15 years old.  Now we will be living in his basement.  That is a great thing for Judy and me.  We are looking forward to moving (more on this later.)

The BAD!  My nephew, David, (no picture) has been in the hospital for a week now.  He was finally, and with the grace of GOD, sent to a rehab center.  However, the incision where all the hardware to rebuild his ankle was placed has become infected.  He has been transported back to Grady Memorial Hell Hole for debridement twice.  This time he has been in there for a week and I am fucking pissed.  He will now be on IV antibiotics for the next six weeks.  I want his ass out of there and moved to Kennestone Welstar Hospital and under a real doctor, not a team of students.  He was supposed to be moved on Saturday, but, as usual, Grady fucked up. 

It is partly my fault because I was at the new house working on the basement.  My brother, Stephen, is having issues with his own disease (Parkinson’s) and cannot help as much as he would like.  Plus I have to pick up three puppies tomorrow and take them to Knoxville, TN.  And still help Judy with the new house.

That leads to The UGLY!  For the first time in my life I feel my full sixty six years old.  After close to 25 years of hauling hand trucks of Cokes and kegs of beer, my back is gone.  I cannot bend over.  I cannot invite the world to KISS MY ASS anymore because I cannot bend over to offer the succulent prize.   Plus the heat is killing me.  I cannot take it anymore. And I have no energy.

I’m not sure if it’s my sugar or something else.  But I cannot stand for any length of time and I just do not feel good.  For example, we stopped off at Home Depot today after lunch to pick up some stuff and I told Judy that I could not do it. I went out to the truck and sit till she returned.

But the bright light in my life is Judy.  She is an amazing woman and why she puts up with me is beyond my comprehension.  There is nothing she can’t do.  I tried to help her as much as I could, like lifting heave shit, but I would then have to sit down until the pain subsided enough in my back to let me get up again.

We (she) are studding in the walls and will be hanging boarding soon.  
Here is a picture from my cell phone of Judy and some of the studding she is doing.

Plus some of the materials we will be using down there.

And she is doing all the stuff I love to do.  She is running the saws, hammering with the air-hammers and handheld ones, too.  She is having all the fun while I just wimp out.  

 I have to admit, it has me pretty depressed.  I try to fight it, peeps.  I keep cracking jokes that keep Judy laughing, but I feel as useless as a spayed dog in a breeding session at Mike Vick's house.  I’m feeling the mortality very much.

My winter years are finally here and it’s a fucking blizzard.