Tuesday morning, having slept

And I am sad that that Packers lost last night. Thanks to being dead-tired and Jessica's Sleepy Tea, I fell asleep during the first quarter. At least I got to hear one touchdown for the Packers take place. And got to hear/see the very end of the game when the Bears won. Facebook reports that the Packers had an abundance of penalties and many fans are upset about that. I hope they were legitimate flags and not poor refereeing.

*

Justin came after work with the intent of taking the garbage to the dumpster, which we had set aside on Saturday. Connie was going to leave the lock open for him to have access to it. He and I got busy going through the Christmas boxes and I amazed myself again with my ability to send stuff to the yard sale or even to the trash. Over the years, I have simplified my decorations, not doing every room and such as was done in the past, so many items had not been seen since 2004 or before. They might make a lot of money at the yard sale in Keystone Heights!

*

Earlier in the day Butch came back to install the vanity and faucets, and I was quite nervous about it. Sure enough, we had a problem, but it was dry one. It seems the vanity I bought was not deep enough to accommodate the plumbing where it came from the wall, the side wall where the leak erupted Thursday. To cover the pipes, the cut-off valve and the drain for the sink, we needed a deeper vanity. My goof, I guess. Butch had cut it out of the box already and said he did not even think of it until he was about ready to cut the notches for the supply lines in the back of the cabinet. Oops! Fortunately, Lowe's took the other one back without its box, and he went in search of the right-sized one.

*

Butch called me to report that all the vanities deep enough to conceal the pipes had drawers as a standard on the right side, never on the left. If we wanted to special order, we could get them reversed, drawers on the left. We came up with a plan, however, to remove the bottom drawer, make it a blank, basically, and we would be good to go. Butch picked up a set of hinges that will allow the fake front to be used as a mini-door allowing access to the cabinet and the cut-off valve. He is quite the guy!

*

This new vanity that he brought home is taller than usual, like a shaving sink in newer homes, which means the mirror had to be moved up, too. Justin helped him put the mirror back up as it is quite large and heavy. While Justin was here we went through stuff in the guest room, which was formerly his room. He took one plastic bin to the family room for me to go through while I watched the football game but that did not happen. That is a flat, under-bed style bin with the kids' school papers inside. He thinks I should go through it and then stash it under the bed. Why not? There is stuff in boxes and bins from before I was married and have a tough time parting with it, sometimes. The stuff which induces memories for me I feel I must keep even though I never look at the items. What is the solution here???? One sure thing is that stuff is going into plastic and that's it!

*

The other day, Saturday, when Stephanie arrived, my neighbor, Rosemary came to the door, asking me if I wished to stay with them, using their guest room with private bathroom. How wonderful are my neighbors? Pat A. also offered her place and Ellen would have but they have so many animals that it is not conducive to house guests. But they did the soggy towels and laundry for me instead. Tracy sent flowers, and last night, Jessica brought us a pizza from Papa Murphy's because she knew I was having a bad day. What a sweetheart! Plus the Sleepy Tea which really did help me to sleep. Must go to Winn-Dixie and get myself some of that stuff. Plus I need garbage bags as I have been going through them like nuts.

*

Justin wants me to go through the clothes bins and get things ready to go to Quigley House. I can do that today, and must get hold of Penny to find out how she wants me to do this. Evidently she wants to look at everything first to take to the House directly for the women in need before it goes to the resale store, which raises funds to support the home. By the way, she is moving from The Club property, with her closing happening today, I think. She will stay a Member, so we are not rid of her yet, ha! The movers she is using are B & B Movers, my "Turkish friends" as Justin calls them. I asked her if she mentioned my name when dealing with Saban. She said, "Oh, yes, I certainly did. And he said he hasn't seen you for a while. You must have settled down..." Funny that idea should come up.....The last time he was here was after he moved Justin's stuff to the first condo rental, when he brought me my Turkish flag. He didn't like it that I had a Greek flag but no Turkish one. When he called me, he said, "I am your worst nightmare..." which made me laugh, because he is far from that. Just how settled I am here leaves some question, though...

I would prefer to be sleeping...

but I am awake, since about 2:30 a.m. That is what I get for checking the time on my cell phone when I got up to use the bathroom. A consequence of consuming my pitcher of water yesterday afternoon. On the bright side, my desk is now cleaned off, all the papers that required filing filed, or placed into binders, or shredded as needed. This early morning I paid some bills on-line, having to establish several new vendors to finish paying for my "kaleidoscope" costs, the bills which only recently arrived. From May until now to do the billing, really? So glad I do not have to do that again for at least 10 years, especially since I likely would pay again out-of-pocket. I wonder if there will be Medicare or similar around when I am old enough to make use of it.....Did you know I will be 55 this year??? Wow!

*

One of the file bins I need is in the back bedroom, I think, but it can wait until Justin comes back this afternoon to fetch it for me. Oh, no, he can't...I just remembered that I used that file basket for my record albums, to send them to WI with the Kuske's! It was intended for filing my church papers, Bible studies, Outreach info, all the church papers from meetings and such that I feel must be kept. Guess I will need to make a trip to Office Max to replace the file basket. A plastic bin would work, too, but I like the wire baskets which fit so nicely on the stand or on the closet shelf. Not water tight, for sure, which really is foremost in my mind these days.

*

Next week I will begin helping in the church office a couple days for two weeks while the secretary is on vacation in Hawaii, where her daughter is stationed. Hopefully I will remember everything there is to do, but I did take notes on Wednesday when I went in for instruction. Lynne runs the office quite efficiently, using her military background for organizing things. By comparison, when I worked in the office, it must have been sheer chaos.

*

Sunday morning I went to Bible study and church, arriving at study a few minutes late. We are yet on the "Come Worship Christ" class, plodding along. Either they were shown a brief snippet of the video or none at all because I did not see any, arriving only a couple minutes after 9:00 a.m. We discussed the liturgy and what types of things make a good hymn. Church seemed well-attended and Suzanne played the pre- and post-service music, including my favorite, "Be Still My Soul". One of the topics we discussed in the study was about favorite hymns and why they are so, and after church, Suzanne said to me, "You sure can't tell which ones are my favorites!", because she often plays them postlude.

*

Mike S. carried the toy bins from my car to Suzanne's car for me after church, and John put them in her trunk. I wonder if John knows there were a 1000 pieces of road tracks and tiny components in those bins...he might have tossed them into the dumpster instead! Mike C. was not there yesterday, he must have been at Keystone Heights, so I did not leave my yard sale stuff. There was nothing else around that others had dropped off and I did not want to be the first. Later Judy C. called me to say he had already taken a load from church to Keystone but she said he would get together with me to transfer the items. I am dreadfully sorry they will not be priced, something which is so time consuming to do for either end of this deal, but I hope it helps their sale.

*

When I got home from church, I came upstairs for a while, and then decided to get some lunch. A good sign, a return of the appetite. Danny made me a hot dog while I chatted with some of my neighbors at the cabana. Pat and Kathy invited me to watch the Jaguar game with them but I just wanted to be alone and collect myself. My body ached from the work of the previous days and was not good company, I felt. Even turned down an invitation to the movies with Twila and Jean. They understood, said they could see in my face that I was distressed, and thought a movie would help. Sweet ladies, but maybe next time? I cannot ever play poker, not with my face as such a give-away all the time!

*

Butch is coming today to install the vanity and faucets, which frightens me, I am so jumpy now, so I will stay home from Bible study. It seems things happen when I am away. I will become a recluse, staying home to check for things dripping or leaking in my unit or others. Justin is coming over here again after work to haul the trash from Saturday's work to the dumpster. Connie will leave the lock open so he can have access to it. There is a load of books that got wet so he can bring up the yard cart to haul them downstairs. Justin said I 'can have him' until about 8:00 pm because he has TV shows to watch with his housemates tonight. So do I, the Packer and the Bears!

Somehow, life goes on...

It amazes me how quickly life can change, how one week we can skip merrily along, enjoying our houseguests and busy lives, and the next, disaster! We get up in the morning and go to work, see patients, teach classes, attend classes, fly planes, and then, a flood! I am speaking in the last sentence about Tracy and her household, with Jeff flying for FedEx during this mess. He got home on Friday to face the aftermath. I have not spoken with him yet, not even to wave since we were so busy yesterday in our own house.

*

So, anyway, Friday I went and got a haircut while Maggie washed and dried the mopping towels from my house and Gus's, since my washer would not work on cold water. (Butch came yesterday and found that the water screen inside the hose was plugged with rust 'n junque from the pipe breaking, simple fix). In my mind it was wacky for me to consider getting a haircut only 24 hours after the flood disaster! And Tracy with Cassidy was going to lunch with MamMa and then getting massages. There really was nothing else we could do once the machines were in place and doing their thing. Besides, of course, going through our wet boxes and belongings to save what we can. But, life went on, people went about their normal lives despite the drama in our lives here in The Palace.

*

After Timmy died, my friend, Carol, told me a story about when she delivered her twins and was driving home from the hospital. They went passed the Burger King on the corner and she looked inside, saw people sitting around and talking, and eating. She thought, "What is the matter with you people??!!??? Don't you know my baby died and my other baby is fighting for his life???!!!??" Basically, how can you sit there and go about your lives when mine is upside down and my heart torn out?

*

A few weeks after Timmy died, one of our customers, Delores, whom we were quite close to through the entire building process, stopped by the office to drop something off for us, a sympathy gift, I think. She asked Betty how we were doing and Betty said that Roger was in his office if she wanted to see him. He told me later that Delores asked him when he was coming back to work full-time again and he was embarrassed to acknowledge that he was pretty much back full-time already. I know, there are no rules and we all deal with things in our own ways. But, that is when it hit him, too, that life somehow goes on. No disrespect to Timmy or to me, but we had a business to run, you know? And hair to be cut, lunch to be had, and massages to soothe the weary bones and backs!

*

The folks in WI and MN whose homes are being washed away in flooding from the torrential rains would scoff at our dilemnas here, with our soggy floors and damaged personal items. And a few months ago I was all distraught when Jessica and Travis' ice machine malfunctioned and caused water to drip into my unit. Such a minor matter now, no harm, no foul for me, extra cleaning got done which was needed, and it was over. But at the time, it was a problem. By comparison? No match!

Here I am....

Flowers delivered to me, as well as to our other neighbors who pitched in to help with the water mess, from Tracy and Jeff

*

I have slept through the night, starting relatively early with that. Saturday was a busy, full day, exhausting to me but much was accomplished.

*

But let me back up a bit to Friday. After the water remediation guys had come and gone, bringing me yet more equipment to dry my floors, I had pretty well decided to rest and perhaps sleep. No sooner had I rather settled in did my phone ring, and I knew who it was before I answered. Penny! She asked if I was coming out to the cabana for dinner and after I told her what had happened, she excused me from coming down. About 15 minutes later, she called me back and said that a group of folks were gathered downstairs and they really thought I should come down to eat at least. Earlier I told her I had not been able to eat, etc. Okay, I gave in and went down for a while.

*

Hugh, Maureen, Karrie, Penny, and Pat were sitting around the table and Hugh went to get me a chair. I told Danny about the flood and such, as Marissa made me a strawberry margarita. Straying from the dinner the menu, Danny made me a hot dog. His pasta salad was rather dry so I left it but ate the hot dog, leaving most of the bun. But the margarita and the Diet Coke went down well. Everyone is sympathetic, but my greatest concern is for Tracy's place and all the inconvenience they will bear from this. She came down for a minute or two to chat with us, and I was able to thank her in person for the lovely bouquet of flowers she had delivered to me, and all the neighbors who pitched in to help. Can you imagine? I told her I would do anything to get flowers from her!!

*

There was another lady who sat with us, Jeannie, whom I have seen around but did not know personally. She does housekeeping for a living but there was no way from looking at her that one could tell. Oops, that sounded like stereotyping housekeepers, didn't it? If I had to guess what she did for her living, I would not have guessed that. Anyway, she suggested I take a Benedryl to help me sleep but I did not think that was a good idea since my mouth was so dry already that I cannot spit. When I got back upstairs, about 8:30, early for us to disband on Friday night, I got myself ready for bed and I am willing to bet that by 9:00, I was asleep! Waking up at 4:00 is not so bad with such an early bedtime.

*

So, to Saturday: At some point the water remediation guys were coming back to check the equipment and take measurements of the moisture and such remaining. We have to make sure we don't get mold problems here after all this. Stephanie Benson was coming over to deliver my Pampered Chef purchases which I was so looking forward to, although my house is not presentable. She said it would not be a problem, she wanted to give me a hug and see my view. Stephanie brought a plate of bars, too, which Justin thoroughly enjoyed, and I even had a couple. She stayed a little while, telling about her life in Janesville, WI and how her family used to eat dinner at 3:15 when her dad got home from his first job. They had an hour of family time between 3 and 4 pm when he left again for his job at GM. Her dad was a contractor in the daytime and she learned much from him regarding DIY jobs around the house. When Justin arrived, he reported a bagpiper on the lawn at The Club so we all went out to see/hear him play, in preparation for a wedding later on.

*WARNING

After Stephanie left, Justin and I got busy making sense of the boxes and such in my river room. Most of them were toys and Timmy's things----boy, I was glad Justin was here to do this with and for me. It was much easier than I anticipated to make decisions regarding the toys and such than I would have thought. We had different 'piles' of toys, sorting according to what was kept, what was going to the yard sale at Christ, Keystone Heights, trash, or given to kids we know. At one point, Justin came upon a bin of what seems to be miles of race track, all the snap-together pieces. Since Justin had no personal attachment to it, thinking it was a shared gift for Timmy and himself, he suggested we give it to a little boy we know. We decided on Daniel. So two bins of such type of toys are going to Chappell's, loaded now in my backseat. And the back of my car is loaded with boxes to go to the yard sale which I will hand off to Mike Chappell today at church.

*

At one point I opened a box and the tears started to flow. There was a packet of greeting cards and such, and before I started to look at them, Justin said, "I think you better sit down to read these..." One was a lovely note from Carol D., reminding me that Timmy had learned to sing "B-I-B-L-E" in Sunday school and that we all have the comfort and knowledge he is with the Lord. Another card was from Suzanne, and at the bottom of her card she wrote, "I cannot express any better than this card. I love you", a thinking of you card. And we found the silver "My First Tooth" compact that was a baptism gift from Carol's parents, the Zelenaks. It is taped shut now because it contains hair clipped from Timmy's head at the funeral home. I have now placed that container in his flower memory box on the hallway table under his portrait. Justin was hugging me, comforting me, and I said to him, "I am holding you to your promise..." and he nodded. He promised that he would bury me, and not the other way around. Of course, we know that is not something anyone can really promise, but for us, it works, you know? He is such a sweetheart!

Made it through the day...

...and even managed to get a haircut! Barb, the hairdresser, thought it might help to lift my spirits. I know everyone keeps telling me it is not my fault and to quit worrying about it but really, I cannot help it. Hopefully tonight I will get some sleep as I am dog tired. Did not do much physically today but I am emotionally spent. Martie, Judy C., Judy J. and Penny all offered to come help me go through the boxes and bins and such but I feel like I really cannot do that until the rooms are reclaimed. I might be thinking foolishly, especially since there is a yard sale planned at the church in Keystone Heights. Either donate stuff there or to Quigley House, but just basically go through and decide!

*

First thing this a.m. I went down to Gus's to check on his books and such. There was a packet of photos that got wet so I brought them upstairs with me to pull them apart and dry them. As I got them separated, peeling them, I discovered a CD in the envelope with all the photos on it. Bravo! Off I went to Walgreens to get the photos printed, picking them up about an hour later. I believe there are more pictures printed than are on my table but that's okay, he can sort them out. I feel better knowing his pictures, his memories are restored. Also, I ordered two of the books that got wet from Amazon and they will be here in a couple days. Now what can I do to help Tracy? Oh, no, she sent me a bouquet of flowers with a note "Big hugs". I have been rewarded for flooding her place. But won't do that again soon, I hope!

*

Maggie took care of laundering the two loads of wet towels from my place and Gus's since for some reason or another, I have no cold water running into my washer. We did nothing with the washer yesterday in the commotion so Butch is coming tomorrow to check it out. Perhaps it is dirt or something plugging the filter on the hose, and I pray nothing terrible happens while he is looking at it. I am so gun-shy right now, I am almost afraid to use the bathroom for fear of a pipe breaking. Others who have had leaks say the same thing, at first every sound is potential for a disaster.

*

After my haircut I came home to work on the newsletter, surprising myself that life actually goes on. Tracy and Cassidy took MamMa to La Nop today and then were going to get massages. They offered one to Maggie but she refused. Later she thought that might have been a good idea. Hmmm.....that gives me an idea! Everyone who pitched in did great and I am so appreciative of the help. Today Ellen gave me a present of Janis Joplin's Greatest Hits and a lovely card, expressing her sympathy and referring to me as sunshine. Not today I am not, not today. Good night all!

What a nightmare!

Today was supposed to be simple fix, and a new bathroom vanity with sink in place. Or so we thought! Butch assured me I should go to Bible study, that he could handle it, etc. and I knew he could. He is THE MAN when it comes to the plumbing in this building, even though he is not technically a plumber or electrician. He is a handiman who can do about anything. When I left he was removing the ceramic tile from around the vanity top. On the way out I spoke to Connie about getting a key for Gus's unit as he was in CO, since the cut-off valve for the 'stack' with my unit is in his foyer. Who knew?? We all do, but Connie had to get the key from Hugh. As I walked away, I said to Connie, "I am sorry for making extra work for you...." and she said it was no problem. Little did we know!

*

During Bible study at Victory, I got a phone call from Maggie. I stepped into the narthex to take the call. She said, "Are you at home?" and I said I was at Bible study. "Did anyone tell you what happened?" Nope! It seems that Butch had shut off the water in Gus's unit for our stack as well as shutting off the main. Hugh was with him when he did this. Butch went upstairs to remove the offending valve and pop!, the pipe snapped and water was shooting everywhere. It seems there was yet another cut-off valve in Gus's unit which no one else knew about until today. Meanwhile, water is flowing into my guest bedroom, where Lynn just stayed, and also down the inside of the wall to the units below mine. I am so glad that I do not live on the 5th floor!

*

By the time I got home, folks were busily mopping, sopping, hustling, wet vacuuming in all three units to try to get the water up. Tracy's, just below mine, got the worst of it, with inches of water on her hardwood floors in nearly every room, and water running out her doors. I feel sick just writing about it. It was great the way everyone pitched in to help, and I even sent Justin a text asking him to come over. He was helpful with the heavy lifting and such, and giving hugs to highly distraught mama!

*

On the way home, I had the presence of mind to call my friend, Aaron, who does water remediation and he was geared up to get over here and start working. In about an hour he had fans and blowers and dehumidifiers going in the units. Conversations and such have taken place with the various insurance companies and now we wait and see how the floors and such respond to the dehumidifiers. Tracy and Cassidy are staying at the Holiday Inn, since their house is non-habitable right now, with all the fans and such running, and their kitchen torn apart. They can certainly use my kitchen for cooking and their insurance pays for the hotel.

*

There is so much more to tell but I am incredibly tired and hurt all over from hauling boxes and bins, more work than I do in an entire year. Tracy insisted on us going to La Napolera for margaritas and dinner, and I grabbed the bill. After all, it's the least I can do after this terrible ordeal. I am so tired, must go to sleep. Please ask the Lord to allow Tracy's floors to be okay for the most part and say a prayer of thanksgiving for my wonderful, helpful neighbors who came to the rescue today, and for Connie, too!

More photos coming your way

Here are some of the photos taken the day after Lynn and Linda arrived, last Thursday. We had fewer folks for this dinner due to schedule conflicts with the dinner at church the next night. Somehow the dinner turned out fabulous with only seven around the table! Plenty of leftovers, too!

From left is Lynn, Janet, Linda, Judy C., and Judy J. Martie is absent from the photo but came later. We had Smithfield ham, macaroni and cheese, Southern baked beans, and key lime pie. Judy J. made us a cream puff ice cream sandwich with chocolate sauce over the top. Yummo!

This is another view of our table, showing the delicious food on the table. For the benefit of my guests, I had turned on the A/C, which I am sure made them so much more comfortable!

Linda had to tackle the wine bottle that Martie brought since I did not know how to use my fancy, schmancy Pampered Chef cork screw. It put up a terrible battle, but Linda beat the bottle!

Martie looks so lovely in her turquoise top with scarf! Oh, such laughing we did that night, and later she said she cannot remember when she's laughed so hard. We had to sit on towels!

Linda seems to be off on some kind of mission, heading away from the table. As you can see, it still bright outside and we are ready for dessert! The fun went on until nearly 10:00 pm, long after our pie and cream puffs were consumed!