The Birds and the Beasts

OK, so it's cold. Really cold. And as usual this time of year, my thoughts turn to daydreams of living in Florida.But I don't want to torture myself so I try not to think of it too much. The newscasters keep talking about how cold it is and also how important it is to bring the pets inside from the cold. And since the furnace is broken, "the cold" includes most parts of my house (though luckily, Heidi's furnace works so I don't have to worry about her and Isabelle). So to keep the pets and myself safe, Stella, Magnus and I are huddled in my bedroom, which I have turned into a makeshift apartment-within-an-apartment.

The furnace hasn't worked this entire heating season so far. Originally, I thought it was a problem with the thermostat, but after I got a very fancy new programmable thermostat and installed it, including pulling a new cable to replace the one that was made of what appeared to be the first electrical wire, ever, which of course led to buying another $50 "tool" to run said cable, it turns out that the thermostat wasn't the problem. Well, that seems OK to me, given that the thermostat is supposed to be able to save up to $150 a year from my energy bill (although does that include A/C? because if so, I'm down to probably $75 in savings, but whatever) - so even if it wasn't the problem, it will probably pay for itself in pretty short order. But what I learned today is that both of my furnaces (furni?) are something called a "millivolt" system. The upshot of such a system is that the pilot light provides the power for the thermostat (yeah, I don't understand how that works, either) meaning that, if the power goes out but the gas doesn't, I still have heat. Except when I don't have heat because the thing that takes the pilot light energy and converts it to electricity is broken. I guess it is pretty rare to have this kind of system, and I explained to him that this house is full of things that the professionals haven't ever seen before. Oh, and the guy isn't sure they can still get the part. AND, the brand-new programmable thermostat most likely won't work with this because the thermostat is for 24 volts and the power generated by the furnace is only 750 millivolts, or .75 volts. Not quite enough to run that thermostat. So, I'm not sure what's going to happen now, but for tonight, we are all bunked into this one room and I'm under the electric blanket and a down throw wearing my fleece pants and fleece robe and the pup and cat are curled up on soft warm things like pillows and towels which is how we've been ever since Furnace Man left.

Now. About that bird. That thing was in the room where I sleep when I'm at my dad's place. And what really upset me about it is that I didn't even see the thing for the first 3 nights I slept up there. A normal person in a normal room during a normal visit would have seen this thing immediately. But nothing about the room, the visit, or me are normal, so it wasn't until I reached under one of the side tables to grab something else that I noticed the bird. And it was way dead, and having to pick it up even with a wad of paper towels wrapped around my hand was sickening. I'm kind or retching about it right now. Blech.

To end on a high note, I would just like to say again that I am so thankful for my friends and family and ESPECIALLY for my amazing new job. I know, it's been almost a year. But I have been reminded so many times this month how wonderful the company is and the people are and even though it sounds ridiculously smarmy, I really feel loved and cared for there and I am so thankful that I managed to land there. Yay!! Oh, and tomorrow is "Ugly Christmas Pajama Day" at work. I don't have any Xmas PJs but I do have some Grinch slippers I may just bust out to be festive. Hee!

ewwwww

i had just about picked this up to toss in a bag of decorations when it occurred to me that it's a pretty crappy-looking decorative bird. and then i realized it's not decorative at all. so gross.
at least now the bird shit i found on the sheets makes sense...

Grumpy pants on today

it might give some indication of just how rural my surrounds are to
say there are NO wireless networks in my area. Not "no open networks,"
just "no networks." oy vey.
my dad is out of the hospital now. I went to the pharmacy to get my
dads meds and they werent able to get the medicare taken care of after
2 trips, so in despair I went to the video store to get some tv shows,
and even though the sign said 99c, the videos were actually $4.99
each. And that kills me because I could have borrowed the DVDs later
but I didnt because at 99c, they seemed like a real bargain now, and
then I got so excited to see the shows that I didnt want to not rent
them. Yeah. but the good part is that my dad is home, we got a
beautiful new day bed for my dad becuse hes been sleeping on the sofa
for a while now and i wanted something more supportive for him. So.
That's one thing I can claim as an accomplishment, anyway.

Latest Update on Papa

He is doing well. I got a message from his friend who stayed overnight (so I could sleep in my own bed and come into the office today), and she said that he ate an entire meal last night, slept well (they put him on a CPAP, which he honestly should have had years ago), and that he had a big, busy morning today and was quite tired from all that. Also, they are talking about moving him out of ICU tomorrow and into a cardiac room, so that will be nice. I hope that he will be able to be released before Christmas. I know that he won’t want to be in the hospital over the holidays.

I am hoping I can make some arrangements with work so that I can have the next couple of weeks off to help get his house situated for him (we had been talking before he went into the hospital about doing some of that) and help him get re-adjusted. I guess the upshot of it being near the holidays is that things are generally pretty slow for me right now. No one wants to do much work on their directories that aren’t being printed until March or April when they could be whooping it up with egg nog and holiday cheer.

I am actually exhausted and I really want to just go back to bed, which is sad because the only things I’ve done today are shower, pack, and come in to the office about 45 minutes ago.

Being in the office is weird for me because I’m dreading that someone might come over and want to talk a bunch about what’s going on, and I just don’t want to talk about it any more right now. For one thing, it always starts me crying. For another, I’m just really tired. Some parts of being a grown-up are just crappy.

Thanks again to all of you for your calls, support, help, and prayers. I have the best group of friends any girl could ever want and I am so thankful for each and every one of you. Awww…

 

i am no expert

but i am pretty sure that this ISN'T the proper way to tape drywall seams and holes. yep, that's painter's tape and duct tape. other than self-appointed inspections of the hospital construction, i have been hanging out with dad and watching dvds of Dexter. dad is doing quite well now. they took him off the ventilator today, so he's been talking and he was even having a sprite when i ducked out for lunch. he was asking me about how my workshop setup is coming along and making plans for when we get home, so these are all positive signs. they said they wont start thinking about moving him out of ICU until tomorrow because they like to wait at least one day after they come off the vent. thanks to all for support, calls and prayers. i will get in touch with everyone in the next few days, i promise. :)

hospital updates

if you've known me for awhile, you know that i've had quite a few heartbreaking experiences with family members in the hospital. i'm trying to not reflect too much on those while i'm here with my dad. while his recovery is painfully slow, he is getting a little better each day. sadly, he was already pretty bad off with his heart problems so i'm not sure what his life will be like when he leaves the hospital, but for right now, we're just focusing on getting his breathing regulated so he can get off the vent. just so you can tell how his spirits are, they were talking about weaning him off the vent and he wrote this note: YOU DON'T NEED TO WEAN ME, I'M ALREADY A WEENIE. the fact that he's still cracking jokes and trying to kiss the nurses (the lady ones) goes a long way in keeping me calm. and the hot male nurse in the next room helps, too. :) thanks to all for support and well wishes. i
love you guys!