2/25/09 Service Outage

Gabriel went back to school today -- at first. We got called out because he was complaining of an earache. Dave took him to the pediatrician, who diagnosed an ear infection -- and a probable tail end case of hand, foot and mouth disease. Benign, no treatment, no isolation -- just an FYI. That could explain Julian's sore throat earlier this week too.

But that meant no work for me this afternoon as I'd planned. Not the end of the world, but since I know I have a lot of time off coming up (a week in March and a week in April), I'm trying to get in as much as I can.

I made the best of it my unexpected afternoon off, taking care of errands that had to be run anyway. Such as picking up and delivering our new ping-pong table! One good thing I have to say about this economy: it's not hard to buy a $400 table for $229. There it is in the garage, boxed up, after unloading.


Dave disapproves of this development on the grounds that it's a huge thing to store that won't get used much. Even though he's right, I wanted it anyway.

But I gave him another even sounder reason to frown on this idea this afternoon.

That box is heavy. Very very heavy. I got one of the guys at the jobsite to help me unload it, but...the operative word in there is one. Not two. One guy. So I did some of the lifting too. Guess what -- I can throw my back out by actually doing something, instead of just standing there innocently and feeling it snap!

I'm barely above cane level now, though fairly hunched over, and in an unusual amount of pain for this injury. I've been struggling against falling-asleep feet and legs for weeks, since my last close call, and this is a huge setback. I so don't need an injured back when we're about to move. I think today was a clear signal that my days of heavy lifting and being determined to do things myself no matter what may require reconsideration. Fortunately, in a few years I'll have two strong teenage sons to do all the heavy lifting around here.

Our new mantel is in!! It's so awesome that now I'm regretting the hearth tile, which is relatively washed-out and blah by comparison. It's so focal, it's crying out for granite. But the last thing I need now is to wish we'd done something fancier, when most of my regrets and fears are about having gone overboard. (In fact, speaking of overboard, I'm also wishing the surround tile was all just one type, no little details -- very unlike me, since I love little details. This tile is so neat that it really stands well just on its own, and I find the little square pieces along the top distracting.)

The stain color doesn't match the rest of the room, but FEH. I'm tired of matching. It's just not in my DNA. I'm a mishmash sort of person.

Besides, my MAIN reason for a mantel is because I consider it a crime against humanity not to have a place to put family photos or hang Christmas stockings over a fireplace. Now there's a place to set stuff! As usual, the "function" aspect is very clear to me -- the mantel also has built-in shelves on the side -- but the "form" part totally trips me up.


I had no idea how ill-suited I am mentally, intellectually and creatively to remodeling. I will be so, so glad when the constant barrage of New things to get used to is over. And for the next few days, my back will see to it that I see very much the same things.

2/25/09

p.s. I just love my $7 fireplace screen -- it fits perfectly!