Irrigation and Landscape Issues

First of all, I'm still experiencing some effects from my recent bout with nausea. I had another hard time last night and I'm not sure how much longer I should go before taking more drastic steps to get it over with once and for all. I'm on the right track and think it's more of a body fluids issue than anything else. We have been working like crazy in this heat and probably not taking in enough fluids.

I had a landscaper out this morning to install a new timer and control box for our irrigation. We noticed that the trees and plants had not been getting watered enough so we discovered that the box needed to be replaced. The same guy will return tomorrow to add a couple new lines and to trim the palm trees for the season. We could have lost some plants and trees if we didn't follow up with that move.

Our cookout that was rescheduled from the Memorial Weekend will now be a visit by George and Cheryl on Saturday afternoon when they will bring a pizza and visit for awhile. Brian and family will pass as a result of Amy's parents coming in for a visit. We'll catch up with them at some point over the summer. We are looking forward to seeing George and Cheryl and having a nice visit on Saturday. The real heat is on the way, but we expect to have some cool air while sitting in the shade of our patio...

Lingering Illness

I was still dealing with the nauseous feeling all day yesterday. I didn't feel like eating and didn't feel like performing any activities either. We did, however, make another trip to Goodwill to make another donation and we stopped at Fry's to pick up some odds and ends. The medication that was prescribed on Monday was not doing its job.

The dumpster is being picked up today so any large trash items will have to be discarded through other means. We may end up getting it back sometime soon to begin the job of emptying and organizing the garage. Ugh!

Josie will return to work on Wednesday the 6th of June. She doesn't have her full schedule yet but expects to be working similar hours as those before she left.

I felt 100% better this morning when I got up and Josie and I agree that what I experienced was something similar to what I had in Jackson, WY, when we took our first hike of the season several years ago. I had heat exhaustion and had the exact symptoms as I had the last few days. I have been working hard and sweating a lot over the last couple weeks and I believe it just caught up with me on Monday. It is just a theory, but a good one...

Down Day

I had a not-so-fun day yesterday for Memorial Day. I was going through the nauseous feeling most of the day and didn't eat much as a result. The doctor at the Urgent Care prescribed some medication to ease the feeling and it did work by the time the afternoon rolled around. Basically, the entire holiday was ruined by the experience and I apologize to the family for the last minute change in plans.

We anticipate the pickup today by St Vincent DePaul of the remaining large furniture pieces that were left behind by the previous owners. The window given for the pickup time was 8 AM to 4 PM. That does no good at all for planning a day. We are stuck here until they arrive. It would be a shame to wait all day and see them arrive at 4 PM. However, we are so anxious to get rid of these pieces that we will be happy to wait. I also want to contact Parks and Sons to have our dumpster picked up asap. It is about full and has served its purpose.

Josie will try to get a schedule from her manager today. The expected start date for her is around June 1. Slowly, we are getting back some normalcy to our schedules...

Small Scare

We have been pushing very hard the last several weeks and it may have caught up with us - caught up with me, anyway - as I ended up going to Urgent Care this morning. We haven't been eating properly and with the added stress had resulted in a slightly scary situation. I was up and down all night last night with the dry heaves and got very little sleep. Josie gave me a solution of anti-nausea liquid which I immediately barfed.

We had the Memorial Day cookout and visit scheduled today with the family that we felt had to be cancelled in case there was any kind of contagious illness. Fortunately, the doctor indicated that it was most likely a reaction to something I ate or a virus of some kind. I'm almost certain it was a result of the three ears of corn I ate last night for dinner. My digestive system is not as efficient as it was prior to losing my gall bladder two years ago. At any rate, we have rescheduled our gathering for next weekend.

I failed to mention yesterday that we took a break from our routine and went to a place on Saturday that use to be a favorite of ours - The Pottery Place - in Surprise. It still is a neat place to go for anything you might like to place in your yard. These photos show the kind if inventory they carry:

It was a fun visit and it was a miracle that we left without a purchase of any kind. Maybe some day down the road.

I still am feeling the effects from last night and this morning but I am definitely on the mend. See you tomorrow.

Schedule Adjustments

The routine has certainly changed for my mornings since we moved into the house. I have only missed one or two days of blog entries in around ten years and I have now missed two in just a week. I will get back on schedule once we get settled into the house and Josie starts her job again. We have been on a whirlwind kind of schedule trying to get everything done. We both start our mornings outside having coffee and watching the birds, rabbits and golf course workers. It is then time to begin our projects for the day which go non-stop the rest of the day. I have to squeeze in time for computer stuff.

There were two more trips to Goodwill yesterday to drop off donations. We will make at least one more today and I will also call to schedule a pickup of the dumpster. We will be glad when St Vincent DePaul comes on Tuesday to pick up the large pieces remaining to be donated. I also placed several ads on Craigslist to sell some items and we have had calls on those.

We are pushing hard to get things done before tomorrow when we celebrate Memorial Day with a family cookout. Of course, I can't forget the Indy 500 which is on today. That will be taped, but I plan to sneak some time to watch some of the race live which begins at 8:30 AM...

Prep for Holiday Weekend

We stopped at the recommended fabric store (H & R Fabric) in Phoenix and selected the fabric to be used on the refinishing and re-upholstering of our barrel chairs. The chairs were then delivered to the craftsman - The Village Woodsmith - for the project which will take approximately 4-6 weeks to complete. They should look like brand new chairs when completed and we will be anxious to see them.

The dumpster is filling up and we expect to have that taken away sometime early next week. The trash accumulation is beginning to dwindle, so that is a sure sign we are getting close to completing the main part of the move-in. Of course, that doesn't include the garage. Josie is still juggling items to find the right place for everything.

We invited George and Cheryl for a visit sometime over the holiday weekend and also suggested the option of everybody, including Brian and his family, coming over on Memorial Day. We haven't heard back from them yet, but the options are there.

There aren't a whole of other things planned for the holiday weekend which will probably be the final one before Josie returns to her job at the flower shop...

Controlling Three Moves

We really didn't anticipate the problems we would have while trying to handle three moves at once. The biggest problem, as it turns out, is moving out the previous owners' belongings before we can move-in our own things. They left items in just about every location in the house. We keep filling up boxes with their stuff to take to the donation centers and we keep finding more stuff. Josie is frustrated by having to pack up their things while emptying our own boxes and finding a place for everything. Throw in the stuff from our RV and we have three moves to control. It is getting easier to get around our house as we are slowly reducing the number of boxes and containers. The outside areas are about set, as are the spare bedroom, living room and family room. The main areas for us to concentrate on are the master bedroom, the kitchen and the den (laundry room). Forget the garage, as it may be years before we see bottom out there.

The pickup by St Vincent DePaul on Tuesday cannot arrive soon enough. We are also having two chairs re-upholstered that we have had for nearly 50 years and have been ignored for about 25 years. They are part of the furniture acquisition I made in King of Prussia, PA. many years ago. These are the chairs:

They will fit nicely in our living room and we look forward to, once again, gaining the use of them.

We absolutely love our house and look forward to getting totally moved-in and relaxing...