My eight day/one day project

I can't believe it has been over a week since my last post.  What a week.  It was my idea to tackle one room in my house a week until Christmas.  The thought was one DAY a week in one room.  No one fully explained to me that as a retiree things just take longer, I think because you have the time, so you take the time.  This has been the week from hell because of one small guest bathroom and the wallpaper I foolishly hung there about ten years ago.  This was the week (day?) that I was going to remove the wallpaper and paint the room in a "spa-like" light green.  As this blog is chronicling retirement, this post will chronicle this small project:

Friday (October 19).  Got up early.  Organized the equipment - thingamajig that creates perforations, spray bottle of hot water and vinegar and scraper.  Removed accessories like towel rod, TP rod, and shower rod.  By 0900 I was perforating, spraying and removing wallpaper.  It was going really well until I hit the wall that seemed to have more layers of paper than I had hung ten years ago.  Yeah, I remember, I decided NOT to remove all of the paper then because it was so time consuming.  Oh well, I have the time now and I WILL do this the right way.  1700 (or 5:00 PM) - STILL removing wallpaper, but unfortunately also removing the top layer of the drywall.  Two walls look pretty good, but the other two look like a battleground - pock marks, tears, holes and rough patches abound.

Saturday/Sunday  Hubby's friend spends five hours on Saturday and another 3 on Sunday resurfacing the walls.  This also involves removing the toilet and pedestal sink --- of course, more wall paper behind.  Nothing can be finished because the walls need to dry thoroughly and then lightly sanded.  I focused on the word lightly.

Monday.  Up early and ready to sand.  Gathered my 120 grit sandpaper and a tool I found in hubby's junk that I think is used to sand drywall.  I optimistically noted that the drywall compound that we used said that it minimized dust.  This was going to be a walk in the park, and I'd be finished painting before lunch.  YAH.  Do things right!!  

1400 - still sanding and touching up places where I thought it was still too rough.  Also trying to scrape off the paint from the shower flange (?) and other assorted pipes from several previous paint jobs.  This time, there would be NO paint where it did not belong.  

1700 - I think I'm finished, but waiting for the great perfectionist to get home to give me the final word.  I still need to prime the walls, but surely painting will occur tomorrow.  

Tuesday  Primed the walls, painted the lovely soothing spa-like green --- surely it will dry a soothing color?  Wet it looks a bit like glow in the dark paint.

Wednesday  Glanced at the dry and still a bit glow in the dark paint job.  Not bad, but now I need to put back all of the accessories and I am AFRAID to drill holes for the mechanisms that hold stuff up.  Will wait until the weekend when my friend Motorbike comes with her tools and her confidence.  Took the day off for a destination walk with Friend to the Eastern Market.

Thursday.  Since I can't do anything in the bathroom, why don't I just remove the accessories in the master bath and start spray painting them Oiled Bronze using Rustoleum's Primer and Paint in metallic?  I won't take off the faucets or light fixture, I'll wait until Motorbike comes on Saturday.  SUCCESS:  the outlet covers, toilet paper holder, towel rack and etc... look fantastic!  Thank you internet and thank you lady with the blog who gave me this idea!

Friday.  Surely I can put these sprayed accessories back where they belong.  No drilling holes because the fixtures are still attached to the wall.  WHO IN THE WORLD INVENTED THESE DAMNED "HIDDEN" SCREWS THAT ATTACH THE SOAP DISH TO THE GIZMO ON THE WALL?!!!  It took me almost two hours to go through all of our tools to find the little L-shaped mechanisms that screw the really tiny screws into the gizmos (I bet these tools have a name, but I don't know it.)  Once I found the correct tool, one of the towel rack holder's screw appeared to be stripped....I could not turn it at all.  Bottom Line - I did not get one thing attached, called Motorbike, cried a bit and got her assurance that all would be right the next day.

Saturday (October 27).  Motorbike, her tools and her confidence arrived.  Using these great toggle bolts from the Container Store she was able to reconnect the gizmos on the wall, and then replace the accessories.  She disconnected the light fixture and the faucets!  By 2:00 we had replaced the master bathroom fixtures, and had installed the towel rack and robe hook in the guest bathroom.  As soon as hubby re-installs the sink and toilet in the guest bathroom, I'll be able to hang the rest of the accessories.  So eight (8) days later, I've almost finished my one day project.  

I'm taking the next week off!  I'll post some photos when everything is done.

At least I have my laugh for the day.

Becca's Briefs - thoughts over coffee

Pay Disparity in the US.
Two ads on television this morning really pissed me off.  The first was a political ad about how bad off people feel economically in this country.  The very next ad was from the Wall Street Journal on buying mansions.  Why in the world do CEOs need to make 231 times what their workers make?  Why do we as Americans accept this?  I KNOW that the CEO is not 231 times smarter, better or more deserving.  My feeling is that our system of government and taxes favors this situation.  I can't but help thinking about who really gets the handouts in this country.  I also wonder just how much money someone needs?!

Route 50/Arlington County  What gives on Route 50 near the Courthouse Road exchange?  Friend and I wonder each time we drive this route---and each time we have driven it for the past two years....what is it going to be and how many times are they going to tear up the same bit of roadway?

Killing with Drugs  How is it that a pharmaceutical company can kill a 22 year old woman and not be charged with murder or at least manslaughter?  Page 3 of the Washington Post - Spotlight on Drug Compounding

Assault Weapons.  When are we going to hear a politician tell the truth about assault weapons?  When will they have the nerve to say that we can't buck the NRA?

Defense of Marriage.  Okay, give me a break.  How is allowing two people who are in love and committed to each other hurting YOUR marriage or anyone's?  DoMA struck down.  I can think of quite a few other things that kill marriages, many of them practiced by our leadership.  How about outlawing that if you are so worried about "marriage?"

Social Security.  Why is there a cap on how much is contributed to Social Security?  I've never understood this.  If you are fortunate enough to make more than $103,000 in 2013, why can't you continue paying your Social Security taxes?  I'm no economist, but wouldn't this keep the system solvent?  No politician will say this either.

Gasoline Prices.  I don't understand how the two gasoline stations on Four Mill Run and Walter Reed Drive sell gasoline at prices that differ by nearly a quarter.  Does the Shell station WANT to sell gas?  Who are the nut cases that are pumping gas there when they can drive 30 feet and pay 23 cents less?

Why civilian military secretaries are no longer needed  - Washington Post, October 18.  I'm sure I'll take some heat on this from old work friends, but really, why do we need four different structures to run the military Services?  

Maybe I just had too much time on my hands this morning, or maybe it was being able to read the newspaper at Dunkin' Donuts without the penetrating and pleading eyes of The Boys.  A great way to start the day.

DAY 48 Busy with lots of things

I'm not giving up on the blog, but in retirement I seem to be so busy I don't have time to write.  Pre-retirees:  do NOT worry about having enough to do all day.  I promise you it is not going to be a problem.  It is Thursday and this is how my week has gone so far.

Sunday - Worked in the  back yard as we are completely re-designing our patio.  Carrying bricks and pavers for a couple of hours, digging out soil and roots.  This did me in!

Monday - Instituted my plan to clean one room a week.  I've already mentioned this in a previous blog, but with one little update today.  Yesterday I had lunch with some other retirees.  One admitted that she had had the same plan, but it has devolved into cleaning out a drawer or a closet, not a whole room.  I'll give this some thought, but have not given up on my room to room plan.

Reflecting pond after renovations

 Tuesday - So darn tired that I tried to bow out of a bike ride with Friend and her nephew.  Luckily, I got up the energy to go.  What a glorious day in DC!  I LOVE seeing the city through the eyes of people who don't live here and who have never toured by bike.

Wednesday - Lunch and Argo with fellow retirees.  It was great...the lunch and the movie.  I got some great ideas for volunteer activities, learned that these women also had the great idea to clean their houses thoroughly, and learned not to worry about the finances---I'll get used to the differences in a very short time period.


Thursday - What can I say?  My obsession with working out problems on the computer made this an awful day.  I spent over four hours trying to figure out how to download photos from my HTC Incredible to my computer!  Verizon (oh how I hate Verizon) provides "Backup Assistant"---that was worseless and kept appearing every time I inserted the USB into the port.  "HTC sync" can ANYONE (I'm yelling in my mind) tell me how this helps?  I FINALLY got my photos at 7:30 last night.  I've vowed not to touch the computer today, but.....

Retirement Plans - tougher than I thought

It is day 45, exciting travel is over, trip home is accomplished, thank you cards have been written.  So now it is time to get to my first thought about what I would do when I retired.  I've been told that this is what EVERYONE says they are going to do when they retire, well at least all of the women.  

Today I started my room to room cleaning project!  My idea is that if I can clean, fix up things that need fixing, paint, etc... one room a week, by Christmas I'll have the perfect clean house.

I even set up a schedule:  Week One - guest room, Week Two - closet (really our third bedroom made into MY closet), Week Three - both upstairs bathrooms and so on.

I took the guest room first because I figured it would be the easiest.  After my Body Pump class with Friend, hanging my fall wreath on the door,  and a quick trip to the post office, I was ready to go at 11:30.  It is now 2:30 and I am done cleaning, but not washing all of the linens, etc....  How in the world I thought I was also going to paint and fix things I'll never know, but the room is so clean!  

This is retirement, I think.  The house was never dirty, but when you are working, cleaning means sweep the floors, dust, wash the windows a couple times a year.  When you are retired, cleaning includes taking down the curtains, cleaning the window sills, and cleaning out the closet.  It also means actually attaching the bed frame to the headboard that you bought at least five years ago.  I did that by myself although I did have a thought for a fleeting moment to wait until the Latin Lover came home and get him to do it.  That would have been WRONG as I believe I should learn to do these things myself....and I did.

One great thing about today is that I was able to use my great-grandmother's crocheted lace, which has been sewn onto a bed skirt.  It is beautiful and I am so glad to have it.  That inspired me to wash, dry and store several crocheted afghans that MY mother made for me.  One day I hope that my nieces and nephews will appreciate receiving them.

Thank god I only planned on one room a week.  I am TIRED.

Andy Rooney-isms

One of the nice things about retirement is that you have the time to rant about what drives you crazy.  Actually, I always had the time, but my audience was rather limited to the unfortunate people who had to listen to me in the office.  So, let me get a few of them office my chest this morning.  I have no doubt this will be a recurring theme in this blog because every day I come upon things that drive me crazy or that (being charitable) maybe I just don't understand.

• How is it that a major national chain can advertise "free" delivery, when in fact, the consumer must pay for delivery, then apply for a refund?  The "refund" is a Visa credit card that has a $3.00 fee monthly if not used.  How many people don't read the fine print and end up with nothing after a few months.

• Why are those automatic paper dispensers in restaurant, hotel and airport bathrooms set up to deliver only 5 inches of paper.  NO ONE can dry their hands with 5 inches of paper, folks!  I was going to name names, but I'll leave it to this.  Perhaps those who make these kinds of decisions MAY see my blog and reconsider.  Decision Makers:  either your clientele is wiping their hands on their pants, or swishing their hands numerous times in front of your machines to get another 5 inches of paper!  If cost is a concern, what does it cost in electricity for the repeat "swishers?"

• How can it cost $290 to install a gas range, $190 to install a dishwasher, and $199 to install a microwave when the technician is only replacing already existing appliances---no new lines to put in, holes to make in wall, etc...  and this does not include delivery and removal?

Of course, there is a lot I like and appreciate, too.

I Love the Daily Show.  Where else can you see for yourself the hypocrisy of many of  our leaders, and laugh at the same time?  I love it when Jon Stewart shows video of some politician saying one thing when his party is involved and something 180 degrees different when the other party is involved.  These guys are priceless. Jon Stewart is a genius.  If our young people are getting their news here, as has been reported, all I can say is Bravo for you!

• Gold's Gym.  Where else does everyone know your name?  (Cheers, I guess?)  They've got everything I need for exercise, great classes, Becca, Sherry and Barb.  What else do you need?

• I love the Fort Belvoir Credit Union.  Marijana is the best!  The 3.25% checking account is awesome and there is only a 1% foreign transaction fee for ATMs overseas. 

• The Birchmere, Wolf Trap, the Metro, Rails to Trails, Modern Family, The Middle, and of course, The Big Bang Theory - BAZINGA!

Have a great day! 

....a woman can be tough

I wish were a better writer at times like this.  If only I could channel the Judge into my writing, if I had his talent.  I had a fantastic time tonight and no matter how I try to explain it, I'm afraid it will sound funny.  But it wasn't.  It was fabulous.  

The Lass, Motorbike and I went to see --- One Night with Janis Joplin.  I was not a real big Joplin fan as a teen.  I saw her once in concert and was pretty shocked....12 years of catholic school did not prepare me for her language.  I liked her music, I knew her music, and I just thought the play might be fun.  I was not prepared for the way I would feel seeing and hearing her...the actress playing her had her down pat.

The theater was filled with people, let me just say, of a certain age.  I saw a few with walkers and oxygen tanks, MANY grannies and maybe great grannies in the audience...okay, okay, my generation.  You've never seen people rock a theater like this!  People were on their feet, they were calling out, they were clapping to the music.  It was alive.

I'm not sure why the experience affected me like it did, as I said, it wasn't because I was such a fan.  Some of it may have been sitting there thinking about my youth and the youths of all these other people, and sharing this experience of nearly fifty years ago.  

But no one in the audience was thinking about eldercare, medicare, or presidential elections, they were ROCKING!!!!

MY HOMAGE TO JANIS:

Piece of My Heart (1967)

Didn't I make you feel like you were the only man, well yeah,
An' didn't I give you nearly everything that a woman possibly can?
Honey, you know I did!
And each time I tell myself that I, well I think I've had enough,
But I'm gonna show you, baby, that a woman can be tough.

Eldercare - Part 2

• Before I even get started, let me say, I have no children and my sweet baby sister tells me that she will take care of me as if I were her mother.  While I really appreciate what she is saying, I wonder what becomes of those of us who don't have family to take care of them.  It's a bit sad, but I guess not a reason to have children....to ensure you are taken care of.
  
  
  So, the second in a series, I am sure, of the start of elder care.
  
  
  Seven days with my parents and I was able to 
  1.     Identify that my mother was not taking her medications as prescribed.  Two pills looked very similar, so she was taking two of one and none of the other.
  ·      Photographed the correct pills and identified them
  ·      Marked one that looked alike with a black mark to distinguish it from the other.
  ·      Established with my nephew that he would check the pill box each Monday to make sure the correct pills were in the box
  ·      Clarified with the physician's office that one medication listed in her electronic chart had in fact been cancelled.  Good because she didn't have any of them.
  ·      Noted that she would take the medication from the box, put it on the table, forget to take it, pills would roll onto the floor etc.
  ·      GOOD NEWS:  When I left, blood pressure down from 200/100 to 148/94.
  
  
  2.     Observed first hand that her physician was not taking time with mom.  Learned from my siblings that he won’t return calls.
  ·         Messaged physician with the electronic system being used by his practice.  Got no response in 30 hours.
  ·         Went on Facebook and messaged the bigger organization about whether this was the standard of care.
  ·         Finally got in contact with office and was able to get my needs known and get some answers, including a referral for a neurologist.  Got the questions about medication straightened out.
  
  
  3.     Researched why there is a question about atrial fibrillation.  Can’t get an answer from the medical records on line.
  ·         Assigned my sister the task of going to the hospital with Mom to find out why she has been admitted on two occasions this summer.  Was it because of high heart rate or high blood pressure?  Wouldn't you think this would be in her medical records on line?
  ·         NOTE:  Why does it need to be this bad?  Who the hell would do this for them if we weren’t here?
  
  
  4.     Long term care insurance. 
  ·         Good news is that my mom has it.
  ·         Spoke with agent to determine how much she has and what it is for. 
  
  
  Okay, so that was it last week, now TODAY, I’ve had three calls already from home:
  Where is the picture of the medications?
  What medications is she taking?
  
  
  Between my sister and my nephew, we got this straightened out.  His commitment to me is that he will check this every Monday to ensure the correct meds are in the pill box.  I don't know what I would do without them.
  
  
  It takes a village.

Retirement Update - OPM

I suppose I'll  need to write two blogs today because I've promised an update about retirement itself and I also want to update about the reality of eldercare.  I'll do that in a second blog.  So, let me catch you up.

Retired August 31.

Pension:  

• According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) I should get a check on the 1st of October for my first month retirement (September).
• GOT IT!  It was direct deposited to my designated account.  Amount was about 60% of what I think will be my full retirement check.  Federal taxes were taken out.

OPM electronic record: 

• Received my Retirement Services Reference Card with my Claim Number (Sept 12).
• Two weeks later received my temporary password.
• Logged in and was able to change my federal tax withholding -- upped it because it appears that I won't have enough taken out if I don't
• Can't have State taxes withheld until I get my final pension checks, which won't be until probably March or April.
• NOTE:   The only thing that is disconcerting about the check and the website is that there is no indication that my health insurance is being paid.  The paperwork assures me that this will be worked out....but I'd rather see the payment.

So, OPM, good work.

I consider this my first day of real retirement because I don't have any trips or other distractions.  I hate to sound trite, but it is true. Every retired person I knew told me "You won't know how you had time to work."   and IT IS TRUE.  I am so busy.

TODAY:

• Fed the boys (dogs)
• Ran out to have my dunkin donut, coffee and the Post  without their pleading eyes
• Body Pump for 60 minutes with Friend
• Safeway to buy lots of vegetables because of my pledge to increase my consumption of them.
• Gassed up the car
• Sprayed and re-potted indoor plants that have been outdoors
• Two loads of laundry - washed, dried and folded
• Vacuumed the floor - still trying to avoid the fleas.
• Three phone calls home regarding my Mom's medication---more about that in the second blog.
• Still writing thank you cards---(If you haven't gotten yours it's coming.)
• 3:00 PM and I am writing this blog.

Back in my world

I don't like admitting this, but I am relieved to be back in my own home without 24 hours of FOX NEWS screaming in my ears.   How can 24 hours a day of vitriol be good for anyone?  Why do we need to discuss over and over and over again the same issue?    Deep breath....

I didn't get my Washington Post today and I am going through withdrawal.  Yes, I can read it on line, but somehow it just doesn't feel right.

Where in the h**l do the movie critics get their ideas of what is good theater?  The latin lover and I went to see "Master" tonight.  

Oh my god---stick a fork in my eye.  

Love Philip Seymour Hoffman but even my love of him can't make up for this movie.  Give me a break.  If anyone out there can explain WHY the critics think this is such a great film   PLEASE enlighten me.

Wish I had had a ticket to the Jon Stewart/Bill O'Reilly debate tonight.  I know it had to have been better than the one on Wednesday:  one dull lackluster performance and one aggressive energetic mis-representation of the facts.  Please make this election end.

This week marks what I consider the real beginning of my retirement....no trips to Italy, no trips home....just me and whatever I figure out to do in retirement.  I'll update that bit of information in the coming posts.

Reality isn't pretty

In some respects, I knew this was coming, but in other ways, I've had my head in the sand.  Reality has raised its head after the great trip to Italy and the great four weeks since retirement.  And the reality is called ELDER CARE.  I've been lucky to have living parents at my age.  Living many miles from them, I've enjoyed weekly or more often phone calls, and short trips home.  But that is not the reality of dealing with aging parents.  As I write today's blog I keep thinking that no one prepared me for this feeling of helplessness.

Mom's memory seems to be going so quickly.  Since I've been here for six days I've witnessed this first hand.  I've discovered that she has not been taking the appropriate medication --- she had the pills but was not dividing them up into her pill box correctly.  One day her blood pressure was 220 over 101.  I don't  know how I figured it out, but I started to realize that she should have seven pills in her AM box and two in her PM box.  Two pills looked so much alike - aspirin and clonidine--- that I had tomark on the clonidine so she would see the difference.  I'm happy to say that her blood pressure is now down to about normal.

I think she needs to see a neurologist, but can't get her doctor to return my calls.  I'm at the point to write a letter to whatever agency in Indiana oversees physicians.   I'm trying to figure out whether she should remain on her Medicare Advantage program, or shift to regular medicare and a Medi-gap policy in January.  How in the hell do people who are not computer savvy, who don't have an advanced degree, work this system of ours?   It is a disgrace that the United States of America has a medical system like this one.

This is what I have set up, and I would really appreciate comments from anyone who knows more about this than I do.  We need help.

1. I've lined up the pills and photographed those for the AM and those for the PM.
2. My nephew, who eats lunch with my parents Monday through Friday, will check weekly to make sure that the right pills are in the pillbox.
3. I've put the photograph with her pills and showed it to her and Dad.
4. I've arranged for an eldercare professional to make an assessment of the situation for us...short term --- what do we do and long term -- where are we going.
5. I've contacted the agent with whom she has long term care insurance to make sure that her bill is paid and that someone notifies me if there is ever a problem.
6. I've emailed and called the physician's office about her meds and the neurology referral.

Will this work?  Am I doing the right thing?

Welcome, reality.

It is a different world

Day 30 of retirement.  I'm back "home" --- meaning where I grew up not where I  call home today.  Lots of things have been of interest to me.  

1. Where I live now---my hometown--- I never go to local high school sports events because I don't have anyone in high school.  I suppose the events are the same where I live now, but somehow they seem so "American" here in Indiana.  Saturday I went back to my old high school -- Our Lady Of Providence---to see my 16 year old niece play soccer.  It was such a different experience to see generations of families in the stands.  Even though I've been gone over 40 years, I still recognized many of the family names.

2.  Mom, dad and I stopped at the White Castle for coffee one morning.  Dad said he didn't want anything to eat because of the outrageous prices----63 cents for a White Castle hamburger!  I got him a breakfast biscuit and he ate it.  I didn't see the purpose of arguing about 63 cents for a hamburger.  Have I become jaded living in the nation's capital where nothing costs 63 cents?

3.  I wanted to buy wine yesterday, but realized that was impossible on a Sunday in Indiana.  Had to do with Dad's Paisano.

4.  My nephew, Nick, is a proud organic farmer --- Finger Pickin' Farms.  Enjoyed visiting one of the farmer's markets where he sells his wares.  We enjoyed his organic lettuce mix and got some tatsoi.  Didn't know what "tatsoi" was, but we are finding out now.  Mom and I are going to try a warm salad made from tatsoi, ginger, sesame oil and rice vinegar.  Will let you know about it after we've tried it.

5.  Having dinner with friends from high school at 6;30.  I'm not even sure who is coming, but I am looking forward to it.

On an aside, not related to being home:

My humor "detractors" can NOT tell me this isn't funny! 

 The hubby and I went to a professional baseball game one time.  He is not familiar with baseball (soccer is his home country's sport).  After a while, he asked me, "Are they playing yet?"  honestly, I wasn't sure.   We WERE entertained, however, the whole night by four drunk fans two rows in front of us and we loved Camden Yards and the hot dogs!