A Little Early – A Little Late

Not exactly a renovation I was excited about, but Nat was right (naturally!!). The downstairs bathroom is an ugly site. It has water marks and possible mold on the wall behind the toilet, along with a grunchy looking shower stall. The water marks and mold are huge concerns and Nat felt it was about time we took a look behind to see what was going on. After discussions, we decided to have the bathroom gutted and made into a two-piece (sink and toilet only). The only time we’ve used that shower was during the main bathroom renovations and we both felt claustrophobic and struggled to wash our hair. Yuck!!!! So we came to the conclusion to call our contractor, get a quote and possibly work to having the renos done in early Spring. The quote was reasonable and we were told it may not get done until February. That was fine by us, as we would have time to maybe bump up our savings account to recoup previous renovations.

This Fall has been an exceptionally quiet one for us. The days have been long. The chores and errands short. We’ve never done so much relaxing in our lives. Most days will see us puttering about the house – me baking and Nat in the garage (doing what I don’t know), or we’ll be sitting in our reclining chairs working on crosswords or iPad games. I’m still managing to toddle downstairs and do my morning exercises and Nat takes a nice outdoor walk when the weather is amiable. We’re not becoming completely stagnant, at least. So, naturally, when our contractor emailed and said he could fit in our renovations this coming Monday, Nat and I were a little ecstatic. Woweeee, another person or persons in the house and some activity taking place. It may just be for a few days, but we’ll take whatever we can get right now.

Our Christmas this year will be the usual quiet one. An invitation for Christmas Eve at Gail’s and Laura’s. We’ll try for an early visit to Gail’s before heading back to the Falls to see Laura and the grandkids celebrate their Christmas. The kids will then spend Christmas morning with their Father in Fonthill. We’ve also been invited to Christmas dinner at Claudia’s which is always a blast and I’m looking forward to it. Good food and family fun.

Nat and I haven’t been exchanging gifts much these past few years, but there have been times when we’ll buy a “together” gift. We really want for nothing and anything we do get is icing on the cake. This year I signed us up for a year of SiriusXM Radio. We’ve been enjoying the freebie subscription when we purchased the new Buick Encore, so I thought we should give it at least a year to see how it goes.

The old brain is still giving me some issues. I had it written down on the calendar for a hair appointment this morning. I’ve been trying to grow my hair a bit longer than usual, but it never fails, I start to go a little nutso!!!!  As soon as the tips of my hair begin to touch my ears they get very scratchy and drive me nuts. For some bizarre reason my ears and forehead have become very sensitive since my transplant. The skin on my hands also look like cellophane – see through – and can be an ugly site for anyone not aware of what’s happening in my body. I keep thinking that if I can manage to get my hair well past the tops of my ears that I’d be home safe. I’m now beginning to think that’s not going to happen. I had booked a body perm during my last appointment and was looking forward to getting my hair curled this morning in order to solve the itchy ear problem. However, when I showed up, it was the wrong date. My wonderful hairdresser said she was willing to at least trim around my ears until my actual appointment this coming Tuesday, but I politely told her I would grin and bear it until then. I want this to work and was willing to wait.

I then proceeded over to the Post Office. While getting postage stamps last week, I discovered they were selling gift cards for a store that I knew our granddaughter would like as she’s now setting up her first apartment. I had bought one at the time, but Nat and I decided we should bump up the price a bit, so I wandered back to get another one. As this was not my day, it was a sure thing that the transaction wouldn’t go through. Apparently the debit machines must have been going crazy all around the Province, and my transaction kept timing out. I told the clerk I’d return on a weekday hoping things would be easier. I returned home empty handed.

With a Saturday now clear, I started the laundry and in the afternoon Nat and I drove down to our new local Rona Hardware Store. We were now in need of a pedestal sink, faucet and ceiling light for the new bathroom slated to begin on Monday. We had every intention of just checking things out, as this was the first time for us in this new little hardware store (having moved from a previous location). Easy, peasy. We found exactly what we were looking for within five minutes and asked the clerk to help hubby put the items in our car, while I paid for everything. We were home and back sitting in our recliners within the half hour!!