Voicelessness and Emotional Survival > Voicelessness and Emotional Survival Message Board

Captain's Log - 2024

<< < (3/27) > >>

sKePTiKal:
No, the road and driveway aren't gravelled; plenty of shale down - but eventually that powders down. Planning to add gravel this spring. More snow expected tomorrow overnight.

Mike bought useful things - like vacumn sealer bag rolls. Many things I haven't kept but I EVENTUALLY use up stuff. Most of the non-useful stuff did NOT make the move - LOL.

Not waiting on a proposal; we agreed early on it would be a legal mess for us to marry. He did agree that we could have a norse ceremony, if I chose - when all the medical is done. I'm content being his shield maiden.

Moving and especially being busy with his hands takes his mind off the pain. It's still there but because he has a task, the attention shift acts like insulation - to a greater/lesser degree. It's important for him to keep the parts that are working - working & strong; it's how he compensates for the lack of spine mobility. Remember, he's been in the military since he was 17; until just a few years ago. "Rub a little dirt on it" and "suck it up buttercup" sum up the mentality that's permanently conditioned into him. The docs told him in '94 he wouldn't walk again because he only has sensation partway down his thighs. He put in the work and I can't keep up with him some days. Especially in the woods!

Of course, he's prone to despressive cycles and there is PTSD about doctors - given his mistreatment. Little by little, he's been receptive to my ideas that "the past doesn't predict the future"... and there is a chance - if you let it - to be different "this time". Just that little bit of reframing helps him break out of the "I'm doomed" cycle.

Hopalong:
Hmmm, what's Amber been doing?

Carrying around an adorable duck who thinks she's Mama. I'm jealous.

Chasing B through the woods.

Explaining to Knuckles that being named after a knucklehead is a compliment.

Baking stuff. Getting excited about studio.

Worrying about but also getting calmer in regard to Hol and S.

Enjoying the sunshine and the snow when it comes.

Sleeping well?

hugs
Hops

sKePTiKal:
Just livin' life Hops. We have a big list upcoming in the spring, so lots of discussion/planning.

The geese continue to get picked off, one by one. B's noticed the remaining ones have been actively shunning one - either an agressive drake or ? There are too many drakes, Hol sez. S was going to cull some, but hasn't to date. Oh, and S is talking trading in the room he rents in the city for a basement apartment, with yard so he can take his dog with him. It's no big deal to Hol.

She's been ordering parts for the '77 Pontiac Catalina that she & Knuckles drove across the country. She & B are conspiring to transform it into the ultimate hot rod muscle car sleeper... LOL. Woodsheds are still on both our lists; Hol wants to fence a bit of her place to move the birds down there & have a good place to contain Kiri outside. Dog WILL run and refuses to learn boundaries. But she hasn't harassed the neighbor for a few weeks, since S hasn't been home as much.  <rolleyes>  Dog is easier to train than he is. But they ARE getting along better when he's here, than previously.

Hol & I both got bit by the interior design fairy and have been letting ourselves get swept completely away. She's sending me links for vintage french bars & worktables & fanciful wing chairs... and still trying to dial in her hut's storage & functional space too. So, we've been having fun letting the imagination run completely wild with ideas; sharing links back & forth to our "finds" while we toil away on the drywall situation. I'm finally ready to prime around the windows; she just started mudding/taping the cracks in the ceiling. B is going to install a ceiling fan out there for us and we have screen doors to rehang. When the temp warms up, I have pressure washing of the new siding & deck to do... paint exteriors of doors... and seal the deck.

There's furniture to donate/sell... clutter to either dispose or hide... and then we'll be ready to take down old kitchen cabinets (and fill those holes)... demo a vanity that's been located outside our bathroom out there... same for shower in bathroom... and choose some really pretty glam accoutrements for the new "powder room". My plan is to buy/build basically a "tiny house kitchen" to provide the basics for drinks & snacks while working or hanging out with the ladies. B gets a presence in there as well... his framed collectible motorcycle posters go up on the art "feature wall", too.

There's a plan; but there is deliberately NO DEADLINE. We have pluimbing work to complete downstairs for services upstairs first...and other things will always have priority. I've ordered replacement cushions for front porch furniture, and B & I keep discussing how to screen it in and block the wind in the winter out here. Or maybe we'll do that out back, with a summer kitchen/sun room combo...

B is doing OK. Some days better than others. The medical side of things is moving G L A C I A L L Y, so we're making a list of all the things OTC, easy things he can do that helps relieve the pain. Focus on what we CAN do, not what we can't or can't speed up. Plenty of other stuff to keep his hands & mind busy in the meantime. We're definitely supporting our local businesses - two places now, we go for lunch "treats". There's another new cafe that'll be openin soon in town too. The couple have been vloging building their house (in the next county) and reno'ing the cafe on YTube.

Knuckles is just being the bestest dawg... he's calmed down a little, and Hol's training technique works great with him. He listens to voice commands now. She's got a bigger job with Kiri, who's still a "puppy" - even though she is the biggest of the 3 dogs - bigger than the chocolate lab! But she has more of the Irish Setter build than Pyrenees and the Pyrenees stubbornness.

So we're all just toodling along. Feb has been a lot of "clean up" of little things we've been too busy with more important stuff to take care of. There is a big spring cleaning weekend in my near future, I think... and lots of planting of aloe & lavender that I've overwintered inside.

sKePTiKal:
Quickie update:

Still plugging away on studio interior. It's AMAZING how much better the ceiling looks with the seams taped & mudded. I think Hol & I agreed on paint colors; just two now so walls & ceiling are merely backdrop. A light peachy pink, white ceiling & trim.

She found me the most amazing vintage French workbench/storage unit. But it's 11 ft long and over $4K with shipping from France another $5K. But I'm not spending that kind of moolah. On the other hand, she has a friend (cabinet maker) that can build it custom out of birch plywood and put a nice wood top on 2- 5 ft long units. I'll paint the base black.

Found the ideal sewing table - on sale even. Shipping is gonna be a bit tricky, but it does come flat packed so it will be safe until we're done painting. The old desk I used before is already out of the room.

It's been rainy and we can't do much outside yet, can ya tell?  <big grin>

B is still here but if he gets time between all the med appts he might go get another load. He's gonna start the ceiling fan install (in studio) today.

So, just same old same old... but progress!

Hopalong:
The studio sounds FANTASTIC!
Love the color, the perfect workbench, everything.

That's exciting. I'm imagining how much joy and purpose it'll bring you.

Even more than carrying a friendly duck.

hugs
Hops

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page