Sunday, June 22, 2008

Catching Up

We've been here a little over 3 weeks. I'll try to recap our adventures up to this time. I meant to start a journal but got busy and best laid plans...blah blah blah. Arrived in L.V. on Sat. May 31. The wind blew like hell for a week and the weather was, and still is, hot. But it's not stifling like I hear it is in CA.

On Tues. the 3rd I got two separate hematomas. One on my thumb by doing nothing but lifting a small plastic veggie bin. A few hours later, another one on my index finger on the opposite hand by opening the car door. They weren't bruises..they were full blown hema's. And believe me, after the Great Boob Blowout, I know a hema from a bruise!!

That night, or should I say early Wednesday morning (2:00 am) I awoke to another fake heart attack. Off to emergency and overnight for observation. The hospital is a part of the Veteran's Home in Walsenburg, about 15 miles away. The hospital itself consists of 10 rooms and is staffed by 2 nurses around the clock. The same nurses also work ER at the same time they're administering to patients in beds. There were only 3 patients in the hospital, including me. Southern Colorado health care verges on the scary. But the diagnosis was the same as in SB. Just a spasm in the artery and IT'S NOT DANGEROUS, CASEY!!! The doctors said the hematoma's weren't related and don't know what caused them. But it's not a problem anymore, as at this point my whole body would be one giant hematoma from working on the house.

We began demolishing the house from the interior; ripping drywall and knocking down walls. I'm now tearing off 3 layers of siding on the exterior. Andy is framing, sheathing, and cutting openings for the windows. I'm tearing the house apart while Andy is putting it back together.













The fireplace is framed and the actual unit will be installed on Thursday...so we are hoping. La Veta is a lot like Hawaii in that nobody's in a big hurry and Thursday probably means the following Monday at best. At the end of the day we are sweaty and dirty, just like great sex only not as fun. For awhile we could shower in the house and it was a good one with great water pressure and room to move. After I showered there were little piles of grit on the bottom of the tub. Dirty dirty dirty.

We had to pull the propane tank last week because the pressure release valve malfunctioned, so there went our hot water source. Now we're back to showering in the RV in a sardine size enclosure and limited hot water. It's a race at the end of the day to see who can get to it first. At least the beer is cold while you're waiting for the hot water tank to refill.
house
RV
My Arial font just went south on me so i guess the rest of this missive will be in whatever this happens to be.
We have a few bears in town and a mountain lion roaming the streets. LaVeta didn't get a normal rainfall this year (who did????) and now creatures large and wild are making their way down from the mountains to forage.
Dennis and Tina Berg and Tina's mom, Gertrude came to visit last week. They made the drive down from Colorado Springs where they were watching their daughter, Lindsay, practice for the Women's Olympic Volleyball Team.
Well, I'm sure there are plenty of good stories I'm forgetting, like having to throw andy out of the game (house) yesterday...he was having an Excedrin moment and needed to settle down. I sent him on a bike ride.
Well, that's all I got for now. Check in often and hope to hear from someone soon. lvoe, k

















Do! Do! Do! Lookin' out my front door.




















































































3 comments:

thuy said...

hi karen! hi andy!

Julie said...

Hey Karen, what the hell. Sounds like you guys are working harder there than in SB. Boy, what a view though. Sorry about your hematomas and heart issues. Sounds like you are in good hands with the medical staff in Colorado. The place is looking great. I was disapppointed that I didn't get to hook up with you before you left. Miss you a bunch. Last week was a scorcher but we are getting back to normal as of today. I've been busy with work, went to a CPR recertification course over the weekend, joined a couple of tennis classes starting next week and have been going to a Body Bootcamp for the last 3 weeks down at leadbetter beach from 6-7 AM. I love it. It is a total of 6 weeks and I'll probably join for another. I'm also volunteering with the American Heart Association to help put togehter their september Heart Walk here in SB along with having a walking team with work. Never a dull moment here. Jeff is busy running the business and his fantasy baseball teams - fun fun fun! Hope to see you guys soon but I like the blog idea. Great to hear from you. Off to pickup some P&S shirts and back to the grind. Love ya both + doggies. Take care and stay in touch. Juls (aka JULIA)!

thuy said...

i finally took the time to read your first post again. i can't believe i didn't even see my buddy in two of the pictures! i love you waffles! those other dogs on my blog don't mean anything!

karen, check your toes. if blood spots show up on both feet, then i'd be really concerned. although it would be fun to see you walk on water. it would be even more fun to see you dance c/w. lord.

tomorrow is my birthday. please don't forget to put down your sledge hammer and nail gun and have a few beers for me!