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Old 12-26-2019, 02:24 PM   #2641
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On Christmas Eve day, we were about to leave. I was driving, but my garage door only went half way up! Then it wouldn't go up or down. F tinkered with it and got it to go up enough for me to get the Venza out of the garage. I have had it parked on the driveway for the past two days.

He is light years better at fixing this sort of thing than I am. Today he had some time, and the hardware store was open. So he diagnosed the problem in about ten seconds, got some sheet metal screws at the hardware store, and fixed it for me!!! I am so happy and grateful. All he wanted was $2 which covered the cost of the screws. Sure beats calling a repairman.

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Old 12-26-2019, 02:54 PM   #2642
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I have had it parked on the driveway for the past two days.
Waiting for the other shoe to drop ...

How many mice took up residence in the engine compartment during that interlude?
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Old 12-26-2019, 05:40 PM   #2643
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We went to see Knives Out—really enjoyed it. Nicely written, fun performances.
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Old 12-26-2019, 05:54 PM   #2644
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Waiting for the other shoe to drop ...

How many mice took up residence in the engine compartment during that interlude?
No mice! I haven't seen any here at my Dream Home. I did catch one five years ago at my prior home, ugh!! Or maybe it was a small rat. I scooped it up with a whisk broom and dustpan, though and threw it outside where it proceeded to die. Here's a photo of that disgusting creature, next to a 6" white plastic ruler.

Now wharf rats.... yeah, we have a lot of huge wharf rats and I sometimes see them outside. But none in my house or car (yet!).
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Old 12-26-2019, 06:15 PM   #2645
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Waiting for the other shoe to drop ...

How many mice took up residence in the engine compartment during that interlude?
Yes. And to think that some mice or rats have been inadvertently transported from the outside to inside the garage now, where they are free to explore the home interior, perhaps found a way up to the attic.
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Old 12-26-2019, 06:17 PM   #2646
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Yes. And to think that some mice or rats have been inadvertently transported from the outside to inside the garage now, where they are free to explore the home interior, perhaps found a way up to the attic.
Not at my Dream House! It has a large, detached garage in the back yard (see below).

Also, I get my house and garage inspected every year for termites and while he's inspecting for termites, he also lets me know about any signs of other pests.
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Old 12-27-2019, 10:22 AM   #2647
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Preparing more cookies and appetizers for round three Christmas celebration with extended family tomorrow :-). That will be the end of our Christmas this year! Looking forward to it, some of the nieces and nephews I have not seen for several months.
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Old 12-27-2019, 01:49 PM   #2648
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Drove down to Home Depot mainly for some salt for the water softener, but also while I was there to pick up some paint brushes, light bulbs, and DW wanted some 3-way bulbs for her favorite reading lamp downstairs. I couldn't find any of those so I'll order them online, probably from Amazon.

And here I thought I was making all this wonderful progress with the physical therapy for my back. But moving four 40-lb. bags of salt around to their final storage place reminded me that within a year or so I'm going to have to find another way of moving those things around. Including having someone at the store load them in the pickup for me. I already use a hand truck to get them from the pickup to the basement but clearly that's not sufficient.
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Old 12-27-2019, 03:06 PM   #2649
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Currently watching it graupel, soft hail, outside. It snowed overnight and throughout the day. Supposed to snow all night and all through Saturday until Sunday morning.

After running the snowblower I took the Wrangler out to get gas for it and the snowblower. Picked up some odd things at the grocery store as I don't plan on going out for a couple days. To make DW happy I washed the Wrangler before coming home. Not sure where we're going but I'm pretty sure it's going to get dirty.

Called another Opthamologist and made an appointment with a retina specialist. I had an appointment with my surgeon yesterday and wasn't happy. She says my eye looks great post surgery; I'm happy except I can't see with it. She didn't want to talk about that.

I can see, just not when I look at something. There's a few "empty places" in my vision that float(Not floaters) to wherever I focus. Sometimes things appear bent, straight lines are jagged and my perception of flat is broken. Every double door appears open. The dog is mad at me because I keep locking him outside.[emoji26]
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Old 12-27-2019, 06:13 PM   #2650
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Got the initial data together to protest our real estate taxes, finished the new bird feeder and did some bird watching, reconstructed my mobile workbench, visited with my cousin and her husband, ate a lot of Christmas cookies
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Old 12-27-2019, 06:36 PM   #2651
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Drove down to Home Depot mainly for some salt for the water softener, but also while I was there to pick up some paint brushes, light bulbs, and DW wanted some 3-way bulbs for her favorite reading lamp downstairs. I couldn't find any of those so I'll order them online, probably from Amazon.

And here I thought I was making all this wonderful progress with the physical therapy for my back. But moving four 40-lb. bags of salt around to their final storage place reminded me that within a year or so I'm going to have to find another way of moving those things around. Including having someone at the store load them in the pickup for me. I already use a hand truck to get them from the pickup to the basement but clearly that's not sufficient.
I measure my physical condition against those 40 lb bags of salt too. Our well water is really hard, so I buy 15 bags at a time.

A few years ago I could barely lift them. My muscles were weak and painful. I stopped taking statins and that got better. But it was still hard. Then I went low carb and lost a bag of salt (40 lbs). Now I'm able to sling them around with no difficulty, which is wonderful. Except for when my back acts up, in which case I try to avoid them for awhile. I sympathize with your situation. Some of the people in my neighborhood hire people to deliver and load them. I'm sure my time will come, which might be a sign it's time to move.
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Old 12-27-2019, 06:53 PM   #2652
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Finished the mouth watering beef tenderloin (from Bar10Beef in Utah) that DH had made at Christmas. Went for quote #2 on new floors. Sis and BIL came by to test his 1st hearing aids.
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Old 12-27-2019, 08:19 PM   #2653
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I spent four hours today (3 pm - 7 pm) at the Veterinary Emergency Hospital 10 minutes down the road. They provide 24/7/365 emergency care.

One of my two cats stopped eating Christmas evening, and she has been intermittently wheezing and coughing up a storm. Today she was so lethargic she barely moved from one spot for three hours. Until this morning I thought she was just having difficulty bringing up a hairball, because she has a long history of them. But with the lack of eating and increased lethargy today I realized it was more serious than that, so off we went.

Suffice to say she was not a happy camper. During the exam she bit one of the technicians because she was so stressed. Then they popped her into an oxygen chamber to help with her breathing, and she remains there tonight. The vet just called with an update to say her breathing is much better now.

After the initial exam, the vet said there were 3 likely possibilities: heart disease, pneumonia, or feline asthma. After the films came back, and after consulting with another internal medicine vet, she said all signs point to feline asthma. I didn't even know cats could get asthma, and I've had cats for 40 years!

I'm just relieved it isn't heart disease or pneumonia. She will remain at the hospital through tomorrow and most likely come home Sunday morning.

Then, apparently, I need to administer meds to her daily via a "cat inhaler." I just ordered it from Amazon. It remains to be seen whether or not my cat will allow me to use the inhaler on her without sending me to the human equivalent of the emergency room. I have my doubts. Oh, and the meds apparently cost in the neighborhood of $200/month for life. The deposit (not the final bill) at the pet ER today was $2,000.

I don't care about the cost; this is one reason I have a cushion in my budget. She is only 12.5 years old, so she could have many more years of a happy life ahead if we get this under control. Assuming she doesn't kill me the first time I try to administer the meds, that is. So, if I never post again after 12/30 you'll know she did me in.
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Old 12-27-2019, 08:25 PM   #2654
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My sister in law has an elderly cat with asthma. She administers medicine via an inhaler daily. I watched her do it when we were there for Christmas, and her cat tolerated it quite well. I don't know if it started out that easily or not.
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Old 12-27-2019, 09:00 PM   #2655
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My sister in law has an elderly cat with asthma. She administers medicine via an inhaler daily. I watched her do it when we were there for Christmas, and her cat tolerated it quite well. I don't know if it started out that easily or not.
I'm glad to hear that it works well for her and her cat.

My cat will be a challenge for sure, but I'm determined to give it my best shot. She is very loving unless you try to restrain her in any way, so this will be interesting.

I'm currently watching You Tube videos of people doing this task, and I swear that all the docile cats in the videos are sedated ahead of time!
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Old 12-28-2019, 10:46 AM   #2656
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Interesting morning...I drove to the airport to pick up some bullets and a stranger gave me a pair of hockey skates

Last night my GF's sister was trying to board a plane and had a pair of salt and pepper shakers in her checked bag that her grandfather had made from WW2 bullets. Security confiscated them but my GF talked to Airport Security and we were allowed to pick them up today.

While we were there a random guy offered me a pair of hockey skates...he had just dropped off a rental car and couldn't take them on the plane and didn't know what to do with them. I first offered to sell them online (worth $300) and transfer him the money but he said just to keep them. I then offered to hold them if he could find someone to pick them up and he agreed to that.
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Old 12-28-2019, 10:51 AM   #2657
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Follow up to post 2653

It turns out the monthly cost (cash) of the asthma inhaler prescribed by the vet for my cat is $300, not $200. It is exactly the same inhaler prescribed for humans with asthma.

I now have a much fuller understanding of why some folks have to choose between paying for medication for (human) chronic conditions, and paying other bills.

So, I spent two hours online today researching online pharmacies in Canada, and I found two where I can order the exact same medication for 40% of the cost here - $120 per month. This was an eye opening experience for me re: the cost of some medications.

I'll have to buy one month's worth for $300 to get my cat started, while I wait for the meds from Canada to be shipped here.

The more important thing is my wee feline continues to improve and should be home by tomorrow.
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Old 12-28-2019, 04:47 PM   #2658
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A nice quiet day at home today for a change! Last Saturday we were at DW's maternal family dinner (2 hr round trip), Sunday - visited my mother for luncheon and in-laws for dinner (3 hr round trip), Monday - brunch at DD's house, Christmas Day - everyone at our house for dinner, Thursday - cooked tenderloin dinner for in-laws 60th anniversary at their place (2 hr round trip), Friday - drove DD to airport (flight cancelled...LOL!) and visited brother (7 hr round trip ).

Now I can rest at home until extended family gathering with in-laws next Saturday!
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Old 12-28-2019, 05:17 PM   #2659
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Both of us are pretty much recovered from the running around stuff that was done preparing for Christmas family gatherings and such. Today the weather was terrific - 66° F and with a high overcast with some breaks for sunlight - perfect for doing just about anything you wanted to outside. I'll take that for the end of December!

We did some more cutting of overhanging tree limbs and brush at the edge of the woods with the electric pole saw. DW wanted to run the lawn mower to collect leaves that were blowing around, and use an Echo ES-2400 Shred 'n Vac that hadn't been run for 17 years. At our old house it was used to suck up and shred leaves that gathered between the bushes and the house, a niche task for which it excelled.

To my astonishment, after filling the tank and half a dozen pulls on the rope it started right up! I do take care to drain the fuel from equipment like that for storage, but seals do often dry out and such nevertheless. I guess I got lucky.
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Old 12-28-2019, 05:54 PM   #2660
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At 4:30 today, our phone rang!! It was the repair technician telling us he found the trouble and fixed it! Thank goodness for smartphones or we would have been SOL
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