And In Today’s Shop from Home Episode

I welcomed a new loveseat and coffee table to my living room recently and love the look. Today I took the plunge and ordered a new lift chair for myself. I know, I know, I just got the one I have in December. But it’s not really right for me; I bought it because I couldn’t sleep in my bed and needed a place to sleep. The dimensions make this better for someone taller – and, let’s be honest, who weighs less than I do.

I wanted something very sturdy made for heavy people with infinity positions that would let me use the chair to comfortably read and watch TV, nap, or sleep. I needed something properly proportioned for my height. And because of the blood clot and concern that another might appear, I wanted to be sure my legs were raised up higher than my current chair allows. I also wanted a chair made by a company that makes lift chairs, not all kinds of furniture with a few lift chairs thrown in on the side.

I found one and ordered it today from Spinlife.com. The chair is sized for me, has 3 motors, and is made by Golden Technologies, a company that only makes lift chairs and scooters. I splurged and am getting heat and back massage, too, because why not? It will take a while to get here, but it will be worth the wait and is definitely a good investment. Now I have to stop buying things.

Birthday Cake for Breakfast

Today is my birthday and I had carrot cake for breakfast because, why not? My brother and sister-in-law brought it with them yesterday to celebrate my day a bit early, and there are carrots in it, so it’s healthy. It certainly is tasty. Cecelia gave me the best b’day present ever: a massaging foot bath followed by nail trim and foot massage. Honestly, my feet have been so unhappy (it’s been 3 months since the podiatrist was here and I really can’t cut my own nails because of the neuropathy) that it was the perfect gift. Plus I’m touch deprived and dearly miss regular pedicures and massages. At least I can touch and cuddle the cats, even though they’re not all excited about being cuddled.

For my birthday, I’m buying myself a loveseat for the living room. This was the original plan last year when I moved in but it never happened. Now it’s time. I’ve had a great time looking at furniture online and trying to find something that’s not too big, not too boring, and made of lighter colored fabric that the cats won’t want to immediately claw. They leave soft chenille fabrics alone so that’s what I looked for. I also bought a coffee table from Pottery Barn in wood and metal that will match my shelving unit. Both loveseat and table will give the girls more places to nap and change up the look of the space while still giving me ample room to wheel or walk around. I needed more space for that when I first moved here but I know what I’m doing now. It makes a difference.

My belly is sore from my twice-daily Lovenox shots, and I have lots of purple splotches. I do morning shots on the left and evening on the right to make sure I’m spacing them out properly. The first few days I had waves of nausea that I finally realized were from the shots, and on one walk in the hallway found myself in a cold sweat bad enough that I turned around because I was so shakey. That might have been low blood sugar which usually isn’t a problem. I’m hoping these shots are actually starting to work on the blood clot.

I see the cardiologist on Tuesday for my regular annual exam and will see what he has to say about the clot. But first I need to call the vascular people to have a report of my visit sent to the heart doc so he has all appropriate information. We shouldn’t have to do all of this checking and tracking but I don’t expect the offices to do it on their own anymore. My work experience in dealing with vendor customer service for a zillion different reasons helps enormously but I wish I didn’t need it.

Everything is moving fast

My house is so empty now. Oh, there’s furniture, but there’s just a lot of … space with so much already sold or donated. The Veterans were here yesterday for a pick up and I have a car full of boxes for Hangers of Hope in Tyler. The kitties are anxious and I’m not sure if they’ve noticed that porch furniture is gone, too.

It’s been a whirlwind week of almost frenzied weeding, sorting, and packing. My sister-in-law was here last weekend, and I wouldn’t be this far along without her! She also helped me with my move here from Connecticut and I am so grateful for her love, support, and hard work. And my friends here in Emerald Bay liberated furniture, stuff, and even plants, giving them new homes and new life.

I have just so much stuff even after letting go of so much already. Next priorities are pantry and fridge clean-out, and going through boxes of holiday decorations. Anyone want vintage Byers Choice carolers?

Given Away to a Good Home

Today I gave away my grandmother’s rocking chair.  I’ve had it for 25 years, bringing it back from North Carolina in the back of my car after I mentioned that it was one thing that I’d like to have after she died.  She had a habit of frequently talking about dying and who was going to get what, so I thought I’d just put in a request.  She insisted on me taking it home that very trip and for years it’s been sitting around, reminding me of her.

But it hasn’t been used.  I don’t fit into it comfortably and lately all it’s come to mean is clutter.  I was afraid to get rid of it because it was my grandma’s and I didn’t want my dad to be upset.  Turns out he didn’t know I had it and didn’t care about it in the slightest.  We both have other physical touchstones to remind us of her, along with our memories.

So today I took a few pics and put it up on Freecycle.  I could have tried to sell it but it didn’t seem like the right thing to do, and I’ve had good experiences with Freecyle in the past.  It’s also insanely speedy.  I posted the offer at 3:16 and the rocker was picked up at 5:35.

I knew it had gone to the right home as I talked with the woman who picked it up, the mother of the person who contacted me.  The mom turns out to be from Houston and we were at UT at the same time (along with 45,000 other students).  Her daughter wanted the chair to rock her new baby who actually has the same name as my grandmother.  So it seemed like symmetry and karma for the chair to go to them.  I think Grandmama would be pleased.

My Desk is in Pieces

FedEx delivered my new computer desk yesterday in a 120-lb box. Do you know how much weight that is? I mean, really. I lost 110 lbs but didn’t have any clue how much that actually WAS until I tried getting the box from the hallway into the apartment. I used those magic furniture glides that are featured on late night TV ads and they actually did work as advertised, helping to slide the box along the carpet to the right room.

There is no way in hell that I’d have been able to get that box from a store to the car and into my building so I was extra glad that I’d found it online and paid the big bucks for shipping and delivery.

Inside the box were various heavy wood pieces labeled with letters, small odd-shaped pieces, some heavy metal roller assemblies, and a bag full of screws in different sizes and shapes along with the patented Sauder assembly lock device. Many of them. The room is a mess.

Before assembling, they advise you to read the directions through at least once. Being a good little dooby, I read them. The English version, since the French and Spanish ones in the middle of the instruction booklet were not particularly helpful, oddly enough. The pages were full of line diagrams with circles and arrows and invitations to go to the web to watch little Flash movies to illustrate some – but not all – of the steps. There are no movies of the steps that are confusing me.

Now, I like putting things together. I’ve always been fond of puzzles and in grade school those stupid aptitude tests showed that I was good at spacial relations and would be a good engineer. Obviously I didn’t pay too much attention to this early career advice. But still, when faced with a set of complicated directions and a pile of pieces, I can usually figure it out.

I even have my very own handy dandy cordless drill/screwdriver, complete with molded plastic carrying case. I feel very powerful and capable when I haul it out and it comes in handy when assembling things that come in many pieces. Such as now, with a floor strewn with little screws and wood pieces with holes in them.

My brain has been focusing on bibliographic puzzles lately, not spacial relations challenges. I’m up to page 6 of the directions, where things are getting a little hairy, so I’m doing this in installments. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be fresh enough to decipher the next set of little pictures and diagrams. I want my desk whole and functioning, which is a great incentive.