After Christmas Update

I went to my rheumatologist the week before Christmas and got the bad news that since I showed no signs of imprivements after two Rituxan IVs, this would be discontinued. A new medication is suggested, Humira, but like Rituxan, the price is overwhelming. I will have to wait and see if there is some sort of grant money to help me pay for the shots. With insurance, my part of the bill for two shots a month will be almost $600, and this is for medication that may or may not help. What a huge waste of money!  Merry Christmas.  I am bummed.

After returning January 4th from ten wonderful days in knee-deep snow in the mountains of NC, I am nearly recovered from a pretty significant chest cold.  Nyquil at night and some non-alcohol cherry chest congestion liquid by day seems to have done the trick.

We found our septic tank had backed up into my shower while we were away.  How totally gross is that?  I ruined my favorite black slacks when I ran into the bathroom and sloshed bleach in the shower, holding my nose all the while, and causing instant orange spots on my pant legs.  The septic tank truck couldn't come until morning, so Mark squirted the air with disinfectant spray and blocked the bathroom door with towels to save the bedroom off from the offending odors.  I spent my first night in 28 years on the couch, as I felt that breathing the nasty odor would further injuure my sick lungs.  The septic tank guy did his job and also unclogged a pipe, $295.  It seems like a miserable job.  I would have asked for more!

The washing machine began banging and walking with a small load of towels, so I called the appliance repairman after the septic tank man left.  Mr. Maytag arrived the next day and a $50 service call, he showed me a simple spring that had broken.  It would take two weeks and cost an additional $200 for the repairs.  I went online and found the same springs (6 of them) for $20 on ebay.  I spoke to the online appliance store, and was told that the springs were a simple install with a pair of pliers.  I ordered the springs and cancelled the Maytag man.  The new springs should arrive tomorrow, but in the meantime, dirty laundry was piling up fast!  I sorted out tons of laundry, shoved them in the back of my SUV, stopped by the bank for quarters, and started washing!  Everything went smoothly until all twelve loads were dry all at once.  Talk about speed folding!

Drama Drama Drama

We left Christmas Day to go to Jacksonville, spent the night there, and finally drove to our home in Beech Mountain, NC.  It was a wonderful snowy week!  It snowed and snowed and snowed and we shoveled and shoveled and shoveled!  It was an enjoyable week with Robert and Vanessa, David and Audrey, and Mark and me.  We got home on Monday after about ten days away.

Now here's the drama --- septic tank backup!  Ugh!  The closest place to the septic tank is our master bath, and the lowest spot would be our big walk-in shower.  It's a lot like a gym shower, about six feet square, and there is no need for a curtain or glass doors.  The floor of the shower had some gross stuff sitting in it and P.U. did it smell awful!  The next morning the septic tank cleaning guy came with his big truck and cleared out the clogged pipe and emptied the tank.  I wanted to move, but instead tackled the mess with a jug of bleach.  Slosh, slosh, slosh, then run away fast!  What happened?  DRAMA!  I was wearing my favorite black slacks.  Well, they are now polka-dotted.  Sob...  The bathroom is clean, the odor is gone, and sanitation is under control.

We brought home all the dirty sheets and towels from NC.  Add to that a bunch of pre-Christmas dirty clothes, dirty winter clothes from NC, and we have a total of 12 loads of laundry begging to be washed.  I have it all sorted and in baskets in the family room.  So I started the first load Tuesday morning and whump-whump-whump!  What the heck was that??  I called the appliance repairman and he found that we needed new springs at the base of the washing machine tub.  A set of six runs $200 with installation, and the springs would arrive in five to seven days.  I went online and found that exact set in an ebay store for $20 and ordered it.  The man told me on the phone (from ebay store) that they are simple to install with a pair of pliers.  The springs I purchased will arrive in three days.

My dog is bad!  She walks outside to go potty and takes a whim to walk away.  I wonder if she's hard of hearing?  I can yell my head off, and she only looks back if I squeak a toy.