Thursday, Oct. 17

Slept last night to the music of a dehumidifier and a fan running in the bathroom. Took awhile to drift off, but once I did, I slept soundly despite the noise.

We were up at 6:30. Skipped my exercises so I could be dressed and ready when the worker arrived. He was scheduled to be here at 8:30 or 9 a.m., but he didn't arrive until 10 a.m.

Today, he continued work in the bathroom, and then blew texture on the walls in both the bathroom and stairwell. It was an all-day project that kept him busy until around 5:30 p.m.

Mid-morning, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, and she went to her jigsaw puzzle. While she was occupied, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the library, to the newspaper office, and to a home improvement store to get ideas for a new vanity and sink/counter top.

It was noon by the time we left the home improvement store, so we stopped by a fast food restaurant and picked up cups of chili for lunch. We invited the worker to join us again. We feel that if we offer him lunch, he can eat and be back to work sooner than if he goes somewhere else for lunch.

We didn't accomplish anything else for the day. It's difficult to get inspired to do much with all the dust, odor, and noise going on in the stairwell and upstairs bathroom. The worker will not be here tomorrow, though, so I hope to make a batch of jelly.

The worker will be back Monday, though, to begin painting the areas. So Hubbie unpacked the cans of paint we bought a few weeks ago, and in so doing learned that the woman who mixed the paints miscued and mixed too much for the kitchen, and too little for the stairwell.

The paint, bought on sale (but still expensive), is stated to be non-returnable. But since it is the store clerk's fault that we got the wrong amounts, Hubbie is going to pack it back into the box, and take it, along with the measurement specifications given to us by the woman who estimated what would be needed for each room, back to the store and insist that the error be corrected.

It has just been one stumbling block after another with this project!

Tomorrow, the worker will be taking his wife to the capital city to learn the results of recent tests concerning her autoimmune disease, and what can be done to help her. Before he left this evening, I gave him a jar of strawberry jam to take to his wife. I know she's going through a difficult time, so I hope the jam will help cheer her a little.

For supper, I heated soups (chicken noodle and split pea), which we had with bran muffins. Hubbie accompanied Mother home afterward, and then he and I watched one-hour shows on TV.

I was such a slug today...hope I'm more productive tomorrow.