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Update After My Hiatus

I’ve been on a hiatus and think I should give an update on life.  With nothing really going on I just haven’t found anything to write about.   Of course things have happened, but they all seem so small and insignificant at the time that they don’t seem worth mentioning.  It is only in the accumulation of seemingly insignificant changes that the scope of the change becomes apparent.

HOUSE PROJECT UPDATE

Things aren’t moving as quickly as I’d like, but they are moving about as quickly as they could possibly move.  We finished the wiring/plumbing/etc last week; HVAC was installed last week, and the sheetrock was hung this week.  The sheetrock mudders will be in on Monday.   By the end of the week we should be able to paint.

While the sheetrock was going up this week we were working on the deck that is going out the south side of the great room (going to have to stop calling it that because now it is a collection of small rooms that are no greater than any other rooms).   We have the supports up and joists up.  We don’t have any decking or railing on yet.  That might happen this week while the mudders have us out of the place again this week.

As soon as we can get back in we will paint just as quickly as possible and then get to finishing the bathroom and working on flooring.

I will try to get some video edited of what the space looks like out to you soon!

MISSOURI/FINANCES UPDATE

We have accepted (grudgingly) that we won’t be moving back to MO anytime soon.  This is sad.  We don’t want to lose the property though just in case we ever do find a way to get back there.

Even though we are way under water on the mortgage for a house that no longer exists, we have still been making the payments.   I’ve tried reaching the bank to see if we can work something out but they refuse to speak to me.  If nothing else I’d like to get approval to lower my payments since there is no insurance on the property (why would there be?) and the taxes are going to be MUCH lower now with no home.

We have sold our cattle.  They have been at a neighbors house since the fire and he took care of them over the winter.  I had him haul them to auction this week and should get a check for them soon.  That will help out a lot of things!

We haven’t decided how/when we are going to collect the rest of our things.  I think it is feasible to have everything loaded into my storage unit and then ship the entire thing here to Utah, but I don’t have a good way of getting it all loaded.  I could ask friends/neighbors to do it for me, but that seems like a big ask.   Maybe my Dad goes back and does it with help.  May I have to do it?  Still undecided.

FAMILY UPDATE

Everyone is fine.  Caitlin (15) and Joshua (13) had birthdays.  Everyone is healthy and enjoying the summer.  They’d like to not be working at my parents so much, but it hasn’t been bad.  With frequent (near daily) trips to the pool or the new splash pad in Bluffdale they are all getting out a lot.  They’ve done some hiking and sports too.

I think everyone is apprehensive about the move.  We know my parents place won’t be done.  We only have 2 weeks from today, so I don’t even know what state of cleanliness it will be in.   But school is starting, so we will move in regardless and make the best of it.   Maybe with school starting it will help make things easier for Julie and I to get things into a more livable condition.

VA/MENTAL HEALTH UPDATE

I’m surviving.  I’m still going to all my regular appointments (several a week) and getting by.

I have started and completed the beginners portion of Canines with a Cause.  I still don’t have my own dog but have been working with their dogs.  The first part of the intermediate class that begins in a few weeks will be looking for my own dog.  The timing is working out fine since I couldn’t have my own here at the Penrod’s, but can have one as soon as we move.   This will go a LONG way to helping my anxiety and will hopefully be beneficial in dealing with nightmares too.

Julie is still crazy!

EXERCISE/HEALTH UPDATE

You haven’t seen any running logs since the pool opened because we stopped running.  We have instead been swimming.  I have the kids do laps each time we show up to keep them doing some cardio, then they are free to go play (which rarely includes actual swimming).

My exercise has been fine, but hasn’t resulted in any weight loss.  I think it has trimmed up my waist a little bit (several people have mentioned it), but my actual weight hasn’t gone down.  Perhaps with time.

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A Genuine Smile

Bluffdale 1st Ward

The Jensens attended church today with the Bluffdale 1st ward.  That is the ward that I grew up in and will be attending again once we move.  It was quite nice to see the large number of people that are still there from when I was a little boy.

We attended there today (and hopefully will often) so that the kids can try to make some friends before school starts.  It would be nice for them to already know people on their first day so that they can fit in just a little bit easier.  So we took the drive from PG to Bluffdale so that they could have that opportunity.

I am sure that only a few know we are moving in, and fewer knew we would be attending services with them today.   So they were not expecting us.  That set the stage for two nice experiences for me (or perhaps for the same nice experiment twice?).

A Genuine Smile

Twice today, I passed someone who was an adult in the ward while I was growing up, and I said, “Hello ______” and called them by their first name.  Both times this person replied, “Hello” in a kind but unfamiliar way and started to move on.  But when I extended my hand to shake, they took a moment and really looked at me.

Both of these fine gentlemen then flashed a genuine smile and said something close to “Oh! Hi Richard.  It’s so good to see you. How have you been?”   While they were polite and cordial with me when they thought we were strangers, when they realized that they knew me, their behavior changed to reflect genuine affection.

Rarity

This was a rarity for me.  The only time I ever get that kind of ‘brotherly kindness’ shown to me from someone outside my household is one particular saint of a man in Missouri.  I don’t know if or when I’ll see him again.  And I am bereft of friends here in Utah.  So just this simple extension of recognition and a genuine smile felt good to someone for whom it rarely happens.

Since my Army days I’m more cantankerous and introverted.  I don’t expect to make many new friends (and all my efforts so far seem to have failed).   There isn’t a whole lot about me to like or to want to spend time with.  But these two men knew me before.  They knew me when I was young, healthy, and energetic.   I’d like to think they remember me as someone who smiled and was outgoing, instead of someone who grimaced or scowled.  They know me as I used to be; and how I would wish to be again someday.  They remember a version of me I like.  They were happy to see me, which isn’t something that ever happens to me any more.

So it was small and simple – a genuine smile.  By now they probably don’t even remember it and it probably meant nothing to them.  But the encounters were meaningful to me.  They uplifted me today.  And for that I am grateful.

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Dentist, CWAC and Wiring

Today started early!  That alarm at 6:30am was not welcome at all.  For a day crammed with dentist, wiring, and a pitbull, I would have preferred more sleep.  I’m firmly of the opinion that the world shouldn’t exist at that time.  Alas…

Dentist

The reason for the early morning was Joshua’s 8am dentist appointment for a temporary crown.  This was compounded by the fact that the dentist is in Riverton, a 30 or so minute drive from Pleasant Grove.

Leaving the rest of the family home, Julie, Joshua, and I left at 7am for my parents place in Bluffdale.   There Julie and Joshua jumped into my parents car and headed to the appointment.  This was fine with my parents as they sleep late into the day (we often wake them up well after 10am to start working.)

Josh received his temporary crown and has an appointment for the permanent one in a few weeks.  The temp one though was given with instructions to not eat any apples… poor kid might starve!

Errands

I left as soon as I dropped them off in Bluffdale and headed toward SLC.  I must have been ahead of the worst of traffic because I made it with a lot of time to spare before my group session.   So I ran quite a few errands.

First stop was Home Depot to get the supplies that we needed to complete a handful of tasks.  This included the can lights so we can finish the wiring, and a few odd plumbing pieces.

Next was the bank.  Their drive up window says it is open at 8:30 and I pulled in at precisely that time.  A woman was there who explained she got stuck in traffic and would need a 10 minutes or so to get up and running.  I took the time to fill up on gas across the street.   After cashing few checks I was off to the VA.

Dental Issues Again

With still 90 minutes until my session I was off to enrollment.  I had a few days prior called to schedule an appointment with VA Dental clinic but they declined to make me an appointment, saying I wasn’t eligible.  This was surprising to me because I was receiving dental care in Little Rock.

So I needed to visit enrollment to clarify my eligibility.  The guy at enrollment was awesome.  As soon as I explained what I needed he looked me up and sighed.  “Yes, you are clearly eligible.  Who did you talk to over there? Man or woman” I told him a guy.  “*sigh That’d be the guy you just moved from here over to that office.  I’ll get it straightened out.”  So he made a phone call (rather than making me do it) and politely corrected the person who answered that, yes, I did qualify for dental coverage, and made the appointment for me next week.

Good service from the VA?  I’m amazed!  Kudos to Jacob at the SLC VA Enrollment office!  You were great!!

With those miscellaneous errands done I was off to my group session.

Wiring

Because I was able to complete all of my errands before group, I had about 2.5 hours to kill before my CWAC meeting.   So I cruised back down to Bluffdale and helped Julie and Joshua who were expertly handling the wiring in the bedrooms.

They had it handled, but it moved faster with me there.  I have this magic ability to save time be being able to reach things in high places without moving around ladders or chairs.  Go me!  I also dropped of the cans that I had picked up earlier.  After I left with Josh to go to CWAC Julie was able to get some of those installed and wired as well.

If we get this house done by our “deadline” it will be entirely thanks to Julie’s hard work and skill.

Canines With A Cause

Today was my first CWAC meeting with dogs present.  Because I don’t have one of my own I was handling one of their dogs in training.  Today I was paired with Piper, a female black Pitbull who was a great joy to work with.

At this stage the meetings are NOT about training the dogs nearly as much as they are about training US, the handlers, how to deal with them.   We used clickers and chunks of hot dogs as treats to learn how to shape the animals behavior.

Just being around the dog helped my feel better.  It filled the void of losing Chief, my Great Pyrenees we had in MO.   I’ll be working with a different dog next week, but I don’t mind.  I’m just happy to be around one at all.  My mother in law absolutely won’t allow me to have one here at her house, so I can’t get one until we’ve moved anyway.  So I’ll gladly take what I can get now and anxiously look forward to moving and getting a dog of my own.

When that was done Josh and I jumped back into the van, picked up Julie, and headed home.  It was a hot and tiring day, with far too many miles, but it was productive.   Josh saw a dentist. My meetings went well.  I have an appointment with a dentist. Julie got a lot of wiring done.  Dad was able to get a lot of the plumbing done.  The sheet rocker visited and got us in his schedule.  Hopefully we can string a lot of these type days together … minus the heat!

 

 

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Health Update

I thought since I’ve posted quite a few times about health issues that I should give an update.

Weight Loss Attempt

The goal continues.   Since we started really working on my parents place we stopped the morning veggie drink in the interest of time; and I’ve only been mediocre on the self control after 8pm.

As such, I haven’t lost a ton of weight.  But I have lost some.  Depending on how I stand on a notoriously unreliable scale it is possible that I’m under 300lbs.  Lean a little one way and I’m under, lean a little the other and I’m not.  But I think I am down at least a few pounds from the 310 I was a few months ago.

I think that loss is almost exclusively to the pool time almost every afternoon AND spending 4-6 hours a day in a 100F room building walls and such.  Together the sweat box and the swimming hole have done me a little good!

Numb Hand

The numbness in my hand is still there unfortunately.  The medical info that I read about says it should take a few weeks to go away if I take care of it.  And since I still spend too much time at the computer (the activity I think is responsible because of how I rest my arm on the edge of the desk) I’m not sure when it will go away.

The numbness is one of the reasons I haven’t been posting as much lately.  I’ve been trying to not sit here too often.

Mental Health

I’m still a nutcase!  That might always be true, but I’m trying to deal with it better than I have in the past.  I’m still going to my weekly VA appointments and meeting with the counsellor.

I’ve also started the Canines With A Cause classes.  Those are once a week and in the primary stage that I’m in now it is mostly learning how to train your dog; basic canine psychology and such.  They will hopefully be able to find me a good dog to adopt.  If not then I’ll have to find one myself at some point.  (If any of you would like to donate a dog to me, I’d be thrilled and highly appreciative!).

Back/Headaches

I hurt like crazy all the time.  I’m sure I’m taking more Ibuprofren than is good for me, but since I need a home to live in permanently I need to keep going.  There have been a few mornings where the headaches were so bad that I was vomiting, but only a few.

My back is holding out okay.  It hurts, and I’m only able to do about 30 minutes of real labor each day.  Thankfully I’m able to use Julie, Caitlin, and Joshua to largely do the things that need to be done by just being near by and directing them.   There aren’t really too many things that need someone big and strong to do.  So it’s slow, but it’s coming along.  And my back does what it must in order to keep going.

Hopefully we can get through this without a complete physical (or mental) breakdown again.

 

 

 

 

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Making Progress… Slowly

It took a little over a month, but we are finally making progress on the house “remodel” effort.

ENDLESS CLEANING

Most of our first few weeks were simply spent on cleaning out he space to be “remodeled.”  I keep putting that in quotes because it is only partly accurate.  We aren’t technically remodeling the house, we are actually finishing it.  The space we are primarily focused on has never been completed.

For years it has served primarily as a storage room.  Things put into there were neglected and forgotten.   I’ve found countless items I had forgotten I owned, and so have my parents.   I’ve posted several humorous lists about it that you can read here, here, and here.

Here’s a quick glimpse into what this room was when we started.

As you can see, there was a LOT of stuff to go through.  Much of it went into the trailer and was hauled off to the landfill.  Some of the items were good and useful and were moved to a different location in the house.  And some of it is needed to finish this space.  But first it was the cleaning, and it took us a seemingly endless period of time.

I may or not have noticed in the video, but there were open access points directly to the outside.  These allowed birds to almost freely come and go from this room.  This meant that along with dust, we were also cleaning a fair amount of birds nests and feces along with our own possessions.   For the first month we did nothing but cleaning/organizing.  But as I say, it finally feels like we are really making progress.

MAKING PROGRESS 

Insulation

This space is a bit over 1200 square feet.   In the end it will turn into 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1 full kitchen, a laundry room,  and a living room (which will likely be filled with that pool table you saw).

A big portion of our cleaning was dealing with those big piles of insulation blocks.  This room is over the garage and needs insulation from that space, and those blocks were always intended for that purpose.  Because the space was never finished, the floor boards were never screwed down and were easy to lift up.  So up they came, and that block insulation went down below it.

This week we were also able to get additional fiberglass insulation blown in on top of those blocks.  This was done to fill in gaps left by the block insulation and to provide the appropriate R-value.   We were able to do this ourselves and was a fairly easy process.

Insulation in floor

Plumbing

The plumbing for a kitchen was already in place, but we needed to add plumbing for the bathroom and wash room.  We started that last week and are almost done.  A good competent professional would probably have been done in about 5 hours, but we’re all either old (Dad), broken (myself) or in need of direction (Julie/kids).

As an aside, Julie has repeatedly proven herself as the best worker amongst us.  She doesn’t always know what to do, but she is the most capable one to do it.   She has definitely been held back by Dad and I because we can’t keep up with her.  Absolutely completely awesome!

One of the challenges slowing us down is the fact that we need to get the plumbing done before we put the floor down, and we need the floor down to build walls, but it is nice to have walls built before you do the plumbing.   We’ve spent a fair amount of time discussing the best order to do things in, and another longer amount of time going back and forth to Home Depot for supplies.

But we’re making progress.  We have the rough plumbing done except for vents that need to go through the walls.  For water supply, we only need to connect to the house water lines AND pray that where we brought the supply through the floor is in the right locations.

Main trunk of rough plumbing
The main trunk of the waste lines made from ABS, before insulation was blown in

NEXT WEEK

Next week we will hopefully be making progress again.  We think that on Monday the HVAC guys will be there to install the gas line for the furnace and to the oven in the kitchen.  When they are done we can start building the interior walls.  We’ve bought the electrical wire to run from the meter to a separate breaker box in this space.    And if all of that gets done we’ll start running the individual electrical lines for outlets and lights.

I won’t hold my breath for all of that getting done next week.  We are painfully slow.  A competent craftsmen could build the walls in half a day.  I think it’ll take us three at least.   Dad used to be more than competent, but 70 is just around the corner for him.   I’m young enough, but just unable to do more than about 30-60 minutes of real work a day (broken into 5-10 minutes segments).

So keep watching and I’ll give you more pics and fun stories about what we’ve got going on.  If you notice the countdown timer at the bottom of the page we are now under 2 months before school starts, so any day we aren’t making progress is a day driving me nuts.