Okay … I’m not the best photographer so don’t expect to see “before” and “after” like you would on HGTV, but I did my best. Here is the finished product MINUS A NEW BACK DOOR we will buy (hopefully!) soon:
BEFORE … # 1
BEFORE … # 2
BEFORE … # 3
AFTER … # 1
AFTER … # 2
AFTER … # 3
Like I said … I’m not a photographer and my pictures don’t even begin to do justice to how beautiful it REALLY is … but at least it gives you an idea of (1) how bad it looked before as compared to (2) how good it looks now!
Next on our list … buy a new back door … but first, we need mucho $$$$$
The guys were out here Friday to install the new windows on the back of our house. They look great! Can’t believe what a change it has made. They will have to wait until Monday to replace the hardy plank on the back, though. They were going to do it today but it was raining all day. As soon as everything is complete I’ll post pictures. I’ve been taking “before” pictures and I will take “after” pictures so I can post them. In the meantime, Mike and I made a trip to Lowe’s today and bought some new vertical blinds for the living room window. It’s so pretty I hated to cover it up with anything but there just isn’t any privacy without something covering the window. That’s not too bad during the day but the night time … hmmm … anyway, stay tuned for more information.
I found out who sent me the beautiful flower arrangement. It was Mike’s Aunt Margaret who lives in Mississippi. She is my mother in law’s sister. She knew I needed some encouragement so she had the flowers delivered! How sweet of her! Too bad her sister (my MIL) isn’t that thoughtful …
Today my “baby” turned 21 years old! I can’t believe how fast the years have flown by. She has been such a delight to raise all these years, and I honestly mean that. Her brother drove down this past weekend and me and her dad and brother took her out to eat. Jimbo and Vanessa met us at the restaurant to celebrate. We had a lot of fun, and the food was good, too.
I received this beautiful, spring bouquet of flowers today. The card read: “Love to you. From Appreciation.” I have no idea who Appreciation is so I am posting my “thank you” here, on my xanga site, and on myspace. Whoever you are, you really made my day. That was really thoughtful of you. Here’s a picture … although it doesn’t do it justice because you can’t tell that the vase is a tall, square vase in an amethyst color … extremely beautiful!
Thank you again … I needed something beautiful to happen, and it did.
This is the Whine Bar, after all, so allow me to whine some more. (I’m really trying to change my ways but it’s been difficult lately. Sorry.)
Yesterday was the day Mike had to take his mother back to the orthopedic doctor for her follow-up after knee surgery. Mind you, when she had the surgery 2 weeks ago to “repair” her knee cap, the doctor put her leg in a brace and sent her back to the nursing home with orders to NOT put any weight on the leg and to NOT bend the knee.
Obviously she decided, for whatever reason, that she didn’t need to follow doctor’s orders. Or the nursing staff at the nursing home didn’t follow orders either. Whatever the case, during the course of time between the surgery and her follow-up, she bent her knee and pretty much destroyed the doctor’s hard work in repairing it. Mike said the doctor was not a happy camper. Well, duh. So he put a hard cast on her leg (so she couldn’t bend the knee) and settled that issue! And since Medicare/Medicade hasn’t been paying for her stay at the nursing home (another long story) and we’ve been paying out of our pocket, we had to bring her back to the house after her doctor appointment. Oh joy.
Anyway, Mike and I figure the doctor’s reasoning for just casting the leg and not trying to repair the repair, is that she’s already done damage to the knee cap so we might as well let it heal as well as it can. And if she never has good mobility out of that leg again because of what she did (and she won’t have good mobility) … too bad. And you know what? I have to agree with the doctor.
I realize we are dealing with an 83 year old woman who has dementia/early Alzheimer’s. But there’s one thing I’ve learned about that disease … it enhances the personality traits of the person who has it. If the individual was happy go lucky before the disease hit, chances are they’ll mostly be that way during the course of the disease. If the person was angry, stubborn and otherwise unhappy, that’s enhanced. And unfortunately, Mike’s mother has always been angry and bitter. So now, it’s coming out even stronger. But I really could care less. Go ahead and call me cold and heartless. But that won’t change things one bit because if I WAS cold and heartless, she would not have been living in my home for the past 5 years. She would have been out on the street.
Okay, enough with the soap box on that issue. Now for the next one. Last night, after dinner, I had a real meltdown (for lack of a better word) with her. From the moment she got back to the house yesterday, she was harping and nagging at Mike and talking ugly to him. Finally, I’d had enough and the volcano erupted. I unloaded on her and told her that I was no longer going to tolerate the way she talks to her son. I also told her that the only reason I allowed her to live in my house was NOT because I liked her or respected her, but because I love my husband. I told her that there was no need for her to pretend she liked me or me to pretend I liked her. Let’s just get on with the business at hand. I told her she didn’t need to worry that I would mistreat her because I wasn’t raised that way. And in spite of the way she acts she should count her blessings because everything I do FOR her, I’m actually doing FOR Christ. Things are the way they are.
She just sat there and stared at me like she couldn’t believe I had the nerve to talk to her like that.
And that’s my whining for now … probably more to come later, I’m sure.
