a little progress, not much

There has been a little progress but not much.

Thursday, Ameren IP came and installed the 400 amp service upgrade, the electrician switched our house to one meter, the pool will be on separate meter now so I can monitor usage separately.

Friday, the proper geothermal heat pump arrived. Thank goodness! Tim indicated his plan is to have it up and running by the end of next week. That would be wonderful.

Deb has been trying to keep up with weeding and gardening, but the weeds are winning in a lot of areas.

Kitchen progress--not much. With a neighbor's help, Chris, Deb and I got the patches on the ceiling where the soffits were. The kitchen is cooler and smells better now! I am still bogged down in wiring, now I cant get the circuit to work that has the GFCI's. I am suspicious I have a bad GFCI, going to try a different one next. I still have the dedicated lines for the micro, dishwasher and computer to wire, then tear out and patch the floors where the old cabinets were. Then I can get to drywall installation on the walls. Then, we can move to doing the lights in the mudroom and bathroom. It seems so far away. Its more difficult now with my working a full 40 hr week again.

The waiting game............

Seems like we are waiting on about everything recently.
1. I've been waiting for weeks for IP and the electrician to get numbers put together, and FINALLY have a final answer. I need 400 amp service, so that has to be dug in and installed. Sooooo I get to WAIT up to 3 weeks.
2. Waiting on parts for the lawn mower. Today?
3. Waiting on parts for the RV we are partially living in. No word-any day?
4. Waiting on the contractor that will be installin the 2 marble showers, he is coming today, and then I get to WAIT again.
5. Waiting on an answer on where the heck our pool geothermal unit is. The company is blaming the factory, and cant get a straight answer from the factory on what is going on. So I get to wait and get really frustrated.

Had a setback on the kitchen progress yesterday. I found out the dryer was miswired, so I have to get a new line ran today, no laundry faciulities around here for a long period is NOT a good thing.

Wednesday, July 30

Here we sit on the cusp of August. What an exhausting summer, but what a beautiful great room. There are a few finishing touches to add, but, for the most part, the room is done. It's so open and calming!
the kitchen is still studs and, as I write, dad and Steve are working on the wiring. So many things were done wrong when the house was built that two additional walls were torn down to the studs. We figured a few extra sheets of drywall were better than the frustration of trying to figure out how the heck the original electrician did his wiring. Once it's all done we are going to have a grand re-opening party!

A little progress today

I got a couple of can lights in today, so finally am making some progress. Yahoo!! Its going to be nice, especially if we use the right type bulb! I have the 5 on the south wall to do now, then do the wiring for the 2 new fan/lights and the pendant. The ones in the mudroom and closet are on the same circuit, as are some outlets. The mice chewed the daylights out of the wires, so I have to put new wire in. What a pain. I'd lose my butt if I did this for a living and took this long. Sheeeesh.

Mandi came down a little bit, I helped he cut boards for a bunk bed for the boys. When she saw the cabinets in the shop, she said "That's a lot of cabinets." Believe me, I know!!

I was tired by the end of the day, fell asleep watching TV, missed the end of the show. Will post later with kitchen progress.

The work continues

Its been a while since I posted about our remodeling.

Deb has been working on the great room, putting some finishing touches on painting, doinf some trim up to the parts where I need to finish the last board on some walls. It has come together nice so far.

I have been working on the kitchen. Demolition came first, the soffits were the first to go. Then the walls on the north, the west, and the south wall where cabinets were. It has been frustrating, slower progress than I wanted. The house kitchen needed to be shut down, so the RV went to the driveway to be used for dining and some cooking. The decisions to be made for the lighting and receptacle locations, and the rewiring wiring of this has been slow. The trips to town is getting old too, but they have been necessary trips. It always seems like I have missed something, so off I go. Today, I finally came up with the wiring plan,. and started wiring the overhead cans. I have the lights on the generator circuit, and possibly an outlet or 2. Its really touchy business working in the panels, but managed to survive the day. Finally about 6 I quit, tomorrow is a new day. I goofed and forgot to wear a mask when I stuck my head in the attic to run wire, now I dont feel so hot.

I've never taken on this scope of remodeling before, its getting nerve wracking.

Tim and his 2 men worked the last couple days on the pool geothermal, they got most of the duct work installed in the building. The factory goofed, so they had to send me the unit I had ordered, the one that is here has to go back. Another delay, but I want it right. I felt if I kept the one that was here, I would always regret it. I will say the company bent over over backwards to make it right, even though the factory goofed, not Dry-Air. I am pleased with their customer service.

Off to watch a movie, I'll try to post more often about the progress.

Finally re-entered the 21'st century

Today we had the satellite TV and bigscreen TV rehooked up in its new location in the great room. A little moving of furniture, and our couch and 1 recliner is now usable. The kids are thrilled, and it does restore some normalcy to life in the remodeling chaos.

Also, the Geek Squad came out, same one as was here the last time. After some troubleshooting, the router was determined to have fried. A new router and configuring it to match the old one, we had our internet back for the first time since Thursday. It'll take me a week to catch up on e-mail!

As far as the great room, I got one board down to finish the front hallway off, and then finished the rest of the other hallway, except the doorways and the sliver along the south wall of the hallway.

Chased today

Chris and I went on a chase late Friday. He was convinced it would turn severe, but unfortunately didn't. all we chased was rain and wind. We broke off around Fithian, against Chris's judgment. After supper, he informed me in an irritated tone that if we had stayed on it, the storm we were on turned tornadic just into Indiana and did damage. Dang it. Cant win this year.

Great Room

More progress yesterday. I got the hallway plywood down, and then started putting down more hardwood. When I got to the point of starting down the hallway, I didn't have to rip cut the first row, the measurement was perfect from the wall. Bill came over and removed unneeded outlets we ended up with by the fireplace and on the east wall. Debby was a busy lady today, she started painting the hallway in the dark green. We changed our mind, and are going to paint more walls in the dark green. We are going to do the front hall, do all of the spindle wall, above the chair rail, the beam, the little jut out on east wall, the bedroom hall, and the wall north of the hallway. It should tie in the colors nice.

After a long day of work, we went up town and bought a match to the present bookcases we have. The front hall will now be filled with bookcases. We also bought an iRobot Roomba. Mandi has one and loves it.

Garden walk

I worked the Master Gardener Garden walk on Saturday. While it was a long 8 hour day, it was a lot of fun! What beautiful gardens the homeowners have. My goodness the time and energy-let alone the money involved-- put into these properties are amazing. The 2 I worked were nicely done. I have a LOT of ideas for things I to do next year for landscaping! I cant wait!

Embarassing moment-but a fun tease for my son.

I worked the Master Gardener garden walk all day Saturday. The weather started out OK, but then we had a series of storms roll through for about an hour shortly after it started. One of the women I was working with was cold, so I checked my vehicle and found a coat she could use. When she put it on, she said-Steve, I found an extra item in the coat and pulled out a pair of womens panties. I thought quickly and said it wasn't my coat and hurried them to the vehicle. When I got back to the table there was some good natured teasing and a good laugh. I said it could be worse-it could be my 16 yr old sons coat! Or worse-my wife could find it and think it was MY coat. As I thought I decided to have some fun. When I got home I asked him is this YOUR coat. He said Yeah it is. I wondered where it was. I then said WHAT were womens panties doing in YOUR coat! He stammered and backpedaled so fast--It it must not be my coat. I was wrong. Its not my coat. After some back and forth, I let him off the hook with a good laugh. Sometimes its just too much fun being a dad.

Geothermal-almost done

Tim came yesterday and almost got the project completed. He has all the ductwork done, and hooked up the hot water heat system. The last thing to do is install the humidifier for winter usage! Will be interesting to see how this works! Its amazing how many people I have talked to that have geothermal or know someone that does. I have yet to talk to anyone that is unhappy with their systems.

great room-slow progress

I haven't posted in a week, progress was very slow. first, I had to work all week, so time was limited to late afternoon early evening. Then, I had some holes to patch in the 1/2" subfloor, which took time. Then I had to deal with tearout of the old floor in the hallway. Here has been the BIG snag--dealing with the doorways! If I just tear out at will, I run a very high risk of having the particle board chip out under the floors I am keeping. SO the search went on to find a way to score the doorways so when I tear out, it will tear out square. I tried a chisel-no good. I bought a rotozip tool, burned out a bit in 3 feet. After looking at some on-line video, I am going to try a different attachment and see what happens. If I can get this accomplished, then I can put down some more plywood and get to laying more floor.

Great room-more progress, landscaping

A good portion of Friday was spent filling in around the front foyer. With help from Bill, we had to measure backwards on each side of the wall, then measure backwards and draw a line. AFter it was all filled in each side matched exactly. WHEW!!! Then I got hardwood down to where I had to start laying plywood again.

Saturday afternoon furniture was moved around and another section of floor was cut out. After some cleanup, I put in some plywood, but didn't cut the part piece needed.

Deb worked on some maintenance on the landscaping we have done, and also some gardening.

Great room progress

I worked on the great room again today. I would have done better but had to make 3 trips to town to get little but necessary items. Try as I might, I just cant think of everything at once, or unexpected things turn up, causing a change in plans and needed items. I have 2 rows of plywood down, and about 3 ft wide of the floor is down. Debs Dad Bill helped most of the day, Debby helped me later in the day. Getting the first row in is critical, and takes a lot of time! One I got 3 rows in, I had to cut out the heat vents, thats done now. Bill or Deb lays out the rosin paper and the rows of wood, I install it. Boy Deb and I are so happy with the looks of the floor--the Hickory hardwood is beautiful! I bought a hardwood floor stapler-boy does that ever work good! Makes the job easier, other than the bending and kneeling. My muscles are really sore again tonight, its time for bed to rest up for tomorrow.

Great room-saga of the screw gun

I worked on the great room again today, but didn't make very good progress. A friend of ours bought a screw gun, then let me use it. I could NOT get this to work, would just sit and spin, wouldnt countersink screws, it was frustrating. I went to a store on my own, ended up buying a Makita, with a Quick Drive attachment. I had trouble with it, so went back, and he had trouble with it too. After some work with it--it turned out I had it set up wrong--boy will this ever put the screws in. I only got 1 row of plywood in, but look forward to getting a good day in Thursday on the floor. I want to get another row of plywood down, then start on the hardwood part. That gives me some room where I can move a little furniture to make room to demolish the other half.

Chris and Larry started breaking up the ceramic tile in the kitchen before the dumpster goes away. It is a chore, and makes a mess!

Debby worked all day on the garden and landscaping before it rains.

The supply duct was basically finished today, he will be back Friday or Saturday to work again.

Great room today

I worked on the great room again. It took a long time to demolish the wood floor in the front hallway. I had to go get a 6 ft bar to do it. The rest of the day I spent getting prepared to put down plywood. The satellite TV installer came and moved the wire for me also. Tomorrow I hope to get a good day in installing plywood and hardwood.

Deb worked on mulching today, it looks better every day.

Great room progress

Worked on the floor all day today. Demolition of the carpeted area was in order. I sawed the particle board into smaller sections, then used a crowbar to pry it off the subfloor. Boy I cannot describe how I hate particle board. It would not stay together in order to pry it up, just broke into little pieces. It was late, but I did get all the old carpeted area done. I found I have some patching to do around the heat vents, not really sure how I am going to do it right now. Anyway, a new day tomorrow, I hope to get some plywood and hickory floor down tomorrow.

While I was doing that, Deb got the rets of the plants for the 2 front areas in. It looks nice, we are pleased.

Tim got some more supply duct in today, he will be back tomorrow to work on the geothermal for the house.

Great room

Big weekend on the great room. Deb and I got the ceiling primed Saturday, then painted the ceiling today. We like the off white color we picked for the ceiling. We have a decision to make when we start on the wall painting. The beam runs through the middle of the room. The beam is flat against one wall, but sits on a slight jut out on the other wall. We have been trying to decide to paint the beam off white like the ceiling or lt green like the wall. We have concluded that it needs to be light green because of the jut out on the wall. It can always be repainted if it turns out wrong. This afternoon I went up town to prepare for the floor demolition and replacement starting Monday. I picked some needed tools, the plywood and the hickory hardwood floor. I thought I would never get home. It took a long time to load, and a long time to get it strapped down properly. The load was top heavy, so a slow trip home through town was in order. After a swim with the family and supper, and with Chris and Larry's help, it all was unloaded in the garage before dark. I had planned to start in the middle and go each way, but after reading the directions, I have to start against one wall. We picked the North wall to start. I'm pretty sore tonight, and have very sore feet, just want to get some good rest and then hit it early and often tomorrow. Getting old I guess.

House geothermal now running, great room and landscaping

We now have the house geothermal up and running. A hearty thanks goes to Tim. He worked until almost 10pm last night to get the supply ducting ran where we could get AC for the weekend. We have no return ducting yet, and the supply is not final by any means, but at least now we can cool the house. Considering the rain and storms last night and this morning and the heat forecast for the weekend, we are really grateful. Not many contractors would have done what Tim did, working so late to get us air, especially when the day starts early. Our family gives a big thumbs up to him! And wow! Even on a somewhat crippled basis, does this unit ever cool a house fast! I started it up, and in no time, it had dropped 4 degrees to the set point. The 2 stage system works like a charm. I'm impressed, and its going to be interesting to see the performance when all the ducting is fully operational.

Now we can commence painting the great room! I want to get that going, I have a big job ahead of me on the floor especially, and the painting is not going to be an easy job working around the furniture.

We went up town yesterday and bought some more plants for the front area and the shade garden under the hawthorn.

Off to get started now!

Kim's home again

Everything turned out OK. She had the surgery to remove one of the stones, and has a stint in place. She still has more to deal with later, but for now she back on the road to recovery.

Kim had setback

Kim went in to the ER last night about 1am. She is having kidney stone issues again. They are checking her for sepsis before they do surgery, probably wont know anything until 8 to 10 am. A stone is lodged in the duct, causing great pain. More later.

Busy day

Tim came to work on the geothermal unit. He worked almost all day till about 4.

Durbin Enterprises came about 9am to do a flush and fill after hooking up the lines. It was almost 730 before they were done.

The drywall finishers came about 4 to put another coat of mud on. Tomorrow he said he is going to sand and spray the ceilings in the great room.

During the day, I got the ornamental grass area done on the SW corner of the house. Lots of cleanup and work was done out there, but glad its done

I have to get up at 4am tomorrow to go to work, so off to bed now.

Church dedication

Today is when Meadowbrook dedicated their new sanctuary. What a beautiful facility, it allows for so much more good work to be done. The energy was easily felt in service today, had a pretty packed house for first service too, even with the bigger facility. Its nice too, a 30 minute time for fellowship between services, and a lot more room to meet and greet. The article in the newspaer told the fact that the climate control system is geothermal, some big savings in heating and cooling costs are expected. It was very well thought out and planned, I am very impressed.

Geothermal and great room

Tim came and worked some on the geothermal system, doing some piping hookups,and working on the ductwork for the house.

The drywall finisher came and put some mud on.. He will be back tomorrow.

Mountain man festival pictures

Some pictures from the Mountain Man Festival I previously posted about.

Sitting around a campfire, some in time period clothing.

A blacksmith working making tool from that time period


Splitting some wood for a campfire to cook on.

A black powder rifle demonstration.

A wood whittler, boy he was fascinating to watch.

Hectic 1st half of the morning

I went out a 6am and watered the new grass I put in yesterday. I saw all the dirt had pulled away from the shed, so piled some up real quick so it would not destroy the concrete.

Tim got here to start on the geothermal, then in about an hour the unit showed up. t was fortunate I was here, it weighed over 300 lbs, and in a non lift bed truck. A quick switch into the forklift, the explored in the road to protect us from the Homer lake express, and it was set into the garage. Then the fun began. Tim, the delivery man, and I mud wrestled the unit into the basement. Now I am really sore.

The drywall finishers are coming at noon, so have to get the great room ready before then.

Off to do more basement cleaning, and water plants.

Delays....

The geothermal will be starting today at 715am. The contractor had delays on his previous job, which carried over into my job. Its been a long wait, and am excited its finally here!!

I dont know what happened on the great room, nothing happened for 2 days now, and no contact with the contractor. I'm frustrated, I want to get to work on painting and putting the hickory floor down. I'm excited to see the final result, but as with the geothermal, it always seems to be well into the future.

My day off wasn't a total waste however. I worked several hours on the landscaping, and got a large area graded and seeded. I guess I'm getting older than I want to admit. A few years ago, that kind of work would not bother me that much. Last night, I was so sore I could hardly move, totally spent and used up. I'm really draggy this morning as well. I want to get the grading and seeding done, its been hanging over me for a couple years, and need to get it done!

Geothermal, greatroom, and landscaping

The geothermal unit for the house is being delivered, and the installation should start today. Tuesday, the electrician came and started some of the wiring, and hopefully will be back today as well. I cant wait to see how much difference in operating cost this makes. SHould be interesting.

Great room-Tuesday some patching was done on the drywall. I expected them back yesterday, but no one showed. Hopefully today as well.

Landscaping-After I got home yesterday at 4, I measured and set the corner posts for the yard and garden. After that, I graded and prepared to seed some more yard.

By that time I was pretty tired, so went in and watched a CSI-NY with the kids.

Kim update

I realize that I havent updated about Kim. She is out of the hospital, and now at home. SHe is doing well, just tired and rundown. The doctors said that is to be expected considering what she has been through. She is going back to work, slowly ramping up her hours. SHe is still not her normal wild self, but improving slowly.

Our April RV trip

We wnet to Terre Haute for camping April 25-27. We hung around the campsite some, went to see the covered bridges in the area, and then ran across a mountain man festival. Boy, that was fun.
Deb and Kim working with Sweet P

Great room and geothermal-preparing for Tuesday

Deb, Chris and I are tired tonight! We had a big day preparing the great room for the drywall finishers. We took the faux beans out of the old family room, that was a chore in itself. All the books on the bookshelves are now piled in tall stacks in the office.

Then, to prepare for the electrician, the garage sale items went to Mandi's garage.

During breaks, Deb worked on potting plants in the poolroom and preparing them for the yard/garden.

I had some work to do on the mower, then Deb mowed while I trimmed. By that time we were spent, so showers, supper, TV and blogging became the priorities for the day.

Great room and Kitchen

The drywall was put on the beam today, and all the other places that were left open were patched. We finally got to take down the plastic corridor, and uncovered and moved some furniture around so we can watch TV the next couple nights. We have a LOT of work to do before Tuesday! The drywall finishers are coming in, so we have to take all the fake beams down from the old family room. One of the hardest decisions we have to make is the color of the walls, 2'nd will be what we want the lighting plan to be. I might let the 2 boys start tearing out the floor also. We have floors at all different levels, so I am going to go down to the original subfloor, put down plywood and then the hardwood. That will be later, after the drywall is finished and walls painted!

Kitchen-they installed the LDL laminated beams in the basement, there was a section of the floor sagged very bad. They got most of the sag out, its hard to get 100% of it out. Its much better than before!

Great room-good progress

Good progress was made on the great room today. They took the drywall off, built a temporary wall, and then put in the 2 LDL laminated beams. The electrician came and unhooked all power in the circuits that was in the wall. When Deb came home she marveled at how much different the room looked and seemed pleased. We still have our plastic corridors, but should lose that by tomorrow night.

Great room project is starting.

The wall tearout was supposed to start today, but they ran late on the previous job. Thursday at 730 they will start tearing out the wall. they plan on building temporary walls on each side of the wall that will be removed, remove the wall, put the support beams in, then remove the temporary walls. Right now, we just have narrow corridors between the plastic protection walls, trying to contain the drywall dust.

Tuesday - Again

Kim called to tell us that she may go home tomorrow. The doctors are calling her a miracle patient since none of them thought she would survive Wednesday night. She will be going home with Grandma and Grandpa so that she is not alone in the house and also because the construction should be beginning in the great room tomorrow. Grandma will be good for Kim, get her up and out and keep her on a healthy diet!!

Tuesday - May 20

Kim sounded much better this morning - except for the coughing. She convinced the nurses to let her try to sleep without the CPAP and they agreed as long as her O2 didn't drop. It didn't and she slept all night with just oxygen support. Another big hurdle passed! Now it's down to breaking up the congestion in her chest and building her strength back. Maybe she will be right and she will be home by Friday!?!

Kim-improving slowly

I went to see Kim after work, she seems to be doing better slowly. Her blood pressure is holding, which is good news. They are doing a lot of tests for kidney function, not sure when results will be in. She still sleeps a lot, but thats OK, its what she needs. Her biggest issue right now is her lung function. As soon as the oxygen is taken away, her oxygen level drops. She does not like the c-pap mask, finally convinced them to take it off of her last night. They also took her off the nasty pain med, and went to a less powerful one. We are definitely glad about that! She is DEFINITELY looking forward to coming home, thats for sure. We are all looking to the target of the end of the week.

Monday Musings

Kim is doing better this morning. They feel she might get to come home at the end of the week. At least when you talk to her she coherent and not falling asleep. She is asking about Sweet Pea and says she misses her. Dad went into see her this morning and was glad to see how much she had improved since Thursday. It's been a long week and I'm sure she will be happy to get back home to her own bed and the seasons of 24 she and Chris still need to watch!!

Kim Update-better news

Just called Carle, They are moving her off of ICU to the 6th floor. She is still sleepy, and is still on c-pap, but the blood pressure is not as big an issue now.

Food for thought...There was a tremendous prayer surge from church members Wednesday night, Kim at least stabilized from near death. There was another strong prayer surge in service today, she improved enough to get off of ICU.

THIS IS A HEATER NEWS ALERT

We have 3 empty seed starting trays!!!! Count them---3!!! Must plant more seed to fill them!!! Today!!! Actually we found seed packets we didnt know we had, so no problem there.....

Kim-still in ICU

We didnt update last night, too tired. Talked to the nurse this morning, her CO2 level is up, which means her lung function is still not good. They changed the c-pap a little and started putting medicine through the c-pap to try to break up the fluid. She is still real groggy, probably due to the low O2 levels. Her blood pressure is still not stable so that is another big issue. It dropped again, so more blood pressure medicine. It sound like her renal functions are doing better, so thats a good sign.

Yesterday, while Deb was with Kim, we were told Kim is now MRSA positive. When Deb called to let me know, there was some consternation and mild panic, since I had no clue what that meant for Kim and our family, since she is living with us. After talking to the Doc and a good friend that is familiar with dealing with MRSA, reasoning was restored. We just have to be religious about our hygene around here. We cant share cups, not eat after each other and so on, and frequent hand washing. ALso if we get a cold, or infected cut then we have to let doctors know we were exposed to MRSA.

Off to church now, then a big day in the yard and garden. We will update tonight if possible.

Kim-a setback last night

Kim had a setback last night. When she would try to sleep, her oxygen level would drop to 85, so back on c-pap and another day in ICU. Will update as conditions change.

Now out to plant garden, yard, trees, or cleaning to prepare for construction.

I picked up the tomatoes for the tomato tasting in September, have to get them planted soon.

Kim medical update

Kim is doing much better, and hopes to be out of ICU tomorrow. She is mainly off of the blood pressure medicine, and is off c-pap. She is taking some oxygen, but minimal. The Critical care doctor said her infection was e-coli, fairly common. He also felt the stones could have been a side effect from her migrane medicine. They still have more tests to run, but overall her condition is improving greatly. It will be nice when she is out of ICU, it will be easier for more family and friends to visit.

No new news on the grandson, which we believe is good news.

Update on medical emergencies

Kim is still not totally out of danger, but doing better. Doc pulled her off of the heart meds, but her blood pressure is dropping, if it drops much more, she will need to go back on. As of 945, her blood pressure is stabilizing, and hopefully will not have to go back on.

Deb and I finally got a better understanding of the whole situation. It was basically a perfect storm of issues causing an emergency. First, the migrane medication dulled the normal pain of a severe kidney infection. Also, because of her throat problems last week she was on steroids. These suppressed her immune system. When the infection started, it was able to increase unnoticed. Wednesday morning, when the pain was intense she went in to the ER. When tests were done, the tests came back slightly high, but didnt indicate the severity. The docs knew there was some infection so started an antibiotic. The antibiotics started killing the bacteria. Due to the dead bacterial bodies breaking down, this can cause a shock to the system. This started causing the issues with her breathing and heart. The docs indicated tonight that it was a gram negative bacteria, possibly a mutated e-coli or pseudomonas. They are running a LOT of tests, and have an infectious disease specialist on the case. What they DONT want to find is a bacteria that I cant remember the name of-starts with P-that is a stone causing bacteria. The bacteria forms a stone, and then other bacteria lives in the stone crystal lattices. If she has this it will be difficult for her kidneys to be "disinfected", and her recovery will be much slower. She may be in ICU for 24-72 hours, and in the hospital for at least a week. Due to the risk of a major backslide, she is still in critical to guarded condition but at least we are headed in the right direction.

Deb just found some statistics on gram negative sepsis. It accounts for 1% of admissions, but is fatal in 50-70% of the cases. The bacteria respond to antibiotics, but the system is overwhelmed and shuts down. This is what was happening to Kim, but we have hopes she has beaten it.

Now the grandson. We have a report that he is doing better, and there is hope that surgery will not be necessary.

2 for 2 looking up, we could not ask for better news. Maybe tonight we can get a good nights sleep.

A scary and exhausting night

Wednesday, Kim had a lot of back pain, and went to Carle ER. Debby went there about noon, and Kim was found to have kidney stones, and was scheduled to have surgery at 5 pm to deal with them.

Finally, about 630pm, Kim was taken into surgery, so Deb and I went to grab a quick bite to eat. Around 715, the doctor came out to talk to us, and the news wasn't good. Doc said they could not even deal with the stone, there were much bigger issues to deal with. Kim had a raging bladder and kidney infection, and as bad as it was, it was a life threatening situation. Deb started making calls, and other family started arriving. The next news we got was even worse. Debby only was allowed to go back, things were spiraling out of control. Kims heart started racing, and her blood pressure fell to dangerously low levels. Also, she started swelling up, and her lungs were filling up with fluid. She was also coughing up blood. At this point Kims condition was unstable, we were told she was going into heart failure and her survival was in doubt. A few more calls, and all the family, plus Pastor Rich, Larry, and Larrys mom Chris came for support.

While the family was waiting for Deb to run in and out with updates, a lot of praying was done, and stories were told. Then it happened. I went to the bathroom and my zipper stuck. The middle of one of the scariest health emergencies any of my kids have faced, and I have no way to zip up. I had to walk back into the waiting room, holding my fly together, say my zipper was stuck, and throw a coat over my lap. Finally, a pair of pliers was borrowed, so I tied the coat around my waist backwards, and headed back to the bathroom to fix the zipper successfully. I've always been a great source of comic entertainment for the family, last night was no exception. The big laugh at my expense was just what was needed to break the tension, and was glad to oblige. I told Pastor he has sermon material for months.

In the middle of Kims crisis, we received a call that our grandson is in the hospital in Peoria dealing with his own health emergency. If he needs surgery, we may be making a trip to Peoria Thursday to see him before he is taken in.

The doctors were finally able to stabilize Kim enough where the family could see her 2 by 2 for short visits. Most of the family left by 10:30, but Deb and I stayed until around midnight. We felt she was stable enough for us to get home and get some sleep, which we did.

As of this writing, Kim is being pulled SLOWLY off the heart medicine, and her heart is staying stable. She is still in a lot of pain, and is still having breathing problems and coughing up blood. The doctors are cautiously optimistic that she will be out of ICU tomorrow, but has at least a week hospital stay ahead of her. The last we heard the stones may not be dealt with for 3 or 4 weeks down the road.

Chris and Kim went storm chasing!

Saturday, Deb and I were going out of town. Kim and Chris were going to go with us, but woke up feeling "bad" and didn't want to go. I had already seen that it was going to be a stormy day south of us, and could see right through them. I said fine, Deb and I will go. We hadn't been on the road 30 minutes, and the pleading to go chasing started. We relented, so off they went in Kims vehicle.

They first went to Cairo, then decided to drop into the bootheel of Missouri. After a Sikeston stop, they had a decision to make. Were they going to sit, go west, or South into Arkansas. Chris made the decision to go to Jonesburo Arkansas, some storms were big and heading there. They got there just before the storm hit, and happened to meet up with a SKywarn chaser, a couple of police officers, a fire chief, and a TV mobile weather crew. They were near the interstate, at an overpass, and were directed by the officer to go under the overpass. All of Chris's training knew this was the worst place to be. The officer, chaser and fire chief were very grateful that the kids had laptop moving radar, and looked closely at it to decide where the tornado was going. (it had been warned for a while already). That was when the officer directed them under the overpass. Chis was driving, and basically ignored him, went to the top of the overpass, and started to go down the ramp to intercept, lights flashing. Kim realized he was going the wrong way, and was going to drive in it. After a brief screaming match, Chris realized he was going west instead of east, did a u-turn and went the wrong way up the ramp and took off east. Kim got some pictures of the wall cloud, and the tornado, unfortunately a clear condensation funnel is not visible. A clear debris cloud is though. SO Chris and his Midscar team has their first intercept. They stayed overnight in Arkansas and then drove home today. When they got home I told them if they had been honest about what they were doing, I would have left the video camera for them, and could have had some great pics of the rotation. Live and learn, they did learn a lot, and hope to be better prepared next time!

Long tiring day

First thing this morning, I fueled up the tractor and cub mower. I figured that the snow plowing was over, so I took off the blade and put on the tiller. Boy thats always a fun chore, the PTO shaft tends to be stubborn and not go on. Finally success, then off to the house to take the dog on her morning walk. After breakfast with the kids, it was time to work! I mowed the areas where the garden was going to be, then tilled about half the veggie area. After that, I started working on the side yard where it needed grading, preparing to seed later. Till and grade a couple of times, but my string is a tangled mess, so some new string for the year is in order. Mandi was anxious for the tiller, I told her it would be available at 9am, I think the tractor disappeared at 901. Then off to MTD to drive. Debby got all the pototoes in, I think she said about 250 ft of row went in. After getting home at 7pm, I seeded all the garden walk paths in preparation for a rain, and had Chris help me back the RV in. I'm tired, time for bed.

On the geothermal note, all the well drilling is done, boy talk about a sloppy mess, water and slop may be almost 2 ft deep in spots. Sheesh.

Tomorrow, I may get to finalize the contracts for the pool geothermal and get the unit ordered and the down payment made. It may not arrive for 4 to 6 weeks though.

Geothermal construction begins!!!!

Let the construction begin. I've been waiting a long time to get started, and am relieved its finally here. The geothermal drilling began yesterday by Durbin Enterprises from Beecher City. It was fascinating to watch, and have some pictures and video to post later. They are drilling 9 wells 200 ft deep for the loop, then in a few days the trenching crew will come in to connect the loops and get the pipe into the house. This will handle both the house and pool geothermal heat pumps. They drilled 5 wells in about 12 hours, so its not a real fast process. Its is a very messy process though, water and slop are everywhere in that area.

Looking ahead, we have to get the basement prepared for their work, all the ducting will have to be torn down and replaced, since geothermal moves a lot more air. I also need to prepare the wall of the garage for the pool geothermal, and they have to build an insulated room in there for it. So much for a 2 car garage.

As soon as they get the geothermal unit in the basement and most of the duct in, we can turn the boys loose to demolish the kitchen floor. They cant wait, boys love to destroy things, especially when they have permission to do it.

We still have the pool geothermal unit to finalize and sign contracts for, I hope to get that done this week. Delivery is in about 5 to 6 weeks, so need to get it ordered, but dont want to make any costly mistakes either.

Happy Anniversary!!

WOW!! 30 years already!! Seems like just yesterday.

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It's hard to believe that we have come so far - no longer farming on a big scale, 2 additions on the house, 4 kids, 6 grand-kids, 5 dogs, and a partridge in a pear tree (oops, we cut down the pear trees!!)

Here are our birthday tickers - Thanks Mandi
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February Already!!

Wow, it's almost the middle of February! Time sure flies when we are so busy. This time next week, Deb will be in Lansing, Michigan at a math training while Steve, Kim and Chris will be in Denver for the National Severe Weather Chasers Convention.
If the weather holds, neither trip will be too bad, but with the way the weather has been in central Illinois, one does not count on it. We went from torrential rains, to snow in less than 12 hours yesterday. The road we live on is closed to traffic since the water down by the horse barn is deep enough to flood a car. We were prepared with sump pumps, but never did have them turn on. I'll be happy if they never get used, it will still be worth the expense.
Hope you are all keeping warm - Happy Valentine's Day!!

Chis's new storm team

Chris is going full steam ahead on his storm chase and research team. He has settled on MIDSCAR. MIDwest Storm Chasers and Researchers. We have to get a non-profit tax number, and get a web URL bought. He is getting ready to create a logo, and has lot s of awesome ideas for his team. He get on some storm chaser sites, and already has 2 people in Nebraska ready to be on the team when he gets it up and running. I just love his passion and enthusiasm for weather and meteorology, and want to encourage him any way I can.

We're going chasing...

the storm chasers. Friday night, all of a sudden I hear DAAAAAAAD. My first thought was great, what did Kim and Chris get into it about now. Then both of them-Dad you have got to come here now. When I got to Chris and Kims room, they had a website pulled up. It was about the 2008 National Storm Chaser Convention. In Denver Colorado. The weekend of Feb 14. Every high profile Storm Chaser in the country is going to be there--researchers, meteorologists, 2 days of tremendously packed speeches and seminars. I said I would try to get time off and go. I told Deb that I need to go to hold onto Chris's ankles and keep him from floating up into the clouds. Our plan is to leave early on the 14'th and drive straight through (15 hrs) . Friday will be a kick back day, maybe find something to do close to Denver--go see the Tom Cotter family? I would like to get a nap before the festivities start at 6 (sorry Chris and Kim) because then the fun starts. An evening social event on friday from 6-10, then get to bed. Saturday is a long day. The events start at 8am and runs all the way until 11pm. Then on Sunday, a 745 am start and running until 4pm. The last session is a 3 hour basic and advanced Skywarn training session. Theres even a person thats going to talk about digital photography methods, so that ought to be fun. Monday the long drive back home.

Big Basement Cleanup day

Spent all day working on hauling stuff out of the basement. We have to get the basement cleaned out before the heat system gets redone, so we definitely have some incentive to work quickly. It almost seemed like and impossible task when we started. We had taken some stuff out last week, and Deb had organized some stuff earlier in the week, but today was the big day. Chris needed some coaxing to help, but I did get help from him. First thing this morning, Kim and I took a load of computer parts to Macks for recycle. Then home and to work. Lots of trips up and down the stairs, first metal out to the scrap pile. Then a load of old drywall to the same place to disintegrate over time. Chris and I then started working on the bigger items. An old mouse-eaten chair to be burned, and then an old water softener and an old well tank to the metal pile. Running out of energy, an ice cream break sounded great. Late in the day, the calvary showed up to get the bigger items out. Jeff and T.O. came and loaded up a couple of cabinets and a countertop for Jeff and Tracy to use. They then brought up an old couch and a stove up to the garage for us. After we bid them a kind adieu, Chris and I started hauling paper and furniture to the burning pile. By this time it was almost dark, so we went ahead and lit it up. Once it got going, boy what a blazing bonfire. The we heard fire trucks. Getting closer. I wondered who the moron was that called the fire department on us, but thankfully they stayed in town. We have a way to go yet in the basement, but at least we can see that there actually is a floor now. Its amazing what gets accumulated over time and kids moving in and out.

My computer got "Sweet P'd"

I was on my computer this morning a few minutes before work, when the dog brushed past me under the desk. Not wanting her under there, Chris and I tried to coax her out. No luck, so I just left her there. My computer then suddenly shut down. I wondered why my UPC didnt kick in with the power outage, then realized all the lights were still on. I looked under my desk to see Sweet P sitting on the battery backup and on-off switch. Sigh....

Saga of the dog

We now have had the new pet for just about a week now. She is a real nice female German Shepard from a rescue group locally, a little over a year old. Currently she is named Sweet P, but are considering other possibilities. I thought of Deracho (means devil wind). She is a nice dog, but VERY timid, (remember this point) which we are working on. I called Deb just before I started work, and all I hear is "HELLLLOOOOO. Sweet P No No oh no. The dog just got loose, have to go." Click. Ever have that feeling you were going to catch it later. Apparently, as Deb was answering the phone, the retractable leash fell out of her hand. She takes off, the leash extends, bounces up, retracts, hits her in the butt, which makes her run faster. Repeat for about 3 miles, and 30 minutes. BTW, her full speed is VERY fast. Kim and Deb takes off cross country, Chris gets the tractor. Chris doesnt fully understand the directions she was given, leaving Kim tired and cold. He got a NASTY chewing out, so they get in a verbal war. Finally, the dog gets exhausted enough that Deb is able to step on the leash, again after about 30 minutes. I call Kim on one of short breaks, and get greeted with "Dad, dont ever call Mom again". After holding the phone away from my ear contemplating if it was technically possible to crawl inside the phone and take a ride over the cell waves and come out her phone and wring her neck (I concluded no), I said "What is that all about?" Kim:"Well when mom tried to answer the phone she dropped the leash and that caused us to chase her for a half hour." Me:"OK, from now on, before I call, I will put on my psychic powers and my x-ray vision and any other really cool super powers I can think of to see if its a great time to call, and if it is I'll call." That pretty well was the end on the conversation at that point.
And that concludes another day, Heater style.

Kitchen remodel

Saturday, Deb and I went to see what we could come up with for a cabinet plan. I had detailed measurements of both bare walls and the way its laid out now. Deb told her kind of what we had planned, but that really it was blank slate, because we just didnt know exactly what we wanted there. The working area in the kitchen was not efficient and cramped, and the dining room space was wasted. The kitchen table would very likely come out. Diane thought, said to give her a couple minutes, that she had a plan in mind. She did her computer magic, and then showed us. Boy I havent seen Deb that excited in a long time. As we were finishing the plan, I first saw the non-discounted rate. A look of panic crossed my face, wondering how I was going to tell Deb that wasnt possible. When we got the discounted rate, I felt SO much better. Diane wondered what was wrong, I said I was just recovering from the shock of the full price and relief of not having to say no to Deb. All Deb could talk about was how that would be so much better than she has now. Once we get the full installation price from Blair at CBE for the kitchen and 2 baths, hopefully by the end of the week, we can then decide to go full speed or not.

Grills, geothermal and farming

When Hicksgas came to fix the grill, they found other parts bad, so had to order them this morning.
Bill came over today to meet with the geothermal people about my situation. He was impressed with their knowledge, so I look forward to seeing their proposal late next week.
I'm going to take Kim for some testing tomorrow, and then meet with the tenant doing the farming to discuss plans for 2008. Prices are good, but expenses are shooting up, so 2008 could be challenge. We are seriously looking at some GPS soil testing to target fertilizer where its needed most. Its been a busy and hectic week!

January 17, 2008

The weeks seem to fly by lately. We are now in the last two days of first semester and all the grading and reports need to be done. The kids love it - they have a 5 day weekend. Teachers, not so lucky, we work Tuesday and Wednesday. It's not too bad, though, there are no students!!!

Kim has begun her trek through Parkland College. Her first English paper was a hit and she may be on her way to her vet tech experience. She has four classes this semester.

Chris is finishing finals tomorrow and is working on a good average so far. German and Algebra will tell the full story. He is also counting down the days to March when he will get his license. It's a shame his birthday is on Monday this year, DMV is closed on Mondays! I've promised to take Tuesday morning off and take him to get his license. He has Helen's old Taurus to drive until he can find a job and a new set of "cool" wheels.

Hope the winter weather isn't getting you down - Remember we will soon be complaining about how hot it is!!!

Big day today

Everything seemed to happen today.

The pool building people did complete phase 1 of the job. Most of the largest windows and doors did get put in. The crew did a great job, and cleaned up completely.

The repair crew for our Weber grill came to install the new firebox. The old one warped so bad, the grates would rest on the burners. After a few e-mails back and forth to a company rep, the appointment was set up. A hearty thank you to Weber, what great customer service!

And, I have a couple representatives coming to recommend a geothermal heating and cooling system setup Thursday. From what I understand, the economics of geothermal look great, we will see when I see all the numbers.

And so it begins......

Mandi inspired me to start this blog. I like this way of keeping up to date with all of you. Now, I just have to fit it into my schedule!!!