Vitamin C

So, on Friday morning, December 30, 2016 I awoke to a dry cough and a raspy sore throat. I took some Vitamin C and later in the day, the symptoms had disappeared.  This is not the first time Vitamin C helped me with some respiratory problems.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Body Aches

So I woke up really stiff and sore this morning, but went to work, and by about midday, I was feeling pretty good.  I realized how good I was feeling when I got on the elliptical this evening and did 45 good minutes, when I could only force myself to do 30 minutes of very lethargic exercise last night.

I am starting to "stove" up again, but I suspect that is a function of the negative weather change this evening. 

Weather Change and Body Aches

So, right now, we are in a weather pattern that includes cold nights and moderately warm to warm days.  When there are in these kinds of weather variances, they cause me a lot of pain.  Not just my lower back pain, but pain in my feet, knees, hips, elbows, shoulders and neck.  This is not new to me.  It is common when the weather changes like this.  I call it being "stove up" because I get stiff and sore and moving is difficult.

Tonight, I was sitting in the computer room, with the space heater on, and it felt like my feet were thawing out.  I did not recall my feet feeling cold.  But, I felt like my feet and joints were uncoiling.  This experience often happens if I am running  a fever.  I did not check that tonight, and the sensation went away, so I am in hopes I am not getting sick, except for the arthritic response to the weather change.

Basketball

I like basketball.  I liked basketball when I was in high school, but followed it less when I was in collage.  When I moved to Texas, I tried to follow the Celtics as best I could.  I started following the Lady Raiders in the late 1980's and have followed them since.  I sometimes have season tickets, as I do this year.

I also watch and listen to the Red Raiders team. I still follow the Celtics, and to a lesser degree the Mavericks and Spurs.  I just am really a Celtics fan.

I had the opportunity to go to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.  I grew up in western Massachusetts, and never went to the Basketball Hall of Fame. It always looked so rundown and dingy.  But in it is in a nice modern facility, so I made it a point to go there, and enjoyed the tour. 

I just like basketball. 

Underfoot

Have I written about this before?  Maybe I have.  My cats are often underfoot.  I appreciate their desire for closeness.  That is what we have pets for. But this leads me to some distress.  By being underfoot, I often quite unintentionally nudge, kick or step on some part of one of my cats. You would think that they would realize this and give me more space, but they do not.

For this reason, I rarely wear shoes in the house.  I might just wear socks, but more often than not, I wear soft slippers. So, when we have foot to body interaction, it is milder than if I was wearing shoes. 

Lowery Plumbing and the Drain Cleanout

So, Chris, the plumbing technician from Lowery Plumbing http://trustlowery.com/ who came by Saturday came by late this afternoon to work on my drains.  He worked on the main drain, and identified the problem at the main line where the drain pipes are connected. He identified that Lowery had replaced the drain and asked me how long ago.  I guessed about 10 years ago, with about a 5 year guarantee.  He said the pipes had settled and have started to separate, so the roots are growing in.  He cleaned out the main drain, and then, he worked on the washing machine drain.  He did not charge me for the second drain clean out, since I was a repeat customer, and Lowery had done the main drain before. He suggested they could dig up the main drain and fix the connection to eliminate the roots, and I said I would think about it.

He also said that the cast iron pipes used in the houses of the age of my house tend to develop internal corrosion and build up which slows down the drainage.  If that happens, the plumbing can be re-worked in the house, or out-skirted to the yard, and connected to the main sewer line outside.  Good to know.

I was really impressed with how careful Chris was: with his tools, with working in the yard, with how he managed himself on the roof.  Lowery Plumbing tends to be higher in cost for many services.  They were when I had the sewer line replaced, years ago.  But they did it in one day and did not dig up my entire yard.  Several years earlier, I had had the gas line replaced and the low cost plumbing company I used took 3 days, and because there was a snow storm before they finished, they never covered over the trench they dug!  So, you get what you pay for. 

Lowery also uses a camera in the sewer line, and Chris showed me just where the problem was. He explained that they could discount their cost to fix the separation, because it was their work, originally. Lowery has a low cost drain clean service.  Chris only charged me for one clean out, not two!  I was really impressed with Chris' customer service skills!  And, I did a review for Lowery on Facebook because of it!

Garage Door Problems

So, the last weekend was a weekend of woes.  In addition to the plumbing problems, I had garage door problems.  When I returned home from the laundromat, the garage door would not open.  Oh, no. 

The worst part of that was that I did not have my purse, and I did not have a set of door keys with me.  I called a couple of people:  my cat sitter, and a friend who has a set of keys for my house.  My friend was not home, and the cat sitter called back after a while, and came over to let me in the house. I have two sets of house keys, so I took one set with me when I went somewhere, and will continue to do so. 

I had actually thought about that the previous week, when bad weather was moving in, and I realized that if there was a power outage, I would not be able to get in.  But, I did nothing about it.  Bad on me. 

On December 20, 2016, I left work for the afternoon, waiting for the plumber and the garage door repairman.  Well, the garage door repairman from Classic Doors  http://www.garagedoorslubbock.com/ came late in the afternoon.  I had told them I had a Genie garage door opener, but when he arrived, he did not have a working part for the garage door opener.  He asked me when I would be home on Wednesday.  I told him it would be late, I had taken off work today to get this fixed, and I was not going to do that a second day. He showed me he could open the door, with some effort, although I could not.  He said to lock the house Wednesday, and leave the door so he could get in and fix it on Wednesday.

After he left, I wedged a log in the door track so it would be harder to open.  A while later, the repairman from Classic Doors called me and said he arranged to get a part and could come back and fix the door. He did. That was very nice. I am thankful to have a working garage door.

Classic Doors gets an Aplus in my book!

The Morman Tabernacle Choir's Christmas Concert

I was able to watch part of the 2015 Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert https://www.mormontabernaclechoir.org/events/christmas-concerts.html 

This was a beautiful performance and a wonderful gift from the Church of the Latter Day Saints to the entire nation!  Thank you for your generosity!  This was just superb!

Granny Square Afghan

I have a granny square afghan http://crochet.about.com/od/crochet-pictures/tp/Crochet-Inspiration-10-Beautiful-Granny-Square-Blankets.htm that my mother made.  I am not sure how I ended up owning it after my mother's death, but for me, it is a blessing that I have this afghan.  For several years, I have been using a fleece throw on top of my sheet, and a blanket as an extra supplement to the sheet and comforter on my bed. When I started using the granny square afghan, I did not need the extra blanket, or the fleece throw.  I am blessed to have this granny square afghan that my mother crocheted. 

Phone Problems

I was at the Texas Tech Lady Raiders Basketball game on December 14, 2016, and discovered that my phone was not working. I was really frustrated.  This was the third time this fall that I have had phone problems.  Both times before, Sprint had to “flash” the phone, at no cost to me, but it took a couple of hours to do. This time, when I brought the phone in, the technician at sign in was able to do a “soft reset” which took care of the problem.  He told me what he did, so next time, I can try that first.

Internet Problems

So, my Internet connection stopped working the evening of December 17, 2016. I tried rebooting the connection, and reconnecting the Internet.  Nothing worked. I called my ISP Suddenlink http://home.suddenlink.net/ , and when they checked it, they could not find anything to help me.  I have in home coverage, and we set up an appointment for Tuesday afternoon when I am going to be home waiting for the plumber.  I hate Internet problems.

So when I signed on to the computer on December 18, 2016, the Internet was working. I was visiting with a neighbor that day, who also had Internet problems on the 17th.  I told her my problems were resolved on the next day.  She had not tried her Internet. I hope her problems were resolved also.

Plumbing Problems

So, the weekend of December 10, 2016, I had a plumbing problem:  my drains backed up into the shower and bathtub, and onto one of the bathroom floors, when I did laundry.  I cleaned up the mess, and did the rest of my laundry at the laundromat. I used the root kill chemicals, and it seemed to clear things up.  I also had to plunge the shower drain.  So, when I ran the dishwasher mid-week, there was no backup problem.

On December 17, 2016, when I did laundry, the drain backed up and flooded into the kitchen and the garage.  I called around looking for a plumber.  One said they could come but for overtime prices which are $187 plus per hour.  I declined.  Another company that does regular weekend work responded, but by the time the plumber arrived, it had been sleeting in my neighborhood. The plumber had said on the phone he might not be able to help me because of the weather.  He would have to get on the roof to clean out the washer drain.  It was not safe for him to get on the roof with the precipitation and wind. We set up an appointment for later in the week.

It meant another trip to the laundromat.  But, it is what it is, and you do what you have to do.

On December 18, 2016, I did run the dishwasher.  It did not back up or flood the kitchen, so this tells me the drain clog is in the clean out for the washing machine.

The Weather In Lubbock

The weather in Lubbock can change on a dime.  It happened on December 17, 2016.  The temperature at about 8 AM was in the mid-60s.  We were expecting a cold front later in the day, but at about 9:45 AM, the front blew in and immediately the temperature dropped from pleasant to unpleasantly cold.  This is not the first time I have experienced this in Lubbock, but it seems to be happening more frequently these days.

Wreathes Across America

I received a notice that Wreathes  Across America http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/#join-us was going to have a ceremony and wreathe laying at the City of Lubbock Cemetery on December  17,2016.  I went to the ceremony, and helped with laying wreathes.  It was a honor to do so.  I learned that this activity had been occurring in Lubbock for 8 years.  I had no idea!  I was honored to be able to participate.

Cold Snap

On the night of December 7, 2016, we had a cold snap.  Until then, we had had an unusually mild fall.  So this night, the weather just turned cold.  The next day, as I drove around the city, there was an unusual phenomenon.  All the mulberry trees had lost their green leaves, which were piled under the trees.  It was a really strange sight.  A lot of other leaves fell that night, but it was not as obvious, because they were seasonably brown or yellow.  It was the bright green of the mulberry leaves that made them so obvious.

The next few days, the weather included some windy periods. And during those times, the leaves hit up against the windows and made it sound like it was raining.  It was not raining. That was an interesting phenomenon also.

Warming Up

I went to the Lady Raider Basketball game on December 14, 2016, and stayed for the doubleheader, to watch the Red Raider Basketball game http://www.texastech.com/#.  I enjoyed both games, which were wins for the home team, but the men's game was much more exciting.  I got supper between the games, and of course, indulged in junk food I did not need. I saw a couple of people from work at the game.

And, I got cold. It was during the men's game, especially in the second half. I suspect it was because the section of the arena in which I was sitting was not far from an set of doors to the outside, and the temperature dropped quite a bit during the game.

It took me a bit to get warmed up at home, but it is happening, and I am glad. Except, when I transfer to my bed, it will be cold again. But that is good for sleeping, and I have plenty of warm cover.

Football

So, I do not follow National Football League http://www.nfl.com/  much. Sort of the New England Patriots, and I like the New York Giants, but if there is something better to do, I do it.  Well, yesterday, I watched the end of the game between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys.  I am definitely NOT a Dallas Cowboys fan, although I live amongst die hard Dallas Cowboys fans. I was glad to see the Giants win yesterday.  So, tonight, the Baltimore Ravens are playing in Foxborough, Ma. against the New England Patriots.  I did not watch most of the first half, but there is nothing else I want to watch tonight. So, I'll watch this game.

Antiques Roadshow

I am not an antiques person, a collector, nor do I own fine things.  But I enjoy the TV show Antiques Roadshow http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/ because I love the stories about the items that are brought in.  I did not like history when I was young, when it was memorizing dates and names. I could do it, but to what end?  But, I love history that is the story of people's lives.  And the information about the antiques on Antiques Roadshow are the stories of not only the antique piece, but often of the person's life.  So, I like Antiques Roadshow. 

Cats

So, my cats pretty much rule the roost. I was trying to upload the pictures of my cats that I have posted lately. Yesterday, they hijacked the chairs in my computer room.  Tonight, they have hijacked my bed.  I have not been able to attach the pictures.  That is okay. They are what they are, they do what they do, it is what it is.

Go cats!