Day to Day

Can you believe I've been working for 3 weeks already? And I got my first paycheck! Since I'm working for the state now I get paid every two weeks which is fine and unlike Stonybrook University Hospital they don't hold the first two weeks. I'm enjoying my job, the hours are lovely and the people that I work with are fun. Right now it's getting to know the area, how things work, etc....  but since my job is also the first of it's kind it's exciting! What I do is to work with seniors to reduce ER visits and calling EMS by finding alternate solutions - I hook them up with services and find other ways for them to deal with things. It's a work in progress - but none of my clients are further than 30 miles and my office is only 30 minutes from my house. Some mornings I just dither around since I now leave at 7:50am instead of 6:40! I like that I'm in the office sometimes and then out on the road for the rest of the time, it's not boring. 

David continues to work on the house, people have been stopping by just to look, it's getting very impressive looking since he added the deck. Kim's friend Meg was here today - she lives in Colorado and was out here when we first bought the house. They stopped on the way to the airport for her to see it - she was horrified and could not believe it was fixable. We had them for lunch, I haven't seen Meg in about 15 years so it was fun to see her - and fun to see her reaction to the house! I made a Marionberry cobbler from the berries I picked in the yard with fresh whipped cream, we had vegetarian Italian sausage heroes. i do not like the Beyond Beef burgers - they are WAY too meaty looking for me but the sausages are really good, David even loves them.  We showed off the house, while we were upstairs Meg admired the 70's gold foil wall paper they'd used in the loft, I asked if she'd like it and she said yes.  Since I'm a very good hostess I grabbed the edge of a section and pulled it off - the old wall paper was made sturdy and as it's been protected from light up there I'm sure it looks exactly the same the day it was made. We pulled off a few more sections - Meg does crafting and that's what she wanted it for. It was a very good visit and we'll be seeing her again.  

I have my first conference coming up and then we're going to visit Brandi and the girls - again! I already have the reservations and yes, Molly and Reuben are going back to the same kennel. I cannot see them getting that sick again - the place really has a very good reputation. There's a sheep and wool festival at the end of September I'm going to - Kim might tag along if she can, we're hoping to have the neighbors over at some point when the house is a bit further along. David is still working outside before the rainy season starts and then he'll be tackling the guestroom upstairs - you might want to make your reservations now!

A Breath Of Fresh Air

A few weeks ago before Kim came over I texted to let her know I was walking around the house with no shoes on. Bare feet to be exact, she cheerfully texted back  she couldn't wait to kick her shoes off. It was momentous. And today I mopped the floors and only changed the water three times - and it wasn't black! It hit me today our foreclosure is turning into a home, it was nothing earth shattering but.....taking a shower without worrying in the back of my mind that I might slide under the house if the floor actually does give way.  No longer having the Poo Alarm blaring at 2am, but hearing the quiet murmur of the automatic pump. The stove works, the fridge works, windows open and shut. Kim and I sat and chatted at the dining room table with no whiffy pee smells.

Home.

And it's to the point we're starting to think about what we want it to eventually look like. As I've said before this house had a major and expensive renovation in the 70's so is it dated - or is it retro? When I was a kid my mother had this set of decorating books that was printed in the 70's, I remember gloaming over them for hours, the orange shag rugs, yellow daisies, avocado green,harvest gold.  Foil wallpaper, space age decor, white bunk beds. We obviously can't go back in time, most of those furnishings don't exist anymore and even back then it was a bit much. But I think we are skirting the edges, the coffee table David picked up is not 70's but there are little echos of it - the heavy wood top, the wrought black iron legs.. So, I think that will be how I approach it - not full on back in time, but little touches here and there so it looks, so it looks right. 

It's gotten to the point of being fun and enjoyable. Kim and Steve came over today so we could go out for breakfast and then do some berry picking in the yard. They are rapidly ripening and in less than an hour the four of us picked about a couple of gallons at least. After we are past berry picking David is going to start ripping out a great deal of the vines. Here they're considered a bit of a weed  since they grow so fast and overwhelm so quickly. Kim's friend Meg is coming to visit her next week - when we bought the house Meg was here visiting and on the way to the airport they stopped by so she could see it. Kim said Meg was horrified and didn't think it was fixable, David and I are very interested in seeing what she thinks of us now. 

It's The Sailor's Life For Me

I had volunteered to help at the booth at the fair last week which had several benefits. I got to hang out with some of my new co-workers, I was at the fair and looked at all the livestock and so forth, I was out of the office and 

I got to ride the ferry near me finally!

On our list of Why We Moved Here living near the water was pretty far up there and being able to afford living near the water was right under it. Here there is not only an ocean but lakes, rivers, streams, ponds. There are ferries at certain points so you can get across without having to drive a bazillion miles to the bridges. Where the fair was held if I'd driven around it would have been 45 miles but using the ferry it was 13. But the real reason was, well, taking a ferry. To work. I looked it up online for the times but doing anything the first time, especially if you need to be somewhere is stressful. I left early so I would have time to look around too, the ferry is only 9 miles from my house and there were two vehicles in front of me. There was also a sign saying the bridge was closed. WHAT BRIDGE? So I got out of my car and spoke to the guy in front of me who told me the bridge was closed from 9 PM to 5am, not the other way around. He asked where I was going and I told him Scat-a-moose. He smiled and said Skamokawa?, then gave me directions, I thanked him and got back in the car.

When I was in my car I realized he smiled because Scat-a-moose is not a town but a line from the Bohemien Rhapsody by Queen ("Scatamoos,scatamoos can you do the fandango"). The ferry got there on time, was glad I knew it was cash only and enjoyed the 10 minute toodle across the river. I got there way early so I noted around Puget Island and Cathlemet, got coffee and headed to the fair. Yes, everyone knows everyone , lots of cowboy hats and boots. It was a small fair but fun. When I left I went straight back - the ferry runs on a hour schedule and if you miss it you're there til it comes back but I just made it with 3 minutes to spare, the afternoon is much busier so I was also the last car to fit on the boat - sometimes life does work out. I enjoyed the ride back and took pictures pf course, ferries are so much fun no matter how much you ride them and I weas so glad to finally have gotten on the one near my house. Another activity crossed off the list of things I want to do. 

This Proud House

David has been working more outside lately, we've been told the rainy season is right around the corner, followed by the Sort-Of-Cold season and he wants to get as much done as possible. David is not someone who does a project from start to finish, he starts about 20 projects and bounces around, I suppose it keeps boredom at bay. Right now he's working on the windows, the siding, the roof, the porch, the bathroom, the yard, the molding, the plumbing and the closets. The windows are almost done, we're waiting for one more to finish the side. The originals were huge single paned plate glass which sucks on so many levels. David ordered all of them back in May but this has been complicated by a few things. A) The Home Depot here stinks, apparently being able to find your ass with both hands is not a requirement to work there. They spend most of their time misplacing, misunderstanding and re-ordering all your stuff on a daily basis. This ONE last window has misordered, not ordered and lost - I'm hoping it gets here before I'm cremated. But other things have been done and the house is moving right along.

After David found the second septic tank the guy came and finished replacing the floats and stuff. The septic systems here are weird - you have a tank, a leech field, another tank and a sand field. The tanks have floats in them like your toilet and when it gets high enough in tank #1 it kicks on the pump and it all goes through the system. It should have all been laid out on a county map but the person that installed it didn't and then the second tank got covered, etc.... but it's all straightened out now.  The yard is looking better too, the grass is growing back finally!! and as the berries ripen and get picked David's cutting back the vines. There's an area I'm planning on planting bushes in the fall, the cat lady was also good at burying her garbage - I cannot express the delight we felt when we dug up two large bags of dirty diapers amongst other things - but the one area we are continuing to turn up flotsam so there will be decorative plants there. 

We have been shopping for things we need, I found a discount building supply and since David is now a frequent flyer the guy is starting to give him breaks on the prices. We go to the Restore alot - we got our bedroom door with the frame for $20, all the windows for the garage and one for upstairs or a total of about $75 (four windows), yesterday we picked up matching shaker style nightstands for $5 apiece for the bedroom. Can we afford new and more expensive stuff? Of course we can! But why  would we if we can get the same things for a true fraction of the amount? And just an FYI - after we went to the Restore we hit the antique stores and I saw the same EXACT night stand, for $40, it pays to look. We're still looking for a coffee table and a small entertainment stand ( I have a $5 wooden box with a table cloth for the TV now), we need a heating system, want a wood stove, we need cabinets and cabinet doors, the list is still there. But after almost 3 months I'm happy to report it's no longer growing on a daily basis. 

The New Kid

A lot of people compare starting a new job to the first day of school - I beg to differ. Starting a new job is like starting school in February - everyone knows everyone else, they can find their locker, they have a group they sit with at lunch. Meanwhile you're trying to look like you know what you're doing and you seriously don't. The big advantage of taking an extended period of time off - well, aside from goofing off and driving out to see the World's Largest Egg - was I could be picky about where I wanted to work. And think about what I wanted to do with the sunset years (hopefully - I do not want to be one of those 86 year old people pretending I like working) of my career. One thing I did know was I did not want to go back to the hospitals or a facility, I did not want to be charge, I no longer want to do real hands on nursing - I've done my years in all of that and am past it. I did not want to wake up stressed out every day.

So I researched jobs before I applied - I looked at the reviews on Glassdoor, Indeed - that jettisoned about 70% of all the jobs offered. I applied for work from home insurance jobs and there are some, but they get snapped up inhouse before they hit the general public and then I'm sure there's about a bazillion applicants per job. Most of the time the Job Has Been Filled email hit my mailbox 5 minutes after I applied. But the job I found very intriguing - was for the Agency of Aging and Disability for a community nurse. The pay was a bit less, but - no holidays, no weekends, no nights, no hands on, local areas - I applied right away. And got  called right away.  And got the job!! So, what do I do? I help people arrange doctor's appointments, understand their medications, that they're safe, that they have the services they need. My job is to keep them out of the hospital, to work in the community - and so far, I love it!! 

And as far as the cut in pay? It's not really because it's a state job, I get so much time off I could have skipped around the building twice. After 5 years I get vested for retirement, my medical benefits are old school cover just about everything (I can't remember the last time I had a ten dollar co-pay!)  and both David and I are covered for medical, dental and vision for about $200 a month total - the deductible for BOTH of us is $1200! Given that I'm paying almost $700 less a month for insurance that kind of evens out the pay. My co-workers so far are lovely and really funny people. Getting used to the office however, has been a challenge. There are almost 50 people working in my office and we all have full cubicles so it's a warren of little cubbies. Navigating it took awhile, the first day I worked there I gave up on ever finding the bathroom and drove to Fred Myer's grocery store on my lunch break.  I could not find the break room to save my life, my document wouldn't print and after they gave me the number of the IT guy I found my phone didn't work. Forget people's names, every day it's a new face. But by Friday I was able to find both the break room and the bathroom, the IT guy came and fixed my phone and computer, I got my desk organized and  I recognized at least six people, it's a work in progress, but it's coming along.  And so far, so good!!

DMV

One of the things we've been putting off was getting our Oregon Driver's licenses and registering our cars. We are originally from Eastern LI and anyone from that area will tell you a visit to DMV for ANYTHING will leave you with PTSD. Every morning people show up well before it opens, by the time it does open it looks like the line to a Springsteen Farewell tour. It doesn't matter in the end, you'll be there for half a day no matter what you do,even if you somehow managed to bring all the required paperwork (you didn't. Even if you did they have a secret list of Things To Ask For If They Have All The Paperwork) - it is always multiple trips. But since I have to start work on Monday we figured we'd better get it done. On Wednesday I had to be re-fingerprinted for my RN license in Washington and then we decided to try DMV then. We found it and stuck our heads in - a huge line! Eek! Since the dogs were still pretty sick we didn't want to leave them for an extended time, we left which turned out to be a good decision as it was actually the wrong state. We live in Oregon, not Washington. 

Friday was the day. We took our proof of address, insurance and registration cards and went to Astoria to the correct DMV.  We got there a few minutes before it opened with about 4 other people - we were seen in under 10 minutes!! And got nothing accomplished. To get our driver's license in Oregon we needed to produce our ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE  and take a 35 question written test. I couldn't register my car because they need to physically see it, arrgh. David got the van registered and then back home we went. Believe it or not the birth certificate thing was not a big, since we move around so much we have everything including our social security cards, my original nursing license, etc...every place wants something different. We fed the dogs a small meal and walked them a lot as by then they were better but not great, then back to Astoria we went. I found practice tests on line and since it's an hour drive we could review. If you think it's that easy - it is sort of. But some of the questions - how many classes of Mopeds are there, if you stop to let a train pass on a crossing that has no flashing lights how many feet away from the tracks do you stop, If you come to a four way stop, does the car on the right or the left have the right of way - were not things you think about. 

The tests are online and on the bottom it keeps score of how many you've missed - in case you're wondering you can miss 8. I finished in about 10 minutes with an 85, my objective is to finish and pass, not impress anyone. David took For-ev-er because he views it as a competition and got a 90. We got our temporary ones and on the upside my picture came out very nice, on the downside they put your weight on it. Yup. You read that right - incentive to never get pulled over. I got my Subaru registered and by the time all was said and done we walked out of there about $600 poorer. It was not a cheap day, but it's done and over with. I have only today to enjoy my freedom - after 7 weeks I will be returning to the salt mines tomorrow. Oh well, it had to end sometime. 

Sick As A Dog

Let me start off by saying this is no reflection on the kennel they stayed at - it was well run, clean and both of them came back with no stress or weight loss, we're chalking it up to bad luck. We picked up the dogs from the kennel  late - about 10 minutes before they closed, around 5. They were fine when they got in the car but then Molly touched Boo and he yipped and cried. We noticed under his left ear was very swollen and painful to touch - there's a vet  on the way home that we'd seen but of course the vet left right before we arrived. Boo had an appointment for Monday so the rest of the weekend was benedryl and aspirin. By Monday it was down and looked better but since we operated under Murphy's Law at all times here I took him for his appointment. The vet is sure it's an insect sting which most likely happened when we picked him up and that's why the staff at the kennel did not notice it. I gave them all of Reuben's paperwork so he is now an established patient at the vet, that's one more thing off the To Do List.  Boo by this time is feeling better and everyone has dinner, after I'm sitting on the couch with Molly and she suddenly looks panicked, jumps off the couch and 

poops a lake halfway to the door. 

David came in to hurry them out and just as Molly is heading for the door she poops another lake. Then she pukes. A lot. David hustles them both out while I start - shoveling for lack of a better word - and that's just the start of it. We gave up trying to make the door around 1am, she just couldn't do it and when she finally ran out of juice she was just a sad, sorry mess. Off to the vet with her around 8:30am, she had no fever or pain so it was either stress or a virus  - they gave her some medications to help with the vomiting, she slept and pooped for the rest of day while David and I swabbed the decks. By the end of the day we were all worn out, but she finally looked a tiny bit better and could hold down a little bit of eggs. Thank goodness that was finally coming to an end.  Yeah.......we do have two dogs, don't we? 

It was a virus.

Boo, unbelievably was sicker than Molly was, the buckets and paper towels came back out immediately. We called the veterinary clinic who might be rethinking taking on new patients, they said Imodium for the diarrhea and if he's not better by Friday bring him in. When he wasn't busy puking he pooped right past the Imodium, the not being able to make it to the door was totally freaking him out. Molly is cut from a much different cloth, if she was a person she'd be sitting on the couch reading Star Magazine and as you passed by she'd lower her paper and say something like "hey, just wanted to let you know I shit all over the den, could you be a doll and clean it up? Thanks! I really owe you one" and go back to reading. Reuben on the other hand would be wearing a black veil and wailing out his penance. I thought it would never end, but last night he finally stopped exploding from both ends and this morning he's started eating a little. Molly is eating better, but neither are great at this point so it looks like a food sale all over the house. There's a plate of eggs, cheese and rice, a bowl of kibble, a bowl with super expensive wet dog food, everyone has had a chicken patty today so we seem to be on the mend. And for once, Bob the Barfing Cat has been the only one that has not barfed once.  Guess they stole her thunder.