Month: February 2022

****I have no clue why my photos won’t center and quite honestly, I don’t care. I have no WIFI and am running off my phone hotspot and transferring the pics from phone to laptop was not fun.****

01/28/2022 Holy cannoli, where has this month gone? It’s not been my favorite so I’ll be glad when it goes the hell away. Far away.

We did have a great snowstorm and the boys had an absolute blast playing in it. We got about 6″ total, the boys weren’t sure what to think at first but once they started running they were snow dogs. I picked snowballs (thinking of you Cathilee) out of their toes every time we came in. The great thing was no more mud. Except after the snow melted we had 3 days of absolute downpours. The mud was atrocious.

Bill was working in the shop insulating the ceiling and I was bored as hell, filling my Amazon shopping cart.

During all the snow, Bill wasn’t feeling very good, felt like he was coming down with something. By the 30th he was pretty much down for the count. On Jan. 3rd (my bday) he got tested for Covid and was positive. They told him to go home and rest, drink liquids, etc. Here we are stuck in a tin can, weather is 10 degrees, furnace was not working but we had space heaters. After about a week he was so miserable he went back to the hospital, they told him the same thing, didn’t test him at all. He came back home and went back to bed. I was forcing fluids, had him on black seed oil, Vit D and C and Quercitin with Zinc and Ivermectin, I too was taking the same. I wasn’t feeling great either and was so worried who would care for the dogs if I got sick.

On the 12th I said, we’re going to the hospital. It’s 8 min away. I called the ER while we were sitting outside of the entrance and told them what was going on, they Covid tested him then checked his Oxygen levels and they were low enough that they put him in a wheelchair and wheeled him off. They said they would call me. I, of course, had 3 dogs with me and Highway was in his crate in Walt. We waited and waited. I decided to go home and wait for the call. The Dr. called me and said he had covid pneumonia. F%#k. We are not vaccinated and don’t come at me with any of that, our bodies, our choice. We still stand by our decision. FYI: Many of the nurses at the hospital are NOT vaccinated. They do not require it at this small hospital. Our bodies, our choice. He was being admitted. I of course was a nervous wreck.

The day after Bill was admitted I was feeling really awful, totally worn out. My sweet friend Andee and her husband Joel drove up from Tennessee and brought me all kinds of food and an air mister that sanitizes the air. They took my propane tanks, got them filled for me, helped me load the other 3 dog crates in Walt, and headed back home.

I called my Doc to be seen and he said to go get tested and they would call me with results. I was back in Walt with the dogs when they called and said I was negative and to come in to see the Doctor. I went in, he checked me and sent me for a CBC. I got the blood work done and went back to the Dr. office. He came in and said my bloodwork was excellent, as good as a teenager. They gave me a Vitamin B shot and sent me home.

That night and the next day I was having chest pains. The Dr said go to the ER. I get to the ER, call them, they come and test me, negative again. So they took me in for a chest Xray, ECG and bloodwork. Bloodwork was once again fine, my heart was healthy and lungs were clear. The ER Doc asked me if I was stressed. I told him what was going on and he gave me a scrip for an anti-anxiety med that I still have not filled. I guess knowing I wasn’t having a heart attack calmed me enough that the pains went away. Odd what the mind can manifest.

I’m back at good old Walt, using space heaters to stay warm and the water stopped. No running water. I thought it would thaw in a day when it warmed up. No such luck. I called my neighbor and he came up and did everything he could, still no water. Not a good situation. After a few days, I said screw this $hit and called the only motel in town. They said they accepted pets, $15.00 for each pet. I didn’t mention 4. I loaded what I thought we would need, dog food, warm clothes, leashes, my pillow, blankets to cover the beds and set off to the motel. I went into registration to check in, I looked like a fishwife, covered in dog hair, don’t recall when I last washed or combed my hair. I told them I had called about a room with pets. They asked how many and, being me, I can’t lie. I said 4. She said “Oh we can’t have 4 dogs in a room.” I said I would rent 2 rooms. She said no. I started to cry and told her my situation, I offered her a $500.00 dollar deposit. I promised her my dogs were well behaved, they would chew nothing nor go to the bathroom in the room. She took pity on me, bless her, and charged me a ridiculous amount for 3 nights. I had somewhere warm with running water. The IGA grocery was right next door. I ran there to get some take-out deli chicken and a few other things. When I was in line at the deli I looked down and realized I had a damn dog leash wrapped around my neck and it had a green poop bag (empty) tied to the handle. I just didn’t care.

While I was moving the dogs into the room, and not knowing this beforehand, when the door closes, it locks. I was locked out. I ran to the office and got a key, by then the owner was giving me the “LOOK.” I set stuff on the floor as I was moving in and Gringo ate most of my chicken. Damn dogs.

Once I was settled I couldn’t get the TV to come on. Not having cable since 2003, I was looking forward to it. The box was on but not the TV. I called the owner and he said he would be down so I hustled all 4 dogs into the car before they terrified him. He got the TV on and mumbled something as he left, not sure but I think he called me a pain in the ass. I let the dogs back in and sat down and cried.

That night we got 6 more inches of snow. Luckily there was a big field between the 1* motel from hell and the Cumberland River.

I ran into the Dollar General to get some juice and dog treats, I was covered in dog hair, my hair was a rats nest, I had on no bra. I totally looked homeless. The customer in front of me knew the clerk and they were chatting as I was impatiently waiting. The clerk said he could play lead guitar but he wasn’t great. The customer left, called the clerk, Bobby, by name and said to call. As I was checking out, the clerk asked me IF I WANTED TO BE IN A MUSIC VIDEO. Was it to portray the homeless in Portland or the down and out destitute souls in LA? I laughed and said, no thanks. Really, why does this shit happen to me?

My friend from high school, Sandra, messaged to see how Bill was and suggested a VRBO. I thought nobody would rent to someone with 4 dogs. But I looked anyhow, searching for places that accepted pets. I found 3 and messaged them all my story and ridiculous situation. The first one that allowed dogs replied and said OK, but was charging me an arm and leg for the dogs plus $145.00 cleaning fee. The second lady messaged me and said, no problem, she didn’t care how many dogs I had, just asked that I clean up their poop, which I would normally do anyhow. She said she lives about 2 hours away and her husband is having back issues and they’ve not been able to get here. The place wasn’t cleaned since the last renters. I booked it until Feb 3.

I checked out of the motel Tuesday morning, loaded all 4 dogs and went back to the RV. I grabbed a few more things I needed, like dog food and a crate for the howler, and then drove the 40 minutes to this cabin. I found it easily, situated on 2 acres, a few homes around but all unoccupied. This is a seasonal area for fishermen. Not a soul around, no traffic on the road in front. Once inside, I washed the sheets so I would have clean bedding and organized the stuff I brought.

This place in not well insulated, it’s mainly used in the spring and summer. The window A/C units are still in the windows, drafty as an outhouse on a cold winter’s night. I have them packed with towels and blankets to help keep the heat in and hopefully reduce her heating bill. I will say that the heaters they have here work great!

I had an OCD urge on Thursday and started cleaning. I emptied the silverware drawer, it was a total mess. I imagine the last renters were guys and we all know they’re not particular where they put things. I washed everything in it, dried the utensils, and rearranged it. Washed all the large cooking utensils and put them in a separate drawer. Then I organized all of the upper cupboards. While doing that I found the real junk drawer. It was filled with pieces of copper tubing, plumbers tape, nails, tacks, screws. I cleaned that all up and organized it. I wish I had a label maker. IYKYK

The day I arrived the dehumidifier was running. I thought that was odd, and then started shocking myself and the dogs all day long, the air was so dry. Bill said to unplug it. I turned it off and unplugged it and noticed the screen on the front looked dirty. I got on YouTube and found instructions to clean the filter. O. M. G.

The dogs are happy here, lots and lots of deer poop. It’s very hilly so it’s kind of hard to navigate to look for the frozen extra-large tootsie rolls the dogs leave. With all the leaves, the piles are hard to find unless they are fresh and still steaming. Sorry, TMI.

Tuesday and Wednesday were uneventful, I had to run to the store to get batteries for the remote, only to find there is nothing worth watching on 300+ channels. So happy we don’t waste money on cable. We got more snow again and the dogs were tearing up and down the hills, exhausted by the time we came in. It got really cold down to single digits a few nights.

On Thursday eve Barrio wanted out. He’s on a low dose of prednisone and it makes him pee often. I grabbed my windbreaker and the spotlight and took him out. He didn’t pee, he must have heard something and wanted to sniff. I said, let’s go back in, I’m freezing. It was around 15-19 degrees. THE DOOR WAS LOCKED. WE WERE LOCKED OUT. I didn’t have gloves, car keys or my phone. There was not a light anywhere in the distance, pitch black. I panicked. Then I gathered what few wits I had left and checked all the windows, they were locked, except 1. The one that the Dish TV cable goes through. I managed to get the broken storm window up without the glass falling out and shattering. Then there was the screen. I pulled and pulled and couldn’t get it out. By now my fingers were frozen sticks of flesh. I grabbed that screen with every ounce of strength I could muster and bent the living shit out of it, but I got it out. The window was open about 5″ but it wasn’t enough to crawl in. I stood on the chair and shook and pulled and pushed that window and it finally went all the way up. If I was crying by then, the tears were frozen droplets. I managed to crawl in the window without screwing up the TV wires. Opened the door, let Barrio in, then closed the window again. I am so glad Barrio was the only one outside with me, he knew something was up and didn’t leave my side, Highway would have been gone in a heartbeat.

I messaged the homeowner the next day and told her I cleaned and did all the laundry that was here, also told her I broke the lamp (not my fault, but it broke on my watch) and I said I would pay to replace the screen. She freaked out that I was locked out, said she cared nothing about the screen at all and was so glad I got back in. She also offered me another 10 days here for free if I needed it. I was overwhelmed by the kindness.

So when we sold out house in AZ in literally a day and the guy wanted in ASAP, we bought the demon Walt. We talked to builders in KY and TN and found they were 12-18 months out and the prices were changing daily, going up of course. We looked at houses for sale and made offers on a few and there were bidding wars, it was ridiculous. That’s what the guy who bought our home in AZ was running into. He offered us way more than we paid just so he wouldn’t have to deal with a bidding war with other potential buyers. The same thing was happening with bare land. I found this property the day it was listed, we made an offer and it was accepted. The seller had remorse, felt he could have gotten more and he sure could have. So we bought and paid for the land ASAP. Then we started looking at manufactured homes. The house we had in Everson was a manufactured home, it was quite large 2700+ sq’. We didn’t want something that big but decided to go that route. In August we sent a down payment and were told the house would be done by Nov 15th. I wrongly assumed I could live with that. Nov 15th came and went. Then they said the house would be out of the factory Dec14th. It was a day or so later but they only had enough trucks/drivers to deliver half of the house. We waited several weeks for the other half to be delivered. Bill was in the hospital when it arrived at the dealer’s, 2 hours away. We had to go inspect the house and sign papers. Some papers needed notarized. So on the 27th I put Highway in a crate (he’s a car howler) and loaded the boys in the car for the drive. We got there, I inspected it, saw small things I didn’t like but Bill can fix them. We went inside to sign papers and at that point, he told me their notary quit last week. WHAT?? I had made arrangements with the hospital notary to do Bill’s but not mine.

I got the papers signed and took the ones needing a notary and the dogs and I left for Burkesville, 2 hours away. On the way home I was telling Bill that he would need to sign quite a few papers. He actually asked me to STOP AND GET A CLIPBOARD so he had something to lean on. I said NO, in very colorful language.

I got to the hospital, no answer at the notary’s desk so I drove to the property, about 8 min away and let the boys run. I called her again and she answered and said she would be waiting. I loaded the boys and we went back to the hospital.

I asked if she would notarize mine also and she said sure, She took Bill’s papers and a nurse was “helping” him. They missed several signatures. So the notary had to go back. I checked them again and he still missed one, she went back again. She then notarized my sigs, I checked them several times and sure hope to the high heavens I didn’t miss anything. Just as I was getting in my car to go to the Post Office to overnight the docs, my phone rang. It was the guy from the dealer. He said the man who delivers the homes was in my area and wanted to see the site, could I meet him there. I said, sure. The boys and I drove back out to the property and waited for him to come. He said the site was perfect, no power lines, nothing in the way, no problem, he can deliver as soon as they say so. I followed him down the driveway and he stopped at the bottom to measure the distance between 2 trees and the bank and said it was going to be close. I thought the trees were our neighbors. I left there, went to the Post Office, overnighted the documents, and came home. I was exhausted.

Bill said the trees are ours, the neighbor said they were. The dealer called this morning and asked if we could get them taken down. I called Aaron and he said he can do it Sunday so I hope this means the house gets delivered this coming week.

I just got off the phone with the Dr, who said Bill is doing excellent, no longer has Covid and should now be immune. He still plans to release him next week. Now I’m praying for a house to take him to instead of this drafty cabin.

Keep your fingers crossed for us, this has been a $HIT month, it has to get better.

XOXO