31 May 2023
It must have really stormed last night. I knew there was a lot of lightning but didn’t realize the amount of wind. There were four large fronds from the Bismarck palm in the yard when I got up this morning. Those things are massive and each one probably ways 30-40 lbs and are about 9 feet long.
After my morning walk, instead of shedding my hiking boots, hat and sunglasses, I headed out to the front yard and began sawing the fronds up into pieces to fit the yard waste bin. Amazingly, I was able to get all four fronds (and fragments of others) in the bin. Too bad yard waste day is on Friday because I still have a lot of stuff to stuff in the bin, but it’s too full.
I seemed to be on a roll so I cleaned the pool and then needed to rake and sweep the side yard by the generator. I must be getting old. I had to stop several times and rest. I hadn’t raked the side yard for a couple of weeks (vacation, remember) and it was heavily covered in mango leaves. Once I raked it I then swept the pathway and it cleaned up nicely.
Mangoes are a pain. The blooms fall off and litter the ground (Rocky was allergic to the pollen). What blooms stay on the tree make mangoes but they begin to shed and you are constantly hearing a thump when they fall against the awning or roof of the house and you are constantly picking them up and putting them in the yard waste bin to keep the iguanas and rats from eating them. Then there are two major leaf drops during the year. However, they are the best tasting mangoes I’ve ever had and a little fruit and leaf drop and bloom drop is worth the mess for the taste of those mangoes.
It was hot work and it took me a couple of hours and I was pretty much done in. About the time I was finishing up I got a text message from the contractor and he said they were on their way to the house. They started on the outside paneling on the west side of the house (leaf drop, fruit drop and I was glad I cleaned that up). Tomorrow they intend to take out the drywall in the vestibule in the inside, front of the house. Sometime today, I’ll start moving some small items out of the way and let them handle the bigger items. They need to strip the wall paper, remove the dry wall up to 2 feet from the flood, disinfect, re-drywall, put a skim coat on, and paint.
I had to contact my insurance agent yesterday about policy changes in my flood insurance policy. They sent me a list of six changes to the policy and my agent assured me that (1) Wright Flood was not canceling my policy and (2) they were re-defining what was meant by the grade of my house. The step down from the living room to the vestibule will probably not be covered now and probably not the washer/dryer in the utility room because they are below the rest of the grade of the house. I fully anticipate the price to increase this coming year.
On top of it all, tomorrow is the first day of hurricane season.
On a better note, the port is bothering me less and less every day and I hope to finally have it so it doesn’t bother me at all once it has totally healed. Think positive!
I have a load of books on my iPad and have audiobooks on my iPhone, and jigsaw puzzles on the iPad so I should be ready for my 6 hour session on June 5th. I’m anxious but would like to get that first session over with.
I’ve decided to purchase some ready made sandwiches prior to each infusion to have something to eat. The infusion center provides cookies, crackers and water but I may want something more substantial.
Can’t wait to get the construction in the house done and the first chemo out of the way.
Stay tuned!