Survival Mode

There are times that the days fly by very quickly and then I have to catch up, trying to remember what I did over the last few days so I can write about them.  This is one of those times.

EJ used to work a lot with various kinds of metals and  he often got metal slivers in his hands. Metal in his body could cause problems during his MRI tomorrow so his doctor ordered an x-ray of his hands to make sure there were no metal. We never need to schedule an x-ray here in Northern Michigan, we can walk in just whenever, so I went with EJ after supper on Thursday.

I think the hospital is very pretty with a lot of warm colors and little alcoves with cozy waiting areas. I like how the staff gives directions. When we asked how to get to Radiology, the lady at the reception desk told us to go down the hall, turn right at the piano and then make another right at the fish windsock.

Because we got there so late, the hospital was quiet and we were the only people in radiology. We had a short wait and then we were on our way home.

On Friday I did a few tasks around the house. EJ had brought home a large wooden box to use as another raised garden bed. I heaved it into the wheelbarrow, carted it to the garden, and put it in place to use next Spring. I set it between the old pool and the box EJ had brought home several weeks ago. We use discarded work boxes, an old broken hot tub, an old kiddie/duck pool–whatever–for raised garden boxes.

I also fashioned a better latch inside the coop so I can keep the doors closed so the chickens don’t get a blast of freezing air in the winter when I go into the coop to care for them. I simply hammer in two large staples, one on each of the double doors, twist a wire onto one staple and bend the wire so I can hook it into the other staple.

Friday evening Hannah’s Favorite Uncle (HFU) stopped by again to spend the night. Years ago he was riding his motorcycle when someone ran an intersection and hit him. He suffered a closed-head injury. He functions very well. There aren’t many closed-head injury conferences or support groups on his side of the state so occasionally he attends one in our area. He’s attended a conference/group in our area for the last two weeks. I forgot he was coming on Friday so I was glad he called when he was in a nearby town to ask if I needed him to pick up anything for us at the store. I didn’t, but his call gave me time to prepare the guest room.  HFU also stops to spend the night at our place if he’s on the way downstate (or back) to visit his daughter and her family. He calls our house T and E’s Bed & Breakfast. 🙂 We always welcome his visits; Hannah goes wild when she sees him.

HFU went spent Saturday morning at his conference and returned to our house afterwards for another short visit before heading to his home. After he left, EJ and I enjoyed a quiet day together studying and watching the last few episodes of The Closer on Amazon Prime. Hannah, Little Bear, and Kee-Kee slept on EJ, which was very cozy. These are the only two cats Hannah tolerates. Shortly after this photo was taken, I went out to gather the chicken eggs. I was halfway through the garage on my way to the coop when I realized that I had forgotten my basket to put the eggs in. I went back to the door to the house, opened it, and saw the movement of a wolf spider on the threshold. I screamed. EJ heard me and I heard his shout, “Go! Go! Go!” as he tried to quickly get the pets off his lap so he could come to my rescue–because obviously I was in distress if I was screaming. I would have told him that I was ok except I was busy trying to locate the spider to make sure it wasn’t in the house. When EJ came rushing through the door into the entrance hall, he exclaimed “What wrong?! You ok?!” He wasn’t particularly impressed when I told him that I had seen a wolf spider. LOL. I located my spider spray, opened the door into the garage, saw the spider on the step, and gave it a toxic blast. For all those ghoulish spider lovers out there: I tolerate spiders outside (mostly), but if they get into my house, they are on MY turf and they are dead.

EJ and I spent Sunday doing a variety of small tasks. In the afternoon, we took Hannah with us to Lowes to pick up a couple of things. It was a very beautiful drive. The trees are losing their leaves, but there are still many hanging on and the colors are breathtaking.

EJ just now came home early from work. He has been struggling so much with his health in recent months that he lost his job today. He was told that everyone loves him at the company, they all wished him well, they gave him hugs. The manager said that firing him was the hardest business decision he has ever had to make. However, the company feels he needs time to get healthy.  The company was very kind.

So now we are in “survival mode.” We will have to cut out all extras. Fortunately, we have almost all our pet food for the winter. EJ will still have his MRI tomorrow morning so we can see what’s going on with him. He will take the next few weeks resting before searching for another job. I’m not sure what we will do next.

Yikes.

Please keep us in your prayers.