Milestone

Although we still did not get back to our proposed cement pad in the back yard, today proved to be a productive day.

The day started with me taking a terse call from Mike, the tile man.  Apparently he believed our threats to file formal complaints against him if he did not send someone to correct the poor install job on our shower.  He told me that Matt would be here on Monday between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m.  When I reminded him that he said Taurus was his best man and he would be sending Taurus in, he became defensive and said that Matt was as equally skilled as Taurus and was good at the details.  He said that Matt would be free next week while Taurus was stilled tied up in his current install.  OK.  Send in Matt.  At this point, I just want the shower done so I do not have to think about it or Mike any more.

We ventured out into the garage again today to clean off the second shelving unit and to organize where we will be storing our larger pieces of equipment. We worked until noon, but by that point we had the shelves set, the equipment packed away, and Rick's bike down from its storage point in the rafters. The pile of give-aways and lumber that will be going out to the curb is astounding; we will be glad to have it totally out of our way.

Although the shelves are full, they are now organized and
accessible.  The yellow seat of Rick's bike is off to the left.

Our whole goal was to be able to get the bikes down so we could ride them once again. I have not ridden my bike in more than a year and a half.  Last year I was so ill and so weak, I could barely walk.  Riding my bike would have been excruciatingly painful.  However, I am totally off the Prednisone now and my muscles have steadily become stronger in the past 15 months.

Today was a milestone.  Rick pumped up the tires (six in total since these are trikes!) and we dusted off the helmets and bike shoes.  I wanted to see if I could ride once around the block without undo aches or muscle strains.  We also were not sure how Rick would fare with his hamstring strain.  As it turned out, we went around the block twice!  While the distance was not long, it was enough for me to know that I can gradually work back into biking to the point that we will be able to go on the trail once again.  One reason we chose to live in this neighborhood was so we had access to the Pinellas Trail, and we cannot wait to be able to ride the .6 mile to the Trail and then still have enough energy to actually go DOWN the Trail.  Tomorrow we will try three or four times around the block.  I do not want to damage my muscles (a real possibility), so I will take this opportunity to slowly build up my stamina and my muscle strength.

This afternoon was spent battling a gazillion people at the grocery store -- and this is only Friday -- and spending half the afternoon with Edgepark, the supplier of my insulin pump.  Every three months I have to fight with them to send the supplies in a timely fashion to the right address.  Actually, this time the exchange went quite well.  I only had to have my insurance agent call them once, and I called them twice to get everything worked out.  Phew!  This one order will take care of our deductible for the year, so I am glad that we can once again say, "Change insurance.  We have met the deductible." I am just glad at this point that we have good insurance.

So all in all, this has been a good, productive day.  Our shower repair man is on the calendar, the garage is cleaned out, our bikes are down, my ride was successful (at least from my viewpoint), and my medical needs are covered.  I am happy with the progress and accomplishments that we have made today.