What’s Happening This Week
Twists and Turns.
My brain is spinning wheels trying to decide what to write today, so here goes.
Garden prep is progressing slowly around other things that at times get to critical mass and interrupt all else. One section is cleaned out, mulched with straw, and two rows are planted. We have two more sections to get done ASAP or we may not have enough season left for all these potatoes to grow out. Rain is expected through the week and it would be really nice to get a lot more in the ground to take advantage of it.
Tom has been hacking away with the lawn mower, hedge trimmer, weed whacker and electric chainsaw to get a handle on the rest of the yard that has seen neglect for a year or two. Of course, he had to run over some rock with the mower that bent the shaft and seized the motor.
And of course, the suspension on the truck started making it’s age known in the last couple of days. Very loudly. Tom had ordered the parts for it last year, but needed another special tool to do the ball joints so hadn’t gotten to them. He tore down the driver’s side hub and tie rod yesterday; the tie rod end was absolutely beaten to death. He replaced that, making sure to reference the set point to align things correctly. But we have to wait on the ball joint tool to come in on Wednesday, and the upper control arms hopefully will be in Yorkton on Friday. It also needs a seal on the hub, or a whole darn hub replaced…at what price, we don’t know yet.
Today was supposed to be another eye checkup in Regina, but we cancelled it last week owing to a lack of funds to travel. Good thing, because we now have no wheels.
That’s where having a friend moving in temporarily is going to help. He is supposed to finally get here today; he dropped his cats off last week and had to go back to keep cleaning out his rental house. He is as exhausted as he has ever been in his life. But he does have two running and insured vehicles and will be fine with us using one for a week or so to get the truck back on the road. He also has three running lawn mowers and an itch to help us out with the yard.
Tom had landed a job shuttling CN train crews around at the end of May, and in anticipation of his first pay I had made a small grocery list. Well, truck troubles dictated that the list must be shortened. But bulk pain killers of my persuasion are still on there; even if I don’t like taking them much, I will have to be popping them pretty steady for another week or two just to get through the garden prep and planting. I have had to do almost completely without them for a while and it isn’t fun.
That first pay was going to start catching up the bills, but the truck again takes precedence; no wheels, no job, no groceries, no nothing. So the power bill got a chunk, the phones will have to wait. We do have the other truck that needs the transmission rebuilt; another friend is going to help with dropping it and reinstalling when it’s done. We won’t be able to keep the truck, as selling it will get us a good price and pay up all the bills.
That money will also give me the chance to try some Low Level Laser Treatments for my tendinopathy; it is supposed to be very good. Massage and chiropractic can aggravate the condition, so I have to wait for more of those until I can get some healing from the laser. I have been without any sort of treatment since January.
My research on the condition includes certain “exercises”, but even these are excruciating and doing them is often the only thing I can do in a day. This makes me not want to do them because I have regular household, kitchen and garden things to do that also take a lot out of me. Doing both in a day is almost always too much. None of this is good for my mental health either.
Hopefully we get over this hump without too much more aggravation; life has simply thrown too many things in our way in the last few years. We feel like we are getting over one, and another one sends us sideways before we can catch our breath. The strain takes a toll over the long term. We just need a break!
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