More big days

(Written Friday afternoon) Friday is a big day. Mom goes to her doctor for the appointment that will help determine whether Westminster Oaks lets her in to independent living. In her phone interview earlier this week with the long-term care insurance nurse, Mom had belatedly volunteered that she might be asking Dr. Kepper for a walker prescription. The nurse stopped her and said that if Mom said anything about this to Dr. Kepper and the long-term care insurance company got wind of it, there’s no way she’d get long-term care insurance. We’ll see how Mom has done today. It probably helps that she’s seeing her doctor of 30 years.

Monday Mom has another hoop to job through. The marketing person from the retirement center called and said Mom has to go for a short appointment with the retirement center nurse – again to get into independent living – on top of today’s doctor appointment – and Mom will go for that Monday afternoon. It’s possible that the long-term care insurance company may ask Mom to go to one of their doctors later too, as she tries to accomplish two goals: getting in to Westminster Oaks independent living and getting long-term care insurance.

I think I’ve already written about how Mom suddenly is going to try to move the week of February 1, since that’s when Penny is available to visit.

Today is also a big day for us – We’re going to the Cincinnati area (actually Covington – scene of our wedding - rendezvous location pictured above) – to pick Vincent up for his long weekend visit to Louisville. We’ve seen him 2-3 times in Columbus, but at some points he has said he might not come back to Louisville for 10 years. We’ll see how things go, as he and Stephanie got into an argument on the phone Tuesday, and she was suddenly less enthusiastic. At times this week he’s also hinted that he might spend most of his time out with his friends, though we’ve invited him to a church potluck and Korean lunar New Year’s event Sunday afternoon. He’s been used to smoking inside and going to bed late, and so we’ll see how things go. When we saw him last weekend in Ohio, he said his grandparents had just left after a month of staying with his father and him in their one-bedroom apartment.

One reason why Vincent is even coming for a long weekend is that he and his job parted ways last weekend – on Sunday, while we were there. We had planned to pick him up from work but it turns out he was home as he had You can’t fire me – Iquit quit earlier in the day, after a visiting manager found him slow at a new responsibility: making hamburgers.

The official reason for Vincent’s visit is to go to his psychiatrist in southern Indiana – hopefully, to get renewals for the three prescriptions he has. I tried to get him set up with our old doctor in Ohio, but he nixed it and made it possible for him to return. After watching some of the PBS miniseries on psychology and its segment on depression, I felt it was even more important to give him the opportunity to stay on as even more important to give him the opportunity to stay on medication. Now, we have a complex day set up for Tuesday, which Stephanie will take off from work. First, I’ll go with them to Vincent’s 7:45 a.m. psychiatrist appointment. Then I got Stephanie in to a 9:00 a.m. dentist appointment back in Louisville (she has a tooth bothering her), and then Vincent has his regular dental cleaning appointment (two months late – recall also that we rushed him to one of Grandpa’s dentists in December to clean his gums). They may go out to lunch and get Vincent a haircut. Then at 3:00 p.m. Vincent has an appointment with his counselor (who we’ve talked about him doing phone appointments with, but he’s never done it – he used to see her weekly). Even though at times we’ve hoped Vincent would stay longer, Stephanie then may miss Weight Watchers again and drive Vincent probably to meet his father in Cincinnati. I’ll probably stay home not just for Weight Watchers but for my Spanish class.

Monday is also a big day for me, as at 2 p.m. is my Annual Review, when I’ll find out how much my manager will downgrade me for missing a bunch of 2010 goals. Today wasn’t a good day at work. Besides the fact that I got stuck trying to find a new president for our employee association, I suddenly had a client for the February Panel survey try to drop out. After my manager pushed me, I pushed her, and she agreed to keep her two pages- through we’re going to try to replace some of her questions with questions from her colleagues – but she was not happy. The whole thing did not reflect great on me – as I should have been finishing up the February survey earlier in the month, and I should have been staying in touch with her more since we last talked about it back in October (her budget has been slashed since then, after the One Great Hour of Sharing offering receipts from this spring came in low). We’ll see how that and Mom’s appointment go and how the whole Vincent at home in Louisville visit goes. We’ve been cleaning up a bit – including his room and his bathroom, which the dog has been staying in during the day, in his crate during the week. No vacuuming and dusting just for Vincent, but some straightening up. Next Saturday the Guatemala group is supposed to be back at our house, and so we’ll have to clean up for that too. Wednesday I have a session (church board) meeting and then I may go and watch the President’s State of the Union address with some Obama folks.

P.S. Sunday I also have to speak to the congregation twice – once to start out worship, and the second time as part of a congregational meeting – and Monday Mom has an Advanced Placement or AP meeting she’s scheduled – maybe one of the last of the standardized test meetings that she’s helped lead over the years.

-- Perry

Big days

Today is a big day for me as I have a meeting scheduled with my manager at 2 p.m. going over my draft Annual Review materials. This coming Monday at 2 p.m. is our official Annual Review in which he'll let me know how much he's docking my 2009 Annual Review for not achieving some of the Presbyterian Panel objectives we laid out for me last January (and in general not keeping up with my Panel administration responsibilities as much as we'd hoped I'd be able to) (and in this general down-sizing environment - even though the Haiti disaster - along with the stock market's rebound - might ultimately take a tiny bit of financial pressure off the national church). But today's meeting will give an inkling of what direction he's going in. Of course, I've got to continue to make progress on Panel projects and responsibilities.

Yesterday was a big day for Mom. She made progress accessing funds she'll need to "close" on her Westminster Oaks apartment next week. And given Penny's schedule she set a very ambitious time table of moving during the first week of February, when Penny is now slated to be there. Mom was also interviewed by staff with the possible long-term care insurance insurer yesterday. Friday is her next big medical appointment, as she goes then to see her doctor in an appointment that could help insurance she gets into her apartment (independent living), instead of going to Westminster Oaks' assisted living unit, where she would not be able to eat in the dining room with the independent living residents.

Wish us both luck.

-- Perry

Vet visit

For the second time in three Tallahassee visits, we took the turtles to see Dr. Brumfield, the reptile vet at Northwood Animal Hospital, which also treated Frisco in his youth. We usually want Dr. Brumfield (pictured above with his colleagues, two of them relatively new) to give the turtles a general check-up plus to trim and shave their beaks and toenails. Both had had medical emergencies in the past year or so – ones that generated some calls but no actual visits to potential Kentuckiana reptile vets. We’d inadvertently left Speckles behind during a trip to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and she’d apparently fallen down the stairs and there was a little dark blood on her head, which she must have hit on her way down the basement (where we amazingly found her, looking for her, even though we didn’t know she was there). About a month ago Stephanie had cleaned out the bathtub with a bleach-based cleaner and then I – not knowing this – had filled the tub with water for Greenville for his weekly swim. About an hour later I figured out that the bubbles were residue from the bleach, and we called around and ultimately gave him a milk bath. Also, a third turtle, a water turtle named Speedy, had visited with Dr. Brumfield during our visit two and a half years ago, but Speedy subsequently died.

Dr. Brumfield weighed and examined their animals and did the nail and beak care (to the extent to which Speckles allowed him to), and he was generally positive about their condition. Later this week we’re going to bring the practice some fecal specimens to analyze. Among Dr. Brumfield’s suggestions:

Try leaving the turtles outside during the summer for a few hours. Of course, the last time he suggested this, disaster ensued as Sawyer escaped. But he gave us suggestions for keeping him, including burying the chicken wire for their outdoor play enclosure deep in the ground. Covering the enclosure with wire might ward off any airborne predators (such as hawks). Exposing them to direct sunlight is important.

Try harder to get the turtles to eat vegetables – not just fruit (if we’re lucky) and superworms (beetle larvae). Material he gave us suggested some vegetables we haven’t tried before (such as squash), and our Community-Supported Agriculture produce may provide some possibilities. He also suggested cooking – like pureeing (?) – vegetables to make them even easier to eat. Although we have vitamin and mineral powders to sprinkle on their food, we confessed we’ve never really used them, and he suggested we do so one or two days a week.

In the past Dr. Brumfield had turtles and he suggested using as the bedding of their habitat the mix he used: cypress chips and sphagnum moss. We’d tried that (instead of Sawyer’s Astroturf), but very recently had switched to something more expensive but probably similar – turtle bedding that was said to be less likely to have pesticides or bacteria in them. Instead, Dr. Brumfield this time suggested that we simply use dirt. He hinted that we also might try to keep the habitat moist, possibly by spraying water. In Minnesota, I briefly tried using a humidifier during the winter – with all of that dry heat – but found it difficult.

In winter, he suggested – consistent with other suggestions – giving the turtles a swim twice a week instead of once a week.

We’ll try to implement some of this. The materials Dr. Brumfield gave us had some daunting suggestions: including NOT using a glass case, NOT putting female and male turtles together (because sexual harassment by the guy will stress out the girl), and NOT leaving out food. In general, Dr. Brumfield said the turtles were in good health and looked well cared for, even if he had a few suggestions. Dr. Brumfield spent more than an hour with us (and that’s without the fecal test analysis), which also yielded one of the turtles’ more expensive vet bills. But, Greenville and Speckles, you’re worth every penny of it.

-- Perry

Surprise visit

We knew on the eve of my Aunt June's key doctor's visit that June and son Dustin - and, it turns out, Dustin's aunt on his father's side, Brenda - traveled to Missouri so that Dustin could meet his biological father for the first time. June called from the road - traveling from Missouri to Ohio in one day - to say hello and said they couldn't stop - but then Brenda helped change her mind. We met Brenda and heard about the trip - where Dustin spent a couple of days with his father and was emotional on the way back.



June has lost some weight and was about to find out that her illness has not grown worse but not grown better. June, Mom's youngest sister, has been eating partly through a feeding tube through her stomach and showed us some of this. This is another health issue, since it has not been working properly.

After June got home, the doctors put her on an IV, in hopes that she would gain weight. A week later June spent several hours at home - with her son and sister at home but not noticing her discomfort - with a blinding headache and vomiting. Eventually, son-in-law Jay called 911 and the squad took her to Mt. Carmel East hospital. Blood pressure spikes sometimes precede the headaches, but health care providers have never figured out what might be behind the headaches. Days later Stephanie actually drove June home, and she got to see Dustin again, as well as Barb, Diana, and Jay. Although we gave June, Dustin, and Brenda no grand tour, Stephanie had just put up a bunch of Christmas paraphernalia (see "Christmas preparation") and I had been cleaning the house. I feared that no one would see the Christmas paraphernalia - since Vincent was gone and we'd be gone for 2-3 weeks at Christmas - but June et al.'s visit - plus those by our plantsitter Jessi and her family - assured that someone would see our handiwork.

-- Perry

Surprises

Two surprising things Mom’s financial advisor told us the week before Christmas:

- Mom might be able to pay $300 a month to secure long-term care insurance.

- The way tax brackets work is not that, when your income goes up from let’s say $10,000 to $20,000, you jump up from the 10 percent tax bracket to the 20 percent tax bracket. Instead, you pay federal taxes at 10 percent on the first $10,000 (or whatever) and then at 20 percent at just the rest of the year’s income.

The realtor also called us back to tell us that getting a house on the market by April before the $8,000 tax break for first-time homeowners expires would be good, but she hasn’t talked with that many clients who used this. In Louisville, many house for-sale signs include an extra sign about the tax credit; we’ve yet to see such a sign in Tallahassee (even though on a short dog walk earlier this week Frisco and I saw NINE houses and one lot for sale!).

For more information on Mom’s financial advisor, see: https://my.hdvest.com/clements
Her office is located in the shadow of the old Tallahassee Community Hospital (pictured above), where Mom nearly died 14 years ago.

-- Perry

Expert advice

Mom and I talked with realtor Libby Allen, recommended by, on Monday afternoon. She thought Mom – with $2,000-5,000 of work – could sell her house for around $160,000. (about $100 per square foot – with 1,600 plus square feet – not counting the exterior store room). She hinted against the rental option (and her team doesn’t manage rentals though she said she personally owns some rentals). She also hinted that the 1970s décor, etc. was dated and suggested selling the house empty (after Mom has moved out, likely to Westminster Oaks). She said buyers are not looking for fixers-uppers – they want to be able to start living immediately in a house without having to do a lot of work. She said it might take as long as six months to sell a house. She brought a lot of information about the neighborhood, including how much houses had initially been offered for, how much they sold for, and how long that took.

Among the suggestions she made:
- Fix some rotting wood on the outside of the house, pressure wash the outside (and hand remove vines if pressure washing doesn’t do it), and paint all of the gables and selectively paint elsewhere. Paint the floor of the exterior store room and the carport.

- Once out, have the carpet steam cleaned but don’t replace it (saving Mom about $2,500). Consider an end zone treatment to eliminate any odors. She was not overly concerned about nicks in the linoleum or the bulletin board on the door to the interior storeroom. Leave both as is.
- Get a new range hood – perhaps Braun – for about $100 – white.

- Have the kitchen cabinets painted whites and change out the pull hinges – brushed nickel or silver color – to update the look and match the appliances.

- Paint the whole interior of the house – the walls a neutral color close to the carpet – a tan color like desert fortress – and the trim and ceiling in white. It looks like we’ve painted the walls before in semi-gloss and therefore it may not be possible to go back to flat, and so a light semi-gloss like egg shell must do. Semi-gloss walls are OK if you live there, but – for selling – flat hides imperfections. Also, fix imperfections in the walls.

- For $40, get white ceiling fans for the bedrooms, with one globe each, and change the fan blades in the family room to white. She didn’t recommend ceiling fans in the kitchen and living room.

- In the hall bathroom, have it painted and at the same time caulk the vanity and get a new sink fixture – with a lever (?) handle, silver or brushed nickel – between $55 or $88- Peerless is most affordable, or Delta or Minerva (?). I believe she suggested touching up the bathtub too (?).

- Much more radical suggestions for the master bedroom bathroom: Take out the entire set of fixtures to the right of the toilet: the sink, lights, faucets, and cabinet. Get a pre-fab vanity complete with sink, and faucets – in white – and ge ta new light fixture at the top.

Keep the mosaic tiles on the floors of the two bathrooms – but go to a pool supply store – to use commercial bleach the tile.Extending a conversation she and I had about natural light, she recommended we get rid of the curtains and rods before painting so the painters can fill the holes and leave for buyers to install (Mom remembers putting up all of those curtain rods.) Get for each window - for $50 a window – 2-inch faux wood blinds, white. For some of the wider windows, we might get two sets of blinds if that’s cheaper.

She also suggested modernizing the three light domes on the kitchen ceiling and replacing the damaged door bell. Domes cost like $20 for a set of two – Postlander – silver or near white – 139989 – also use fourth dome to replace the dome in the hallway. Also get a globe for the outdoor light fixture. On the outside door from the exterior store room, get a gold kickback (?) to cover some imperfections.

Use a razor blade on a set of spots on the interior storeroom linoleum floor.

In the kitchen, spend $100 to get a new faucet, a high-rise, and use Barkeeper’s Friend to clean the kitchen sink (also clean the overflow sink next to the washing machine.

- Keep all appliances: refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, and even the washer and dryer – they can tip the balance if the buyer doesn’t have these.

- In the yard, also mow and rake the yard more closely, clear out some sticks and debris, and trim the grass around and pressure wash the steps leading from the driveway to the front porch but keep some of the “shrubbery’ in the back yard – near the back fences – because this obscures the view of the apartment complex behind our house and the yards of the houses to the right and left of ours. On the whole, she liked our yards.

We’ll have t spend about $2,000 more at the end – documentary stamps, termite inspection, home warranty.

She can list this as a 4-bedroom or a 3-bedroom. She pays to get listings for the house in the paper and in (Tallahassee) Homes and Lands magazine, rotates the listing through her marquee on North Monroe Street, and gets the listing with about 20 photos on the Web. She’ll put a lockbox outside of our house, and when realtors stop by with potential buyers, she gets an e-mail that tells her who has stopped by, she follows up by asking what they thought, and then she gets feedback about what people do and don’t like about the house, which she’ll share with us.

The realtor also shared with us that there are 500 fewer (from 2,000 down to 1,500) realtors working in Tallahassee than there were five years ago, and she went from a staff of 14 realtor, to three, which she said is fine with her.

She also said in the past year she has started writing Christian contemporary songs, built a recording studio where she uses a synthesizer to play all of the instruments, and then brings in a friend to sing the lyrics. She even shared with us a CD. Her non-real estate Web site has the first song she wrote, about loss: http://www.myspace.com/libbyallensongs

-- Perry

New job

Since Stephanie’s mother helped Vincent get his now repaired cell phone back last week, Stephanie and I have talked with him periodically by cell phone. Stephanie heard distressing news about Vincent’s phone calls to his former prom date and former girlfriend, Jessi, and his hairbrained scheme to come back someday to Louisville to live with a different woman. Vincent landed a new job Thursday, at the Five Guys restaurant in Easton (which Mom and I ironically noticed a Tallahassee version of earlier this week), the gigantic mixed-use residential, shopping, and entertainment district, about a mile from where Vincent and his father lived. He won’t tell us how he’s been getting back and forth. But today he started as a French fry specialist at the restaurant, also helping prepare hamburgers and so on. He burned or cut himself on the first day and Stephanie said Vincent said it was hard work. The work reminds me a little of that of what we called a “fry boy” when I worked as a waiter at Ouy Lin Chinese Restaurant in Tallahassee. (Landing the job makes it very unlikely he’ll go with us to Florida and likely he’ll be staying in Ohio for at least a while into the new year.) Stephanie has been trying to arrange connecting with Vincent and both of her parents this weekend. Stephanie may head to Ohio Saturday morning, hopefully see Vincent after work both nights and then leave for Florida Monday morning. In the mean time, my sister and her family, slated to leave for Florida next Saturday, may have some plans change because the very bad winter weather has already changed their weekend. Good luck to them dealing with the weather, to Vincent cooking those fries this weekend, and to Stephanie traveling this weekend.

For more on Vincent’s restaurant chain, click here: http://www.fiveguys.com/home.aspx

-- Perry