Green Eggs & Ham

Last week was Dr. Seuss’s birthday, so the girls wanted green eggs and ham for breakfast.

Voila!

Luckily they decided the ham could just be ham and not green ham.

– b

New Terrain Opportunities

There’s a mountain outside of Jim Thorpe whose top is criss crossed by many many dirt roads. Dirt roads where Abigail and Lauren could safely ride their dirt bikes all day.

The problem is getting to the top. All car accessible entries are gated except one. That one is a rocky climb up the mountain. It’s so rocky that I don’t think the kids could easily ride their dirt bikes up it. But it’s not too rocky for the Subaru assuming it has the right protection.

Enter the skid plate. Three skid plates to be exact.

The Outback already has substantial ground clearance (8.7″) for what it is, but the added protection should increase my confidence to drive to the top of the mt unscathed with the girls and our bikes in the trailer.

At the top I won’t have to worry about too many other bikes, vehicles, cliffs, ditches, etc. It’s just wooded trails and roads winding all around.

Can’t wait.

– b

No Mono

Blood results are back. I don’t have Mono.

If nothing else, the steroids are working. I feel significantly better.

Not going anywhere this week and next doesn’t hurt either.

– b

Progress Stalled

The week started off with a lot of good progress.

Our main bathroom has a tiled floor, new toilet and new vanity.

The new bathroom in the basement has been plumbed in with the grinder pump and a shower stall.

Can’t wait for all this to be functional.

The problem with all this are the inspections. After filing the permits and attempting to schedule the inspections, we were told the wait is up to 15 business days. Until then, all progress is stopped. Hopefully there’s an opening and gets done sooner without issue.

We shall see.

– b

So…

Went back to Boston this week.

Still sick.

Felt sicker at one point.

Came home.

Went back to the Dr.

After a long explanation of my health history over the last 6 months, this is where we landed.

Blood tests for Mono – determine if I had it or if I have it.

Another course of antibiotics, but with steroids this time.

Should have the results of the blood test on Monday.

The antibiotics and steroids seem to be helping. I’m feeling better, but still pretty tired.

– b

More Progress

Main bathroom floor tiled.

Starting cutting the downstairs floor for bathroom plumbing.

And installed a drywall ceiling throughout.

– b

No ADK Back Country Trip

If you didn’t notice, I’m missing the ADK trip this year.

My trip.

I’ve missed all opportunities for winter fun this year.

It sucks.

– b

Sick Still

My cold got worse again while I was away this week.

Jen, whose been sick now for a week or two, went to the Dr. only to find out she has/had Mono.

We think it originated with the kids. They each had symptoms, but it hardly slowed them down.

I went to get tested and the results showed trace signs of me having it. Dr. highly recommended against me going to the ADK this weekend for my annual guys back country cabin trip. Mono apparently is more unpredictable and severe in adults. The Dr. didn’t want me risking organ failure 4 miles into the woods without access to immediate emergency care. Seemed wise enough to me.

Jen’s definitely on the rebound. The worst for her was a sever sore throat and swollen glands. So far I’m just sleeping a lot and have intermittent headaches. I’m still dealing with congestion too. Not sure if the sleepiness is Mono, or just exhaustion. I’ve been on the road a lot and working hard. I could just be catching up.

– b

Still Busy

We continued to work all weekend to get things ready.

Removing the ceiling wasn’t difficult, but there was a lot of ceiling.

The biggest concern in going from drop ceiling to drywall was any electrical that would have to be reworked because it had taken advantage of the extra space for the drop. Fortunately there’s only 3 spots and they didn’t look too bad.

Obviously we filled the dumpster.

Yes. That’s our third dumpster.

We aren’t the only ones making progress. Obviously the contractor is getting it done too.

Living with one bathroom at a time is tricky, but we’re managing.

They started framing out the new one, so hopefully we’ll be back to at least 2 in no time.

Bye bye storage.

– b

Abigail Turns 6 Forever!

I told Abigail she wasn’t turning 8 this year, but instead staying 6 forever. She wasn’t a fan of that. She’s way more interested in growing up, learning to drive, going to college and leaving home, though I am not.

Oh well. A dad can dream.

– b