We needed some window washing stuff, and other sundries, so I drove on over to Menards for a stroll through aisle after well-organized aisle of groovy stuff. I adore hardware stores. I feel like I had a religious experience this morning – I didn’t want to leave. Well, not quite… but I did have fun! I swear, if I could still conceive I’d name my next kid Menard.
I picked up some rope for the window project (Project Sash), a broom for the basement/laundry, checked out showers for our new downstairs bathroom and looked into patio furniture and sheds. And I found one! I bought one of those Rubbermaid sheds (it would have been nice to be able to afford the groovy looking wood one, but it’s just not in our budget.)
The shed came in two HUGE and heavy boxes, so I realized that I wouldn’t be able to get them home in our little Hyundai. I also checked out some wicker furniture and found lovely stuff – some really nice, redish brown pieces that are a blend of natural and composite materials, so I think they’ll weather well. I actually went a little nuts and bought one chair more than I should have, so tomorrow I’ll investigate the Menards return policy.
And, of course, there was a white ladder-back rocker which I have coveted for a long time – and which would be good for Gerry to sit in outside – on sale until tomorrow for $49. Sold!
All of this led to the inevitable rental of the truck. This was amazingly painless, $20 for 1-1/2 hours, with lots of help to get my stuff into the truck. One guy who helped me was very cute – and a KNITTER! He said he taught himself and I encouraged him to drop by the Yarnover on Saturday (we’ll see…) The guy who helped me with the shed boxes was SO HAPPY when I suggested backing the truck over to the palette of sheds so he could just slide one into the bed of the truck – and when I got it home I was able to back it into the garage a bit so I could just slide it out and open the boxes right there.
It took me more than the estimated 50 minutes to put together – more like 2 hours and I’m not 100% thrilled with the way I got it together (I want to take a rubber mallet to some of the more recalcitrant corners – and it didn’t help that once I got it together I hated where it was so I dragged it across the yard over by the fence.) Then I set up the outdoor furniture, washed the windows, put the turkey breast in the oven (it’s smelling SO good!) and hosed down the screens (I need to put them up tomorrow – just in time for the lovely warm weather we’re having!)
All of this physical work feels very good – it’s tiring, but it’s necessary for me right now, mentally, to put my body 100% into something. On Saturday I set up our office upstairs (lots of moving bookshelves from one room/floor to another, lots of unpacking stuff that we’ve needed for WEEKS, and Gerry handled the computer / printer setup) so now Gerry has a comfortable and well organized place to hang out upstairs when he doesn’t feel like coming downstairs, but doesn’t want to stay in bed.
He’s feeling very tired, very beat up (especially his stomach) but overall his spirits are good. In most part this is because he’s taking his pain meds, and the doctor phoned in a prescription for an anti-nausea drug. He ate dinner last night – quite a coup – and had a good nights sleep. A very good day.
A note of praise for the local CVS – when I called our doc on Sat to get something for Gerry’s constant nausea, she phoned it into CVS. They called to say they didn’t have the drug, but they’d check around for it. Long story short, they found it at the Walgreens down the street, called and told me, and gave me directions to the Walgreens. This is SO different from our experience with CVS in New Jersey, and we are SO grateful that this annoyance is out of our lives during this stressful period.
Tomorrow a doctor’s visit to our PCP, talk about a handicapped sticker for the car and questions about applying for disability. Tomorrow I also send in a new sweater that I just finished for VK (it’s SO groovy – I’m really happy with it!) and send that special project to a friend which I’ve owed her since December.