Recovering

It turned out to be pneumonia. Great. Actually, several people at work got pneumonia this year. My  cough was so bad I think I fractured a rib. Now that I'm recovering and getting a little energy back I have to be careful to splint if I cough or sneeze lest I keel over in pain.  But enough whining.

The days are nice, the nights are cool. The trees are finally green. Tulips are up. Perfect spring for my taste. Annelle is in NC for the week, enjoying all the clan. Olivia is especially entertaining at almost 5. She's a big story teller, making up scenarios for whatever comes her way. Viking ships, Egyptians. A pistol, that one. As soon as her mom gives the ok, she is coming to Maine for a visit.

When Annelle gets back she will continue where I left off getting organized and completely moved in. We are enjoying it here. Work and everything is so close. I walked up this morning to the Bayou Kitchen for breakfast and had grits!!!  And they were good!! That may or may not be a good thing, being so close to them. It's an Athens-funky type of place. Think Clocked or White Tiger.

Not too much to share, really. I think writing this makes me feel in-touch with all you friends I miss. So...

Some doldrums

There is much still to do here and we have both been pretty darn sick. That terrible URI that keeps hanging on and hanging on. Annelle was out of work 3 days. I've been trying to work, leaving after part of the day. It's made "getting settled" take on something different from what we had planned.

That being said, we are going to hang some art today. A good bit of it is still in storage- we had planned to empty the storage space last weekend. I finished painting the bedroom last weekend while Annelle was so sick but then I got it and the art never happened. It feels a little like we aren't all here yet with  the walls so bare. And the chocolate brown room may stay brown for a while longer. I can't imagine feeling like painting again anytime soon!

We have been slowly unpacking some of the nice glassware. This weekend we need to get the summer clothes out (!!!! it was 40 this am) and start that process. I've organized the important parts of the office so we can find paperwork that has been in a big pile since closing/moving. Little by little.

Tomorrow is the first day the Boulevard (Baxter Boulevard, around Back Cove) is closed to traffic on Sundays. All summer it's available to the public for riding, walking, etc. It's a 3 mile, wonderful place to get out and enjoy the beauty of Portland. We are looking forward to the 2 block walk there.

This is Annelle's last week of work at Mercy! Big week. Nurses week. Annelle week. We will go out on Friday with Jane and Drew to celebrate, then Annelle will head out for a visit to NC to see Mom, Bert, and the family. Her next chapter is wide open. I think she's ready.

Small Random Acts

Got up early today to start the projects, which are many. Final dump run with all the old carpet!! Grocery store for coffee for home. Post office, etc. So around 1015 I decided to treat myself to a latte. Drive-through at Starbucks. Got to the pay window and the barista said the woman before me had paid for my coffee! I was astonished. Such a small, unexpected surprise in a busy day did so much for my attitude (which, I should admit, has needed some adjustment.)

Home now cleaning windows, listening to the flooring being installed, and generally enjoying the windows open on this spring day. The windows here haven't been washed in some time. So long that I'm finding it impossible to get them really clean. They are better, but still need something. Tried my tried-and-true water and a microfiber cloth first. Then the windex. Haven't gone to soap and water as the faucets outside haven't been turned on yet and I didn't want soap to dry on them. Anybody have a good solution? The windows will need replacing at some point, we were hoping that point would be later. We'll see.

I pumped the tires on the bike and plan to take a short ride in a bit. Another wonderful attitude-altering activity. You can't imagine how happy we all are up here to have winter in the rear-view.

Spring. Really.

Beautiful, warm, breezy day today. EVERYONE in southern Maine is outside doing something. Windows are all open. I did a short walk to Back Cove along Baxter Blvd, saw a lovely Great Blue Heron, lots of Mallards, and lots of happy Portlanders. Unfortunately, Annelle didn't get to join me. She's at work taking care of things that need to get tied up before she leaves. I don't feel so bad for her though- she has the whole summer to enjoy the outdoors anytime she takes a notion.

Things in C5 are looking up too. Laundry room/downstairs powder room is done-ish. At least for now. It's organized and we can do laundry without searching for things. This is an improvement.

Drew (that great American) came over yesterday to help with demo of the upstairs vanity. I had reached an impasse in the strength department. The first part was so easy. Who knew the frame was in there so well? A few oomphs and we had it done though. Once the flooring is in we will probably have to have someone build something as we discovered it's a non-standard depth to the door. Unanticipated, but solvable, just not at any of the usual building stores.

Now that doors and windows are open, Jack is starting to meet the feline neighbors. Lots of hissing going on at the moment. I have the water bottle ready should things get out of hand. I'm a little surprised there are so many outdoor cats here. Jack is a roamer (even though he's such a scaredy cat) and I wouldn't trust him if he decided to head towards Forest.

A few more short projects ahead for me today on this day-that-can't-be-beat.

Closing

Monday we closed on our Four Rivers home. Sunday we went over to finish the final cleaning and walk-through. We sat out on the deck for a while and enjoyed the view. Had a few tears along with the memories. That chapter giving way to the next.
The closing itself was ok. Met the new owners who seem delighted. They live in the neighborhood, are on the association board and had a plan that in the next 10 years if one of the marsh houses came on the market they would relocate there. Looks like their 10 years came early! I do think it's a perfect house for them and their 2 children. I'm interested in seeing (she said "come by") what she does with the kitchen reno. She and I seemed to have some of the same ideas about the space and how to best utilize it.

Back here at C5 things are still kind of chaotic. 26 boxes of wood flooring are in the living room. Most of the carpet is up and gone to the dump but I still have a couple of rolls and LOTS of staples to tend to this weekend. Once the upstairs flooring is done we can move some of these things in the living room and basement up to the office/guest room and we can get on with a less complicated arrangement. The plumber is here right now detaching the toilet and sink upstairs so I can demo the vanity (it's practically demoed itself, actually) so on Monday the floor can be installed.

And the big news: Annelle is leaving her job at Mercy on May 8. She isn't sure what's next, but she feels strongly that, since life IS short, she wants to explore other options. We have been talking about this for a while but were not in a place to go ahead with the plan until we sold the house. So the day after closing she turned in her notice! Go Annelle.

Lots of change. Lots of good things. And after todays snow, Spring should show up.

Spring

No other way around it. It's not pretty in Maine. Grey snow, brown grass, bare trees. People call it Mud Season. I think it's more like Sand Season. Everything is dirty, sandy.

Annelle is at Four Rivers doing laundry. I'm here in the, as yet, unnamed condo, patching walls. Next step is application of some cool, paintable wallpaper stuff that will hide the existing sheetrock problems. The wall is behind where the washer and dryer are, and I'm going to hang shelving, so I figured it was a good place to experiment.

Jack is settling in. Still cautious, but he's coming out from the covers and exploring. He's eating again! And sitting in my lap in the evening like always. He hasn't tried to run out the door yet, but I'm sure it will come. :(

Things we have in our new neighborhood:
several friends
local eating places
taverns/pubs
the good liquor store
tattoo parlors
The Aladdin market
Back Cove
USM
the melting pot Hannafords (grocery. very different from our previous Oconee County type grocery)

Things I will miss but can visit:
the marsh
Black Point Inn

So it looks like it's going to work out nicely. Eventually, when I get it together, I will post some photos.

How it all happened

We have been tossing around the idea of downsizing for a while. Of course, we didn't want to leave our little piece of heaven, so we just tossed. Then Annelle got sick. 

Last year, last summer, we picked the idea back up. There was healing still going on, so it didn't get too much discussion time. Lots of healing, lots of time just enjoying our lives being back to a comfortable place. Fall came and we were still just living. 

In December we began the real process of identifying our goals, needs, and wants. It seemed like a good time to think about putting the house on the market in the spring. We'd have time to do a few things we still wanted to do to take it into the 21st century, do a little (ha!) painting and look for a new place.

One of Annelle's hobbies is house hunting online. Like a lot. That's how we found Four Rivers before we even moved to Maine. So we were familiar with what was out there. We went to lots of Open Houses. We looked and looked. There was one Condo in Scarborough we would have made an offer on, but we weren't absolutely ready and it was sold. 

Then we happened on an Open House at a little Condo off Forest Ave. Not too far out- I didn't want to be way out that busy road. This one was in a cute neighborhood, walkable to many eating, shopping and grocery locations, as well as USM. It checked all our "must-haves" (2 bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths, at least.) No garage, but..... We knew there would be some sacrifices.  There are updates we will absolutely make, but it was move-in ready and looked perfect. We saw it again the next day and made an offer. Accepted! Closing date March 27.

At some point in January we had decided to get a jump on the spring sales and go on the market in February. We weren't sure if it was really a good idea, then all the snow came and we got very nervous, but it worked out. Not a lot of inventory at this time of year worked in our favor.

Our house went on the market a week later on Feb. 19th. The Open House was that Sunday following.

60 people attended. The next day we had accepted an offer. Whirlwind. Because they would be gone the week before Easter the buyers wanted to close Apr. 6. Nice. That gives us this week to get Four Rivers clean and move the final small things. Annelle is off this week and, so far, I've been able to be off today (Monday) and tomorrow. Because my schedule was already out I've had to just see if census would allow me off. 

So that's the synopsis. We are unpacking and attempting to make a livable space. We have divested ourselves of so much furniture and still need to let a few more things go. The basement will be a final frontier for sure! Poor little Jack has been under the bed covers for the last 36 hours, coming out once to have a bite of food and use the litter box. But our little family is home in Portland now, looking forward to Spring (it's snowing as I'm writing this on March 30!!!!) and summer walks along Back Cove two blocks away. 

News from Four Rivers 2015

I'm thinking the blog is my way of getting a handle on new things, and new things are happening.  After the TTP ordeal we have had many discussions about life, liberty and the pursuit of the future which have led us to our next adventure.

Our beautiful, much loved, too-big house is under contract to be sold and we are moving into a condo in Portland! It's half the size of this house and we are excited to be simplifying and living closer to everything Portland has to offer.  It's in a walking neighborhood, very close to Back Cove (part of Casco Bay) where there is a walking/running trail that is well travelled in all seasons. There is a
 known and loved brewpub practically in our back yard. We will have NO SNOW TO SHOVEL!

The divesting of "stuff" is sobering. I've not felt attached to many of the things that are being sold or given away. But they are things that have been a part of our lives almost since our lives have been connected.  Some things I have emotional ties with, that won't work in the new space, are difficult to let  go. Yeah.

We are looking forward to making the space our own, spending more time exploring the city, exploring Maine and just chilling with friends far and near. I believe there will be more news to come when it all comes together.

Spoiler alert: This was 2014. Blink of an eye

Winter is in full swing here in February. We got 9 inches of snow the other day (roads were actually pretty bad) and are expecting some small snowstorms this weekend and later next week. It looks beautiful on the marsh.

The last 4 weeks, however, have been a blur. On Sunday night, January 19th, after a week of moderate nausea, vomiting and malaise, Annelle had an episode of slurred speech. It didn't last long, but it was absolutely out of the ordinary. I told her I was calling 911 and she came out of it, back to normal. Needless to say, I still took her to the Emergency Department at Mercy.

They did a head scan and determined there wasn't any bleeding. Good. They did lab work. When the nurse came back he said she was severely anemic and her platelets (blood clotting helpers) were dangerously low. I was shocked. Where, when did this happen??

Over the course of the next 24 hours a diagnosis was reached. TTP. A microclotting disease that can cause multisystem failures. Probably (though nobody really can say) manifested from the GI bug she had the previous week. Something that triggered an autoimmune response, causing proteins in her blood to slice up her red blood cells. The treatment is a plasma exchange (plasmapheresis) that we don't do at a hospital as small as Mercy. She would have to be transferred to the Maine Medical Center up the street for that.

Monday night, Jan. 20th, she was taken by ambulance to MMC. Neither of us had had much sleep in the previous 24 hours and she was very tired. As MMC is a teaching hospital, she had a team of care-givers who met her in her room to admit her and get her history. She was so "tired" I had to answer most of the questions. I didn't realize at that time that she was going downhill.

At 4:30 in the morning they took her down to the dialysis unit to get access to her venous system to start the pheresis. As sometimes happens, they were unable to gain access. They brought her back to the room, planning to take her to the radiology department later in the morning to gain access with the help of x-ray and ultrasound.

We both slept. They took her down and put a tunneled catheter into a vein in her upper chest that could be used for long-term treatment. After she had recovered a while and had to go to the bathroom, Katie, her CNA, and I got her up. We had to give her specific directions to lift her feet so she could walk. We had to help her sit as she couldn't comprehend instructions.

After she was finished she stood up and lost consciousness. I pulled the emergency cord and several people helped get her back to bed. The Rapid Response team came and assessed her. She went back down to CT for a head scan. Negative.

When she returned to the room she was pretty out of it. They decided to take her immediately to the dialysis unit to start the pheresis. Because I couldn't accompany her there, I went home for a while. On the way, she vomited. They were concerned enough about her status they transferred her to ICU and did the treatment there, where she remained for 3 days.

When I came in the next morning she was not responding to commands. She wasn't focusing. I had a feeling she knew I was there but I wasn't sure. They did another pheresis. Dr. Grimface said "this is serious" and "it's going to be a long road." One of the interns shared some depressing statistics. They wanted her Advanced Directive on the chart. I again went home that night because they wouldn't let me stay with her in the ICU.

Wednesday, Jan 29th, when I came into the ICU and started talking with the nurse, she turned her head in my direction. I knew she knew I was there. Throughout that day, slowly, she started to come around. She couldn't speak at first but was able to nod or shake her head. By the time I left at 8 that night she actually smiled a little smile.

So imagine my surprise when the phone rang on thursday morning as I was getting out of the shower and it was Annelle! She sounded weak but good. She wanted a Coke. I hightailed it to MMC with Coke in hand and was greeted by one awake Annelle. I was amazed. Things were looking up.

The next 2 days she got better and better. Dr. Grimface was absolutely bowled over when he saw her and she was speaking sensibly. In fact, all her caregivers were amazed.



I never finished the above post. Too much at the time. It's one year later now, after rehab and healing. She's back to herself. In fact, today is the 1 year anniversary of the day she returned to work.