Cleaning The Garage!

Nearly 4-1/2 years ago we moved from a 1350 sq ft 9-room house in Lansing, MI to a 967 sq ft 6-room house here in Houghton Lake. And because we had a very short time in which to get packed and moved (2 days), things didn't get packed in an organized manner. Also, when I move I use the opportunity to get rid of lots of stuff - not having to pack and move and unpack it is impetus enough! But with the help of our church friends in Lansing it all gt done, the truck got loaded and everything made it here.

We put as much as we could into the house, and the rest went into the garage. Where it has stayed ever since. We have, over the first couple of years, sorted through and gotten rid of about 75% of our excess in the house but of course we've replaced most of it with more "stuff". The "stuff" in the garage, however, has been moved in and out quite a few times when one of us has needed something essential that we couldn't find in the house. Everything would get hauled out into the driveway, dozens of boxes and garbarge bags and loose items, then piled back in. Over and over again. We could have had the garage cleaned out long ago, had all of that effort been forth into doing so!

My husband is having hernia surgery in a couple of weeks. I work Mon-Fri., and he works most Saturdays, but this Saturday - an absolutely GORGEOUS, colorful day here in northern Michigan, we were both off. And a friend of ours offered to come and help us. So today was the day.

I had 3 goals: Get at least 50% of what was in there, out. To the trash, to charity, wherever - just out. Secondly, every box had to be SORTED. No opening boxes and setting them aside to go right back in. Third, no more cardboard. If it didn't fit into one of the dozen-or-so plastic bins I had, then it had to go. We also have cabinets, but each item had to have a home in a bin or cabinet. All cardboard boxes and plastic bags would be gone by the time we finished. And of course, "When in doubt, throw it out!"

So this morning we hauled everything out to the driveway - up and down the entire length of it -and put it in general areas: Christmas stuff, tools, fishing equipment, clothing, decorative articles, photos, pet supplies, etc. Then we took one area at a time and sorted through it. When all the areas were sorted, we assigned them a new spot in the now-cleanly-swept garage.

And it is finished. In the spring we will build shelves all along the side wall, where the bins can be neatly put. Along the back wall will be a large table, attached to the wall like a workbench, with cabinets underneath. The other side wall houses our chest freezer and spare dryer. (Our dryer has been teasing us with the threat of death for a couple of years now but when it started squealing and groaning we got another one, sure it would be needed within weeks or even days...) The workbench in back will be used for everything from wrapping gifts to rebuilding computers.

And that leaves a large area in the middle and the front. We will stretch screening over a frame to fit our garage door, and it will be a nice living area in the summer, with a table and chairs for cards or eating.

My former shop, which occupies the back half of the garage, still has a stove and a microwave in it, and I plan to put a small fridge in there also. It will also house our Yamaha keyboards, and have seating area for relaxing. Hubby and I each have a desktop computer back there also (we use our laptops most of the time), and we can use those with our keyboards for recording, or with our internet stick for streaming entertainment. Because the shop is insulated, heated, and air-conditioned, we will use it year-round, and in fact plan to have it set up within the next few weeks. Moving our keyboards and bookcase full of music back there will also open up one of the 4 living spaces we have up in the house and offer more space for, well, for living.

By the time we are done, we will have almost as much living space - at least in the warmer weather - here as we did in Lansing. And much more organized storage. And who knows, maybe by next fall we can winterize and remodel the entire garage for year round living too! Stranger things have happened!

But meanwhile...today the biggest and toughest part of the whole process got done. I can barely move (maybe once the vicodin and flexaril kick in...) but it was SO worth it!

A Good Description of Lewy Body Dementia

(If you click on the title of this post it should take you to the article.)
This is what my mom has. I've discussed it here before. And these are her symptoms, pretty much. She is just at the very beginning of possibly showing signs of parkinsonism, and is developing the "lewy lean" while walking as well as sitting.

This article was shared by the owner of the Lewy Body support group on yahoogroups. If you have a loved one that has been diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's that exhibits these symptoms, please find a "lewy-savvy" neurologist to re-evaluate them. If indeed LBD is diagnosed, there are often ways to manage their symptoms and increase their quality of life. Plus, an accurate diagnosis is important in keeping them from being injured, or dying, from getting the wrong meds.

Getting a proper diagnosis and a good solid med regimen, as well as the work that the nursing home has done - and is doing - with her on a daily basis, has literally given my mother back to me. I've had 2 years so far that I wouldn't have had, had I settled for the doctor's "all dementias are the same, you're wasting your time going to a specialist, he'll tell you the same thing!" statement.

Seeing, Driving, and Living

Ok, so it's been 3 weeks since my cataract surgery. As of Saturday, I'm now driving. Day and night. No problem. I can read standard print books again - even without glasses. I can read fine print that my husband needs a magnifying glass to read...and that's with my old lens in my glasses, which is way too strong according to the doctor that did the surgery (and this is borne out by my experience as well!).

At my one-week post-surgical checkup he was amazed that my eyes were already facing the same direction, and my double-vision was gone. He was very pleased with my progress, as far as my brain and eye working together, and my brain coordinating both eyes to see together, after years of non-use. But not as pleased as I was :).

I look forward to new glasses (which will be my first new pair since 2004). I'm going to go radical. Remember the show Two Fat Ladies? I might get glasses like Jennifer's. THAT would be radical!

Looking forward to having resolution to my gut issues later this year. Arthritis is, well, it's part of getting older...brain changes from my "cerebrovascular event" probably won't resolve if they haven't by now (although God has surprised me before!)...but the two worst things, the things that have impacted my life and caused me more pain and grief than anything, will be resolved by the end of this year.

I am so thankful!