2018

Here we are at the end of 2018.  It was a good year.  Lots of good things happened to us this year.

When the year started I was working at Burt's Bees/Clorox, paying the mortgage on the house in Wyoming, and trying to sell that house.

February 2, Groundhog Day, Bob had his first aqua-therapy session in the WakeMed pool.  Bob would eventually complete 6 sessions.

In March we went to the State Fairgrounds Kerr Scott Building to tour the 2018 Carolina Fiber Fest. We learned a little about carding, spinning, and weaving wool and toured all of the booths and exhibits.

April was a busy month and a big turning point for me. 

First I traveled with my manager and co-worker, George Pollard, down to Atlanta, GA to tour a Clorox bleach and home care products plant.  We also toured the new Clorox Sanitizing Wipes plant next door.  We had lunch at the original Chik-Fil-A restaurant near the Atlanta airport on this visit.

On April 13 we traveled to UNC to have CyberKnife radiation treatment done on the lesion in the right lobe of Bob's pons. 

On April 16, I took a new job with Avista Pharma Solutions.  The new job brought a 30% pay increase for me too!  My last day at Burt's Bees was April 12.  Recently Avista was sold to Cambrex, a larger company, and hopefully this is good news for everyone.

Also in April we got an offer on the house in Wyoming.  The sale closed in May.  What a huge relief!  We found a townhouse project in Apex under-construction and we are re-investing our equity in this new, well-located house.
 
In May we took a long weekend and paid a visit to the Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock, NC.

Also in May, with our tax refund we bought a new mattress and box springs.  Our old mattress was 16 years old.

In June we paid a visit to The Bike Guy in Wake Forest and Bob got to test ride a recumbent trike.  He got his recumbent tricycle for Christmas.

I got my first iPhone in July.  I got the iPhone 8s and quickly fell in love with it.  I depend on it everyday now.

In August we traveled to Dearborn, MI and Akron, OH to visit the Henry Ford Museum and Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  We also crashed Thigfest X in Stow while we were up there.

In September, while downsizing our book collection, we decided to send a bunch of space exploration books to Emily Carney in Florida.  She was ecstatic when she opened the box!

We also rode out Hurricane Florence in September.  Lots of rain for us!

Steve Perry released his first solo album in 25 years on October 5 and I got a copy of the CD.

We went to Becky and Bill's house for Thanksgiving.  Dawndee and George came from TN with Jordan, Lashonda, Jayla, and Tyler.  Marrissia, Kevin, Gavin, and Gabby came over, and it was the first time the whole family had been together in many years.

We returned to Wilmington on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to have family pictures made.

Our house closing will be on January 29.  We are packing our stuff into boxes and looking forward to our move.

We are also looking forward to more good things and adventures in 2019!

Christmas

We have begun packing clothing, bathroom items, and kitchen stuff in boxes to prepare for our move
to Apex.  I am dreading this.  Bob is even weaker than before and this move is going to fall heavily on my shoulders.  The only consolation is that everything will be good after the move has been completed.

Yesterday we went out for lunch.  I suggested sandwiches, but Bob wanted to go to Big Mike's BBQ at Beaver Creek Crossings.  This lunch cost of $45!

We drove by the house and saw that they have put forms down to pour the sidewalks, front steps, and driveway.  Those will likely be poured this week.

Today is Christmas 2018.  I presented Bob with tickets to the Kenny Chesney "Songs for the Saints" Tour in Greensboro, NC on Friday, April 12.  He got me a $100 gift certificate to Massage Envy.  There weren't many gifts this year because we have to save for our move to Apex and purchase appliances when we move in.

We had a "Jewish Christmas" this year.  This means we ate Chinese food on Christmas Day, just like the Jews do because nothing else is open on that day.  Our meal was canned by La Choy, but it was easy and cheap.

I have to work for the rest of this week.  I will be working with Joe Moore on filtering out GLA crystals in cold methanol tomorrow.  Stephanie and I also have to take care of the daily and weekly maintenance in GMP this week.

Oh well, the time off was nice while it lasted.

Back Home

This morning I called USAA to arrange for our homeowner's insurance on the new house.  I bounced back and forth between three different customer service reps over two hours.  At the end of it I think we got the right amount of insurance in place for the house.

Once I had the insurance taken care of I dressed and headed over to WakeMed to pick up Bobby. 

He was discharged when I got there and we put him into the car.  We drove down to Apex to check on our house and then we got lunch at Sultan's Deli in Beaver Creek Crossings Shopping Center.  After lunch we went to The Guy's Place where Bob got a haircut and got his neck shaved.

On the way home we stopped at Wal*Mart and I picked up his prescription for Flomax.

Tomorrow we will do the laundry and vacuum.  Maybe we will go out for groceries.  I would like to start taping up some boxes and begin packing for the move.

HF Pyridine

Selfie in our PAPR hoods.

Yesterday we had to add a very strong acid to our batch stirring in a 12-liter glass reactor in the hood in 413.  The acid, Hydrofluoric Pyridine, is so strong it would dissolve your bones and it could easily put you into cardiac arrest if it spilled on you.  Even a drop of it would cause a nasty burn.

To minimize the dangers while adding it, we had to wear multiple pairs of gloves and wear a Powered Air Purifying Respirator - PAPR, for short.  Here is a picture of me in my PAPR with Robert Matthiesen, the manufacturing chemist on this project, behind me.

The addition was successful and we carefully neutralized all of our wastes over a poly drum dedicated to caustic chemicals.

It rained almost all day today and the forecast is for more rain tomorrow.  Because I was very tired and the roads were wet and slippery and full of car accidents, I decided to stay home and rest tonight.

The past couple of days have been very successful for Bob.  He has impressed his therapists enough that they feel it is safe for him to go home.  He will be discharged from WakeMed on Saturday.

Cary, NC

Stephanie and I ran three 75L columns today and got all of the product into the rotavaps, and even got it almost completely condensed down before the end of the day.  It was a busy day.  Tomorrow we are using this material in a 12-Liter glass round bottom reactor with Hydrofluoric Pyridine, a very nasty and dangerous chemical.  Once we have all of the ingredients added to the reactor, it has to stir for 24 hours.  So, after the chemistry in the morning, the rest of the day should be easy.

Bob did very well today in rehab.  He has impressed the therapists enough that they said they are willing to discharge him on December 22 or December 24.  I am glad.  It is very tiring having to go over to the hospital after work in busy rush hour and holiday traffic.  It will be good to have Bob at home where he belongs.

Back To Rehab

Bob was discharged from WakeMed Cary Hospital this morning and transferred to WakeMed Rehab Hospital on New Bern Avenue.  He is in Room 3C15.  We don't know how long he will be there yet.

Tomorrow the plan is for PT to do an assessment on him and come up with a plan for meeting his objectives.  His goals are to increase his balance and improve his gait.

Today was warmer and wet.  It was raining or foggy all day.

On my way home from the hospital this evening I stopped in at Lowe's to get boxes for our move.  I got 43 boxes and four rolls of tape.  The total came to $126.00!  Now I will slowly begin to tape up the boxes and fill them.  We have to be ready to roll in 6 weeks.

If we can just get past the tight spot of our move from the apartment to the new house and get the apartment cleaned up, it will be smooth sailing after that point.

My bronchitis is much better.  I still cough, but it is not very frequently now, and the best part - I feel much better. 

Vancomycin

On Sunday morning Bob woke up with a fever.  His skin was very hot and flushed.  We got the digital thermometer out and took his temperature - it was 102°F.  Obviously he had an infection and we needed to get treatment for him.  I asked him if an urgent care clinic would take Medicare and he was not sure, but in the end we decided to take him to the Emergency Room because of his complicated history.

We arrived at the WakeMed Cary ER at 6:30 AM.  He was immediately taken back to a room and an IV was started.  He was taken out for CT scans, x-rays, he had lab work, and it was discovered that he had a nasty urinary tract infection.  This is the third UI he's had in 6 months.

The doctor came to us in the afternoon and said that they wanted to admit him for observation and to try to get to the bottom of why he was having recurring infections.

I went home for a few hours to walk the dog, make dinner, do the laundry, vacuum the floors, cut my hair, shower, and get everything ready for work on Monday.  I returned to the hospital after 6 PM and Bob had been moved upstairs to a room.  He was eating his dinner when I got there.  He had an IV dripping saline and he had a pump injecting vancomycin antibiotic.

Before he could finish his dinner, his nurse and an assistant came in to put a Foley catheter into him - it was discovered that his bladder is not emptying.  After the catheter was put in, he was moved up to a Step-Down Room for closer observation and care.  He moved from Room 230 to Room 277.  His new room was more spacious, even if it was at the back of the hospital.

I left him around 9 PM to come home and sleep.  I returned this morning at 7 AM.  He was still sleeping and had not had his breakfast yet.  I visited for about an hour and then left for work.

After finding out that the lab was closing for the day due to the bad weather and poor road conditions, I returned at 10:30 AM and spent the day with him.  The Occupational Therapist got him out of bed and into his chair.  It was at this point that we discovered that his fever had broken - his skin was normal temperature, and his gown and bedding were soaked from sweat.  Next the dietician came to visit and let him preorder what he would like to eat for lunch, dinner, and the following breakfast.  Next the assistant came for vital signs.  The doctor came in and told us that they want to try Flomax on him under the assumption that an enlarged prostate is causing his urinary blockage.  Later the Physical Therapist came in and made him get up and walk up and down the hall.

The Physical Therapist said that she is not comfortable sending him home in his current physical condition and she is going to recommend that he be transferred to the Rehab Hospital downtown for more intensive PT and OT work.  Bob was unhappy to hear this.  I guess it feels like a big step backwards for him, and he may end up having to be in the hospital over Christmas.

After he was put back in bed, a lady from the lab came to get some blood from him, and then he napped with the TV news on.  I got up to come home at 5 PM - I wanted to get back home before the roads were covered in black ice.

Avista is supposed to open two hours late tomorrow, so I will be able to go to WakeMed and check in with him before I have to head over to work.  Plus, he has his phone and his Kindle with him if he needs to reach me.

Snow Storm

Headed east on Cornwallis Rd.

Based on email from Avista EHS Department, I understood that the lab was opening two hours later than normal because of the wintery weather.  I left at 8:00 AM and slowly and carefully drove through the rain up to Durham.

About halfway there it began to snow and it started to snow heavier.  As I got to Durham the snow was coming down in big flakes as big as chicken feathers!

As I pulled into my parking space my phone buzzed indicating that a text message or an email message had been received.  I checked it to find an email message from Avista HR stating that the site would be closed today due to the bad weather.  God damn it!  Can't they plan and get their plans straight?

I went inside to find Jeff, Tom, Cliff, and Robert there.  Jeff said that everyone needed to go home because we weren't going to be working today and everyone needed to get home safely.  I went back out to the car, and in the 20 minutes that I was inside, enough snow fell that I had to get my scraper out and clean all of the windows off.

On Cornwallis Road.

It had taken me an hour to drive up to work, and it took me another careful hour to get the car safely back home.

There is a good chance of snow for the rest of the day and then it will taper off.  Low temperatures are expected for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

During the entire 40-mile round trip I had the car in AWD and it only slid twice - once as I was turning from Green Level Church Road on to NC 55, and another time on I-540 as I was attempting to overtake two slower moving cars.  In each case I kept my foot off of the brake pedal and slowly brought the car back to a nose forward position.

On I-540 at Morrisville Pkwy.

Tomorrow the lab is opening two hours later than usual because of the poor road conditions.  I won't have to start work until 10:00 AM.  The bad part is that hourly employees have to take vacation to cover the missed work time.

Cold Virus

We have been sick and miserable since Family Picture Day in Wilmington.  I had a bad head cold and the drainage had my throat raw.  Last Wednesday I went to FastMed urgent care clinic for treatment.  I was given a shot of Decadron in my butt to relieve the swelling and I was given a prescription for a nasal spray (Flonase) and a strong decongestant.  I was told to keep pushing the liquids.

Within 24 hours the swelling went down and my airway opened up.  The color returned to my face.  But I just didn't feel much better.

This week the cold moved down into my chest.  I have been coughing so much my ribs hurt!  Sometimes I get such strong coughing fits that I almost vomit!  This morning in the shower I had a coughing fit like that I coughed up little brown chunks!

I called off of work this morning and went back to FastMed.  The same physician's assistant, Marcy, saw me.  She said my throat looked much better and she listened to my breathing.  She thinks that I have bronchitis now.  She prescribed an inhaler of Albuterol Sulfate to open my airway, she prescribed Benzonatate to thin the mucus, and she prescribed Arythromycin antibiotic.  The total for these drugs came to $98.00!  This whole thing has cost me about $200.00!

At least tomorrow is Friday.  Hopefully I will be feeling better in the morning and will be able to get through the last day of the work week.

Siding

The front of the house.

This morning we had breakfast at The Egg & I and after breakfast we drove down to Apex to check on the progress at our townhouse under construction.  

As we came over the bridge that crosses US-64, we were happy to see that the brick work on the front of our building has been completed.  As we got closer we saw that the Hardi-Board siding is being installed on the exterior.

The bathroom vents have been fitted into the soffits and the other exterior features have been trimmed into the siding.  It won't be long now!

The workers were setting up their scaffold on the west side of building to put siding on that side.  Then they will continue around to the front.  The siding will probably be finished the next time we see the building.

In the pictures posted with the entry you can see our house - it is the one with the red siding, the second house.

The back of the house.

Temps are mild today - high 50's and low 60's, but it is going to rain this afternoon.  We have decided to just stay inside and take it easy for the rest of the day.