Mobile Post Jan 30, 2019 at 18:56

The Big Move has started! I am wondering if I have bitten off more than I can chew!

We picked up the U-Haul truck this morning and I began loading in 20°F weather. It took  awhile because everything has to taken downstairs and the trundled over 100 feet to the truck.  The last time we did this I had an able helper.  This time I will have to do all of the lifting.

On the picture you see here, this is one truck load (15-foot truck), and it represents about 1/3 of the total goods I have to move.

I stink right now.  I am sore. I am exhausted.

I am currently located at

1901 Creekside Landing Dr
Apex NC 27502
United States

I am 7.3 miles from home.

https://maps.apple.com/?q=35.743666,-78.884633&ll=35.743666,-78.884633

Easy Off

This weekend I cleaned the oven in our apartment.  I laid newspapers around the front of the range and I sprayed the whole interior with a caustic oven cleaner and closed the door to let it soak in and do its work.

Later I came back with a bucket of hot water and a sponge to clean the black mixture out of the oven cavity.  I had to dump the bucket and refill it four times.  Eventually the oven was shiny and almost as clean and new.  I decided to go ahead and clean the range top as well.

With the range completely clean I told Bob that we cannot cook on it or in it now.  So we are eating out until we are moved in to our house.

Closing is tomorrow morning and we are excited about it!

Walk-Thru

This morning it was raining when I got up.  I took Buddy outside for his walk and then we got dressed and went out for breakfast.  We went to The Egg & I.  Because this is a weekday, it was not very busy.

After breakfast we headed down to Apex.  We had some time to spare so we went into Super Target and browsed.  Then we headed over to our new town house for the walk through.  The street in front was packed with trucks so we drove around to the back and parked in our driveway.  I left Bob in the car and I walked around to the front and rang the doorbell.

Brad, the Construction Project Manager, was inside marking spots for the painters to touch up with blue tape.  We would discuss things to expect at the kitchen island.  First I had to go downstairs and open the garage door to let Bob come in.  Because our feet were wet we took our shoes off, even Brad was padding around the house in his socks.

After going over all of the warranties Brad gave us a tour of the house and showed us how everything worked.  We found out that the under-cabinet drawer slides were "accidentally" given to us by the cabinet contractor, and we also found out that the closet that was supposed to have an unfinished floor ended up getting carpeted.  Brad really, really wants a "10" on his customer satisfaction survey! LOL!

We will have to buy some 14x14x1 furnace filters and some 20x20x1 filters.  We need granite countertop sealer.  We need grout sealer for the tile shower and bath surrounds.  We need water sealer for the wooden balcony.

The house turned out really nice!  I think we are going to be very happy here. The walk through took about 2-1/2 hours.

Later we went to Wal*Mart in Apex where I picked up a Cuisinart Toaster Oven and a new Bissell vacuum cleaner.  We will put the new vacuum on the third floor and the Dust Devil that we currently own will be used in the basement.

We took the car for a ride and by now the sun was coming out and it was pleasant with temps still in the 60's.

At 3:15 we drove up to WakeMed Urology for Bob's follow up appointment.  They took a urine sample from him and gave him an examination.  He has to get a pelvic C-T scan done before he returns to help them figure out what is wrong with him.

On the way home we stopped at Tijuana Flats to get dinners to go and brought them home.  We enjoyed our dinner after I got Buddy outside for his walk.

One more day of work this week and tomorrow is payday too!

Chillers

As it turns out, I didn't get to go to the Avista company party because Bob came down with a low-grade fever and I had to take him to the ER around 3:00 PM on Saturday.  He has another UTI and he is back on antibiotics.  He will be making a follow up appointment with Urology this week.

Yesterday was a very busy day for me.  I got up and walked the dog.  Then I started the laundry, made breakfast, and vacuumed the floors.  We folded laundry and put it away and Bob made a shopping list for me.  I went to Wal*Mart and dropped off Bob's prescription at the pharmacy and then did the grocery shopping.

After I got the groceries home and put away we boxed up some more stuff.

It was a sunny day, but there was a breeze and temps were dropping all day long.  Last night temperatures fell to 19°F.  We left the water dripping in our sink to keep the pipes from freezing.  Today temperatures only rose to 32°F, and it is getting very cold again.

Today we disconnected one of my Huber chillers from the 100-liter reactor and moved it to Room 306 so that it could heat/chill the 100-liter reactor in there for the Fennec demonstration batch next week.

Next we hooked another Huber up to the 50-liter reactor and did a deaeration cycle.  After that we began a degassification process to get the ethanol and water out of the coolant.  By the end of the day this process was not completed and we left the equipment running at 100.5°C all night.  Hopefully the coolant will be clear tomorrow morning and we can cool the system down.

I am working tomorrow and Wednesday.  On Thursday we have our new home walk through.  Then I will work on Friday and Monday.  After that we close and begin moving.  It will be here soon!

Purchases

Yesterday Bob had physical therapy in Chapel Hill.  He took the Lyft car from our house to the rehab and it cost him $33.  His appointment was from 3:45 PM until 4:45 PM.  Because the rush hour traffic would be bad at that time, I told him I would pick him up after work.

We had dinner at Red Robin in Durham and then drove home.

We got up this morning to start a busy day.  Bob was complaining that he alternately felt too hot and then too cold.  He doesn't seem to have a fever, but his forehead was warm.

We started with breakfast at The Egg & I.  Then we drove down to Apex to see our completed house.  Even the few faults that we saw from the street have been corrected!  Perhaps the salesman was right, I am going to be happy.

Next we went to Lowe's and purchased the following items and arranged for delivery on January 31:

• Refrigerator/Freezer:  https://www.lowes.com/pd/Samsung-24-52-cu-ft-Side-by-Side-Refrigerator-with-Ice-Maker-Stainless-Steel/1000027155 This item is on sale $300 off.

• Washer:  https://www.lowes.com/pd/Samsung-4-5-cu-ft-Top-Load-Washer-White/1000526001 This item is on sale $150 off.

• Dryer:  https://www.lowes.com/pd/Samsung-7-2-cu-ft-Electric-Dryer-White/50371038 This item is on sale $100 off.

The total came to over $2300, but after taking a 10% military discount, it came to about $2100.  We also got 12 months interest-free.  I intend to pay the total after we close.

After this we headed across the street to The Guy's Place to have Bob's haircut.  The blonde stick at the front desk said we could sign Bob in and come back in two hours for his haircut.  I asked Bob, "Do you want to go to Great Clips?"  We walked out and drove over the 540 to the Publix shopping center and walked in to Great Clips.  They always ask you, "Did you sign in online?"  Of course we didn't and they added Bob to the list.  They warned us there were 9 people ahead of Bob and the wait would be 55 minutes.  I looked around the room and only saw two people waiting.

Sure enough, the others were not present when their names were called and Bob was called back to get his haircut less than 15 minutes after we got there.

Back into the car and up to Wal*Mart in Cary to pick up Bob's prescriptions.  I also got a new pair of jeans while I was in there.  Bob waited in the car and rested.

Now we steered the car onto US 1-US 64 and went to Raleigh so Bobby could get some pointers and help on his knit blanket project from the ladies at Great Yarns.  We were at Great Yarns for about 30 minutes and it was after noon now.

On the way home we passed through the Arby's Drive-Thru and got a couple of roast beef sandwiches and potato cakes for each of us.  Then we headed back home to rest.

Bob needs to clean his teeth badly and shave.  I need to cut my hair, clean my teeth, and shower.

This evening we were planning to go to the Avista company party at the Umstead Hotel, but around 3:00 PM Bob began to complain of feeling feverish and he said that his urine was cloudy and dark.  So away to the WakeMed ER we go.

We were in the ER for about 4 hours.  His urine sample came back as infected, but his blood looked okay.  The doctor is putting him on Cipro for two weeks and in the meantime he has to follow up with Urology.

This weekend is going to go by quickly.  Tomorrow I have to do the laundry, clean the floors, and buy groceries.  Temperatures are supposed to drop very low tomorrow night!

The walk through at our house is next Thursday and we close on the Tuesday after that! 

Packing To Move

Bob shopping for a dining set.

Another weekend has flown by.

We went out for breakfast on Saturday morning at The Egg & I.  Then we went to Apex to check on our house.  I peeked into the front door window and saw that the living room and kitchen are finished.   I could see carpet laid on the stairs!

After this we went grocery shopping because the weather forecast called for freezing rain on Saturday night.

After we got our groceries into the house, we were in for the night.  Bob played a copy of Brokeback Mountain he had downloaded to the computer on the Smart TV.

This morning I got up, walked the dog, and got the laundry started.  It was still raining and cold, but no ice.  I made a nice big breakfast.

After running the vacuum and folding the laundry, we decided to go out.  We went to Alpaca Peruvian BBQ Chicken for lunch, then we went over to Rooms To Go to shop for furniture.

We have decided on the Rooms To Go Market Street Black Dining Set.  It will be like the table pictured here except it will be black.  We opted to get the table with two benches and two side chairs.  This furniture will be delivered to our new house on Thursday, January 31.  The link goes to a picture of the items we bought.

I was heartbroken to learn that the power recliner that I had my heart set on had been discontinued.  I am considering another recliner, but there is no rush, and we need to see how all of our current stuff fits in the house before we run out to get new furniture.

Sometime this week or next weekend I will purchase the refrigerator and the washer/dryer set.  I will arrange to have these delivered on Thursday, January 31.  That is the day that I intend to have Bob in the house all day.

We continue to pack up the apartment.  We really have about two more weeks, but it will not take much longer to have everything ready to go.

Leaking Tire

Yesterday morning I started the car to begin my trip to work.  After the engine started I heard an extra bell ring and saw the yellow low tire pressure warning light on the dash.  I scrolled down in the car information system until I came to the tire pressure display.  Three of the tires were normal, but the rear passenger-side tire was at 28 PSI.  It briefly crossed my mind that cool morning temps could have caused the low pressure, but they why would only one tire be affected?

I drove for a few miles to an air compressor where I stopped and pumped the tire back up.  While I was putting air into the tire I looked the wheel over and saw a nail sticking out of the tire.  It was pretty close to the edge of the tread and it probably wouldn't be repairable.

I drove to Durham and went past the lab to the Shell station on Highway 55 to fill the gas tank.  While pumping gas I took another look at the tire since the wheel was stopped in a different position.  I saw the nail that I had seen earlier, and as I looked around the wheel, I found a screw in the middle of the tread too!

After this I decided that I had better take a look at the other three tires too.  The other tires appear to be fine, it's just this one tire.

After work today I stopped at Firestone on the way home.  The technician confirmed that the puncture could not be patched and that I would have to replace the tire.  I was there for about an hour and the new tire, balancing, valve stem, road hazard insurance and old tire disposal fee totaled $184.00.

I am glad that this is done.  We have some wintry mix weather coming this weekend and I do not want to have to worry about whether the car will be reliable in challenging weather.

Cary, NC

On Thursday and Friday I had to take Bob to medical appointments in Chapel Hill.

On Thursday we stopped on the way to the appointment and got lunch at Five Guys Burgers and Fries.  Then we headed over to the rehab clinic to see Dr. Cleveland.  She was surprised to hear about Bob's septicimia and agreed to let him wait a few weeks before resuming the Baclofen.  In the mean time she wants him to make a couple of physical therapy appointments and do some exercises.

I received a bunch of email messages on my phone from Avista/Cambrex announcing more changes coming as the company shifts over to being a part of Cambrex.  Changes to the email servers, changes to the Sharepoint, changes to the standard slide template and letterhead.

On Friday we returned to Chapel Hill and UNC Hospital very early.  It was a rainy morning.  At 7:30 Bob had an MRI and CT appointment.  After the images were taken we headed over to the Cancer Hospital to see Dr. Shen.

We told Dr. Shen about the tingling and buzzing that stopped in Bob's lips this past week and we were hopeful for some good news from her.  She told us that the images do not show any change from the images taken in October.  This is good - at least the lesion in the pons isn't growing!  Bob said that it took 3 years for the lesions to begin shrinking after gamma knife surgery in 2003.

We headed back home, but stopped at The Shops at Southpoint.  Since we had lots of time we browsed the Barnes & Noble Bookstore and miraculously, did not buy anything. 

For lunch we went to Zinburger for what we were promised would be the "best burgers we have ever had".  They were good, but they weren't the best I had ever had.  And they were expensive!

We made our way back to our parked car in the rain and headed home to Cary.

This morning we had breakfast at The Egg & I and then we went to our storage unit in Apex to add a few things to our pile there.  We drove past our new townhouse at Beaver Creek and then decided to take a drive in the country.

We went down to Moncure and took a look at the Haw River pouring out of the Everett B Jordan Dam.  It was too windy and cold to get out of the car and walk on the dam.  Next we drove around Corinth and Brickhaven looking to see where the Cape Fear River forms at the intersection of the Deep River and the Haw River, but it turns out that the land is private property on both sides of the river.

After this we came home and packed more of our stuff for the big move.  I took all of the pictures down and spackled the holes in the walls.

I made a chili for dinner and we just hung around in the apartment reading and knitting during the afternoon.