News and Views From my kids accomplishments, to my heretical perspective of the world

It’s been really cool here lately. The past couple of nights it got down into the 70’s — the first time since around May that it is cooler outside than inside.

We slept with the windows open in our bedroom for the first time since May. It still got up into the high 90’s during the day, but it’s much easier to tolerate when the nights cool down.

Big change from those days in July where the low was in the mid-90’s, highs in the mid-110’s.

I told you previously about the broken water line and the flood in our house. Repairs are progressing, more slowly than we would like, but actually at a reasonable pace.

All the walls have been repaired, and painted. We took this opportunity to change the colors in all of the rooms that were being repainted anyway. We had to pay extra since it required two coats in most places instead of one, but still the insurance company is paying for over half the painting bill.

And we are going to upgrade the flooring. We’ll keep carpet in the guest room so our guests can enjoy stepping out of bed onto softness, but we’re replacing the vinyl in the bathroom and laundry room with tiles, and replacing the carpet in the family room and my office with laminate. We chose a laminate that looks a lot like wood, at least to my and Gisele’s eyes.

We’re in limbo right now between painting and flooring, so we still can’t do much in any of those rooms. I temporarily hooked up the washer and dryer, and dug out my computer, but most of the rooms are piled with boxes and furniture. We’re hoping to have everything done within two more weeks — by September 24 or so. That leaves me a week and a half to focus on preparing for the Great Hike.

On Thursday morning I went to play basketball, as usual. At one point, someone heaver than me fell against my leg, bending the knee in a way it didn’t want to go. It hurt a little, too much to continue playing, but I was able to hobble off the court and drive home. I iced it up and took it easy for the next couple of days.

On Saturday I felt pretty good, and went back to play basketball. Wouldn’t you know it, like a sore thumb that keeps getting hit, someone larger than me landed against my leg again, same leg, same direction. This time there was more pain, and I needed help to get off the floor. One of the doctors playing with us examined the leg, bending it this way and that, “Does this hurt? How about this?”, and concluded that it was just a sprain, nothing serious, and would heal by itself in a matter of a few days. In fact, I was feeling better already and was able to walk to my car and drive home.

As soon as I got home, we loaded up the car and drove to Prescott, where Gisele’s church was holding their annual retreat. I always enjoy this time, because I can use the excuse that I don’t understand Cantonese very well and it becomes my own private retreat, walking in the woods, sitting on the balcony or under trees reading, and just taking it easy.

Soon after we arrived, they held their basketball tournament, where most of the men and boys played games against each other. At first I was just going to be a spectator. Then they talked me into being a referee. Finally, seeing that I could move around on the court without any pain, I decided to put on a jersey and play, but with the clear understanding that I would not be running and would just stand around and take open shots if they were presented.

That’s how it started, but I saw that if I ran in a straight line, without putting sideways pressure on my knee, it felt OK. After I hit a couple of shots it was hard to hold back.

I played a couple of games, then went back to my room to shower. I iced up the knee again, which was starting to feel sore, and mostly took it easy.

This morning when I tried to get out of bed, I couldn’t put any weight on that leg at all. I almost fell to the floor when I tried. I slowly limbered it up, took some ibuprofen, and after a while I was able to walk to breakfast.

It’s now Sunday evening, and it’s feeling better, but still weak and hurts if I put weight on it while it is bent. I still believe it is just a sprain, and expect to recover in a few days (if I can let it rest!). But if it doesn’t get continually better, I may need to get x-rays.

Basketball may be the death of me yet, but it’s also what is keeping me in shape. I have not found any safer alternatives that I can find the will to do regularly.

I’m still not sure I did the right thing buying the Acura, but I am sleeping at night again.

My plan is to keep it a year, and then see how I feel. They hold their value well, so I won’t lose too much selling it next year if that’s what my heart says to do. In the mean time, it is a lot of fun to drive.

Thanks to all the suggestions from you guys, I have also decided to keep my mini-van. Just yesterday I used it to take a whole sectional sofa to Derek’s house — all in one trip. It would have taken three trips in the Acura, if I would have even dared put it in there!

Yep, on that brand new Acura Crossover SUV.

Not that it isn’t a wonderful vehicle, but I keep looking at my old Odyssey and think about all the things I can’t do with the new one: Carry 7 people comfortably (it happens more than you might guess), throw dirty stuff in the back (would never do that with the new Acura), fit a 4’x8′ piece of plywood, or a washer and dryer both in the back, drive it home all sweaty from basketball, carry everything Devon owns home from Pasadena.

And I think about how much we will be spending to repair the house. The insurance covers most of the repairs, but we need to get a lot of new furniture — the old is getting ratty. And Gisele needs $10,000 worth of dental work (2 implants).

I’ve felt buyer’s remorse a little before, especially when we bought this house, but it was mild, and in my heart I knew we had done the right thing. This time my heart tells me differently.

Pondering my options.

They had 23 fans and 5 dehumidifiers in the house for 4 days. What a racket! They finally judged the house dry, and took the equipment away last night, so at least it’s peaceful again.

The insurance adjuster was here this morning, and estimated about $7000 just to repair the damage to the walls. That doesn’t include the expense of drying out the house (that will be billed directly to that company so we will probably never know how much that was) or the new flooring (material or installation). It’s all covered after our $1000 deductible, except any updgrades to flooring, etc.

The repair man just left, after reviewing the job. They should start drywall repairs in 2-3 days, and be done in about 2 weeks total. Then comes the flooring. We are thinking of replacing the carpet with wood in several of the rooms, and maybe tile in the bathroom and utility room, so this is a good time to have the insurance company help with the cost.

We had a nice rain storm last night, but that’s not what this is about.

The connection to the downstairs toilet broke some time in the night, and we woke to standing water all over the lowest level of the house. The water is not above the top of the carpet, but walking on carpets leaves puddles. Family room, my office, guest room, laundry room and bathroom are soaked. Will probably have to replace all the carpet, moulding, and maybe drywall behind the baseboard.

We were tired of that carpet anyway…

Fortunately insurance will cover it, but it’s still a big hassle. Service Masters is coming in about 2 hours to begin the drying process. I’ll update here as we progress.

You may remember that Devon was accepted into the Cornell University Graduate Physics program. He wanted to spend the summer in Taiwan, studying Mandarin and immersing himself into another culture.

Well, he’s having so much fun that he doesn’t want to come back. He contacted Cornell, and told them he was enrolled in the University in Taiwan (which he is) and requested a one-year deferral. They agreed.

So he will remain in Taiwan through the winter.

Besides studying Chinese, he has met some people in the entertainment business that have him almost convinced he could be a model, actor and/or pop singer. I hope he doesn’t hit the ground too hard if reality disagrees…

I know that self-diagnosing by browsing the internet is often a bad idea. But in this case I think I got it right.

For months, every time after I get out of the shower, my legs would start itching. At times it is almost unbearable, and I sit there scratching away. It peaks about 5 minutes after drying off, and then usually lasts about an hour. It’s mostly in my feet and legs below the knees, though I get a little itchy on my back and other places.

At first I thought maybe I was allergic to the soap, or maybe the detergent or softener used to wash my towel, but switching things didn’t help at all.

Finally a little research on the internet showed that I was not alone: I had Aquagenic Pruritis. Aqua = water, Genic = cause, Pruritis = Itching.

There is no cure, but there are things to do to reduce the symptoms. I have tried three things:

1) Rub Benadryl lotion on my legs after my shower. It helps, but it takes 10-15 minutes to work, and it’s unpleasant waiting for it to take effect.

2) Desensitize the skin by multiple applications each day of a capsaicin lotion. (Capsaicin is the active ingredient in chili peppers that make them taste spicy. Be warned not to touch your eyes after applying!) I don’t know if this has helped. Maybe I don’t put it on enough times each day.

3) The thing that helps the most: Rub baby oil over my legs before my shower. Apparently this seals the skin so the water has less contact. It makes my legs a little oily, naturally, but a light layer isn’t bad. And it helps a lot, almost totally eliminating the itch.

I’ll keep up the capsaicin treatment for a while, and hopefully I can reduce my skin sensitivity, but for now I’ll continue going to bed oily. And if I forget both, there’s always the Benadryl with it’s belated help.